The Hockey News has been providing the most comprehensive coverage of the world of hockey since 1947. In each issue, you'll find news, features and opinions about the NHL and leagues across North America and the world.

March 4, 2013

The Hockey News - Mar-04-13

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0003-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-012198/9813903-1-eng-US/f0003-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>IPAD BONUS:</b> Check out our iPad edition, available at the App Store, for a slideshow of the best recent photos from around the NHL <span class="photo-credit">(JEFF VINNICK/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><h2><b>A LOOK INTO THE FUTURE?</b></h2><p>Vancouver&rsquo;s Zack Kassian and Chicago&rsquo;s Corey Crawford could be staring down another epic playoff matchup this spring.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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IN THIS ISSUE

OPENING FACEOFF

<div class="byline">KEN CAMPBELL</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0036-03" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-03774/9815271-1-eng-US/f0036-032.jpg"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-011374/9815264-1-eng-US/f0036-012.jpg" title="f0036-01" width="75" height="84"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-02937/9815257-1-eng-US/f0036-022.jpg" title="f0036-02" width="660" height="650"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>ANDREI MARKOV&rsquo;S</b></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>A</span>LL RIGHT, WE&rsquo;LL BUY ANDREI MARKOV&rsquo;S</b> notion that hockey is a team game. He&rsquo;s supposed to say that. But when it comes to the man advantage, the presence of one supreme talent can make all the difference.</p><p>That&rsquo;s why the Montreal Canadiens were 28th last season on the power play. This season they were ranked ninth. And, not surprisingly, they were also among the top teams in the standings. Much has changed for the Habs, but none of the alterations has been as dramatic as having a healthy Markov in the lineup. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve never believed that one guy could change the game,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;You have to have 20 guys playing hard. And the power play, it&rsquo;s all about the five guys playing hard and trying to move the puck around and make chances to score.&rdquo;</p><p>They were getting that from Markov, whose four power play goals put him just behind Patrick Marleau for the league lead. There is no disputing Markov is the player around whom the power play revolves for the Habs. He&rsquo;s dangerous setting up on the blueline and not the least bit hesitant to venture below the opposing team&rsquo;s goal line or go hard to the net to knock in a rebound.</p><p>As far as even strength is concerned, he was playing 25 minutes a game and has been an effective complement to partner Alexei Emelin, the NHL&rsquo;s leader in hits before falling behind Toronto&rsquo;s Leo Komarov. Markov, 34, doesn&rsquo;t look like a player limited to 65 games over the previous three seasons. &ldquo;I feel happy to be healthy,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;and I&rsquo;m just enjoying the game.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-04619/9815250-1-eng-US/f0036-042.jpg" title="f0036-04" width="752" height="597"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-05522/9815243-1-eng-US/f0036-052.jpg" title="f0036-05" width="327" height="506"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(MARKOV: FRANCOIS LACASSE/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>When Bruins enforcer <b>Shawn Thornton</b> was beaten decisively in a fight against John Scott in a 7-4 loss to Buffalo Jan. 31, it represented a rare event in Thornton&rsquo;s career. Despite the fact he&rsquo;s a middleweight who often takes on heavyweights, Thornton has a career fight record of 58-28-3, according to <a href="http://hockeyfights.com">hockeyfights.com</a>.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-06461/9815236-1-eng-US/f0036-062.jpg" title="f0036-06" width="753" height="596"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-07390/9815229-1-eng-US/f0036-072.jpg" title="f0036-07" width="327" height="505"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(VANEK: MARIANNE HELM/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>The Sabres have had some wildly talented players over their 43 years of existence, but not once have they had a scoring champion. That could change with <b>Thomas Vanek</b>, who was leading the league in points and was second in goals thanks to points in his first eight games, four of which were multipoint efforts.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-08331/9815222-1-eng-US/f0036-082.jpg" title="f0036-08" width="752" height="596"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-09282/9815215-1-eng-US/f0036-092.jpg" title="f0036-09" width="327" height="505"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(EMELIN: RICHARD WOLOWICZ/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>Will <b>Alexei Emelin</b> be the first NHLer in history to wear a facial cage permanently? The Habs say he will for the foreseeable future. Emelin needed facial reconstruction after a KHL fight with Alexander Svitov in 2009 and re-injured it playing in the KHL during the lockout. It hasn&rsquo;t affected his physical game &ndash; he was second in hits in the NHL.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-10251/9815208-1-eng-US/f0036-102.jpg" title="f0036-10" width="752" height="596"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-11229/9815201-1-eng-US/f0036-112.jpg" title="f0036-11" width="327" height="505"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(BENOIT: MARIANNE HELM/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>The unsung third &lsquo;D&rsquo; pair of <b>Andre Benoit</b> and Patrick Wiercioch had helped the Sens allow the NHL&rsquo;s fewest goals against. Benoit, a 29-year-old who played eight NHL games prior to this year, had three assists and was robbed of his first career goal on a controversial goalie interference call in a game against Montreal Feb. 3.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-12213/9815194-1-eng-US/f0036-122.jpg" title="f0036-12" width="752" height="597"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-13195/9815187-1-eng-US/f0036-132.jpg" title="f0036-13" width="327" height="506"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(THORNTON/CARLYLE: GRAIG ABEL/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES;)</span></figcaption></div><p>With a 1-4-0 record at home to start the season, coach <b>Randy Carlyle</b> and the Maple Leafs weren&rsquo;t making the Air Canada Centre an intimidating place to visit. In fact, in the calendar year spanning from Feb. 6, 2012 to the same date in 2013, the Leafs had a 4-12-3 mark on home ice. Their road record in that time span was 9-11-1.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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RETURN OF THE MARKSMAN

<p><b>Dave Okihiro</b>&nbsp;<b>& Lisa Thomas</b></p><p> Toronto, Ontario</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-1715/9814149-1-eng-US/f0006-172.jpg" title="f0006-17" width="686" height="552"></div><p>THINK YOU ARE A BIG FAN? SUBMIT YOUR PHOTOS AT <a href="http://THN.COM/BIGFAN">THN.COM/BIGFAN</a><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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BIG FAN

<div class="byline">ADAM PROTEAU</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-012362/9814280-1-eng-US/f0008-012.jpg" title="f0008-01" width="248" height="288"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-031286/9814273-1-eng-US/f0008-032.jpg" title="f0008-03" width="984" height="917"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>FINALLY, TIME TO SHINE</b></p><p>Matt Irwin is among a crop of late-bloomers who made their NHL debuts this season.</p><span class="photo-credit">(IRWIN: THEARON W. HENDERSON/GETTY IMAGES;)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-021807/9814266-1-eng-US/f0008-022.jpg" title="f0008-02" width="1282" height="849"><figcaption class="caption-body">VIKTOR <b>FASTH</b> <span class="photo-credit">(DOUG PENSINGER/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>W</span></b><b>E ALL KNOW THERE ISN&rsquo;T</b> one single road to the NHL, but there&rsquo;s also no single time frame any one player has to get there. For example, take a close look at the San Jose roster and you&rsquo;ll see the Sharks employ a pair of 25-year-old defensemen &ndash; Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Matt Irwin &ndash; who have drastically different credentials. The former is fast approaching the 500-game mark as an NHLer, while the latter just got his first taste of the world&rsquo;s best league after slugging it out as an undrafted player in the American League for the past two years.</p><p>Irwin is one of a slew of more mature pros &ndash; at least 25 years old or older &ndash; to break into the NHL this year. Also on the list is Matt Anderson (30 years old), Colorado&rsquo;s Patrick Bordeleau (26), Detroit&rsquo;s Damian Brunner (26), Calgary&rsquo;s Roman Cervenka (27), Anaheim&rsquo;s Viktor Fasth (30), Toronto&rsquo;s Leo Komarov (26) and Michael Kostka (27), Dallas&rsquo; Christopher Nihlstorp (28) and Boston&rsquo;s Jamie Tardif (28). They&rsquo;ve all had plenty of time to season before getting their shots, but no matter who you are, how you get there and how old you are by the time you do, the emotions surrounding your first NHL game are basically the same. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a mix &ndash; excitement and nerves,&rdquo; said Irwin, a Brentwood Bay, B.C., native who played his first game, in Calgary Jan. 20, in front of a crowd that included his parents, sister and family friends. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a lifetime goal, a childhood dream. It was a bonus to have the first one in Canada and close to home.&rdquo;</p><p>Like most NHL rookies, Irwin, who attended the University of Massachusetts for two years before signing as an unrestricted free agent with San Jose in 2010, finds the biggest adjustment to be the increased speed at which a player has to make decisions. He credits much of his development to Worcester Sharks coach Roy Sommer and assistant David Cunniff, noting that even as an undrafted pro he never lost hope that a chance to play in hockey&rsquo;s best league was going to come. &ldquo;We all develop differently,&rdquo; said Irwin. &ldquo;You want to keep learning and improving no matter what people in other leagues are doing.&rdquo;</p><p>That said, Fasth, a Sweden native who played his entire career in his homeland before signing with Anaheim in May of 2012, admitted what a long shot the NHL seemed like for him years ago when he was mired deep in the Swedish system. But he added that extra time it took to get to the NHL makes it more special. &ldquo;When I was playing in the Swedish fourth league, the NHL was pretty far away in my mind,&rdquo; said Fasth, who got off to a tremendous start with the Ducks (4-0-0, 0.98 goals-against average, .962 save percentage and one shutout). &ldquo;The more experience you&rsquo;ve had, the more you appreciate playing in the NHL.&rdquo;</p><p>Hurricanes GM Jim Rutherford  &ndash; who has taken chances on AHLers such as Jay Harrison in the past &ndash; believes that, in this shortened and compressed season where injuries could turn out to be a big factor, NHL teams are more likely to take a chance on a long-time AHL regular. &ldquo;You&rsquo;ve got NHL players who don&rsquo;t have their timing and that could lead to injuries or it could lead to the possibility they don&rsquo;t get their timing back and never catch up this year,&rdquo; Rutherford said. &ldquo;That opens the door to (minor-leaguers) who&rsquo;ve been playing right from the start.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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DEPARTMENTS

BEEN A LONG TIME COMING

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-012243/9813941-1-eng-US/f0004-012.jpg" title="f0004-01" width="526" height="924"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>E</span></b><b>ARLIER THIS SEASON, BUFFALO</b>&nbsp;<i>News</i> reporter and THN contributor John Vogl wrote on the NHL&rsquo;s new roommate rule and how it&rsquo;s impacting the Sabres. In particular, Patrick Kaleta said he was worried about sleeping in and missing a team event now that he doesn&rsquo;t have a pal to rouse him. Others ruminated on the loss of camaraderie, a sentiment echoed in various corners of the league.</p><p>My kneejerk reaction was bewilderment. Are today&rsquo;s NHLers so coddled they don&rsquo;t know how to request a wake-up call or set the alarm on their phones? If they want company, do they not understand how to connect with a teammate staying at the same hotel?</p><p>Then, once the curmudgeon in me dissipated and the memory of my occasionally dissolute early-20s kicked in, I cut them some slack. Sure, money and mollycoddling may hinder maturity, but there&rsquo;s far more to the equation. And much to be said for the value of roomies.</p><p>It&rsquo;s true that today&rsquo;s NHLers are handled with extreme care and have been since they were pre-teens. They were identified as pro material at a young age, heavily scouted and conditioned to believe they were special. Once they make the NHL and begin their tour of North America, all their travel needs, with the exception of packing their clothes, are taken care of. No hotels to book or meals to plan. A team official likely holds on to their passport. Their planes are typically private charters and security and customs officials usually come to them. Some of the more elite players might even have a valet to launder their clothes when they return home. That&rsquo;s the upside.</p><p>The downside is the tough travel grind, the lack of sleep, the potential confusion about itineraries, or even which city you&rsquo;re in, when you&rsquo;ve been on a long trip. The loneliness is subjective, but we&rsquo;ve all faced it, and cliche as it is, money doesn&rsquo;t fill the void.</p><p>It makes us wonder if the NHLPA erred when it insisted on solo rooms for guys beyond entry level deals. In hockey, the team concept means everything. It&rsquo;s the ultimate brotherhood &ndash; and sometimes fatherhood when the experienced mentor the green. All players, including our colorful cover boys Evander and Patrick Kane, stand to benefit from surrogate paternal guidance, wisdom they&rsquo;ll eventually bequeath to another generation who will need a wake-up call of their own.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-021898/9813934-1-eng-US/f0004-022.jpg" title="f0004-02" width="414" height="222"></div><p><b>Next Issue</b> March 18, 2013</p><p><b>Customer service and to subscribe:</b> <a href="http://THN.com">thn.com</a>&nbsp;<b>contact us:</b> <a href="mailto:editorial@thehockeynews.com">editorial@thehockeynews.com</a><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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ROOMIES, WITH A VIEW

<h2><b>ALL-AROUND OVIE</b></h2><p><i>Re: Ken Campbell&rsquo;s &ldquo;Caps Should Lean On Alex Ovechkin In All Situations&rdquo; <a href="http://THN.com">THN.com</a> column, Feb. 1</i></p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-031005/9814066-1-eng-US/f0006-032.jpg" title="f0006-03" width="70" height="70"></div><p>They need to depend on Joel Ward because he&rsquo;s the only one delivering.</p><p><b><i>Bethany Shields</i></b></p></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-05500/9814059-1-eng-US/f0006-052.jpg" title="f0006-05" width="70" height="70"></div><p>I&rsquo;ve heard people say it&rsquo;s because Ovechkin &ldquo;has his mind on other things.&rdquo; He doesn&rsquo;t seem as passionate and quick on his skates. He might be bored as well.</p><p><b><i>Derek Davis</i></b></p></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-06355/9814052-1-eng-US/f0006-062.jpg" title="f0006-06" width="70" height="70"></div><p>Don&rsquo;t play him with Jay Beagle and Joey Crabb.</p><p><b><i>Andy Fish</i></b></p></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-08142/9814045-1-eng-US/f0006-082.jpg" title="f0006-08" width="70" height="70"></div><p>He makes too much money. As far as I&rsquo;m concerned, Ovechkin&rsquo;s performance slowly started to deteriorate as soon as he signed that (13-year, $124 million) contract (in 2008).</p><p><b><i>Ryan Smith</i></b></p></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-07231/9814038-1-eng-US/f0006-072.jpg" title="f0006-07" width="70" height="70"></div><p>He needs a fresh franchise.</p><p><b><i>Dannel Lafond</i></b></p></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-0992/9814031-1-eng-US/f0006-092.jpg" title="f0006-09" width="70" height="70"></div><p>Just let the guy play hockey the way he wants to. He&rsquo;s good enough for that.</p><p><b><i>Callum McCarthy</i></b></p></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-1068/9814024-1-eng-US/f0006-102.jpg" title="f0006-10" width="70" height="70"></div><p>The one-timer he and Steven Stamkos relied on for so long isn&rsquo;t as effective anymore. Stamkos has adapted. Ovechkin hasn&rsquo;t.</p><p><b><i>Zack Vincent</i></b></p></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><h2><b>OFF TO THE ISLAND</b></h2><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-1425/9814017-1-eng-US/f0006-142.jpg" title="f0006-14" width="145" height="88"></div><p>Sure he was quirky, and created a distraction with his &ldquo;White House snub,&rdquo; but Tim Thomas was indeed a great character. He was a great interview, always putting thought into each answer, and really, was there a better smile in sports? When the Boston Bruins won the Stanley Cup in 2011, it was truly a team win, but Thomas was the main reason and deserving of the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP. Thanks, Tim, I&rsquo;ll miss you.</p><p><b><i>Jerry Plante, Pembroke, Ont.</i></b></p></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><h2><b>EYES IN THE SKY?</b></h2><p><i>Re: Adam Proteau&rsquo;s &ldquo;Off-ice Referee Needed For Crucial Calls&rdquo; <a href="http://THN.com">THN.com</a> column, Feb. 1</i></p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-1152/9814010-1-eng-US/f0006-112.jpg" title="f0006-11" width="70" height="70"></div><p>Bad calls are a part of the game. It&rsquo;s another reason half the fans are happy and half are upset after every game. If anything, take out video review.</p><p><b><i>Tim Jones</i></b></p></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-1242/9814003-1-eng-US/f0006-122.jpg" title="f0006-12" width="70" height="70"></div><p>Just use replay properly. Give each coach one challenge per game for <i>any</i> kind of play. Any type of call can change the outcome of a game.</p><p><b><i>Daryn Dee</i></b></p></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-1332/9813996-1-eng-US/f0006-132.jpg" title="f0006-13" width="70" height="70"></div><p>If they want to use it to review major penalty/blow to the head calls, I&rsquo;m fine with that. Get those calls right.</p><p><b><i>Chad Gouin</i></b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p></div>

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THN INBOX

<p class="dropcap"><i><span>W</span>hy aren&rsquo;t there more traditionalist writers writing for your magazine? Does anyone want to read about violence ruining the game they love? It&rsquo;s always been there and people love it. Seriously. It&rsquo;s media bias that has skewed the public into believing violence is a problem. Has Ken Campbell even played hockey? He writes like he&rsquo;s never laced them up. Why would &ldquo;fewer fights&rdquo; be a reason to come back after the lockout? (Overtime, Jan. 28). I&rsquo;m his size and I love hitting and fighting.</i></p><p><b><i>Trevor Neufeld, Calgary</i></b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-012473/9814118-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg" title="f0006-01" width="592" height="791"></div><p>contact us:</p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-021684/9814111-1-eng-US/f0006-022.jpg" title="f0006-02" width="141" height="88"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p><a href="http://THN.COM/LETTERS">thn.com/letters</a></p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-1522/9814104-1-eng-US/f0006-152.jpg" title="f0006-15" width="70" height="70"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p>/thehockeynews</p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-04638/9814097-1-eng-US/f0006-042.jpg" title="f0006-04" width="70" height="70"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p>/+thehockeynews<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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TRADITIONAL UPRISING

<p class="dropcap"><b><span>S</span>teven Bajak @slapshot1619:</b>Thomas Vanek &ndash; 19 points in his first nine games is no small feat. Sabres would probably be winless without him.</p><p><b>C. Fortin @TheCurtisFortin:</b>Carey Price. Montreal is not even close to the same team without him. Exact definition of most valuable player.</p><p><b>Ben Eakin @BenEakin:</b>Patrick Marleau. The guy has been every bit as classy on and off the ice this season.</p><p><b>Carly Allen&rlm;@SexyLexy75:</b> Roberto Luongo. He&rsquo;s been on fire. He&rsquo;s handled himself with such grace and class. He&rsquo;s a role model for today&rsquo;s players.</p><p><b>Aaron Z @ErnieBiggs:</b> Pavel Datsyuk, because he still is playing on his own ridiculous level despite all Detroit&rsquo;s roster losses.</p><p><b>Rob Stewart @RStewart81:</b> I&rsquo;m going to go with Tuukka Rask for picking up the slack seeing how Tim Thomas didn&rsquo;t want to play this season.</p><p><b>TheWaboMan @Mitch5150:</b> Andrei Markov. The Adrian Peterson of the NHL.</p><p><b>Christopher Lindholm @chrillelindholm:</b> My MVP is Viktor Fasth, who has made a mark in the Anaheim Ducks organization.</p><p><b>Ben Eakin @BenEakin:Patrick H. @sklib:</b> Corey Crawford. He&rsquo;s kept the Hawks on the warpath.</p><p>Correction: In our Jan. 21, we incorrectly identified Graeme Roustan&rsquo;s former position with Bauer as CEO. He was the Chairman of the Board of Directors.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

TWITTER CHIRPS @THEHOCKEYNEWS

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-012184/9814211-1-eng-US/f0007-012.jpg" title="f0007-01" width="475" height="126"></div><p>IDEAL NUMBER OF GAMES IN AN NHL SEASON?</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-021492/9814204-1-eng-US/f0007-022.jpg" title="f0007-02" width="486" height="674"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

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PUCKPOLL

<p>WHAT&rsquo;S KEEPING YOU UP AT NIGHT? IF YOU&rsquo;VE GOT A QUESTION ABOUT THE GAME, SEND IT TO COLUMNIST PROTEAU AT <a href="http://THN.COM/ASKADAM">THN.COM/ASKADAM</a></p><p><b>QUESTION:</b> Hi Adam. With Scott Gomez&rsquo;s contract out of the way, do you think the Habs could go for a big free agency splash next summer?</p><p><b><i>Nick Farrow, Montreal</i></b></p><p><b>ANSWER:</b> Hi Nick. Despite jettisoning Gomez&rsquo;s contract, the Canadiens have just $8.1 million in cap space next season and restricted free agent David Desharnais to re-sign. It&rsquo;s not impossible they&rsquo;ll make a splash, but I believe they&rsquo;ll build with caution and look to 2014-15, when they&rsquo;ll have $30.5 million to spend, to try and add a quality big name. However, I wouldn&rsquo;t be so certain Montreal brass is dead set on adding such a player via the free agent market. Most teams either re-sign or trade their soon-to-be UFA stars. My hunch is Bergevin looks at a talent swap that adds salary rather than a signing.</p><p><b>QUESTION:</b> Hello Adam. With realignment happening as soon as next year and with the likelihood of Quebec City and a Toronto/Markham getting expansion franchises in the near future, do you see the NHL having to realign multiple times?</p><p><b><i>Timothy Young, Edmonton</i></b></p><p><b>ANSWER:</b> Hello Timothy. No, I don&rsquo;t think the NHL is interested in multiple realignments. If you looked at their most recent proposal (the one the NHLPA shot down last season), the league had four conferences (a.k.a. divisions) &ndash; two with seven teams and two with eight. Not-so-coincidentally, the two Eastern-based conferences were the ones with seven teams. That would easily allow Quebec City and Toronto No. 2 to slide in there with no difficulty.</p><p>READ MORE &lsquo;ASK ADAM&rsquo; EVERY FRIDAY AT <a href="http://TheHockeyNews.com">THEHOCKEYNEWS.COM</a><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

ASK Adam?

<div class="byline">By Charlie Teljeur</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0009-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-012103/9814332-1-eng-US/f0009-012.jpg"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-021475/9814325-1-eng-US/f0009-022.jpg" title="f0009-02" width="112" height="112"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>D</span>ownload the <b>Digimarc</b> app to scan photos on pages 25 and 36 to watch exclusive 1-on-1 videos with Evander Kane and Andrei Markov and on page 12 for Pro Tips.</p></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-03902/9814318-1-eng-US/f0009-032.jpg" title="f0009-03" width="235" height="76"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-04674/9814311-1-eng-US/f0009-042.jpg" title="f0009-04" width="235" height="76"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0009-01

THE INSTIGATOR

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-05507/9814363-1-eng-US/f0009-052.jpg" title="f0009-05" width="551" height="656"></div><h2><b>+PLUS</b></h2><p><b>COLORADO HIGH</b></p><p><b><i>Milan Hejduk</i></b>, 34, becomes the only player in franchise history to play 1,000 games in an Avalanche sweater.</p><h2><b>&ndash;MINUS</b></h2><p><b>COYOTE UGLY</b></p><p>After selling out its home opener, Phoenix averages fewer than 12,000 fans per game.</p><h2><b>+PLUS</b></h2><p><b>DYNAMIC DUO</b></p><p>Zach Parise scores career goal 200, making he and dad J-P the NHL&rsquo;s second father-son duo (behind Bobby and Brett Hull) to notch 200 each.</p><h2><b>&ndash;MINUS</b></h2><p><b>PHIL IS EMPTY</b></p><p>Toronto&rsquo;s Phil Kessel starts season on a nine-game goalless streak.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0009-05

PLUS MINUS

<div class="byline">ADAM PROTEAU</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-06411/9814394-1-eng-US/f0009-062.jpg" title="f0009-06" width="635" height="807"><figcaption class="caption-body">BATES & ANDREW BATTAGILA<span class="photo-credit">(HEJDUK: RICH LAM/GETTY IMAGES; BATTAGLIA: SONJA FLEMMING/CBS &copy;2012 CBS BROADCASTING INC.)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><span>B</span>ates Battaglia went to the Stanley Cup final with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2001-02 and has spent the past few seasons playing professionally in Europe and the minors. But his latest challenge proved as tough and worldly as anything he&rsquo;s done on the ice; he&rsquo;s competing on the popular reality TV show <i>The Amazing Race</i>. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s pretty physical and being an athlete definitely would help anybody competing out there,&rdquo; said Battaglia. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s tougher than it looks on TV, I know that.&rdquo;</p><p>The 37-year-old Battaglia, who amassed 198 points in 580 career NHL games with the Carolina Hurricanes, Colorado Avalanche, Washington Capitals and Toronto Maple Leafs between 1997 and 2007, pairs with his brother and fellow hockey pro Anthony during the 22nd season of the show, which sees duos from all walks of life battle each other in physical and mental challenges as they travel around the world and compete for a $1-million grand prize.</p><p>Battaglia, who now makes his home in North Carolina, is used to travelling, having played for 12 different pro teams throughout his career.</p><p>He was extremely limited in what he could reveal about the race, which has been completed but won&rsquo;t begin airing until Feb. 17. However, he and Anthony went into the competition against 10 other tandems with a plan &ndash; one aided by his hockey experiences.</p><p>&ldquo;Our strategy was to be in as good a shape as we&rsquo;ve ever been,&rdquo; Battaglia said. &ldquo;We were training as if we were going  to be playing hockey. We just applied that to the show.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0009-06

BETTING ON BATES

<div class="byline">MATT LARKIN</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0010-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-012337/9814432-1-eng-US/f0010-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>CENTRAL LEAGUE LOVE-IN</b></p><p>Cary Kaplan, Duane Lewis and Gregg Rosen are the brains behind the CHL&rsquo;s newest team.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(BRAMPTON: BRYON JOHNSON/THE BRAMPTON GUARDIAN)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>T</span></b><b>HE CENTRAL LEAGUE IS PUTTING</b> a team where? That was the common reaction to the Jan. 23 announcement the CHL, a 10-team circuit spanning from Arizona to Illinois, was ing its first Canadian franchise, in Brampton, Ont. After the Ontario League&rsquo;s Battalion announced in November that they&rsquo;re moving to North Bay for 2013-14, it was only natural to scoff at the thought of a lesserknown league succeeding in a market unfit for Canadian junior.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-021712/9814425-1-eng-US/f0010-022.jpg" title="f0010-02" width="194" height="140"></div><p>But to do so is to underestimate the people behind the operation. Take the franchise&rsquo;s owner, Gregg Rosen. The Kingston, Ont., native owned the highly successful Jr. A Kingston Voyageurs for five seasons and took them to their first league title and RBC Cup berth in 2009. He sold them in 2011 to devote time to fighting &ndash; and defeating &ndash; colorectal cancer. After recovering, he searched all over for potential CHL markets, including in North Bay, but jumped at the chance to launch a team close to home. &ldquo;I like to participate in actually being there for the players, team coaches and community that the team is in,&rdquo; Rosen said.</p><p>Another voice fuelling the Brampton move: Mayor Susan Fennell, a founding member and long-time commissioner of the National Women&rsquo;s Hockey League. She insists Brampton is a sports town and believes any form of hockey in her city raises the sport&rsquo;s profile. &ldquo;I want to be really clear: this isn&rsquo;t a divorce with the Brampton Battalion,&rdquo; Fennell said. &ldquo;This is having continuity. They&rsquo;re going to a different pasture to develop new hockey markets and we&rsquo;re going to be here to keep this field of hockey dreams very much alive and current and on the minds of Bramptonians.&rdquo;</p><p>CHL commissioner Duane Lewis has a history of making detractors eat crow in places where no one thought the league could thrive. Kansas City, for example, failed in the International League and United League, but Lewis saw an opportunity for success. &ldquo;People said, &lsquo;Why are you going to be different?&rsquo;&rdquo; Lewis said. &ldquo;&lsquo;Well, just wait and see.&rsquo; Very good ownership, very good management, very good building. We put it all together and that&rsquo;s arguably our most successful franchise.&rdquo;</p><p>Lewis sees Brampton&rsquo;s setup as similar, with all the trappings of a successful CHL operation. Its venue, the Powerade Centre, seats 5,000; the CHL averaged 4,042 fans last season. The City of Brampton split the cost of a new scoreboard with Rosen. And another supposed drawback, travel, isn&rsquo;t viewed as a problem. Rosen likes the competitive advantage of having opponents make a long hike. The league doesn&rsquo;t mind either, with Brampton just 15 minutes from Pearson International Airport and with the Canadian venue creating a homecoming opportunity. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve already gotten coaches, assistant coaches, trainers, equipment managers and players calling me who are playing in other leagues going, &lsquo;How do I get to Brampton?&rsquo;&rdquo; Lewis said.</p><p>Fennell&rsquo;s phone is ringing off the hook, too. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve had people who are big Battalion fans&hellip; and they&rsquo;ve already made a list for the new owner of Battalion players currently playing in the Central League saying &lsquo;Bring these boys home,&rsquo;&rdquo; she said.</p><p>Is Brampton&rsquo;s new franchise a guaranteed hit? No. The Battalion&rsquo;s attendance figures can&rsquo;t be ignored and the CHL doesn&rsquo;t expect the city to fall in love with its new team &ndash; which will be named via contest &ndash; overnight. But those who laugh off the project have not done their homework. The people fuelling it have.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0010-01

UNLIKELY DESTINATION

<div class="byline">PETER BARACCHINI</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-031107/9814463-1-eng-US/f0010-032.jpg" title="f0010-03" width="852" height="1071"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(BRODEUR: GRAIG ABEL/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><span>I</span>n early February, <b>Martin Brodeur</b> became the first goalie to face 30,000 shots. Of all the rubber flung at him over his 20 seasons, the 40-year-old has stopped 27,463 shots for a .913 save percentage. Patrick Roy (28,349 shots; 25,803 saves; .910 SP) and Curtis Joseph (26,795; 24,279; .906) round out the top three. Nikolai Khabibulin and Roberto Luongo rank No. 2 and 3 among active leaders with nearly 22,000 shots faced each.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0010-03

30,000 & Counting…

<div class="byline">MARK WRIGHT</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-021415/9814494-1-eng-US/f0011-022.jpg" title="f0011-02" width="704" height="1029"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>GRAND OCCASION</b></p><p>The Central League&rsquo;s Steve Cruickshank was set to ref his 1,000th game in late February.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(ROBERT KEITH)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>H</span></b><b>E&rsquo;S THE MOST HATED MAN ON</b> the ice many nights, yet it&rsquo;s hard to imagine anyone who enjoys his job more than Steve Cruickshank. The veteran referee was scheduled to officiate his 1,000th minor league game Feb. 23 when the Central League&rsquo;s Missouri Mavericks took on the Wichita Thunder in Independence, Mo.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-011945/9814501-1-eng-US/f0011-012.jpg" title="f0011-01" width="194" height="138"></div><p>That&rsquo;s tops in league history. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m so thankful for my bosses that they have given me the opportunity to do this for as long as I have,&rdquo; Cruickshank said. &ldquo;My knuckles are sore from knocking on wood, I&rsquo;m so lucky.&rdquo;</p><p>His bosses consider themselves fortunate to have had an official who&rsquo;s worked for as many years while consistently being considered one of the league&rsquo;s best. According to CHL commissioner Duane Lewis, Cruickshank&rsquo;s reputation is rock solid even with the people most likely to view him as the bad guy. &ldquo;We have coaches and owners who say, &lsquo;Why can&rsquo;t you get officials to stay here that long?&rsquo;&rdquo; Lewis said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s unique in this respect. It just doesn&rsquo;t happen.&rdquo;</p><p>Cruickshank&rsquo;s journey began 15 years ago in far west Texas when Leon Stickle, former NHL linesman and head of officials for the Western Professional League, took a chance on the then-30-year-old, a selfdescribed farm boy from Paris, Ont., who has spent the past 12 years living in Little Rock, Ark. Cruickshank started out officiating WPHL games in the Texas border towns of El Paso and Laredo and a little farther east in oil-rich Odessa. And just when he was getting his bearings, it was down to Corpus Christi, on the coast, then up to San Antonio, Austin and Fort Worth and over to Louisiana &ndash; and all points in between. Travel in the WPHL and CHL, which merged in 2001, was and remains something short of first class. &ldquo;You&rsquo;re not jumping on a charter flight and eating fancy meals,&rdquo; said Jim Wiley, the CHL&rsquo;s director of hockey operations.</p><p>Instead, it&rsquo;s long drives across sleepy stretches of highway. &ldquo;He&rsquo;d be in El Paso one night and God knows where the next,&rdquo; Wiley said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a gruelling profession to be in.&rdquo;</p><p>Wiley credits Cruickshank with mentoring scores of young officials, many of whom have risen through the ranks to the American League. Some officials &ndash; including three who spent last season in the CHL &ndash; have made the jump up to the NHL. Cruickshank, however, has never taken a single AHL or NHL assignment, nor does he aspire to take his place in the bright lights of the big arenas. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve always said I like my lights a little dimmer,&rdquo; he said.</p><p>Lewis, for one, is glad Cruickshank&rsquo;s heart has remained in the minor leagues for this many games. &ldquo;As a league we feel Steve is one of a kind,&rdquo; Lewis said, &ldquo;and we&rsquo;re glad this honor is being bestowed upon him.&rdquo;</p><p>At any given game, Cruickshank is liable to hear a smattering of boos from fans and choice words from upset coaches, but he knows it&rsquo;s part of the job. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s not for the faint of heart,&rdquo; Cruickshank said. &ldquo;You have to develop some thick skin.&rdquo;</p><p>Now at the four-digit mark in games, Cruickshank isn&rsquo;t ready to hang up his skates just yet. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s truly been a blessing,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;and the league&rsquo;s been first rate.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0011-02

MINOR LEAGUE MILESTONE

<div class="byline">GEOFF KIRBYSON</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-012279/9814532-1-eng-US/f0012-012.jpg" title="f0012-01" width="742" height="484"></div><p>The NHL is moving into the digital age and getting rid of a collector&rsquo;s favorite &ndash; the game ticket.</p><p>It&rsquo;s not all happening at once, but a handful of teams, including the Winnipeg Jets, have replaced physical season tickets with a season ticket card. The size of a credit card, it enables primary ticketholders to get into games, yet also transfer tickets to clients or friends electronically.</p><p>The concept has been used by airlines and the music industry for years, according to Jim Ludlow, president and CEO of True North Sports & Entertainment, which owns the Jets. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re at the front end of the curve,&rdquo; he said.</p><p>The card will also facilitate loyalty programs by tracking the spending of ticketholders, enabling teams to create rewards for their patronage. Think of it as Air Miles for hockey fans.</p><p>The Jets aren&rsquo;t forcing technological Luddites to embrace the digital age if they&rsquo;re not ready, so they&rsquo;re prepared to print physical tickets &ndash; generic &ldquo;spitter&rdquo; stock, not the full-color keepsakes &ndash; for $60 per season package.</p><p>Other NHL franchises to go the season ticket card route are Edmonton, Columbus, Nashville, Phoenix, St. Louis, Tampa Bay and Washington. &ldquo;I expect everybody will be doing it in relatively short order,&rdquo; Ludlow said.</p><p>But not everybody is happy with the change. Many fans in Winnipeg cherished their game tickets during the inaugural season of the re-born franchise and framers did a brisk business preserving them for posterity. &ldquo;The digital ticketing platform has to start somewhere,&rdquo; Ludlow said. &ldquo;Sometimes it feels odd when you print tickets at home, but that&rsquo;s it.&rdquo;</p><p>The technology also increases the security of legitimate tickets, even if they are forwarded multiple times, and therefore should cut into the business of scalpers.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0012-01

DIGITAL TICKETS

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0012-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-021797/9814563-1-eng-US/f0012-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>Hal Gill</b> 6-foot-7 241 pounds 37 years old</p><p><b>Ryan Ellis</b> 5-foot-10 179 pounds 22 years old</p><span class="photo-credit">(GILL: JOHN RUSSELL/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES; ELLIS: FREDERICK BREEDON/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><span>N</span>ashville boasted one of the NHL&rsquo;s top five stingiest &lsquo;D&rsquo; corps thanks in big and small part to the David and Goliath tandem of Hal Gill and Ryan Ellis (who&rsquo;s generously listed at 5-foot-10). More than 60 pounds and 15 years, and nearly a foot in height, separate the pair.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0012-02

SIZE Matters

<div class="byline">DANIEL TKACZUK</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-031163/9814629-1-eng-US/f0012-032.jpg" title="f0012-03" width="820" height="696"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>D</span>RILL:</b>&nbsp;<b>Shooting</b> This drill improves a player&rsquo;s reactions around the net. Working with a partner, the shooter must quickly shoot pucks passed off the boards. There should be no stickhandling, as the emphasis is on quickness and hitting the net. This applies to game situations as a player&rsquo;s ability to adjust and control loose pucks using hands and body position will improve scoring.</p><p><b>PRO TIP:</b> For added challenge, increase the speed of pucks from the passer or add a defender to apply pressure on the shooter.</p><p><b><i>presented by:</i></b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-05490/9814622-1-eng-US/f0012-052.jpg" title="f0012-05" width="393" height="78"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-06395/9814615-1-eng-US/f0012-062.jpg" title="f0012-06" width="268" height="56"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-07324/9814608-1-eng-US/f0012-072.jpg" title="f0012-07" width="413" height="68"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-08273/9814601-1-eng-US/f0012-082.jpg" title="f0012-08" width="256" height="113"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-04699/9814594-1-eng-US/f0012-042.jpg" title="f0012-04" width="136" height="124"></div><p>Scan the rink with your Digimarc mobile app to watch the Pro Tips video<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p></div>

f0012-03

PRO TIPS

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0013-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-011987/9814660-1-eng-US/f0013-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(NEIL: ANDRE RINGUETTE/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>C</span>HRIS NEIL</b> tops the NHL&rsquo;s list of active sinners, which unexpectedly includes Florida sniper Alex Kovalev. Neil is still more than 2,000 minutes behind all-time leader Tiger Williams.</p><p><b>1. CHRIS NEIL,</b> OTT <b>1,883 PIM</b></p><p><b>2. JODY SHELLEY,</b> PHI <b>1,538</b></p><p><b>3. ZDENO CHARA,</b> BOS <b>1,485</b></p><p><b>4. ED JOVANOVSKI,</b> FLA <b>1,452</b></p><p><b>5. TODD BERTUZZI,</b> DET <b>1,438</b></p><p><b>6. ROMAN HAMRLIK,</b> WSH <b>1,400</b></p><p><b>7. ALEX KOVALEV,</b> FLA <b>1,300</b></p><p><b>8. SCOTT HARTNELL,</b> PHI <b>1,292</b></p><p><b>9. ERIC BOULTON,</b> NYI <b>1,270</b></p><p><b>10. JAMAL MAYERS,</b> CHI <b>1,193</b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0013-01

Follow The LEADER

<div class="byline">PHILIP ZIGMAN</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-2057/9814691-1-eng-US/f0013-202.jpg" title="f0013-20" width="540" height="477"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(LOGANO: JARED C. TILTON/GETTY IMAGES FOR NASCAR)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>N</span>ASCAR&rsquo;s Joey Logano</b> donated $15,000 in January to the U.S. Sled Team before a game at the inaugural USA Hockey Sled Cup. He got to know the players a few years ago when he caught a practise during a visit to a Texas rink. Noting the state of the their equipment, Logano partnered with Extreme Ice Center to make new sleds for the team, which went on to win gold at the 2010 Paralympic Games in Vancouver and the 2012 World Sledge Hockey Championship. Logano is the youngest Sprint Cup Series race winner in NAS-history.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0013-20

GEAR GIFT

<div class="byline">By RORY BOYLEN</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0014-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-012256/9814764-1-eng-US/f0014-012.jpg"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-011952/9814757-1-eng-US/f0015-012.jpg" title="f0015-01" width="582" height="697"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>D</span>EAN LOMBARDI DIDN&rsquo;T NEED THE HOCKEY News to tell him repeating as champion in today&rsquo;s NHL is virtually impossible; it&rsquo;s common knowledge. That&rsquo;s why the Los Angeles Kings GM set out on a quest over the summer to obtain &ldquo;dynastic&rdquo; knowledge from his peers. He talked to members of various title-winning clubs to gather insight into what worked &ndash; and what didn&rsquo;t &ndash; when they navigated their way through a championship hangover. We took the same tack and spoke with three GMs who'v managed to turn the tricks to find out if the Kings have what it takes to go back-toback in an age when that&rsquo;s harder than ever.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-012021/9814750-1-eng-US/f0016-012.jpg" title="f0016-01" width="1390" height="800"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>WE ARE FAMILY</b></p><p>An atmosphere of brotherhood enveloped Bill Walsh&rsquo;s and Joe Montana&rsquo;s 49ers.</p><span class="photo-credit">(MONTANA: ERNON BIEVER/GETTY IMAGES;)</span></figcaption></div><h2><b>CAMARADERIE</b></h2><p>One of the brains Lombardi picked was that of 82-year-old John McVay. He was director of football operations for the NFL&rsquo;s San Francisco 49ers through the 1980s and early &rsquo;90s and helped design one of the great dynasties, winning five Super Bowls.</p><p>Aside from playing in the same state, the two champs share other traits. Like the Kings, San Francisco was built through successful drafts (Joe Montana, Dwight Clark, Ronnie Lott) and added excellent veteran support through trades and free agency (Jack Reynolds), much like Los Angeles did. And similar to the Kings, the 49ers&rsquo; key cogs were players in their mid-to-late-20s. In addition, the Kings and 49ers had to deal with work stoppages that shortened their followup seasons and halted their momentum.</p><p>Led by McVay, coach Bill Walsh and owner Eddie Debartolo, the 49ers worked under an organizational philosophy intended to foster a culture of family. This meant doing the little things, such as sending flowers to a player&rsquo;s wife after she had given birth. After the players scattered for the off-season, the coaches kept in touch, showed they cared.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-021545/9814743-1-eng-US/f0016-022.jpg" title="f0016-02" width="658" height="744"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>BRAIN GAIN</b></p><p>In the off-season, GM Dean Lombardi talked to several architects of dynasties past.</p><span class="photo-credit">(OPENER+KINGS: HARRY HOW/GETTY IMAGES;)</span></figcaption></div><p>But the NFL strike of 1982 cut the 16-game season to nine, deleted the pre-season and undermined the dynamic the 49ers had worked so hard to create. &ldquo;When the players regrouped, we had an absence of this fraternity &ndash; this family feeling,&rdquo; McVay says. &ldquo;It wasn&rsquo;t there. One of the big things is training camp, aside from being something players don&rsquo;t like, is where you all live together in a semi-Spartan existence. Players are together on the field, for recreation and meals and they develop a brotherhood. When you come out of training camp you usually have a good cohesive group, but when you come back out of a strike you don&rsquo;t have the chance to reestablish that camaraderie.&rdquo;</p><blockquote class="pullQuote"><b>OUR CORE IS YOUNG. SO MANY OF OUR PLAYERS HAVEN&rsquo;T HIT THEIR PRIMe</b><br>&ndash; Dean Lombardi</blockquote><p>The 49ers returned to the field a shell of themselves. They missed the playoffs in 1982 with a 3-6 record and posted a 10-6 mark the following year. It wasn&rsquo;t until 1984 they returned to form with a 15-1 record en route to their second Super Bowl. &ldquo;We reestablished the communication and closeness and contact with the players,&rdquo; McVay says. &ldquo;They were young guys and there are all kinds of distractions.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-031123/9814736-1-eng-US/f0016-032.jpg" title="f0016-03" width="2287" height="1325"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>IF IT AIN&rsquo;T BROKE&hellip;</b></p><p>The Kings decided to keep their Stanley Cup roster status quo for a repeat run.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(LOMBARDI: BRUCE BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>The cohesive Kings returned to the ice this season with the same roster that won the Cup in 2012. But they struggled early with three wins in eight games and looked little like the tight-knit team from last season&rsquo;s playoffs. &ldquo;They basically went through two months of living together,&rdquo; Lombardi says. &ldquo;Even when we played at home they stayed in hotels. When I talked to John he pointed out some of the pitfalls to watch out for and I don&rsquo;t think we&rsquo;ve run into those. There are no divisions. But I can see now there&rsquo;s something to that.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-011742/9814729-1-eng-US/f0017-012.jpg" title="f0017-01" width="658" height="863"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>SHAKE AND BAKE</b></p><p>Lakers&rsquo; GM Mitch Kupchak says a champion&rsquo;s recipe includes a dash of experience.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(KUPCHAK: KEVORK DJANSEZIAN/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><h2><b>BALANCE</b></h2><p>The primary priority of any manager is to collect talent. But if it were just about bluechippers, the San Jose Sharks and Washington Capitals would have won a Stanley Cup by now. On top of the star power, a GM must find the right balance on his roster.</p><p>In 2004-05, the Los Angeles Lakers were coming off an NBA final appearance and had 27-year-old, in-his-prime Kobe Bryant as their centerpiece. Feeling a need for change in order to get to the next level, the team made major moves in the off-season, trading veterans Shaquille O&rsquo;Neal, Gary Payton and Rick Fox, and acquiring the younger Lamar  Odom and Caron Butler. The immediate result was bitter: the Lakers crumbled and missed the playoffs for the first time in more than a decade.</p><p>Experience is hard to quantify, but it is key to any championship franchise. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s the trick &ndash; balancing talent vs. experience,&rdquo; says Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak. &ldquo;If you can determine that mix you&rsquo;re in a good spot. Getting the talent is the hardest part, so if you&rsquo;re in a position where you have too much of it and need the experience, you&rsquo;re in a really good spot.&rdquo;</p><p>The Lakers players grew from the playoff-less season and consecutive years of being knocked out in the first round. Veteran Derek Fisher was added in 2007-08 and Los Angeles returned to the final where it lost to the Boston Celtics &ndash; and then won consecutive titles.</p><p>Just like the Lakers did, Kings management placed the blocks of leadership &ndash; Willie Mitchell, Jarret Stoll, Simon Gagne and Rob Scuderi &ndash; around its young roster to try to find the right symmetry that was finally created last season. Further experience was added just prior to and during last season, at the cost of depth and future assets, when the Kings acquired Stanley Cup finalists Mike Richards and Jeff Carter for Brayden Schenn, Wayne Simmonds, Jack Johnson and draft picks in separate deals.</p><p>In 2011 the Kings, headlined by Schenn, ranked No. 2 in THN&rsquo;s annual Future Watch issue, but dropped to 22 in 2012 and sank to No. 28 in 2013. The cupboard beyond the NHL is sparse with Tyler Toffoli, ranked No. 65 across the league, currently standing as their highest-rated prospect. But that&rsquo;s because much of the talent Lombardi accumulated over the year has already graduated to the Kings. &ldquo;Our core is young,&rdquo; Lombardi said. &ldquo;So many of our players haven&rsquo;t hit their prime and some are just hitting it.&rdquo;</p><p>Adjustments will always need to be made to keep an equilibrium and maintain consistency. As good as it is for the Kings to have a stable NHL roster, sticking to a holding pattern can only work for so long. &ldquo;Most of the time, even if you win, you have to make improvements,&rdquo; Kupchak says. &ldquo;If you lose you have to make improvements to get better. But even if you win, the other teams are going to look at what you have and adjust, so if you stand pat after winning, you may not be doing the right thing.&rdquo;</p><h2><b>STABILITY</b></h2><p>The world of pro sports, especially in the digital age, is full of rabid fans seeking instant gratification. But team builders have to take the long view and construct a stable franchise. There was a time when Lombardi was under fire from fans when his rebuild seemed to be meandering. The Kings missed the playoffs three years straight, then lost in Round 1 twice, but Lombardi stayed the course, held onto the players and team-building philosophy he believed in and, in the end, came out on top.</p><p>When the 49ers had their dynasty, when the Lakers ran rampant over the NBA and when the Red Wings iced Hall of Fame rosters in the mid-to-late 1990s, they were all stable from the top down. Eddie Debartolo, Jerry Buss and Mike Ilitch set the tone as owners. Bill Walsh, Phil Jackson and Scotty Bowman drew up the plays. John McVay, Mitch Kupchak and Ken Holland helmed the ship. Their successes hinged on familiarity. &ldquo;The philosophy of the organization remained constant,&rdquo; McVay said. &ldquo;We weren&rsquo;t fluctuating going right and left and up and down and so on. When Bill (Walsh) retired (assistant) George Seifert stepped in as the head coach and won a Super Bowl right off the bat.&rdquo;</p><p>Now that they have a Stanley Cup ring, Lombardi and Darryl Sutter are as safe in their jobs as GMs and coaches can be. Anze Kopitar, Richards, Carter, Justin Williams, Jarret Stoll, Drew Doughty and Jonathan Quick are signed through at least 2014-15. A few veterans, namely Gagne, Scuderi and Dustin Penner, are eligible for UFA status this summer, but the biggest threat to the Kings&rsquo; continuity is at the top.</p><blockquote class="pullQuote"><b>IF YOU STAND PAT AFTER WINNING, YOU MAY NOT BE DOING THE RIGHT THING</b><br>&ndash; Mitch Kupchak</blockquote><p>Owners Philip Anschutz and AEG are in the process of selling the club. &ldquo;The thing that causes upheaval is when you have change in your hierarchy,&rdquo; McVay says. &ldquo;If you sell the team and get a new owner, you could have all kinds of changes. You have these changes of philosophy, not only the style of offense and defense, but the philosophy of the way the players practice and so on.&rdquo;</p><p>For his part, Lombardi isn&rsquo;t overly concerned about a change up top. &ldquo;AEG being sold hasn&rsquo;t affected our ability to bring guys back,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;We were able to keep Darryl and Luc (Robitaille, team president) and the roster hasn&rsquo;t had any turnover. I don&rsquo;t think the sale of AEG will have a negative effect on us&rdquo;.</p><h2><b>SOME LUCK</b></h2><p>Despite parallels with the blossoming 49ers and Lakers dynasties, the Kings are working in a vastly different era and parity makes their challenge significantly greater. The salary cap and a concerted effort by the NHL to level the playing field have granted optimism to every franchise at the cost of uninterrupted domination by others. Hold modern Stanley Cup champions against the Montreal Canadiens of the 1970s, or New York Islanders and Edmonton Oilers of the 1980s, and you&rsquo;ll come away underwhelmed. &ldquo;Nobody is winning three or four championships in a row anymore,&rdquo; Holland says. &ldquo;If you&rsquo;re winning two in a row you&rsquo;re doing something no one else did. Dynasties are teams you talk about years after because they did something different. I don&rsquo;t know how you define a dynasty anymore.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-011900/9814722-1-eng-US/f0018-012.jpg" title="f0018-01" width="1040" height="1000"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>STABLE CENTER</b></p><p>L.A. has most of its core, including Jonathan Quick, signed through 2014-15.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(HARRY HOW/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>The dynasty, as it was once known, is dead. Traditional team-building philosophies are becoming ever harder to maintain for one title, let alone repeats. The NHL hasn&rsquo;t had a back-to-back champion in 15 years &ndash; the longest drought league history, but Lombardi isn&rsquo;t giving up.</p><p>&ldquo;There&rsquo;s tremendous growing still going on in that room,&rdquo; Lombardi says. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve seen that group learn to deal with failure on their way up and now they&rsquo;ll learn to deal with success. One thing I learned from the 49ers was that winning their third Super Bowl was easier than winning their second, which was easier than winning their first. They took lessons from what they did wrong and knew exactly what to expect the next time.&rdquo;</p><p>But a lot will have to fall into place. &ldquo;Some teams have deeper defense, some have better forwards, others have a bit better goaltending, but there&rsquo;s not much room for error,&rdquo; Holland says. &ldquo;Will someone win back-to-back? Sure, it might even be the Los Angeles Kings, but it&rsquo;s getting harder to achieve.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0014-01

FEATURES

LONG LIVE THE KINGS?

<div class="byline">BY RYAN KENNEDY</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0020-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-011653/9814802-1-eng-US/f0020-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(GERRY THOMAS/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>I</span>N THE DEAD</b>&nbsp;<b>OF SUMMER,</b>&nbsp;before all that lockout stuff ruined our fall and early winter, a group of cur rent and former NHLers gathered in Toronto to support charities involved with head injuries. The event, put on by Dominic Moore and the NHL Players&rsquo; Association, was called Smashfest and saw hockey stars battle each other at the Ping-Pong table. Many players in attendance were affiliated with the Tampa Bay Lightning, from current stars Steven Stamkos and Vincent Lecavalier to former Bolts Moore and Zenon Konopka. Others in the house were Eric Lindros, Wojtek Wolski and Joel Ward.</p><p>But as the friendly competition got down to business and the players took to the tables, another star walked into the room, flanked by a few buddies. It was Claude Giroux, future captain of the Philadelphia Flyers. There was no banner in the rafters indicating his participation in the event, no press release touting his availability. As it turns out, Giroux had just popped by to show his support for the cause. &ldquo;I already had plans for that day,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;But I realized Smashfest was on that day in Toronto, so I dropped by to see the guys.&rdquo;</p><p>Even when he&rsquo;s in a room filled with NHLers, there&rsquo;s magnetism around Giroux, who took over the captaincy in Philadelphia once the lockout ended. Maybe it&rsquo;s because he&rsquo;s so chill he didn&rsquo;t even bother to put his fronts in for the day, instead looking as Flyers-like as possible with a tooth missing from his grill as he sauntered around. &ldquo;Everyone wants to be around him,&rdquo; says sophomore center Sean Couturier. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a great friend and we&rsquo;re all happy for him.&rdquo;</p><p>In Chris Pronger, Philadelphia had the ultimate old-school general as captain &ndash; a beast of a man on the ice who rarely held his tongue and would make others accountable. But concussions felled the future Hall of Famer and his return is up in the air and very much in doubt at this point. The Flyers needed to fill the void and Giroux&rsquo;s stature on the team had grown to the point that bestowing the &lsquo;C&rsquo; on the affable 25-year-old wasn&rsquo;t exactly a shocking decision. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a great player and ever since he came to the league he has grown and matured,&rdquo; Couturier says. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a great guy around the team and real competitive. That&rsquo;s what you want in a captain.&rdquo;</p><p>A star with the Quebec League&rsquo;s Gatineau Olympiques in junior, Giroux first came onto the NHL scene in the most awkward of ways. It was draft day 2006 and erstwhile Flyers GM Bobby Clarke had stepped to the podium. Amid a flash of excitement and confusion, Clarke announced, &ldquo;The Philadelphia Flyers are proud to select&hellip;&rdquo; and then promptly forgot Giroux&rsquo;s name.</p><p>In terms of great long-term storylines, this was right in Giroux&rsquo;s wheelhouse. Born and raised in northern Ontario, he was an undersized winger who went undrafted in the Ontario League, instead catching on in the QMJHL. Despite tallying 103 points in 69 games (plus another 20 in 17 playoff games) for the Olympiques, his talents were still available when the Flyers&rsquo; chance came with the 22nd pick overall (after names such as Mark Mitera, Riku Helenius and David Fischer). He spent most of the next two seasons in Gatineau, eclipsing 100 points both times before settling in with the Flyers, where his production took off after a few warmup seasons. His 93 points in 2011-12 signalled his arrival as a legitimate NHL star and he was even rewarded for his efforts by winning a fan vote to become the cover image on EA Sports&rsquo; tremendously popular <i>NHL 13</i> video game. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not a big video game guy, but it&rsquo;s an honor,&rdquo; Giroux says. &ldquo;I played video games when I was a kid and being able to be on there, I take a lot of pride in that.&rdquo;</p><p>During the lockout, he and teammate Danny Briere (who housed Giroux when he first came to Philadelphia) decamped for Germany, where they played for Berlin. Needless to say, the Flyers duo put a hurt on opposing goaltenders, though Giroux&rsquo;s stay was cut short by a neck injury. Still, he was happy to see another part of the world, given the circumstances. &ldquo;Just being able to experience a new culture was a lot of fun,&rdquo; Giroux says. &ldquo;Their beers are pretty good. I was able to enjoy a couple of those.&rdquo;</p><p>Giroux also got to take in a couple big sporting events during his month and a half in Europe. His agency, CAA Sports (which also represents Briere as well as Sidney Crosby and Jonathan Toews), scored him tickets to the NFL&rsquo;s showcase game in London, where the New England Patriots crushed the St. Louis Rams, plus an English Premier League soccer game, which turned out to be a less rowdy crowd than anticipated. &ldquo;I thought they were going to be loud,&rdquo; Giroux says. &ldquo;But they were all sitting down.&rdquo;</p><p>And he&rsquo;s an expert on raucous fans, having played regularly in front of Philly&rsquo;s fanatics. But that&rsquo;s the atmosphere Giroux loves. &ldquo;The first practice this year at Wells Fargo was sold out,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Just to see how they love the game, it makes it more fun to play there.&rdquo;</p><p>In his down time, Giroux likes to walk around downtown Philadelphia and hang out with his friends. He says he gets recognized sometimes, depending on what part of town he&rsquo;s in, but it also likely helps that his on-ice genius is contained in a 5-foot-11, 172-pound frame. That bit of anonymity will likely dry up now that he is officially the face of the team, but his coach isn&rsquo;t worried about any drop in Giroux&rsquo;s production. &ldquo;I would expect him to continue where he left off at the end of last year,&rdquo; says Peter Laviolette. &ldquo;He was a guy in the room that everybody, his teammates and coaches, looked to as the guy who was taking charge. He&rsquo;s become an elite player in this league and he has followed some of the leaders in our organization and had the opportunity to sit behind them for a few years. Now he gets to assume that responsibility.&rdquo;</p><blockquote class="pullQuote">HE IS THE GUY IN THE ROOM THAT TEAMMATES AND COACHES LOOK TO AS THE GUY TAKING CHARGE<br>&ndash; Peter Laviolette</blockquote><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-011327/9814795-1-eng-US/f0021-012.jpg" title="f0021-01" width="1032" height="1046"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>COVER BOY</b></p><p>Claude Giroux&rsquo;s shooting stardom made him EA Sports&rsquo; main man for <i>NHL 13</i>.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(HARRY HOW/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>While he may be fun and unassuming off the ice, there&rsquo;s no doubt Giroux also possesses the fire of a competitor. Perhaps it comes with being an underdog for so long. Perhaps it&rsquo;s because of the cauldron of opportunity he has been thrust into. The Flyers have lost six Stanley Cup finals since winning the ultimate trophy twice in a row back in 1974 and &rsquo;75, the latest setback coming on Patrick Kane&rsquo;s &ldquo;hidden&rdquo; goal when Chicago bested them in 2010. Before Giroux got the &lsquo;C&rsquo; from his GM, he had the chance to make sure their goals were aligned. &ldquo;I had a good meeting with Paul Holmgren and we pretty much had the same game plan and I know how he thinks the game,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;It was an honor and I take this with a lot of pride.&rdquo;</p><p>Giroux considers himself a lead-by-example type of player, not a firebreather in the dressing room. With his top-end skills, he already showed what he could do offensively for the Flyers early on in the lockout-shortened season, even as the team struggled out of the gate. But he&rsquo;s not going to overthink things and he&rsquo;s not going to let distractions get in the way. If there&rsquo;s anything to glean from Claude Giroux, it&rsquo;s that hockey is the first priority. &ldquo;I like to go on the ice and just play,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Even if I didn&rsquo;t have the &lsquo;C&rsquo;, I would play the same way.&rdquo;</p><p>And if he plays to his fullest capacities and gets some help from his loyal teammates, it will be his Cup to raise first &ndash; and a long time coming for Philly fans.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0020-01

UP TO THE TEST

f0022-01

<div class="byline">By MIKE ASHMORE</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0028-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-011466/9814934-1-eng-US/f0028-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>DRY, ICE</b></p><p>Biff McNally, who&rsquo;s seen two duties in Afghanistan, is now seeing spot duty in the SPHL.</p></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>W</span></b><b>HEN BIFF MCNALLY SKATES ONTO THE</b>ice, there&rsquo;s no &lsquo;C&rsquo; to be found on his Columbus Cottonmouths sweater. But just a few miles away from the Columbus Civic Center, he&rsquo;s better known as Captain McNally.</p><p>McNally is an infantry officer in the United States Army and is one of a handful of players balancing a career in the military with trying to pursue one in professional hockey at the same time.</p><p>An on-ice career, however, was the last thing on his mind after he was injured in a suicide bomber&rsquo;s attack during his first deployment to Afghanistan. &ldquo;I spent a little less than a month recovering in a Wounded Warrior tent,&rdquo; McNally says. &ldquo;I was airlifted off the battlefield and went back to Kandahar Air Field for three weeks. I was hit in the head with some shrapnel from the IED. I recovered in the tent and was fortunate enough to convince the doctors to be allowed to go back to the platoon for the remainder of the deployment.&rdquo;</p><p>The Ridgewood, N.J., native now finds himself on the Southern Pro League&rsquo;s Cottonmouths.  McNally, who recently graduated from a Maneuver Captains Career Course at Fort Benning, Ga., first appeared on the Cottonmouths&rsquo; radar when Ken Porter, who filled in for Columbus under similar circumstances last season, connected him with players who remained in town for summer workouts. When several Cottonmouths went down with injuries, an opportunity arose. &ldquo;I certainly never thought I&rsquo;d be a 28-year-old rookie,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;(The military is) an entirely different field and I tried to put as much passion into that as I did being a hockey player growing up. To have the opportunity to come back and play a little bit of professional hockey, it&rsquo;s really a dream come true. It&rsquo;s a privilege.&rdquo;</p><p>The possibility of a crossover began when McNally was growing up. He frequently attended the West Point hockey camp and Army hockey games as a kid and, as he contemplated a career, the culture and lifestyle similarities between the military and hockey appealed to him. One of the deadliest days in American history led him to decide to actively defend his homeland. McNally was a junior at The Hotchkiss School in Connecticut during the September 11 attacks. That galvanized his decision to commit to the United States Military Academy. &ldquo;I wanted to be in the military and it was a bonus I was able to go to a school that would allow me to play hockey,&rdquo; McNally says. &ldquo;For a lot of guys, it&rsquo;s the opposite. They come into the military by way of hockey and find that they like it or they&rsquo;re good at it. I knew I wanted to be in the Army and I knew West Point was a phenomenal school with a great hockey program, so it was a natural fit for me.&rdquo;</p><blockquote class="pullQuote"><b>THE LESSONS I LEARNED HERE EACH DAY&hellip;I CAN TAKE WITH ME WHEN I GO TO THE ARMY</b><br>&ndash; Marcel Alvarez</blockquote><p>Injuries made McNally&rsquo;s stay with the Black Knights brief and unremarkable: he ended his collegiate career pointless in 12 games. Off the ice, he branched into the Infantry once he graduated and followed that with a stay at Ranger school. From there, he had his first deployment in southern Afghanistan for a year.</p><p>When McNally, who was given a Purple Heart, returnedstateside, hewasstationed at Fort Lewis, Wash., and started skating again in adult league tournaments. McNally never thought he&rsquo;d return to playing competitively, but his first game with Columbus served notice he still had considerable skill. He scored on his second shift and amassed six points in his first 11 games. None of that would be possible without him taking vacation days from the military and making the most of a rest cycle. That said, his commitment to his country will always take precedence. &ldquo;The military has been great about allowing me to play and being supportive of me playing,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;I just tried to make sure I was meeting all my commitments to this school and the military and make as many of the team events and the practices&hellip; to make sure I was being a good teammate to the guys on the Cottonmouths.&rdquo;</p><p>You&rsquo;d expect teams to have concerns when it comes to a player with a full-time military commitment. The ECHL&rsquo;s Trenton Titans were well aware prior to this season Marcel Alvarez had to resume his duties as a U.S. Army second lieutenant in the middle of January. That didn&rsquo;t stop the team from bringing him in as a defenseman before his departure. &ldquo;He has his commitments to the military, but he comes in and he fits right in,&rdquo; says coach Vince Williams. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s very well respected in our dressing room and he&rsquo;s a guy you really rally around. He makes other people better in every way. I know that there might be a timeline, but we&rsquo;ll enjoy the time we have with him because he&rsquo;s been great for us.&rdquo;</p><p>Now matter what Alvarez, don&rsquo;t make the mistake of calling him a hero. Those who&rsquo;ve had the privilege of serving in the military and playing pro sports know the difference between the guy who scores the game-winning goal and a soldier who sacrifices for his country. Alvarez is quick to point to a friend of his, major Tom Kennedy, who was killed in combat last summer. &ldquo;To me, he&rsquo;s a hero,&rdquo; Alvarez says. &ldquo;The term gets loosely thrown around, but when you compare the two, you can really tell who is a hero and what&rsquo;s glamorized.&rdquo;</p><p>The 25-year-old Alvarez joined the Titans last season on an amateur tryout by using his spring break vacation days and used more vacation days to attend training camp this season. Williams wanted to keep him on as a depth defenseman, but the timing wasn&rsquo;t right. He was let go to focus on his studies at West Point. When Alvarez was able to join the team in December, he followed protocol to the letter. He had to get the approval of his commanders prior to signing a deal and is only permitted to pursue off-duty employment when on vacation or pass.</p><p>Alvarez feels like there&rsquo;s a future for him in pro hockey. He just won&rsquo;t be able to secure that place right now. Each American serviceman or servicewoman makes a fiveyear commitment before choosing whether to leave or continue to pursue a military career. The Cleveland native still owes four and a half years of military service.</p><p>Alvarez is well aware that were he to be deployed &ndash; the brigade he&rsquo;s set to join recently returned from Afghanistan &ndash; the dangers are very real. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s in the back of your mind, but honestly you don&rsquo;t think about it,&rdquo; Alvarez says. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s the same concept as in hockey, where you know you could get seriously hurt. You know you could lose all your teeth or break your neck or something serious could happen, but you don&rsquo;t think about it. You just go and play.&rdquo;</p><p>Balancing both a hockey career and duties in the military is difficult, but Alvarez says it&rsquo;s worthwhile. &ldquo;There are lessons I learned each day I&rsquo;ve been here I can apply to not just hockey and sports, but leadership lessons and life lessons I can take with me when I can go to the Army,&rdquo; he said.</p><p>For Zach McKelvie, a defenseman with the American League&rsquo;s Abbotsford Heat, lessons learned during a two-year stint on active duty as an Army infantry officer have proven valuable on the ice.</p><p>Although he wasn&rsquo;t deployed, McKelvie&rsquo;s time in the military kept hockey in perspective. &ldquo;Hockey is just a game,&rdquo; McKelvie says. &ldquo;Some of my classmates and friends have been severely injured and some of my classmates haven&rsquo;t come back from Iraq or Afghanistan. That&rsquo;s real life business. When you have a bad day at the rink, it&rsquo;s frustrating, but you realize we&rsquo;re playing a game and we&rsquo;re extremely fortunate to do that. And the reason that we&rsquo;re able to is the men and women that serve in our Armed Forces.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-011291/9814927-1-eng-US/f0029-012.jpg" title="f0029-01" width="973" height="1467"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>RETURN OF THE TITAN</b></p><p>Marcel Alvarez played with ECHL Trenton before going back to the U.S. Army full time.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(SHELLEY SZWAST+LOU BLINDMAN/TRENTON TITANS)</span></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-011474/9814920-1-eng-US/f0030-012.jpg" title="f0030-01" width="895" height="1300"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>MILITARY AND MORE</b></p><p>AHLer Zach McKelvie met his wife Lauren at the United States Military Academy.</p></figcaption></div><p>Like Alvarez, McKelvie was a second lieutenant. After his initial attempt to sign a free agent contract with the Boston Bruins was nixed by the Army, he put his hockey career on hold for two years until he gained permission to play.</p><p>McKelvie grew up dreaming of a career in hockey, but he was also interested in the military. The events of 9/11 provided extra motivation to join. He fell in love with the Army &ndash; and Lauren, the woman who later became his wife &ndash; while at West Point.</p><p>The bright lights of the NHL are now prominent in his mind, but the distance between himself and many of his friends and loved ones is difficult to handle. &ldquo;The majority of my classmates and majority of people I struggled through West Point with have served in Iraq and Afghanistan,&rdquo; McKelvie says. &ldquo;So it&rsquo;s tough to see them go over there and not be a part of it and see my wife go over there and not be a part of that.&rdquo;</p><p>Derrick Burnett thought his hockey days were over last year, but the addition of an Orlando franchise to the ECHL changed those plans. Initially, the 25-year-old forward, a second lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force, tried to latch on with the Florida Everblades, but the threeand-a-half-hour drive and inability to practice with the team made it unrealistic.</p><p>This season, Burnett accepted a training camp invitation from the Solar Bears, made the team and has been with Orlando off and on ever since, all while juggling duties as a range-control officer instructor at the Cape Canaveral base. &ldquo;I like my job, but there are times I wish I could be in two places at once,&rdquo; says Burnett, who is limited in what road trips he can attend. &ldquo;I saved up quite a bit of vacation days once I found I was going to make the team. I haven&rsquo;t really taken much time to go home. I&rsquo;m saving up as much vacation time as I can so hopefully the second half of the season and maybe a little playoff run, I can use up my days then.&rdquo;</p><p>Hockey admittedly takes a backseat to his job with the Air Force, but that isn&rsquo;t to say Burnett and athletes in similar situations aren&rsquo;t completely committed to the game when they&rsquo;re at the rink. Balancing both can be difficult, alas. Now nearly three years into a five-year commitment, Burnett has given thought to focusing on one task down the road. &ldquo;If some opportunity was promising with hockey and I had to decide whether to extend my (military) commitment or something like that, that would be a pretty big decision I&rsquo;d have to make,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;Right now I&rsquo;m locked into my job. If I can continue to juggle both and play hockey to stay fresh, that&rsquo;s what I&rsquo;m going to do.&rdquo;</p><blockquote class="pullQuote"><b>WHEN YOU HAVE A BAD DAY AT THE RINK, IT&rsquo;S FRUSTRATING, BUT WE&rsquo;RE JUST PLAYING A GAME</b><br>&ndash; Zack McKelvie</blockquote><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-021016/9814913-1-eng-US/f0030-022.jpg" title="f0030-02" width="1764" height="1680"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>BALANCING ACT</b></p><p>Derrick Burnett plays in ECHL Orlando while serving in the U.S. Air Force.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(BURNETT: G. BASSING/ORLANDO SOLAR BEARS)</span></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0028-01

REAL WARRIORS

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0032-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-02981/9814965-1-eng-US/f0032-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>WIN, PLACE OR SHOW?</b></p><p>Sidney Crosby is still the NHL&rsquo;s best bet, but Jonathan Toews has replaced Alex Ovechkin as No. 2</p><span class="photo-credit">(TOEWS: ANDY DEVLIN/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES; CROSBY: LANCE THOMSON/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES; OVECHKIN: CLAUS ANDERSEN/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-011452/9814972-1-eng-US/f0032-012.jpg" title="f0032-01" width="194" height="229"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>F</span></b><b>ROM THE MOMENT BOTH ENTERED THE</b> NHL and began blossoming eight years ago, Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin have been engaged in the league&rsquo;s most marketed rivalry. But after a couple seasons when their careers were on similar skyrocketing trajectories, Crosby and Ovechkin have gone in different directions.</p><p>The former has overcome concussion challenges to retain his current consensus status as the planet&rsquo;s best player and member of a Stanley Cup championship team. The latter, on the other hand, has had the bloom come off his rose. Despite a rotating cast of players and coaches around him in Washington, Ovechkin no longer is electrifying on the ice and gregarious off of it. And it isn&rsquo;t fair anymore to compare him with the far more accomplished Crosby. In fact, the NHL&rsquo;s marquee rivalry isn&rsquo;t the Penguins captain vs. his Capitals counterpart. It&rsquo;s Crosby vs. &lsquo;Captain Serious,&rsquo; Jonathan Toews. That has become the barometer for all-around excellence at hockey&rsquo;s highest level.</p><p>Don&rsquo;t take this to mean I&rsquo;m saying Crosby vs. Toews is a white-hot, boilover rivalry. The two have played each other in only two regular season NHL games and even when the league moves able to adapt to the opposition adapting to him. Crosby has. And so has Toews.</p><blockquote class="pullQuote">CROSBY VS. TOEWS HAS BECOME THE BAROMETER FOR ALL-AROUND EXCELLENCE AT HOCKEY&rsquo;S HIGHEST LEVEL</blockquote><p>The Hawks&rsquo; most important component doesn&rsquo;t have the same capacity to produce offense as Crosby, but he is arguably the sport&rsquo;s most complete player. Toews is one of the NHL&rsquo;s top faceoff men, winning 61.2 percent of draws, and is a career plus-92 over 370 games. Crosby had a &ldquo;down&rdquo; year at the dot in 2011-12, winning 50.1 percent, but in 2010-11 he was at 55.6 and was 55.9 the season prior. This season he&rsquo;s 54 percent. Over 443 career games, Crosby is a plus-86, helped by his 662 points (compared to Toews&rsquo; 331). So there are elements of Toews&rsquo; game that are better than Crosby&rsquo;s and at least make a solid case for Toews to challenge No. 87&rsquo;s supremacy.</p><p>As well, Toews is becoming a better point producer. Last season, he was on nearly a point-per-game pace (57 points in 59 games) and would have challenged his career best 44-assist, 76-point performance in 2010-11 had he not missed the final 22 games to post-concussion symptoms. And at 24, Toews has the time to grow his game even more.</p><p>But the main reasons for the comparison are their team achievements.</p><p>Both players have won gold at the world juniors and the Olympics and each has a Stanley Cup on his resume. Crosby has a Hart and Art Ross Trophy to his credit, but that&rsquo;s part of the reason he is the consensus No. 1. But Toews isn&rsquo;t lacking individual recognition. He has a Conn Smythe Trophy, was named best forward at the 2010 Olympics and almost assuredly will take home a Selke Trophy as the NHL&rsquo;s top defensive for to realigned divisions and a more balanced schedule, the most they&rsquo;ll ever see each other is twice per season before the playoffs begin.</p><p>No, what I&rsquo;m referring to is the crown as the world&rsquo;s best hockey player. That&rsquo;s what some people thought Ovechkin would evolve into, but he has proven un-before his career is through.</p><p>Everything points to Crosby vs. Toews as the two rightful rivals for the title of Earth&rsquo;s Best Hockey Player.</p><p>Nothing personal, &lsquo;Ovie.&rsquo; But this is a results-oriented business. And Crosby and Toews are the young superstars who have delivered the goods.</p><p><b>want more proteau?</b> read his exclusive web column thursdays at <b><a href="http://THEHOCKEYNEWS.COM/PROTEAU">thehockeynews.com/proteau</a></b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0032-02

CAPTAIN SERIOUS EXPECTATIONS

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0033-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-011290/9815003-1-eng-US/f0033-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>FINE ART</b></p><p>Art Coulter, a Hall of Fame blueliner, led the Coast Guard Cutters after getting his U.S. citizenship.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(HHOF IMAGESW)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-02889/9815010-1-eng-US/f0033-022.jpg" title="f0033-02" width="193" height="228"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>W</span>HAT COULD BE MORE EXTRAORDINARY THAN THE UNITED</b> States Coast Guard producing two of the grandest teams in American hockey history? It all began during World War II at a naval yard in Curtis Bay, Baltimore. Formed in 1942, the team of sailors, known on the ice as the Coast Guard Cutters, proved more boisterous than the Broad Street Bullies and about as diverse as any Hollywood screenwriter could contrive.</p><p>Hall of Famer Frankie &lsquo;Mister Zero&rsquo; Brimsek was one of three superb puck-stoppers on the Cutters along with &lsquo;Muzz&rsquo; Murray and &lsquo;Hub&rsquo; Nelson. They were protected on the back end by a terrifying tandem of Chicago Black Hawks bruisers: Manny Cotlow, a Jewish defenseman whose hard-punching histrionics drew headlines wherever he skated, and Johnny &lsquo;Maroosh&rsquo; Mariucci. &ldquo;Mariucci was so scary,&rdquo; says Cutters sharpshooter Joe Kucler, &ldquo;I remember an opposition guy running away from Johnny into the penalty box so Maroosh couldn&rsquo;t get a hold of him.&rdquo;</p><p>On top of their toughness, music was a big part of the coast guardsmen. They brought their 30-piece marching band to every road game and when the sailors scored, their musicians swung into a chorus of <i>Semper Paratus</i> (Always Ready), the coast guard&rsquo;s marching song. <i>(See the Cutters&rsquo; sweater in this week&rsquo;s Jersey Hound on pg. 49.)</i></p><p>One night after a violent game with the New York Rangers farm team, the Rovers, at Madison Square Garden, the Cutters, led by Bob &lsquo;Killer&rsquo; Dill, went to a Broadway nightclub where singing star Ella Fitzgerald was headlining the show. After a couple of drinks, the normally taciturn Dill got on stage and actually belted out a couple of tunes with &lsquo;The Queen of Jazz.&rsquo; &ldquo;The two brought down the house,&rdquo; says Bob Dill, Jr. &ldquo;The owner was so thrilled that he picked up all the Cutters&rsquo; tabs and sent a free case of booze with them to take on the train back to Baltimore.&rdquo;</p><p>Their leader was Winnipeg native and former Rangers captain Art Coulter, a Hall of Fame defenseman who had always wanted to obtain American citizenship. He seized the opportunity, enlisting in the Coast Guard after Pearl Harbor, and became a U.S. citizen. Other NHLers-turned skating sailors included Alex Motter of the Red Wings, Bud Cook, brother of Hall of Famers Bill and Bun Cook, along with Dill and Ossie Asmundson of the Rangers.</p><p>The Cutters annexed the U.S. National Senior Open championship in 1943 and 1944, dominating the Eastern League in the two years of their existence. For kicks, they&rsquo;d regularly beat up on strong Canadian service teams liberally sprinkled with major leaguers. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s hard to realize how good we were until you hear about our players, the teams we beat and our trophies,&rdquo; Mariucci says. &ldquo;We beat (RCAF) teams with NHL Hall of Famers like Milt Schmidt, Woody Dumart and Bobby Bauer on them.&rdquo;</p><p>So, how did this outfit ever germinate in a Baltimore Coast Guard yard? As luck would have it, the Curtis Bay Personnel Officer in 1942 was Lieutenant Commander C. R. MacLean, a former player from Sault. Ste. Marie, Mich. Baltimore&rsquo;s Eastern League team had folded and MacLean realized there was an opening for another club. He encouraged all hockey players to join the coast guard and come down to Baltimore. Former NHL referee Mel Harwood also enlisted and was made coach of the team.</p><p>Soon MacLean had so many good stickhandlers that he divided his sailors into two teams, the Clippers and the Cutters. They competed against each other at Carlin&rsquo;s Ice Arena in Baltimore when they weren&rsquo;t involved in Eastern League action. They once played a four-game series that Cotlow described as &ldquo;the most physical games of my life.&rdquo; Writing in the Baltimore <i>News-Post,</i> reporter George Taylor observed: &ldquo;The rubber tilt was more exciting than the Stanley Cup playoffs.&rdquo;</p><p>That prompted Private First Class Al Blackman of Camp Livingston, La., to write a letter to Detroit Red Wings boss Jack Adams. &ldquo;Curtis Bay has what the experts feel is the best hockey team in the country. Let them play the (defending Stanley Cup champion) Red Wings for The Cup.&rdquo;</p><p>The highly touted exhibition game was played Jan. 6, 1944 before a capacity crowd in Baltimore. The Cutters, who had no time to practise because of their daytime duties as sailors, hung tough until well into the third period when they trailed 4-3. But fatigue enervated them and the Cutters ultimately were shellacked 8-3. &ldquo;They didn&rsquo;t intimidate us,&rdquo; Cotlow says, &ldquo;but they were a little smarter.&rdquo;</p><p>Eventually military duty called and the Cutters&rsquo; end was in sight one Sunday afternoon in New York. An announcement blared over the Garden public address system during a Rovers game. Kucler, the team&rsquo;s leading scorer, was ordered to report for action. &ldquo;As soon as Joe left,&rdquo; says teammate Ed Olson, &ldquo;they began getting rid of the other guys and we knew the honeymoon was over.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0033-01

MAKING WAVES ON THE ICE

<div class="byline">BY KEN CAMPBELL</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-021031/9815048-1-eng-US/f0034-022.jpg" title="f0034-02" width="345" height="263"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-011473/9815041-1-eng-US/f0034-012.jpg" title="f0034-01" width="1391" height="1273"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>BEHIND THE RASK</b></p><p>Tuukka Rask is popular with his teammates, giving them added incentive to have his back.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(ABELIMAGES/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>W</span></b><b>HEN THE BOSTON BRUINS TRADED</b> Tim Thomas to the New York Islanders in early February, it marked the official end of their relationship with the controversial goalie. It was an end the Bruins welcomed, and a divorce that was made much easier to take because they had Tuukka Rask.</p><p>It&rsquo;s strange to say the Bruins have found their replacement for Thomas, considering Rask has been right there in plain sight. He&rsquo;s been a part of the Bruins organization for five years, which has something to do with the fact the 25-year-old sounds more like he&rsquo;s from Sudbury than Savonlinna. Rask has been part of the program for so long and has transitioned at the most important position seamlessly. &ldquo;It doesn&rsquo;t feel weird having him in net,&rdquo; said defenseman Andrew Ference. &ldquo;It hasn&rsquo;t been a difference at all. It&rsquo;s nice to have that confidence.&rdquo;</p><p>Confidence is born from the fact the Bruins know exactly what they&rsquo;re getting in Rask, a classic butterfly goalie who gets post-to-post as quickly as any in the league and one who can pop up into position in a flash. Of course, that&rsquo;s what they saw in Rask three years ago when he played 45 games, somehow finishing fourth in Calder voting despite posting a 1.97 goals-against average and a .931 save percentage. Overall, his career save percentage of .926 is the best in the league since he broke into the NHL in 2007-08.</p><p>But it&rsquo;s one thing to come in and impress as a rookie backup and another to deliver under the pressure of being the undisputed No. 1. Not that Rask is immune to pressure. He just doesn&rsquo;t let it consume him. His outbursts are well documented, but that comes more from his competitive demeanor than a temperament problem. To be sure, the Bruins feel comfortable playing in front of him.</p><p>Rask&rsquo;s play early in the season assuaged any concerns the Bruins had over losing Thomas. Prior to this season, the Bruins signed Rask to a bridge contract for one year at $3.5 million, but it&rsquo;s likely they&rsquo;ll extend that into a long-term deal before the season ends. Either that or the Bruins will take Rask to arbitration, meaning he&rsquo;ll undoubtedly have a contract beyond this season. Rask isn&rsquo;t about to alter his game just because he&rsquo;s starting more of them than before. &ldquo;No, it doesn&rsquo;t change my mindset at all,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It really hasn&rsquo;t changed much in the past three years. It helps knowing the system and being part of the group for such a long time.&rdquo;</p><p>Chicago-based agent Bill Zito represents both Rask and Thomas and said the two have a lot more common character traits than people might think. Rask isn&rsquo;t about to share his political thoughts and that undoubtedly separates them, but he and Thomas have that rare ability to be both laid-back and intense. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re good friends and they&rsquo;re genuinely good people,&rdquo; Zito said. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re the kinds of guys who will ask how your kids are and they really mean it.&rdquo;</p><p>Because of Rask&rsquo;s familiarity with the Bruins system, there is an automatic comfort level between him and his defensemen. Rask already knows the tendencies of the players in front of him and they know that when they look back to their net before the opening faceoff, their goaltender is going to give them a good chance to win.</p><p>&ldquo;The one thing I can tell you honestly is the players love playing in front of him,&rdquo; said coach Claude Julien. &ldquo;They like Tuukka. As long as you like your goaltender, you&rsquo;re going to play hard in front of him. That&rsquo;s never been an issue.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0034-02

IT’S TUUKKA’S TIME TO SHINE

<div class="byline">MATT LARKIN</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-011364/9815156-1-eng-US/f0035-012.jpg" title="f0035-01" width="960" height="168"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-02971/9815149-1-eng-US/f0035-022.jpg" title="f0035-02" width="599" height="582"><figcaption class="caption-body">BRAD BOYES</figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>S</span>LOWLY BUT SURELY, BRAD BOYES IS</b>&nbsp;removing his face from milk cartons everywhere. He&rsquo;s been missing for a while. From 2007 to 2009, he posted 43- and 33-goal seasons as a member of the St. Louis Blues. Then that Boyes vanished. Some other guy showed up and tallied just 39 goals over three seasons with the Blues and Buffalo Sabres.</p><p>This off-season, the New York Islanders sent out a search party and tried to coax the &ldquo;real&rdquo; Boyes out of hiding with a one-year, $1-million deal. It looks like they&rsquo;ve done it. Boyes, 30, clicked early on a line with Michael Grabner and Frans Nielsen, amassing six points in eight games, hinting he could return to form. &ldquo;He has the skill set and scoring instincts to do it,&rdquo; Grabner said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s patient with the puck, good in the corners and has good instincts in front of the net and offensively.&rdquo;</p><p>As far as Boyes is concerned, he never lost the ability. It was just about finding the right situation. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m trying prove to other people and myself that I can do it again,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Shooting the puck more is something I&rsquo;ve got to get back to build a little bit of confidence. It&rsquo;s been good. Getting an opportunity here has been one of the biggest reasons for coming.&rdquo;</p><p>The lockout gave Boyes a chance to explore New York hot spots like Fifth Avenue  with his wife &ndash; after finding a sitter for their baby girl. They love their new surroundings and feel at home there, as Boyes does with his teammates. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s just a funny guy in the dressing room, down to earth,&rdquo; Grabner said. &ldquo;He fits in really well.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-03805/9815142-1-eng-US/f0035-032.jpg" title="f0035-03" width="686" height="543"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-04665/9815135-1-eng-US/f0035-042.jpg" title="f0035-04" width="305" height="459"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(BOYES/MCDONALD: GRAIG ABEL/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>It seems <b>David Clarkson&rsquo;s</b> 30-goal year in 2011-12 was no fluke, as he had seven in his first nine games. Clarkson flourished under departed assistant coach Adam Oates and one of the keys is simple: Clarkson is shooting more. He&rsquo;s putting more than four pucks on net each game, nearly twice as many as early in his career.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-05567/9815128-1-eng-US/f0035-052.jpg" title="f0035-05" width="753" height="596"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-06511/9815121-1-eng-US/f0035-062.jpg" title="f0035-06" width="328" height="505"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(CLARKSON: FRANCOIS LACASSE/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>Calling out to players must be difficult for coach Jack Capuano. Captain Mark Streit has been joined on the blueline by Brian Strait, while fellow rearguard Andrew MacDonald has his own homonym teammate now in <b>Colin McDonald</b>, who came over in the summer as a free agent. At least McDonald &ndash; Colin, that is &ndash; plays forward.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-07437/9815114-1-eng-US/f0035-072.jpg" title="f0035-07" width="752" height="596"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-08376/9815107-1-eng-US/f0035-082.jpg" title="f0035-08" width="327" height="505"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(MILLER: ANDY MARLIN/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>The Rangers know what they have with Rick Nash, Brad Richards and Marian Gaborik, but the rest of the forward corps has been in flux. Chris Kreider got his first regular season NHL goal, but struggled defensively and has been a healthy scratch. <b>J.T. Miller</b>, who won a WJC gold this year, got his first taste of the NHL and impressed.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-09325/9815100-1-eng-US/f0035-092.jpg" title="f0035-09" width="752" height="596"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-10282/9815093-1-eng-US/f0035-102.jpg" title="f0035-10" width="328" height="505"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(CLARKSON: FRANCOIS LACASSE/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>Philly was struggling to score with 23 goals in 10 games, but <b>Tom Sestito</b> was doing more than his share. The 6-foot-5, 228-pounder had two goals in a win over Tampa, equalling his career total in 31 games over five seasons. Ilya Bryzgalov joked the fighter should change his name to &lsquo;Sestitov&rsquo; to live up to his new calling.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-11240/9815086-1-eng-US/f0035-112.jpg" title="f0035-11" width="752" height="597"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-12210/9815079-1-eng-US/f0035-122.jpg" title="f0035-12" width="328" height="506"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(DESPRES: ANDRE RINGUETTE/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>Pittsburgh has always taken a slow road with <b>Simon Despres</b>, now entering his second season in the pros after an excellent career in the Quebec League. The big puck carrier is just one of several top-end defense prospects in the organization, which would surely need to part with one if they were to chase Jarome Iginla in trade talks.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0035-01

THE MAN AMONG BOYES

<div class="byline">&#x2013; RORY BOYLEN</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0037-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-011226/9815386-1-eng-US/f0037-012.jpg"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-02865/9815379-1-eng-US/f0037-022.jpg" title="f0037-02" width="74" height="84"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-03697/9815372-1-eng-US/f0037-032.jpg" title="f0037-03" width="660" height="642"><figcaption class="caption-body">MIKE RIBEIRO <span class="photo-credit">(ANDY MARLIN/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><span>I</span><b>N EARLY FEBRUARY, THE ONCE-FLASHY</b>&nbsp;Washington Capitals were tied for 22nd in goals per game &ndash; shocking for a team with so much firepower.</p><p>Without a training camp to test drive the style and tactics of new coach Adam Oates, the Capitals were behind the eight-ball when the shortened season finally started in January and they were still trying to find a groove through the first quarter, especially stars Nicklas Backstrom and Alex Ovechkin, who had just three goals between them through 10 games. But for all the struggles the team was trying to fight through, one line had found early-season chemistry.</p><p>New center Mike Ribeiro teamed with checkers Jason Chimera and Joel Ward to form the Capitals&rsquo; best offensive line. In seven January games Ribeiro had eight points, Ward six and Chimera five. &ldquo;Those guys do the right things,&rdquo; Ribeiro said. &ldquo;You don&rsquo;t have to think. It&rsquo;s automatic. The main thing for us as a line is those guys are good on a forecheck, they create the turnovers and then I read off that and we create chances. It&rsquo;s a matter of putting pucks deep and forcing the teams to turn the puck over and creating chances out of that.&rdquo;</p><p>Washington acquired Ribeiro in the off-season from the Dallas Stars for Cody Eakin and a 2012 second-rounder. Despite being one of the new faces in the room, Ribeiro has made a seamless transition. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s always easier for a player to change a room,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a hockey room, it&rsquo;s the boys. It&rsquo;s always harder for the family and kids to get comfortable in the new city.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-04599/9815365-1-eng-US/f0037-042.jpg" title="f0037-04" width="752" height="597"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-05540/9815358-1-eng-US/f0037-052.jpg" title="f0037-05" width="327" height="506"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(GREGG FORWERCK/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>Carolina&rsquo;s top two picks from 2008 each had a chance to prove his worth this season, but neither had stuck. First-rounder Zach Boychuk was put on waivers and claimed by the Penguins after only one game and second-rounder <b>Zac Dalpe</b> was returned to Charlotte of the AHL after posting just two points in six games.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-06480/9815351-1-eng-US/f0037-062.jpg" title="f0037-06" width="753" height="596"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-07411/9815344-1-eng-US/f0037-072.jpg" title="f0037-07" width="328" height="505"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(FRANCOIS LACASSE/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>While former Panther Jason Garrison struggled in Vancouver, his 2011-12 partner, <b>Brian Campbell</b>, continued to dominate the power play. Through nine games, all of Campbell&rsquo;s four goals &ndash; two of which were game-winners &ndash; came with the man advantage. He led all D-men in PP points in &rsquo;11-12 and is again challenging for the title.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-08321/9815337-1-eng-US/f0037-082.jpg" title="f0037-08" width="752" height="596"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-09263/9815330-1-eng-US/f0037-092.jpg" title="f0037-09" width="327" height="505"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(GRAIG ABEL/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>Steven Stamkos</b>, now in his fifth NHL season, has added about 20 pounds of muscle since his draft day. That, along with his chemistry with Martin St-Louis, has helped Stamkos become the league&rsquo;s premiere scorer in a short time. Since 2009-10, Stamkos&rsquo; 163 goals are 41 better than second on the list, Alex Ovechkin.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-10224/9815323-1-eng-US/f0037-102.jpg" title="f0037-10" width="752" height="596"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-11186/9815316-1-eng-US/f0037-112.jpg" title="f0037-11" width="328" height="505"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(CLAUS ANDERSEN/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>Remember when the Capitals were the most dynamic team in the NHL, full of offense? That&rsquo;s ancient history now. While division rival Tampa was averaging more than four goals a game, the Caps were the only team to not score four in a game through early February. <b>Nicklas Backstrom</b> and Alex Ovechkin still had not played together.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-12162/9815309-1-eng-US/f0037-122.jpg" title="f0037-12" width="752" height="597"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-13141/9815302-1-eng-US/f0037-132.jpg" title="f0037-13" width="328" height="506"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(MARIANNE HELM/GETTY IMAGES))</span></figcaption></div><p>The Jets have one of the more underrated D-corps in the league. Through nine games, Winnipeg&rsquo;s defensemen combined to lead the NHL in points from the blueline with 31. This had been helped by the surprising production early on of smooth-skating, rocket-shot rookie <b>Paul Postma</b>, who had a goal and five points.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0037-01

CAPITAL CONTRIBUTION

<div class="byline">BY ADAM PROTEAU</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-02930/9815424-1-eng-US/f0038-022.jpg" title="f0038-02" width="378" height="282"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-011334/9815431-1-eng-US/f0038-012.jpg" title="f0038-01" width="75" height="84"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-03752/9815417-1-eng-US/f0038-032.jpg" title="f0038-03" width="1530" height="1298"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>YOU GOT CERVED</b></p><p>Calgary won out on the race for free agent Roman Cervenka, who debuted after a blood clot scare.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(GERRY THOMAS/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>R</span></b><b>OMAN CERVENKA HAS YET TO LEARN THE</b> English language. He has, however, shown himself capable of making his on-ice voice heard and understood at the highest levels of hockey. That&rsquo;s why the Calgary Flames worked so hard to bring him into the fold this past summer &ndash; and why he&rsquo;s already wowing team brass despite a significant and serious physical challenge.</p><p>Believed by some scouts to be the best player in the Kontinental League last season, the 27-year-old Cervenka turned down a significantly bigger payday to remain there in favor of an NHL job and a more uncertain future. Calgary won the war for his services, but only for this season (he&rsquo;ll be an unrestricted free agent again this summer).</p><p>If he posts anything close to the 54 goals and 100 points he amassed in 105 KHL games over the past two seasons, it won&rsquo;t be long until he has a considerably more lucrative contract.</p><p>However, the Czech native&rsquo;s road to his first professional game in North America was delayed when, while playing for his KHL team during the lockout, he was hit by a puck and suffered a blood clot which put him on blood thinners. As you would expect, the Flames took no chances with his health. Czech doctors have different standards to deal with the circumstances than do North American physicians, so the Flames were sure to clear Cervenka first with their own doctors, then send him to the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix before allowing him to train with the team. He missed the first three games of the season before making his NHL debut Jan. 26. He recorded his first point one game later and his first goal in Game 5.</p><p>Flames brass isn&rsquo;t concerned about Cervenka&rsquo;s long-term status. They&rsquo;re impressed to no end by his hunger and desire to forego a massive payday for the chance to play at the NHL level. &ldquo;I give him a lot of credit for what he&rsquo;s gone through and what he&rsquo;s done so far just to be here,&rdquo; said assistant coach Martin Gelinas. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s gone through a lot of adversity with his health, as well as a new team, new system, new language, new city. But he just puts everything behind him and goes out there and competes. And it looks like there&rsquo;s a real connection between him and (Jiri) Hudler right now.&rdquo;</p><p>Indeed, Cervenka has quickly bonded with his fellow countryman. The former Red Wing developed immediate chemistry with Cervenka on the ice and acts as his official language translator off of it. They began the year as wingers for center Matt Stajan, but Cervenka has extensive experience as a pivot and could see action there at some point this season as well as extended power play time.</p><p>One area the 5-foot-11 Cervenka doesn&rsquo;t have experience in is playing in smaller North American rinks, but he makes up for it in many other areas. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s not the biggest guy out there, but he&rsquo;s pretty stocky and he&rsquo;s got some good legs on him,&rdquo; Gelinas said. &ldquo;But you can see his skill level, he&rsquo;s got a great shot and he&rsquo;s a competitor. The way he handles the puck, the pressure. He&rsquo;s created a lot for us offensively.&rdquo;</p><p>Like Florida left winger and fellow Czech Tomas Fleischmann, another NHLer who had to go on blood thinners to deal with blood clots, Cervenka will have his health monitored closely as the season progresses and likely for the rest of his career. In the short term, the Flames need him in playing shape to boost their goal-challenged lineup. &ldquo;As far as his pedigree and skill, Roman is already a world-class player,&rdquo; said assistant GM John Weisbrod. &ldquo;His hockey IQ was the overriding factor of why we worked so diligently to get him.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0038-02

ROMAN DIDN’T COME IN A DAY

<div class="byline">&#x2013; JEREMY RUTHERFORD</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0039-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-011221/9815546-1-eng-US/f0039-012.jpg"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-02822/9815539-1-eng-US/f0039-022.jpg" title="f0039-02" width="74" height="84"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-03649/9815532-1-eng-US/f0039-032.jpg" title="f0039-03" width="660" height="650"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>KEVIN SHATTENKIRK</b> <span class="photo-credit">(TRAVIS GOLBY/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>E</span>VERYTHING LOOKED LIKE IT WAS GOING</b> Kevin Shattenkirk&rsquo;s way. He had put up back-to-back seasons of nine goals and 43 points and was part of a St. Louis Blues squad that secured the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference for last season&rsquo;s playoffs. But Shattenkirk&rsquo;s first taste of the post-season was less than satisfying, with just two points and a minus-3 in nine games. Worse than those totals, he looked worn down and his confidence seemed shot.</p><p>Then in the off-season, Shattenkirk got together with Al MacInnis, now senior advisor to GM Doug Armstrong. The Hall of Famer famous for his booming shot gave his 24-year-old defenseman some advice on how to deal with adversity. &ldquo;To hear it from a guy like him &ndash; some of the struggles he went through and how he dealt with them &ndash; it allowed you to think to yourself, &lsquo;I can rebound from this,&rsquo; &rdquo; Shattenkirk said. &ldquo;Just being able to ask him how he was able to get better every year was huge. The most important thing that I took out of it was to never settle for where you are. It really helped me get my confidence back.&rdquo;</p><p>Armed with that advice, Shattenkirk put up nine points to start the season, tying him for second among NHL defensemen with Kris Letang and teammate Alex Pietrangelo, who Shattenkirk uses as a barometer for success. &ldquo;When I see him doing well, I know that I can do the same thing,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Last year, with him getting Norris Trophy votes and all that stuff &ndash; it goes back to what I talked about with Al&hellip;Don&rsquo;t ever tell yourself you can&rsquo;t be there.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-04547/9815525-1-eng-US/f0039-042.jpg" title="f0039-04" width="752" height="597"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-05464/9815518-1-eng-US/f0039-052.jpg" title="f0039-05" width="327" height="506"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(ANDRE RINGUETTE/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>Who knew <b>Johnny Oduya</b> would have Thailand to thank for his strong start? He discovered a 60-team tourney in Bangkok while vacationing during the lockout, led the Flying Farangs to their first title in 18 attempts and kept in shape. Not missing a beat helped him to a plus-9 rating in nine games, tied for second in the NHL.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-06387/9815511-1-eng-US/f0039-062.jpg" title="f0039-06" width="753" height="596"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-07336/9815504-1-eng-US/f0039-072.jpg" title="f0039-07" width="328" height="505"></div><p>With the short season one fifth done, <b>Artem Anisimov&rsquo;s</b> four goals were double Rick Nash&rsquo;s total on Broadway. Anisimov&rsquo;s strong start didn&rsquo;t just win him bragging rights; scoring the game-tying goal in Columbus&rsquo; victorious season opener against Nashville also won him the team&rsquo;s WWE belt, given to the game MVP after each win.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-08285/9815497-1-eng-US/f0039-082.jpg" title="f0039-08" width="752" height="596"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-09232/9815490-1-eng-US/f0039-092.jpg" title="f0039-09" width="327" height="505"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(JAMIE SABAU/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>Brian Lashoff</b> went from undrafted and dreaming of his first NHL game to an important stopgap on Detroit&rsquo;s blueline. The Wings lost Ian White, Carlo Colaiacovo, Jonathan Ericsson, Brendan Smith and Jakub Kindl to injuries at various points in the season&rsquo;s first leg. Lashoff has seen top-four minutes and PK duty when dressing.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-10201/9815483-1-eng-US/f0039-102.jpg" title="f0039-10" width="752" height="596"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-11176/9815476-1-eng-US/f0039-112.jpg" title="f0039-11" width="328" height="505"></div><p>Zero points in eight games wasn&rsquo;t the start <b>Shea Weber</b> envisioned after signing a 14-year, $110-million contract, but he wasn&rsquo;t panicking. Weber still led the team in shots, had more hits than any other Nashville D-man and his minus-1 was respectable considering he faces No. 1 lines and the Preds were last in league scoring.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-12160/9815469-1-eng-US/f0039-122.jpg" title="f0039-12" width="752" height="597"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-13136/9815462-1-eng-US/f0039-132.jpg" title="f0039-13" width="328" height="506"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(JEFF VINNICK/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGEs)</span></figcaption></div><p>At first glance, 24-year-old <b>Patrik Berglund&rsquo;s</b> five goals in eight games suggested an unsustainable scoring pace, but his career pattern indicates he is right on schedule. Berglund&rsquo;s year-to-year point totals: 47, 26, 52, 38. He&rsquo;s scheduled for one of his &ldquo;good&rdquo; years, in which he has hit new career highs in points per game.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0039-01

BLAST FROM THE PAST

<div class="byline">&#x2013; ADRIAN DATER</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0040-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-02600/9815654-1-eng-US/f0040-022.jpg"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-01928/9815661-1-eng-US/f0040-012.jpg" title="f0040-01" width="75" height="84"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-03466/9815647-1-eng-US/f0040-032.jpg" title="f0040-03" width="660" height="672"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>P-A PARENTEAU</b> <span class="photo-credit">(MICHAEL MARTIN/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>D</span>URING THE OFF-SEASON, TWO TEAMs</b> gave 29-year-old P-A Parenteau offers worth more money and term than the four-year, $16-million contract he signed with the Colorado Avalanche.</p><p>The Montreal Canadiens were rumored to have been one of those teams, yet Parenteau, a native of Hull, Que., decided to sign with an Avalanche club that has missed the playoffs in four of the past six years.</p><p>The reason? &ldquo;I looked at a lot of the good young guys they have here and I liked that,&rdquo; said Parenteau, who turns 30 in March. &ldquo;Plus, Colorado really seemed to show the most solid interest in me right away. It&rsquo;s a great city, Denver, and I&rsquo;m loving it here.&rdquo;</p><p>Parenteau has made the Avalanche&rsquo;s decision to sign him look brilliant so far. He scored six goals and eight points in his first eight games this season as the right winger on a line with Matt Duchene. &ldquo;He brings a lot of energy to our lineup,&rdquo; said coach Joe Sacco. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s smart, knows how to play the game and has good vision,&rdquo;</p><p>Parenteau&rsquo;s road to the NHL is a great story. Three organizations &ndash; the Anaheim Ducks (who drafted him in the ninth round, 264th overall, in 2001), Chicago Blackhawks and New York Rangers &ndash; essentially gave up on him and he toiled in the minors for seven years on four teams before the New York Islanders gave him a shot. He averaged 19 goals and 60 points in his two seasons there before leaving for Colorado. &ldquo;I never gave up on myself,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;That was the key.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-04373/9815640-1-eng-US/f0040-042.jpg" title="f0040-04" width="752" height="597"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-05317/9815633-1-eng-US/f0040-052.jpg" title="f0040-05" width="327" height="506"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(RICH LAM/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>The <b>Lee Stempniak</b> re-signing in the off-season was lost in the shuffle of Calgary&rsquo;s other deals, but it&rsquo;s making noise now. The 30-year-old has been a big beneficiary of new coach Bob Hartley&rsquo;s up-tempo style. Stempniak had three goals in six games for the Flames &ndash; most of that production coming while playing on the third line.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-06280/9815626-1-eng-US/f0040-062.jpg" title="f0040-06" width="753" height="596"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-07242/9815619-1-eng-US/f0040-072.jpg" title="f0040-07" width="327" height="505"></div><p>The loss of Jay McClement to free agency, coupled with Ryan O&rsquo;Reilly&rsquo;s contract issues, has put a greater emphasis on <b>John Mitchell</b>. Signed as a UFA from the New York Rangers, Mitchell is playing more (16:19 per game) than he ever has in four NHL seasons, taking key faceoffs and chipping in with more offense than anticipated.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-08209/9815612-1-eng-US/f0040-082.jpg" title="f0040-08" width="752" height="596"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-09158/9815605-1-eng-US/f0040-092.jpg" title="f0040-09" width="327" height="505"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(ANDY DEVLIN/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>It wasn&rsquo;t long ago <b>Sam Gagner</b> was the fresh-faced teenager who made a veteran Oilers lineup just weeks after turning 18. He&rsquo;s never been able to top the 49 points he scored as a rookie in 2007-08, but now in his sixth season, and surrounded by a plethora of first overall picks, Gagner had set the pace with 10 points early on.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-10144/9815598-1-eng-US/f0040-102.jpg" title="f0040-10" width="752" height="596"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-11126/9815591-1-eng-US/f0040-112.jpg" title="f0040-11" width="327" height="505"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(CLAUS ANDERSEN/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>The upward trajectory of <b>Kyle Brodziak&rsquo;s</b> offense the past four seasons has come to an end with Minny&rsquo;s makeover. The additions of Zach Parise and Mikael Granlund has killed his power play time and taken away his team lead in faceoffs. He&rsquo;s still a key third-liner, but his point bump from 27 to 32 to 37 to 44 won&rsquo;t continue this year.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-12115/9815584-1-eng-US/f0040-122.jpg" title="f0040-12" width="752" height="597"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-13100/9815577-1-eng-US/f0040-132.jpg" title="f0040-13" width="327" height="506"></div><p>Thanks to Canucks fans and media, <b>Zack Kassian</b> will forever see Cody Hodgson over his shoulder when he looks in a mirror, but a hot start is making that image blurrier. A year after coming from Buffalo for Hodgson, Kassian led the Canucks with five goals in nine games, is playing an aggressive style and getting lots of power play time.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0040-02

MONEY ISN’T EVERYTHING

<div class="byline">&#x2013; RYAN KENNEDY</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0041-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-01807/9815776-1-eng-US/f0041-012.jpg"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-03432/9815769-1-eng-US/f0041-032.jpg" title="f0041-03" width="74" height="84"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-02529/9815762-1-eng-US/f0041-022.jpg" title="f0041-02" width="725" height="674"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>PATRICK MARLEAU</b> <span class="photo-credit">(ANDY DEVLIN/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>P</span>ATRICK MARLEAU HAS TAKEN HEAT IN</b>&nbsp;the past for his stoicism; former teammate Jeremy Roenick has been very candid about what he perceived to be a lack of emotion from the San Jose Sharks stalwart. But Marleau maintains he can get mad &ndash; it just tends to be off the ice. &ldquo;Bad drivers, loud eaters&hellip; there&rsquo;s a few things,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m like everyone else.&rdquo;</p><p>Except for the fact the 15-year veteran is on pace for his best offensive season, which is impressive since he&rsquo;s been more than a point-per-game player on several occasions. During the lockout, the big left winger spent time in Vail, Colo., and Phoenix, skating with a host of fellow NHL stars such as Sidney Crosby and Steven Stamkos at a special training camp. Seeing how the young bucks practised gave Marleau renewed inspiration during a time when normal fall routines had been interrupted. &ldquo;The way they attack when they get the puck,&rdquo; Marleau said, &ldquo;they have that goal to make something happen every time.&rdquo;</p><p>Which is precisely what Marleau did when the NHL resumed. The Sharks veteran tied a 96-year-old league record when he posted four straight multi-goal games to kick off the season, putting him in the same company as Ottawa Senators Hall of Famer Cy Denneny. He&rsquo;s in a good mindset right now and believes San Jose is still within its window to earn a Stanley Cup. Not even a loud-chewing teammate could ruin his focus right now. &ldquo;If I do find one,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll probably just move a couple seats down.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-04375/9815755-1-eng-US/f0041-042.jpg" title="f0041-04" width="752" height="597"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-05338/9815748-1-eng-US/f0041-052.jpg" title="f0041-05" width="327" height="506"></div><p>Orange County isn&rsquo;t Del Boca Vista, but Anaheim is embracing  the old. At forward, the offensive charge is being led by a pair of ageless Finns, Teemu Selanne and Saku Koivu. On defense, newcomer Sheldon Souray and old hand <b>Francois Beauchemin</b> form a big shutdown pair. The two vets led Ducks blueliners in ice time.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-06294/9815741-1-eng-US/f0041-062.jpg" title="f0041-06" width="753" height="598"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-07251/9815734-1-eng-US/f0041-072.jpg" title="f0041-07" width="328" height="505"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(GLENN JAMES/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>At 6-foot-7, <b>Jamie Oleksiak</b> is officially the tallest player in franchise history after making his debut Feb. 1 against Phoenix. The 242-pound, 20-year-old rookie broke a three-way tie between 6-foot-6 journeyman defenseman Sami Helenius, (a Star from 2000-03), and ex-North Stars Archie Henderson and Dean Kolstad.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-08196/9815727-1-eng-US/f0041-082.jpg" title="f0041-08" width="752" height="596"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-09147/9815720-1-eng-US/f0041-092.jpg" title="f0041-09" width="327" height="505"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(JEFF GROSS/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>With blueline injuries causing Drew Doughty to play nearly half the game early on, the Kings needed others to step up. Alec Martinez continued his growth from last year&rsquo;s Stanley Cup run, but <b>Davis Drewiske</b> made the biggest leap, going from a healthy scratch in the playoffs to one of Los Angeles&rsquo; key penalty-killers.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-10120/9815713-1-eng-US/f0041-102.jpg" title="f0041-10" width="752" height="596"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-1198/9815706-1-eng-US/f0041-112.jpg" title="f0041-11" width="328" height="505"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(GERRY THOMAS/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>If <b>Lauri Korpikoski</b> keeps it up, his home nation of Finland may revoke his citizenship. The multi-purpose winger posted four goals in his first 10 games, but all those tallies came at the expense of fellow Finns. Netminders Pekka Rinne, Kari Lehtonen, Antti Niemi and Niklas Backstrom were all victimized by Korpikoski.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-1283/9815699-1-eng-US/f0041-122.jpg" title="f0041-12" width="752" height="597"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-1367/9815692-1-eng-US/f0041-132.jpg" title="f0041-13" width="328" height="506"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(DEBORA ROBINSON/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>Plagued by his albatross contract, <b>Scott Gomez</b> became a pariah in Montreal. But in San Jose he&rsquo;s playing under sunnier circumstances and lessened expectations on the fourth line. Gomez can even share hardluck stories with teammate James Sheppard, who never panned out in Minnesota after going ninth overall in 2006.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0041-01

MARLEAU’S ANGRY PACE

<div class="byline">BY RYAN KENNEDY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-03439/9815814-1-eng-US/f0042-032.jpg" title="f0042-03" width="986" height="1263"><figcaption class="caption-body">Rasmus Ristolainen got tips from NHLers playing with TPS Turku during the lockout. <span class="photo-credit">(TEEMU SAARINEN/HC TPS)</span></figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-01857/9815821-1-eng-US/f0042-012.jpg" title="f0042-01" width="60" height="68"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>T</span></b><b>HE LESS SAID ABOUT FINLAND&rsquo;S</b>performance at the 2013 World Junior Championship the better. But if you&rsquo;re an NHL fan rather than a Suomi booster, there was a silver lining.</p><p>Simply put, this was a team that featured some astonishingly talented individuals who, due to overconfidence, constant line shifting and even a rampaging stomach flu bug, ended their tournament pounding Slovakia in the relegation round instead of competing for a medal.</p><p>But back to those individuals. The Finns had one of the best draft eligi ble crops in Ufa thanks to the trio of Sasha Barkov, Rasmus Ristolainen and Artturi Lehkonen, all of whom are projected to go in the first round of the NHL draft this summer.</p><p>Ristolainen is the lone D-man in the group and has stood tall against men back home in the Finnish League all year. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s been on the board for the past three years,&rdquo; said one European scout. &ldquo;He has size, skating and he&rsquo;s steady. He doesn&rsquo;t wow me, but he has all the tools.&rdquo;</p><p>That size is the first thing that jumps out. Ristolainen punches in at 6-foot-3 and 207 pounds and when he&rsquo;s engaged in a game, the 18-year-old can be downright nasty when defending his turf. But he has offensive capabilities, too, as evidenced by the 12 points in 39 games he had put up for TPS Turku, the club team he also spent most of last year playing for. &ldquo;I like to keep the puck and try to give good passes to the forwards,&rdquo; Ristolainen said. &ldquo;On the power play, I have a good shot. My defensive game, I have to keep working on every day.&rdquo;</p><p>That&rsquo;s something talent evaluators have zeroed in on. While it&rsquo;s fun to put up numbers, the big Finnish teen can have an impact in all three zones, not just the offensive end of the ice. &ldquo;He has more value as a solid two-way guy,&rdquo; said the scout. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s not Erik Karlsson.&rdquo;</p><p>In a draft that features a lot of big, top-end blueliners from different nations, Ristolainen is in the top-10 mix, behind America&rsquo;s Seth Jones (who may go first overall), along with Canada&rsquo;s Darnell Nurse, Sweden&rsquo;s Robert Hagg and Russia&rsquo;s  Nikita Zadorov. Coincidentally, the young Finn was given a golden opportunity to grow earlier this season when the NHL lockout sent a swarm of talented, experienced blueliners across the ocean and into his neighborhood.</p><p>TPS Turku is one of the most famous sporting clubs in Finland, also boasting a popular soccer team. The hockey franchise is partly owned by Minnesota Wild center Mikko Koivu, who took his game back home during the league-mandated hiatus. And Koivu returned with gifts in hand. The Coyotes&rsquo; Lauri Korpikoski joined the Wild captain up front, while Ristolainen saw his defense corps welcome the Kings&rsquo; Alec Martinez and the Blues&rsquo; Kevin Shattenkirk and Kris Russell, the last of whom was of particular help to the youngster as they played together. &ldquo;It was awesome,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;They were good guys and they taught me a lot.&rdquo;</p><p>At the world juniors, Ristolainen finished with two goals and six points in six games, tying him for tops among Finnish defensemen with New York Islanders second-rounder Ville Pokka (34th overall in 2012). But the rotten taste of the relegation round was tough to spit out. &ldquo;We started our first game, it was OK,&rdquo; Ristolainen said. &ldquo;But then the next three games we were very bad until we were out of the playoffs. Bad tournament.&rdquo;</p><p>But at least it won&rsquo;t have to be his last. Along with Barkov and Lehkonen, Ristolainen can avenge his country&rsquo;s honor at next year&rsquo;s installment.</p><p>The best part? The tournament will be in Malmo, hosted by the archrival Swedes. Don&rsquo;t expect to see the Finns lie down again with that scenario.</p><h2><b>RASMUS RISTOLAINEN</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-04351/9815807-1-eng-US/f0042-042.jpg" title="f0042-04" width="156" height="156"></div><p><b>POSITION</b>&nbsp;Defenseman</p><p><b>AGE</b> 18</p><p><b>HEIGHT</b> 6-3</p><p><b>WEIGHT</b> 207 lbs</p><p><b>DRAFTED</b>&nbsp;2013 eligible</p><p><b>6</b>&nbsp;Points for Rasmus Ristolainen at the 2013 World Junior Championship. He tied Finnish teammate Ville Pokka and Usa&rsquo;s Jake McCabe for third among all defensemen in scoring, trailing only Team Usa&rsquo;s Jacob Trouba and Seth Jones.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0042-03

TWO-WAY TOWER

<div class="byline">BY SETH GRUEN</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0043-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-02581/9815859-1-eng-US/f0043-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>BOY WONDER</b></p><p>Mattias Ekholm was named the Swedish League&rsquo;s top D-man last season at just 21 years old.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(SCOTT PAULUS/MILWAUKEE ADMIRALS)</span></figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-01835/9815866-1-eng-US/f0043-012.jpg" title="f0043-01" width="60" height="68"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>I</span>N HIS FIRST FULL SEASON IN</b> North America, Swede Mattias Ekholm has quickly adjusted to a new culture. Miles from the fresh seafood of the Norwegian Sea, the Milwaukee Admirals blueliner has taken a liking to New York strip steak and pasta. Both at and away from the rink, keeping it simple is Ekholm&rsquo;s motto: &ldquo;It&rsquo;s not bad, the differences compared to Europe. After all, you play games, you sleep, you eat.&rdquo;</p><p>But the American League game has challenged the 22-year-old. On the smaller ice surface, Ekholm isn&rsquo;t given the same freedom or time to freelance in the defensive zone. The compact surface has forced him to be aggressive and use his big frame to be disruptive when opponents cycle the puck. &ldquo;Because  I&rsquo;m a big guy I need to use my reach,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I need to get a long stick and over here it&rsquo;s easier because the guys can&rsquo;t go hide in the corners because it&rsquo;s so small. Having an active stick all the time (is important).&rdquo;</p><p>Though Ekholm has faced the same obstacles all European imports encounter, his experience back home honed rare skills celebrated by the parent Nashville Predators.</p><p>Ekholm is extremely mobile for his size and that&rsquo;s been an asset in the Admirals&rsquo; transition game. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s so composed with the puck that it helps a lot to bring pucks down or regroup in the neutral zone,&rdquo; said teammate Scott Valentine. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a calming effect when you&rsquo;re playing with him out there.&rdquo;</p><p>After playing with Brynas last season &ndash; and winning the Borje Salming Award as the Swedish League&rsquo;s top defenseman &ndash; Ekholm had the opportunity to play in two games with the Predators. During his short time in the NHL, Ekholm learned he already has the offensive abilities to make an impact at that level, but needs to round out his game.</p><p>Though he weighs 202 pounds, Ekholm isn&rsquo;t the type of overpowering defenseman who will win puck battles around the boards. Instead he must use his superior speed, as he does in the offensive zone, to beat grittier but slower players to pucks dumped into his own end. &ldquo;He has natural offensive instincts and abilities,&rdquo; said coach Dean Evason. &ldquo;He doesn&rsquo;t have natural defensive instincts. So he&rsquo;s trying to get to a point where he&rsquo;s not thinking defensively and he&rsquo;s just reacting.</p><p>&ldquo;You can teach all you want with video and practice time, but you have to be put in those situations to learn. Sometimes you get positive learning experiences and sometimes you get negative learning experiences. He&rsquo;s had both so far.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-03484/9815852-1-eng-US/f0043-032.jpg" title="f0043-03" width="186" height="171"></div><h2><b>MATTIAS EKHOLM</b></h2><p><b>POS</b> Defense <b>AGE</b> 22 <b>HT</b> 6-4 <b>WT</b> 202 lbs <b>DRAFTED</b> Nashville, 102nd overall in 2009i<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0043-02

EXPECTING EKHOLM

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-04370/9815897-1-eng-US/f0043-042.jpg" title="f0043-04" width="557" height="680"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>MARK BARBERIO</b></figcaption></div><h2><b>1. MARK BARBERIO</b></h2><p><b>SYRACUSE CRUNCH (TB)</b></p><p>One of the top-scoring blueliners in the AHL, Barberio helped Norfolk to the Calder Cup last season.</p><h2><b>2. ADAM CLENDENING</b></h2><p><b>ROCKFORD ICEHOGS (CHI)</b></p><p>Putting up great numbers for a struggling Rockford squad after leaving Boston U. two years early.</p><h2><b>3. MATT DONOVAN</b></h2><p><b>BRIDGEPORT SOUND TIGERS (NYI)</b></p><p>Emerging offensive defender was a starter at the AHL All-Star Game and a rare Oklahoma product.</p><h2><b>4. BRAYDEN MCNABB</b></h2><p><b>ROCHESTER AMERICANS (BUF)</b></p><p>Big kid with a powerful shot can also bang bodies with the best of them. Got in 25 NHL games last year.</p><h2><b>5. TYSON BARRIE</b></h2><p><b>LAKE ERIE MONSTERS (COL)</b></p><p>Slick skating offensive rearguard increasing his numbers in second pro campaign.</p><h2><b>6. RADKO GUDAS</b></h2><p><b>SYRACUSE CRUNCH (TB)</b></p><p>Sturdy Czech is no fun to play against and frequently drops the gloves. Leads the league with a plus-25.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0043-04

MINOR THREATS

<div class="byline">BY RYAN KENNEDY</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0044-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-02475/9815935-1-eng-US/f0044-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>NUMBERS GO NORTH</b></p><p>Rocco Grimaldi is close to a point-per-game player in college after missing most of last year.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(UND ATHLETICS/ERIC CLASSEN)</span></figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-01735/9815942-1-eng-US/f0044-012.jpg" title="f0044-01" width="60" height="68"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>Y</span></b><b>OU DON&rsquo;T HAVE TO TELL ROCCO</b>Grimaldi about resurrection stories &ndash; they&rsquo;re kinda his thing. And not just because the University of North Dakota center suffered through a stint as Team USA&rsquo;s 13th forward at the world juniors in Ufa before emerging the hero with two goals in the gold medal win over Sweden. If you need a hint, watch the replay of the Florida Panthers prospect celebrating his scores, where he points skyward after lighting the lamp. &ldquo;I usually say &lsquo;thank you&rsquo; to the true superstar,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s my go-to, I guess.&rdquo;</p><p>God and Grimaldi go hand-inhand. His idol is NFL QB Tim Tebow, not just because the dude can scramble, but because the ubiquitous ESPN celebrity keeps his faith held dear. As for Grimaldi, he&rsquo;s proven time and again even those who look like they don&rsquo;t have a prayer can achieve greatness. At 5-foot-6 and 165 pounds, the California native still rang up enough offense with the U.S. National Team Development Program for Florida to want him in the second round. Some thought he would go in the first.</p><p>Then, in his freshman campaign, Grimaldi was felled by knee surgery and played just four games. But this was no ordinary injury. It was discovered Grimaldi had bipartite patella, which means his kneecap never fused together as a child; it remained two separate bones. &ldquo;He missed and entire year with a rare injury the hockey world really hadn&rsquo;t seen before,&rdquo; said UND coach Dave Hakstol. &ldquo;Everybody did as well as they could, but there was some added frustration in not knowing what the diagnosis was. Once we knew he needed surgery, at least there was a path, there was a goal.&rdquo;</p><p>Grimaldi was granted redshirt status by the NCAA, meaning he&rsquo;s technically a freshman again. That gives him an extra year to play for North Dakota. Whether he departs for the Panthers before that remains to be seen, but his skills are tantalizing. &ldquo;His most dynamic abilities are tenacity, speed and the ability to create something from nothing,&rdquo; Hakstol said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re starting to see him at full speed now.&rdquo;</p><p>Through 26 games, Grimaldi was among the WCHA&rsquo;s top freshman scorers with 22 points. And while he loves to give credit to his personal savior, the pint-sized excitement machine also has a lot of love for the mortals who stuck by him during last year&rsquo;s recovery. &ldquo;I had my bed in a loft, so when I was gone for my surgery a couple of my friends went in, took down my bed and rearranged the whole room so that I could walk and not have to climb up to get in,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m blessed with great people around me.</p><p>&ldquo;I couldn&rsquo;t drive, so it was basically house arrest. A lot of ramen noodles, mac and cheese and I don&rsquo;t usually do that. But I had great friends around who would drive me to get food and take me places.&rdquo;</p><p>And since idle hands are the devil&rsquo;s tools, Grimaldi kept his busy. &ldquo;I played a lot of video games in the dorm room,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;My buddy used to beat me all the time at <i>NHL 12</i>, so I took that opportunity to practise. Now I can whip him pretty good, so it&rsquo;s payback.&rdquo;</p><p>Wait, isn&rsquo;t pride one of the seven deadly sins? With everything Grimaldi has been through in his short career at North Dakota, we can probably give him a pass there.</p><h2><b>ROCCO GRIMALDI</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-03361/9815928-1-eng-US/f0044-032.jpg" title="f0044-03" width="167" height="166"></div><p><b>POSITION</b> Center</p><p><b>AGE</b> 20</p><p><b>HEIGHT</b> 5-6</p><p><b>WEIGHT</b> 165 lbs</p><p><b>DRAFTED</b>&nbsp;Florida, 33rd overall in 2011</p><p><b>25</b> Points in 23 games for Rocco Grimaldi in 2010-11, his NHL draft year, playing with the U.S. National Team Development Program. That total was best on the team, as were his 13 assists and his plus-10 rating.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0044-02

PANTHER CUB HAS RISEN

<div class="byline">BY ROBIN SHORT</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0045-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-02433/9815980-1-eng-US/f0045-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>BEST OF THE REST</b></p><p>With a .948 save percentage, Robin Lehner has been the AHL&rsquo;s top goalie this season.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(JUSTSPORTST)</span></figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-01647/9815987-1-eng-US/f0045-012.jpg" title="f0045-01" width="60" height="68"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>T</span>HE COLORFUL ROBIN LEHNER</b> is rarely at a loss for words. Even at 21 and with just 13 NHL apperances under his belt, he&rsquo;ll toss his two cents in about the goings-on in the world&rsquo;s greatest league. For instance, he says he can&rsquo;t help but shake his head at the Roberto Luongo situation in Vancouver, where the Canucks goalie, one of the NHL&rsquo;s best in Lehner&rsquo;s eyes, is the subject of perpetual trade rumors. &ldquo;I actually get upset when I hear people talk about this,&rdquo; Lehner said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s one of the best goaltenders in the world, a top-10 goalie every year in every stats category. But because he didn&rsquo;t win, he &lsquo;sucks.&rsquo;</p><p>&ldquo;So it&rsquo;s hard on a young goalie in a Canadian city. You have to be prepared and it&rsquo;s a big process, one of many pieces in the big picture. I think I&rsquo;m on a good track, even if I&rsquo;m in the American League right now.&rdquo;</p><p>Not so long ago, it would&rsquo;ve been a surprise to hear the supremely confident Lehner at peace with playing in the minors. He&rsquo;s evolved. While he reckons he&rsquo;s ready to stop pucks in the NHL right now, he insists he has no problem refining his trade in the AHL as he waits his turn for full-time NHL employment. &ldquo;Yes, there have been times when I&rsquo;ve been disappointed, but I was pretty immature, not seeing the big picture,&rdquo; Lehner said. &ldquo;Of course it&rsquo;s hard. But I&rsquo;ve learned the last few years you have to be patient. You have to let the time come to you. You can&rsquo;t chase it too much. It&rsquo;s just not how it works.&rdquo;</p><p>Lehner was drafted by the Ottawa Senators in the second round back in 2009 and the Swede is considered by many to be the best goaltender not playing in the NHL.</p><p>He has been consistently one of the AHL&rsquo;s elite this season, helping the Binghamton Senators sprint from the starting gate and jockey for first overall. Lehner&rsquo;s numbers inspire double-takes: a 1.79 goals-against average and .948 save percentage over 26 appearances through early February.</p><p>And that&rsquo;s the type of effort Senators fans have come to expect from him. In 2010-11, when &lsquo;Bingo&rsquo; marched to the Calder Cup championship, it was Lehner who copped the Jack Butterfield Award as playoff MVP.</p><p>In a brief stint in Ottawa last season, he was 3-2 with a 2.01 GAA and .935 SP. One of his wins was a 32-save blanking of the Boston Bruins.</p><p>He was in the running for the backup job to Craig Anderson in Ottawa this season, but lost out to Ben Bishop in a move that was as much about business as on-ice performance. Bishop is on a one-way NHL contract; Lehner is on a two-way deal, making $67,500 in the minors and is not subject to waivers. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m starting to understand a little bit how it all works and when the opportunity comes, I&rsquo;m ready to go,&rdquo; Lehner said. &ldquo;If it doesn&rsquo;t, that&rsquo;s fine. I&rsquo;ll keep on working down here.&rdquo;</p></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p>It wasn&rsquo;t always that cozy. The intense Lehner said there have been ups and downs through the years in Binghamton, and it started with some tough love, but it&rsquo;s just been going up from there. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve got to remember the Senators have been there the whole way, helping me in bad times and in good times,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Icouldn&rsquo;t be happier in that organization.&rdquo;</p><p>And happiness starts with keeping busy. Since Bishop was promoted to Ottawa, Lehner has been playing a ton in the AHL. &ldquo;My first year of pro, two years ago, I was up and down, playing in the world juniors,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I was everywhere. Of course, it ended great with a championship.</p><p>&ldquo;Last year was consistently bad (as Binghamton finished last in the AHL). This year, I&rsquo;m playing a lot and playing well and we&rsquo;re winning.&rdquo;</p><p>A technically sound goalie who covers a lot of net with his big body, Lehner says he&rsquo;s working on more than refining skills and stopping pucks in the AHL. Rather, he&rsquo;s learning to become a pro and deal with the pressures that can sometimes come with the territory. &ldquo;Especially on Canadian teams,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;there can be a lot of pressure on goaltenders and you have to be ready for that.</p><p>&ldquo;There are always going to be people questioning you and your performance.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-03368/9815973-1-eng-US/f0045-032.jpg" title="f0045-03" width="195" height="154"></div><h2><b>ROBIN LEHNER</b></h2><p><b>POS</b> Goalie <b>AGE</b> 21 <b>HT</b> 6-4 <b>WT</b> 213 lbs <b>DRAFTED</b> Ottawa, 46th overall in 2009<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0045-02

MARATHON, NOT A SPRINT

<div class="byline">BY ADAM PROTEAU</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0046-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0046-01651/9816018-1-eng-US/f0046-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>MAGIC MAN</b></p><p>John Weisbrod spent a year as GM of the NBA&rsquo;s Orlando franchise during 2004-05.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(GERRY THOMAS)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><span>I</span><b>T&rsquo;S GETTING HARDER THESE DAYS FOR AN ASSISTANT GM IN</b>&nbsp;hockey-mad Canadian NHL markets to operate as a relative unknown. But for John Weisbrod, life as GM Jay Feaster&rsquo;s No. 1 aide in Calgary brings him just that, at least compared to his short spell in the hot spotlight of the NBA as GM of the Orlando Magic. &ldquo;I like the anonymity, at least, compared to the way it was in Orlando,&rdquo; Weisbrod says. &ldquo;Being in Calgary and walking around, old NBA GMs aren&rsquo;t really a topic of discussion or concern. It&rsquo;s worked out quite well. I sort of prefer it this way.&rdquo;</p><p>Weisbrod isn&rsquo;t some basketball lifer who somehow stumbled over into the world of pro hockey. Rather, he&rsquo;s a former Minnesota North Stars draft pick, International League player and NCAA national champion at Harvard who was a GM of American League and IHL championship teams before a series of corporate moves resulted in him taking charge of the Magic for the 2004-05 season.</p><blockquote class="pullQuote">I WANT TO DELIVER THE TYPE OF TEAM CALGARY FANS DESERVE<br>&ndash; John Weisbrod</blockquote><p>He was responsible for trading star Tracy McGrady and others in his year on the job and didn&rsquo;t shy away from the repercussions of any moves. However, given the chance to take a hockey position much lower on the rung than he was in Orlando &ndash; in this case, scouting with the Dallas Stars &ndash; he jumped at the chance. There was never any doubt hockey was his true passion.</p><p>A year after his return to the NHL, Weisbrod joined the Bruins as a scout in 2006. At the time, Boston was rebuilding after the lockout and hadn&rsquo;t enjoyed much success. But in the nearly five years Weisbrod spent with the franchise &ndash; eventually become director of pro and collegiate scouting &ndash; he helped bring the Bruins a Stanley Cup in 2011 before leaving to join Feaster in Calgary.</p><p>Given that the Flames haven&rsquo;t won a playoff round since their 2004 Stanley Cup final appearance and haven&rsquo;t made the playoffs the past three seasons, there are more than a few parallels between Weisbrod&rsquo;s current employer and his previous team. That&rsquo;s why, in spite of serious dissent from Calgary fans and media looking for a ground-up organizational rebuild as their provincial rival in Edmonton has undergone, Weisbrod believes his experience in Boston shows the Flames can be legitimate Cup contenders in a comparatively condensed period.</p><p>In other words, you don&rsquo;t necessarily have to finish at the bottom of the standings for a number of years to rise to the top. &ldquo;I learned so much in Boston,&rdquo; says Weisbrod, 44. &ldquo;It was a good experience to learn how quickly it can happen, especially if you stuck to your principles. It was a bit of retooling-on-thefly rather than a complete teardown-rebuild. The team we inherited there was 26th in the league, had some bad contracts and hadn&rsquo;t made the playoffs. Six years later, we won the Cup.&rdquo;</p><p>Although Weisbrod understands how crazed Canada&rsquo;s citizens are for the game, this is the first time the Syosset, N.Y., native has lived in a Canadian NHL city. As you&rsquo;d expect from someone devoting their life to the sport, Weisbrod couldn&rsquo;t be happier to operate in one of hockey&rsquo;s most worshipped civic cathedrals.</p><p>He didn&rsquo;t live full-time in Canada prior to taking the Flames job, but has travelled across the continent working in hockey as a player and management member. He knows how important the game is and loves the pressure that comes with it. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve enjoyed it immensely,&rdquo; Weisbrod says. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been in hockey long enough to have a good feel for what the game means to people in Canada. Calgary is a fantastic city with great people. If anything, it makes me hungrier to deliver the type of team these people deserve.</p><p>&ldquo;You want to scratch that itch for them.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0046-01

FROM THE FIRE TO THE FLAMES

<div class="byline">BY GREG OLIVER</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0047-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-01585/9816049-1-eng-US/f0047-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>ONE AND DONE WELL</b></p><p>The Bruins parlayed Ron Grahame into the draft pick they used to select legend Ray Bourque.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(STEVE BABINEAU/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>T</span></b><b>HE STANLEY CUP HAS BEEN TO RON GRAHAME&rsquo;S HOME IN DENVER</b>&nbsp;on numerous occasions, but he has always stuck to tradition &ndash; if you haven&rsquo;t earned it, don&rsquo;t touch it. And in the Grahame household, the winners are his wife, Charlotte, an executive with the Colorado Avalanche since their inception in 1995, and their son John, who was the backup to Nikolai Khabibulin when the Tampa Bay Lightning won the Cup in 2004. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve never touched it,&rdquo; Grahame says. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know that I&rsquo;ll ever be in a position where I would be contributing to the success of winning it, but I&rsquo;m not going to jinx it by touching it.&rdquo;</p><p>In a very roundabout way, however, Grahame did actually contribute to one of those Cup victories. In 1978, the Boston Bruins traded him to the Los Angeles Kings for their first round pick in 1979. That draft choice turned into Ray Bourque, who eventually led the Colorado Avalanche to their second Stanley Cup in 2001 and then promptly retired.</p><p>These days, Grahame is Denver&rsquo;s main man, at least in the city&rsquo;s collegiate scene. He is assistant vice-chancellor and senior associate athletics director at the University of Denver, a job that keeps him knee-deep in the day-to-day operations of many sports: volleyball, soccer, basketball, hockey and more. &ldquo;He is Denver University sports,&rdquo; John says. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s very well respected around the campus. He&rsquo;s very involved in every sport &ndash; not just one or two. For him to have played there and been an All-American, everything has come full circle.&rdquo;</p><p>A native of Victoria, B.C., Grahame tended goal for the University of Denver starting in 1969-70. Though the World Hockey Association&rsquo;s New York Raiders drafted him after his junior season, he returned to school, was named WCHA player of the year and led Denver to a second WCHA championship. The team even came within a game of the NCAA title, losing out to Wisconsin.</p><p>The Raiders traded his rights to the Houston Aeros in 1973 and Grahame played four seasons in the Lone Star State, where he won the Avco Cup, the championship trophy for the WHA. He made two WHA All-Star Games and took home the Ben Hatskin Trophy as the league&rsquo;s top goaltender twice. And his MVP performance in the 1974-75 playoffs (12-1 record, 2.00 goal-against average, three shutouts) helped the Houston Aeros sweep the Quebec Nordiques in the final.</p><blockquote class="pullQuote">MY FATHER IS DENVER UNIVERSITY SPORTS. HE&rsquo;S VERY WELL RESPECTED AROUND THE CAMPUS<br>&ndash; JOHN GRAHAME</blockquote><p>Grahame made the leap to the NHL in 1977-78. He signed with the Bruins and posted a 26-6-7 record with a 2.76 goals-against average, but was traded a year later to L A. In 1980, the Kings sold him to Quebec where his career petered out.</p><p>The Grahame family settled in Denver and raised two hockey players, with Dad often behind the bench. Jason was a walk-on defenseman for the Pioneers in 1999, making them the first father-son combo at the school. John, a goalie like his father, went to Lake Superior State, and later suited up for the Bruins, Tampa Bay Lightning and Carolina Hurricanes.</p><p>With 21 years under his belt at the University of Denver, Grahame still gets great rewards out of the job. &ldquo;Things are different each year,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;No matter what the sport, you have new kids coming in, then you see them mature and moving on. The academic and athletic environment at a college is a rewarding and enjoyable place to be.&rdquo;</p><p><b>FOR MORE TALES</b> OF PAST HOCKEY GREATS, CLICK ON <b><a href="http://THEHOCKEYNEWS.COM/BACKCHECKING">thehockeynews.com/backchecking</a></b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0047-01

DEGREES OF SEPARATION

<h2><b>GUESS</b>&nbsp;<b>WHO!</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-01439/9816115-1-eng-US/f0049-012.jpg" title="f0049-01" width="523" height="642"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(GRAIG ABEL/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><i>&ldquo;I was drafted by Dallas in 2001 and reached the NHL in 2006-07, playing 23 games.&rdquo;</i></p><p><i>&ldquo;I was sent to Tampa Bay in a 2008 trade that brought Brad Richards to Dallas.&rdquo;</i></p><p><i>&ldquo;I set a new Phoenix Coyotes record for save percentage in 2011-12 with a .930 mark.&rdquo;</i></p><h2><b>Separated AT BIRTH</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-02336/9816108-1-eng-US/f0049-022.jpg" title="f0049-02" width="246" height="437"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(NICK LAHAM/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><h3><b>JONATHAN HUBERDEAU</b></h3><p>Starred as teen center on Saint John; debuted on Panthers with linemate old enough to be his father.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-03263/9816101-1-eng-US/f0049-032.jpg" title="f0049-03" width="245" height="437"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(KEVIN WINTER/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><h3><b>NEIL PATRICK HARRIS</b></h3><p>Starred as teen doctor on <i>Doogie Howser;</i> hunts cougars as Barney on <i>How I Met Your Mother.</i></p><p><b>Submitted</b>&nbsp;<b>by:</b> Sam Firoozsani</p><p>Email your suggestions to <b><a href="mailto:sab@thehockeynews.com">sab@thehockeynews.com</a></b></p><p>WHO AM I: MIKE SMITH</p><h2><b>CROSSWORD</b></h2><p>By Larry Humber</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-04244/9816094-1-eng-US/f0049-042.jpg" title="f0049-04" width="1025" height="1025"></div><p><b>ANSWERS AVAILABLE IN THE NEXT ISSUE AND AT <a href="http://THN.com/XWORD">THN.com/XWORD</a></b></p><h3><b>ACROSS</b></h3><p>1 Manitoba&rsquo;s old AHL team</p><p>8 Nickname of Oshawa&rsquo;s junior team</p><p>9 The NHL Awards are often held in Las ___</p><p>10 Where &lsquo;Sid the Kid&rsquo; played in junior</p><p>11 Ex-Oiler ___ Moreau</p><p>14 Hit hard (or badmouth)</p><p>15 Where &lsquo;Mario the Magnificent&rsquo; played in junior</p><p>20 ___ Konopka has twice led the NHL in penalty minutes</p><p>21 10 Across&rsquo; current team</p><p>22 Slashes</p><p>23 He was drafted first overall by the Boston Bruins in 1997</p><p>24 Sees action</p><h3><b>DOWN</b></h3><p>2 An extra period or periods</p><p>3 Brendan ___ is a certain Hall of Famer</p><p>4 ___ Westgarth is a Hurricane</p><p>5 Rick ___ was coach in Pittsburgh</p><p>6 A lower body injury is one below the ___</p><p>7 T.J. ___ is a Blue, pictured</p><p>12 Wayne Gretzky&rsquo;s son Trevor prefers this sport</p><p>13 He&rsquo;s editor in chief at The Hockey News</p><p>16 Tiffs</p><p>17 The NHLPA, for instance</p><p>18 ___ Ahearne was IIHF head</p><p>19 ___ Carter was involved in a swap for Jaromir Jagr</p><p><b>LAST WEEK&rsquo;S CROSSWORD SOLUTION ACROSS</b> 1. SMYTH, 8. PLYMOUTH, 9. ARGOS, 10. OIL KINGS, 11. CHINA, 14. ANTON, 15. PERRY, 20. FIRST, 21. CAROLINA, 22. RIVER, 23. BRAMPTON, 24. KEITH <b>DOWN</b> 2. MARCHAND, 3. THORNTON, 4. BLAIR, 5. SMOKE, 6. BURNS, 7. CHASE, 12. MEDICINE, 13. PROSPECT, 16. SCABS, 17. GREAT, 18. FLOPS, 19. UNION</p><h2><b>Behind</b>&nbsp;<b>THE MASK</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-05193/9816087-1-eng-US/f0049-052.jpg" title="f0049-05" width="859" height="917"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(DAVEART.COM; JERSEY: CLASSICAUCTIONS.NET)</span></figcaption></div><h3><b>PEKKA RINNE |</b>&nbsp;<b>NASHVILLE PREDATORS</b></h3><p>Though Rinne never needed voodoo to get into his opponents&rsquo;  heads, adding some to his grill can&rsquo;t hurt. His new mask has a doll with red eyes and pins sticking out in all directions, displaying the paranormal nature of his game. Shooters should surrender.</p><p><b>&ndash; SPENCER DAVIS</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-06114/9816080-1-eng-US/f0049-062.jpg" title="f0049-06" width="772" height="643"></div><h3><b>COAST GUARD CUTTERS | 1943-44</b></h3><h2><b>JerseyHound</b></h2><p>During the Second World War, the U.S. Coast Guard iced a team in the minor pro Eastern League, using Baltimore as a home base for two seasons.</p><p>As Stan Fischler writes on page 33, the team featured several prominent players and Fischler himself brought this game-worn sweater to Classic Auctions after Rangers prospect and Cutter Mike Nardello gave it to him.</p><p>In full color, you can see how spectacular  the sweater is, with the full Coast Guard logo and a stars-and-stripes motif giving it a classic look.</p><p><b>&ndash; RYAN KENNEDY</b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0049-01

LAST MINUTE OF PLAY

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0050-02318/9816146-1-eng-US/f0050-022.jpg" title="f0050-02" width="991" height="1269"><figcaption class="caption-body">P.K. <b>SUBBAN</b> <span class="photo-credit">(FRANCOIS LACASSE/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0050-01426/9816153-1-eng-US/f0050-012.jpg" title="f0050-01" width="200" height="238"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>I</span></b><b>F THE MONTREAL CANADIENS HAVE ANY</b>&nbsp;concerns over the fallout from their treatment of P.K. Subban &ndash; and they should &ndash; we present to you Toronto Maple Leafs captain and defenseman Dion Phaneuf.</p><p>There was a time when Phaneuf was brash, confident, exuberant and engaging, the same way Subban is right now. At times, Phaneuf even rubbed some of his teammates the wrong way, the same way we can only conclude Subban does occasionally. And when that happened, Phaneuf had the spirit beaten out of him in Calgary, the same way the Canadiens appear to be doing to Subban.</p><p>So if that&rsquo;s what you want, just look at the shell of the former player Phaneuf is now. Is it any coincidence once Phaneuf had his personality and fervor emasculated, he began a precipitous decline in his quality as a player? If you&rsquo;re looking for the guy who played with an edge and looked to be a perennial Norris Trophy candidate, you&rsquo;ll find him on videotape piling up points and penalty minutes five years ago. He is nowhere to be found in Toronto these days.</p><p>So when Canadiens coach Michel Therrien and GM Marc Bergevin decree that Subban and goalie Carey Price have been barred from doing their &ldquo;triple low-five&rdquo; post-game celebration after victories, that&rsquo;s exactly what they seem intent on doing to Subban. Rather than allow him to figure things out and mature at his own pace, the Canadiens have taken it upon themselves to do it for him.</p><p>And they do so at their own peril. Not only are edicts such as this one completely out of touch with the modern athlete, they potentially alienate the player. Did anyone ever tell Wayne Gretzky he had to untuck his sweater from his pants? Did anyone tell Tiger Williams to not ride his stick after scoring big goals? When during the 1956 playoffs, Ted Lindsay turned his stick over, cocked it like a rifle and pretended to shoot fans at Maple Leaf Gardens in response to a death threat, did he get assailed for being a showboat?</p><p>Of course not, because truly great players perform on emotion. If the Canadiens didn&rsquo;t like what they saw in Subban&rsquo;s character, they could have refrained from drafting him. After all, his brashness and self-confidence has been evident to anyone who has watched him play since junior hockey. And it&rsquo;s part of what makes him a special player. Without it, Subban would not be nearly as effective on the ice as he is.</p><p>There are those who have assailed the Canadiens for making the NHL the No Fun League and those comments have merit, but let&rsquo;s put those aside for the moment. After what the Canadiens made their fans endure last season, winning is the only form of entertainment they owe the masses. So this really has little to do with entertaining and more to do with allowing a young man to express himself without calling in the celebration police. The organization will argue this kind of thing isn&rsquo;t &ldquo;the Canadien way,&rdquo; and that players on a team with a history as illustrious as the Canadiens&rsquo; should maybe treat victories as though they&rsquo;ve experienced them before.</p><p>But I&rsquo;ll venture a guess this has nothing to do with respecting opponents and everything to do with keeping Subban in line. And the Canadiens are free to do just that if they think that&rsquo;s what will give them the most return from him, but if you want to create an emotionless automaton, don&rsquo;t be surprised if he plays the same way on the ice.</p><p>Subban reminds these eyes of a young Chris Chelios. You know, the guy who once made a veiled threat to commissioner Gary Bettman and did some rather, well, outrageous things off the ice early in his career. Like Subban, Chelios was one of those guys who was born to play hockey. And like Subban, he seemed to want to win the game every time he touched the puck. Sometimes it resulted in some great things, other times it ended in disaster.</p><blockquote class="pullQuote">&Prime;IF YOU WANT TO CREATE AN EMOTIONLESS AUTOMATON, DON&rsquo;T BE SURPRISED IF HE PLAYS LIKE ONE</blockquote><p>The thing with Chelios though, is that he was allowed to figure out how to pick his spots on and off the ice on his own. And what resulted from that was a Hall of Fame career complete with three Norris Trophies and three Stanley Cups. Once Chelios made the connections, he became one of the most zealous workout freaks ever, a great leader and a player who played the game at high level for more than two decades.</p><p>By stifling Subban and forcing maturity and conformity on him, the Canadiens are threatening to stop him in his tracks. And if that happens, you&rsquo;ll be able to pinpoint the exact moment in time when it happened.</p><p><b>CAN&rsquo;T GET ENOUGH CAMPBELL?</b> CLICK ON <b><a href="http://TheHockeyNews.com">thehockeynews.com</a></b>FOR KEN&rsquo;S EXCLUSIVE COLUMN<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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March 4, 2013

OPENING FACEOFF

RETURN OF THE MARKSMAN

BIG FAN

BEEN A LONG TIME COMING