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.

November 24, 2014

The Hockey News - Nov-24-14

<div class="byline">BY&nbsp;DOM LUSZCZYSZYN</div><p class="dropcap"><b><i><span>J</span>IM CLEGG ISN&rsquo;T YOUR AVERAGE</i></b>&nbsp;hockey fan, not even close. He doesn&rsquo;t just love hockey, he&rsquo;s in love with hockey. Clegg, 61, has spent most of his life travelling solo to every corner of North America to watch hockey, visiting 204 cities in total. To do what he has done during his lifetime takes extreme dedication and passion for the game. But for Clegg it&rsquo;s worth it, because every arena and city has a story to tell, one he&rsquo;s eager to find out and share.</p><p>For most fans, it&rsquo;s the game that excites them. For Clegg, it&rsquo;s something more. It&rsquo;s the history of hockey and the players that play it that gets him excited. It&rsquo;s all about going to the cities where players got their start, where it all began. He believes hockey is a family-oriented sport, and its players are the greatest citizen-athletes in the world.</p><p>That&rsquo;s the way he was brought up, as he and his family would often go out to watch his beloved Rhode Island Reds of the American League. His older brother worked with them for eight years and was the GM for two of them (see pg. 45). &ldquo;That family element, coupled with the dedication that players have made to get to that level, that&rsquo;s what sets them apart and what makes them who they are,&rdquo; Clegg said. &ldquo;The dedication of five o&rsquo;clock in the morning and skating on ponds and the mystique and the romance of it really cemented my interest in it.&rdquo;</p><p>That&rsquo;s why Clegg has an affinity for watching junior and semi-pro hockey. He&rsquo;s been to every city in the Canadian major junior circuit (current and defunct) to watch games and see the roots of hockey&rsquo;s greatest players.</p><p>That&rsquo;s not to say he doesn&rsquo;t love NHL hockey, too. When he speaks of one of his fondest memories, it&rsquo;s in childlike awe about his first time at Le Colisee where his hockey hero, Joe Sakic, led Quebec against Montreal. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s a wow factor to every place,&rdquo; Clegg said. &ldquo;But the high note to me was the Canadiens and Nordiques.&rdquo;</p><p>To see all these games, Clegg went on vacations planned around hockey. He&rsquo;d take in the sights of the cities and then go out to catch a local game. If he flew into Vancouver, for example, he&rsquo;d have six or seven different cities mapped out for a road trip. He&rsquo;d see the Canucks and then go off to catch some Western League games in smaller cities like Kelowna and Kamloops, with some British Columbia League games mixed in, too. &ldquo;It doesn&rsquo;t have to be as excessive as I&rsquo;ve done it,&rdquo; Clegg said. &ldquo;But if you&rsquo;ve got a chance through your travels, there&rsquo;s nothing better to do than to go to a hockey game at night.&rdquo;</p><p>Next up, Clegg wants to make his way to North Carolina and Florida. He&rsquo;s going to catch some Alberta Junior League and United States League games, too, and he also plans on re-visiting some arenas he&rsquo;s already seen.</p><p>And although he&rsquo;s seen some championships, he&rsquo;s never seen a team hoist the Stanley Cup, so add that to the bucket list. &ldquo;I just love being in an arena,&rdquo; Clegg said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m just very comfortable in that setting. Every team has a home arena, and every arena is home to me. That&rsquo;s me, it&rsquo;s a part of me.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-011261/9979325-1-eng-US/f0037-012.jpg" title="f0037-01" width="493" height="717"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>PUCK PIT-STOP</b></p><p>Wherever Jim Clegg goes on vacation, he makes sure to visit at least one hockey arena along the way.</p></figcaption></div><h2><b>40 STATES</b></h2><p><b>MOST GAMES</b></p><p><b>13 IN MASS.</b></p><p><b>12 IN N.Y. & TEXAS</b></p><p><b>11 IN MICHIGAN</b></p><p>Clegg is only missing 10 states to complete the U.S. map. Some of the stranger places he&rsquo;s seen games: Alabama, Idaho and New Mexico</p><h2><b>9 PROVINCES</b></h2><p><b>MOST GAMES</b></p><p><b>22 IN B.C.</b></p><p><b>20 IN ONTARIO</b></p><p><b>19 IN QUEBEC.</b></p><p>Clegg needs to catch games in Newfoundland and Labrador, the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and the Yukon to finish Canada<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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IN THIS ISSUE

THE GYPSY TRAVELLER

<div class="byline">BY MATT LARKIN</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0047-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-02408/9979964-1-eng-US/f0047-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p>DMITRIJ <b>JASKIN</b></p><p><b>HIGH PRAISE</b></p><p>Blues coach Ken Hitchcock said Dmitrij Jaskin has all the tools to be an elite top-six NHL forward.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(ROSS DETTMAN/CHICAGO WOLVES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-01622/9979971-1-eng-US/f0047-012.jpg" title="f0047-01" width="60" height="68"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>D</span></b><b>MITRIJ JASKIN WANTS TO PLAY</b> in St. Louis. Blues GM Doug Armstrong and coach Ken Hitchcock think he&rsquo;s good enough to play in St. Louis. Alas, he opened 2014-15 with the team&rsquo;s American League affiliate in Chicago. The Blues were just too deep, with too many players on one-way deals, so down went Jaskin, the team&rsquo;s No. 1 prospect in Future Watch.</p><p>In one sense, St. Louis is prospect heaven. The Blues are a well-coached Cup contender with plenty of great two-way players to learn from. In another sense, it&rsquo;s prospect hell, or at least purgatory. It&rsquo;s oh-so difficult just to make the team, as Jaskin learned, and even if you do, there&rsquo;s still the matter of winning Hitchcock&rsquo;s trust. Just ask Vladimir Tarasenko.</p><p>Talk to any scout, GM or hockey pool guru about the most promising young scorers in the game and Tarasenko&rsquo;s name pops up. There&rsquo;s no denying what he can do with the puck. He has an Alexander Mogilny-like ceiling. He made that clear with five points in his first two games two seasons ago.</p><p>That same year, Future Watch 2013 ranked Tarasenko the top prospect in the game. In an interview for that magazine, however, Hitchcock foresaw a bump in the road. &lsquo;Hitch&rsquo; predicted an adjustment from lateral puck movement to linear. Sure enough, Tarasenko slumped in the second half.</p><p>Between learning Hitchcock&rsquo;s scheme and cracking one of the NHL&rsquo;s densest, most talented depth charts, life is difficult for any Blues rookie. That&rsquo;s why Jaskin has an uphill climb. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s hard to be a rookie, but especially here, when you get 12 of the best players in the NHL,&rdquo; he said two weeks before being cut. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s way harder to get here faster and get more time. But that means you have to work for it harder than somewhere else.&rdquo;</p><p>Jaskin, 21, is an imposing power forward at 6-foot-2 and 196 pounds. Scouts compare his game to Marian Hossa&rsquo;s. Jaskin has heard it before, but he feels he has a bit of Milan Lucic in him, too. Seven summers ago, he was a gangly kid enjoying his other love: tennis. Surprisingly, he didn&rsquo;t have a big serve. &ldquo;I was just running around trying to stay in the game,&rdquo; he said.</p><p>He got by on footwork then, but, strangely, that&rsquo;s the one thing holding him back today. Hitchcock thinks Jaskin can play in an NHL top six now but that adding a step would make him an elite top-six player. &ldquo;All in all, he&rsquo;s going to be a good pro,&rdquo; Hitchcock said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s going to have to work on his quickness, which comes with time, and his pace, to create more 1-on-1 space for himself.&rdquo;</p><p>Jaskin put in work this summer, skating with Alex Pietrangelo multiple times a week. &ldquo;That was the biggest issue I had last year, staying faster for a little big longer, having more power,&rdquo; Jaskin said. &ldquo;We worked on it, and I feel great and ready.&rdquo;</p><p>But Jaskin wasn&rsquo;t up to speed, or he was simply a casualty because of his two-way contract. The Chicago Wolves didn&rsquo;t expect him back, but aren&rsquo;t complaining. Jaskin had 15 goals and 29 points in 42 games there last season before blossoming in the playoffs, where he led the team in goals and assists.</p><p>Jaskin is mature for his age. He said he gets it because of important life decisions. One was leaving the Czech League to play in the Quebec League in 2012-13. Not only did he go bananas, with 46 goals and 99 points in 51 games with Moncton, he learned the North American game. He bonded with his billet family and picked up English to go along with Czech and Russian. The other decision: accepting mentorship from his father, Alexej, a six-time Czech League champion. &ldquo;He gives me tips every day,&rdquo; Jaskin said.</p><p>Jaskin is the opposite of a normal rookie in that he lacks some speed and skill elements but excels at the mental, &ldquo;adult&rdquo; aspects. When asked if he&rsquo;s relied on any vets to shepherd him along, Jaskin said he took Blues 2014 second-rounder Ivan Barbashev under his wing, speaking to him in Russian to help him through camp. Jaskin is a man-child not just physically, but between his ears. &ldquo;The thing you like about &lsquo;Jask&rsquo; is that, because he played pro in the Czech Republic for two years before junior, his play without the puck is dependable,&rdquo; Hitchcock said. &ldquo;So while he&rsquo;s growing into the offensive game and making the adjustments, you trust him on the ice, because he&rsquo;s capable. In the positional part of the game, he&rsquo;s way beyond his years. He&rsquo;s like a 25- or 26-year-old even though he&rsquo;s only 21.</p><p>&ldquo;The offensive part of the game is growing. He&rsquo;s including more people in it. He&rsquo;s going to be a strong down-low offensive player, but while he goes through that, you still can put him on the ice and trust him and get his minutes, because he&rsquo;s so good in reading the game defensively.&rdquo;</p><p>So while Jaskin remains a work in progress, he&rsquo;s doing all the right things to earn marks with Hitchcock and ensure rookie life won&rsquo;t be so rocky once he sticks in St. Louis.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-03322/9979957-1-eng-US/f0047-032.jpg" title="f0047-03" width="211" height="202"></div><h2><b>DMITRIJ JASKIN</b></h2><p>POS RW AGE 21 HT 6-2 WT 196 lbs DRAFTED St. Louis, 41st overall in 2011<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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KEEPING SPIRIT OF ST. LOUIS

<div class="byline">BY MATT CARLSON</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0038-03" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-03774/9979363-1-eng-US/f0038-032.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>JONATHAN TOEWS</b></figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-011370/9979370-1-eng-US/f0038-012.jpg" title="f0038-01" width="75" height="84"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>J</span></b><b>ONATHAN TOEWS CONSIS-</b>tently comes through with big-time, highlight-reel plays on hockey&rsquo;s biggest stages. The Chicago Blackhawks captain&rsquo;s turbo-charged skating, great hands, ice sense and determination make him one of the game&rsquo;s most complete players. A power move through tight traffic at full-tilt late in a playoff game? Toews delivers as often and as well as anyone in the NHL.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-04631/9979356-1-eng-US/f0038-042.jpg" title="f0038-04" width="299" height="367"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS</b> <span class="photo-credit">(JEFF CURRY/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>But put the Winnipeg native, 26, on a different stage&ndash;say, in front of young, screaming, mostly female fans&ndash;and he nearly blows an edge. Toews, Chicago&rsquo;s &lsquo;Captain Serious,&rsquo; does things on the ice all but a few players can dream of, but last summer he looked less confident when he snapped a selfie at the opening of the Blackhawks fan convention. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t do this all the time,&rdquo; Toews said as he turned his back to the crowd to include them in the background of his shot. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not really a selfie guy, but I want you guys to go crazy.&rdquo;</p><p>It&rsquo;s the thought that counts. The fans erupted with wild cheering. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not on Twitter either, but I think the Blackhawks will tweet that out later,&rdquo; Toews said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got a picture of us all together. We don&rsquo;t have the Cup with us this year, but that&rsquo;s the plan for next year.&rdquo;</p><p>Toews&rsquo; focus doesn&rsquo;t drift far from his industry&rsquo;s ultimate prize, though he does lighten up now and then. Toews got down with teammate Patrick Kane in an awkward on-stage dance-off during a panel session at the convention. No one&rsquo;s groovethang shook smoothly, but fans howled with delight. Before Hawks games this season, a stone-faced Toews appears in a scoreboard video. The dryhumor message to fans: Don&rsquo;t get up and go to the john when play is in progress. It&rsquo;s wrong and rude.</p><p>Toews acknowledges fan outreach is important, including being involved with programs that give back to the sport, and charitable and community causes. That includes spontaneous class acts, like joining with Ottawa captain Erik Karlsson and giving his stick to a young cancer patient who dropped a ceremonial puck.</p><p>Yet even if the Blackhawks have become a powerhouse and hot ticket in Chicago, there&rsquo;s room for some privacy. &ldquo;As you go on with your career you become more recognizable, and I don&rsquo;t think it&rsquo;s so bad to any degree,&rdquo; Toews said. &ldquo;But obviously we have a good situation here in Chicago. There are other sports teams, and the pressure is taken off. We&rsquo;re not the No. 1 team under the microscope. It doesn&rsquo;t feel like, say, being in Toronto or Montreal would feel.&rdquo;</p><p>Toews doesn&rsquo;t exactly pattern his style after other no-nonsense NHLers who have worn a &lsquo;C&rsquo; on their sweaters. But he admits he has strong influencers. There also are strong parallels. &ldquo;I definitely looked up to guys like Joe Sakic and &lsquo;Stevie Y&rsquo; (Steve Yzerman),&rdquo; Toews said. &ldquo;Those were my heroes right there.&rdquo;</p><p>Sakic and Yzerman each played 20 seasons or more with one organization. Sakic won two Stanley Cups with the Avalanche while cranking out 1.19 points per game. Yzerman played on three Detroit championship teams and averaged 1.16 points. Through his first seven NHL seasons, Toews already has two Cups. He&rsquo;s averaging just less than a point per game, but that&rsquo;s attributable to playing in a different era. And Toews, the 2013 Selke Trophy winner, produces on both sides of the puck.</p><p>After signing an eight-year, $84-million contract extension last summer along with Kane, Toews also figures to be with the Blackhawks for most, if not all, of his career.</p><p>When the Blackhawks drift from their up-tempo, puck control game, Toews is the most likely candidate to get them back on track with a big shift or play. He&rsquo;s at his best as games become more meaningful. He&rsquo;s admired that same quality about Sakic and Yzerman. &ldquo;Those guys had all the skill in the world but were amazing world-class players who were even better as the games were bigger,&rdquo; Toews said. &ldquo;They won Stanley Cups. They were huge parts of their teams for many years.</p><p>&ldquo;Most of all they were humble people off the ice. There&rsquo;s something you can take away from them as people and players, so I have lot of respect for that type of person.&rdquo;</p><p><b><i>WE</i></b>&nbsp;<b><i>HELD VOTES ON <a href="http://THN.com">THN.COM</a></i></b>&nbsp;<i>asking which players to feature in our Team Reports. The story above and the stories that follow were chosen by you, the fans. Happy reading.</i><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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DEPARTMENTS

LEARNING FROM THE LEGENDS

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-08158/9978380-1-eng-US/f0006-082.jpg" title="f0006-08" width="472" height="2220"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(CHRISTIAN PETERSEN/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-07251/9978387-1-eng-US/f0006-072.jpg" title="f0006-07" width="77" height="77"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p>WHICH NHL TEAM HAS THE <b><i>BEST</i></b> FANS?<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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PUCKPOLL

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0003-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-021614/9978183-1-eng-US/f0003-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>SMASHVILLE</b></p><p>Denting a car for a good cause is one of many fun Preds fan activities.</p></figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-012224/9978190-1-eng-US/f0003-012.jpg" title="f0003-01" width="76" height="77"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p><b><a href="http://THN.com">thn.com</a></b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0003-02

OPENING FACEOFF

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-012284/9978228-1-eng-US/f0004-012.jpg" title="f0004-01" width="526" height="923"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>W</span></b><b>HEN</b>&nbsp;<b>WE WERE BUILDING</b> the formula for our NHL fan rating, the notion of noise was tabled. Should we try to concoct a volume measurement and weave that into the calculations?</p><p>The suggestion fell on deaf ears, for a couple reasons. For starters, we couldn&rsquo;t think of an objective methodology. There is no decibel-per-game average available anywhere. Secondly, and more to the point, loudness doesn&rsquo;t necessarily equal good fandom.</p><p>Some of the noisiest partiers at NHL arenas are just that: dudes who&rsquo;ve made a bunch of visits to the beer line. Or they&rsquo;re revelers, more in it for a good time than the appreciation of what&rsquo;s unfolding before them. I&rsquo;ve been to contests with people who couldn&rsquo;t name the home team&rsquo;s starting goalie, but they yelled lustily to be part of the community. And I&rsquo;ve been to games with people who know what the seventh defenseman eats for breakfast, yet they&rsquo;ve sat on their hands the entire time, keenly taking in all nuances, ebbs and flows.</p><p>In my world, the die-heartiest of fans needn&rsquo;t be boisterous, but they should be intense, bordering on obsessive. You fall into this category if you&rsquo;ve experienced most or all of the following:</p><p>&bull; You lose sleep when your team loses. You replay games in your mind while you&rsquo;re lying in bed, playing the &ldquo;if only&hellip;&rdquo; game. If only Johnson had shot instead of passed. If only the referee had called it the same way for both teams. If only they&rsquo;d listen to me.</p><p>&bull; You yell at the TV as if the players/coaches/refs can hear you.</p><p>&bull; You bask when your team wins. Again, this can cause insomnia, but in a good way. You lie awake, re-living moments and predicting future outcomes. And the wins aren&rsquo;t just joyous, they provide relief.</p><p>&bull; You refer to your club as though you&rsquo;re on it. As in &ldquo;we beat the Pens&rdquo; last night. You do this more often when &ldquo;we&rsquo;re&rdquo; on a hot streak.</p><p>&bull; You speak volumes with your wallet. Anyone can buy a jersey, but you also own an assortment of licensed hats, mugs, pennants, T-shirts, DVDs, golf balls, toothbrushes and, if applicable, infant onesies.</p><p>&bull; You use vacation days to plan road trips in enemy territory.</p><p>&bull; You organize your social calendar around game nights, trade deadline day and the first round of the NHL draft.</p><p>&bull; You have a subscription to The Hockey News.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-021935/9978221-1-eng-US/f0004-022.jpg" title="f0004-02" width="414" height="222"></div><p><b>NEXT ISSUE</b> DEC. 8, 2014</p><p><b>CUSTOMER SERVICE AND TO SUBSCRIBE:</b> <a href="http://THN.com">thn.com</a></p><p><b>CONTACT US:</b> <a href="mailto:editorial@thehockeynews.com">editorial@thehockeynews.com</a><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0004-01

CRAZED OVER WILD

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-04663/9978297-1-eng-US/f0006-042.jpg" title="f0006-04" width="411" height="638"></div><h2><b>HAIL THE KING</b></h2><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-05524/9978311-1-eng-US/f0006-052.jpg" title="f0006-05" width="140" height="88"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span>hanks to Ken Campbell for recognizing Henrik Lundqvist&rsquo;s amazing attribute of consistency (Overtime, Oct. 27). It has always bothered me that each season there seems to be some upstart who has a great year, wins the Vezina Trophy, and then falls off the map a season or two later. Lundqvist has proven time and again he is one of the best in the world. Every year he is among the top goalies in nearly every statistical category and has been a finalist for the Vezina in five of his nine NHL seasons. And since my Rangers can sometimes be woeful to watch, I know I can count on Lundqvist to put on a great performance.</p><p><b><i>Donny Fuchs</i></b></p><p><b><i>Wesley Hills, N.Y.</i></b></p></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><h2><b>ONCE TOO MANY</b></h2><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-031031/9978304-1-eng-US/f0006-032.jpg" title="f0006-03" width="141" height="88"></div><p>I just got home from work and I&rsquo;m relaxing with a cold one and my current issue of The Hockey News, the Roberto Luongo guest editor edition (Oct. 27), which arrived today. Please, I&rsquo;m begging you, don&rsquo;t do this again. I really am not enjoying 50 pages of one guy tooting his own horn. This isn&rsquo;t what I signed up for.</p><p><b><i>David F. Formanek</i></b></p><p><b><i>Toms River, N.J.</i></b></p></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><h2><b>WRONG DOGS</b></h2><p>In Adam Proteau&rsquo;s Oct. 27th cover story, &ldquo;The Bite Is Back,&rdquo; when talking about the dominant Quebec League team Gerard Gallant coached for three seasons, you called them the Ice Dogs rather than the Sea Dogs. Living not far out of Saint John, I needed to make you guys aware of the slip-up.</p><p><b><i>Jeremy Vincent,</i></b></p><p><b><i>Sussex, N.B.</i></b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-06375/9978290-1-eng-US/f0006-062.jpg" title="f0006-06" width="524" height="582"><figcaption class="caption-body">GERARD <b>GALLANT</b></figcaption></div><h2><b>NO. 1? NOT TO ME</b></h2><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-09109/9978283-1-eng-US/f0006-092.jpg" title="f0006-09" width="140" height="88"></div><p>Most people look at the Chicago Blackhawks&rsquo; logo and see one of the best logos in sports. I envy them. For me, this is like one of those vintage &ldquo;Magic Eye&rdquo; posters. When I look at this logo, I see a missed opportunity. It&rsquo;s not a hawk with fearsome talons and a menacing scowl. It&rsquo;s a smiling Indian&rsquo;s head, crudely drawn and a tad busy. My gripe isn&rsquo;t with the logo&rsquo;s political correctness (or the lack thereof), though I find it interesting that the Blackhawks get a free pass never afforded the Stanford Indians, North Dakota Fighting Sioux or, especially, the Washington Redskins. I&rsquo;m well aware the nickname originated from a World War I Army division, but that&rsquo;s an even bigger opportunity missed. There&rsquo;s a whole trove of military insignia better suited for competitive sports than an Indian&rsquo;s head. Let&rsquo;s leave those on rare American nickels, shall we? The color scheme is fine, and the Blackhawks&rsquo; Winter Classic jerseys are among the best ever. But the best logo in the NHL? It&rsquo;s a team named after a military unit named after a Native American named after a bird. The logo is a man&rsquo;s head. I just don&rsquo;t see it.</p><p><b><i>J.P. Hoornstra, Los Angeles</i></b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p></div>

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THN INBOX

<div class="byline">Adam Somers, Toronto</div><p class="dropcap"><i><span>A</span>fter reading Hockey&rsquo;s Greatest Rivalries, I noticed a glaring oversight: fantasy hockey pools. I&rsquo;m a proud commissioner of an amazing league that has battled for about eight years now. It has served up plenty of fun and hatred and many great memories. My team, the Bruins &ldquo;The Franchise&rdquo; has battled the Chan/Whale year over year with both teams winning the Cup once. My wife and children speak openly of the distaste our home has for the Chan/Whale. I&rsquo;m looking forward to winning my Cup back this year.</i></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-012514/9978349-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg" title="f0006-01" width="632" height="578"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-021723/9978342-1-eng-US/f0006-022.jpg" title="f0006-02" width="142" height="137"></div><p>LOVE OR HATE ONE OF OUR FEATURES/STORIES? LET US KNOW BY EMAILING US AT <a href="mailto:letters@thehockeynews.com">LETTERS@THEHOCKEYNEWS.COM</a><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p></div>

f0006-01

FAN-NING THE FLAMES

<div class="byline">&#x2013;RUDY MEZZETTA</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-012404/9978439-1-eng-US/f0008-012.jpg" title="f0008-01" width="249" height="282"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-021846/9978432-1-eng-US/f0008-022.jpg" title="f0008-02" width="453" height="938"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-031320/9978425-1-eng-US/f0008-032.jpg" title="f0008-03" width="544" height="955"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-04756/9978418-1-eng-US/f0008-042.jpg" title="f0008-04" width="1582" height="801"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>CALIFORNIA LOVE</b></p><p>Last year L.A. got the <i>al fresco</i> treat. This season it&rsquo;s San Jose in the only Stadium Series game.</p><span class="photo-credit">(CALIFORNIA: HARRY HOW/GETTY IMAGES FANS: ADAM D&rsquo;OLIVEIRA PHOTOGRAPHY)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>W</span></b><b>HEN THE PREDATORS PART-</b>nered with the city of Nashville to build a new community rink&ndash;the twin-pad Ford Ice Center, which opened this fall&ndash;the goal wasn&rsquo;t merely to extend the team&rsquo;s brand. It was to convert new people to true hockey believers. &ldquo;Get a stick in someone&rsquo;s hands and they&rsquo;re a fan for life,&rdquo; said Sean Henry, the Preds&rsquo; president and chief operating officer.</p><p>Growing the fan base, while ensuring existing fans stay happy, is crucial for the league. It&rsquo;s a long-term commitment, said league executives, but it&rsquo;s the lifeblood for the sport, and by extension, the business of the NHL. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re always asking ourselves, is the game growing? Is it vibrant? Are the fans engaged?&rdquo; said Brian Jennings, the NHL&rsquo;s chief marketing officer.</p><p>It takes a multi-pronged approach: growing the game at the grassroots, working with media partners to showcase the league and its players and leveraging the power of special events such as the Winter Classic. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s about building brand equity over time,&rdquo; said Manish Tripathi, a professor who teaches sports marketing at Emory University. &ldquo;Customer relationship management is as important in sports as it is in any other industry.&rdquo;</p><p>Increasingly, technology and social media will be linchpins creating engagement, encouraging dialogue between fans, the players and teams, executives say. This is critical to winning over the next generation. &ldquo;Not only is social media ubiquitous, but it&rsquo;s an inseparable part of a younger fan&rsquo;s life,&rdquo; Jennings said.</p><p>Teams are using technology, too, to get a better sense of how their fans watch the game, and in turn, what promotions or reward programs will best suit them. The Washington Capitals are testing an app that allows fans to watch the game live while using Google Glass eyewear. Fans will be able to see team-supplied stats, replays and social media chatter without having to look down at a device. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s going to be better than the technology you have at home,&rdquo; said Joe Dupriest of Monumental Sports & Entertainment, the corporate owner of the Capitals.</p><p>Marquee events like outdoor games and other special occasions can draw in loyal and casual fans. Events leading up to the game, including open practices and chances to interact with players, draw in the broader community. &ldquo;In terms of generating buzz, the spectacle of these events is amazing for the NHL,&rdquo; Tripathi said.</p><p>Last season, the NHL held six outdoor games. This season, two are on the docket&ndash;the Winter Classic in Washington and a Stadium Series game in San Jose. Tripathi acknowledges the importance of moderation and maintaining novelty. &ldquo;How much are you diluting the effect if you start doing these events too often?&rdquo; he said.</p><p>Leading up to this year&rsquo;s outdoor games, the NHL will again make its players available for behind-the-scenes media content, this season with the network Epix, replacing HBO. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s peeling the helmet off of our players,&rdquo; Jennings said.</p><p>Last fall, the NHL signed a blockbuster Canadian broadcast deal with Rogers, through which the league expects to broaden its reach. The media firm is producing a series of Hockey 101 programs in 22 languages to draw in new immigrant communities who may be unfamiliar with the rules of the game. The league sees a great opportunity, too, in expanding its reach overseas, though obstacles such as time zones and cultural differences remain. The key, Jennings says, is to offer fans great online content in a variety of languages&ndash;<a href="http://NHL.com">NHL.com</a> offers a choice of eight&ndash;that they can tailor to their preferences. &ldquo;We increasingly look at ourselves as a global brand,&rdquo; Jennings said.</p><p>A revitalized World Cup of Hockey is expected to be a catalyst for a renewed push overseas, including bringing back games in Europe. &ldquo;(If we) get the World Cup laid out on a regular basis from a timing standpoint,&rdquo; said NHL commissioner Gary Bettman at a media event, &ldquo;then a lot of pieces to the puzzle will fall in behind that, including exhibition, regular season and other international competitions.&rdquo;</p><p>Of course, the greatest asset the NHL has in broadening its fan base is its existing one. The Predators have two ambassador groups, one consisting of season ticket holders and the other of college student fans, who are offered incentives&ndash;such as trips to NHL out-of market events&ndash;to introduce the game to more people.</p><p>While expanding the fan base is critical, it shouldn&rsquo;t come at the risk of turning off longtime fans, executives say. The key is to be conservative when making changes to the game itself and to honor hockey&rsquo;s history. &ldquo;If a marketing opportunity is going to come at the expense of our traditional fans, we&rsquo;re not going to do it,&rdquo; Dupriest said. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re our core.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0008-01

GROWING THE GAME

<div class="byline">By Charlie Teljeur</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0009-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-012132/9978470-1-eng-US/f0009-012.jpg"></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/f0009-021498/9978501-1-eng-US/f0009-022.jpg" title="f0009-02" width="662" height="713"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(DEBORA ROBINSON/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><h2><b>+PLUS</b></h2><h3><b>FREDDY LIVES</b></h3><p>Ducks&rsquo; <b><i>Frederik Andersen</i></b> becomes the second goalie in NHL history to win 25 of his first 30 games, tying 1970s Boston keeper Ross Brooks.</p><h2><b>&ndash;MINUS</b></h2><h3><b>ROAD SICK</b></h3><p>Players from Minnesota and St. Louis are felled by a bacterial infection most likely contracted while playing road games in L.A. or Anaheim.</p><h2><b>+PLUS</b></h2><h3><b>GOD OF GOALS</b></h3><p>Bowling Green fans celebrate the NCAA squad&rsquo;s hot start by creating a Twitter religion on scoring sophomore Kevin Dufour (#ChurchofDufour).</p><h2><b>&ndash;MINUS</b></h2><h3><b>BURIED IN DENVER</b></h3><p>In a surprising reversal of last season&rsquo;s start, the Colorado Avalanche win just two of their first 10 games, going from first to worst in the Central.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0009-02

PLUS MINUS

<div class="byline">&#x2013;BENJAMIN WENDORF</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0010-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-012379/9978616-1-eng-US/f0010-012.jpg"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>A</span></b><b>S THE FERVOR DIES DOWN FROM OPENING GAMES, NHL TEAMS AND</b> their fans shift into the time-honored ritual of agonizing over early-season results. A few coaches feel the walls close in and, regardless of testaments of faith by upper management, at least one will be fired in the first few months. Do teams make these decisions wisely? What measures can help us find out?</p><p>Reaching back to the THN Analytics stats primer, the best team measures we can use relate to regression and possession. For regression we can use &ldquo;PDO,&rdquo; or a team&rsquo;s shooting percentage plus save percentage (for historical comparisons, I only use the first two periods to avoid the effects of &ldquo;protecting&rdquo; leads). It&rsquo;s often expressed as a whole number like 980 or 1,000, rather than their actual values of .980 or 1.000. Teams far above or below a range of about 990 to 1,100 pull heavily (or regress) toward that range the remainder of the season. PDO is a great metric for this kind of study because its measure speaks directly to a team&rsquo;s success in scoring or preventing goals.</p><p>Possession is best measured by Fenwick Close, but we can go further back in NHL history using a team&rsquo;s shots-for in the first two periods divided by both teams&rsquo; shots-for in those periods, called two-period shot percentage (2pS%). It runs side-by-side with Fenwick Close, has a strong relationship with outscoring and provides 50 or so more years of data. These measures let us look at a large historical body of coaching changes. Through 140 changes (minimum 20-plus games per coach), the before-and-after of PDO and possession is telling:</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-021744/9978609-1-eng-US/f0010-022.jpg" title="f0010-02" width="1127" height="138"></div><p>The changes have barely registered an uptick in possession (0.4 percent is worth less than a goal), but that PDO shift would be good for about 14 goals. So NHL teams tend to cut bait when bad luck, not necessarily bad leadership, is the problem. For comparison&rsquo;s sake, I put together a complete list of 97 coaching performances in which they had significantly low PDOs through 20 games but didn&rsquo;t get canned:</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-031128/9978602-1-eng-US/f0010-032.jpg" title="f0010-03" width="1127" height="139"></div><p>Whether management stands by the coach or replaces him&ndash;across a variety of situations, teams, and eras&ndash;PDO gravitates toward its average. In terms of possession, it is likely stronger teams elicit better results and could help their coach&rsquo;s job security. If nothing else, they give their coach better odds of sticking around long enough for PDO to regress to league average. The volatile relationship between PDO and early-season results has caught many great leaders in its maw.</p><h2><b><i>1958-59 Billy Reay&ndash;Toronto Maple Leafs</i></b></h2><p>In 1958, Reay was a young coach fresh off his first year with Toronto, but recently hired GM Punch Imlach was eager to resume coaching after leading the American League&rsquo;s Springfield Indians the season prior. He gave Reay four games to remedy the Leafs&rsquo; slow start. Two ties and two losses later, Reay was fired. How did the Leafs fare?</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-04777/9978595-1-eng-US/f0010-042.jpg" title="f0010-04" width="1127" height="230"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-05560/9978588-1-eng-US/f0010-052.jpg" title="f0010-05" width="1114" height="709"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-06413/9978581-1-eng-US/f0010-062.jpg" title="f0010-06" width="1129" height="710"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(DAVE REGINEK/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>Reay never received the benefit of coaching future stars Frank Mahovlich and Bob Pulford at their peak, and it was Imlach who reaped the rewards of Reay&rsquo;s effort to convince a long-time minor leaguer named John Bower to try out with Toronto. By 1969, Imlach had three Stanley Cups and a pink slip, while Reay was leading a Blackhawks squad that would stay competitive through the mid-1970s. Take a guess which coach is in the Hockey Hall of Fame, and which in the Manitoba Hall of Fame.</p><h2><b><i>2000-01 Alain Vigneault&ndash;Montreal Canadiens</i></b></h2><p>Like Reay, Vigneault was a young coach in his first NHL job, but by late 2000 the Canadiens were languishing in last place. Vigneault might have felt the rug had been pulled out from under him. GM Rejean Houle traded away most of the Habs&rsquo; talent during Vigneault&rsquo;s tenure. To make matters worse, ownership was looking to sell and needed a way to increase confidence in its assets. Replacing Vigneault with Michel Therrien became one way to accomplish it.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-011975/9978574-1-eng-US/f0011-012.jpg" title="f0011-01" width="1127" height="230"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-021438/9978567-1-eng-US/f0011-022.jpg" title="f0011-02" width="1108" height="687"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-03964/9978560-1-eng-US/f0011-032.jpg" title="f0011-03" width="1134" height="717"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-04717/9978553-1-eng-US/f0011-042.jpg" title="f0011-04" width="576" height="496"><figcaption class="caption-body">ALAIN <b>VIGNEAULT</b></figcaption></div><p>It took Vigneault a few years to earn another opportunity at the NHL level. His success in Vancouver and New York has since solidified his reputation as a top hockey mind. Montreal removed Therrien by early 2003, only to bring him back in 2012, marking the club&rsquo;s seventh coaching change since 2000.</p><h2><b><i>2006-07 Mike Babcock&ndash;Detroit Red Wings</i></b></h2><p>Mike Babcock wasn&rsquo;t fired by Detroit, but I wanted to demonstrate an instance in which patience prevailed. In 2006-07, the Wings entered the season with sluggish percentages after a rough first-round upset at the hands of the Edmonton Oilers the previous spring.</p><p>Context is important here: Babcock&rsquo;s Red Wings went 12-6-2 through 20 games, while Reay&rsquo;s Leafs went 5-12-3 and Vigneault&rsquo;s Canadiens went 5-13-2. Solid possession work, a hallmark of Babcock&rsquo;s approach, helps when percentages fail. The possession chart was shifted up five percent on the y-axis to catch how high the Wings&rsquo; possession figure was early in 2006-07. The 62 percent mark is far above what anyone can expect a team to sustain, but even 55 percent is top-five in the league. Though the 2006-07 Red Wings didn&rsquo;t win the Cup, the following year, with Babcock at the helm, they would have one of the best seasons in NHL history.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-05557/9978546-1-eng-US/f0011-052.jpg" title="f0011-05" width="1125" height="228"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-06468/9978539-1-eng-US/f0011-062.jpg" title="f0011-06" width="1133" height="717"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-07416/9978532-1-eng-US/f0011-072.jpg" title="f0011-07" width="1133" height="717"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(BRUCE BENNETT STUDIOS/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><h2><b><i>Conclusion</i></b></h2><p>Over the course of NHL history, it is not uncommon for coaches with poor win-loss or percentage-reliant results early in the season to lose their jobs. There are certainly coaches that deserve that kind of pressure, but there are ways we can dig deeper to find out if this futility is a trend or if it&rsquo;s just a matter of patience. PDO can help us see if the percentages are likely to rebound, or regress, toward league-average, and possession measures can give us a sense of whether the coach is making decisions that could lead to success in the future.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0010-01

PUCK LUCK SWINGS AXE

<div class="byline">&nbsp;&#x2013;KEN CAMPBELL</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0012-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-012317/9978661-1-eng-US/f0012-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>ROCK BOTTOM</b></p><p>Scott Darling&rsquo;s career-low was getting let go from a last-place team in a low-level pro league.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(JONATHAN DANIEL/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>L</span></b><b>IKE A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO TURN</b> their lives around, Scott Darling experienced a dramatic epiphany. To be sure, his decision the morning of July 1, 2011, came much more quickly than the process it took to get him where he was&ndash;which was in a bed in his uncle&rsquo;s home in Boca Raton with a pounding head and a guilty conscience. Out of options and out of hockey, he was helping out at his uncle&rsquo;s memorabilia company and, aside from doing arm curls with a beer bottle, hadn&rsquo;t worked out in months.</p><p>Here&rsquo;s how bad it was: his goaltending coach had fired <i>him</i>. The worst team in one of the lowest pro leagues in North America didn&rsquo;t want him back. It was that morning Darling decided he had to stop drinking. More importantly, however, he had to somehow find a way to conquer a mental health issue that had plagued him since childhood. Darling had always suffered from social anxiety, and it was that disorder that caused him to medicate with his drug of choice, which was massive amounts of alcohol. &ldquo;I wasn&rsquo;t comfortable as a human being,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t think people liked me.&rdquo;</p><p>People like Darling now. Hockey people like him a lot. But the most important thing is that Darling likes himself after getting the medical help he needed that summer more than three years ago. Since he made that decision and set his life in the right track, he&rsquo;s gone from the Southern Professional League to at least a short stay in the NHL with the Chicago Blackhawks. Darling&rsquo;s is a story about second chances, but it&rsquo;s also about one man&rsquo;s ability to overcome his demons.</p><p>It wasn&rsquo;t always that way. Darling, 25, came from an affluent supportive family from suburban Chicago, one that was secure enough in his character to send him to the Notre Dame hockey factory in Saskatchewan in the eighth grade. By the time he was 16, he had left home to play junior hockey. One night in Albany, agent Matt Keator saw a 6-foot-6 Darling stop 65 shots for the Capital District Selects, but there were some red flags. Darling seemed to enjoy partying a little too much, and that reputation followed him to the University of Maine. It was there Darling turned 21 and could suddenly buy beer at any corner store, and it was then where things fell off the rails. Before his sophomore season was over, Darling had violated the school&rsquo;s code of conduct so many times that coach Tim Whitehead had no choice but to kick him off the team. &ldquo;In his freshman year, we saw a guy who liked to have a little too much fun off the ice, but I&rsquo;ve seen that with a lot of kids,&rdquo; Whitehead said. &ldquo;But it became clear in his sophomore year that it wasn&rsquo;t just a typical kid going through growing pains. He was suffering from alcoholism.&rdquo;</p><p>Darling still had no idea how badly he was sabotaging himself and basically said good riddance to Maine, thinking he would sign in 2010 with the Phoenix Coyotes, who drafted him in the sixth round three years before. But he went to camp out of shape and with a bad attitude and was cut loose, which started an odyssey that began in Las Vegas and ended in the SPHL. &ldquo;He had hit rock bottom at Maine,&rdquo; said Keator, who still represents Darling. &ldquo;But to be honest, he went down even further after that.&rdquo;</p><blockquote class="pullQuote">I WASN&rsquo;T COMFORTABLE AS A HUMAN BEING. I DIDN&rsquo;T THINK PEOPLE LIKED ME<br>&ndash;Scott Darling</blockquote><p>Darling played the 2010-11 season with the Louisiana IceGators of the SPHL and kept drinking more and caring less, all the while falling more dramatically off the radar. He had always felt uneasy around other people, and as desperately as he tried to fit in with teammates and friends, he always felt like an outsider. He never felt comfortable, with the exception of times when he was drinking. The more he drank, the more comfortable and socially accepted he felt. Like a lot of people who have substance abuse issues, Darling&rsquo;s problem was reality, alcohol was his solution. &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t want to deal with anything,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;The easy answer was always, &lsquo;I&rsquo;m just going to go and have some beers.&rsquo; And that turned into a long, long night every day.&rdquo;</p><p>Things continued to spiral. Darling had always trained and worked summers with Brian Daccord, the former goaltending coach for the Bruins who runs Stop It Goaltending in Boston. But after getting a call from a concerned parent about Darling&rsquo;s behavior, Daccord told Darling he was no longer welcome at the school.</p><p>Daccord now speaks of Darling like a proud father. When Darling came back the next summer, Daccord hired him back at minimum wage and ordered him into the weight room to lose the 40 extra pounds he was carrying. By the next summer, Darling had worked his way to the ECHL and was still not drinking. Around that time, former Predators and current Capitals goalie coach Mitch Korn called Daccord, asking him which player he would choose between two goalies he was considering for the fifth spot on the Predators depth chart. &ldquo;I said, &lsquo;To be quite honest with you, I&rsquo;ve got a better choice on the ice and he&rsquo;s in my four o&rsquo;clock group today and his name is Scott Darling.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-012019/9978654-1-eng-US/f0013-012.jpg" title="f0013-01" width="1032" height="884"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>DON&rsquo;T PINCH ME</b></p><p>Before meeting Patrick Kane in the NHL, Darling crossed paths with WWE legends Jake The Snake and Diamond Dallas Page.</p></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-021407/9978647-1-eng-US/f0013-022.jpg" title="f0013-02" width="483" height="508"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(BILL SMITH/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>Daccord filmed Darling&rsquo;s workout that day and posted it on YouTube so Korn could see it. Intrigued, Korn started doing his due diligence on Darling, then met him for dinner one night before offering him a two-way contract between the ECHL and the American League. Pekka Rinne&rsquo;s bacterial hip infection moved everyone up a notch in the organization and Darling found himself in the AHL with the Milwaukee Admirals. That led to a two-way AHL-NHL deal this season with Chicago, which led to a call-up when the Blackhawks ran into injury problems, which led to a threegame stint in October (two wins and a 1-0 defeat). &ldquo;From a talent standpoint, he&rsquo;s got the gift of God,&rdquo; Daccord said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s got a 6-foot-6 form with 5-foot-10 agility. He&rsquo;s a freak like Pekka Rinne is a freak.&rdquo;</p><p>The thing is, Darling doesn&rsquo;t feel like a freak anymore. He doesn&rsquo;t self-identify as an alcoholic, nor does he take medication for his anxiety issues. He simply knows he can&rsquo;t drink anymore. He has found inner strength and confidence that he never knew he possessed. The old Darling didn&rsquo;t think he ever deserved an NHL career, a loving girlfriend or a sense of serenity in his life. But he has all those things now. And even if the three games he played are the only three he ever plays, Darling knows he has already triumphed. The anxiety still resurfaces occasionally, but not the compulsion to drink. At least it hasn&rsquo;t for more than three years and, he hopes, never again. He can go to bars with teammates without feeling the compulsion to drink, something he attributes to finally being able to deal with life on life&rsquo;s terms. &ldquo;People don&rsquo;t want to change until they have to,&rdquo; Darling said. &ldquo;I really dug myself a hole before I woke up. I just busted a 180 and put my foot on the gas.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0012-01

SHUTTING OUT HIS DEMONS

<div class="byline">BY JARED CLINTON, EDWARD FRASER & CASEY IPPOLITO</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0014-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-012298/9978692-1-eng-US/f0014-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(MOVEMBER: FROLUNDA INDIANS)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span>his seemingly <i>Boardwalk Empire</i>-inspired photo is one way Swedish club <b>Frolunda</b> is supporting the &ldquo;Movember&rdquo; movement, which has grown from raising money and awareness for prostate and testicular cancers to now focusing on all men&rsquo;s health. Frolunda, which counts Henrik Lundqvist, Alexander Steen and Daniel Alfredsson as alumni and is one of Sweden&rsquo;s most popular teams, is also selling T-shirts and programs with all proceeds going to the movement. The Movember community has raised $574 million, funding more than 800 programs in 21 countries.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0014-01

Ice CHIPS

<p class="dropcap"><span>B</span>inghamton Senators center <b>Brad Mills</b> tested positive for an undisclosed performance-enhancing drug, resulting in a 20-game suspension. Mills, 31, has 34 games of NHL experience, including three last season with Chicago. He&rsquo;s in his first season in Binghamton after an eight-year AHL career that includes stops in Lowell, Albany and Rockford. Mills has apologized for the failed test, which is administered by the same doctors who supervise the NHL/NHLPA&rsquo;s performance-enhancing substances program. A second failed test results in a 60-game ban. A third gets a player banned for life.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-021732/9978723-1-eng-US/f0014-022.jpg" title="f0014-02" width="500" height="629"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(MILLS: BILL SMITH/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0014-02

Negative POSITIVE

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-031169/9978761-1-eng-US/f0014-032.jpg" title="f0014-03" width="631" height="606"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(DROUIN: ANDY DEVLIN/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>5 Teenagers to score for the Tampa Bay Lightning over the past 10 years after <b>Jonathan Drouin,</b> 19, potted his first NHL goal Oct. 24. The others are Brett Connolly, Victor Hedman, Steven Stamkos and James Wright.</p><p><b>291</b>&nbsp;Draft position of Detroit defenseman Jonathan Ericsson (2002) and St. Louis Blues goaltender Brian Elliot (2003), the lowest of any player to play in the NHL. The lowest-drafted forward to play in the NHL is Simon Gamache (290th by Atlanta in 2000).</p><p>500 Coaching wins for <b>Mark Carlson</b> in the United States League after his Cedar Rapids RoughRiders beat Sioux Falls Oct. 25. Carlson becomes the fifth USHL coach to reach the milestone and only the second, along with Mike Hastings, to do so with one organization.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-04801/9978754-1-eng-US/f0014-042.jpg" title="f0014-04" width="408" height="624"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(CARLSON: ROBERT J. MEYER)</span></figcaption></div><p>1 Player to have reached the NHL after playing in the Southern Pro League after Chicago Blackhawks goalie Scott Darling started and won a game against Ottawa Oct. 26. Darling spent two seasons in the SPHL between 2010 and 2012.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0014-03

By The NUMBERS

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0015-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-011985/9978792-1-eng-US/f0015-012.jpg"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>F</span>AMILIARITY BREEDS CONTEMPT, YES,</b> but in sports so does proximity. Some of the best rivalries in hockey are between two teams with only a short distance between them. Here are the 10 geographically closest NHL rivalries, with the record of the club that got the better of the head-to-head series from 2005-06 to 2013-14.</p><p><b>LA-ANA</b> 26 miles LA: 26-21-10</p><p><b>NYR-NYI</b> 51 miles NYR: 33-17-7</p><p><b>NJ-PHI</b> 51 miles NJ: 34-18-5</p><p><b>NYR-NJ</b> 83 miles NYR: 32-18-7</p><p><b>TOR-BUF</b> 99 miles BUF: 36-17-4</p><p><b>NJ-NYI</b> 128 miles NJ: 30-20-8</p><p><b>OTT-MON</b> 137 miles OTT: 29-21-7</p><p><b>PHI-WSH</b> 138 miles WSH: 18-12-6</p><p><b>PIT-CBJ</b> 151 miles PIT: 10-2-1</p><p><b>NJ-WSH</b> 181 miles NJ: 23-12-0<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0015-01

CLOSE, NO QUARTER

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-021410/9978823-1-eng-US/f0015-022.jpg" title="f0015-02" width="705" height="728"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p>SIDNEY</p><p><b>CROSBY</b></p> <span class="photo-credit">(GREGORY SHAMUS/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><h2><b>2013-14 REGULAR SEASON</b></h2><p><b>1.</b> Sidney Crosby</p><p><b>2.</b> Pavel Datsyuk</p><p><b>3.</b> Jonathan Toews</p><p><b>4.</b> Alex Ovechkin</p><p><b>5.</b> Patrick Kane</p><p><b>6.</b> Ryan Callahan</p><p><b>7.</b> Henrik Lundqvist</p><p><b>8.</b> Evgeni Malkin</p><p><b>9.</b> Claude Giroux</p><p><b>10.</b> Joe Thornton</p><p><b>11.</b> Milan Lucic</p><p><b>12.</b> Phil Kessel</p><p><b>13.</b> Zdeno Chara</p><p><b>14.</b> Henrik Zetterberg</p><p><b>15.</b> Rick Nash</p><p><b>16.</b> Steven Stamkos</p><p><b>17.</b> T.J. Oshie</p><p><b>18.</b> Tyler Seguin</p><p><b>19.</b> Joe Pavelski</p><p><b>20.</b> Ryan Miller</p><h2><b>2012-13 SEASON</b></h2><p><b>1.</b> Jonathan Toews</p><p><b>2.</b> Pavel Datsyuk</p><p><b>3.</b> Sidney Crosby</p><p><b>4.</b> Rick Nash</p><p><b>5.</b> Patrick Kane</p><p><b>6.</b> Marian Hossa</p><p><b>7.</b> Claude Giroux</p><p><b>8.</b> Ryan Callahan</p><p><b>9.</b> James Neal</p><p><b>10.</b> Zach Parise</p><p><b>11.</b> Henrik Zetterberg</p><p><b>12.</b> Joffrey Lupul</p><p><b>13.</b> Ilya Kovalchuk</p><p><b>14.</b> Brad Marchand</p><p><b>15.</b> Tyler Seguin</p><p><b>16.</b> Patrick Sharp</p><p><b>17.</b> John Tavares</p><p><b>18.</b> Patrice Bergeron</p><p><b>19.</b> Alex Ovechkin</p><p><b>20.</b> Zdeno Chara</p><h2><b>2011-12 SEASON</b></h2><p><b>1.</b> Claude Giroux</p><p><b>2.</b> Ryan Callahan</p><p><b>3.</b> Sidney Crosby</p><p><b>4.</b> Alex Ovechkin</p><p><b>5.</b> Henrik Lundqvist</p><p><b>6.</b> Jonathan Toews</p><p><b>7.</b> Tim Thomas</p><p><b>8.</b> Patrick Kane</p><p><b>9.</b> Pavel Datsyuk</p><p><b>10.</b> Jaromir Jagr</p><p><b>11.</b> Daniel Briere</p><p><b>12.</b> Tyler Seguin</p><p><b>13.</b> Zdeno Chara</p><p><b>14.</b> Milan Lucic</p><p><b>15.</b> Brad Richards</p><p><b>16.</b> Steven Stamkos</p><p><b>17.</b> Evgeni Malkin</p><p><b>18.</b> Nicklas Backstrom</p><p><b>19.</b> J. van Riemsdyk</p><p><b>20.</b> Joe Thornton<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0015-02

FAN FAVORIES

<div class="byline">&nbsp;&#x2013;AINSLEY SMITH</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-03980/9978854-1-eng-US/f0015-032.jpg" title="f0015-03" width="793" height="564"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>T</span>HE HOCKEY SAINT,</b> a graphic novel written by Howard Shapiro, is the sequel to his previous work, <i>Stereotypical Freaks</i>. Shapiro has written an honest account of the lives of a world-class hockey player and a star-struck fan who meet unexpectedly.</p><p>Tom Leonard is a college athlete who sets out to find answers about a mysterious hockey star named Jeremiah Jacobson, whom the media and speculating fans can&rsquo;t quite pin down. Upon their introduction, Tomlearns there&rsquo;s much more to his favorite player than what the media let on.</p><p>Lucrative contracts, perks and signing autographs only make up a small portion of a player&rsquo;s life, something Tom is shocked to learn about Jeremiah. But Jeremiah has many more admirable qualities, such as dedicating his free time to volunteering at a community food bank and visiting sick patients at the hospital. But his life is still far from perfect. Jeremiah learns he has to deal with the issues in his life he has been working so hard to avoid, recognizing that being a famous player isn&rsquo;t limited to the rink and that the scrutiny from fans and the media will never go away.</p><p>Grief, alcoholism and a serious look at the media all add to the eye-opening experience of this graphic novel. Although the book is relatively short, there are also recommended songs for the reader to listen to for each chapter, which change the overall reading experience.</p><p>There&rsquo;s a surprising depth to <i>The Hockey Saint</i> that readers might not expect to see from a comic book. Shapiro presents the reader with well-developed characters and honest emotions, which you can see through the novel&rsquo;s artwork.</p><p>This book will be popular with young adults with a dual interest in graphic novels and sports.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0015-03

SAINTLY READING

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0016-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-021570/9978885-1-eng-US/f0016-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>FAN RULE NO. 1&hellip;</b></p><p>Use your hands for clapping and leave the glass-banging to NHLers when they celebrate a goal.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(JOHN W.MCDONOUGH/SPORTS ILLUSTRATED/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-012062/9978892-1-eng-US/f0016-012.jpg" title="f0016-01" width="199" height="235"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>B</span></b><b>Y THE SIMPLE ACT OF READING THIS</b> magazine, you&rsquo;ve confirmed your love of hockey. And you probably want to be the best fan you can be, right? Of course you do. This is why you&rsquo;re going to want to heed the advice on being a better supporter I&rsquo;m about to lay out for you in the 592 words that follow this one.</p><p>Right off the hop, I want to speak directly to each and every one of you who is compelled to pound on the glass at ice level whenever the play is in your vicinity. And here&rsquo;s what I want to say: stop doing that. There&rsquo;s no need for it. You&rsquo;re not affecting the play or the players, other than to make them embarrassed for you. When I watch you banging your fists and palms, it makes me think one of two things could be going on: some voice inside your head has convinced you you&rsquo;re trapped behind the glass and you&rsquo;re attempting to &ldquo;escape,&rdquo; or you&rsquo;re proudly demonstrating to the world your brain still has the ability to control your arm movements. Either way, this doesn&rsquo;t reflect well on you.</p><p>It also doesn&rsquo;t reflect well on you or any fan if you&rsquo;ve stooped to doing The Wave. And before you get started, you can spare me your pro-Wave populist propaganda about getting people out of their seats and enjoying exercise during slow points of a game. Any self-respecting fan refuses to do The Wave for good reason. Do you know why? Because you know what you can&rsquo;t do when you&rsquo;re constantly standing up and sitting down and watching everybody else stand up and sit down like an unimaginative group of line dancers? Watch the game. Doing The Wave is like going to the movies and doing jumping jacks and burpees after the opening credits and every 15 minutes thereafter. And remember this: it&rsquo;s bad enough just participating in The Wave&ndash;but if you&rsquo;re a ringleader of The Wave, know that we&rsquo;re coming for you.</p><blockquote class="pullQuote">&ldquo;IT&rsquo;S BAD ENOUGH PARTICIPATING IN THE WAVE, BUT IF YOU&rsquo;RE A RINGLEADER, KNOW THAT WE&rsquo;RE COMING FOR YOU</blockquote><p>We&rsquo;re also coming for you if you&rsquo;re one of the dreaded Oblivious Fans. You know the type: if he (and yes, it&rsquo;s almost always a he) isn&rsquo;t careening through your row to get to his seat&ndash;not apologizing for turning your feet into the giant piano Tom Hanks used in the movie <i>Big</i> and/or kicking over your beer and popcorn&ndash;he&rsquo;s walking through the row above you spilling beer (and yes, it&rsquo;s almost always beer) on your head. And if he&rsquo;s not doing one of those things, he&rsquo;s talking loudly and obnoxiously on his cellphone or dropping F-bombs when there are kids within earshot. Have a little care and consideration for the people around you, for Gretzky&rsquo;s sake. Unless you&rsquo;re some sort of louse, why wouldn&rsquo;t you?</p><p>As far as I&rsquo;m concerned, there&rsquo;s no question you&rsquo;re a louse&ndash;in addition to a legitimate criminal masquerading as a fan&ndash;if you&rsquo;re one of these wretched souls who brings a laser pointer to a game and shines it into people&rsquo;s eyes. It&rsquo;s not far-fetched to suggest there are human beings (and I use that term loosely) thick enough to do this: it occurred at a game in Vancouver in 2010 and it happened again this year in Montreal. Protecting people from the permanent damage that can be wrought with these weapons demands punishments for those who&rsquo;d be so reckless as to use them.</p><p>Now, you can call this threat-based persuasion on my behalf, but rest assured I do it from a place of love. I want as many people as possible to enjoy the game, and all I know is if you&rsquo;re banging on the glass, doing The Wave, boorishly infringing on the joy of those around you and/or risking the physical well-being of anyone who&rsquo;s in attendance with you, you&rsquo;re taking away from the game.</p><p>And the best hockey fans always add to the sport they&rsquo;re there to watch.</p><p><b>WANT MORE PROTEAU?</b> GET DAILY UPDATES AT <b><a href="http://thehockeynews.com">THEHOCKEYNEWS.COM</a></b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0016-02

PUT THE FANTASTIC IN BEING A FAN

<div class="byline">BY STAN FISCHLER</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-021430/9978923-1-eng-US/f0018-022.jpg" title="f0018-02" width="958" height="1217"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>WHERE&rsquo;S WALLY?</b></p><p>Wally Hergesheimer&rsquo;s office was near the goal crease, where he eluded the likes of Tim Horton.</p><p><b><i>WALLY HERGESHEIMER</i></b></p><p><i>1927-2014</i></p> <span class="photo-credit">(TUROFSKY/HHOF IMAGES)</span></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-011940/9978930-1-eng-US/f0018-012.jpg" title="f0018-01" width="193" height="227"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>A</span>FTER WALKING OUT ON THE RANGERS COACHING JOB FOR A</b>&nbsp;similar stint with the Bruins in 1950, Boston coach Lynn Patrick never failed to zing his former team nor its stars.</p><p>One of Patrick&rsquo;s favorite foes was an unobtrusive little guy who wore No. 18 for the Rangers and never caused trouble, except to enemy goaltenders. Wally Hergesheimer, who died at age 87 on Sept. 27, was that target. &ldquo;Hergesheimer,&rdquo; snapped Patrick after the diminutive right winger had potted a pair, &ldquo;is nothing but a garbage collector.&rdquo;</p><p>By contrast, Wally&rsquo;s manager, Frank Boucher, smelled nothing but roses, laughing off Patrick&rsquo;s rip during the 1952-53 campaign with the perfect squelch: &ldquo; &lsquo;Hergy&rsquo; was my leading scorer (26 goals) last year and will do it again. I&rsquo;ll take that &lsquo;garbage.&rsquo; &rdquo;</p><p>Sure enough, in his sophomore NHL run, Hergy topped the Blueshirts scoring list with 30 goals and was runner-up for the Lady Byng Trophy. He was overshadowed only by a couple Hall of Famers, Maurice &lsquo;Rocket&rsquo; Richard and Gordie Howe. &ldquo;Hergesheimer succeeds,&rdquo; wrote Elmer Ferguson Award-winner Rex MacLeod of <i>The Globe and Mail</i>, &ldquo;because he digs industriouslyin those spots where the action is liveliest.&rdquo;</p><p>That the 5-foot-8, 155-pounder even made it to the NHL is a medical miracle. Starring on his neighborhood Winnipeg teams, Wally had his eyes fixed on junior when tragedy seemed to end hopes for a professional hockey career. Working in the off-season on an industrial punch press, he caught his right hand and lost part of his middle and index fingers. &ldquo;Frankly,&rdquo; he remembered, &ldquo;I never really expected to make it to the NHL. But losing the fingers never bothered me.&rdquo;</p><p>Hergesheimer also was inspired by his older brother, Phil, already an NHLer with Chicago. In time, Wally became a junior star and eventually moved up the pro ladder, winning the American League&rsquo;s rookie of the year award in 1951 with the Cleveland Barons. With that in mind, Boucher traded four players plus cash for Hergy and defenseman Hy Buller. It proved to be one of Boucher&rsquo;s best deals. &ldquo;Wally was clever,&rdquo; Boucher marvelled. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know how he did it, but he&rsquo;d zoom out of nowhere to bat the puck in the net. And the funny thing was you seldom noticed him until he scored a goal.&rdquo;</p><p>Playing all 70 games in his second season, Hergesheimer laughed off suggestions that eventually his small body would be crushed by the opposition Goliaths. &ldquo;My size is an advantage,&rdquo; he countered. &ldquo;Bigger fellows get hurt more. Besides, I can always keep out of their way&ndash;most of the time.&rdquo;</p><p>Then, a pause, and a typical Hergy quip: &ldquo;Not that I wouldn&rsquo;t mind having 40 more pounds. Sometimes I feel like blasting guys because there are a few players in the league who give it to me dirty.&rdquo;</p><p>During Wally&rsquo;s New York heyday he was centered by Paul Ronty with Neil Strain on the port side. Writing in the <i>New York Daily News</i>, Rangers beat man Dana Mozley asserted the line&ndash;and Wally in particular&ndash;had taken more abuse than any other trio in years. Rangers coach Bill Cook underlined the point after a game against the rugged Bruins. &ldquo;Big Ed Sandford belted Hergy across the neck three times with his stick and the referee (Red Storey) never called a penalty,&rdquo; Cook said. &ldquo;What Wally really needs is a cop on that line.&rdquo;</p><p>But he never got one.</p><p>A two-time NHL All-Star Game participant, the little man helped the Rangers to their first playoff berth in six years during the 1955-56 season. Throughout his career, Wally was revered by teammates and the media alike for his droll humor. Once, after he nearly came to blows with burly Boston defenseman Bob Armstrong, Wally quipped, &ldquo;Armstrong was lucky because if we ever really fought, I&rsquo;d have bled all over him.&rdquo;</p><p>By that time, Hergesheimer had earned respect throughout the league but especially in Montreal&rsquo;s Forum on the night of Oct. 3, 1953, when Wally scored twice in 79 seconds for the NHL All-Stars against the defending Cup champion Canadiens. Hergy&rsquo;s goals not only cemented the 3-1 victory but further enhanced the reputation of the All-Stars&rsquo; coach.</p><p>That happened to be Patrick, who no longer dared mock Hergy as a &ldquo;garbage collector.&rdquo;</p><p>Hergesheimer was 32 when his NHL days ended in 1959. He continued playing another four seasons in the AHL and Western League with the Buffalo Bisons, Calgary Stampeders and Los Angeles Blades. He and his wife Ruth then moved back to his hometown of Winnipeg, where he had a second career as an assistant manager of a liquor store.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0018-02

HERGY TOOK CARE OF THE GARBAGE

<div class="byline">BY MATT LARKIN</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0020-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-011693/9978996-1-eng-US/f0020-012.jpg"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>W</span>HAT</b>&nbsp;<b>CONSTITUTES TRUE FANHOOD? THE</b> easy explanation is the eye and ear test. The loudest, most decked-out supporters come across as diehard fans&ndash;like those of the big, bad Boston Bruins.</p><p>To us, however, fanhood is about faith above all else. It&rsquo;s not just supporting your team when the going is easy. What about standing behind your team when the losses pile up and paying to watch it lose when it costs you an arm and a leg? The Bruins fill the TD Garden, but the last time they missed the playoffs&ndash;twice in the season-and-a-half following the Joe Thornton trade&ndash;they ranked near the bottom in attendance.  On the other end, look at a team like Edmonton. Year after year, the Oilers struggle to progress in their &ldquo;rebuild,&rdquo; yet the fans keep coming, selling out Rexall Place and paying top dollar to watch a flailing operation.</p><p>It&rsquo;s easy to make fun of fan bases that blindly support their struggling franchises, but isn&rsquo;t that what true fanhood is, unconditional love? We set out to create a fan ranking system that rewards that quality. The formula applies the past five completed NHL seasons. The final rankings were an aggregate score over each category. Perfect science it ain&rsquo;t, but we believe we&rsquo;ve concocted an objective system. Enjoy.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-011356/9978989-1-eng-US/f0021-012.jpg" title="f0021-01" width="151" height="151"></div><h2><b>TOTAL SCORE</b></h2><p>An aggregate rank achieved by summing each team&rsquo;s rank across every category. The lower the numeral, the higher a team finishes.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-04429/9978982-1-eng-US/f0021-042.jpg" title="f0021-04" width="212" height="152"></div><h2><b>ATTENDANCE RANK</b></h2><p>Each team&rsquo;s rank in attendance capacity percentage over the past five seasons (2009-10 to 2013-14) is summed to create one number. Each team&rsquo;s five-year number is then ranked out of 30. What about Winnipeg&rsquo;s Atlanta years? The Jets&rsquo; 2009-10 and 2010-11 attendance capacity was simulated using their average capacity over their three seasons in Winnipeg.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-02880/9978975-1-eng-US/f0021-022.jpg" title="f0021-02" width="152" height="151"></div><h2><b>BLIND FAITH INDEX</b></h2><p>Which teams have the largest discrepancy between place in the standings and attendance? For each season, we calculated a plusminus, subtracting the attendance capacity rank from the league standings rank. A low finish in the standings combined with high attendance would produce a positive plus-minus (If the Oilers finish 30th in the standings but fifth in attendance, they are +25 for that season). The plus-minus is summed over the past five seasons. This category rewards fans with &ldquo;blind faith&rdquo; who sell out their arenas despite their teams&rsquo; struggles. It punishes fans who don&rsquo;t fill their buildings even with their teams flourishing.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-03564/9978968-1-eng-US/f0021-032.jpg" title="f0021-03" width="151" height="151"></div><h2><b>FAN</b>&nbsp;<b>VALUE</b></h2><p>Chicago-based publisher Team Marketing Report produces a yearly Fan Cost Index for each NHL club, calculating the price to attend a game based on tickets, beverages, food, parking, programs and clothing. We multiplied each team&rsquo;s yearly FCI by its attendance percentage that season. The rating rewards fans who pack arenas despite exorbitant costs and punishes fans who don&rsquo;t fill their building even at dirt-cheap prices.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-05305/9978961-1-eng-US/f0021-052.jpg" title="f0021-05" width="151" height="152"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(ADAM D&rsquo;OLIVEIRO PHOTOGRAPHY)</span></figcaption></div><h2><b>TWITTER FOLLOWERS</b></h2><p>The total number of followers on each team&rsquo;s official Twitter account.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0020-01

FEATURES

WHO HAS THE BEST FANS?

<div class="byline">&nbsp;Photo by Adam D&#x2019;Oliveira</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-011576/9979034-1-eng-US/f0022-012.jpg" title="f0022-01" width="894" height="843"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f00022-02/9979027-1-eng-US/f00022-022.jpg" title="f00022-02" width="3261" height="4108"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0022-01

FAN RANKINGS

<div class="byline">BY MICHAEL TRAIKOS</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-011517/9979093-1-eng-US/f0024-012.jpg" title="f0024-01" width="808" height="905"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-021090/9979086-1-eng-US/f0024-022.jpg" title="f0024-02" width="2525" height="2667"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(ADAM D&rsquo;OLIVEIRO PHOTOGRAPHY)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>A</span>SK SOMEONE OUTSIDE OF TORONTO TO</b> describe the stereotypical Maple Leafs fan and the image that immediately springs to mind is of a lawyer who arrives to the game late, has his head buried in his smartphone and is too busy eating sushi or networking potential clients to cheer. He isn&rsquo;t so much a fan as he is a spectator.</p><p>On a cool Saturday evening in late October, it seems as if the Air Canada Centre is full of suited-up and silent spectators. The arena is packed for a game against the Boston Bruins, but once the puck drops, everyone is study-hall quiet. With 10 minutes remaining and the Leafs trailing by four goals, three-quarters of the crowd has already left. The ones that remain serenade the home team with a smattering of jeers.</p><p>Outside, it&rsquo;s a completely different scene. Hundreds gather in Maple Leaf Square, a 20,000-square-foot atrium tucked in the shadow of the ACC, to watch a mediocre team that has gone 47 years without winning a Stanley Cup play live on a 50x80-foot giant flat screen. A young boy in a Phil Kessel jersey perches atop his father&rsquo;s shoulders. A group of teenagers try to start a &ldquo;Go Leafs Go!&rdquo; chant. &ldquo;Real fans stand outside,&rdquo; said Shawn Corbin.</p><p>There&rsquo;s some truth to that. The fans at the game, the ones you typically see on TV with expressionless faces, tend to be the minority. They are the ones who can afford to spend an average of $373, not including the $12 beers and whatever price sushi goes for these days, to sit on their hands. They are the ones who are generally mocked.</p><p>But Leafs Nation is huge. It stretches not only across the country, but all over the world. And in terms of pure numbers, there isn&rsquo;t a more passionate and loyal fan base in the NHL. In Buffalo, Florida and Detroit, visiting Leafs fans drown out the cheers of the home teams. In Ottawa, it got so bad that owner Eugene Melnyk once tried to ban anyone wearing a Leafs jersey from entering the building during a playoff game. He eventually relented, probably aware of the seats that would have gone unfilled.</p><p>From the view outside, that&rsquo;s where the animosity stems from, said Leafs GM Dave Nonis, who like everyone else in Burnaby, B.C., resented the fact Toronto was the center of the hockey universe when he was Canucks GM. &ldquo;It used to drive me crazy in Vancouver the amount of Leafs jerseys there were (in the crowd) when they came in to play us,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been around teams in other markets that have excellent fan bases. But there&rsquo;s nothing that compares to this.</p><p>&ldquo;When you see what they&rsquo;re like and how supportive they are, how committed they are, you can&rsquo;t just take it for granted. At the end of the day, you want to win for your team and the group in the dressing room, but more than anything you want to win it for our fan base, because it&rsquo;s just an amazing story with how supportive they&rsquo;ve been to us.&rdquo;</p><p>You have to be incredibly loyal&ndash;or incredibly dumb, as other teams&rsquo; fans might suggest&ndash;to support the Leafs through thick and thin. After all, this franchise hasn&rsquo;t won a Stanley Cup or even reached the final since the NHL was a six-team league. In the past 10 years, Toronto&rsquo;s only playoff appearance came in a lockout-shortened season.</p><p>It&rsquo;s easy to be a fan of the Montreal Canadiens, Chicago Blackhawks or Los Angeles Kings, because these are successful franchises. To be a Leafs fan takes blind devotion. The good times happened not in HD, but on black-and-white televisions. It might as well be fantasy.</p><p>In other cities, fans would have stopped showing up to the games and moved on to another team years ago. But like flies to a flame, the fans keep coming back to get burned again and again, even though they should know better. It&rsquo;s that continual disappointment that has forged the bond between fan and the team. Misery loves company. And with the Leafs, there has been a lifetime of misery to share a beer and some tears over. When the Leafs couldn&rsquo;t win in the 1970s and &rsquo;80s, it was owner Harold Ballard&rsquo;s fault for running the franchise like his own personal cash register. When the team failed to advance past the conference final in 1993, it was referee Kerry Fraser&rsquo;s fault for not calling a high-sticking penalty on the Kings&rsquo; Wayne Gretzky.</p><p>Fairweather fans? In Toronto, it has basically been overcast since 1967. No one talks about the good times, because some have not been around to experience any. Instead, heartache keeps getting passed down from generation to generation like it was a family heirloom. &ldquo;How did I get this blue heart? I was kind of born with it,&rdquo; said longtime fan Jude MacDonald, 37. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s hereditary for me.&rdquo; His grandfather was a Leafs fan. His father was a Leafs fan. And one day, his kids will be Leafs fans, which is sort of cruel when you think about it. After all, it&rsquo;s not easy being a fan of a team that takes and takes without ever giving anything back. More than half the league has won a Stanley Cup during the Leafs&rsquo; drought. Montreal, which is still Toronto&rsquo;s closest rival, has won 10 times&ndash;a fact every Canadiens fan is sure to remind you of.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-011525/9979079-1-eng-US/f0026-012.jpg" title="f0026-01" width="2726" height="1550"></div><p>If you had just discovered hockey, the last team you should pick to follow is the Leafs. Forget the overall failure&ndash;Toronto has no stars. It has never had a Wayne Gretzky or Bobby Orr or Patrick Roy in its lineup. No Leaf has won the Norris Trophy or led the league in scoring in the modern era. It has been almost 50 years since a Toronto player won the Vezina Trophy and nearly 60 years since someone was crowned MVP.</p><p>And yet, fans see lunch-pail players like Wendel Clark and Darcy Tucker through blue-and-white tinted glasses and treat them like rock stars. Doug Gilmour? Mats Sundin? They might as well be royalty. Even fourthline players cannot walk the street without getting mobbed. &ldquo;We pump everybody up,&rdquo; MacDonald said. &ldquo;Mats Sundin was a great player, but at the same time how much greater is he than Daniel Alfredsson? If you&rsquo;re really being realistic about it, even Wendel was not what we made him out to be.&rdquo;</p><p>So why do they follow this team? Is there an element of sadomasochism? Or is it just plain stubbornness? For some, it&rsquo;s a matter of choice. As in, they don&rsquo;t have any. &ldquo;I was about three days old when I got my Wendel Clark jersey,&rdquo; said Leafs defenseman Cody Franson, who was born in Sicamous, B.C. &ldquo;That was it. That&rsquo;s the way it was. It was my uncle&rsquo;s gift. He was a diehard Leafs fan. My grandpa&rsquo;s team was the Canucks and my dad was a big Flyers fan.</p><p>&ldquo;But I didn&rsquo;t really have a choice. Uncle Chris was in my ear talking Leafs all the time.&rdquo;</p><p>It&rsquo;s not just the uncle talking in your ear. The Leafs dominate the hockey discussion. If you watch a game on a Saturday night in Canada, it&rsquo;s the Leafs. You can&rsquo;t listen to sports talk radio without hearing someone discussing Toronto&rsquo;s power play or the leash on the head coach. They are the New York Yankees of the NHL, minus the success. &ldquo;It seems to be growing,&rdquo; Nonis said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s definitely generational. People are brought up Leafs fans. I think that&rsquo;s one of the reasons it runs so deep. These people are brought up to adore our team. We&rsquo;re very fortunate to have it. We haven&rsquo;t had the success that we&rsquo;d like or our fans deserve, but they&rsquo;ve been with us for a lot longer than I&rsquo;ve been here.&rdquo;</p><h2><b>UNCONDITIONAL LOVE</b></h2><p>As Toronto struggles in the standings, attendance stays incredibly strong year after year</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-021100/9979072-1-eng-US/f0026-022.jpg" title="f0026-02" width="1528" height="710"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(DAVE SANDFORD/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>The Leafs know this. And to an extent, they exploit it. Any other organization would have to deal with winning back fans. The Leafs have the opposite problem. The more they lose, the more popular they get. They dominate every category comprising the THN fan ranking chart (pg. 24). After the Leafs finished with the eighth-worst record, more than 10,000 people paid as much as $100 to wait in lines to get their favorite players&rsquo; autograph at an inaugural fan fest. Imagine that happening in Los Angeles.</p><p>The Leafs keep raising ticket prices. And the fans keep coming back. The list for season tickets isn&rsquo;t measured in names, but years. Even fans&rsquo; threats are empty. The same ones that throw jerseys onto the ice go back to the store to buy new ones. They can&rsquo;t help it.</p><p>It&rsquo;s like playing the same numbers every week in the lottery, even though you never win. You think about quitting now and then, but you&rsquo;re also afraid that once you do, that&rsquo;s the day your numbers will come up.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-03708/9979065-1-eng-US/f0027-032.jpg" title="f0027-03" width="1497" height="1570"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>BLUE-BLOODED</b></p><p>Many Leaf lovers are born into their fanhood, which is why they&rsquo;ll never abandon it.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(LEAF FAN: GRAIG ABEL/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0024-01

LEAFS NATION

<div class="byline">&#x2013;RYAN KENNEDY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-011400/9979131-1-eng-US/f0027-012.jpg" title="f0027-01" width="304" height="388"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-02984/9979124-1-eng-US/f0027-022.jpg" title="f0027-02" width="759" height="896"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(ARIZONA FAN: COURTESY OF LARRY FEINER)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>L</span>ARRY FEINER</b>&nbsp;has been through the wars as a Coyotes fan. The Arizona realtor has been a season-ticket holder for 11 years, amid countless rumors about owners and relocation. He knows the fan base is small right now, but he thinks he has the answer: &ldquo;Winning. Maybe a couple years in the playoffs where the team advances a few rounds. Phoenix is very fickle when it comes to sports. We&rsquo;ve seen it with the Diamondbacks and Suns, too.&rdquo;</p><p>Indeed, looking at overall attendance, baseball&rsquo;s Arizona Diamondbacks have been bottom-third the past six seasons, never averaging better than 55.3 percent capacity. The NBA&rsquo;s Phoenix Suns are in a similar situation, going bottom-third the past three years, with 86.2 percent arena capacity from last season representing its best showing&ndash;good for only 24th out of 30 teams. So when Feiner hears hockey doesn&rsquo;t belong in hot weather, he politely disagrees. &ldquo;Look at Los Angeles, Tampa Bay and Dallas,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We can put ice anywhere.&rdquo;</p><p>Before he moved out to Arizona in 1999, Feiner was in St. Louis, where he had season tickets for the Blues. And despite the fact that franchise has operated since 1967, the lifelong fan of the game wants to stand up for Coyotes fans and the newly christened Gila River Arena. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a fantastic building with a great sound system, and the in-house production is topnotch,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s obviously not full, but the fans we do have are some of the most passionate I&rsquo;ve ever seen.&rdquo;</p><p>In his spare time, Feiner is part of the grassroots hockey group Desert Hockey Development, which introduces the game (often in ball-hockey form) to youngsters in Arizona. With Scottsdale native Auston Matthews a potential No. 1 pick for the 2016 draft, the area is already producing talent. If that translates into more new fans, Feiner is clearly happy to show them the ropes.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0027-01

RAISING ARIZONA?

<div class="byline">BY STU HACKEL</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0028-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-011501/9979204-1-eng-US/f0028-012.jpg"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>C</span></b><b>HRIS FALCONE, A THEN-36-YEAR-OLD PHILLY</b> fan, got his 15 minutes of fame in March 2001 when he tumbled into the penalty box during a Maple Leafs-Flyers game in Philadelphia, trying to get at Toronto&rsquo;s Tie Domi. Fans behind the box were throwing beer and other projectiles at Domi, something not unheard of in Philly. So Domi returned fire. Armed with a water bottle, he squirted it over the low glass. Falcone lunged at Domi from two rows back, but he lurched too far. The glass gave way, gravity took over, and he spilled head first to the floor. The two went at each other, but linesman Kevin Collins jumped in before things got worse. The wild scene was replayed on sportscasts all over North America and has since been viewed a couple million times on YouTube. And it&rsquo;s still good for big grins. Hockey culture, after all, freely mixes rough stuff with laughs. But it&rsquo;s also a cautionary tale about the real boundaries for spectators and fans. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m where I&rsquo;m supposed to be,&rdquo; Domi said afterward in his defense, even though the NHL subsequently fined him $1,000. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s my work. That&rsquo;s my territory.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-011320/9979197-1-eng-US/f0029-012.jpg" title="f0029-01" width="1447" height="929"></div><p>It wasn&rsquo;t Falcone&rsquo;s territory. The concrete worker from Havertown, Pa., who had a few prior arrests and was jailed again, had gone too far.</p><p>That&rsquo;s frequently the bottom line on bad behavior by sports fans everywhere, including hockey fans: taking that unintended extra step, or tumble, in Falcone&rsquo;s case. There are exceptions, like the European soccer hooligans for whom gang violence was intentional. Then there was the mayhem that followed the Canucks&rsquo; loss to Boston at the 2011 Stanley Cup, where instigators reportedly chanted for a street riot in Vancouver as early as the first period. There was also premeditation by a fan in London, Ont., who imitated Spanish and Italian soccer crowds by hurling a banana at Flyers forward Wayne Simmonds, who is black, during a shootout attempt in the 2011-12 pre-season.</p><p>But most episodes seem to be situations that grow heated and spontaneously spin out of control: spectators exchanging punches; fans behaving inappropriately toward players, team personnel or game officials; or even the riots and near riots we&rsquo;ve witnessed to celebrate championships. These episodes involving fans often are unplanned acts in which emotions boil over or become misdirected.</p><p>In our age of celebrity, that misdirection can take other forms and pose dangers to players. Dustin Penner, for example, had to get a restraining order against a woman he&rsquo;d never met. According to Penner, she&rsquo;d made fake Penner Facebook accounts and created conversations between her account and the mock accounts to make it look like they had a relationship. In an interview this summer with Florida Panthers reporter Sophie Julia, Penner said police told him that when they put her in handcuffs the woman just laughed and said, &ldquo;This isn&rsquo;t over.&rdquo;</p><p>The legendary passion of hockey fans is integral to making the sport a compelling spectacle. But that passion has boiled over at times, dating back to the game&rsquo;s formative years. In 1890, the <i>Toronto Globe</i> criticized amateur teams that &ldquo;indulge in fisticuffs, and the action of some spectators in rushing the ice is also to be deplored.&rdquo; It would take a book to adequately chronicle and dissect the array of wayward conduct. Fortunately, it&rsquo;s not an everyday occurrence. The vast majority of hockey fans remain civil.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-011510/9979190-1-eng-US/f0030-012.jpg" title="f0030-01" width="1527" height="2210"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(PREVIOUS RENDER: ELSA/GETTY IMAGES (FIRE), BRUCE BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES (FANS))</span></figcaption></div><p>Jerry Lewis, emeritus professor of sociology at Kent State University in Ohio, is the leading social scientist in the study of fan violence in sports. He&rsquo;s been analyzing and writing about it since 1970 and specializes in examining large-scale episodes that often occur during playoffs in all sports. Hockey&rsquo;s contribution includes the Vancouver riot that caused more than $4 million in theft, vandalism and property damage; celebratory riots, like the one that accompanied the Canadiens Cup victory in 1993 in which there was also much damage; and smallerscale disturbances like Chicago&rsquo;s following the Blackhawks&rsquo; 2013 Cup triumph.</p><p>Lewis has found that in those large-scale disturbances, the fans (who he finds are often young white males) are acting out as players on the team for which they have such a strong identification. &ldquo;They want to perform an act of skill,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;But they perform an act of violence instead.&rdquo;</p><p>And, of course, they also seek attention. &ldquo;I have lots of reports and photographs in my files of violent fans looking for approval, looking to be on camera, when they commit these acts, raising their finger and saying, &lsquo;We&rsquo;re No. 1,&rsquo; &rdquo; he added. &ldquo;When they knock down a sign or break a window or overturn a car, all these are attention-getting acts.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-021041/9979183-1-eng-US/f0030-022.jpg" title="f0030-02" width="1530" height="1049"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(PREVIOUS DOMI: JIM LEARY/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>Some of that was echoed by the independent review of the 2011 Vancouver riot, whose authors not only blamed the instigators and those who followed them but also &ldquo;the people who stood around, providing an audience.&rdquo; Rioters posed for selfies they later posted on social media, and observers also grabbed images. Photos taken during the legendary March 17, 1955, &ldquo;Richard Riot&rdquo; in Montreal show groups of participants smiling and mugging for the camera.</p><p>That clash was the worst sports riot to that point in Canadian and hockey history. NHL president Clarence Campbell had suspended Maurice Richard for the balance of the regular season and the playoffs for punching linesman Cliff Thompson when Thompson tried to stop Richard from going after Boston&rsquo;s Hal Laycoe, who had cut The Rocket with a high stick.</p><p>The riot ignited the following evening when, despite warnings from city officials, Campbell showed up at the Montreal Forum for a crucial Canadiens-Red Wings game. (At the time, the Canadiens were battling Detroit for first place, and Richard led in the league in scoring.) A sizable sign-carrying throng had been demonstrating against Campbell outside the Forum for hours. Once he took his seat during the first period, objects were thrown at him, and he was physically attacked. In the first intermission, a tear gas bomb was thrown in his direction, and the crowd fled into the street. (The game was forfeited to Detroit.) After smashing the Forum&rsquo;s windows, the crowd moved down Rue Sainte-Catherine, destroying shops and vehicles and looting for 15 blocks. A dozen cops and 25 civilians were injured. &ldquo;But the greatest damage was not physical,&rdquo; wrote Sidney Katz in <i>Maclean&rsquo;s</i>. &ldquo;Montrealers awoke ashamed and stunned after their emotional binge.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-011371/9979176-1-eng-US/f0031-012.jpg" title="f0031-01" width="1600" height="1537"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(THIS SPREAD: TOP-LEFT: BRUCE BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES; BOTTOM-LEFT: PICTORIAL PARADE/HULTON ARCHIVE/GETTY IMAGES; RIGHT: B BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><blockquote class="pullQuote"><b>&ldquo;Fan violence tends to be short&hellip; which is about the only good thing you can say about it&rdquo;</b><br>&ndash;Sidney Katz</blockquote><p>The suspension ultimately cost Richard the scoring title and Montreal another Cup.</p><p>Many have ascribed a political subtext in the riot, the oppression of Quebec&rsquo;s French majority by the English minority. Richard himself eschewed politics, though opponents regularly used anti-French slurs to distract him on the ice. &ldquo;These riots tend to be relatively short-lived, compared to, for example, racial riots that have sometimes gone on for four and five days like the Rodney King thing,&rdquo; Katz wrote. &ldquo;Sports fan violence tends to be short, maybe four or five hours long, which is about the only good thing you can say about it.&rdquo;</p><p>Another of hockey&rsquo;s darkest episodes, Eddie Shore&rsquo;s 1933 blindsided assault on Ace Bailey&ndash;which left Bailey convulsing on the ice and resulted in the Leaf forward fighting for his life with a brain injury&ndash;was punctuated by angry Boston fans who accosted Toronto GM-owner Conn Smythe as he rushed to the dressing room after Bailey was carried off. Smythe had a running feud with a segment of the Boston Garden crowd, and on this night he was surrounded by a small mob under the stands, one of whom told Smythe that Bailey was faking his injury. Smythe tried punching his way out of things and ended up in jail for a few hours.</p><p>During the Original Six era, Black Hawks fans earned the reputation as the most hostile in the league. A particularly rowdy night might include chairs thrown over the boards onto the ice.</p><p>In 1949, one Hawks fan reached over the boards and grabbed the sweater of Habs defenseman Ken Reardon, who confronted the fan and was joined by a couple teammates. The fan jumped on the ice to get at Reardon, but was intercepted by referee Bill Chadwick. A 20-minute near-riot broke out in the stands, the crowd pushing on the pre-Plexiglas wire fencing behind the net, tearing it away from its frame. Reardon and two teammates were subsequently arrested, but the charges were soon dropped when the judge ruled the fans were the aggressors.</p><p>As an NHL referee, King Clancy had tough times in Chicago, too, including death threats. Once, as he jumped on the sideboards to avoid play, a woman sitting rink side jabbed a long hatpin needle into him. He halted the game and had her ejected. Another time, a fan threw a punch at him and Clancy climbed over the boards to retaliate. The former Hall of Fame defenseman didn&rsquo;t come out second best in that scrap.</p><p>Extending Lewis&rsquo; theory of fan riots to individual fan&rsquo;s misadventures, they can be equally motivated by overzealous loyalty. Fans who act out as players seem to believe they should physically respond when they feel aggrieved and can react as participants rather than spectators. In January 1989, 22-year-old Bruins fan Frank Barbaro hoisted himself over Boston Garden&rsquo;s low glass onto the ice and jogged toward referee Bill McCreary&ndash;only to be launched into the end boards by incoming linesman Ron Asselstine, then hustled off the ice and to jail.</p><p>McCreary had just declined to call a penalty on Winnipeg&rsquo;s Paul Fenton, whose stick had bloodied Boston&rsquo;s Glen Wesley. The Bruins protested to McCreary and coach Terry O&rsquo;Reilly was particularly incensed. The non-call set off a loud reaction in the Garden and Barbaro decided to try and redress the grievance in person.</p><p>O&rsquo;Reilly was playing for the B&rsquo;s in December 1979 when Rangers and Bruins players skirmished along the Madison Square Garden boards after the final whistle. A fan leaned over the glass to grab his stick, and O&rsquo;Reilly climbed over the boards to go after him. Many of the Bruins followed, leading to a wild melee in the seats, best known for Mike Milbury whacking a prone fan with his own shoe while the fan wrestled with Milbury&rsquo;s teammate Peter McNab.</p><p>Away from the arena and the major  ket spotlight, Newfoundlanders showed their worst side during a rugged 1975 Allan Cup semifinal series. Thirty-five fans of the senior league St. John&rsquo;s Capitals stormed the hotel of the visiting Barrie Flyers, breaking windows in the hotel as they tried to get to the Barrie players, who they felt had assaulted their local heroes during the first two games of the series in Ontario.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-011489/9979169-1-eng-US/f0032-012.jpg" title="f0032-01" width="2392" height="1385"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(BRIAN WINKLER/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>It&rsquo;s no secret that drinking often plays a role in these episodes, and it has fuelled countless fan-on-fan fights. The <i>Independent Review of the 2011 Vancouver Stanley Cup Playoffs Riot</i> lists alcohol consumption as a cause, though Lewis is hesitant to agree. He believes it just lowers inhibitions. &ldquo;What drinking does is give you permission to do what you wanted to do anyway,&rdquo; he believes. &ldquo;The literature on spousal abuse shows that.&rdquo;</p><p>A few too many beers reportedly went into one 21-year-old Nordiques fan&rsquo;s decision to jump on Le Colisee ice in 1992 and challenge the Sabres bench, where he was held by some Buffalo players while Rob Ray rained punches on him before police arrived to drag him away. The fan may have been bruised, but he had also won a bet with a friend. The beer apparently emboldened him to win the wager.</p><p>Crazy moments in NHL buildings occur less frequently now. Arena security has improved and gotten more sophisticated. Fans can anonymously communicate with arena guest services departments and identify individuals who could potentially become troublesome. Multiple cameras are trained on the crowd. Beer sales end after the second intermission. Nonstop in-arena music, video and live entertainers all contribute to a different, diverting environment than a few decades ago. &ldquo;These are things, like a guest services department, I never could have imagined when I worked for the Sabres in 1981,&rdquo; said the Predators senior vice president of hockey communications and public rela-tions Gerry Helper, who has previously been a public relations executive for Buffalo and Tampa Bay.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-021010/9979162-1-eng-US/f0032-022.jpg" title="f0032-02" width="819" height="1267"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(PATRICK MCDERMOTT/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><blockquote class="pullQuote"><b>&ldquo;Drinking just gives you permission to do what you wanted anyway&rdquo;</b><br>&ndash;Dr. Jerry Lewis</blockquote><p>Added Michael Santos, former Panthers assistant GM: &ldquo;With the glass around the rink being higher now, and the netting that&rsquo;s up there, a lot of these incidents couldn&rsquo;t happen today,&rdquo;</p><p>But these in-arena changes haven&rsquo;t entirely halted fan malevolence, which can occur anywhere.</p><p>After the 2012 Winter Classic at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, three Flyers fans wearing orange and black clashed with a pair of red, white and blue-clad Rangers fans outside a famous cheesesteak restaurant, severely beating one of them. The most aggressive Flyers fan, Dennis Veteri, was convicted and sentenced to a lengthy house arrest and five years probation.</p><p>And bad behavior has found a home in cyberspace: From the safety of their computers and cell phones, racist fans have used social media for offensive tirades against black players. When Washington&rsquo;s Joel Ward scored an overtime series winner against Boston in 2012, and when P.K. Subban tallied an OT winner in Game 1 against the Bruins in 2014, both occasioned a firestorm of tweets directing racial slurs at the goal scorers.</p><p>In our society&ndash;where we too often treat sports like war and war like sports&ndash;these incidents likely aren&rsquo;t going away.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0028-01

FANS GONE WILD

<div class="byline">BY&nbsp;RONNIE SHUKER</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0034-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-011511/9979249-1-eng-US/f0034-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>FANATIC FAN</b></p><p>Jason Comyn (facing page, with dad) waved to Patrick Sharp in every NHL arena.</p></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-021059/9979242-1-eng-US/f0034-022.jpg" title="f0034-02" width="1380" height="891"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(JONATHAN DANIEL/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><i><span>I</span></i></b><b><i>T WAS LATE MARCH AND CHICAGO</i></b> was in Pittsburgh to face the Penguins. Jason Comyn arrived at the arena early to watch his beloved Blackhawks warm up, just as he&rsquo;d done every game he&rsquo;d gone to since October. Patrick Sharp was gliding toward him with his stick on his knees and saw Comyn talking with an attractive woman in the stands.</p><p>Sharp had first noticed the travelling Hawks superfan back in October when Comyn was just beginning his epic road trip. Since then, Comyn would usually rap on the glass during the warmup, and Sharp would respond with a head nod. When Comyn saw Sharp coming toward him in Pittsburgh, he flashed him a sly look from the stands, and Sharp responded in kind, which caught the woman&rsquo;s attention. &ldquo;Did he just wink at you?&rdquo; she said.</p><p>Indeed he did. That&rsquo;s the kind of connection a fan can make with a player after following his favorite team around for a season.</p><p>Fans range from casual to crazy. Comyn is neither, but let&rsquo;s place him toward the latter end of the spectrum, since he&rsquo;s definitely a diehard. After all, it takes a dedicated fan to trail a team around the continent for nearly nine months. Comyn has never crunched the miles he put on his car or the amount of zeroes he depleted from his savings, but his 2013 Ford Focus ST has more than 100,000 miles on the odometer, despite being just more than a year old, and the money he spent on tickets, hotels, food, etc., would have easily bought him some shiny new white-collar wheels. &ldquo;I joke around with people and say, &lsquo;Well, it didn&rsquo;t cost me more than a new Mercedes,&rsquo; &rdquo; Comyn said. &ldquo;And then usually people ask, &lsquo;Well, which class?&rsquo; &rdquo;</p><p>Comyn didn&rsquo;t win the lottery. He&rsquo;s just a hardcore Hawks fan who had the perfect storm of circumstances, savings and freedom to go on the road trip of a lifetime.</p><p>His journey started out in North Carolina, of all places, where Comyn was celebrating his 39th birthday in August 2013. He was in Raleigh driving past the RBC Center when it suddenly dawned on him. &ldquo;I said, &lsquo;You know what? I can&rsquo;t believe I&rsquo;ve never seen a hockey game here,&rsquo; &rdquo; Comyn said. &ldquo;So then I got to thinking, &lsquo;Well, there&rsquo;s a lot of places I hadn&rsquo;t seen.&rsquo; And then, the way my summer had gone, I said, &lsquo;You know what? This year is going to be perfect. I&rsquo;ll never get a better opportunity to do this.&rsquo; &rdquo;</p><p>Earlier that summer, a plan to start a small business had fallen through for Comyn, so he had no job to tie him down. He also had some substantial savings he could burn, so finances weren&rsquo;t a problem. And as a single guy with no kids, he had the freedom to pick up and leave with no one&rsquo;s permission.</p><p>Last season, from Oct. 9 to May 26, Comyn followed his Hawks through every NHL city (40 games in total, including 10 playoff games) and somehow managed to squeeze in a visit to every American League rink as well. He drove to all but two arenas on his trip, which took him through 47 states and six provinces.</p><p>His Hawks were always the main attraction, but it wasn&rsquo;t all hockey, all the time. Comyn watched some NASCAR races, toured seven halls of fame, went to plenty of museums and caught up with several friends along the way. His car held up the entire time, and he only had to fly to two cities, Detroit and St. John&rsquo;s, to complete the NHL and AHL arena loops. Getting tickets was hassle-free, too. He occasionally used Stub-Hub or scalpers, but most of the time he&rsquo;d just buy a ticket on game day, which was easy since he only needed a single seat.</p><p>Comyn&rsquo;s pre-game ritual with Sharp wasn&rsquo;t the only interaction he had on his trip. During the Western Conference final, Comyn ran into a group of Blackhawks at a restaurant in Beverly Hills, including Duncan Keith, Niklas Hjalmarsson, Corey Crawford and Johnny Oduya. Comyn, who was wearing his Hawks jersey and sporting an impressive playoff beard at the time, introduced himself as &ldquo;the guy who&rsquo;s touring around&rdquo; with the team. That caught their attention and piqued their curiosity, and Comyn held court with guys for a while before their game that night against the Kings.</p><p>After touring the NHL&rsquo;s 30 arenas, Comyn ranks the United Center No. 1 (naturally), followed by the Bell Centre in Montreal, Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Rogers Arena in Vancouver and Bridgestone Arena in Nashville to round out his top five. As far as AHL barns go, Cedar Park Center, home of the Calder Cup champion Texas Stars, topped his list.</p><p>His favorite game? Jan. 3, of course. That&rsquo;s when Sharp had a hat trick against the New Jersey Devils.</p><p>Comyn is now back in San Antonio, but he&rsquo;s not done travelling to see his Hawks. After catching Chicago&rsquo;s season opener in Dallas Oct. 9, he saw a trio of games when the Hawks went through Ottawa, Toronto and Montreal in late October and early November. It&rsquo;s a micro reminder of his epic adventure last season. &ldquo;I&rsquo;d like to thank Patrick Sharp and the rest of the Blackhawks players,&rdquo; Comyn said. &ldquo;And all the players on all the other teams in both leagues. All the ushers, you know, staff, the fans of every place that have made me feel so welcomed in their buildings. And thank you God for inventing this great game.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-011396/9979235-1-eng-US/f0035-012.jpg" title="f0035-01" width="1409" height="2458"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0034-01

A ROAD WARRIOR

<div class="byline">BY&nbsp;GEOFF KIRBYSON</div><p class="dropcap"><b><i><span>A</span> SIDE FROM THE ODD PLAYER</i></b>&nbsp;on the opposition bench and a few on the home side, Gabe Langlois is the bestknown person at every Winnipeg Jets home game. Known simply as &lsquo;Dancing Gabe,&rsquo; the 51-year-old has ingrained himself in Winnipeg&rsquo;s sporting culture over the past quarter century for his unparalleled fandom and his unmatched dancing skills. Whether it&rsquo;s the Jets, the CFL&rsquo;s Winnipeg Blue Bombers, baseball&rsquo;s Winnipeg Goldeyes or high school sporting events around town, Langlois is there, showing off a soft sneaker whenever the music plays.</p><p>You want popularity? Cults would kill to have the following he has. Consider the fans who gathered at the intersection of Portage and Main in Winnipeg to celebrate the return of the NHL in May 2011. When Langlois joined the throng, the chants of &ldquo;Go, Jets, Go!&rdquo; were quickly replaced by &ldquo;Gabe, Gabe, Gabe!&rdquo; and he was mobbed for pictures and high fives.</p><p>As is often the case, the legend was pretty much born by accident. Langlois, who has a condition his mother considers to be autism, was spotted dancing at a sporting event in the early 1990s by Jets executive Mike O&rsquo;Hearn, who gave him a jersey. The rest is Winnipeg sporting history. &ldquo;Then, boom, I was on national television, TSN,&rdquo; Langlois said.</p><p>Just like the players, Dancing Gabe has a gameday routine. He eats dinner at the St. Vital home he shares with his mother in the suburbs, grabs his favorite jersey out of his closet (he has more than a dozen from various Winnipeg teams) and hops on the bus for the 20-minute trip to the MTS Centre. During the quiet ride, the only words that rise above the din of the engine are &ldquo;Hi, Gabe,&rdquo; as a new passenger boards and an enthusiastic &ldquo;Hi!&rdquo; in response. He passes the media entrance more than an hour before the opening faceoff, but there&rsquo;s no need to flash his credentials, which he proudly wears around his neck. He makes his way into the main concourse, buys a large popcorn and bottle of water and sits in the stands for the pregame videos and warmup.</p><p>And when the puck drops, it&rsquo;s go time. Langlois glides from section to section and puts on his moves during the musical interludes between play. Some involve an air guitar, some a 360-degree turn and others a fist-pump in the air. When he appears in a section, kids of all ages clap along, glad that Dancing Gabe has finally made it to their part of the building. When the music stops, he sits down in a nearby seat, if he can find one in the perpetually sold-out MTS Centre, or grabs his water bottle and scurries for the lobby to run around to the next section. When the music starts again, so does he.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-03800/9979294-1-eng-US/f0036-032.jpg" title="f0036-03" width="408" height="415"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-011412/9979287-1-eng-US/f0036-012.jpg" title="f0036-01" width="1369" height="780"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-02970/9979280-1-eng-US/f0036-022.jpg" title="f0036-02" width="551" height="551"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>FAN FAVORITE</b></p><p>Jets fans chanted Gabe Langlois&rsquo; name when Winnipeg got its NHL team back.</p></figcaption></div><p>And just like the coach&rsquo;s favorite player who gives his all regardless of the score, Langlois is no fair-weather fan. He dances and cheers just as enthusiastically during wins and losses. Between periods, he gets the rockstar treatment, constantly slapping the open palms held out in front of him in the main concourse, as well as signing autographs and posing for pictures. But Langlois isn&rsquo;t without controversy. A handful of fans resent the preferential treatment he gets, such as free admission to all pro games in Winnipeg. Whenever hecklers voice their displeasure, however, they&rsquo;re quickly drowned out by his fans.</p><p>Langlois was even a hot topic of conversation when the Jets sold out their building (for three to five years, depending on the section) in a matter of minutes in June 2011. In the old Winnipeg Arena, there was rarely any concern about him finding a seat if he needed one. But would the reborn Jets let him in? Would there be a capacity issue? Did the team figure it had maintained enough ties to the past already? The controversy was short-lived, as True North Sports & Entertainment quickly confirmed that Langlois would be given a season&rsquo;s pass. Jets spokesman Scott Brown said the team wasn&rsquo;t going to leave him &ldquo;out in the cold.&rdquo; &ldquo;He&rsquo;s been a loyal supporter of the Jets brand,&rdquo; Brown said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re supportive of people who have supported us.&rdquo;</p><h2><i><b>BIGGER IS BETTER</b></i></h2><p>This tale comes from The Hockey News&rsquo; book, <i>Biggest of Everything in Hockey</i>, which covers the giants of the sport in 50 colossal categories, ranging from the biggest arena to the biggest upset. <a href="http://THN.COM/BIG">THN.COM/BIG</a><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0036-03

DANCIN' GABE

<div class="byline">&#x2013;SARAH MCLELLAN</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0039-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-011255/9979443-1-eng-US/f0039-012.jpg"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-02855/9979450-1-eng-US/f0039-022.jpg" title="f0039-02" width="74" height="84"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-08304/9979436-1-eng-US/f0039-082.jpg" title="f0039-08" width="1373" height="944"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>OLIVER EKMAN LARSSON</b> <span class="photo-credit">(EKMAN-LARSSON: CHRISTIAN PETERSEN/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>N</span>OT</b>&nbsp;<b>MANY WOULD PASS UP A TRIP TO</b> New York City&ndash;especially if the visit included U.S. Open tennis&ndash;but a two-day stay in the Big Apple this September for the NHL&rsquo;s annual media day was particularly meaningful for Coyotes defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson, because it was an opportunity to expand his growing brand as a team ambassador.</p><p>Ekman-Larsson, 23, was Arizona&rsquo;s representative at the event, and while the Coyotes appreciate the Swedish blueliner&rsquo;s contributions all over the ice, the rest of the league hasn&rsquo;t been as quick to recognize his prowess. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s just inevitable,&rdquo; said captain Shane Doan. &ldquo;As the team does better, we do better and he gets more recognition. The team will do better by him doing better. It&rsquo;s all intertwined.&rdquo;</p><p>Ekman-Larsson is coming off a career year in goals (15), assists (29) and points (44), but he&rsquo;s become just as valuable to the Coyotes in his own end, as he regularly is tasked with shutting down the opposition&rsquo;s best. Despite his proficiency at both responsibilities, Ekman-Larsson hasn&rsquo;t consistently headlined the Norris Trophy conversation for the league&rsquo;s top defenseman.  &ldquo;I&rsquo;m happy about my season last year and just want to take the next step here and prove my game and that&rsquo;s what I have to do,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;That includes being a leader in this locker room and on the ice.&rdquo;</p><p>While Ekman-Larsson focuses on becoming even more of an impact player for the Coyotes, he&rsquo;s also tried to become more vocal among his teammates. At times this season, Ekman-Larsson has been paired with rookie Connor Murphy, a sign of the organization&rsquo;s belief Ekman-Larsson can be a mentor through his play. It&rsquo;s a challenge he enjoys.</p><p>He&rsquo;s also been active away from the rink. Aside from being a face for the team at the league press event, Ekman-Larsson has a suite donated to charity at every home game. Considering he&rsquo;s only in Year 2 of a six-year, $33-million contract, endeavors like these will only continue. But his most important influence on the Coyotes will always come on the ice. &ldquo;I want to be a leader for this team,&rdquo; Ekman-Larsson said. &ldquo;We have a lot of leaders in this locker room. I&rsquo;m probably not the loudest guy in here, but I&rsquo;m starting to lead with my game.&rdquo;</p><h2><b>TWITTER STARS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-03675/9979429-1-eng-US/f0039-032.jpg" title="f0039-03" width="328" height="505"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(KESLER: JEFF GROSS/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>Ryan Kesler (@Ryan_Kesler) Followers:</b>&nbsp;<i>283,711 (11th in NHL)</i></p><p>Kesler is a big baseball fan and often tweets his MLB buddy Justin Morneau. He&rsquo;s also a big fan of fishing and the outdoors&ndash;not to mention a proud papa. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m one happy dad!!! Welcome to the world Kinsley!!&rdquo; Also, &ldquo;I think I owe my parents a new fence. #100pucksaday&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-04569/9979422-1-eng-US/f0039-042.jpg" title="f0039-04" width="328" height="506"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(GAGNER: NORM HALL/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>Sam Gagner (@89SGagner) Followers:</b>&nbsp;<i>87,900 (71st in NHL)</i></p><p>Gagner has kept a low profile since landing in Arizona&ndash;no tweets since Aug. 12. After breaking his jaw last year, Gagner kept it light. &ldquo;Can someone hook me up with a @boosterjuice endorsement deal? I will be a pretty loyal customer for the next little while. #LiquidDiet&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-05486/9979415-1-eng-US/f0039-052.jpg" title="f0039-05" width="327" height="505"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(SAVARD: STEVE BABINEAU/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>Marc Savard (@Savvy91) Followers:</b>&nbsp;<i>47,895 (120th in NHL)</i></p><p>Savard hasn&rsquo;t played for several years, but he&rsquo;s the most followed Bruin since they aren&rsquo;t big on Twitter. He spoke out on a teammate&rsquo;s Olympic snub last winter. &ldquo;Congrats to all who made Team Canada. Rick Nash great guy but correct me if I&rsquo;m wrong but I&rsquo;d take Lucic all day over him!&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-06408/9979408-1-eng-US/f0039-062.jpg" title="f0039-06" width="328" height="505"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(GIONTA: BILL WIPPERT/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>Brian</b>&nbsp;<b>Gionta (@Giostyle21) Followers:</b>&nbsp;<i>126,416 (43rd in NHL)</i></p><p>When Gionta captained Montreal, he tried to tweet in both of Canada&rsquo;s official languages, with varying degrees of success. On New Year&rsquo;s Eve 2012: &ldquo;Happy New Year everyone! Bonne Annee mon Amis.&rdquo; And then, &ldquo;Sorry everyone. Bon Annee mes Amis! Still learning but trying.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-07355/9979401-1-eng-US/f0039-072.jpg" title="f0039-07" width="328" height="506"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(BOLLIG: DEREK LEUNG/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>Brandon</b>&nbsp;<b>Bollig (@Bollig87) Followers:</b>&nbsp;<i>91,173 (62nd in NHL)</i></p><p>Bollig didn&rsquo;t just bring along a big frame and a scrappy game to Calgary from Chicago. He also brought along a truckload of followers who know his favorite visiting city has to be Montreal. &ldquo;Our rooms in Montreal have bidets. Real easy way to kill 20 minutes. #towelplease&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0039-01

NEW ALPHA DOG IN THE DESERT

<div class="byline">&#x2013;ADRIAN DATER</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0040-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-02638/9979523-1-eng-US/f0040-022.jpg"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-01967/9979530-1-eng-US/f0040-012.jpg" title="f0040-01" width="75" height="84"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-03495/9979516-1-eng-US/f0040-032.jpg" title="f0040-03" width="1374" height="944"><figcaption class="caption-body">JAROME <b>IGINLA</b> <span class="photo-credit">(IGINLA: BRUCE KLUCKHOHN/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>F</span></b><b>OUR DIFFERENT UNIFORMS, ALL</b> since the start of 2012-13. Four different area codes, four different houses, four different coaches. Once as identifiable with Calgary as a great cut of Alberta ribeye, Jarome Iginla has kept his most ardent fans busy buying new jerseys from new teams the past two years.</p><p>From Calgary to Pittsburgh to Boston to Denver, Iginla has gone on a nomadic search for his first Stanley Cup. He hasn&rsquo;t found it yet and some have called him crazy for thinking it could come with the young and talented&ndash;but still flawed&ndash;Colorado Avalanche. Iginla doesn&rsquo;t think so, which he why he signed a three-year, $15.3-million contract over the summer.</p><p>While he looks and plays younger than his 37 years, Iginla knows Denver is probably his last stop. Despite a bumpy beginning to his and the Avs&rsquo; season, the 2002 Art Ross winner and three-time Canadian Olympian says it&rsquo;s no bull in his belief he can hoist the Cup that has eluded him for 17 seasons. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s been a slow start for the team and myself, but I think it&rsquo;s going to get better, I really do,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Not many teams in the league have not only our young talent, but talent, period. We&rsquo;re going to get it turned around. I&rsquo;m going to find ways to score again, and hopefully we&rsquo;ll look back on this as being a better team for it.&rdquo;</p><p>Iginla admits it was &ldquo;tough on his family&rdquo; with all the moving around the past two years. But he wouldn&rsquo;t trade the experience of playing in Pittsburgh and Boston for anything, despite coming up short in the playoffs. &ldquo;I got to play in a conference final in Pittsburgh, against Montreal in the playoffs with Boston,&rdquo; Iginla said. &ldquo;Losing that last game (stinks) and for a couple weeks you don&rsquo;t feel like talking about it with anyone, but that&rsquo;s pro sports.&rdquo;</p><p>Iginla doesn&rsquo;t want any sympathetic stories about his Stanley Cup-less career, even though he knows he&rsquo;s still going to get asked about it a lot. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been so blessed to play in the NHL this long,&rdquo; said Iginla, who potted his first two goals as an Av in a 7-3 victory over the Vancouver Canucks Oct. 24. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been real close to winning one (Game 7, 2004 with the Flames), but I still hope to win one, and believe me, it would be very, very exciting if that were to happen. I think I&rsquo;m going to get one here.&rdquo;</p><h2><b>TWITTER STARS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-04395/9979509-1-eng-US/f0040-042.jpg" title="f0040-04" width="328" height="505"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(LILES: GREGG FORWERCK/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>J-M Liles (@HoosierJM26) Followers:</b>&nbsp;<i>69,435 (85th in NHL)</i></p><p>Liles&rsquo; handle honors his Indiana roots. He takes on the persona #Streetcouchtiger when he sees a discarded sofa on a sidewalk. And sometimes he&rsquo;s star struck: &ldquo;Thanks @CavanaghTom for the follow! #Ed my favorite tv show of all time and huge thrill meeting you at MSG.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-05337/9979502-1-eng-US/f0040-052.jpg" title="f0040-05" width="328" height="506"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(KANE: JOHN RUSSELL/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>Patrick Kane (@88PKane) Followers:</b>&nbsp;<i>562,634 (3rd in NHL)</i></p><p>Kane is known for his fun-loving ways, but his Twitter personality highlights his patriotism. He often tweets support for the American troops. &ldquo;Seeing the soldier surprise his family last night at our game was great, gave me chills. Cool to meet him and his family after. #realhero&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-06298/9979495-1-eng-US/f0040-062.jpg" title="f0040-06" width="328" height="505"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(DUCHENE: ANDRE RINGUETTE/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>M. Duchene (@Matt9Duchene) Followers:</b>&nbsp;<i>215,906 (21st in NHL)</i></p><p>Duchene is proudly Canadian, but he&rsquo;s a natural fit in Denver. He tweets about the Broncos, and he&rsquo;s also an avid guitar player who shares Colorado&rsquo;s music taste. &ldquo;Grillin, airing out the gear and listenin to some country. Beauty night here in Denver. #lifeisgood&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-07259/9979488-1-eng-US/f0040-072.jpg" title="f0040-07" width="328" height="505"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(HARTNELL: JAMIE SABAU/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>Scott Hartnell (@Hartsy43) Followers:</b>&nbsp;<i>248,445 (13th in NHL)</i></p><p> Hartnell has made the #Hartnelldown meme a great charity initiative. His tweets often relate to it but also show off his humor, like he did watching <i>Dancing with the Stars</i>: &ldquo;First time watching @DancingABC and miss @ErinAndrews and I&rsquo;m kinda hooked (shhhh don&rsquo;t tell anyone)&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-08224/9979481-1-eng-US/f0040-082.jpg" title="f0040-08" width="328" height="506"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(BENN: GLENN JAMES/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>Jamie</b>&nbsp;<b>Benn (@jamiebenn14) Followers:</b>&nbsp;<i>75,351 (77th in NHL)</i></p><p> Benn hails from Victoria, B.C., and loves the nearby Seattle Seahawks. He tweeted a photo of him and some Seattle players with the Lombardi Trophy. Benn was ecstatic after the Seahawks won it all last year: &ldquo;What a game! Not even close! #Super-BowlChamps #Seahawks&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0040-02

FINAL SUMMIT IN THE ROCKIES

<div class="byline">&#x2013;BOB DUFF</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0041-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-01843/9979603-1-eng-US/f0041-012.jpg"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-02564/9979610-1-eng-US/f0041-022.jpg" title="f0041-02" width="74" height="84"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-08211/9979596-1-eng-US/f0041-082.jpg" title="f0041-08" width="1373" height="944"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>GUSTAV NYQUIST</b></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>F</span>EW</b>&nbsp;<b>NHLERS ARE SCORING GOALS IN</b> 2014 at a comparable clip to Detroit Red Wings right winger Gustav Nyquist, which is puzzling to him because he doesn&rsquo;t classify himself as a sniper. &ldquo;I know you (media) guys have painted it out like that,&rdquo; Nyquist said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve never really been a goal scorer. I&rsquo;ve always had more assists. It&rsquo;s been fun scoring some goals.&rdquo;</p><p>Nyquist scored 35 times in his first 100 NHL games. In the past five seasons, the Islanders&rsquo; Michael Grabner (39), Carolina&rsquo;s Jeff Skinner (37), Edmonton&rsquo;s Taylor Hall (36) and San Jose&rsquo;s Logan Couture (36) are the only other players to best that pace over their first 100 games in the league.</p><p>Last season was the first of his career in which Nyquist recorded more goals than assists. He may not see himself as a lighter of red lamps, but those who&rsquo;ve played with him since he first broke into the Detroit organization with Grand Rapids of the American League late in 2010-11 have witnessed a metamorphosis in Nyquist&rsquo;s game. &ldquo;The biggest difference over the last two, three years I&rsquo;ve seen him play is that he shoots the puck way more,&rdquo; said Detroit winger Andrej Nestrasil. &ldquo;I remember the first year in Grand Rapids, he always wanted to prepare the chance instead of taking the shot. The shot-first mentality was the biggest change for him.&rdquo;</p><p>Equipped with elite puck skills, tremendous speed and an innate ability to hold the puck and make plays, Nyquist is no one-trick pony. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s scored everywhere he&rsquo;s been, but he&rsquo;s scored points, not goals,&rdquo; said coach Mike Babcock. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s got a good shot, he&rsquo;s got elite hockey sense, and obviously he&rsquo;s got some confidence.&rdquo;</p><p>Nyquist, 25, took the route less travelled to the NHL, opting to leave Europe and play NCAA hockey at Maine, where he became a two-time Hobey Baker Award finalist with the Black Bears. But he believes he did his most important growing away from the rink. &ldquo;College is a great option,&rdquo; Nyquist said. &ldquo;You&rsquo;re not playing as many games, so you can build up a lot of weight strength during the season. &ldquo;You&rsquo;ve got to learn to manage your time. You&rsquo;re not staying with a family. You&rsquo;ve got to take care of yourself, prepare your own food and grow up a little faster.&rdquo;</p><p>This Swede, via Maine, has become a main man in Detroit.</p><h2><b>TWITTER STARS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-03459/9979589-1-eng-US/f0041-032.jpg" title="f0041-03" width="328" height="505"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(NYQUIST+DATSYUK: DAVE REGINEK/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>Pavel Datsyuk (@Datsyuk13) Followers:</b>&nbsp;<i>197,422 (23rd in NHL)</i></p><p>Datsyuk tweets to promote cancer awareness and prevention and many other charitable causes. This summer, when his clothing line came out: &ldquo;What charities should I donate part of the proceeds from the sale of my clothing line? Pick 3,&rdquo; with a link to where fans could vote.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-04397/9979582-1-eng-US/f0041-042.jpg" title="f0041-04" width="328" height="506"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(HALL: ANDY DEVLIN/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>Taylor Hall (@hallsy04) Followers:</b>&nbsp;<i>331,927 (8th in NHL)</i></p><p>Not only does Taylor Hall lead the Oilers in most offensive categories, his tweets score a lot of points. &ldquo;I wonder how old I&rsquo;ll be when I don&rsquo;t have to clean before the cleaning lady comes.&rdquo; And, &ldquo;Seems like nowadays girls only get pets to take Instagram photos with them.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-05358/9979575-1-eng-US/f0041-052.jpg" title="f0041-05" width="327" height="505"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(LUONGO: DOUG PENSINGER/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>R. Luongo (@strombone1) Followers:</b>&nbsp;<i>388,393 (6th in NHL)</i></p><p>Picking the best Luongo tweets is shooting fish in a barrel. Most are self-deprecating and all of them are witty. In August, after news that a hacker gained access to naked celebrity photos: &ldquo;Guys I know it&rsquo;s getting frustrating but bare with me, my nudes will be leaked shortly.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-06312/9979568-1-eng-US/f0041-062.jpg" title="f0041-06" width="328" height="505"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(QUICK: HARRY HOW/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>J.</b>&nbsp;<b>Quick (@JonathanQuick32) Followers:</b>&nbsp;<i>245,811 (14th in NHL)</i></p><p> The soft-spoken goalie takes fun jabs at Willie Mitchell. &ldquo;Going to miss how @Willie_Mitch33 slowed our cards games down to an agonizing pace.&rdquo; And, &ldquo;I have a signed stick for anyone who can provide a video of @Willie_Mitch33 fall during warmups last night.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-07269/9979561-1-eng-US/f0041-072.jpg" title="f0041-07" width="328" height="506"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(VANEK: MICHAEL MARTIN/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>Thomas Vanek (@T_Vanek26) Followers:</b>&nbsp;<i>69,110 (87th in NHL)</i></p><p>Vanek keeps up with hockey happenings. During the lockout, he retweeted pro-NHLPA opinions. When his native Austria qualified for the Olympics: &ldquo;Congrats to #TeamAustria! Unbelievable! I&rsquo;m sooo proud of the guys! #ProudAustrian.&rdquo; He also tweets about golf and tennis.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0041-01

CHANGING HIS STRIPES TO SNIPE

<div class="byline">&nbsp;&#x2013;PAT HICKEY</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0042-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-02593/9979683-1-eng-US/f0042-022.jpg"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-01896/9979690-1-eng-US/f0042-012.jpg" title="f0042-01" 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/f0042-03469/9979676-1-eng-US/f0042-032.jpg" title="f0042-03" width="1374" height="944"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>ALEX GALCHENYUK</b></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>T</span></b><b>HE ONE WORD THAT DESCRIBES</b> Alex Galchenyuk&rsquo;s rapid development as a budding star in the NHL is confidence. There&rsquo;s the confidence Galchenyuk has displayed since the day the Canadiens drafted him third overall in 2012, when he said he planned to make an immediate jump to the NHL despite missing most of the previous junior season following knee surgery.</p><p>And there&rsquo;s also the confidence coach Michel Therrien has shown in the youngster. Therrien is philosophically in tune with the Habs&rsquo; tradition of bringing young players along slowly, and that&rsquo;s the approach he took with Galchenyuk and Brendan Gallagher when they made their debuts in 2012-13.</p><p>But as he starts his third NHL season, Galchenyuk finds himself producing on a top line with Tomas Plekanec and P-A Parenteau, and Therrien has a difficult time reining in his enthusiasm. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s playing with confidence, but we have to remember that he&rsquo;s only 20,&rdquo; Therrien said. &ldquo;He still has things to learn.&rdquo;</p><p>Galchenyuk will be the first to agree, and one of his strong points is an eagerness to grow. He worked hard during the off-season to get stronger, and that was a factor when he outmuscled Detroit defenseman Kyle Quincey to score a tying goal in a late-October game against the Red Wings.</p><p>He&rsquo;s also distanced himself from the debate over whether he should play center. That&rsquo;s his natural position, and Therrien used him at center during Montreal&rsquo;s exhibition schedule, but there&rsquo;s a growing sense he&rsquo;s more effective on the wing.</p><p>It was Galchenyuk&rsquo;s play in the Ontario League with Sarnia that provided insight into his potential as a goal scorer. Coach Jacques Beaulieu wanted to create a line with his best players, and Galchenyuk was put on the wing because Charles Sarault could only play center. In his first few games, Galchenyuk displayed a tendency to look for an open linemate. Martin Lapointe, who was overseeing player development for the Canadiens, encouraged him to shoot more. When the NHL lockout ended and he was called up to Montreal, Galchenyuk was among the leading scorers in the OHL with 27 goals and 34 assists in 33 games. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll play wherever the coach wants me to play,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I played on the wing in junior and I&rsquo;m comfortable there.&rdquo;</p><h2><b>TWITTER STARS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-04379/9979669-1-eng-US/f0042-042.jpg" title="f0042-04" width="328" height="505"></div><p><b>P.K.</b>&nbsp;<b>Subban (@PKSubban1) Followers:</b>&nbsp;<i>479,168 (4th in NHL)</i></p><p> Subban is one of the NHL&rsquo;s best quotes, but it doesn&rsquo;t show online. Like many NHLers, he tweets to promote his charity work, since he doesn&rsquo;t need help promoting himself. &ldquo;Watch the difference first-hand that a @HyundaiHockey grant can have on the lives of Canadian youth.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-05321/9979662-1-eng-US/f0042-052.jpg" title="f0042-05" width="328" height="506"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(GALCHENYUK+SUBBAN+FISHER: CLAUS ANDERSEN/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>M.</b>&nbsp;<b>Fisher (@mikefisher1212) Followers:</b>&nbsp;<i>155,277 (34th in NHL)</i></p><p> Fisher, a prolific tweeter, often quotes scripture and mentions his famous wife, country singer Carrie Underwood. He&rsquo;ll sometimes voice opinions on the sport, too. After the NHL awards in June: &ldquo;No disrespect to others, but how has (Shea) Weber not won a Norris yet??&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-06285/9979655-1-eng-US/f0042-062.jpg" title="f0042-06" width="328" height="505"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(JAGR: LEN REDKOLES/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>Jaromir Jagr (@68Jagr) Followers:</b>&nbsp;<i>124,653 (44th in NHL)</i></p><p>The Czech legend doesn&rsquo;t tweet often&ndash;he hasn&rsquo;t updated his picture since leaving Dallas&ndash;but he is loved on social media. The surefire Hall of Famer has imparted his wisdom in the past: &ldquo;Just so everybody knows: Max Talbot is the most underrated and underpaid player in NHL.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-07242/9979648-1-eng-US/f0042-072.jpg" title="f0042-07" width="328" height="505"></div><p><b>John Tavares (@91Tavares) Followers:</b>&nbsp;<i>95,112 (54th in NHL)</i></p><p>Tavares played lacrosse growing up. His uncle is a legend of the sport. Tavares tweets about his uncle&rsquo;s Buffalo Bandits plus Team Canada: &ldquo;@CanadaLacrosse: WORLD CHAMPS!! Final score #TeamCanadaLacrosse 8, #USAMLax 5 #WorldLax&rdquo; Congrats to Canada on the title!&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-08187/9979641-1-eng-US/f0042-082.jpg" title="f0042-08" width="328" height="506"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(TAVARES+LUNDQVIST: BRUCE BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES; LUNDQVIST)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>H. Lundqvist (@HLundqvist30) Followers:</b>&nbsp;<i>401,533 (5th in NHL)</i></p><p>Living up to his rep as a cosmopolitan star, the impeccably dressed Lundqvist tweets pictures of himself with celebs like John McEnroe and Will Ferrell. &lsquo;The King&rsquo; still gets jacked about hockey: &ldquo;Starting my 10th season with @NYRangers, how did that happen? Excited to start!&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0042-02

FAR BEYOND HIS YEARS

<div class="byline">&#x2013;WAYNE FISH</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0043-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-01873/9979763-1-eng-US/f0043-012.jpg"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-02615/9979770-1-eng-US/f0043-022.jpg" title="f0043-02" width="74" height="84"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-08191/9979756-1-eng-US/f0043-082.jpg" title="f0043-08" width="1373" height="944"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>WAYNE SIMMONDS</b></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>W</span></b><b>HEN TOLD HE HAD FINISHED</b> first in a segment of The Hockey News&rsquo; &ldquo;most want to read about&rdquo; poll, Wayne Simmonds smiled and slightly bowed his head. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s flattering,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s humbling.&rdquo;</p><p>In Philadelphia, fans of Simmonds could have predicted that reaction, because they know he takes almost nothing for granted, including his off-season training program with fitness guru Matt Nichol, who kept greybeards like Gary Roberts and Mats Sundin ticking for so many years and is now developing new followers like Simmonds, Steven Stamkos and P.K. Subban. Nor does Simmonds take for granted his role in his about-to-be-expanded charity program, The Wayne Train, which helps disadvantaged kids, or his new role as alternate captain in a revamped Flyers leadership group.</p><p>Simmonds appreciates that fans like his work. &ldquo;Obviously I have to be doing something right if people want to know more about me,&rdquo; Simmonds said of the THN poll. &ldquo;Here (in Philadelphia), out on the ice, I kind of fit in with the town. More blue-collar, hardworking. They really appreciate that.</p><p>&ldquo;They go to work, put in their day, work as hard as they can to get the money to come to the rink. They pay for the tickets to watch us play. So, for me, it&rsquo;s such an honor to play in front of a town like that. I go out there and work as hard as I can. That&rsquo;s the way I&rsquo;ve been my whole life.&rdquo;</p><p>Simmonds plans to broaden his charity project this year, an extension of his Wayne&rsquo;s Road Hockey Warriors back home in Canada. &ldquo;When I get the funds (raised from the sale of T-shirts on his website, along with his own donations), I like to give back to the community,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I got a lot of help when I was younger, and without that help I wouldn&rsquo;t be here today.&rdquo;</p><p>Nichol&rsquo;s BioSteel camp might provide answers as to why Simmonds has moved to the head of the Flyers&rsquo; goalscoring class, leading the team last season with 29. Nichol has Simmonds hitting the gym five days a week in the summer but keeps it fun by incorporating activities like trampoline and beach volleyball on the off days. &ldquo;He is a mad scientist,&rdquo; Simmonds said with a grin. &ldquo;I just believe in everything he does.&rdquo;</p><p>That last line best describes how hockey fans feel about Simmonds, too, these days.</p><h2><b>TWITTER STARS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-03512/9979749-1-eng-US/f0043-032.jpg" title="f0043-03" width="328" height="505"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(RYAN: ANDRE RINGUETTE/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>Bobby Ryan (@b_ryan9) Followers:</b>&nbsp;<i>219,313 (20th in NHL)</i></p><p>Ryan&rsquo;s tweets are usually benign, but he made an exception after some white water rafting, firing at Brian Burke, who said &ldquo;intense&rdquo; wasn&rsquo;t in Ryan&rsquo;s vocabulary. &ldquo;Who was it that said I wasn&rsquo;t intense? Reading currents and buckling in. #likeaboss #intensityoffthecharts&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-04391/9979742-1-eng-US/f0043-042.jpg" title="f0043-04" width="328" height="506"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(SIMMONDS+GIROUX: ELSA/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>Claude Giroux (@28CGiroux) Followers:</b>&nbsp;<i>309,097 (9th in NHL)</i></p><p>Giroux takes his role as captain seriously, particularly off the ice with his charity work. He tells his Twitter fans how to help out, too. But the fun-loving center also cracks on teammates such as the Schenn brothers, Michael Raffl and even himself: &ldquo;Quoting myself&hellip;classic mixup.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-05343/9979735-1-eng-US/f0043-052.jpg" title="f0043-05" width="327" height="505"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(MALKIN: GREGORY SHAMUS/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>Evgeni Malkin (@Malkin71_) Followers:</b>&nbsp;<i>569,462 (2nd in NHL)</i></p><p>Most of Malkin&rsquo;s tweets are in Russian and all about his friends, Samsung and charity. When he tweets in English, it&rsquo;s Pittsburgh pride. To Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen: &ldquo;Congrats @TheCUTCH22 sportsman of year #dapperdan. When you come to Pens game?&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-06286/9979728-1-eng-US/f0043-062.jpg" title="f0043-06" width="328" height="505"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(OSHIE: DAVID E.KLUTHO/SPORTS ILLUSTRATED/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>T.J.</b>&nbsp;<b>Oshie (@OSH74) Followers:</b>&nbsp;<i>292,989 (10th in NHL)</i></p><p> Oshie&rsquo;s followers doubled during the Sochi Games after he scored four times for USA in a shootout win. He even received a tweet from president Barack Obama: &ldquo;Congrats to T.J. Oshie and the U.S. men&rsquo;s hockey team on a huge win! Never stop believing in miracles. #GoTeamUSA&ndash;bo&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-07244/9979721-1-eng-US/f0043-072.jpg" title="f0043-07" width="328" height="506"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(COUTURE: PATRICK MCDERMOTT/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>L. Couture (@Logancouture) Followers:</b>&nbsp;<i>182,989 (28th in NHL)</i></p><p>The vocal Buffalo Bills supporter is a popular retweeter and likes to kibitz with fans. He&rsquo;s not immune from taking jabs at teammate Jason Demers. &ldquo;@jasondemers5 You know it&rsquo;s a video game when they have you actually on the ice. Does coach know you&rsquo;re out there?&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0043-01

HARD WORK AND HUMILITY

<div class="byline">&#x2013;ERIK ERLENDSSON</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0044-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-02510/9979843-1-eng-US/f0044-022.jpg"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-01776/9979850-1-eng-US/f0044-012.jpg" title="f0044-01" 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/f0044-03388/9979836-1-eng-US/f0044-032.jpg" title="f0044-03" width="1374" height="944"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>VICTOR HEDMAN</b> <span class="photo-credit">(HEDMAN: SCOTT AUDETTE/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>T</span></b><b>HE SWEDISH TOWN OF ORNSKOLDSVIK</b> has churned out such NHL stars as Peter Forsberg, Markus Naslund and the Sedin twins, Henrik and Daniel. That list also includes Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman, the second overall pick in the 2009 draft. And when the summer months come around and NHL training camps get closer, some of those NHL stars unite. &ldquo;We skate together, usually from the beginning of August until we leave (for North America),&rsquo;&rsquo; Hedman said of Henrik and Daniel. &ldquo;So we get to hang out quite a bit and that&rsquo;s a lot of fun.&rsquo;&rsquo;</p><p>Hedman claims he has no problem telling the two apart, particularly as they have aged through the years. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s harder when you see a photo,&rdquo; Hedman said. &ldquo;But when you see them in person you can tell right away.&rdquo;</p><p>Hedman, unlike the Sedins, did not become an almost instant star. Joining a Lightning team with disorganized ownership and mismanagement at the top, Hedman was thrown into the fire. And though he showed flashes of the skating ability he possessed as a junior, he was never able to display the whole package while getting his feet wet at the NHL level as a teenager. Some were ready to label the 6-foot-6, 233-pound defenseman a bust.</p><p>Slowly but surely, however, Hedman has become one of the top blueliners in the league, finishing sixth in scoring among defensemen in 2013-14 with a career-high 55 points. His breakthrough season garnered him some Norris Trophy consideration, even earning him one first-place vote, as Lightning coach Jon Cooper encourages Hedman to be a part of the offensive attack when the opportunities arise. &ldquo;Somebody with that much size and strength, we don&rsquo;t want to tie him just to our end of the ice,&rdquo; Cooper said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s got a shot, he can see it, so when you mix all that together&hellip;&rdquo;</p><p>Now in his sixth season but still just 23, Hedman put his name into the preseason Norris discussion and exploded for seven points in four games. But a fractured finger halted that talk as Hedman is expected to be out until December. &ldquo;We get off to a good start, team&rsquo;s playing great, he&rsquo;s playing great, and it&rsquo;s just so unfortunate,&rsquo;&rsquo; said captain Steven Stamkos. &ldquo;Especially for him, because this was probably going to be a year he was going to be up there for the Norris.&rsquo;&rsquo;</p><h2><b>TWITTER STARS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-04307/9979829-1-eng-US/f0044-042.jpg" title="f0044-04" width="328" height="505"></div><p><b>S.</b>&nbsp;<b>Stamkos (@RealStamkos91) Followers:</b>&nbsp;<i>334,287 (7th in NHL)</i></p><p> Stamkos caused a stir this summer retweeting a blog by THN&rsquo;s Adam Proteau about him signing with Toronto when his Lightning contract expires in 2016. And he&rsquo;s outspoken. &ldquo;Coaches&rsquo; challenge in hockey? What if I&rsquo;m onside and they call me offside? Do I get a penalty shot?:)&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-05257/9979822-1-eng-US/f0044-052.jpg" title="f0044-05" width="328" height="506"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(LUPUL: GRAIG ABEL/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>Joffrey Lupul (@JLupul) Followers:</b>&nbsp;<i>282,021 (12th in NHL)</i></p><p>Lupul is among the NHL&rsquo;s most eligible bachelors and notable tweeters. His response to Blink-182&rsquo;s Mark Hoppus, who asked who would name a child Joffrey: &ldquo;People who don&rsquo;t read Chaucer and don&rsquo;t find the humor in an album titled Enema of the State,&rdquo; referring to a Blink album.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-06227/9979815-1-eng-US/f0044-062.jpg" title="f0044-06" width="328" height="505"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(STAMKOS+BIEKSA: JEFF VINNICK/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>Kevin</b>&nbsp;<b>Bieksa (@kbieksa3) Followers:</b>&nbsp;<i>159,906 (32nd in NHL)</i></p><p>Usually the life of the party, Bieksa also spends a lot of tweet space supporting charities and passing along greetings. &ldquo;@tsnjamesduthie: Roberto Luongo&rsquo;s first interview since the Schneider trade tonight/tomorrow on Sportscentre. Can&rsquo;t wait! PVR is set!&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-07195/9979808-1-eng-US/f0044-072.jpg" title="f0044-07" width="328" height="505"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(OVECHKIN: PATRICK MCDERMOTT/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>Alex Ovechkin (@ovi8) Followers:</b>&nbsp;<i>896,109 (1st in NHL)</i></p><p>Ovechkin uses Twitter to link to photos. He posts pictures of dogs, fans and, controversially, support for Russian president Vladimir Putin: &ldquo;Happy Birthday! You&rsquo;re on the right track. We respect your actions and support you always and everywhere as we love our country too!&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-08149/9979801-1-eng-US/f0044-082.jpg" title="f0044-08" width="328" height="506"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(KANE: MARIANNE HELM/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>E. Kane (@EKane9JETS) Followers:</b>&nbsp;<i>153,741 (37th in NHL)</i></p><p>Kane makes headlines tweeting controversial pictures of himself and enjoys shifting the focus to teammates like enforcer Chris Thorburn. &ldquo;Unfortunately I just suffered through a @CThornburn22 infomercial on the radio. You need to learn how to pronounce your E&rsquo;s and your R&rsquo;s.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0044-02

IT’S A MARATHON, NOT A SPRINT

<div class="byline">BY RONNIE SHUKER</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0045-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-01682/9979881-1-eng-US/f0045-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>HEARTS ON SLEEVES</b></p><p>Rhode Island Reds fans still wear their team&rsquo;s colors with pride at every alumni reunion.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(DAN AURELIO/R.I. REDS HERITAGE SOCIETY)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>I</span></b><b>N GODDARD STATE PARK, R.I., A FEW HUNDRED FANS HAVE GATH-</b>ered to reminisce about an American League team that played its last game nearly 40 years ago. They&rsquo;ve brought books, pamphlets, jerseys, shirts, photos, hockey cards&ndash;anything alumni can sign. And they&rsquo;re not shy about pimping their paraphernalia: hats, DVDs, pens, mouse pads, shirts, license plate frames, pins, banners, golf shirts, gym bags, aprons, cookbooks, coffee mugs, ornaments, posters, lapel pins and even, yup, doggie hoodies. The island&rsquo;s once-iconic Rhode Island Reds logo is everywhere.</p><p>At the Rhode Island Reds Heritage Society&rsquo;s annual reunion in August, it&rsquo;s clear a diehard group of fans still adore their long-defunct Reds. There&rsquo;s longtime superfan Don MacIntosh, who doesn&rsquo;t let his 104 years of age stop him from coming. One fan has made personalized candles for every Reds alumnus in attendance. Another has brought a dozen big black binders filled with photos and statistics of all but seven of the more than 600 players who ever suited up for the Reds. There&rsquo;s even an old team limousine with a Reds rooster as its hood ornament, driven by Dick &lsquo;Studly&rsquo; Bartlett, who has shuttled a handful of alumni between the hotel and all of the weekend&rsquo;s festivities.</p><p>For players who made a pittance when they played, this is the royal treatment. All their accommodations and meals are paid for, and for three days every summer they get to relive the good ole days with their fans. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve had NHL players come up and tell me even their NHL alumni associations don&rsquo;t treat them as well,&rdquo; said Buster Clegg, president of the R.I. Reds Heritage Society.</p><p>All this for a minor league team that relocated in 1977. Sure, the island got its AHL team back in 1992 with the Providence Bruins, but for these fans the Reds remain No. 1 in Rhode Island. &ldquo;They were great fans, I tell you,&rdquo; said Alton White, a Red from 1968 to 1972. &ldquo;When you came to play in Providence, you knew you were coming into a lion&rsquo;s den.&rdquo;</p><p>The Reds started in the Canadian-American League in 1926, then moved into the AHL when the Can-Am circuit went bankrupt. In their first AHL season, the Reds iced Milt Schmidt, Woody Dumart and Bobby Bauer before the trio became the Boston Bruins&rsquo; famous &lsquo;Kraut Line.&rsquo; All three are in the Hall of Fame. Another Hall of Famer, Frank Brimsek, led the franchise to its first Calder Cup in 1938. The Reds won a second championship in 1940 and captured a third in 1949. Their last title came in 1956 thanks to another Hall of Fame goalie: Johnny Bower. He&rsquo;s better known for bringing the Toronto Maple Leafs their last Stanley Cup in 1967, but Bower hasn&rsquo;t forgotten his Reds roots. So when the Heritage Society approached him several years ago with an offer he couldn&rsquo;t refuse, Bower and his wife were honored and have been making the annual 14-hour pilgrimage from Toronto to Rhode Island with a busload of alumni and fans ever since. &ldquo;They said, &lsquo;We&rsquo;d like to name a bus after you,&rsquo; And I said, &lsquo;A bus? What do you mean?&rsquo; And they said the &lsquo;Bower Bus,&rsquo; &rdquo; he recalled. &ldquo; &lsquo;Wouldn&rsquo;t you like that to come down here?&rsquo; &rdquo;</p><blockquote class="pullQuote">&ldquo;THESE ARE ALL COOL GUYS, AND THE FANS STILL LOVE THEM<br>&ndash;Buster Clegg</blockquote><p>It wasn&rsquo;t until 2000 the R.I. Reds Heritage Society formed, but since then it has grown to 700 strong, only 125 of which are players. It is run by a dedicated group of volunteers. The alumni association has produced a New England Emmy Award-winning documentary, a book about the franchise and a permanent exhibit at the Dunkin Donuts Center, where the Providence Bruins play.</p><p>And, of course, it holds its annual reunion every year in Rhode Island. Aside from Schmidt (who couldn&rsquo;t attend this year) and Bower, the names of most players are a &ldquo;who&rsquo;s who?&rdquo; of former Reds, some of whom went on to play in the NHL. But to fans, the likes of Jimmy Bartlett, Bob Beckett, Jean-Guy Gendron, Bob Leduc, Ed MacQueen, Howie Menard, Hartland Monahan and Co. are stars. &ldquo;These are all cool guys,&rdquo; Clegg said. &ldquo;And the fans still love them.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0045-01

WHEN THE REDS RULED THE ROOST

<div class="byline">BY RYAN KENNEDY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0046-02461/9979926-1-eng-US/f0046-022.jpg" title="f0046-02" width="326" height="356"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0046-03317/9979919-1-eng-US/f0046-032.jpg" title="f0046-03" width="986" height="1220"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p>DYLAN <b>STROME</b></p><p><b>HE OTTER KNOW</b></p><p>Dylan Strome is piling up points even though he&rsquo;s on a different line than Connor McDavid.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(BWIPPERT/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>S</span></b><b>HERRY BASSIN IS THE LEGENDARY</b> GM and owner of the Ontario League&rsquo;s Erie Otters, an oldschool hockey character you can&rsquo;t help but love. And even though the Otters were playing at Buffalo&rsquo;s First Niagara Center because Sabres fans really, really hope their NHL team drafts Connor McDavid next summer, Bassin was making sure the VIPs in attendance also got a photograph taken with Dylan Strome, the best second-line center in major junior hockey. &ldquo;This kid&rsquo;s going to go top 10!&rdquo; Bassin said to the group.</p><p>Right now, that might be conservative. Strome rang up an incredible 31 points in his first 12 games, second only to McDavid&rsquo;s 34 in the OHL scoring race. The two have been playing on different lines, but it&rsquo;s Strome who takes faceoffs when they team up on the power play and it&rsquo;s tantalizing to think of what kind of impact Strome will have once his 6-foot-3 frame is fully filled out. &ldquo;What sets him apart is his composure with the puck&ndash;he doesn&rsquo;t give it up,&rdquo; said coach Kris Knoblauch. &ldquo;He&rsquo;ll make a play, he&rsquo;ll drive the net and he brings traffic with him. He&rsquo;s our net-front guy on the power play.&rdquo;</p><p>The second-overall pick in the 2013 OHL draft, Strome got his feet wet last year on a very good Erie team loaded with NHL prospects. &ldquo;I learned so much from last season,&rdquo; Strome said. &ldquo;It was such a big help with guys like Connor Brown, Dane Fox and Brendan Gaunce there to help me out. In my second season, obviously I want the team to do better than (worry about) personal statistics, but both are great. I&rsquo;m having fun and the team is winning, so I have no complaints at all.&rdquo;</p><p>Fox, now in the ECHL, and Brown, who&rsquo;s now playing with the American League&rsquo;s Toronto Marlies, combined for 109 goals and 235 points last season, while Gaunce, starting netminder Oscar Dansk and shutdown defender Adam Pelech also left for the AHL. Andre Burakowsky went to the NHL, where he got off to a hot start with the Washington Capitals. Despite all that, Erie looks even better this season, and the skyrocketing ascents of McDavid and Strome explain a lot of that.</p><p>While McDavid gets a lot of the publicity thanks to his highlightreel ways, Strome is catching eyes with both his playmaking abilities and his awareness in the defensive zone. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s nice,&rdquo; Strome said. &ldquo;When you&rsquo;re out there and you make a good defensive play, guys respect it just as much as a good offensive play and it&rsquo;s really fun.&rdquo;</p><p>It&rsquo;s not surprising that Strome keeps an eye on his own end. After all, during the summer he scrimmages with some of the most deadly offensive players in the NHL: John Tavares, Jason Spezza, Jeff Skinner, P.K. Subban and Michael Del Zotto are all part of the same Athlete Training Centre workout group in the Toronto suburb of Mississauga. He also tries to watch as many games as possible featuring older brother Ryan Strome of the New York Islanders during the season. But when it comes to a model, Dylan looks to Joe Thornton of the San Jose Sharks for inspiration. &ldquo;He really exemplifies the whole 200-foot game, and I really feel he&rsquo;s one of the greatest passers in the NHL,&rdquo; Strome said. &ldquo;I like the way he takes faceoffs, he&rsquo;s a good leader on the ice and I love the way he sees players when they&rsquo;re open. He&rsquo;s the least selfish player on the ice every time he&rsquo;s out there.&rdquo;</p><p>It remains to be seen if Strome will ever be as jumbo as Joe, but he&rsquo;s definitely not average. Packing more pounds onto his frame is a priority, and he&rsquo;s not lightning-fast on his skates just yet. But for what it&rsquo;s worth, Thornton&rsquo;s 122 OHL points as a 17-year-old with Sault Ste. Marie are well within Strome&rsquo;s pace early on.</p><p>And assuming McDavid goes straight to the NHL next season, the Otters will need a new No. 1 to shoulder the load on offense. Strome has shown he can be that player.</p><p><b>44</b> Months separating Dylan Strome from older brother Ryan. The older Strome was drafted fifth overall by the Islanders in 2011 after a season in which he had 106 points. Dylan will also be a top-10 pick and surely eclipse 100 points.</p><h2><b>DYLAN STROME</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0046-04261/9979912-1-eng-US/f0046-042.jpg" title="f0046-04" width="233" height="198"></div><p><b>POSITION</b></p><p>Center</p><p><b>AGE</b> 17</p><p><b>HEIGHT</b> 6-3</p><p>&nbsp;<b>WEIGHT</b> 187 lbs</p><p><b>DRAFTED</b></p><p>2015 eligible<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0046-02

SECOND FIDDLE ALSO A DANDY

<div class="byline">BY RYAN KENNEDY</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0048-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0048-01487/9980023-1-eng-US/f0048-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p>THE <b>STRAIGHT EDGE</b></p><p><b>BEST OF BOTH WORLDS</b></p><p>Captain Conner Bleackley loves that Red Deer has a small-town feel with big-city pride behind it.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(BLEAKLEY: DAVE BRUNNER PHOTOGRAPHY)</span></figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0048-5/9980030-1-eng-US/f0048-52.jpg" title="f0048-5" 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/f0048-02313/9980016-1-eng-US/f0048-022.jpg" title="f0048-02" width="205" height="248"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>B</span>RENT SUTTER IS ON THE</b> phone with me and he&rsquo;s in a great mood. No lie. B Of course, the coach-GM-owner of the Western League&rsquo;s Red Deer Rebels is still bathing in the glory of winning the right to host the 2016 Memorial Cup, and that explains why one of the most intimidating figures in junior hockey is all sunshiny. &ldquo;On a personal level, I felt this community deserved it,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Hockey is our culture, and the support we get is phenomenal. It will be the event in the city and in central Alberta. I&rsquo;m tremendously excited.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0048-03219/9980009-1-eng-US/f0048-032.jpg" title="f0048-03" width="235" height="221"></div><p>I like that Red Deer, a city of fewer than 100,000 people, will be a host. No disrespect to the other bidder, Vancouver, but it&rsquo;s nice to see the Canadian Hockey League reward a smaller community with an event so big a rift seemed to be appearing in the junior world.</p><blockquote class="pullQuote">&ldquo;ON A PERSONAL LEVEL, I FELT THIS COMMUNITY DESERVED IT. HOCKEY IS OUR CULTURE<br>&ndash;Brent Sutter</blockquote><p>Simply put, the haves were getting the Cup, and the smaller franchises were being shut out. This season, Quebec City hosts. Last year it was London, and the year before it was Saskatoon. Add in Mississauga and you have four out of five host cities boasting populations of 250,000 or more. The outlier, Shawinigan, was supported by former Canadian PM Jean Chretien and Hall of Famer Guy Lafleur, so it wasn&rsquo;t an underdog (but a little odd since a shortage of hotel rooms had participants Edmonton and London staying a half-hour away in Trois-Rivieres).</p><p>Red Deer hosted the world juniors in 1995, but had been passed over twice before under Sutter&rsquo;s time as the franchise&rsquo;s steward. The Enmax Centrium has been spruced up, and even though the building holds 7,000 people&ndash;half what Vancouver could seat&ndash;the organizing committee gave the go-ahead. &ldquo;I remember how disappointed Brent was the last time,&rdquo; said captain Conner Bleackley. &ldquo;Everything we&rsquo;ve done lately, with the renovations and so on, has been geared toward getting this.&rdquo;</p><p>Now the Rebels&rsquo; mission will be to build toward an apex. Red Deer struggled early this season, and Bleackley does want to see his team make the playoffs and do damage, even if next season is the important run. The center was taken 23rd overall by Colorado in 2014, while defenseman Haydn Fleury went seventh overall to Carolina. The team has two intriguing 17-year-olds in power forward Adam Musil and the speedy Grayson Pawlenchuk, both of whom will make bigger impacts next season.</p><p>But another recent trend at the Memorial Cup has been host teams embarrassing themselves. The automatic bid looks great until the host bombs early in the playoffs&ndash;as London, Saskatoon and Shawinigan all did in consecutive years&ndash;and has to wait a month between action. Shawinigan did end up winning the Cup on home ice, but the other two got skunked.</p><p>Right now, the Rebels are waiting on goaltending. Their No. 1 man is 18-year-old rookie Rylan Toth, while 17-year-old Taz Burman also played backup last season. Sutter wants to see Burman get more reps, but the kid also needs to perform. (Neither had good numbers through the first month of the season.)</p><p>The upshot is that if neither Burman or Toth can make a leap, the Rebels can grab a goalie through trade. And an import slot is open, meaning a push to grab high-end European talent won&rsquo;t be a problem. Until then, the team will continue on building, while Sutter lets his son Merrick, the Rebels senior VP, and local businessman Ron LaRiviere keep tabs on the hosting duties as co-chairs of the organizing committee.</p><p>Part of the reason I love junior hockey is because small towns can have as much glory as big cities: Joe Sakic plied his trade in Swift Current, Sidney Crosby developed in Rimouski and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins was a star in Red Deer itself. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m from a small town, and it&rsquo;s got that small-town feel,&rdquo; Bleackley said. &ldquo;But it&rsquo;s also a bit bigger of a city.&rdquo; Big enough to host and small enough to be unique, which is what the Memorial Cup is all about.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0048-04177/9980002-1-eng-US/f0048-042.jpg" title="f0048-04" width="586" height="734"><figcaption class="caption-body">BRENT <b>SUTTER</b> <span class="photo-credit">(SUTTER: LUDVIG THUNMAN/AFP/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0048-01

REBELS WORKING WITH A CAUSE

<h2><b>Guess</b>&nbsp;<b>WHO</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-01480/9980061-1-eng-US/f0049-012.jpg" title="f0049-01" width="523" height="642"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(GUESS WHO: BRUCE BENNETT STUDIOS/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><i>&ldquo;I am the only NHL player to score six goals in one road game. I did it Nov. 7, 1968.&rdquo;</i></p><p><i>&ldquo;I retired as a Blue at 38 and was their coach by 40. I won the Jack Adams in &rsquo;80-81.&rdquo;</i></p><p><i>&ldquo;I have coached the University of Michigan since 1984 and was the sixth to 700 wins.&rdquo;</i><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/f0049-03295/9980099-1-eng-US/f0049-032.jpg" title="f0049-03" width="246" height="437"></div><h2><b>ALEX OVECHKIN</b></h2><p>Superstar is one of No. 87&rsquo;s greatest rivals. Threatening shooter beats goalies, which makes him very happy.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-04274/9980092-1-eng-US/f0049-042.jpg" title="f0049-04" width="245" height="437"></div><h2><b>RICHARD KIEL</b></h2><p>As super-villain Jaws, was one of 007&rsquo;s greatest rivals. Threatened to beat Shooter McGavin in <i>Happy Gilmore.</i></p><p>Email your suggestions to <b><a href="mailto:sab@thehockeynews.com">sab@thehockeynews.com</a></b></p><p>WHO AM I: RED BEREN SON<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0049-03

Separated AT BIRTH

<div class="byline">By Larry Humber</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0049-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-02372/9980130-1-eng-US/f0049-022.jpg"></div><p><b>ANSWERS AVAILABLE IN THE NEXT ISSUE AND AT <a href="http://THN.com/XWORD">THN.com/XWORD</a></b></p><h2><b>ACROSS</b></h2><p>1 Crosby and MacKinnon hail from Nova ___</p><p>4 Jimmy ___ is in goal in Detroit</p><p>9 Frontrunners</p><p>10 Willie ___ was a German-born Red Wing</p><p>11 Zdeno ___ is Boston&rsquo;s captain</p><p>12 Colorado&rsquo;s Ryan ___</p><p>13 Losing streak</p><p>15 Crosby has never won the ___ Smythe Trophy</p><p>18 Eddie Shore was &lsquo;The Edmonton ___&rsquo;</p><p>21 He&rsquo;s back behind Buffalo&rsquo;s bench</p><p>23 Ryan ___ patrols Minnesota&rsquo;s blueline</p><p>24 &lsquo;Dit&rsquo; ___</p><p>25 Chad ___ was with the Hurricanes</p><p>26 American International (NCAA) ___ Jackets</p><h2><b>DOWN</b></h2><p>1 Choose</p><p>2 Where Gordie Howe played before Detroit</p><p>3 Owen Nolan comes from Northern ___</p><p>5 T.J. ___ is a shootout specialist, pictured</p><p>6 Tommy ___ helped Devils to their first Cup</p><p>7 One of the Sutters</p><p>8 Phil Esposito&rsquo;s rather obvious nickname</p><p>14 &lsquo;Kopi&rsquo; is a King</p><p>15 According to Stompin&rsquo; Tom, hockey is &lsquo;the best game you ___ ___&rsquo;</p><p>16 Phil or Amanda ___</p><p>17 ___ Ladd won Cups with Carolina and Chicago</p><p>19 Works hard to win a game, ___ a victory</p><p>20 Fire</p><p>22 Toronto&rsquo;s Joffrey ___</p><p><b>LAST</b>&nbsp;<b>ISSUE&rsquo;S CROSSWORD SOLUTION ACROSS</b> 1. MIRACLE, 4. CIGAR, 7. RUFF, 8. STAN SMYL, 10. HURRICANES, 12. STEVE, 13. DARKS, 14. TED LINDSAY, 18. TRAINERS, 19. ERIC, 20. DIG IN, 21. EXPRESS <b>DOWN</b> 1. MARCH, 2. REFEREES, 3. EXTRA, 4. CONTENDING, 5. GAME, 6. RALLIES, 9. MIKE KEENAN, 11. PRESERVE, 12. SPOTTED, 15. LORNE, 16. YACKS, 17. PANG<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0049-02

CROSSWORD

<div class="byline">&#x2013;MATT LARKIN</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-05219/9980161-1-eng-US/f0049-052.jpg" title="f0049-05" width="887" height="807"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>NOORA RATY</b> | KIEKKO-VANTAA <span class="photo-credit">(MASK: TEEMU SIPIL&Auml;)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><span>M</span>inions, the cute little creatures from the <i>Despicable Me</i> movie franchise, feature prominently on Noora Raty&rsquo;s mask. She loves what they stand for: not taking life too seriously and enjoying the moment. That&rsquo;s her mantra this season as the first female goalie to play in Finland&rsquo;s second division.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0049-05

Behind THE MASK

<div class="byline">&nbsp;&#x2013;RYAN KENNEDY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-06140/9980192-1-eng-US/f0049-062.jpg" title="f0049-06" width="676" height="874"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>ERIE OTTERS</b> | 2014-15</p><p>CONNOR <b>MCDAVID</b></p> <span class="photo-credit">(JERSEY: B WIPPERT/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><span>C</span>ould this be Erie&rsquo;s third jersey of the future? Right now the Ontario League&rsquo;s Otters just wear it for warmups, but it looks game-worthy.</p><p>The bold striping in the middle brings to mind the polarizing Houston Astros&rsquo; baseball jerseys of the 1980s, while the altered take on the team&rsquo;s main logo looks pretty cool, too. The stripes extending  to the arms also work.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0049-06

Jersey HOUND

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0050-02356/9980223-1-eng-US/f0050-022.jpg" title="f0050-02" width="688" height="954"><figcaption class="caption-body">VINNIE <b>VIOLA</b> <span class="photo-credit">(ELIOT J. SCHECHTER/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0050-01469/9980230-1-eng-US/f0050-012.jpg" title="f0050-01" width="200" height="238"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>A</span></b><b>N ACQUAINTANCE OF YOUR TRUSTY</b> correspondent had an interesting, but not surprising, tale concerning the Florida Panthers from last season. The Panthers were hosting the Toronto Maple Leafs last February, and while vacationing in the Sunshine State he decided to rent out a luxury box for the game, a box that came with 10 tickets for himself and his friends.</p><p>At the last minute, two of his friends had to back out. No problem, he thought. He&rsquo;d just go down early and try to sell them for something approximating face value. When he got to the BB&T Center, he quickly realized that wasn&rsquo;t going to happen because in another area in front of the rink, patrons were being given free admission in exchange for losing lottery tickets. Yes, losing lottery tickets.</p><p>Until this season, it had been a running joke in South Florida that no one with more brains than money ever paid to go to a Panthers game. Play a round of golf, get tickets to a Panthers game. Test drive a car, then test drive the Panthers for nothing. Buy a friggin&rsquo; Slurpee at 7-Eleven, then recover from brain freeze by hitting up the Panthers game for free. Every ticket that went out the door was counted as a fan in the seats, which made for inflated attendance figures that were made even more embarrassing by the fact the trumped-up numbers were miniscule.</p><p>But that has all changed under new ownership, headed by Vinnie Viola The days of enormous discounts and freebies for anyone with a pulse are over in South Florida. As such, the fact the Panthers attracted fewer fans to their first two games (18,730) than 13 NHL teams did in their home openers alone seems to be a point of consternation. Establishing a franchise low of 7,311 fans for their second home game of the season brought much derision and criticism to the franchise.</p><p>But you know what? If every bum in those seats represents a ticket bought and paid for, the Panthers should be thrilled. To get an average of 9,000 people to actually pay to watch a team that hasn&rsquo;t won a playoff series in nearly two decades proves there might actually be enough hockey fans to make this thing work. Even if that product is as uninspiring as the one put on the ice by the Panthers, it&rsquo;s a stroke of genius.</p><p>You see, because if you don&rsquo;t put any value on your own product, how on Earth can you expect potential customers to do it? Ask the newspaper industry how that business model is working today. In this journalist&rsquo;s opinion, newspapers have nobody to blame but themselves for taking a business model that worked for a century and turn it on its ear by giving its content away for free.</p><p>Back when the Chicago Blackhawks were terrible, players were given business cards they carried around town with them to distribute to anyone they thought might like to see the team play. The card contained a website where people could log in for free tickets and the Hawks still had trouble attracting 10,000 for a Sunday afternoon game. Days after John McDonough was hired as president and CEO in 2007, the cards were taken back. &ldquo;We had a novel idea,&rdquo; Hawks chairman Rocky Wirtz told me last year. &ldquo;We thought we&rsquo;d try to sell them.&rdquo;</p><p>The notion of giving away tickets seems logical. If you can&rsquo;t sell them, why not give them away and at least expose potential customers to your product, all the while pulling in revenue in the form of parking and concessions? Apparently this works with phone apps. The video game Candy Crush has made $2 billion in revenues by giving customers an addictive, relatively easy game for free, then charging them for the tools to help them advance through challenging stages.</p><blockquote class="pullQuote">&ldquo;IF YOU DON&rsquo;T PUT ANY VALUE ON YOUR PRODUCT, HOW CAN YOU EXPECT POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS TO DO IT?</blockquote><p>But that doesn&rsquo;t seem to work in sports. Papering the house rarely has the desired effect, mostly because even with free tickets, there&rsquo;s still an emotional and practical investment that has to be made. First, you have to clear the evening, battle traffic and devote your energies to following the game. If the product isn&rsquo;t good enough, a free ticket isn&rsquo;t going to be enough to interest you.</p><p>If I owned the Panthers or any other NHL team, I wouldn&rsquo;t give away one single, solitary ticket for free. I&rsquo;d also put up a curtain to close off the upper bowl and I wouldn&rsquo;t sell those seats even if they were the only ones left. And I&rsquo;d be happier to have 5,000 people in my building who paid to get into the game than double the number who didn&rsquo;t. I&rsquo;d reduce the number of seats to create a demand for tickets instead of flooding the market with tickets that have no value.</p><p>In places such as Arizona and Florida, the two whipping boys of the NHL when it comes to attendance, the teams have been so bad for so long it&rsquo;s impossible to determine whether people stay away because they hate hockey or just bad hockey. But as both those franchises continue to build a fan base, they&rsquo;d be well advised to make their customers pay.</p><p><b>CAN&rsquo;T GET ENOUGH CAMPBELL?</b> GO TO <b><a href="http://thehockeynews.com">THEHOCKEYNEWS.COM</a></b> FOR DAILY UPDATES<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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November 24, 2014

THE GYPSY TRAVELLER

KEEPING SPIRIT OF ST. LOUIS

LEARNING FROM THE LEGENDS

PUCKPOLL