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.

World Juniors 2015

The Hockey News - January 05, 2015 World Juniors

<div class="byline">BY EDWARD FRASER, CRAIG HAGERMAN & NAMISH MODI</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0014-03" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-031173/10012501-1-eng-US/f0014-032.jpg"></div><h2><b>HOME ICE DISADVANTAGE?</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-021737/10012508-1-eng-US/f0014-022.jpg" title="f0014-02" width="200" height="376"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>I</span>n 41 years of the <b>World</b>&nbsp;<b>Junior Championship</b>, the host country has medalled 24 times (59 percent). But only on seven occasions (17 percent) has the home squad won it all.</p><h2><b>INTERNATIONAL FLAVOR</b></h2><p>Does having former <b>world junior</b> participants help your Stanley Cup hopes? It doesn&rsquo;t hurt. Each of the past 10 NHL champions have had a healthy dose of players with WJC experience.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-04804/10012494-1-eng-US/f0014-042.jpg" title="f0014-04" width="745" height="526"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-06428/10012487-1-eng-US/f0014-062.jpg" title="f0014-06" width="619" height="870"></div><h2><b>Top Scorers in WJC HISTORY</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-05553/10012480-1-eng-US/f0014-052.jpg" title="f0014-05" width="745" height="527"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(HHOF IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

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DEPARTMENTS

Ice CHIPS

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0003-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-012231/10012003-1-eng-US/f0003-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>THE MIGHTY QUINN</b></p><p>The late Pat Quinn&rsquo;s likeness engulfs Rogers Arena as Vancouver says goodbye.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(JEFF VINNICK/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

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IN THIS ISSUE

OPENING FACEOFF

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-05529/10012152-1-eng-US/f0006-052.jpg" title="f0006-05" width="154" height="93"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>I</span> thought the Fan Issue was a fun idea, but then I turned to the team rankings and saw the comment about my Ducks: &ldquo;No fans deserve their team less.&rdquo; I&rsquo;ve had season tickets since 2006, and aside from painting us with a broad brush, what does this sort of commentary accomplish? I also dispute the validity of this argument: after last year&rsquo;s regular season dominance at home, the team raised ticket prices sharply across the board.</p><p><b><i>Alex Khalifa, Fullerton, Calif.</i></b></p><h2><b>FULL COVER-AGE</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-07256/10012145-1-eng-US/f0006-072.jpg" title="f0006-07" width="154" height="93"></div><p>The Fan Issue cover was great, with all those energetic young people, but I have a complaint: we hockey geezers, the senior citizen crowd, are also fans and, alas, I saw no seniors on the cover cheering (or even gasping for breath). I began following hockey in the 1950s in New Haven. The team? The old Eastern League&rsquo;s New Haven Blades, which proves I&rsquo;m a real geezer. And I still follow the sport. Next time, please add three or four of us oldies.</p><p><b><i>Roger Zotti, Preston, Conn.</i></b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-08162/10012138-1-eng-US/f0006-082.jpg" title="f0006-08" width="154" height="93"></div><p>I am a diehard Ottawa fan and although I know the Senators don&rsquo;t have the fan base of the Toronto Maple Leafs, we take them pretty seriously. When I received my copy of the Fan Issue I noticed four pronounced Leafs fans on the cover and not a single Senators or Canucks Jersey. How about throwing us &ldquo;other&rdquo; fans a bone and spreading the wealth a little bit?</p><p><b><i>Todd Peak, Ottawa</i></b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-09112/10012131-1-eng-US/f0006-092.jpg" title="f0006-09" width="154" height="93"></div><p>When dedicating an issue to the fans, don&rsquo;t you want to represent fans of all 30 NHL teams? Instead, the cover only depicts 20 fans, four of which are wearing Toronto jerseys. Also, why is one of the most prominent jerseys the Florida Panthers? THN should definitely salute the many Panthers fans. Just ask your guest editor, Roberto Luongo. He probably knows all 48 of them personally.</p><p><b><i>Rob DeLong, Nanaimo, B.C.</i></b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-1082/10012124-1-eng-US/f0006-102.jpg" title="f0006-10" width="154" height="93"></div><p>The four Maple Leafs fans on the cover almost made my stomach turn. I madly flipped through the pages trying to calm my nerves and find something to salvage this issue when I saw the picture of Winnipeg&rsquo;s &lsquo;Dancing Gabe.&rsquo; Gabe Langlois is the epitome of the &ldquo;Super Fan&rdquo; and would have been a much better choice to grace the cover.</p><p><b><i>Joshua Vatnsdal, Winnipeg</i></b></p><h2><b>FAN FOULS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-1167/10012117-1-eng-US/f0006-112.jpg" title="f0006-11" width="154" height="93"></div><p>Your Fan Issue was great, but you missed the absolute most annoying fan attribute (Proteau Type, Nov. 24). The fan that pays big bucks to sit down against the glass, knows he is on the side of the rink where the cameras are, and every time the play comes his way, he stands up, turns his back to the play and waves his arms to get noticed on TV. Sit down! I&rsquo;ll take a glass-banger any day over that moron.</p><p><b><i>Rich Elmer, Greensville, Ont.</i></b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-1253/10012110-1-eng-US/f0006-122.jpg" title="f0006-12" width="154" height="93"></div><p>There are not enough pages in THN to address all inappropriate behaviors I&rsquo;ve witnessed at NHL games. The one that <i>demands</i> attention is this: don&rsquo;t talk or yell out during the national anthem(s). Even worse is the dope who boos the anthem of a visiting team. Nothing drives me as crazy as this idiotic behavior. The anthems are played as a tribute to the countries that afford us the freedoms to enjoy our game. Show some respect.</p><p><b><i>Rick Dominique, Carle Place, N.Y.</i></b></p><h2><b>GREAT SCOTT</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-1339/10012103-1-eng-US/f0006-132.jpg" title="f0006-13" width="154" height="93"></div><p>The feature on Scott Darling is one of the best I have read in THN in a long time (Inside Hockey, Nov. 24). It&rsquo;s hard not to cheer for a guy who overcomes so much to go from rock bottom to the NHL. Kudos to Ken Campbell on a job well done, and good luck to Darling in the future.</p><p><b><i>Dallas Folk, Balgonie, Sask.</i></b></p><h2><b>CLOSE, NOT CLEAR</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-1427/10012096-1-eng-US/f0006-142.jpg" title="f0006-14" width="154" height="93"></div><p>In Ice Chips&rsquo; &ldquo;Close, No Quarter,&rdquo; many of the distances are inaccurate (Inside Hockey, Nov. 24). For example, the distance from the Rangers to Devils is 13.6 miles, making them the NHL&rsquo;s closest rivals. That will, of course, change next year when the Islanders move to the Barclay Center, making them and the Rangers the closest at 5.4 miles.</p><p><b><i>Barry Lustig, Bound Brook, New Jersey</i></b></p><p><b><i>Editor&rsquo;s Note:</i></b>&nbsp;<i>We always knew our readers were passionate about hockey, but we had no idea how many were also geography enthusiasts. We received an abundance of letters about this feature, many of which were far less polite than the one above. To clarify, we measured, using Google Maps, from the center a team&rsquo;s home state/city to another. This was done to represent the fan base rather than arena location. We regret not explaining this in the introduction.</i><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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THN INBOX

<div class="byline">&#x2013; MATT LARKIN</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0065-0550/10014299-1-eng-US/f0065-052.jpg" title="f0065-05" width="936" height="850"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(SYLVIE MARSOLAIS/SYLABRUSH.COM)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><span>F</span>ucale and artist Sylvie Marsolais set out to design something more intense than last year&rsquo;s mask. The moose is much more realistic now, the Italian flag colors more defined, and the other side of the mask boasts a Bluenose schooner replica.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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Behind THE MASK

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-012294/10012041-1-eng-US/f0004-012.jpg" title="f0004-01" width="526" height="923"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>T</span></b><b>HE CONNOR MCDAVID-JACK EICHEL</b> NHL draft showdown is a towering monster, thanks in various parts to their amazing skill levels, an insatiable media appetite and social media. They&rsquo;re being touted as better than Taylor Hall-Tyler Seguin, the dynamic duo that topped the 2010 draft board. As for their careers, however, they have many miles to skate to rank with the best-ever No. 1-2 tandems.</p><p>That distinction is held by Guy Lafleur and Marcel Dionne, who occupied the top slots in 1971. Montreal nabbed Lafleur first, following Sam Pollock&rsquo;s legendary machinations; the Habs GM pried the No. 1 pick out of California a year earlier, then traded Ralph Backstrom to Los Angeles to help prop up a flagging Kings squad when it appeared they might finish last overall. The dipsy-doodling worked, as Los Angeles moved past the Seals, cementing the top choice for Montreal.</p><p>Lafleur went on to become an icon. He won two Hart trophies, a Conn Smythe, was a six-time first-team all-star, earned five Cup rings and was voted the 11th-best player of all-time by a THN panel in 1999. Hidden in Los Angeles much of his career, Dionne ranks fifth all-time in points and placed 38th on THN&rsquo;s best players list. Dionne and Lafleur remain the only 1-2 draft pair who are enshrined in the Hall.</p><p>That&rsquo;s likely to change three years after the retirement of Alex Ovechkin or Evgeni Malkin, whoever bows out last between the 2004 top selections. &lsquo;Ovie&rsquo; already has three Harts, surpassed in that category only by Wayne Gretzky, Gordie Howe and Eddie Shore. He&rsquo;s also the owner of six first-team all-star berths and a Calder Trophy. Malkin is a Hart Trophy and Calder alum, a Conn Smythe winner and a three-time first-team all-star. We were tempted to place this duo at the top of the heap, but their stories are still to be completed. Ovechkin&rsquo;s a Hall shoo-in and Malkin is a very good bet, but there is time for the latter&rsquo;s career to be derailed. We aren&rsquo;t banking on that happening, but remember what befell Eric Lindros. He had credentials similar to Malkin&rsquo;s at about the same age, but fate intervened and he&rsquo;s still awaiting enshrinement.</p><p>Another duo who could move into this stratosphere is 2008&rsquo;s Steven Stamkos and Drew Doughty. Honorable mentions to Mario Lemieux/Kirk Muller (&rsquo;84) and Mike Modano/Trevor Linden (&rsquo;88).</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-021945/10012034-1-eng-US/f0004-022.jpg" title="f0004-02" width="414" height="222"></div><p><b>NEXT ISSUE</b> JANUARY 26, 2015 <b>CUSTOMER SERVICE AND TO SUBSCRIBE:</b> <a href="http://THN.com">thn.com</a>&nbsp;<b>CONTACT US:</b> <a href="mailto:editorial@thehockeynews.com">editorial@thehockeynews.com</a><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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THE POWER OF TWO

<div class="byline">Adam Troidl, Freeport, Maine</div><p class="dropcap"><i><span>S</span>ix Canadian teams in the top eight spots in your fan rankings (&ldquo;Who Has The Best Fans?,&rdquo; Nov. 24)? I have not seen much bias in THN in the 20-plus years I have been reading every issue. There are far too many problems with the ranking system to go into in one letter. Despite being an avid fan of the Sabres, I clearly have not spent enough money, which is what most of your metrics tallied. Being a great fan is not all about lining a corporation&rsquo;s pockets, it is about devotion to a team.</i></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-012524/10012204-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg" title="f0006-01" width="493" height="746"></div><p>CONTACT US:</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-015100/10012197-1-eng-US/f0006-0152.jpg" title="f0006-015" width="154" height="93"></div><p><a href="mailto:letters@thehockeynews.com">letters@thehockeynews.com</a></p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-031040/10012190-1-eng-US/f0006-032.jpg" title="f0006-03" width="77" height="78"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p>/thehockeynews</p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-04669/10012183-1-eng-US/f0006-042.jpg" title="f0006-04" width="77" height="78"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p>/+thehockeynews<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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AFFLUENCE INFLUENCE

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PUCKPOLL

<div class="byline">&#x2013; MICHAEL TRAIKOS</div><p class="dropcap"><span>t</span>o narrow down who you would like to have in your organization. You want to be sure there&rsquo;s no red flags to convince yourself you&rsquo;re making the right choice.&rdquo;</p><p>For most GMs, scouting is about knowledge. The more times you see a player, the more you learn. But when dealing with 16- and 17-year-olds who aren&rsquo;t yet physically mature, you can never know everything.</p><p>That&rsquo;s the beauty of the draft. As much as fitness tests and analytics help color in the picture, the details come through development. It&rsquo;s why some first-round picks become busts and why some players selected in the seventh round end up as steals. &ldquo;I have four children between the ages of 25 and 33,&rdquo; said Detroit Red Wings GM Ken Holland. &ldquo;I wasn&rsquo;t 100 percent sure by the time they were 17 where they were going with their life. Their lives were impacted by their peers and by their teachers, and you had to give them guidance. There&rsquo;s always going to be fifth- and sixth-rounders that are going to make it, because it&rsquo;s not an exact science.&rdquo;</p><p>For Tallon, it comes down to boxers or briefs. Or rather, when interviewing draft-eligible prospects at the NHL Draft Combine, it comes down to how a teenager responds when you ask him about his underwear preference. You can show Tallon charts and graphs detailing a player&rsquo;s Corsi rating and PDO, but there&rsquo;s no substitute for watching a prospect try and explain what he&rsquo;s wearing underneath his suit. Does he blush? Does he look you in the eye? Does he throw a curveball back and say he goes commando? &ldquo;We go deeper with it as go along, but we&rsquo;re trying to get to his personality, too,&rdquo; said Tallon. &ldquo;We don&rsquo;t want 20 robots. That&rsquo;s not how it works. You&rsquo;re going to make fewer errors with the more data you gather, but you still need boots on the ground. It comes down to skill and character.&rdquo;</p><p>It&rsquo;s a way of saying there&rsquo;s still no analytic or on-ice test for watching a player squirm in his seat.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

Inside Hockey

<div class="byline">By Charlie Teljeur</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0009-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-012139/10012297-1-eng-US/f0009-012.jpg"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

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THE INSTIGATOR

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-021504/10012328-1-eng-US/f0009-022.jpg" title="f0009-02" width="871" height="707"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(AARON BELL/OHL IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><h2><b>+PLUS</b></h2><h3><b>GENERAL MAYHEM</b></h3><p class="dropcap"><span>L</span>ed by <i>Michael Dal Colle</i> The OHL&rsquo;s Oshawa Generals rip off eight wins in a row to seize the No. 1 slot in major junior&rsquo;s overall rankings.</p><h2><b>&ndash;MINUS</b></h2><h3><b>OIL LEAK</b></h3><p>The Leafs, Canes and Sabres do something Edmonton could not: beat a Western Conference team in the season&rsquo;s first quarter.</p><h2><b>+PLUS</b></h2><h3><b>SUN DEVILS RISING</b></h3><p>Arizona State becomes the first Pac-12 school to commit to a Div. I hockey team. They&rsquo;ll play a full D-I slate by 2015-16. Will they inspire others?</p><h2><b>&ndash;MINUS</b></h2><h3><b>STILL FIERY</b></h3><p>Hot-headed as a player, Philadelphia Flyers GM Ron Hextall overheard by reporters screaming at his players after a poor loss to the Rangers.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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PLUS MINUS

<div class="byline">RONNIE SHUKER</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0010-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-012389/10012359-1-eng-US/f0010-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>FLAME GAINS</b></p><p>Two months into Ryan van Asten&rsquo;s first season with Calgary, the Flames were much improved.</p></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>T</span></b><b>ALK ABOUT MOVING FROM THE</b> penthouse to the basement. And it&rsquo;s not like Ryan van Asten was kicked out. This summer, he gave up all that Stanley Cup glory and great weather in Los Angeles to come to Calgary and take over a major fixer-upper in one of the NHL&rsquo;s most frigid climates.</p><p>Van Asten did have good reasons for leaving southern California after three seasons as the Kings&rsquo; strength and conditioning coach. First and foremost, he&rsquo;d spent most of the past three years living in L.A. while his wife, Jackie, who&rsquo;s a doctor, lived in Calgary.</p><p>Second, Cowtown is van Asten&rsquo;s adopted home, where he worked for six years and met his wife before taking the job with the Kings.</p><p>Third, the guy just loves a challenge. &ldquo;It is intriguing to me to come to a team like this that&rsquo;s rebuilding and see if I can leave my mark,&rdquo; van Asten said. &ldquo;When I got to L.A., a lot of the pieces were in place and I did my best to leave my mark there. I think I did a good job that way. But here, it&rsquo;s a completely different situation from when I got to L.A., and it&rsquo;s exciting for me to have this challenge. In this market, if we could win a championship, it would just be amazing.&rdquo;</p><p>Van Asten, 34, replaces Rich Hesketh, who spent 19 years in Calgary. Under coach Bob Hartley, the Flames have been one of the hardest working teams the past couple of seasons. Van Asten will work with the players individually and raise the level of fitness expectation.</p><p>He comes to Calgary with an impressive resume, which includes a physical and health education degree from Queen&rsquo;s University and a master&rsquo;s degree in neuromuscular physiology at the University of Calgary. In three seasons with the Kings, he helped them to two Cups. Prior to that, he worked for Hockey Canada, training the national women&rsquo;s team, which won gold at the 2010 Vancouver Games.</p><p>After an 14-8-2 start, the Flames are neck and neck with the Kings, who are now trained by van Asten&rsquo;s good friend and former U of C classmate Matt Price. Failure has been to Calgary, however, what success has been to Los Angeles in recent years, so the Flames know there&rsquo;s still a lot of work to do. They haven&rsquo;t made the playoffs since 2009 and weren&rsquo;t expected to end that ignominious streak this season.</p><p>Still, van Asten sees the same seeds that led to so much success in L.A. being planted in Calgary. &ldquo;There are a lot of similarities between the teams,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;You can be the first-line centerman or the fourth-line centerman &ndash; the expectation is the same for everybody. And it was the same in L.A. with Darryl Sutter. It&rsquo;s just a blue-collar type of atmosphere, and if you&rsquo;re not prepared to work, you&rsquo;re not going to fit in.&rdquo;</p><p>In van Asten, the Flames have a proven winner who&rsquo;s pumped to be home (even if a September snowstorm might have given him pause to reconsider). Can he transform the Flames off the ice into the physical freaks the Kings&rsquo; became under his watch? Tell will tell, but history suggests he can. One thing is for sure, winning in L.A. would be small potatoes compared to bringing a title to Calgary for the first time since 1989. &ldquo;Coming back has been awesome, it&rsquo;s quite a bit different, but it&rsquo;s been great,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;People here really care. They take it personally, too. That brings a bit of pressure, which is great, but it makes it exciting.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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FROM SO-CAL TO COWTOWN

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-021753/10012390-1-eng-US/f0010-022.jpg" title="f0010-02" width="360" height="444"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(CALGARY FLAMES)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>1.</b> Anchor one end of the barbell on the ground in a corner or with a heavy dumbbell.</p><p><b>2.</b> Place the weight on the other end.</p><p><b>3.</b> Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and grip the weighted end of the barbell with your right hand positioned at shoulder height.</p><p><b>4.</b> Bend your hips and knees and lower yourself into a quarter squat.</p><p><b>5.</b> In one fluid motion, drive up out of the squat and push the barbell over your head and in front of your chest. Don&rsquo;t rotate your torso. Keep your core tight.</p><p><b>6.</b> While maintaining control, lower the barbell to your shoulder and repeat immediately.</p><p><b>7.</b> Repeat steps 3 through 6 with your left arm.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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LANDMINE PRESS

<div class="byline">BENJAMIN WENDORF</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0012-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-012326/10012449-1-eng-US/f0012-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">NINO <b>NIEDERREITER</b></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>T</span></b><b>HE WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP IS AN OLD ENTITY, FOUR DECADES OLD</b> to be precise, and in some ways has been a more consistent barometer of the state of hockey across the world. While boycotts and amateur status debates drastically affected Olympics rosters over the years, the under-20s have routinely held the top competition for the best young players from major hockey-playing countries.</p><p>For this reason, we have grounds for some interesting comparisons among these countries, in particular the leagues that have shared their talent for the world juniors. Their players&rsquo; performance within those leagues and their subsequent WJC performance can tell us a lot in a larger sample. By looking historically, we can also add context to the story, including how political shifts like the division of the Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia affected these programs.</p><p>Reaching back to 1980, I took all the WJC performances of the top lines and defense pairings and put them side-by-side with the same players&rsquo; regular season performances in their junior or major league. To develop consistent categories, I stripped away players in the smaller, constantly changing Jr. A or regional junior leagues and focused on the Canadian Hockey League (WHL, OHL, QMJHL), the NCAA and the major leagues in European countries.</p><p>With the remaining nearly 1,800 player performances, I was able to compare the points per game of these players in their leagues to their points per game in the WJC. It&rsquo;s expressed in the charts like so: a player scoring one point per game in the WJC would likely score X points per game in the selected regular league. The lower the league&rsquo;s number, the harder it is to translate success from the WJC to that league.</p><p>The result is an interesting look at the change over time of the common &ldquo;proving grounds&rdquo; for WJC players:</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-021835/10012442-1-eng-US/f0012-022.jpg" title="f0012-02" width="1143" height="888"></div><p>As you can see, I ended up separating the leagues into groupings. The older, established European leagues compare well because the data is complete throughout. Notice the effect of the political changes in eastern Europe: the Czech Extraliga took a hit by losing Slovakian players to the emerging Slovak Extraliga, as did the Russian Premier League when a number of Eastern European players left for domestic leagues or the Eastern European League (since absorbed by the Belarusian Extraliga). You can also see the well-known peak periods of Soviet hockey in the mid-1980s and Swedish hockey in the mid to late-1990s. What about the other European leagues?</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-031190/10012435-1-eng-US/f0012-032.jpg" title="f0012-03" width="1143" height="888"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(RICHARD WOLOWICZ/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>No surprise to see Germany languishing behind the other leagues, and Slovakia is becoming increasingly well respected on the world stage. Switzerland&rsquo;s rise is real enough, considering the growing number of successful Swiss NHLers like Mark Streit, Nino Niederreiter, and Roman Josi.</p><p>Using the top European leagues again as a frame of reference, the final group is the USA and Canadian feeder leagues, NCAA and CHL.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-012026/10012428-1-eng-US/f0013-012.jpg" title="f0013-01" width="1144" height="888"></div><p>Nowhere near as challenging as the European leagues, North American amateur leagues are kept artificially low by annually overhauled lineups and age restrictions. On the other hand, the NCAA seems to be substantially improving its level of play, and for a number of years the WHL hasn&rsquo;t been far behind the college game.</p><p>Unfortunately, the NHL and AHL don&rsquo;t provide nearly enough players to be confident in the numbers, but even so we can still get a general idea of where they stand in comparison to the European and amateur leagues from above.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-021412/10012421-1-eng-US/f0013-022.jpg" title="f0013-02" width="1144" height="888"></div><p>Though the data is a bit spotty, we do get the impression that the NHL continues to improve, which makes sense considering it has not expanded in size for 15 years. The fast growth of junior systems in Europe and the improvement of training techniques and technology worldwide only seem to be pushing the NHL towards better and better hockey.</p><p>While leagues across the world are evolving, breaking apart and coming together, the world juniors have been a comforting constant, an opportunity for the best young talent to face off. Along the way, this cooperation has also given us an interesting opportunity to compare the leagues that share their talent and learn the stories they have to tell.</p><p><i>The data used for this article was taken from <a href="http://ELITEPROSPECTS.COM">ELITEPROSPECTS.COM</a> and <a href="http://HOCKEYDB.COM">HOCKEYDB.COM</a>.</i><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0012-01

WORLD JUNIORS RETROSPECTIVE

<div class="byline">&#x2013; SAL BARRY OF PUCKJUNK.COM</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0015-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-021417/10012539-1-eng-US/f0015-022.jpg"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>I</span>N AN ATTEMPT</b> to make rookie cards of the best prospects before they were drafted, Upper Deck decided in 1991 to produce cards of players on the Canadian WJC team. There was just one problem. They couldn&rsquo;t make a card of Eric Lindros &ndash; the shoo-in No. 1 pick in the upcoming draft &ndash; because he&rsquo;d signed an exclusive deal with Score trading cards, which would expire once he played in the NHL. So, Upper Deck came up with a workaround and made a card that pictured Lindros, fellow alternate Kris Draper and captain Steven Rice, and labelled it &ldquo;Canada&rsquo;s Captains.&rdquo; Technically, it wasn&rsquo;t an Eric Lindros card, but that didn&rsquo;t matter to fans and collectors.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0015-02

In The CARDS

<div class="byline">&#x2013; JARED CLINTON</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-011993/10012570-1-eng-US/f0015-012.jpg" title="f0015-01" width="318" height="260"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span>hirteen years after the NHL&rsquo;s Rockies left Denver, the Quebec Nordiques were on their way to the state of Colorado. After a story broke that the new team was to be named the Rocky Mountain Extreme, fans rallied together for a different moniker. Ownership relented on the Extreme label and put the name to a fan vote and forum. Featuring the likes of Storm, Rapids, and Renegades (and Avalanche), the name Cougars came out on top in the fan vote. However, ownership felt it didn&rsquo;t suit the team, and chose to go with Avalanche instead.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0015-01

Behind THE NAME

<div class="byline">BY MIKE BROPHY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-012072/10012608-1-eng-US/f0016-012.jpg" title="f0016-01" width="958" height="1292"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b><i>PAT QUINN</i></b>&nbsp;<i>1943-2014</i></p><p><b>THROUGH THICK AND THIN</b></p><p>Even though Pat Quinn sometimes delivered tough love to his players, they still adored playing for him.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(BRUCE BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>S</span></b><b>UPERSTARS NEVER INTIMIDATED PAT QUINN. THAT MUCH WAS</b> evident when he laid out Bobby Orr with a devastating open-ice hit in 1969. Right in the Boston Garden, no less. Orr circled behind the Boston Bruins net with the puck and headed up the ice along the right boards with a Toronto</p><p>Maple Leafs checker in hot pursuit. The only problem was that Orr had his head down. So when Quinn &ndash; a 6-foot-3, 215-pound Maple Leafs defenseman of limited ability but the heart of a warrior &ndash; came charging toward him, Orr didn&rsquo;t see him and didn&rsquo;t have a chance to react. Ka-BOOM!</p><p>Quinn, who passed away Nov. 24 at 71 after a lengthy illness, left lasting memories at every level. His hit on Orr remains one of the most celebrated (or notorious, depending on your perspective) bodychecks in NHL history, but it wasn&rsquo;t his last runin a star player.</p><p>In 2002, behind closed doors where nobody could see him, Quinn loudly tore strips off the game&rsquo;s best: members of Canada&rsquo;s Olympic hockey team. Among them were Mario Lemieux, Steve Yzerman, Chris Pronger, Scott Niedermayer, Paul Kariya, Al MacInnis, Joe Nieuwendyk and Joe Sakic. This underachieving group of superstars was well on the road to another Olympic letdown and Quinn would have no part of it. He wasn&rsquo;t hired by Team Canada executive director Wayne Gretzky to be their friend. Quinn&rsquo;s mission was simple: lead Canada to a gold medal at the Salt Lake City Olympic Games. Anything less was unacceptable. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s no question we all wanted that gold medal because it had been 50 years (1952 in Oslo, Norway), but in talking with Wayne about why we went with Pat as our coach, it was because he had that presence and ability to deal with a group of star players,&rdquo; said Bob Nicholson, who was president of the Canadian Hockey Association in 2002. &ldquo;We had some great assistant coaches in Wayne Fleming, Ken Hitchcock and Jacques Martin, but Pat had the final say on everything.&rdquo;</p><p>Quinn was an authoritative figure, and he was never long on patience. So when Canada got off to a rotten start in the tournament, losing the opener 5-2 to Sweden before edging Germany 3-2 and then tying the Czech Republic 3-3, Quinn laid down the law&hellip;loudly. &ldquo;It wasn&rsquo;t pretty,&rdquo; said Pronger with a laugh. &ldquo;He came down pretty hard on us.&rdquo;</p><p>Whatever Quinn said had the desired effect. Canada responded with a 2-1 win over Finland, blasted Belarus 7-1 in the semifinal and thumped the host United States 5-2 in the gold medal game. &ldquo;Pat, having been a player, a GM, president and coach, certainly had the background to handle a lot of different personalities and throw them into a blender,&rdquo; Pronger said. &ldquo;You could say we bombed in 1998 in Nagano, losing in the shootout and then not showing up for the final game against Finland for the bronze medal. We had a lot of leaders in our room, and Pat&rsquo;s job was to get us all on the same page.&rdquo;</p><p>Quinn was a bruising defenseman who won the Memorial Cup in 1963 with the Edmonton Oil Kings before embarking on a 14-year pro career, nine of which were in the NHL with Toronto, Vancouver and Atlanta. Upon retiring because of an ankle injury, he got into coaching and was named the NHL&rsquo;s coach of the year twice, in 1980 and 1992. He was behind the bench of the Philadelphia Flyers in 1979-80 during their record-breaking 35-game undefeated streak, and helmed the underdog Vancouver Canucks to within one game of the Stanley Cup in 1994.</p><p>Quinn was the only coach in Canada to guide teams to gold medals at the Olympic Games, the World Under-18 Championship and the world juniors. For good measure, he also guided Canada to a gold medal at the 2004 World Cup. He last coached in the NHL with the Edmonton Oilers in 2009-10 and had recently been working as the chairman of the board for the Hockey Hall of Fame.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-021579/10012601-1-eng-US/f0016-022.jpg" title="f0016-02" width="441" height="583"><figcaption class="caption-body">PAT <b>QUINN</b> <span class="photo-credit">(ROGERS PHOTO ARCHIVE/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>The big hit on Orr in 1969 was one for the ages, but Nicholson believes Quinn&rsquo;s best work was done behind the bench in Salt Lake City. &ldquo;When Pat coached he just had such a presence,&rdquo; Nicholson said. &ldquo;He was the leader in the dressing room. We had great players, but he was a guy that delivered the message on behalf of the coaching staff.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0016-01

FEATURES

QUINN MADE HUGE IMPACT

<div class="byline">BY DENIS GIBBONS</div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>D</span></b><b>OUBLE IRONY ACCOMPANIED THE DEATH OF ONE OF THE</b> greatest coaches in international hockey history. When Viktor Tikhonov died in Moscow in November at 84, his grandson, Viktor Jr., was in town to play for SKA St. Petersburg against CSKA Moscow in the same arena where his grandfather coached the Red Army club to 13 Soviet championships. Furthermore, CSKA is finally back on top of the Kontinental League standings, following almost two decades of mediocre performances after the legendary coach was fired in 1996.</p><p>Viktor Jr. was given a standing ovation when he was introduced before the game, and a moment&rsquo;s silence was observed before the playing of the Russian national anthem with a Red Army color guard standing at attention on the ice. Fittingly, the CSKA players saluted the memory of their former coach with a 5-3 victory, but young Viktor scored two goals for SKA in a losing cause, also a tribute to his grandfather.</p><p>Tikhonov fell ill in September after flying to St. Petersburg to watch his grandson play. Recently, he had been unable to walk and was being cared for at home in Moscow. &ldquo;We should think about how we can pay tribute to Tikhonov, whether it is possible to establish a tournament in his name,&rdquo; Russian Hockey Federation president Vladislav Tretiak told the Russian news agency R-Sport. &ldquo;People like Anatoli Tarasov, Arkady Chernyshev and Viktor Tikhonov should never be forgotten. This is our history, and if we forget our past, what can be said? Viktor&rsquo;s name is forever inscribed in the history of Soviet and Russian hockey. We must cherish that name.&rdquo;</p><p>Tikhonov coached the Soviet national team to two Olympic gold medals (1984, 1988) and, in effect, a third in 1992 when the &lsquo;Red Machine&rsquo; played under the name of Unified Team following the breakup of the Soviet Union. He also guided the Soviets to victory in the 1981 Canada Cup, with a crushing 8-1 victory over Canada, and was at the helm of eight World Championship gold medallists.</p><p>In the long run, however, he never gained the upper hand over Canada, placing third behind the Canadians and Czechoslovaks in the 1976 Canada Cup, third behind Canada and Sweden in 1984, second to Canada in 1987 and fifth in 1991. A workaholic, he often would stay up round the clock watching game film and analyzing the notes he made during matches in a little back book that resembled a Bible. North American fans remember him as the coach who watched the action from in front of the players&rsquo; bench, rather than behind it.</p><p>Tikhonov was accused of being a slave driver. He worked his players to the bone at practices and required them to spend the night before a game sleeping in barracks instead of at home with their families.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-011772/10012639-1-eng-US/f0017-012.jpg" title="f0017-01" width="957" height="1092"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b><i>VIKTOR TIKHONOV</i></b>&nbsp;<i>1930-2014</i></p><p><b>IRON WILL</b></p><p>Viktor Tikhonov instilled fear and discipline into his players as coach of Red Army and the Soviets.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(B BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>Finally, in the 1988-89 season, national team captain Slava Fetisov said he would no longer play for his country if Tikhonov remained as coach, and Igor Larionov, who centered the team&rsquo;s dynamic First Five unit, rapped him in an interview with the Russian magazine <i>Ogonyok</i>.</p><p> In a famous confrontation during the 1988 Olympics in Calgary, Tikhonov physically shook national team debutant Alexander Mogilny on the bench because he was displeased with his performance. Less publicized, but even more shocking was the incident in which he shook a referee and got away with it during a 9-4 Soviet win over Canada in an exhibition game in Hamilton prior to the 1987 Canada Cup.</p><p>Although he had many triumphs, Tikhonov&rsquo;s lowest moment came at the 1980 Olympics in Lake Placid when a team of American collegians upset the heavily favored Soviets 4-3 and went on to win the gold medal, relegating the defending champs to second place and the silver. He later admitted he made a mistake by pulling star netminder Vladislav Tretiak after two periods with the score tied 2-2.</p><p> Some Canadian coaches criticized him for not matching lines to shut down the opposition&rsquo;s top players and claimed his insistence on rolling four lines cost the Soviets victory in the 1987 Canada Cup. Others said he was too conservative in his refusal to remove his goaltender and ice an extra forward on the few occasions his teams were behind by a goal or two in the dying minutes of a game. Yet none of them could dispute his amazing record as a coach.</p><p>As a player Tikhonov won four Soviet championships between 1951 to 1954, with two different teams: VVS and Moscow Dynamo.</p><p>Tikhonov is in the International Ice Hockey Federation Hall of Fame as a builder. He also received the Order of Lenin, the highest honored bestowed by his country.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0017-01

REVERED AND FEARED

<div class="byline">BY RYAN KENNEDY</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0018-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-011949/10012698-1-eng-US/f0018-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>JACK EICHEL</b> BY BRIAN BABINEAU</p><p><b>CONNOR McDAVID</b> BY ADAM D&rsquo;OLIVEIRA</p></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>C</span>HAIRS</b>&nbsp;<b>AND A PODIUM.</b> That was Connor McDavid&rsquo;s first victory of the season in his battle for the hearts and minds of the hockey world with Jack Eichel. Both 2015 draft phenoms had the opportunity to play at First Niagara Center, the home of the Buffalo Sabres, in the fall, and both were incredibly impressive.</p><p>Eichel, who went first, posted two points and earned MVP honors at the All-American Prospects Game, an annual showdown featuring the top draft-eligible prospects from the United States. A month later, McDavid&rsquo;s Erie Otters hosted the Niagara IceDogs in a special Ontario League game that ended with him ravaging the competition for four points in an 8-4 stomping. When it was time to meet the press, McDavid got a podium, and the scribes were seated. Eichel had to stand for his post-game scrum.</p><p><b>BUT FORGET FURNITURE</b> one-upmanships for a moment and consider the one and only chance for a showdown between the two generational talents: the World Junior Championship. McDavid, whose involvement in the tournament got a little sketchy when he broke his hand in a November fight, will nonetheless be the centerpiece for a Canadian squad that has double pressure to win it all, since the tournament is being held in Montreal and Toronto and the team hasn&rsquo;t won gold since 2009. Eichel was one of Team USA&rsquo;s best players last year and will take on a similar role for the Americans again. McDavid was a bit player last season, but his boys did win the head-to-head match against the Americans, though his draft mate has bigger things in mind this time. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think it&rsquo;s about getting revenge on Canada, but just looking forward to the tournament in general,&rdquo; Eichel said. &ldquo;We underachieved last year, and we had a really good team. We have a good core, coach (Mark) Osiecki has been great&hellip;We&rsquo;re really excited about this season.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-011701/10012691-1-eng-US/f0020-012.jpg" title="f0020-01" width="673" height="661"><figcaption class="caption-body">JACK <b>EICHEL</b> <span class="photo-credit">(JIM DAVIS/THE BOSTON GLOBE VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>In a perfect world, Canada and the U.S. will meet twice over the holidays: once, as per the schedule, on New Year&rsquo;s Eve in Montreal during round-robin play and then again in Toronto, where the medal round is being held. Is a rematch for gold too much to ask?</p><p>The North American squads will have loaded rosters, so it wouldn&rsquo;t be a shock. And for the sake of draft storylines, two McDavid vs. Eichel games are better than one. With McDavid in the OHL and Eichel in the NCAA with Boston University, that&rsquo;ll be it for head-to-head action. Not that the boys are wrapped up in each other&rsquo;s successes. &ldquo;I hear stuff, but I don&rsquo;t go out of my way to find out,&rdquo; McDavid said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s how it has to be. I have to focus on my season.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-021218/10012684-1-eng-US/f0020-022.jpg" title="f0020-02" width="1359" height="1958"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>THAT&rsquo;S A NEW ONE</b></p><p>McDavid&rsquo;s moves are so sick that he surprises his coach every game.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(CLAUS ANDERSEN/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>Which is almost a shame, because they&rsquo;re both dynamic, insane talents. Mc-David was averaging nearly three points per game before his injury and provided an instant classic moment in Buffalo when he used a one-handed deke at full speed to put the puck through the legs of Niagara defender Vincent Dunn. &ldquo;Once a night or more,&rdquo; said Erie coach Kris Knoblauch, &ldquo;he&rsquo;ll do something where you say to yourself, &lsquo;Never thought of that before.&rsquo; &rdquo;</p><p>That&rsquo;s the main reason McDavid is seen as having a slight edge over Eichel in the race for No. 1 this summer. The former seems unstoppable most of the time, and since the Otters have added him to the penalty kill this season, the opposition gets no respite from that wicked offensive mind of his, even if he tries to downplay it. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s not a lot of thinking, it kind of has to be all instinct,&rdquo; McDavid said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s just creativity and trying to make different plays.&rdquo;</p><p>Eichel is no slouch in that department either. A bit bigger than McDavid, he&rsquo;s also playing against older, stronger, more experienced competition in college. Not that those lettermen have had much luck stopping him lately. Former NHLer Mike Grier coached Eichel at the All-American Prospects Game and also skated with him during the summer at Boston University, where he also played as a Terrier back in the day. He put Eichel in pretty heady company when it comes to talent. &ldquo;When you see him out there with the other best draft-eligible kids and you see the different gear he has that no one else does, the way he gets through the neutral zone and picks up pucks and makes plays, it&rsquo;s impressive,&rdquo; Grier said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s got confidence, which is great. When you see the elite skill players in the NHL like Patrick Kane or Jagr, there&rsquo;s never any concern or pause when they have the puck. They think they&rsquo;re going to make the play, beat the guy, find the open man &ndash; they never panic. He has that trait.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-02885/10012677-1-eng-US/f0021-022.jpg" title="f0021-02" width="2098" height="1538"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>DON&rsquo;T RUSH ME</b></p><p>Eichel&rsquo;s puck patience has been compared with Patrick Kane&rsquo;s and Jaromir Jagr's.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(RICHARD T GAGNON/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-011362/10012670-1-eng-US/f0021-012.jpg" title="f0021-01" width="638" height="755"><figcaption class="caption-body">CONNOR <b>McDAVID</b> <span class="photo-credit">(B WIPPERT/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><blockquote class="pullQuote"><i>I don&rsquo;t think about getting revenge on Canada. I&rsquo;m just looking forward to the tournament</i><br><b><i>&ndash; JACK EICHEL</i></b></blockquote><p>So if either player was trying to tamp down expectations for the world juniors, the rest of their amateur seasons and even how they will fare as NHL rookies, the toothpaste is probably out of the tube already. Neither player earned a medal at the world juniors in Sweden last year, but gold for either in Toronto would be huge for their respective nations. And the draft talk will not abate. &ldquo;I guess it&rsquo;s just part of this experience,&rdquo; Eichel said. &ldquo;I try not to think about it. The 2015 draft is a while away and I&rsquo;m just trying to enjoy myself and keep getting better.&rdquo;</p><p>Eichel is anchoring the top line of a Boston University team that struggled mightily last year but has come alive since his arrival. And he can look forward to not only the world juniors, but also the Frozen Four national championship as a mission and the Beanpot tournament before that in February. If the hockey gods smile, his Terriers will meet Boston College in the final (Harvard and Northeastern are the other two teams in the city&rsquo;s classic), where freshman defenseman Noah Hanifin plays. He&rsquo;s No. 3 with a bullet in the 2015 draft rankings, and his Eagles have won the vaunted Beanpot five years straight.</p><p>Meanwhile, McDavid will try to steer his Otters to an OHL title and a Memorial Cup. The injury will derail his gross point total, but his points per game will still be gaudy. And for both players, every stride will be monitored by the hockey world.</p><p><b>EICHEL vs. McDAVID</b>&nbsp;See how the two titans stack up skill-wise on the combined scorecards of 10 scouts.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0018-01

who’s No.1?

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0022-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-011585/10012729-1-eng-US/f0022-012.jpg"></div><h2><b>SHOT</b></h2><p class="dropcap"><b><span>W</span>hen it comes</b> to putting the puck on net, Eichel gets the edge. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a real whip release,&rdquo; said one scout. &ldquo;He&rsquo;ll be able to score from anywhere on the rush.&rdquo;</p><p>And wouldn&rsquo;t you know it? Eichel did just that in a game against Maine, going end-to-end and wristing in the overtime winner. Another scout put Eichel&rsquo;s heavy shot at a five out of five, while ranking McDavid as a three.</p><h2><b>FACEOFFS</b></h2><p><b>At</b>&nbsp;<b>the 2014 world juniors</b> in Malmo, Eichel was put out in last-minute pressure situations to take draws for Team USA, and he was still 17 then. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve seen him change possession thanks to his faceoffs,&rdquo; said one scout.</p><p>Another talent hawk noted that sometimes Eichel can actually get complacent on draws because he&rsquo;s so much better than everyone else. On Erie power plays, Dylan Strome takes draws instead of McDavid.</p><h2><b>PHYSICALITY</b></h2><p><b>Scouts did give</b> McDavid points for sticking up for himself in his ill-fated fight with Bryson Cianfrone, and this was a close category. &ldquo;If they had to jostle to get a puck out, I&rsquo;d give Eichel the edge,&rdquo; said one evaluator.</p><p>At this point there&rsquo;s no questioning McDavid&rsquo;s compete level, but Eichel does have the bigger frame at 6-foot-2, 194 pounds. The Terriers center also plays against older, stronger competition.</p><h2><b>DEFENSE</b></h2><p><b>The joke among scouts</b> is that neither player spends much time in their own zone because they always have the puck, but when push comes to shove, Eichel gets the nod. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve seen him against men, and he catches guys on the backcheck,&rdquo; said one scout. &ldquo;He blocks shots and kills penalties.&rdquo; McDavid has also started PK duty this season.</p><h2><b>VISION</b></h2><p><b>McDavid</b>&nbsp;<b>virtually</b> ran this category, with only two &ldquo;even&rdquo; votes preventing a sweep, though style was a factor. &ldquo;Eichel creates more of his offense off the rush,&rdquo; said one scout. &ldquo;McDavid makes those plays deep off the offensive cycle. It&rsquo;s real close. One guy&rsquo;s a 10 and the other is a nine.&rdquo;</p><h2><b>IQ</b></h2><p><b>When it comes</b> to hockey IQ, McDavid is simply on another level. &ldquo;His is the best I&rsquo;ve ever seen,&rdquo; said one scout. Those smarts make McDavid dangerous in all situations and as advanced as he is, it was interesting to hear another scout&rsquo;s decision: &ldquo;McDavid,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;But only by a little bit.&rdquo;</p><h2><b>PLAYMAKING</b></h2><p><b>While some scouts</b> called this one even, no one took Eichel over McDavid. &ldquo;Look at the players he has made better around him,&rdquo; said one scout. The latest beneficiary is Otters rookie Alex DeBrincat, who led the OHL in goals through one-third of the season thanks in large part to his generous linemate.</p><h2><b>READINESS</b></h2><p><b>This category was</b> actually dead even. Nearly every scout called it a tie because they expect both players to go straight to the NHL next season and make an impact immediately. &ldquo;The argument could be made that they both could be playing right now,&rdquo; said one scout.</p><h2><b>STICKHANDLING</b></h2><p><b>McDavid already has</b> a statement move in his one-handed juke vs. Niagara, so it&rsquo;s no surprise he was the favorite in this category. &ldquo;For a guy who has had the bar set so high, he has consistently met expectations,&rdquo; said one scout. That he does such things at high speeds makes him even more deadly. Eichel got points for his hands in tight and in close quarters.</p><h2><b>SKATING</b></h2><p><b>Two different styles</b> made this category tricky. Eichel is one of those big Anze Kopitar types who doesn&rsquo;t look fast until you realize you&rsquo;re in his wake. One scout compared him to an Original Six river skater. McDavid brings the flash: &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll give it to McDavid because of his ability to open up and accelerate,&rdquo; said another scout. &ldquo;A to B speed is the tiebreaker.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0022-01

EICHEL VS. McDAVID

<div class="byline">BY RYAN KENNEDY</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0024-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-011526/10012760-1-eng-US/f0024-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>FINNISH FLASH</b></p><p>Suomi captured gold in but the stars have aged and a drop is in order.</p></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-021098/10012767-1-eng-US/f0024-022.jpg" title="f0024-02" width="169" height="237"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>Y</span></b>OU WANT A BIG stage for the World Junior Championship? Canada is providing two this year. The holiday season showdown begins on Boxing Day with roundrobin games in both Toronto and Montreal, where most of the best teens in the world will play on the same NHL ice they hope to become regulars on in the near future. The playoffs start with quarterfinal matches Jan. 2 in both cities, and gold will be won Jan. 5 in Toronto.</p><p>As always, the juiciest matchup of the first round will occur New Year&rsquo;s Eve, with Canada and the United States clashing in Montreal. But the scheduling in Toronto also holds some intrigue. Russia will play the Czech Republic on the last day of the calendar, leaving Sweden to face Switzerland. This is interesting because the Czechs are in the ascendancy, with a silver at the most recent world under-18s and a bevy of elite NHL prospects at their disposal. Can they live up to their billing?</p><p>That will be one of the big storylines in this tournament and something you can read about in the following pages. As part of our package, we have a breakdown on all 10 teams participating and our predicted order of finish. In the interest of context, we have also graphed out how the national teams have fared recently in three different tournaments: the world juniors, world under-18s and the Ivan Hlinka, an under-18 summer tourney independent of the IIHF. Due to the Canadian Hockey League playoffs, Canada doesn&rsquo;t always have its best players for the under-18s, while Team USA doesn&rsquo;t send its vaunted NTDP squad to the Ivan Hlinka &ndash; which means the North Americans never get to play each other best-on-best at that age bracket. But they do at the under-20 level, and just to amp up the hype a little more, the two top draft prospects for 2015 are expected to suit up in that Canada-USA showdown on New Year&rsquo;s Eve. If only we could remember their names.</p><p>Get daily updates & analysis throughout the WJC tournament at <b><a href="http://THN.com">THN.com</a></b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0024-01

YOUNG GUNS

<div class="byline">BY RYAN KENNEDY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-021106/10012826-1-eng-US/f0026-022.jpg" title="f0026-02" width="303" height="193"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-03859/10012819-1-eng-US/f0026-032.jpg" title="f0026-03" width="169" height="237"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-011534/10012812-1-eng-US/f0026-012.jpg" title="f0026-01" width="2131" height="1548"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>DEPTH AT CENTER</b></p><p>Team Canada has the luxury of leaning on Sam Reinhart if Connor McDavid isn&rsquo;t healthy.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(ANDRE RINGUETTE/HHOF-IIHF IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>W</span></b>HILE CANADA&rsquo;S hopes of winning gold on home ice in Toronto don&rsquo;t entirely hinge on the healing powers of Connor McDavid, it is a factor. And if the most scrutinized right hand in the nation is working at full capacity when the world juniors kick off in Montreal, Canadians can rightfully raise expectations to the highest setting.</p><p>Last year, Hockey Canada kept the training wheels on Mc-David in Malmo. He was underused and miscast as a winger, denying him the ability to fly with the puck as he is so apt to do as a member of the Ontario League&rsquo;s Erie Otters. Part of this was by design, as the team&rsquo;s brass wanted him to get a taste of the big stage and not the pressure of being <i>the guy</i> as the hockey-mad nation attempted to win the championship after a four-year drought.</p><p>No doubt Canada would have preferred to win gold as well as shepherd McDavid through the process in preparation for this year&rsquo;s tournament, but that didn&rsquo;t happen. Instead, the team was crippled by a lack of scoring and discipline in the medal round, tallying just two goals total in losses to Finland in the semifinal and Russia in the bronze-medal game. Canada basically had two good days of hockey the whole tournament, beating Team USA on New Year&rsquo;s Eve and breezing past Switzerland in the quarterfinal.</p><p>While Canada is always in the spotlight, playing on home ice &ndash; in Montreal for the round robin and Toronto for the medals &ndash; will ratchet up the pressure, and this squad will need all its players, not just McDavid, to be at their best.</p><p>Hockey Canada is hoping NHL teenagers Curtis Lazar (Ottawa), Anthony Duclair (Rangers), Bo Horvat (Vancouver) and even Jonathan Drouin (Tampa Bay) would be made available for the tournament, though none were sure things.</p><h2><b>OFFENSE</b></h2><p>Assuming McDavid is healthy and at the top of his game, he will be the most dangerous player in the tournament. Luckily for Canada, he won&rsquo;t be alone. Sam Reinhart, the second overall pick in 2014, was returned to junior by Buffalo after a nine-game tryout. He will bring scoring punch, all-around play and experience from last year&rsquo;s event. Reinhart was actually one of Canada&rsquo;s best forwards in Malmo and his diverse game will be a driver for the Canucks. And while scoring abandoned Canada last year, there will be no excuse for a lack of goals with Max Domi (Arizona) and returnee Nic Petan (Winnipeg) available as well. Those players alone would make for a great offensive core, but the Canadians have a wealth of other options at their disposal and it really comes down to how coach Benoit Groulx wants to play the game. Prospects who attended the team&rsquo;s summer camp alluded to Canada wanting to stick to the &ldquo;Canadian Way&rdquo; of physical, three-zone hockey. They want a little swagger, thinking perhaps the team had become too buttoned-down in recent years.</p><blockquote class="pullQuote">"NERVOUSNESS ABOUT TEAM GOALTENDING HAS BEEN A SELF-FULFILLING PROPHECY FOR CANADA</blockquote><p>In terms of bottom-sixers, Canada will also have its share of shutdown options and bangers, the most prominent of whom are Toronto first-rounder Frederik Gauthier and Detroit prospect Zach Nastasiuk.</p><p>Whatever way this team plays, it&rsquo;s obvious the Canucks should use the elite talent it has and if that means giving McDavid a ton of minutes, so be it.</p><h2><b>DEFENSE</b></h2><p>The best aspect of Canada&rsquo;s defense is how mobile the unit will be, without sacrificing other skill sets. Darnell Nurse (Edmonton) is physical and mean, but he can also really move and contribute on the scoresheet. The same goes for 6-foot-7 Rimouski defender Samuel Morin (Philadelphia). Madison Bowey (Washington) can play in all situations and has size to go along with his mobility. And Josh Morrissey (Winnipeg) is an elite skater who can draw off his experiences from last year to help the newbies on the back end. If anything, Morrissey can offer cautionary tales, as the defenders in Malmo did not live up to their billing as a whole (though the future Jets rearguard would not be the first to be blamed on the unit). Chris Bigras (Colorado) was there too, but only as a seventh D-man used sparingly. He can move, so there will be no excuses for Canada when it comes to breaking the puck out of its own zone or mounting odd-man rushes.</p><p>If there is one minor concern, it&rsquo;s that Canada has a dearth of right-hand shots, especially since Aaron Ekblad will be too busy in the NHL to take part.</p><h2><b>GOALTENDING</b></h2><p>Nervousness about team goaltending has been a self-fulfilling prophecy the past few years. In a tournament where Canada sometimes stole gold in the past thanks to their goalies, the national squad has now become trigger-happy when it comes to pulling the starter and the teenager who has started the tournament hasn&rsquo;t necessarily ended it. Last year, Detroit prospect Jake Paterson was the anointed No. 1, but Montreal pick Zach Fucale took over midway through the round-robin.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-011409/10012805-1-eng-US/f0027-012.jpg" title="f0027-01" width="1089" height="1072"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>CREASE WOES</b></p><p>Zach Fucale has winning credentials, but has struggled in the QMJHL this season.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(ANDRE RINGUETTE/HHOF-IIHF IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>Fucale is the incumbent, but before the team was even picked there was noise about whether he was the right kid for the job. Fucale&rsquo;s junior career has been fantastic so far, winning a Memorial Cup and a Quebec League title with the Halifax Mooseheads in 2013 and becoming the youngest QMJHL goalie to win 100 games.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-02988/10012798-1-eng-US/f0027-022.jpg" title="f0027-02" width="1017" height="916"></div><p>This season has been more of a slog, with a sub-.900 save percentage on a Mooseheads team no longer blessed with players such as Nathan MacKinnon and Jonathan Drouin. But Fucale also showed off on the big stage at the CHL-Russia Super Series with a blistering 40-save win over the visitors, so maybe the fears are unwarranted.</p><p>Be that as it may, Team Canada has some great options for backup/potential usurper in fellow &lsquo;Q&rsquo; star Philippe Desrosiers (Dallas), Winnipeg selection Eric Comrie of Tri-City or another Memorial Cup winner, Edmonton Oil Kings stopper Tristan Jarry (Pittsburgh). Needless to say, this is a position that will be the most debated up to and possibly during the tournament.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0026-02

SWAGGER SHOWCASE

<div class="byline">BY DANIEL NUGENT-BOWMAN</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-021059/10012871-1-eng-US/f0028-022.jpg" title="f0028-02" width="303" height="193"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-03784/10012864-1-eng-US/f0028-032.jpg" title="f0028-03" width="169" height="237"></div><p><b>C</b>ANADIAN COACH worry about some players who will make up his world junior roster. He&rsquo;s at ease that Josh Morrissey won&rsquo;t be one of them.</p><p>Groulx took in the opening game of the Subway Super Series in Saskatoon and was smitten by the improvement of his returning defenseman. &ldquo;What I saw is a different player,&rdquo; saidGroulx, an assistant on Canada&rsquo;s 2014 team. &ldquo;It was a more mature, more confident player. He seems ready to take on an important role at another level.&rdquo;</p><p>What Groulx saw in Morrissey were his trademark offensive skills &ndash; his smooth skating stride, crisp passes and ability to quarterback a power play. That the Winnipeg Jets first-rounder from 2013 did those things more instinctually was the difference.</p><blockquote class="pullQuote">"IN THIS TOURNAMENT, EVERY GUY WANTS TO BE THE NO. 1 GUY AND BE PLAYING 30 MINUTES<br>&ndash; Josh Morrissey</blockquote><p>Morrissey joins the Owen Sound Attack&rsquo;s Chris Bigras as the lone returnees on the blueline. (Aaron Ekblad won&rsquo;t be back from the Florida Panthers.) After serving as Canada&rsquo;s fifth defenseman last year, Morrissey is primed for toppairing ice time. &ldquo;When you go guy wants to be the No. 1 guy Morrissey said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s what and be playing 30 minutes,&rdquo; I&rsquo;m working towards.&rdquo;</p><p>It&rsquo;s what he&rsquo;s been working towards since scoring Canada&rsquo;s lone goal in a 2-1 loss to Russia January. Morrissey had three in the bronze-medal game last points in the seven games.</p><p>He was summoned by the American League&rsquo;s St. John&rsquo;s Ice-Caps after finishing his Western League season as captain of the Prince Albert Raiders. He posted two goals and nine points in 20 playoff games and was a valuable member of a St. John&rsquo;s team that reached the Calder Cup final. That run capped off a 98-game campaign (which includes WHL regular season, AHL regular season, WJC, WHL playoffs, AHL playoffs). &ldquo;I was really happy with how much I grew last year,&rdquo; he said.</p><p>But Morrissey doesn&rsquo;t accept the status quo. He sets personal goals. It&rsquo;s something his dad, Tom, taught him to do when he was growing up in Calgary. The 2013 Canadian Hockey League scholastic player of the year keeps them front of mind.</p><p>Morrissey accomplished his objective of making Canada&rsquo;s national junior team after being drafted 13th overall by Winnipeg. His next mission was to crack the Jets roster this season as a 19-year-old. Morrissey was one of the final cuts.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-011510/10012857-1-eng-US/f0028-012.jpg" title="f0028-01" width="849" height="1334"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>MARATHON MAN</b></p><p>Josh Morrissey played almost 100 games last season at a variety of competitive levels.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(BRUCE BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>The start of the WHL season hadn&rsquo;t gone according to plan, either. And the 6-foot, 185-pound blueliner is his toughest critic. Although Morrissey was averaging nearly a point per game by the start of the Super Series &ndash; 16 points in 19 contests &ndash; he wasn&rsquo;t satisfied with his offensive contributions.</p><p>So he tried other things to vault the middling Raiders, who fired former Ottawa Senators coach Cory Clouston in October. Morrissey is the lead-by-example type, whether it&rsquo;s watching extra video, monitoring his diet or hitting the gym. Groulx wants to see that mentality from Morrissey before and during the 2015 tournament. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s not what you can bring for others,&rdquo; Groulx said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s that you&rsquo;re doing the right things every day.&rdquo;</p><p>This will be the sixth time Morrissey will wear Canadian colors. He&rsquo;ll be looking to avenge his country&rsquo;s second fourth-place showing in as many years at the world juniors. He does, however, have gold medals from the Ivan Hlinka tournament and the world under-18 championship. &ldquo;All those things add up to say Josh should have a good tournament,&rdquo; said Hockey Canada head scout Ryan Jankowski. &ldquo;But you have to perform as a 19-year-old when there&rsquo;s more pressure. Everything tells us he&rsquo;ll be able to do that.&rdquo;</p><p>Nothing would mean more to Morrissey. In the summer, he trains with Edmonton&rsquo;s Jordan Eberle, whom he calls &lsquo;Mr. World Juniors.&rsquo; He&rsquo;s aiming to have a defining moment like his friend did. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s something I&rsquo;ve dreamed about in the driveway,&rdquo; Morrissey said.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0028-02

STEADY AND READY

<div class="byline">BY RYAN KENNEDY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-011520/10012930-1-eng-US/f0030-012.jpg" title="f0030-01" width="303" height="193"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-021047/10012923-1-eng-US/f0030-022.jpg" title="f0030-02" width="169" height="237"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-03756/10012916-1-eng-US/f0030-032.jpg" title="f0030-03" width="2336" height="1466"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>WELCOME BACK</b></p><p>Hudson Fasching returns from last year&rsquo;s WJC squad to wreak havoc once again.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(FRANCOIS LAPLANTE / HHOF-IIHF IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>T</span></b>HESE ARE THE SALAD days for USA Hockey. The Americans have won two world junior titles in the past five years, and even if the results surrounding those triumphs have been uneven, it&rsquo;s something the national squad can still hold over it Canadian neighbors, who have no golds during that span.</p><p>Obviously, the talent pool has a great deal to do with the recent success &ndash; players are coming from an ever-expanding number of states in the south and west, joining the traditional east and Midwest hotbeds &ndash; but the team&rsquo;s brass has also found a knack for picking effective coaches.</p><p>Phil Housley was the latest find, jumping from a Minnesota high school job to the world spotlight in Russia and guiding his troops to victory. Now the ex-NHL defenseman is in the pros as an assistant coach in Nashville.</p><p>This year&rsquo;s bench boss is former Ohio State coach Mark Osiecki, who was an assistant with Team USA for those past two golds. If he can steer his charges in the right direction, this team has the skill and athleticism to go all the way. If not, missing the podium altogether (as the team did last year) is a possibility. That New Year&rsquo;s Eve date with Canada to finish the round-robin has been crucial in the past and will be again.</p><h2><b>OFFENSE</b></h2><p>The force down the middle for Team USA is strong, and his name is Jack Eichel. Unlike Canadian draft rival Connor Mc-David, Eichel was a central part of the American squad in Malmo, playing a top-six role and getting crucial shifts in the final minutes of big games. He has grown more dangerous since, cutting a swath of destruction through the NCAA as a freshman at Boston University, where his speed, shot and size have been too much for even 23-year-old foes to handle.</p><p>The crazy thing about Team USA&rsquo;s talent pool is Eichel might not even be the youngest gem in the lineup. There&rsquo;s potential for 2016 draft prospect Auston Matthews to also crack the roster. Another big center who gives defensemen nightmares, Matthews has been an uncontrollable star for the same National Team Development Program that birthed Eichel.</p><p>Not that Team USA will be all baby fat. Hudson Fasching was a tank for the team in Malmo, and the University of Minnesota star (whose rights were traded to Buffalo from L.A.) will once again be a load to handle on the wing. Only Russian behemoth Nikita Zadorov could slow Fasching down last year. Tampa Bay prospect Adam Erne, himself a big dude with scoring flash, can also return, though his play was uneven at last year&rsquo;s showdown. Otherwise, expect a generous helping of ex-NTDP products up front, such as Patrick Kane acolyte Sonny Milano (Columbus) and his former running mate Alex Tuch, a power forward with Boston College. There&rsquo;s also Buffalo pick J.T. Compher, who will bring leadership, edge and scoring to the bunch after missing last year&rsquo;s tourney due to injury. The Americans also usually bring at least one smaller forward with skill, and Chicago pick Tyler Motte of the University of Michigan may win this year&rsquo;s slot.</p><blockquote class="pullQuote">"REAL EXCITEMENT ON THE BLUELINE COMES FROM THE NEWBIES &ndash; ZACH WERENSKI AND NOAH HANIFIN</blockquote><h2><b>DEFENSE</b></h2><p>Last year&rsquo;s D-corps had some pretty tough luck. Specifically, there was the delay of game penalty Steven Santini took against Russia in the quarterfinal when he cleared the puck from his end and managed to put it over the glass in Russia&rsquo;s end, which would not have happened in a rink with higher barriers.</p><p>Santini, a New Jersey pick at Boston College, would be one of three returning blueliners if he can get healthy in time from a wrist injury. The other two vets are fellow Eagle Ian McCoshen (Florida) and Denver&rsquo;s Will Butcher (Colorado), both two-way defenders.</p><p>The real excitement, however, will come with the newbies. Two gifted youngsters are making a case for early inclusion in Zach Werenski of Michigan and Noah Hanifin of Boston College. Both are 17-year-olds who fast-tracked through high school to jump into college in their NHL draft years, and both are gifted with size, poise and offensive skill.</p><p>The pair has experience together, too, as they both spent time with the NTDP under-17 team and under-18 squad. Hanifin went on to win gold at the world under-18s with the Americans. One dark horse to watch for is Sarnia&rsquo;s Anthony DeAngelo (Tampa Bay), an offensive dynamo who has battled to keep his mercurial personality under wraps. Another CHL player with potential is 6-foot-5 Brandon Carlo of Tri-City. The 2015 draft prospect brings a nice physical element to the back end, along with enviable reach.</p><h2><b>GOALTENDING</b></h2><p>In years that Team USA has won, netminding has been a strength. Jack Campbell played the hero in Saskatoon, while John Gibson was dominant in Russia. Last year, expectations were high on Jon Gillies, but the Providence College stopper was just OK, and the squad faltered after a super-hot start.</p><p>As with the forwards and defense, a young man will lead the Americans, though he&rsquo;s not as young as the skaters. Thatcher Demko was a revelation for Boston College last season as a true freshman, and he parlayed that success into a secondround slot in the draft, where Vancouver grabbed his rights. Big and athletic, the California native had some hip issues in the summer, but he has rebounded from them and is back to putting up great numbers for the Eagles.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-011376/10012909-1-eng-US/f0031-012.jpg" title="f0031-01" width="845" height="1371"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>EAGLES TAKING OFF</b></p><p>Boston College will be well represented at the WJC with Ian McCoshen and two others.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(BRUCE BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-02934/10012902-1-eng-US/f0031-022.jpg" title="f0031-02" width="1139" height="1027"></div><p>Bad games are a rarity for the youngster, and he has already taken Boston College to the Frozen Four once. The competition for his backup is pretty open, though OHL Plymouth stopper Alex Nedeljkovic (Carolina) is a strong candidate. Nedeljkovic helped Team USA win gold at the under-18s in the spring, and he&rsquo;s obviously familiar with some of the most dangerous players in the tournament thanks to his perch in an OHL crease. He doesn&rsquo;t have the size of Demko, but Nedeljkovic has been a difference-maker in Plymouth for several years now.</p><p>Another interesting option would be Florida Panthers draft pick Evan Cowley, who has really spread his wings at the University of Denver as a sophomore. With fellow Panthers prospect Sam Brittain gone, Cowley has seized the starter&rsquo;s role and put up some sick numbers.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0030-01

SERVING UP YOUTH

<div class="byline">BY RYAN KENNEDY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-021015/10012975-1-eng-US/f0032-022.jpg" title="f0032-02" width="303" height="193"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-03736/10012968-1-eng-US/f0032-032.jpg" title="f0032-03" width="169" height="237"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>H</span></b>E IS BOTH A SECRET weapon and the most obvious one at Team USA&rsquo;s disposal this year. University of Michigan sophomore J.T. Compher could very well have been a difference-maker for the Americans last year in Malmo, but the gritty and talented center broke his foot while blocking a shot during practice with the national squad a week before the world junior tournament.</p><p>This summer, Compher hurt his hand during Team USA&rsquo;s summer camp in Lake Placid. Once again, he was blocking a shot, this time in an exhibition rout of the Swedes. But &ndash; knock on wood &ndash; Compher is healthy now and will be a boon to the Americans when the holiday classic hits Canada. &ldquo;He&rsquo;ll bring what J.T. brings to a team every night &ndash; he brings a work ethic, he&rsquo;ll do whatever you tell him to do,&rdquo; said legendary Michigan coach Red Berenson. &ldquo;Whatever role you put him in, he&rsquo;s going to do a good job at it. He&rsquo;s going to add a compete level that very few players on his team will have, and he&rsquo;ll bring leadership and a responsible attitude to the team.&rdquo;</p><blockquote class="pullQuote">'WHATEVER ROLE YOU PLACE COMPHER IN, HE&rsquo;S GOING TO DO A GOOD JOB AT IT<br>&ndash; Red Berenson</blockquote><p>A second-round selection of the Buffalo Sabres in 2013, Compher has quickly become an indispensable player for the Wolverines, who have uncharacteristically struggled the past couple of seasons. Part of that is because of players leaving early for the pros and other recruits failing to live up to expectations, but that&rsquo;s not the case with the rugged Compher.</p><p>He led the team in scoring as a freshman with 31 points in 35 games, and though he&rsquo;s off to a slightly slower start offensively this year, he has always been a player who is more than just the sum of his points.</p><p>Freshman center Dylan Larkin, the Detroit Red Wings first-rounder in 2014, played with Compher at the U.S. National Team Development Program and now slots behind him on Michigan&rsquo;s depth chart. &ldquo;Even going back to when I was 17 and he was 18, just watching how hard he worked and how he plays the game was great,&rdquo; Larkin said. &ldquo;Now I get to play against him in practice. He&rsquo;s a great role model.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-011499/10012961-1-eng-US/f0032-012.jpg" title="f0032-01" width="1448" height="1571"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>A-MAIZE-ING DEBUT</b></p><p>J.T. Compher led the University of Michigan in scoring as an 18-year-old freshman.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(BRUCE BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>Compher, who has an agitating streak and regularly finishes his checks with authority, doesn&rsquo;t really seem like the type of player you would want to face in practice, though. &ldquo;Yeah, you&rsquo;ve got to keep your head up sometimes,&rdquo; Larkin said. &ldquo;But he cares about his teammates.&rdquo;</p><p>And he loves Team USA. Compher spent two years with the NTDP in Ann Arbor before heading across town to play at Michigan, and he will surely be joined by a number of former teammates on the national squad, from power forward Hudson Fasching and phenom prospect Jack Eichel to starting goalie Thatcher Demko and defenseman Will Butcher, just to name a few. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a nice thing about the national program that they keep that familiarity,&rdquo; Compher said. &ldquo;Whether you&rsquo;re going to world juniors, world championships &ndash; and you even saw it in the Olympics &ndash; having that connection, getting that chemistry, it keeps the higherups familiar with some of the players who have played well in international competitions.&rdquo;</p><p>And when Compher has been healthy at world junior camps, he has been one of the standouts for the Americans.</p><p>Now he&rsquo;ll get a chance to strut his stuff on the big stage, and the fact the tournament is in Canada makes it extra fun for the Illinois native. &ldquo;I grew up watching the world juniors, and you get to see it a lot more when it&rsquo;s in Canada,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s all they talk about and it&rsquo;s a huge deal for the whole country. To be able to go there, it&rsquo;s going to be really exciting, and everyone has that Dec. 31 game (vs. Canada) circled right away.&rdquo;</p><p>Of course, his hope is that Team USA is the main story when the gold is eventually awarded.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0032-02

THE ‘COM’ IN COMPETE

<div class="byline">BY PAVEL BARTA</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-011328/10013020-1-eng-US/f0033-012.jpg" title="f0033-01" width="303" height="193"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-02923/10013013-1-eng-US/f0033-022.jpg" title="f0033-02" width="1215" height="1361"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>VETERAN TEENAGER</b></p><p>This is Jakub Vrana&rsquo;s sixth international tournament in the past three years.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(RICHARD WOLOWICZ/HHOF-IIHF IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>J</span></b>AKUB VRANA GOES by the nickname &lsquo;Raven,&rsquo; while the literal translation of his family name in Czech is &ldquo;Crow.&rdquo; But when it comes to circling international competitions, Vrana has been like a vulture over the years. The 2015 world juniors will be his third, and he doesn&rsquo;t turn 19 until it&rsquo;s over, meaning he&rsquo;ll probably be back for a fourth go-round next year.</p><p>Add in three under-18 world junior events the past three years and Vrana has played in six major international tournaments for the Czech Republic. Never let it be said Vrana hasn&rsquo;t served his country. &ldquo;I already have experience at events like this,&rdquo; Vrana said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll make sure we&rsquo;re well prepared.&rdquo;</p><p>The Prague native is the undisputed leader of the contingent from the Czech Republic. He takes pride in that role because it&rsquo;s his only opportunity to show his roots. The skilled right winger left his native country at 15 to play in Sweden because he liked the development program there. This is his fourth season playing for the Linkoping program (under-16, under-18, under-20 and now in the Swedish League).</p><p>It wasn&rsquo;t an easy decision for the dynamic point producer. Living by himself in an apartment complex at such a young age accelerated the growing process. On the ice, Vrana developed a shoot-first, ask-questions-later approach. He typically finishes a season with more goals than assists, reinforcing his takecharge attributes.</p><p>Czech coach Miroslav Prerost knows his team will lean on Vrana. &ldquo;He is a cool sniper, but he also needs teammates to create room and scoring chances for him,&rdquo; Prerost said. &ldquo;Although he can get on by himself.&rdquo;</p><p>The Czechs were a baffling bunch at last year&rsquo;s WJC in Sweden. They beat Canada 5-4, then lost 3-0 to Germany. The Czech Republic finished 2-2 in the round-robin before losing 5-3 to Finland in the quarterfinal. Vrana had one goal and two points in five games. It was at the under-18 worlds in Finland last April where Vrana shone, scoring eight goals in 10 games guiding the Czechs to silver.</p><p>Vrana will approach this WJC with the same mission quest he had at the under-18s. &ldquo;It helped us a lot to recognize what winning is about and showing we are a good team,&rdquo; Vrana said.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-03714/10013006-1-eng-US/f0033-032.jpg" title="f0033-03" width="1139" height="1027"></div><p>His most recent WJC memory was swallowing the tough quarterfinal loss to Finland a year ago. &ldquo;We were close, we led 3-1 and missed it by a bit,&rdquo; he said.</p><p>Vrana will play on the Czech Republic&rsquo;s top line beside center David Kampf and winger Ondrej Kase, an Anaheim draft pick. They played as a unit last season but this time will be relied upon to lead the offense. &ldquo;They should be the ones we count on,&rdquo; Prerost said.</p><p>Also aiding the attack will be under-18 silver medallists David Kase, Dominik Masin and goalie Vitek Vanecek. If David Pastrnak gets clearance to play from the Boston Bruins, the Czechs will have some dazzle.</p><p>All that leaves Vrana, who was drafted 13th overall by the Washington Capitals last June, anticipating wearing Czech Republic colors again. With Linkoping in Sweden, Vrana has been getting increased ice time, patrolling the point with a booming shot on the first power play unit. He has also improved his physical game and now dreams of making the Capitals roster in much the same way Swedish rookie left winger Andre Burakovsky did this year. &ldquo;I will set to it when I&rsquo;m ready,&rdquo; Vrana said. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s no hurry.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0033-01

BIRDS OF A FEATHER

<div class="byline">BY UFFE BODIN</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-011520/10013065-1-eng-US/f0034-012.jpg" title="f0034-01" width="303" height="193"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-021066/10013058-1-eng-US/f0034-022.jpg" title="f0034-02" width="1218" height="1387"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>SNEAK PREVIEW</b></p><p>William Nylander was a fan favorite in Toronto in his first training camp with the Leafs.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(JANA CHYTILOVA/HHOF-IIHF IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>A</span></b><b>S HE LEFT TORONTO</b> in disappointment in September, William Nylander knew he would return sooner rather than later. Not to play for the Toronto Maple Leafs but to compete for the Swedish junior national team at the World Junior Championship.</p><p>Since Canada won&rsquo;t be playing in Toronto during the round-robin, the Leafs&rsquo; first-round pick from last summer will get his fair share of the spotlight. And that&rsquo;s fine. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a huge advantage for me to have gone through training camp the way I did this fall&rdquo;, Nylander said. &ldquo;Now I know how the hype thing works. In training camp, I felt I was able to focus on my hockey, and I didn&rsquo;t let the other stuff become a distraction. It won&rsquo;t be now, either.&rdquo;</p><p>The 18-year-old enjoyed his stay in the city before the Maple Leafs cut him. Spending time in a city that eats, sleeps and breathes hockey has its charms, according to Nylander: &ldquo;You can&rsquo;t compare it to Sweden at all. It&rsquo;s like hockey is a lifestyle there, like it&rsquo;s the most important thing there is for people. While I was there, I went into the city a few times and got recognized and got to sign autographs and stuff. It never bothered me. On the contrary I thought it was fun. You&rsquo;ve got to enjoy life.&rdquo;</p><p>He has certainly enjoyed his hockey life since returning to Sweden to play for Modo in Ornskoldsvik. Nylander was averaging better than a point per game before sustaining a suspected concussion after be inadvertently kicked in the head by a teammate. The only 18-year-olds who managed to do that during an entire season in the Swedish League are Tomas Sandstrom (1982-83) and Markus Naslund (1991-92). &ldquo;I&rsquo;m getting a lot of ice time and I really feel like I&rsquo;m a leading player on the team,&rdquo; Nylander said. &ldquo;That boosts your confidence and makes you feel like you can really be a player that makes a difference.&rdquo;</p><blockquote class="pullQuote">"HE&rsquo;S WORLD CLASS. I LIKE HOW HE&rsquo;S TAKING MORE RESPONSIBILITY IN HIS OWN END<br>&ndash; Rikard Gronborg</blockquote><p>Team Sweden coach Rikard Gronborg is impressed with Nylander&rsquo;s development, especially the progress he has made defensively since last year when he was left off Sweden&rsquo;s WJC squad. &ldquo;Offensively, he&rsquo;s a world-class player, but I like how he&rsquo;s taking more responsibility in his own end and how he&rsquo;s working when the puck is not on his stick,&rdquo; Gronborg said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s also maturing physically, growing and adding muscle.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-03838/10013051-1-eng-US/f0034-032.jpg" title="f0034-03" width="1139" height="1027"></div><p>During the world juniors, Gronborg will likely team Nylander with Detroit Red Wings draft pick Axel Holmstrom, who has had a strong start to the season with the reigning Swedish champions Skelleftea. The dynamic duo amassed 27 points together in seven games during the under-18 worlds last spring and teamed up in the last exhibition tournament in the Czech Republic in November. &ldquo;We think hockey the same way and found really good chemistry right away,&rdquo; Nylander said. &ldquo;We enjoy each other&rsquo;s company on the ice.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0034-01

HOME ON THE ROAD

<div class="byline">BY RISTO PAKARINEN</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-011402/10013110-1-eng-US/f0035-012.jpg" title="f0035-01" width="303" height="193"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-021003/10013103-1-eng-US/f0035-022.jpg" title="f0035-02" width="1712" height="1163"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>READY TO RISE?</b></p><p>After posting jaw-dropping stats last year, Juuse Saros has been so-so this season.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(BRUCE BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>L</span></b>AST YEAR, GOALIE Juuse Saros could do no wrong. He played 44 of the 60 regular season games for his HPK team in his hometown, Hameenlinna, Finland as a rookie. He surely would have played more had he not missed a few weeks during the World Junior Championship in Sweden.</p><p>At the WJC, his .943 save percentage was the tournament&rsquo;s best, as was his goals against average of 1.57. Media voted Saros to the tournament all-star team and Finland won gold. At the end of the season, his SP in the Finnish league was .923 and his GAA was 1.76. &ldquo;When you consider he hadn&rsquo;t played any Finnish league games before the season and now is at the top of the goalie statistics&hellip;well, it&rsquo;s quite a feat for an 18-year-old,&rdquo; HPK&rsquo;s goalie coach Kari Lehtonen told Finnish TV when Saros returned home from Malmo.</p><p>This season, things haven&rsquo;t gone as smoothly for the 19-year-old, who was a fourth-round pick of the Nashville Predators in 2013. His team struggled early and their young goaltender couldn&rsquo;t provide the necessary help. His September SP was just .896. To be fair, he&rsquo;d appeared in just five games and only one of them was a real clunker. However, in October, he posted a .929 SP in seven games.</p><p>Maybe he was just rusty after a long off-season or maybe the military service he did in the summer still weighed in his legs &ndash; and head. &ldquo;We, and, I, got off to a rough start and it took a while until I found the right feel for the game,&rdquo; Saros said. &ldquo;It wasn&rsquo;t anything technical, I just had to get back to the loose feeling. I don&rsquo;t think I felt any pressure, but I&rsquo;m still young so I guess I have to learn things the hard way.</p><p>&ldquo;When I&rsquo;m in a slump, I remind myself of the fact there&rsquo;s more to life than hockey. The mental side is probably the most important thing in goaltending.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-03830/10013096-1-eng-US/f0035-032.jpg" title="f0035-03" width="1139" height="1027"></div><p>And if Saros is right, he&rsquo;s got nothing to worry about. At 5-foot-10, he&rsquo;s not a physical specimen, like the Lightning&rsquo;s Ben Bishop or the Predators&rsquo; Pekka Rinne, a fellow Finn. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s really fast and he reads the game well, but it&rsquo;s his mental toughness that&rsquo;s his real strength,&rdquo; Lehtonen said.</p><p>Saros will battle Ville Husso for playing time at the world juniors. They&rsquo;re both among the top 10 in save percentage in the Finnish League. Coach Hannu Jortikka will probably give the edge to Saros because of his track record a year ago. Saros is one of about a dozen players returning to the WJC to defend Finland&rsquo;s title. &ldquo;With so many new players,&rdquo; Saros said, &ldquo;it&rsquo;s hard to compare this team to last year&rsquo;s team, but we see this year&rsquo;s tournament as another great opportunity to win something big.&rdquo;</p><p>Saros said he prefers the flow of world junior action to league play in Finland. &ldquo;The pace is faster at the world juniors, so the goalie has to be alert all the time. It&rsquo;s more fun and maybe makes it easier to get involved in the game.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0035-01

BACK FOR AN ENCORE

<div class="byline">BY RYAN KENNEDY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-011421/10013155-1-eng-US/f0036-012.jpg" title="f0036-01" width="303" height="193"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-02975/10013148-1-eng-US/f0036-022.jpg" title="f0036-02" width="1156" height="1363"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>BOY TO MAN</b></p><p>Ivan Barbashev has advanced from youngest player to team leader in just 12 months.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(ANDRE RINGUETTE/HHOF-IIHF IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>D</span></b>ON&rsquo;T THINK OF Moncton Wildcats center Ivan Barbashev as being trapped between two cultures. It&rsquo;s more accurate to say he&rsquo;s enjoying the best of both worlds. The St. Louis Blues second-rounder is plying his trade in the Quebec League, but he also loves suiting up for his country.</p><p>For a player who has been described as atypically Russian in style, that makes a lot of sense. &ldquo;He plays more of a typical North American game,&rdquo; said Moncton coach Darren Rumble. &ldquo;He goes in straight lines. When he&rsquo;s banging bodies out there, that&rsquo;s when he&rsquo;s at his best.&rdquo;</p><p>And while Barbashev has been an offensive leader for the Cats, his role with Russia&rsquo;s junior team last year was different, highlighting his defensive side instead. Playing on a shutdown line with Edmonton pick Bogdan Yakimov, Barbashev was tasked with forechecking hard and keeping the other team off the board. &ldquo;The fact he was used in that role doesn&rsquo;t surprise me,&rdquo; Rumble said. &ldquo;He projects as a good third-liner in the NHL, a guy who has sandpaper in his game.&rdquo;</p><p>The Russians ended up winning bronze thanks in part to Barbashev&rsquo;s efforts, including important victories over Team USA and Canada. &ldquo;Those were huge memories for me,&rdquo; said Barbashev, who turns 19 Dec. 14. &ldquo;I was the youngest guy on the team, and I learned a lot. I&rsquo;ll be a different player this time &ndash; more of an offensive player and more of a leader.&rdquo;</p><p>For a Russian team that won&rsquo;t have a loaded lineup, that will help. Barbashev is still filling the net for Moncton, but he has also been studious in rounding out his game. Rumble noted the teenager often pops into the video room between periods to see how his faceoffs were, and he has improved on that skill a great deal since last season. His defensive zone coverage down low has also been noteworthy. Overall, consistency is the final thing he needs to master.</p><blockquote class="pullQuote">"THIS TIME I&rsquo;LL TRY TO GRAB THE GOLD MEDAL AND I CAN DO SOME BIG CHIRPING<br>&ndash; Ivan Barbashev</blockquote><p>Barbashev has also been paying it forward in Moncton by helping dynamic and diminutive winger Vladimir Tkachev get used to North American life. Rumble said the transition would have been &ldquo;virtually impossible&rdquo; without Barbashev, and the two might even be teammates at the world juniors.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-03804/10013141-1-eng-US/f0036-032.jpg" title="f0036-03" width="1139" height="1027"></div><p>If the Russians, who have owned Canada at the holiday classic lately, can pull off the trick again, Barbashev will have more ammunition when he&rsquo;s joking around in the Moncton dressing room. As it is now, he has already shown off the bronze he won at Canada&rsquo;s expense, and he recognizes the realness of the rivalry. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s kind of big,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I was chirping a little bit last year. This time I&rsquo;ll try to grab the gold, and I can do some big chirping.&rdquo;</p><p>To do so, he and his mates will have to conquer their opponents on Canadian ice. And as the powerful Barbashev has shown time and again, if he has to go through someone to get his medal, he&rsquo;ll do it.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0036-01

BANG, BANG BARBASHEV

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-011267/10013193-1-eng-US/f0037-012.jpg" title="f0037-01" width="303" height="193"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-02901/10013186-1-eng-US/f0037-022.jpg" title="f0037-02" width="1100" height="1372"><figcaption class="caption-body">NOAH<b>ROD</b> <span class="photo-credit">(RICHARD WOLOWICZ/HHOF-IIHF IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>T</span></b>HE HEADY DAYS OF Nino Niederreiter and Benjamin Conz are gone, and though Switzerland has cemented itself within the top bracket of WJC teams, the famously neutral nation has become, well, stuck in neutral. The Swiss win just enough to make the medal round but not enough to threaten for a medal.</p><p>Good talent is still coming through the country and Nashville first-rounder Kevin Fiala is in the spotlight. He was one of the nation&rsquo;s best players at last year&rsquo;s dance in Malmo and has been playing lights-out against men in Sweden this season.</p><p>One player who could make a similar impact is 2015 draft prospect Timo Meier. A secondyear right winger with the Quebec League&rsquo;s Halifax Mooseheads, Meier has upped his game and was one of the team&rsquo;s top scorers through November.</p><p>It&rsquo;s unlikely San Jose will part with rookie defender Mirco Mueller for the tourney, and that hurts Switzerland&rsquo;s depth on the back end, putting more pressure on Phil Baltisberger of the Ontario League&rsquo;s Guelph Storm.</p><p>In all, this will be an inexperienced Swiss team, with just five players eligible from last year&rsquo;s squad. Fortunately, there are nice young reinforcements coming up, including another Sharks pick, Noah Rod, and the small but skilled Denis Malgin, a 2015 prospect who was great at the world under-18s.</p><p>As per usual, Switzerland will have to take care of business against the minnows in round-robin play (in this case Denmark) and then hope for an upset or two against a traditional power. They&rsquo;ve done it before and have given the Russians fits, in particular, but how far can this squad go overall? Straight to the lower middle, most likely.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0037-01

SWITZERLAND TEAM PREVIEW

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-03725/10013231-1-eng-US/f0037-032.jpg" title="f0037-03" width="303" height="193"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>W</span></b>HILE THE TEENS of the Czech Republic have found new life on the international stage, their former countrymates from Slovakia are more like a whipped dog. Last year they could have sent the Czechs to the relegation round but instead handed them new life in a 4-1 loss. Then Slovakia got waxed 6-0 by Sweden in what was a less-than-competitive quarterfinal loss.</p><p>And even before that you had Columbus pick Marko Dano berating 16-year-old defenseman Erik Cernak in the press for taking &ldquo;stupid penalties,&rdquo; which wasn&rsquo;t a good look. Dano has turned pro now, but Cernak, up for the draft this summer and playing well against men back home, will return. At 6-foot-3, 203 pounds, he&rsquo;s a big boy on the back end, but he&rsquo;ll also be the only returning member of the D-corps.</p><p>This team will draw from the country&rsquo;s Orange20 program, which is like the U.S. NTDP but plays against men in Slovakia and struggles for wins. The program hasn&rsquo;t had the same success as the U.S.&rsquo;s, and none of this year&rsquo;s players managed more than a &lsquo;C&rsquo; rating on Central Scouting&rsquo;s draft watch list.</p><p>Simply put, it&rsquo;s been tough sledding for Slovakia, and even when they&rsquo;ve had intriguing goalies lately (a past savior), the team has still been bombed, such as at the under-18s when Adam Huska and Matej Tomek manned the crease.</p><p>One player who can make an impact is left winger Martin Reway, a Montreal pick playing in the Czech Republic after a QM-JHL stint with Gatineau. He was one of the top scorers at last year&rsquo;s WJC and is putting up numbers against men now. He and Bruins pick Peter Cehlarik will move the offense.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-04623/10013224-1-eng-US/f0037-042.jpg" title="f0037-04" width="1209" height="1286"><figcaption class="caption-body">MARTIN <b>REWAY</b> <span class="photo-credit">(SLOVAK ICE HOCKEY FEDERATION)</span></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0037-03

SLOVAKIA TEAM PREVIEW

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-011379/10013269-1-eng-US/f0038-012.jpg" title="f0038-01" width="303" height="193"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-02964/10013262-1-eng-US/f0038-022.jpg" title="f0038-02" width="1093" height="1234"><figcaption class="caption-body">OLIVER <b>BJORKSTRAND</b> <span class="photo-credit">(RICHARD WOLOWICZ/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>D</span>ENMARK IS</b>&nbsp;THE newbie in the pool, earning promotion up from Division I and taking Norway&rsquo;s slot with the big boys. Will the Danes be chum? Don&rsquo;t count them out so fast.</p><p>Denmark brings back all five of its top scorers, including Winnipeg first-rounder Nikolaj Ehlers and Columbus pick Oliver Bjorkstrand. All told, 12 players from last year&rsquo;s promotable squad are available, and that cohesion goes a long way.</p><p>Along with Ehlers (QMJHL Halifax) and Bjorkstrand (WHL Portland), Denmark has a couple other kids playing in North America, including Mads Eller, who is coming off a nice season helping the WHL&rsquo;s Edmonton Oil Kings to a league crown and a Memorial Cup title. Mikkel Aagard is in his first campaign with the OHL&rsquo;s Niagara IceDogs, and that familiarity with Canadian ice and the pace of the elite junior game will be a boon for the Danes, who still go into pool play as heavy underdogs.</p><p>Their first chance for a win will be against the Swiss, but a more likely opportunity will come in the relegation round against Germany. There, the Danes can try to outscore the Germans with the 1-2 punch of Ehlers and Bjorkstrand. While neither player is huge, each has a season of more than 100 points in major junior. Bjorkstrand has a 50-goal campaign under his belt, while Ehlers scored 49 last season.</p><p>In net, the Danes return George Sorensen, who gave up just two even-strength goals in last year&rsquo;s Division I tourney and handles the puck so well that he once scored at the under-18s. He will be peppered with a lot more shots this time out when Russia and Sweden replace Austria and Poland at the other end of the ice.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0038-01

DENMARK TEAM PREVIEW

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-03777/10013307-1-eng-US/f0038-032.jpg" title="f0038-03" width="303" height="193"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>H</span></b>OPES OF A GERMAN renaissance are slim or none, depending on the availability of one player: Leon Draisaitl. The highest-drafted German ever, Draisaitl was picked third overall by Edmonton and has remained with the NHL team since camp.</p><p>One-third of the way through the season, he was still in the lineup, getting bottom-six minutes and popping in the odd point or two. But his impact on the Germans would be huge. Draisaitl admitted he put too much pressure on himself at last year&rsquo;s tournament, where his squad had to stave off Norway in a tense three-game relegation series. Draisaitl led the Germans in scoring, but he also led the team in penalties and was suspended for a game after hitting Team USA&rsquo;s Andrew Copp from behind.</p><p>Like Denmark, Germany will have a lot of experience on its roster. Former Sudbury Wolves center Dominik Kahun (now in Germany) is back and 13 players from last year&rsquo;s squad are eligible to return.</p><p>Does the team have enough talent to stay up in the top echelon? It will be a fight to avoid relegation and without Draisaitl, the Germans will have to revert to traditional Teutonic defensive hockey. Marvin Cupper has aged out in net, but his backup, Kevin Reich, is an option. Reich has been playing in the United States League and found his footing since leaving Dubuque for Green Bay.</p><p>If the Oilers let Draisaitl play in the WJC, Germany has a chance of upsetting Slovakia in the round-robin, but otherwise it&rsquo;s all about another best-ofthree to avoid relegation, most likely against Denmark. Even that&rsquo;s no sure thing, so this may be the last we see of Germany for a year or two.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-04633/10013300-1-eng-US/f0038-042.jpg" title="f0038-04" width="1127" height="1357"><figcaption class="caption-body">DOMINIK <b>KAHUN</b> <span class="photo-credit">(ANDRE RINGUETTER/HHOF-IIHF IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0038-03

GERMANYD TEAM PREVIEW

<div class="byline">BY RONNIE SHUKER</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0039-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-02860/10013345-1-eng-US/f0039-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>RED & WHITE PARTY</b></p><p>You&rsquo;ll see Canadian flags, toques and masquera in both Montreal and Toronto.</p><span class="photo-credit">(FANS: 2014 TORONTO STAR; POUTINE: IMAGE QUEBEC ORIGINAL)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-011263/10013352-1-eng-US/f0039-012.jpg" title="f0039-01" width="169" height="237"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>T</span></b>HE RIVALRY BETWEEN Toronto and Montreal extends well beyond the ice. As the London and Paris of North America, the two cities have long respectfully despised one another, mirroring on the municipal level their hockey teams&rsquo; mutual dislike. And like any long-standing conflict, this civic feud is filled with stereotypes from both sides.</p><p>Torontonians look at Montreal and see a city of European lassitude and lax morals with a fashion sense that falls somewhere between hipster and homeless. Montrealers, meanwhile, think Toronto is the third-largest city in the United States filled with stuck-up suits and anal urban tree-huggers who could all use a little cultural proctology.</p><p>For two weeks over the holidays, however, Toronto and Montreal will kiss and make up to co-host the 2015 World Junior Championship, putting the WJC hype machine on its biggest stage ever.</p><p>As far as host cities go, it doesn&rsquo;t get any better for Hockey Canada, which expects to rake in a record profits, surpassing the $21 million it made in 2012 when Calgary and Edmonton were co-hosts. With a combined population of 4.5 million, Toronto and Montreal have the fan bases and the deep pockets to pay for packages that range from $170 to $2301 (though Montrealers were slower to snap up tickets than were Torontonians, who sold out their share months ago).</p><p>For residents of Toronto and</p><p>Montreal, it&rsquo;s the perfect opportunity to reacquaint themselves with each other and put their stereotypes to the test. For out-of-town fans of the world juniors, it&rsquo;s a chance to check out and compare Canada&rsquo;s two largest cities and cultural hubs, and see for themselves whether the stereotypes hold true.</p><p>Toronto and Montreal are about a one-hour flight or five-hour drive apart, but the smartest transportation link for fans to take is the train, which ties the two downtown cores together. It bypasses the hassle of getting to the airports, both of which are well outside the downtown areas, while each city&rsquo;s subway system renders driving an unnecessary nuisance for visitors. Since the Air Canada Centre and Bell Centre are in the heart of their cities, downtown is where all the WJC action will be anyway.</p><p>Pre-game, there&rsquo;s no shortage of affordable fare. Montreal overflows with quaint bistros and cool cafes &ndash; and, of course, it has poutine, which is made dozens of different ways, and all increase in taste as their calorie counts rise. Toronto, however, is a culinary United Nations, offering every kind of cultural cuisine imaginable thanks to having the most ethnically diverse population in the world.</p><p>Post-game, each city is home to a lively nightlife for fans looking to cut loose when hockey is done for the day. Here is where Montreal thrives. Toronto knows how to party &ndash; and it has one of North America&rsquo;s toprated sports bars in Real Sports, which is adjacent to the ACC &ndash; but Montreal knows how to party <i>hard</i>. Its last call (3 a.m.) is one hour later and drinking age (18) one year younger than Toronto&rsquo;s, and fermented beverages are easily had at grocery and convenience stores instead of in tightly regulated government outlets. A greater percentage of Montrealers also frequent bars and clubs than do Torontonians, who prefer to spend their money on shopping and live entertainment.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-03678/10013338-1-eng-US/f0039-032.jpg" title="f0039-03" width="523" height="506"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>CURD YOUR ENTHUSIASM</b></p><p>Poutine in Montreal is a musthave treat, both before and after WJC contests.</p></figcaption></div><p>If there&rsquo;s a stereotype the two cities have shared recently, it&rsquo;s circus-like municipal politics and clowns for mayors. Rob Ford put Toronto on the late-night comedy map for four years with his extra-curricular activities of crack smoking and drunken stupors. Montrealers, meanwhile, had to bounce two mayors, Gerald Tremblay and Michael Applebaum, from office a mere six months apart for alleged corruption at city hall.</p><p>In any comparison of the two cities, however, Montreal holds the trump card: the Canadiens have won 24 Stanley Cups to Toronto&rsquo;s 13. Through the first 50 years of the NHL, the two franchises were neck and neck in championships, but since expansion in 1967 Montreal has won 10 more Cups, while Toronto has won none and now holds the ignominious title (with the St. Louis Blues) of the longest active drought at 47 years&hellip;and counting.</p><p>For those who can&rsquo;t make the trip to Toronto and Montreal for this year&rsquo;s tournament, the two cities will team up again in two years. Toronto is home to the medal round this time around, but Montreal will have the honors the the 2017 world juniors. (They split round-robin games.) Which will be the better host? Torontonians and Montrealers will be happy to tell you. Just don&rsquo;t believe the stereotypes.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0039-02

CANADIAN COUSINS

<div class="byline">BY MIKE BROPHY</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0040-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-01975/10013383-1-eng-US/f0040-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>JUNIORS&rsquo; FATHER</b></p><p>Murray Williamson had meager WJC aspirations, but his baby&rsquo;s turned into a beast.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(U.S. HOCKEY HALL OF FAME)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-02646/10013390-1-eng-US/f0040-022.jpg" title="f0040-02" width="169" height="237"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>F</span></b>OR AVID HOCKEY FANS, the annual World Junior Championship is a highlight of the hockey season. Featuring many of the best prospects on the planet, the WJC has come a long way from its humble beginnings in 1973. The brainchild of Murray Williamson, a Winnipeg native who moved to the United States to play for the University of Minnesota, his initial motivation was to promote junior hockey in the United States. &ldquo;I had no idea it would grow this big,&rdquo; Williamson said. &ldquo;I knew it would get something going in the United States because the concept of high-level junior hockey had not taken hold here.&rdquo;</p><blockquote class="pullQuote">"THE THING I REMEMBER MOST IS WHAT AN EYE-OPENER IT WAS FOR THE KIDS WHO PLAYED<br>&ndash; Murray Williamson</blockquote><p>Williamson helped form the six-team (Minnesota, Thunder Bay, St. Paul, Fargo-Moorhead, St. Cloud and Chicago) Midwest Junior League in 1973. To promote the loop, he created an allstar team to play an exhibition game against Peterborough of the Ontario Association. &ldquo;As an incentive to attract players, I thought we should get a world junior tournament going,&rdquo; Williamson said. &ldquo;I found out the Russians were holding a tournament in Leningrad. They added teams from Canada and the United States.&rdquo; Among the players on Williamson&rsquo;s Team USA were future NHLers Paul Holmgren, Gary Sargent and Dave Hanson (yes, of <i>Slap Shot</i> fame).</p><p>Williamson had credibility when he approached those running the tournament in the Soviet Union since he was an all-American winger at the University of Minnesota and had also coached the U.S. entries at three world championships and two Olympics. He led the U.S. to a silver medal at the 1972 Games in Sapporo, Japan.</p><p>The first tournament, which took place in December 1973 and January 1974, is as memorable for its travel follies as it is for the games. His American squad played a rematch in Peterborough, losing 6-4, and was to fly out of Montreal for Czechoslovakia where it would play two tune-up games. However, there was a snowstorm in Montreal, and by the time the team was able to travel, its equipment was left behind.</p><p>The pre-tournament games in Czechoslovakia were cancelled, so it was on to Leningrad. &ldquo;My bag never showed up, so I wore the same outfit for two weeks,&rdquo; Williamson said with a laugh. &ldquo;The thing I remember most is what an eye-opener it was for the kids who got the opportunity to play against other great hockey players their age from around the world.&rdquo;</p><p>The host Soviets won the event with a 5-0 mark while Finland won the silver medal and Canada the bronze. The Americans were 1-4. Their only win was 3-2 over the Czechs.</p><p>Williamson had a hand in the second unofficial WJC, which was based in Winnipeg the following year with games also played in Brandon, Man., and Minnesota. The games were well attended in Canada but not so in Minnesota. Williamson, however, believed it was a worthwhile venture and did his best to promote the world juniors tournament. &ldquo;The American hockey association was kind of cool to the whole thing,&rdquo; Williamson said. &ldquo;The Canadian Amateur Hockey Association was also lukewarm to it, but they saw how successful it was and decided to hold a second one in Winnipeg. They saw we had something going, and they wanted to build on it.&rdquo;</p><p>Williamson accepted a coaching position in Switzerland following the second tournament, and that was the end of his association with the WJC. AHAUS (now USA Hockey) took over from there. The first official WJC, under the umbrella of the International Ice Hockey Federation, took place in 1977.</p><p>Williamson, now 80 and living in Minneapolis in the summer and Arizona in the winter, has fond memories of the event. &ldquo;We really had no idea we were getting in on the ground floor of something that would grow into something so big,&rdquo; Williamson said. &ldquo;The truth of the matter is our initial goal was to promote junior hockey in the United States.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0040-01

THE FIRST BABY STEPS

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0041-03" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-03466/10013421-1-eng-US/f0041-032.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>FAMILIAR FACES</b></p><p>Jacob Trouba and Seth Jones were golden in 2013 after being teammates in the NTDP program.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(ANDRE RINGUETTE / HHOF-IIHF IMAGESB)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-01851/10013435-1-eng-US/f0041-012.jpg" title="f0041-01" width="169" height="237"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-02571/10013428-1-eng-US/f0041-022.jpg" title="f0041-02" width="199" height="237"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>B</span>ASKING IN THE AFTERGLOW</b> of a world junior gold on Russian ice two years ago, future Nashville defenseman Seth Jones let some knowledge drop on me: he had played with almost every other member of the U.S. D-corps in the past. That&rsquo;s because Jones was a graduate of the U.S. National Team Development Program, just like Jacob Trouba, Jake McCabe, Connor Murphy and Pat Sieloff.</p><p>Eight members of that squad also won gold at the 2011 world under-18s, a tournament the Americans have dominated for the past decade, winning seven of 10 gold medals. There was a familiarity among the unit, and it translated on the ice. And since Canada has struggled to reach its lofty goals at the WJC lately (the CHL playoffs conflict with the under-18s so success there is haphazard), I began wondering if it was time for a Canadian NTDP.</p><p>Imagine two hot-housed allstar teams (under-17 and under-18) dedicated to developing not just NHL prospects, but players who could win Canada golds in international tournaments. In the past five years, the Canucks have only one title in 10 tries combined at the under-18s and world juniors.</p><p>I called up Bruce Hamilton, perhaps the perfect man to weigh in on the topic. Not only is Hamilton the GM and owner of the Western League&rsquo;s Kelowna Rockets, but he is also part of Hockey Canada&rsquo;s Program of Excellence team. &ldquo;Obviously,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;I have no interest in it.&rdquo;</p><p>And fair play on that. I realize it&rsquo;s a tall order to ask a CHL manager to give up one or two of his best young talents for two years in a league where the best players might play three seasons tops, but I thought at least the Hockey Canada side of Hamilton would be intrigued. Not so much. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m a huge supporter of the club system in Canada,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;The best players on a team make other players better.&rdquo;</p><p>And Hamilton is drilling down to midget, bantam and younger on this topic. He believes if Canada is going to turn around in global tournaments, bright skill-development minds such as new Hockey Canada president and CEO Tom Renney need to be unleashed on the 11- and 12-year-olds of the nation.</p><blockquote class="pullQuote">"THE AMERICANS HAVE DOMINATED THE UNDER-18s FOR A DECADE, WINNING SEVEN OF 10 GOLD</blockquote><p>Along with bringing in Renney, Hamilton and a host of others into the fold lately, Hockey Canada also pared down the amount of teams it sends to the World Under-17 Challenge. It used to be five, based on geographyder-18s (Team Ontario, Team Pacific, etc.). Now it&rsquo;s down to three, with kids mixed in from across the country. The early results? Bad. In an eight-team tournament, none of Canada&rsquo;s squads even made the semifinals and no Canadian player finished top-10 in scoring. Meanwhile, Team USA went 5-1, only losing to the Russians in the final. The Americans were powered by the NTDP&rsquo;s under-17 squad, which plays most of the season against older competition in the United States League. The NTDP&rsquo;s un play USHL teams and big-time college programs such as Michigan and Boston University, the logic being that the stronger, older competition will challenge them as they grow.</p><p>Hamilton, also the chairman of the WHL&rsquo;s board of governors, poured water on the idea of my proposed teams playing against major junior clubs, so maybe Team Canada plays Jr. A squads and seasoned Canadian university teams. And of course, the Canadians would play in international tournaments. Would elite talents sign up?</p><p>Every player says it&rsquo;s an honor to put on a Team Canada sweater, and this would test the theory. Major junior is still seen as the quickest route to the NHL thanks to its pro-style schedule and level of competition, even as the NCAA is producing gems now, too, many from the NTDP.</p><p>Maybe the will for a Canadian national team&rsquo;s not there, but if the Canucks fail to medal at the world juniors for a third straight year, fans are going to start wondering about the status quo.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0041-03

PANNING FOR GOLD

f0042-01

GOLDEN BOYS

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0050-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0050-02365/10013581-1-eng-US/f0050-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>2020 VISION</b></p><p>With five years left on his contract, Taylor Hall is in for a half decade of barbs if his Oilers can&rsquo;t get on track.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(JEFF VINNICK/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0050-01479/10013588-1-eng-US/f0050-012.jpg" title="f0050-01" width="200" height="238"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>C</span></b><b>HRISTMAS HAS BECOME COMMER</b> cialized, am I right? A fresh and dangerous opinion, I know, but in reality, as you get older you come to realize the cliche is true: the holiday season really is all about the spirit of giving. With that in mind, here are presents for five NHL figures they won&rsquo;t either exchange or regift.</p><p><b>TO TAYLOR HALL:</b>&nbsp;<i>Horse blinders and ear plugs</i>. As the Edmonton Oilers star least likely to be traded, Hall is destined to endure more changes in the months and years ahead thanks to yet another disappointing season. And given that the 23-year-old is signed through 2019-20, nothing short of a trade demand is going to separate him from his employer. These reality reduction tools, and perhaps the occasional anger muscle relaxant, should help him maintain his sanity. Emphasis on &ldquo;should&rdquo;.</p><p><b>TO RANDY CARLYLE:</b>&nbsp;<i>U-Haul gift card</i>. Forget about how the Maple Leafs are playing at the moment you read this. Ask yourself if you see any scenario in which Carlyle is still coaching the Leafs next season. The only way that happens is if Toronto makes a deep playoff run &ndash; and even then, I wouldn&rsquo;t be so sure his services would be retained. But should the Leafs fail to qualify for post-season play, or get trounced in the first round, Carlyle will be shown the door. And don&rsquo;t for a second think he doesn&rsquo;t know it. Safe eventual travels, Randy.</p><blockquote class="pullQuote">"MIKE BABCOCK IS GOING TO DO FOR COACHES WHAT WAYNE GRETZKY DID FOR PLAYERS THREE DECADES AGO</blockquote><p><b>TO JACK JOHNSON:</b>&nbsp;<i>A few people he can trust</i>. After the story broke that Johnson was filing for bankruptcy (despite being in the fourth season of a seven-year, $30.5-million contract) thanks to horrific business decisions made by his parents, the Columbus blueliner may find it difficult to put faith in anyone. But in giving his parents control of his earnings, the 27-year-old can only be faulted for trusting in a way that many, if not most of us would with our own parents. Now being guided by a new management team, Johnson should be on the road to straightening out his finances. Here&rsquo;s hoping he can also rebuild his belief in his fellow human beings.</p><p><b>TO MIKE BABCOCK:</b>&nbsp;<i>A bigger bank account</i>. When the Red Wings coach becomes a free agent at the end of this season, he&rsquo;s going to do for coaching what Wayne Gretzky did for players three decades ago: raise the salary bar, and not by just a little. Babcock&rsquo;s current payday is around $2 million, but many expect he&rsquo;ll be able to double that to become the league&rsquo;s highest-paid bench boss &ndash; especially if Leafs president Brendan Shanahan comes calling. A simple checking account may burst at the seams with the amount of legal tender Babcock is about to acquire, so the new one should be reinforced with steel girders.</p><p><b>TO SIDNEY CROSBY:</b>&nbsp;<i>Good health for himself and his teammates</i>. At times we forget how much the NHL&rsquo;s biggest star struggled to return after multiple concussions. Although he played an 80-game campaign last season, the truth is he&rsquo;s in danger of suffering a career-ending head injury every time he steps on the ice. But more concerning is his Penguins franchise, which has been snakebitten with misfortune: defenseman Kris Letang had a minor stroke last season; former Penguin goalie Tomas Vokoun was sidelined in 2013 with a blood clot in his pelvis; and this season, Pascal Dupuis was diagnosed with a blood clot in his lung, while Olli Maatta was found to have a cancerous tumor (since removed) on his thyroid. The Penguins are no different than any team in that you want to see them well enough to play, but the issues in Pittsburgh extend beyond hockey &ndash; and good health is the least they deserve.</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>

f0050-02

’TIS THE SEASON FOR GIVEAWAYS

<div class="byline">BY MATT LARKIN</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0055-03" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0055-03150/10013619-1-eng-US/f0055-032.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>SABRE STAYS SHARP</b></p><p>Sam Reinhart is adamant about not being complacent now that he&rsquo;s back in major junior.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(GRAIG ABEL/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGESW)</span></figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0055-01310/10013626-1-eng-US/f0055-012.jpg" title="f0055-01" width="74" height="84"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>W</span>HAT HAPPENS</b>&nbsp;<b>WHEN</b> you&rsquo;re caught between a man among boys and a boy among men? It&rsquo;s a question Jonathan Drouin had to answer a year ago, and it&rsquo;s the same one Buffalo mega-prospect Sam Reinhart faces now. The Buffalo Sabres announced Oct. 31 they were returning Reinhart to the Western League&rsquo;s Kootenay Ice. It was a week before his 19th birthday. He was far from eligible for the American League, and he&rsquo;d played his ninth NHL game, meaning one more would burn a year of his entry-level contract.</p><p>Taken second overall in last June&rsquo;s draft, he&rsquo;s an outstanding prospect, a heady two-way center who can make everyone around him better. His superb hockey sense had scouts calling him the most NHL-ready player of his draft class, but watching him this season suggested otherwise.</p><p>The truth is Reinhart belonged in junior. His 6-foot-1, 185-pound frame wasn&rsquo;t ready to do battle against grown men. Most of his first NHL games were the kind that had you checking the summary to make sure he played. He was mostly a non-entity, averaging 10:22 of ice time and managing one assist and three shots. In that tiny sample, his 31.1 Fenwick Close rating was 565th out of 568 qualifying NHLers.</p><p>Those numbers aren&rsquo;t meant to harp on Reinhart. He has an outstanding career ahead of him. They do, however, suggest the Sabres were smart to send him down. And to his credit, he gets it. At the Air Canada Centre in October, after the Sabres lost to the Toronto Maple Leafs, the elephant in the hallway was that Reinhart was one game away from the threshold of nine. He knew what was coming.</p><p>In his short stay, he learned plenty. He listed veterans Brian Gionta, Cody McCormick, Matt Moulson and Josh Gorges as hugely helpful with their day-to-day advice. And game situations opened his eyes as well. &ldquo;Obviously you knew it was going to be a challenge,&rdquo; Reinhart said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s the best thing in the world, and to try and make the jump is difficult. The biggest thing I&rsquo;ve tried to focus on and learned is the pace and intensity. It&rsquo;s not as much the speed skating up and down the ice &ndash; it&rsquo;s the overall speed and intensity with the puck. To want the puck, that&rsquo;s the biggest thing I&rsquo;ve learned.&rdquo;</p><p>It&rsquo;s a philosophy Reinhart implemented beautifully back with Kootenay, who had sputtered to a 4-13-0 start in his absence. He immediately resumed his junior dominance, piling up 19 points in his first eight games, seven of which the Ice won. For Reinhart, however, going home had to be about more than re-establishing routines. He wanted to bring back what he gained at the NHL level and apply it to his game. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s going to be tough, but the biggest thing I have to do is play with the same intensity that I have to (in the NHL),&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Not that it&rsquo;s going to be easy by any means back home, back in junior, but it could get easy to think so.&rdquo;</p></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p>At the world juniors in Toronto and Montreal, Reinhart will be asked to play massive minutes in all situations for a Canadian team desperate to end its championship drought at five years. He has the perfect model to follow in Drouin, who went third overall to Tampa in 2013 and was a surprise cut from the Lightning a year ago. Drouin didn&rsquo;t rest on his laurels. He was a dominant force upon returning to Halifax in the Quebec League and played a major role for Canada at the world juniors. Now Reinhart, who cut his teeth at the 2014 WJC as a supporting player behind Drouin and other big guns, gets his chance to take the mantle. He requires only a split second to make the Drouin connection when it&rsquo;s brought up: &ldquo;Yep. Exactly.&rdquo;</p><p>Spoken like a young man who knows precisely what he needs to do going forward.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0055-03

PLAY IT AGAIN IN JUNIOR, SAM

<div class="byline">SARAH MCLELLAN</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0056-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0056-02186/10013699-1-eng-US/f0056-022.jpg"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0056-01283/10013706-1-eng-US/f0056-012.jpg" title="f0056-01" 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/f0056-03119/10013692-1-eng-US/f0056-032.jpg" title="f0056-03" width="1374" height="944"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>MAX DOMI</b> <span class="photo-credit">(CLAUS ANDERSEN/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>A</span></b><b>FTER THREE TRIPS TO THE MEMORIAL</b> Cup and a pair of Ontario League titles, Max Domi, it appeared, had nothing left to learn from junior and would make the jump to the NHL this season.</p><p>Domi was certainly being considered for a roster spot with the Coyotes, especially since the off-season left their offense shorthanded, but for the second consecutive fall, Domi was a late cut at training camp and returned to the London Knights. And although disappointment lined that decision, it also positioned him as a frontrunner to make Team Canada&rsquo;s world junior team &ndash; one of the few items left on Domi&rsquo;s junior-level bucket list.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s something we all dream of, especially as a Canadian kid,&rdquo; Domi said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s something you don&rsquo;t get the chance to do every day. We&rsquo;re all excited for the opportunity and it&rsquo;s not going to be easy by any means. It&rsquo;s one of the harder teams to make in the sport, so (I&rsquo;m) looking forward to the challenge and hopefully it works out.&rdquo;</p><p>Domi&rsquo;s play so far this season with the Knights hasn&rsquo;t discredited his bid. On top of the expected offensive production, Domi has assumed a leadership role as captain. What&rsquo;s more, Coyotes GM Don Maloney has noticed the details of Domi&rsquo;s game have improved &ndash; a 200-foot work ethic that&rsquo;s needed for him to make the transition to the NHL. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m really happy with where Max is in his game,&rdquo; Maloney said. &ldquo;I couldn&rsquo;t have asked for anything more. Hopefully he makes that team and has a good experience.&rdquo;</p><p>Domi, 19, was left off Team Canada last year, but the controversial omission isn&rsquo;t weighing too heavily on his mind. He&rsquo;s more focused on this year&rsquo;s tournament and the opportunity to potentially play at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto where his dad, Tie, made a living with the Maple Leafs. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s an arena I&rsquo;ve always dreamed of playing in,&rdquo; Domi said. &ldquo;So hopefully I can make that come true soon.&rdquo;</p><p>Even if Domi leaves that dream unfulfilled, however, another one is waiting to be taken care of in Arizona. &ldquo;I obviously would have liked to stay there this year,&rdquo; Domi said. &ldquo;But at the end of the day, it&rsquo;s not my call. I worked hard this summer and tried to do everything I could, but it&rsquo;s not there yet. So hopefully one more year will help me out.&rdquo;</p><h2><b>WORLD JUNIOR TO WATCH</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0056-0490/10013685-1-eng-US/f0056-042.jpg" title="f0056-04" width="328" height="505"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(JOHN WRIGHT/NORFOLK ADMIRALS)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>Shea Theodore</b> was on the radar for Canada&rsquo;s WJC last year. This year, he&rsquo;s an unmistakable blip on the screen as an offensive difference-maker on the blueline. After five points in five AHL games on a conditioning stint, Theodore returned for his fourth season in the WHL, where he&rsquo;ll soon eclipse 200 career points.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0056-0553/10013678-1-eng-US/f0056-052.jpg" title="f0056-05" width="328" height="506"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(TERRY WILSON/OHL IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>A broken hand derailed the first couple months of <b>Brendan Perlini&rsquo;s</b> season, so he has catching up to do in December. While injured, Perlini skated with the Coyotes in Arizona (though he didn&rsquo;t handle the puck) and took in the big-league atmosphere. He was one of the few big bodies at Canada&rsquo;s summer development camp.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0056-0646/10013671-1-eng-US/f0056-062.jpg" title="f0056-06" width="328" height="505"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(J JAMES JOINER/PROVIDENCE BRUINS)</span></figcaption></div><p>The only thing that will keep <b>David Pastrnak</b> from starring for the Czech Republic at the WJC is a stint in the NHL. After showing promise in camp, Pastrnak joined the Bruins farm team in Providence instead of returning to Sodertalje. The move has paid off. Pastrnak is a point-a-game player and was the AHL&rsquo;s top rookie for October.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0056-0730/10013664-1-eng-US/f0056-072.jpg" title="f0056-07" width="328" height="505"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(RICHARD T GAGNON/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>Few players have seen their stock rise the past two years more than <b>Hudson Fasching</b>, who returns to Team USA after an impressive 2-2-4 performance last year. Fasching, whose rights were obtained from Los Angeles last March, is using a combination of size and talent in his second year at the University of Minnesota.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0056-0815/10013657-1-eng-US/f0056-082.jpg" title="f0056-08" width="328" height="506"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(DEREK LEUNG/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>Rushan</b>&nbsp;<b>Rafikov</b> has been a part of two Subway Super Series and was the tournament&rsquo;s leading D-man scorer in six games this year. The 187th overall pick in 2013, Rafikov is a smooth puck carrier with offensive instincts and a mature disposition. His versatility will open up a spot for him on the Russian blueline.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0056-02

YOUNG PUP SOON TO BE A DESERT DOG

<div class="byline">MIKE HEIKA</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0057-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0057-01265/10013786-1-eng-US/f0057-012.jpg"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0057-0820/10013779-1-eng-US/f0057-082.jpg" title="f0057-08" 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/f0057-02192/10013772-1-eng-US/f0057-022.jpg" title="f0057-02" width="1373" height="944"><figcaption class="caption-body">JULIUS <b>HONKA</b> <span class="photo-credit">(MICHAEL CONNELL/TEXAS STARS)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>S</span></b><b>COTT WHITE HAS DEALT WITH A LOT</b> of situations in his career but never overseeing an 18-year-old in the American League. The rules of the NHL help protect the Canadian Hockey League by forcing teams to decide on keeping a young player in the NHL or sending him back to major junior. But at just 18, Finnish defenseman Julius Honka landed on the Texas Stars, and it&rsquo;s been an interesting challenge for both player and organization. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a growing process, and we&rsquo;re really learning a lot on both sides,&rdquo; said White, director of hockey operations for the Dallas Stars and the GM for the Texas Stars. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve never been through anything like this, just because it&rsquo;s so rare for an 18-year-old to end up in the AHL, but we all believe this can work because Julius is a special person.&rdquo;</p><p>Honka was drafted 14th overall in 2014 after posting 16 goals and 56 points in 62 games for Swift Current and helping Finland win a gold medal at the world juniors. And while an 18-year-old would normally have to return to junior or make an NHL roster, Honka had another choice. He was on loan from his Finnish team, so he was allowed to go straight to the AHL. &ldquo;It was something he was very excited about and he&rsquo;s done very well so far,&rdquo; said Dallas GM Jim Nill. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a very mature person, and he is comfortable living on his own. We asked if he wanted a billet family or a support family, and he said no. He&rsquo;s on top of things like that. He&rsquo;s with other AHL players in the same complex, so that helps.&rdquo;</p><p>Now 19, Honka has also looked good on the ice. He had one goal and six points in 16 games, but he&rsquo;s scaled the lineup quickly with John Klingberg and Jyrki Jokipakka moving up to the NHL. At 5-foot-11, 185 pounds, Honka&rsquo;s smallish, but he has always been that way in his age group. &ldquo;If you&rsquo;re a smaller player, you have to keep focused on those little things like being smarter against the big guys,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;But that&rsquo;s hockey nowadays. The offensive game is a big part of the game.&rdquo;</p><p>That helps when you start in the AHL at 18. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s probably used to lugging the puck, and he&rsquo;s learning he has to give-and-go more over here,&rdquo; White said. &ldquo;But he&rsquo;s a guy who is very mature and who learns very quickly. He&rsquo;s going to be a vastly improved player in a month or two and he&rsquo;s eventually going to be in the NHL.&rdquo;</p><h2><b>WORLD JUNIOR TO WATCH</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0057-03146/10013765-1-eng-US/f0057-032.jpg" title="f0057-03" width="328" height="505"></div><p>Russian flyweight <b>Sergey Tolchinsky</b> was the little engine that could last year, signing with the Canes after being snubbed in the draft. Playing for Sault Ste. Marie, he uses his quickness and rocket shot to wreak havoc. He averages over a point per game in North America and won gold at the under-17s in 2012.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0057-04121/10013758-1-eng-US/f0057-042.jpg" title="f0057-04" width="328" height="506"></div><p><b>Carl</b>&nbsp;<b>Dahlstrom</b> is a 6-foot-4 Swede with a long reach who plays steady defense without being overly physical and isn&rsquo;t a liability with the puck on his stick. The Niklas Hjalmarsson comparison is too easy. Dahlstrom projects as a steady minute-eater on Sweden&rsquo;s 2015 WJC squad. He&rsquo;s played against men with Linkoping this year.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0057-0577/10013751-1-eng-US/f0057-052.jpg" title="f0057-05" width="327" height="505"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(UNIVERSITY OF DENVER ATHLETICS)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>Will Butcher</b> aims to add offense to Colorado&rsquo;s blueline soon. He&rsquo;s a turret at 5-foot-10 and 200 pounds but a natural quarterback on the point. He keyed the U.S. attack at the 2014 WJC, scoring two power play goals. He develops close to his NHL club at the University of Denver. He&rsquo;s a Butcher by name but an avid musky fisherman.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0057-0654/10013744-1-eng-US/f0057-062.jpg" title="f0057-06" width="328" height="549"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(BRYAN HEIM/PORTLAND WINTERHAWKS)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>Oliver Bjorkstrand</b>, a skilled winger, will be a huge part of Denmark&rsquo;s effort to stave off relegation. The high-scoring WHL Portland mainstay will be playing in his fourth WJC, a reflection of his talent and Denmark&rsquo;s shallow talent pool. He helped them reach the top stage for this year by winning the 2014 promotional tourney.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0057-0728/10013737-1-eng-US/f0057-072.jpg" title="f0057-07" width="328" height="506"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(TERRY WILSON/OHL IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>Dallas banked on potential taking <b>Jason Dickinson</b> 29th in 2013, as he hadn&rsquo;t lit up the OHL. He exploded for 78 points in 66 games the next year but struggled early in 2014-15. Some compare the rangy forward to Jeff Carter. Dickinson will be a leader for Canada, as he&rsquo;s Guelph&rsquo;s captain and a two-way player.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0057-01

SHOOTING FOR THE STARS

<div class="byline">ROBERT TYCHKOWSKI</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0058-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0058-01288/10013859-1-eng-US/f0058-012.jpg"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0058-0816/10013866-1-eng-US/f0058-082.jpg" title="f0058-08" 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/f0058-02195/10013852-1-eng-US/f0058-022.jpg" title="f0058-02" width="1374" height="944"><figcaption class="caption-body">LEON <b>DRAISAITL</b> <span class="photo-credit">(ANDY DEVLIN/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>B</span></b><b>EFORE THE DISCUSSION EVEN GETS</b> to how Leon Draisaitl is doing with the Edmonton Oilers, it usually has to get past the question of why he&rsquo;s on the team. Oilers management argues he&rsquo;s ready to be a key contributor and that another season in junior won&rsquo;t do him any good. Others in the hockey community say it&rsquo;s because the Oilers are so desperately thin down the middle they didn&rsquo;t have much choice &ndash; that they need Draisaitl right now more than he needs the NHL.</p><p>The answer is somewhere in the middle, getting foggier by the day as the atmosphere of frustration and defeat cloud the view in Edmonton.</p><p>It hasn&rsquo;t been a strong start for Draisaitl, who came directly to the NHL after being selected third overall in 2014. He had two goals and five points in 21 games while averaging less than 13 minutes per game a night. Draisaitl and Florida&rsquo;s Aaron Ekblad are the only 2014 draftees playing regularly.</p><p>&ldquo;For every 19-year-old kid it&rsquo;s a learning process, and it&rsquo;s the same for me,&rdquo; Draisaitl said. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s a lot of times when I think I have more time than I actually do and decision making is an issue, but as the games go on I know I&rsquo;m going to get better and better.&rdquo;</p><p>His development in Edmonton has become a chicken-egg debate: is Draisaitl struggling because he plays for a bad Oilers team, or are the Oilers struggling because they&rsquo;re so ill-equipped at center they have to depend on a 19-year-old rookie? Again, the answer lies somewhere in the middle.</p><p>Draisaitl is big enough (6-foot-1, 210 pounds) and strong enough to play in the NHL, and he sees and thinks the game well, but his foot speed needs to improve. In addition, he&rsquo;s weak in the faceoff circle (44 percent).</p><p>But the Oilers don&rsquo;t have anyone else. For that same reason, it seems unlikely they can afford to let him play in the world juniors.</p><p>He&rsquo;ll be a solid NHLer one day, but so far it&rsquo;s been a slow start and a rocky road. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s got tons of skill, and he&rsquo;s a really good kid,&rdquo; said teammate Taylor Hall. &ldquo;I want to see him do well. Coming to a new town and a new team &ndash; and the league is so hard these days &ndash; it has to be tough. He&rsquo;s done a really good job. His points may not reflect it, but he&rsquo;s been a really good contributor to our team and you can see he&rsquo;s improving a lot every day.&rdquo;</p><h2><b>WORLD JUNIOR TO WATCH</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0058-03115/10013845-1-eng-US/f0058-032.jpg" title="f0058-03" width="329" height="505"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(ERIC BRONSON/UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>Dylan</b>&nbsp;<b>Larkin</b> was the highest-drafted American, going 15th in 2014. He was alternate captain of the U.S. team that won the under-18s last spring and typifies the 200-by-100-foot player that is key in international play. Larkin is a point-per-game, two-way center who pays great attention to defensive details.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0058-0488/10013838-1-eng-US/f0058-042.jpg" title="f0058-04" width="327" height="506"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(CLAUS ANDERSEN/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>Darnell Nurse</b> was close to making the Oilers as a 19-year-old and is sure to be among Canada&rsquo;s Big 4 blueliners &ndash; likely in a shutdown role &ndash; on home ice. Since returning to Sault Ste. Marie, Nurse is scoring at more than a point per game while remaining rugged and serving as captain on an OHL powerhouse.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0058-0555/10013831-1-eng-US/f0058-052.jpg" title="f0058-05" width="328" height="505"></div><p>As one of a strong crop of returnees to the U.S. team, <b>Ian McCoshen</b> will be counted upon to supply a steadying influence. The first pick of the second round in 2013, McCoshen is 6-3 and 220 pounds and part of a defense corps that is big and mobile. The Boston College sophomore can also create offense from the back end.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0058-0641/10013824-1-eng-US/f0058-062.jpg" title="f0058-06" width="327" height="540"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(RICHARD WOLOWICZ/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>Valentin Zykov</b> was held off the scoresheet in seven WJC games last year, but as an 18-year-old on a bronze-medal team, his ice time was limited. L.A.&rsquo;s second-rounder from 2013 will have a larger role and the stocky winger is up to the challenge. Zykov plays a North American style, going to the net hard and battling physically.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0058-0728/10013817-1-eng-US/f0058-072.jpg" title="f0058-07" width="328" height="506"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(RICHARD T GAGNON/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>Hulking power forward <b>Alex Tuch</b> is a big reason Team USA will contend for gold in 2015. He could reunite with NTDP linemates Jack Eichel and Sonny Milano to form a devastating trio. Doing so would mean putting aside a bitter college rivalry, as Eichel plays for Boston University and Tuch plays for Boston College.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0058-01

HELP THE TEAM, HURT THE PLAYER?

<div class="byline">DAVID BOCLAIR</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0059-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0059-01229/10013946-1-eng-US/f0059-012.jpg"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0059-0820/10013939-1-eng-US/f0059-082.jpg" title="f0059-08" 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/f0059-02152/10013932-1-eng-US/f0059-022.jpg" title="f0059-02" width="1373" height="944"><figcaption class="caption-body">KEVIN <b>FIALA</b> <span class="photo-credit">(MIKAEL FRITZON/HV71)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>A</b><b>S SOON AS HE SAID IT, KEVIN FIALA</b> chuckled.</p><p>It sounded funny to him (as it would to anyone) to compare himself with arguably the best hockey player on the planet, even if it was in terms of stature not skillset.</p><p>It did, however, make his point clearly. After one training camp with the Nashville Predators, the 18-year-old Swiss forward has no concerns about his ability to hold his own against the men who populate the NHL, which is exactly why he might seem like a man among boys when the World Junior Championship begins Dec. 26. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m actually not small or weak,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m a pretty strong guy and medium-sized, like Sidney Crosby is. I think I could play in the NHL, of course.&rdquo;</p><p>Fiala is listed at 5-foot-10, 180 pounds, a bit thinner than Crosby, who is strong and sturdy at 5-foot-11, 200 pounds. Presumably, though, Fiala, the Predators&rsquo; first-round pick (11th overall) at last June&rsquo;s draft, will bulk up a bit with age.</p><p>Also, similar to Crosby, he hasn&rsquo;t sneaked up on anyone as an NHL prospect. He has been one of his country&rsquo;s top players for years and in 2013-14 joined Andrei Kostitsyn and Vadim Karagan (Belarus, 2003) as the only players to appear in the Under-18 World Championship, World Junior Championship and World Championship in the same season. He was Switzerland&rsquo;s leading scorer at the first two and chipped in three assists as the youngest player (by three years) on the Swiss World Championship team. Now he has an NHL training camp under his belt as well. &ldquo;I have more confidence, I think,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;You learn a lot of new stuff in the training camp and every little step higher is nice to see.&rdquo;</p><p>Ultimately, though, this season is a chance for Fiala to step back and repeat some of the steps that helped him build his current reputation. He&rsquo;s back in Sweden with HV-71 and now comes one more appearance at the world juniors, where he won&rsquo;t establish himself as the world&rsquo;s best player, but he might just make a case for himself as the best in his age group. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s a pretty big tournament for me and for the team,&rdquo; Fiala said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re a good team. We can go far. It depends on how we play &ndash; like a team or as individuals. We just have to play like a team and then we can go very far.&rdquo;</p><h2><b>WORLD JUNIOR TO WATCH</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0059-03112/10013925-1-eng-US/f0059-032.jpg" title="f0059-03" width="328" height="505"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(BRANDON TAYLOR/HAMILTON BULLDOGS)</span></figcaption></div><p>Adapting to the pros at 19 has been a learning experience for <b>Jacob de la Rose</b>, but the adjustment to playing with his peers will be seamless. He was a force for the Swedish team that took silver last year. The final cut from Montreal, de la Rose could have played in Windsor, but the Canadiens felt he could handle the rigors of the AHL.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0059-0491/10013918-1-eng-US/f0059-042.jpg" title="f0059-04" width="328" height="506"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(GREG ANDERSON)</span></figcaption></div><p>Hurry back, <b>Jack Dougherty</b>. The two-way D-man, who helped the U.S. win gold at the last under-18s, battled a lower-body injury in November and couldn&rsquo;t really immerse himself in the college game as a freshman at Wisconsin. The malady wasn&rsquo;t serious and Dougherty&rsquo;s spot on the WJC squad was safe thanks to his well-rounded game.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0059-0559/10013911-1-eng-US/f0059-052.jpg" title="f0059-05" width="327" height="505"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(RICHARD T GAGNON/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>No doubt USA will have <b>Steven Santini</b> on its back end &ndash; if he&rsquo;s healthy enough. The Boston College rearguard had wrist surgery in late October. If he can go, he brings great size and defensive acumen to the blueline, plus experience from last year&rsquo;s tournament in Malmo. Like many U.S. hopefuls, he&rsquo;s a graduate of the NTDP.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0059-0646/10013904-1-eng-US/f0059-062.jpg" title="f0059-06" width="328" height="505"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(CLAUS ANDERSEN/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>Canada has been stopped in the past couple tournaments by defense, but if <b>Michael Dal Colle</b> makes the roster, he&rsquo;ll be tough for anyone to stop. A big, skilled winger with a wicked shot and a creative offensive mind, he went fifth overall to the Isles in 2014 after a huge season with OHL Oshawa. His 95 points tied him for fifth in the league.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0059-0733/10013897-1-eng-US/f0059-072.jpg" title="f0059-07" width="328" height="506"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(JIM ROSVOLD/UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA)</span></figcaption></div><p>With 16 picks in three years, the Rangers have been allergic to drafting, but they&rsquo;ve made some good choices when they&rsquo;ve had them. <b>Pavel Buchnevich</b> was a risk when New York tabbed him 75th in 2013, but he was one of Russia&rsquo;s top scorers at last year&rsquo;s tourney and is playing well in the KHL. He boasts size, speed and a good shot.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0059-01

NOW THAT’S FUNNY, FIALA

<div class="byline">WAYNE FISH</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0060-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0060-01234/10014019-1-eng-US/f0060-012.jpg"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0060-0815/10014026-1-eng-US/f0060-082.jpg" title="f0060-08" 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/f0060-02146/10014012-1-eng-US/f0060-022.jpg" title="f0060-02" width="1374" height="944"><figcaption class="caption-body">ROBERT <b>HAGG</b> <span class="photo-credit">(JUSTSPORTS PHOTOGRAPHY)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>E</span></b><b>VERY YEAR, THE SEARCH CONTINUES</b> for the Flyers&rsquo; first homegrown version of Mark Howe, Eric Desjardins or Kimmo Timonen. The fact is, Philadelphia&rsquo;s hockey franchise &ndash; whose best backliners have all been imports &ndash; has never drafted or developed a defenseman who&rsquo;s gone on to make an NHL first or second all-star team. That&rsquo;s 47 years and counting.</p><p>So when the Flyers got their hands on college standout Shayne Gostisbehere, junior monster Samuel Morin and Swedish sensation Robert Hagg, there was a feeling that maybe the hunt was coming to a close.</p><p>That&rsquo;s before Gostisbehere, playing for the American League&rsquo;s Phantoms, suffered a torn ACL, and Morin, competing for Rimouski Oceanic, went down with a fractured jaw. So Hagg, a second-rounder in 2013, has moved to the head of the current crop for the time being.</p><p>Scouts say the 19-year-old from Uppsala, Sweden has the physical tools, but it&rsquo;s the mental side of the game and maturity beyond his years that impresses Flyers GM Ron Hextall. &ldquo;One of the strengths is his hockey sense,&rdquo; Hextall said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s always in good position, and he really reads the ice well. That, and he has good poise with the puck. He makes the right pass at the right time. He has the patience for half a second until something is available.&rdquo;</p><p>Sounds like the scouting report on a teenaged Timonen. But there remains work to be done and Hagg, still growing at 6-foot-2, 203 pounds, knows it. &ldquo;Sometimes I take too long with the puck, and it ends up badly,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I try to be relaxed out there &ndash; sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn&rsquo;t.&rdquo;</p><p>Hagg took a big step at last year&rsquo;s world juniors, finishing a plus-4 in seven games and helping Sweden win the silver medal. He hopes to make a similar contribution this year.</p><p>Hagg also managed to get into 10 games with the Phantoms at the end of last season, and that proved invaluable, helping him adjust both to the smaller North American rink and the culture. &ldquo;I got to know my coaches and teammates,&rdquo; Hagg said. &ldquo;And to know how the game is played over here. It&rsquo;s faster, more physical, more games.&rdquo;</p><p>Hagg is making adjustments and wants to be prepared when the call does arrive. &ldquo;When my time comes,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll be ready.&rdquo;</p><h2><b>WORLD JUNIOR TO WATCH</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0060-03104/10014005-1-eng-US/f0060-032.jpg" title="f0060-03" width="328" height="505"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(JANA CHYTILOVA/HHOF-IIHF IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>The Senators&rsquo; second-round pick in 2014, <b>Andreas Englund</b> has a good shot at making Sweden and will do so on the strength of his defensive game. The big, stay-at-home D-man&rsquo;s puck skills are more evident when he makes an outlet pass than when he tries to create offense. He&rsquo;s playing a regular shift with Djurgarden.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0060-0475/10013998-1-eng-US/f0060-042.jpg" title="f0060-04" width="328" height="506"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(RIMOUSKI OCEANIC)</span></figcaption></div><p>At 6-foot-7 and 225 pounds, <b>Samuel Morin</b> has a lot of Chris Pronger in him, and the youngster has actually met with the legendarily nasty D-man. Morin broke his jaw earlier in the season with Rimouski of the QMJHL but had time to recover if Team Canada came calling. The kid has mobility, reach and some offensive upside.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0060-0548/10013991-1-eng-US/f0060-052.jpg" title="f0060-05" width="328" height="505"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(ATTE RISSANEN PHOTOGRAPHY)</span></figcaption></div><p>The Pens were pleasantly surprised when <b>Kasperi Kapanen</b> fell to 22nd overall in 2014. The son of ex-NHLer Sami Kapanen had a great camp and returned to Finland to play against men, where he flourished. A skilled player with great quickness, he lost last year&rsquo;s WJC to injury. He&rsquo;s a focal point for the defending champs this time.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0060-0640/10013984-1-eng-US/f0060-062.jpg" title="f0060-06" width="328" height="505"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(TERRY WILSON/OHL IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>Sparkplug <b>Robby Fabbri</b> lit up the OHL last year, helping Guelph reach the Memorial Cup. The Blues looked smart for drafting him when he started 2014-15 with 20 points in 14 games back in junior. He&rsquo;s one of Canada&rsquo;s go-to guys in the high-pressure WJC, but he&rsquo;s emotional, so coach Benoit Groulx has to keep him in check.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0060-0728/10013977-1-eng-US/f0060-072.jpg" title="f0060-07" width="328" height="506"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(GEN&Egrave;VE-SERVETTE HOCKEY CLUB)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>Noah</b>&nbsp;<b>Rod</b> is a player custommade for a competitive international tournament such as the WJC. He&rsquo;s a swift skater, plays with an edge and has performed well for his nation at the under-18s this year. Rod still plays in Switzerland (for Geneve-Servette), so he&rsquo;ll be a bit of a novelty. He&rsquo;s strong on the forecheck as well.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0060-01

ORANGE AND BLACK BLUE-CHIPPER

<div class="byline">&#x2013; BEN KUZMA</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0061-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0061-01213/10014106-1-eng-US/f0061-012.jpg"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0061-0821/10014099-1-eng-US/f0061-082.jpg" title="f0061-08" 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/f0061-02147/10014092-1-eng-US/f0061-022.jpg" title="f0061-02" width="1373" height="944"><figcaption class="caption-body">THATCHER <b>DEMKO</b> <span class="photo-credit">(RICHARD T GAGNON/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>T</b><b>HATCHER DEMKO IS STUDYING</b> psychology at Boston College. How appropriate.</p><p>Goaltenders are often known to be quirky, but as a second-round selection of the Vancouver Canucks &ndash; and highest-ranked North American goaltender in the 2014 draft &ndash; Demko already appears to have his head on straight.</p><p>The Canucks have considerable crease depth with Ryan Miller, Eddie Lack, Jacob Markstrom and Joacim Eriksson, but Demko is only analyzing his emerging game because worrying about the future is a dangerous proposition. Former Canucks stopper and Boston College alumnus Cory Schneider shared the Vancouver crease with three other goalies in his first NHL season. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not sure what the future holds, even next year or three years from now and we&rsquo;ll cross that (NHL) bridge when it comes,&rdquo; said Demko, who turned 19 in early December. &ldquo;This past summer, there was focus on physical strength and I definitely saw improvements. I&rsquo;ve learned to read the play better and make sure I&rsquo;m putting myself in position to not only make the first save but to make the second and, if necessary, a third save.&rdquo;</p><p>Making the U.S. roster for the World Junior Championship &ndash; he was the No. 3 last year &ndash; was a goal for Demko at the summer evaluation camp. Following off-season instruction from former Canucks goalie Dan Cloutier &ndash; starting from a comfort zone and learning post play and handling pucks behind the net &ndash; the pressure of competing for Boston College and his country should quickly advance his learning curve. &ldquo;I definitely learned a lot last year just watching Jon Gillies and Anthony Stolarz at the worlds,&rdquo; said Demko, who has won silver at the world under-18 and under-17 events. &ldquo;I was in the stands every game, but I was still taking notes on what they were doing and the atmosphere at the rink and away from the rink. The month or so that you&rsquo;re at the tournament, it&rsquo;s a gruelling process. You have to learn how to take care of your body with so many games back to back.&rdquo;</p><p>Maybe that&rsquo;s where studying applied psychology helps. &ldquo;I was drawn to it because it studies human behavior, which I find pretty interesting,&rdquo; Demko said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s good for a goalie, that&rsquo;s what I&rsquo;ve heard.&rdquo;</p><h2><b>WORLD JUNIOR TO WATCH</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0061-03107/10014085-1-eng-US/f0061-032.jpg" title="f0061-03" width="328" height="505"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(AARON BELL/OHL IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>Dominik Masin</b> made a great impression in the Lightning&rsquo;s rookie camp and main camp before joining the Petes, where he is patrolling the blueline and playing a two-way, physical game. Masin will provide the same leadership and level of play he did at the under-18s, where he captained the Czech team to a silver medal.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0061-0484/10014078-1-eng-US/f0061-042.jpg" title="f0061-04" width="328" height="506"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(RIMOUSKI OCEANIC)</span></figcaption></div><p>As one of a handful of Canadian forwards returning, <b>Frederik Gauthier</b> will find a spot in the bottom six as a checking/energy center behind Connor McDavid and Nic Petan. And depending upon whether Bo Horvat plays, Gauthier could end up centering the fourth line. Injuries limited him to just eight of QMJHL Rimouski&rsquo;s first 25 games.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0061-0559/10014071-1-eng-US/f0061-052.jpg" title="f0061-05" width="327" height="505"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(DEREK LEUNG/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>Jake</b>&nbsp;<b>Virtanen</b> isn&rsquo;t scoring at the same pace as last year when he posted 45 goals en route to being the sixth overall draft pick. But his start was slowed by off-season shoulder surgery. When he does catch up, Virtanen will be one of Canada&rsquo;s deadliest marksmen and also among the fastest skaters in the tournament.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0061-0649/10014064-1-eng-US/f0061-062.jpg" title="f0061-06" width="328" height="505"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(MARISSA BAECKER/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>Madison</b>&nbsp;<b>Bowey&rsquo;s</b> Kelowna Rockets have been the best team in the WHL and one of the best in the CHL all year, and the stocky, talented D-man is a big reason why. He contributes in all situations and, as a bonus for Team Canada, he&rsquo;s a right-handed shot. That may seem silly, but Canada has a dearth of such players on the back end.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0061-0739/10014057-1-eng-US/f0061-072.jpg" title="f0061-07" width="328" height="506"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(FRANCOIS LAPLANTE/FREESTYLE PHOTO/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>Blindingly fast <b>Nikolaj Ehlers</b> almost made the Jets out of camp and is their future offensive centerpiece up front. He was one of five Danish forwards to average a least a point per game as part of the winning team at 2014&rsquo;s second-division WJC. He continues to light up the QMJHL with Halifax despite Jonathan Drouin&rsquo;s departure.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0061-01

BETWEEN EARS, BETWEEN PIPES

<div class="byline">BY CHRIS KAZARIAN</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0063-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0063-01175/10014137-1-eng-US/f0063-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>WHALE OF A GESTURE</b></p><p>Danbury of the FHL wants to make sure Mike Nichols gets to be a pro, if only for one day.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(DANBURY WHALERS)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>A</span></b><b>T THE END OF JUNE, 17-YEAR-OLD MIKE NICHOLS WAS</b> drafted by the Danbury Whalers of the Federal League. He regularly texts Maple Leafs left winger James van Riemsdyk and talks often with former New York Rangers star Adam Graves. In November, he was a featured guest on WFAN&rsquo;s Boomer & Carton Show in New York before heading to Madison Square Garden to watch the Rangers from inside the team&rsquo;s dressing room as his favorite team shut out the Pittsburgh Penguins.</p><p>These days Mike is living every teenager&rsquo;s dream. Only it took a nightmare for him to get there.</p><p>On Jan. 4, he donned a pair of skates as a forward for Monroe High School, just as he had done the past four years. With the second period winding down, Mike chased the puck into the offensive end. &ldquo;I was skating down and slowed a second or two to regain control of the puck and set up a move to fake out the goalie,&rdquo; he said.</p><p>At that moment, he was checked from behind, hitting the boards headfirst. &ldquo;As soon as I hit the boards my body went numb,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I tried to get up. Nothing moved.&rdquo;</p><blockquote class="pullQuote">"ONE DAY, I HOPE TO SEE A WORLD WITHOUT WHEELCHAIRS<br>&ndash; Mike Nichols</blockquote><p>His father, Steven Nichols, rushed onto the ice. &ldquo;He was smiling the whole time,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;He told me how he was the best player on the ice today and he was having a really good game. It was an amazing thing. I will never forget it for the rest of my life.&rdquo;</p><p>Mike&rsquo;s positive attitude has carried him through the fracture of his C-5 vertebrae, requiring spinal cord surgery to fuse his fourth and sixth vertebrae. He spent five months in and out of the hospital and rehab, and he celebrated his birthday by being taken off a ventilator.</p><p>His milestones have been reshaped by the hit that left him partially paralyzed and in a wheelchair. In September, as his high school classmates were beginning college, Mike had his tracheostomy tube removed.</p><p>Van Riemsdyk heard about Nichols&rsquo; injury on Twitter and has since bonded with him using social media as the catalyst. The pair finally met in person after the Rangers home opener against the Maple Leafs in October. &ldquo;The way he has handled everything is pretty incredible,&rdquo; van Riemsdyk said. &ldquo;When you hear about everything he&rsquo;s been through, it puts things in perspective. The way he handles the situation he is in and the cards he&rsquo;s been dealt, you can learn a lot from someone who has his outlook on life.&rdquo;</p><p>Prior to the hit, Mike&rsquo;s plans were simple: enroll at Widener University and play collegiate hockey. Now his goals are modest, yet more meaningful. He wants to walk again, and he also wants to skate.</p><p>Three times a week, Steven takes his son for physical and occupational therapy. Health insurance pays for it, but at some point that will stop, and it doesn&rsquo;t cover every expense, like retrofitting their home or a handicapped-accessible van.</p><p>Shortly after the incident, Mike began receiving kind messages on Twitter, and it didn&rsquo;t end there. Several high school teams donated proceeds of their games to the Nichols family. In March, the New Jersey Devils hosted a charity game that raised $25,000. And in December, Danbury, invited him onto the ice for the first time since his injury. &ldquo;We plan on having him on the ice to record playing time so he can be listed as a professional hockey player,&rdquo; said Whalers CEO Alan Friedman.</p><p>Mike raises awareness about spinal cord injuries (<a href="http://mikeystrong23.org">mikeystrong23.org</a>), and he&rsquo;s an advocate for the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation&rsquo;s &ldquo;Big Idea&rdquo; campaign in support of epidural stimulation research. &ldquo;I know firsthand how difficult it is to live this way,&rdquo; Mike said. &ldquo;I want to make a difference so that one day there is a world without wheelchairs. I hope to God before I die I can see that happen.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0063-01

RIGHT BACK UP AGAIN

<div class="byline">BY TY DILELLO</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0064-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0064-01188/10014168-1-eng-US/f0064-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>QUIRKY? ME?</b></p><p>Tommy Soderstrom loved the helmet-and-cage look as well as an untaped goalie stick.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(STEVE BABINEAU/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>W</span></b><b>HEN YOU THINK OF TOMMY SODERSTROM, THE FIRST</b> thing you remember is the big Jofa helmet and cage he wore. This was a goaltender who never put tape on the blade of his stick and was known to keep his whole body inside his net when the play was away from him.</p><p>The seemingly quirky Swedish netminder, though, felt he was incredibly normal. Former teammate Kevin Dineen once said, &ldquo;He&rsquo;s the most relaxed goalie I&rsquo;ve ever seen. Nothing rattles him.&rdquo; So maybe the quirk about this goalie was that he was normal, which is abnormal for a goalie.</p><p>Soderstrom started hockey at age eight on the outdoor rinks in his hometown of Stockholm. &ldquo;I loved playing in net right from the start,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It was always cold, and I remember when I stopped the puck, my hand would hurt badly from the cold.&rdquo;</p><p>Soderstrom was 20 when the Philadelphia Flyers drafted him 214th overall in 1990. He followed that up with a terrific season with Djurgarden of the Swedish League, as well as superb performances at the 1991 Canada Cup and the 1992 World Championship, where he won gold and shut out the Soviets. &ldquo;At the Canada Cup in Toronto,&rdquo; Soderstrom said, &ldquo;we played Canada in the semifinal, and I took a Steve Larmer slapshot in the face that broke my mask and I was bleeding. But I kept playing even though we lost 4-0. I heard NHL scouts started to take notice.&rdquo;</p><p>Those tournaments made Soderstrom&rsquo;s name known around the hockey world, and the 5-foot-9 goalie made his NHL debut in 1992-93 with the Flyers. He was touted as the next Pelle Lindbergh. At the beginning of his rookie season, Soderstrom developed heart problems. He was diagnosed with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, a potentially life-threatening illness caused by an extra muscle bridge, which causes the heart&rsquo;s electrical system to bypass a crucial filtering mechanism. &ldquo;I had to have five heart operations,&rdquo; Soderstrom said. &ldquo;Thankfully my heart problems are gone now.&rdquo;</p><p>Soderstrom was stellar in net when healthy that season and won 20 of 44 games. The next season he regressed, winning just six of 34 games and getting demoted to Hershey of the AHL. In the 1994 off-season, he was traded to the New York Islanders for Ron Hextall. He spent parts of three seasons with the Isles. On a Mike Milbury-coached team that won just 22 of 82 games in 1995-96, Soderstrom was half the two-Tommy tandem with fellow Swede Tommy Salo. Soderstrom then returned to Sweden to play the final three years of his career with Djurgarden.</p><blockquote class="pullQuote">"I KIND OF REGRET THAT I RETIRED AT 30, BUT MY PASSION WAS DEAD, SO IT WAS AN EASY DECISION<br>&ndash; Tommy Soderstrom</blockquote><p>He left hockey after 1999-00 at 30, ending on a high note by winning the Swedish title. &ldquo;I kind of regret that I retired at 30, but my passion was dead, so it was an easy decision,&rdquo; he said.</p><p>Soderstrom had a 45-69-19 record in 156 NHL career games.</p><p>Teammates called him &lsquo;Tommy the Gambler&rsquo; because he loved games of chance and claimed he had a system to beat the roulette wheel. The system, he said, involves spending five to 10 hours a day at the roulette wheels, betting only on even/odd or red/black. His system held up after 70,000 spins at a German casino during one off-season.</p><p>These days, Soderstrom, 45, is a day trader on the Swedish stock market and has invested his money well into hedge funds. So, in other words, you can still call him Tommy the Gambler.</p><p>Soderstrom might have failed to become the next Pelle Lindbergh, but he did manage to make a name for himself.</p><p><b>FOR MORE TALES</b> OF PLAYERS PAST, CLICK ON <a href="http://THEHOCKEYNEWS.COM/BACKCHECKING">THEHOCKEYNEWS.COM/BACKCHECKING</a><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0064-01

TOMMY THE GAMBLER

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0065-01190/10014199-1-eng-US/f0065-012.jpg" title="f0065-01" width="523" height="642"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(S. LEVY/BRUCE BENNETT STUDIOS/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><i>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m Canada&rsquo;s all-time leading scorer at the world juniors with 31 points, including 12 goals.&rdquo;</i></p><p><i>&ldquo;I led Canada to WJC gold in 1991, tallying 17 points in seven games and winning the MVP.&rdquo;</i></p><p><i>&ldquo;I went first overall in the 1991 NHL draft, but refused to play for the team that chose me.&rdquo;</i><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0065-01

Guess WHO!

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0065-02138/10014237-1-eng-US/f0065-022.jpg" title="f0065-02" width="246" height="437"></div><h2><b>DENNIS SEIDENBERG</b></h2><p>Veteran of German national hockey team. Indispensable part of Big, Bad Bruins. Blocks bullets.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0065-03103/10014230-1-eng-US/f0065-032.jpg" title="f0065-03" width="245" height="437"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(SLAVEN VLASIC/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><h2><b>JASON STATHAM</b></h2><p>Veteran of English national diving team. <i>Expendables</i> star dodges bullets from bad guys.</p><p>Email your suggestions to <b><a href="mailto:sab@thehockeynews.com">sab@thehockeynews.com</a></b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0065-02

Separated AT BIRTH

<div class="byline">By Larry Humber</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0065-04" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0065-0474/10014268-1-eng-US/f0065-042.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 P.K.</p><p>4 Al the Octopus is Detroit&rsquo;s</p><p>9 Badly injure</p><p>10 Bridgestone is Nashville&rsquo;s</p><p>11 Goad: two words</p><p>12 Oliver-Ekman ___, pictured, is a Coyote</p><p>13 A legendary Quebec team</p><p>15 ___ Nolan was captain in San Jose</p><p>18 Steven ___ went first overall in 2008</p><p>21 ___ Vanderveer designs this mag, tends goal</p><p>23 Dispute</p><p>24 Shadowing</p><p>25 Help in a managerial capacity (or on the ice)</p><p>26 What the NHL and WHA did in 1979</p><h2><b>DOWN</b></h2><p>1 Fired</p><p>2 Trip, __ down</p><p>3 Nickname of the AHL team based in Moncton from 1982 to 1984</p><p>5 Scalper&rsquo;s query, &lsquo;Who needs ___ ___?&rsquo;</p><p>6 Gerry Cheevers went by this nickname</p><p>7 Works out</p><p>8 The Habs play at the ___ Centre</p><p>14 Runs at an opponent</p><p>15 Shoot without stopping the puck, ___ ___ it</p><p>16 Where Eric Lindros played as a junior</p><p>17 Controlled the puck by clever stickhandling</p><p>19 Bobby Orr&rsquo;s ___ were his undoing</p><p>20 Doesn&rsquo;t play, ___ out</p><p>22 Sending the puck the length of the rink</p><p><b>LAST ISSUE&rsquo;S CROSSWORD SOLUTION ACROSS</b> 1. DIVING, 4. HORTON, 9. GALLANT, 10. NORDS, 11. ARENA, 12. NORANDA, 13. CAHA, 15. BOOK, 18. AGITATE, 21. FRESH, 23. LOOSE, 24. DRAFTED, 25. SMARTS, 26. MORROW <b>DOWN</b> 1. DUGUAY, 2. VILLE, 3. NIAGARA, 5. OWNER, 6. TORONTO, 7. NASSAU, 8. STAN, 14. ARIZONA, 15. BUFFALO, 16. DALLAS, 17. SHADOW, 19. AGENT, 20. EDDY, 22. ENTER<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0065-04

CROSSWORD

<div class="byline">&#x2013; RYAN KENNEDY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0065-0637/10014330-1-eng-US/f0065-062.jpg" title="f0065-06" width="483" height="695"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(HOCKEY CANADA)</span></figcaption></div><p>Since this is the world juniors issue, we have to go with a national jersey in this spot, and the hosts have come prepared.</p><p>Hockey Canada turned 100 years on Dec. 4 and the organization has crafted home and away sweaters that befit the milestone. Not only will the world junior team rock this stylish creation, but all of Canada&rsquo;s national squads will don the look for international play.</p><p>The nicest touch in this clean design is the anniversary logo itself, which gets an appropriate spot to rest on top of the player&rsquo;s heart.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0065-06

JerseyHOUND

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0066-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0066-02117/10014361-1-eng-US/f0066-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">DAVID <b>PASTRNAK</b> <span class="photo-credit">(RICHARD WOLOWICZ / HHOF-IIHF IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0066-01188/10014368-1-eng-US/f0066-012.jpg" title="f0066-01" width="200" height="238"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>T</span></b><b>HIS MAY COME AS NEWS TO ANYONE</b> under the age of 20, but the Czech Republic was once a force to be reckoned with at the World Junior Championship. Watching them sucked out your will to live the way the Death Eaters in <i>Harry Potter</i> did, but they were a successful bunch. They won the gold medal in both 2000 and 2001 and celebrated by crawling in a line on their hands and knees.</p><p>But in recent years the Czechs have looked like they were playing on their hands and knees. They won a medal in 2005, when they took home bronze, but since then they&rsquo;ve been a third-world country at this event. In the past nine tournaments, the Czechs have never finished higher than fifth. They&rsquo;ve lost seven quarterfinal games by a combined score of 30-5 and have been a whipping boy for the top teams in the tournament.</p><p>It could be argued the Czechs and Slovaks have been most responsible for making the world juniors a far more predictable tournament the past decade. They&rsquo;ve declined so much that it has made the tournament a four-team event involving Canada, USA, Sweden and Russia, with Finland interloping depending upon the quality of its under-20 crop.</p><p>But just when we thought all was lost with the Czechs, they&rsquo;re staging a rebound at the elite teenage level. That was no more evident than last spring when the Czechs, led by future first-rounders Jakub Vrana and David Pastrnak, defeated Canada in the semifinal and won the silver medal at the world under-18s. And this year our junior hockey guru, Ryan Kennedy, is picking the Czechs to sneak in and win the bronze medal.</p><p>If you&rsquo;re looking for the prime reason behind the revival, you have to follow the money. One factor in the decline of the program was it wasn&rsquo;t being funded and most good young Czech players were coming to play in the Canadian Hockey League. But under the guidance of Tomas Kral, who was a successful lawyer and businessman before taking over the Czech Hockey Federation, the Czechs have revamped their system and attracted government money.</p><p>Kral discovered six years ago that half the under-16 team had failing grades in school and established a system where players could get academic help, but they had to maintain a passing grade to keep playing. That initiative prompted an infusion of funds that allowed the federation to build better facilities, have paid physiotherapists and better coaching from the Extraliga down to youth hockey. Coaches are better trained and have access to expertise in North America and Scandinavia, and there is more of an emphasis on player development.</p><p>There&rsquo;s a new attitude surrounding Czech hockey, said Jiri Fischer the director of player development with the Red Wings who keeps a connection to Czech hockey. Fischer was assistant coach with the under-20 teams in 2011 and &rsquo;12, when the Czechs were ninth and fifth. &ldquo;I come from the Detroit system where we believe we can beat anyone on any night,&rdquo; Fischer said. &ldquo;When I worked with those teams, I didn&rsquo;t get that sense. And it became the reality. We lost 8-3 to Canada and 7-4 to Russia. We lost that perception we could play with anybody, and that perception became reality.&rdquo;</p><p>Emboldened by the play of their 1996-born players, the Czechs enter this year&rsquo;s WJC with a group that has finally experienced success on the world stage. Pastrnak almost made the Boston Bruins out of camp and was a point-per-game player in the American League before his call-up. Vrana is playing for Linkoping in the Swedish League and was the team&rsquo;s scoring leader at the world under-18s.</p><p>And instead of coming to the CHL, the best players in the Czech Republic are playing in Europe, with many going to Sweden to advance their careers. That&rsquo;s what Pastrnak did last season in Sodertalje. And now, instead of going back to Sweden or the Czech Republic, Pastrnak stayed in North America and is playing in the AHL. By playing in Sweden, the players can play in a junior league that some scouts think is second only to the CHL in terms of quality, plus some get time with the men&rsquo;s teams. Many of the elite players who stay in the Czech Republic stay with the men&rsquo;s teams, but they don&rsquo;t get much ice time and it halts development.</p><blockquote class="pullQuote">"WE WANT TO GO INTO EVERY TOURNAMENT NOW AND HAVE A CHANCE TO WIN<br>&ndash; Jiri Fischer</blockquote><p>Fischer has seen the benefits of going to Sweden first-hand. Last year he went for a weekend to see Vrana play and watched him in three games at three levels. &ldquo;He played with Linkoping&rsquo;s under-18 team because they needed him,&rdquo; Fisher said. &ldquo;Then he played a game with his under-20 team and got called up the next day for the men&rsquo;s team.&rdquo;</p><p>Whether it&rsquo;s at home or abroad, the Czechs are again producing top players who compete hard and want to win. &ldquo;We want to go into every tournament now and have a chance to win,&rdquo; Fischer said.</p><p>And that&rsquo;s great news for the rest of the hockey world.</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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World Juniors 2015

Ice CHIPS

OPENING FACEOFF

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Behind THE MASK