Get ready for the World Junior Championship with The Hockey News 2018 World Junior Championship Preview edition. We’ve got scouting reports and the one-to-watch prospect for all 10 countries, plus in-depth previews for Canada and the U.S. Also in the issue: features on Evander Kane, Taylor Hall, David Pastrnak, Brayden Schenn & Sean Couturier, we rank the NHL’s mascots, explore Houston as the next NHL city, and much more. 

World Juniors 2018

The Hockey News has been providing the most comprehensive coverage of the world of hockey since 1947. THN is published 18 times a year, including 14 regular issues and four special issues – such as Future Watch, Draft Preview, Yearbook, the #1 selling hockey annual in North America.

The Hockey News - January 2, 2018 - World Juniors 2018

<div class="byline">BY WAYNE FISH</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0055-0152/227958-1-eng-US/f0055-012.jpg" title="f0055-01" width="513" height="678"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>A BEACON ON THE SCREEN</b></p><p>Martel wasn&rsquo;t on anyone&rsquo;s radar in his draft season. But he&rsquo;s been flashing a lot of red lights ever since.</p><span class="photo-credit">(BOURQUE: GRAIG ABEL/GETTY IMAGES; MARTEL: JUSTSPORTS PHOTOGRAPHY)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>U</span>NDRAFTED BUT</b> undaunted. As he approached age 18, why was AHL scoring sensation Danick Martel completely overlooked by scrutinous NHL bird dogs and brainiac front-office decision makers?</p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0055-0239/227951-1-eng-US/f0055-022.jpg" title="f0055-02" width="95" height="95"></div><p>Too small? Not defensively responsible? A little too slow? While the 5-foot-8, 166-pound left winger will not remind people of Zdeno Chara, Patrice Bergeron or Connor McDavid, Martel knew, with time, he could find a way to make himself an efficient and effective player, first at the AHL level. He just had to convince the talent evaluators.</p><p>Martel had a non-descript draft season for the QMJHL&rsquo;s Blainville-Boisbriand Armada. A late birthday, he finished just seventh in team scoring with 41 points in 68 games in 2012-13. He followed that up with seasons of 60 and 102 points. When the Armada&rsquo;s season came to an end in 2014-15, Martel, then 20, signed a threeyear deal with the Flyers and finished the season with the AHL&rsquo;s Lehigh Valley Phantoms.</p><p>That explains why he&rsquo;s flown under the radar. &ldquo;Even before junior, no one was talking about me,&rdquo; said the 22-year-old who led Lehigh Valley with 14 goals and 19 points through 17 games this season. &ldquo;I was doing my thing. I was an average player. I had a good work ethic. At the end of the day, it worked out.&rdquo;</p><p>Indeed. After AHL seasons of 22 and 20 goals in Allentown, Pa., Martel opened this year with a hat trick in his first game and it&rsquo;s just gone on from there.</p><p>Martel is an exemplary performer off the ice, too. He was named the CHL&rsquo;s humanitarian of the year in 2014-15 and continues to do work for the less fortunate. &ldquo;I want to make sure I&rsquo;m a good model around the kids and not just be a hockey player that plays good on the ice,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;A good guy on and off the ice. I&rsquo;m working a lot with special hockey. That means autism, people who can&rsquo;t really walk. I&rsquo;m looking at my life, how lucky I am&hellip;to be able to play hockey at this level. When I work with them, I forget how hockey is stressful. I&rsquo;m just having fun when I go.&rsquo;&rsquo;</p><p>Martel was leading the AHL in goals when he got his first NHL call-up to Philadelphia on Nov. 22. He was looking forward to the opportunity, but not taking anything for granted. &ldquo;I might be part of the Flyers&rsquo; future, but I&rsquo;m just trying to think about my season right now,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Just make sure the next game is the best game I play. Just try to be more consistent. Keep it simple and try to play every day like it&rsquo;s your last day.&rdquo;</p><p>What if his NHL stint is for only one night? &ldquo;That would be the chance of my life,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Just having one game. I know my game. If I get that chance, I know I&rsquo;ll make the most of it.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p></div>

f0055-01

IN THIS ISSUE

MARTEL THE MAGICIAN

<div class="byline">&#x2013; WITH MATT LARKIN</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-0320/226578-1-eng-US/f0017-032.jpg" title="f0017-03" width="513" height="472"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(WHEELER: JONATHAN KOZUB/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>Who was your No. 1 hockey role model growing up?</b></p><p>Steve Yzerman. I&rsquo;m from Minneapolis, so we lost the North Stars when I was pretty young. My dad&rsquo;s a Detroit native, so it was easy to cheer for the Red Wings in the mid &rsquo;90s. &lsquo;Stevie Y&rsquo; was obviously the leader of that team and someone everybody could look up to.</p><p><b>Why do you wear No. 26?</b></p><p>I wore No. 17 my entire life, but Milan Lucic in Boston had it, so I wasn&rsquo;t going to wrestle that away from him. It was just the next option. They gave me a few that were available, and I picked No. 26.</p><p><b>What did you splurge on with your first big contract?</b></p><p>As cliche as it is, it was a car. I&rsquo;d been driving an Isuzu Trooper for a handful of years, and she was on her last legs, so I had to upgrade a little bit. Got an Audi. That was pretty awesome to be able to drive around in something that nice when you were just a college kid the year before. It was stock, your standard Audi A6, pretty old man-ish, but I loved it.</p><p><b>What was your &ldquo;welcome to the NHL&rdquo; moment?</b></p><p>Being a rookie is a transition overall. The things I roll my eyes at from rookies now are what guys would do with me back then. Looking back on it, you&rsquo;re kind of ignorant to everything. I didn&rsquo;t miss any planes or forget a suit or anything like that, but just little things you trip up on. Like if you&rsquo;re in the cold tub or the hot tub, and somebody&rsquo;s waiting for it who&rsquo;s been in the league 15 years, and you don&rsquo;t even think, &ldquo;maybe you should get out and let them get in.&rdquo;</p><p><b>What&rsquo;s your favorite way to score?</b></p><p>Empty-netters are fun. I tell my son that all the time. He asks me where the goalie went. And I say, &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a lot easier to score with no goalie in there.&rdquo;</p><p><b>What&rsquo;s your favorite thing about being an NHL player?</b></p><p>Now that I have kids, seeing my kids with my jersey on&hellip;my oldest son is turning five, so he&rsquo;s starting to connect the dots that not everyone plays hockey at that level. To see him realize how cool that is, that makes it all worth it.</p><p><b>What&rsquo;s the hardest thing about being an NHLer?</b></p><p>It&rsquo;s the flip side of that answer. It&rsquo;s being away from my family with the amount we travel. And even when we&rsquo;re home, we&rsquo;re still not necessarily there all the time, with practice and pre-game skates and games and all that. You miss out on a lot of stuff. But there is a payoff. Careers are short, so you&rsquo;ve got to maximize it while you can, and we&rsquo;ll have a lot of good times to spend afterwards.</p><p><b>What&rsquo;s your craziest fan interaction?</b></p><p>It&rsquo;s not really an interaction, but playing in Atlanta was a bit different. Coming from Boston to Atlanta and then up to Winnipeg, I&rsquo;ve been lucky. I&rsquo;ve played in front of sold-out buildings my entire career. But for the Thrashers-Panthers Wednesday night game, you weren&rsquo;t getting more than 4,000 fans. It took a little extra to get up for those games.</p><p><b>What advice would you give to your 13-year-old self?</b></p><p>Just don&rsquo;t give up. As long as you believe in yourself and stick with it, nothing can stop you.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0017-03

RAPID FIRE

<h2><b>1946-47</b></h2><p><b>HOUSTON SKIPPERS (USHL)</b></p><p><b>&gt;</b> 14-32-14</p><h2><b>1947-1949</b></h2><p><b>HOUSTON HUSKIES (USHL)</b></p><p><b>&gt;</b> 53-69-10</p><p><b>&gt;</b> 1948 Paul W. Loudon Trophy champion</p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-0236/225805-1-eng-US/f0009-022.jpg" title="f0009-02" width="109" height="75"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><h2><b>1965-1969</b></h2><p><b>HOUSTON APOLLOS (CHL)</b></p><p><b>&gt;</b> 121-117-44</p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-0315/225798-1-eng-US/f0009-032.jpg" title="f0009-03" width="104" height="75"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><h2><b>1972-1978</b></h2><p><b>HOUSTON AEROS (WHA)</b></p><p><b>&gt;</b> 285-170-19</p><p><b>&gt;</b> 1974 Avco Cup champion</p><p><b>&gt;</b> 1975 Avco Cup champion</p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-049/225791-1-eng-US/f0009-042.jpg" title="f0009-04" width="115" height="62"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><h2><b>1979-1981</b></h2><p><b>HOUSTON APOLLOS (CHL)</b></p><p><b>&gt;</b> 44-51-18</p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-058/225784-1-eng-US/f0009-052.jpg" title="f0009-05" width="104" height="94"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><h2><b>1994-2001</b></h2><p><b>HOUSTON AEROS (IHL)</b></p><p><b>&gt;</b> 301-208-64</p><p><b>&gt;</b> 1999 Turner Cup Champion</p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-066/225777-1-eng-US/f0009-062.jpg" title="f0009-06" width="104" height="92"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><h2><b>2001-2013</b></h2><p><b>HOUSTON AEROS (AHL)</b></p><p><b>&gt;</b> 469-351-132</p><p><b>&gt;</b> 2003 Calder Cup champion<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0009-02

PRO HOCKEY IN HOUSTON

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-057/225683-1-eng-US/f0005-052.jpg" title="f0005-05" width="525" height="300"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>38%</b> NIKITA <b>KUCHEROV</b></p><p><b>46%</b> STEVEN <b>STAMKOS</b></p><p><b>16%</b> JOHNNY <b>GAUDREAU</b></p></figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-049/225676-1-eng-US/f0005-042.jpg" title="f0005-04" width="54" height="54"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p><b><a href="http://facebook.com/TheHockeyNews">Facebook.com/TheHockeyNews</a></b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0005-05

THN POLL

<div class="byline">Jason Kay</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-0163/225414-1-eng-US/f0004-012.jpg" title="f0004-01" width="293" height="376"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>D</span>RUTHERS, IT IS COMMONLY</b> accepted, is derived from <i>&rsquo;drather</i>, a term coined in the 19th century as slang for &ldquo;would rather.&rdquo; Now you know. We also know that given them, we&rsquo;d be watching NHL players at the Olympics now and forever more-eth. Unfortunately, that&rsquo;s not happening in 2018, and possibly 2022. During the failed discussions to keep Olympic hockey a best-on-best event, the IOC stated that if the NHL didn&rsquo;t participate in Pyeongchang, it wouldn&rsquo;t be invited to Beijing. They&rsquo;re taking their pots of gold and going home.</p><p>We&rsquo;ll learn in the next few years whether that was a bluff. The NHL is eager to grow its global footprint, as evidenced by renewed forays into Europe and China this season. If there&rsquo;s enough belief among team owners that showcasing hockey&rsquo;s best in Beijing will help achieve a longer-term financial windfall, the parties will find a way to make it happen.</p><p>If they don&rsquo;t, the International Ice Hockey Federation is left with a choice. What form should the Olympic hockey event take in the absence of the sport&rsquo;s premier stars? There wasn&rsquo;t enough runway this season to engineer a new format, but there will be for 2022 if the desire for change exists.</p><p>Personally, I&rsquo;m a sucker for underdogs and feel-good stories, so I&rsquo;m not devastated NHLers won&rsquo;t be absorbing the spotlight in Korea. And, if the format remains open for Beijing, those Games will also be comprised of Davids and schmaltz. For the established nations, we&rsquo;ll get players who may have sipped cocoa in the NHL, but never champagne. Free agents who couldn&rsquo;t find another job, eager to prove they still belong. Freshly retired graybeards who still have enough game to put exclamation marks on their careers. Maybe some young, recently drafted studs who haven&rsquo;t yet signed their first NHL contracts &ndash; think Eric Lindros and Paul Kariya from 1992 and 1994. I imagine this potential pool of players would appreciate their experience at the Olympics a smithereen more than their highly paid peers.</p><p>Here&rsquo;s another idea, one that would require a re-think by international hockey overlords: every fourth year, hold the World Junior Championship at the Olympic Games. The WJC largely remains Canada&rsquo;s secret. Only in the Great White North is it embraced as a prime-time event. And that&rsquo;s a shame. The passion and devotion expressed by these young men is massive. The systemic brainwashing that begins in earnest once a kid enters the NHL typically hasn&rsquo;t fully infiltrated while they&rsquo;re still in junior. They retain traces of innocence that put them far closer to the Olympic ideal &ndash; as tarnished as it is &ndash; than the rich, big boys.</p><p>From a skill set, they also tend to lack the defensive awareness and responsibility they need to flourish at the top pro level. As a result, there are more mistakes, which translates into increased scoring chances, which usually means more goals. If selling the game is important, the WJC boasts an unparalleled mix of high-end talent, raw emotion and offense. It could be a way to mine new hockey lovers, if we can&rsquo;t get our druthers.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-0262/225407-1-eng-US/f0004-022.jpg" title="f0004-02" width="210" height="120"></div><p>Editor in chief</p><span class="image-inline"><img src="mon12.jpg" title="common1" width="22" height="18"></span><p><b>@JKTHN</b></p><p><b>NEXT ISSUE</b> ON SALE JAN. 1, 2018<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0004-01

OLYMPIC TORCH TO JUNIORS?

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-0112/225450-1-eng-US/f0005-012.jpg" title="f0005-01" width="228" height="346"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(JAGR: DENIS BRODEUR/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES; STAMKOS: MARK LOMOGLIO/ICON SPORTSWIRE VIA GETTY IMAGES; KUCHEROV: RONALD C. MODRA/NHL/GETTY IMAGES; GAUDREAU: BRUCE BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><h2><b>Jon, then Sean</b></h2><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span>his one&rsquo;s a no-brainer: Sean Avery should be the next guest editor of THN. He&rsquo;d be perfect, and the issue would be sure to create a buzz and excitement. Considering his off-the-ice interests and candidness, he&rsquo;d be sure to include some interesting pieces in the issue, be it sports, fashion or frank exposes on the game. His past internship at <i>Vogue</i> also gives him some first-hand experience into an editor&rsquo;s job and what goes into making an issue. There shouldn&rsquo;t be any hesitation or concern over his &ldquo;reputation,&rdquo; as that was only an on-ice routine. I&rsquo;m sure he&rsquo;d be focused on the work in the office. This would be right up his alley and would be a hot ticket for THN. Get it done!</p><p><b>VAUGHAN BYRNES, KINGSTON, ONT.</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-0213/225443-1-eng-US/f0005-022.jpg" title="f0005-02" width="228" height="346"></div><h2><b>Missing Martin</b></h2><p>I was very excited when I received your Top 50 Players Of All-Time By Franchise collector&rsquo;s edition. I really enjoyed going through it and remembering all the great players who played for each franchise. There is, however, one player who was missing from Calgary. Martin Gelinas may have only played two seasons with the Flames, but they were a very memorable two seasons. He scored three series-clinching goals in the 2004 playoffs, earning him the name &lsquo;The Eliminator.&rsquo; I will always remember him as one of my favorite Flames players, and that season really helped me become the passionate fan I am today. He should have made the list.</p><p><b>TIMOTHY MACDONALD, CALGARY</b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0005-01

YOUR SAY

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-065/225542-1-eng-US/f0005-062.jpg" title="f0005-06" width="245" height="291"><figcaption class="caption-body">JAROMIR <b>JAGR</b></figcaption></div><span class="image-inline"><img src="mon22.jpg" title="common2" width="17" height="17"></span><p>I would give Brendan Gallagher a body six times bigger to match his heart and work ethic. Then watch him tear the league to pieces.</p><p><b>&ndash; Nicholas Chase Enman</b></p><span class="image-inline"><img src="mon12.jpg" title="common1" width="22" height="18"></span><p>I&rsquo;d give the Islanders the Coliseum.</p><p><b>&ndash; @mikeybasile</b></p><span class="image-inline"><img src="mon22.jpg" title="common2" width="17" height="17"></span><p>I would give the gift of an alarm clock and a business suit to Evander Kane with a card saying it&rsquo;s from Dustin Byfuglien.</p><p><b>&ndash; James Arthur</b></p><span class="image-inline"><img src="mon12.jpg" title="common1" width="22" height="18"></span><p>A new division for the Caps, so they don&rsquo;t have to play the Penguins in the playoffs.</p><p><b>&ndash; @ShorthandedNews</b></p><span class="image-inline"><img src="mon12.jpg" title="common1" width="22" height="18"></span><p>To the players &hellip;fiiive Olympic riiings&hellip;</p><p><b>&ndash; @TerryJosephson</b></p><span class="image-inline"><img src="mon22.jpg" title="common2" width="17" height="17"></span><p>I would give the Flyers Sergei Bobrovsky, but they would just give him away.</p><p><b>&ndash; Mathew Calverase</b></p><span class="image-inline"><img src="mon12.jpg" title="common1" width="22" height="18"></span><p>The Hurricanes back to Hartford.</p><p><b>&ndash; @eyezeezeeoh</b></p><span class="image-inline"><img src="mon22.jpg" title="common2" width="17" height="17"></span><p>The Kings still need more offense, so it&rsquo;s time for a Hanukkah gift in lieu of a Christmas gift. Instead of one goal, it&rsquo;s a miracle and the Kings consistently score eight.</p><p><b>&ndash; Mel Powell</b></p><span class="image-inline"><img src="mon12.jpg" title="common1" width="22" height="18"></span><p>I&rsquo;d give the Habs some bubble wrap to keep Carey Price safe.</p><p><b>&ndash; @nate_herman</b></p><span class="image-inline"><img src="mon22.jpg" title="common2" width="17" height="17"></span><p>I would give the Leafs and Blues the gift of playing each other in the Stanley Cup. Ensuring one would end five decades of heartache.</p><p><b>&ndash; Ed Cline</b></p><span class="image-inline"><img src="mon22.jpg" title="common2" width="17" height="17"></span><p>I would get a bigger glove for Antti Niemi.</p><p><b>&ndash; Kristian Hendricksson</b></p><span class="image-inline"><img src="mon12.jpg" title="common1" width="22" height="18"></span><p>A Stanley Cup for Henrik Lundqvist. What active player deserves it more? If Santa is paying close attention this year, Hank gets a Cup.</p><p><b>&ndash; @ericsagedean</b></p><span class="image-inline"><img src="mon22.jpg" title="common2" width="17" height="17"></span><p>I would give the Calgary Flames a decent backup goalie. I guess that&rsquo;s a gift for Mike Smith as well.</p><p><b>&ndash; Nicole Gardiner</b></p><span class="image-inline"><img src="mon22.jpg" title="common2" width="17" height="17"></span><p>I&rsquo;d give Mike Milbury his missing shoe.</p><p><b>&ndash; Jeff Gould</b></p><span class="image-inline"><img src="mon12.jpg" title="common1" width="22" height="18"></span><p>I&rsquo;d give the Bruins one more consecutive pick in the 2015 draft so they can have one more shot to pick Matt Barzal. Looked bad then, looks even worse now.</p><p><b>&ndash; @BBaumken</b></p><span class="image-inline"><img src="mon22.jpg" title="common2" width="17" height="17"></span><p>I&rsquo;d give Jaromir Jagr an exact replica wig of his mullet from the early 1990s.</p><p><b>&ndash; Justin Spencer</b></p><span class="image-inline"><img src="mon12.jpg" title="common1" width="22" height="18"></span><p>Whatever @91Tavares wants!</p><p><b>&ndash; @crunchguy</b></p><span class="image-inline"><img src="mon22.jpg" title="common2" width="17" height="17"></span><p>The Blackhawks $10 million more in cap space.</p><p><b>&ndash; Mike Moore</b></p><span class="image-inline"><img src="mon12.jpg" title="common1" width="22" height="18"></span><p>I&rsquo;d give P.K. Subban a vintage Greg Louganis swimsuit to practice his dives.</p><p><b>&ndash; @Johnny_Rott</b></p><span class="image-inline"><img src="mon22.jpg" title="common2" width="17" height="17"></span><p>I would give the Vegas Golden Knights an indestructible goalie&hellip;</p><p><b>&ndash; Kyle Parker</b></p><span class="image-inline"><img src="mon12.jpg" title="common1" width="22" height="18"></span><p>I would give the Winnipeg Jets some razors. I keep thinking I&rsquo;ve tuned into a ZZ Top concert every time I try and watch a game.</p><p><b>&ndash; @wheelz3939</b></p><span class="image-inline"><img src="mon22.jpg" title="common2" width="17" height="17"></span><p>I&rsquo;d go to the hardware store and buy the Oilers some finish.</p><p><b>&ndash; Jordan Elizabeth</b></p><span class="image-inline"><img src="mon12.jpg" title="common1" width="22" height="18"></span><p>I&rsquo;d give Bobby Ryan metalplated hockey gloves.</p><p><b>&ndash; @aluminum_6</b></p><span class="image-inline"><img src="mon22.jpg" title="common2" width="17" height="17"></span><p>No gifts for them. They can afford to pay for themselves.</p><p><b>&ndash; Philipp Kriesten</b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0005-06

SOAPBOX

<div class="byline">PHOTO BY GREGORY SHAMUS/GETTY IMAGES</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0006-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-0165/225712-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0006-01

AN ALL-AROUND BEATDOWN

<div class="byline">BY KEN CAMPBELL</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0008-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-0164/225748-1-eng-US/f0008-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>MR. HOUSTON HOCKEY</b></p><p>Gordie Howe played four seasons in Houston in the mid- 1970s, winning the Gordie Howe Trophy (WHA MVP) at age 46.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(HHOF IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-0146/225741-1-eng-US/f0009-012.jpg" title="f0009-01" width="95" height="95"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>I</span>F IT WEREN&rsquo;T FOR</b> a series of events that conspired to keep it out of the NHL 40 years ago, we wouldn&rsquo;t even be talking about Houston as a suitable market for expansion or relocation, because it would have already been in the league, 14 years before the Dallas Stars arrived in Texas.</p><p>It&rsquo;s a long and convoluted story but, basically, when the NHL merged with the World Hockey Association in 1979, the Houston Aeros were frozen out of the process. The three Canadian teams &ndash; the Edmonton Oilers, Winnipeg Jets and Quebec Nordiques &ndash; were shoo-ins. The NHL only wanted four teams, which left the Hartford Whalers and the Aeros as the two remaining candidates. Failure to that point in Sun Belt cities Oakland and Atlanta had the NHL skittish, so the league went with the three Canadian teams and the Whalers, only to see three of the four relocate in subsequent years.</p><p>Fast-forward 40 years and Houston is trying to woo the NHL once again. Tilman Fertitta, owner of the NBA&rsquo;s Rockets, recently said in a statement: &ldquo;I&rsquo;m very interested in the possibility of bringing the NHL to Houston, but it will have to be a deal that makes sense for my organization, the city, fans of the NHL throughout the region, and the NHL board of governors.&rdquo; Fertitta has reportedly had preliminary talks with the NHL, a development that, while significant, should not be seen as anything more than a courtesy. The NHL often meets with would-be expansion groups and nothing comes of it.</p><p>Houston, though, checks off several boxes for the NHL when it comes to a market/ownership group that would be a candidate for expansion or relocation.</p><p>&#10003; Must have billionaire owner, preferably one with local ties. According to <i>Forbes</i>, Fertitta has a net worth of $3.5 billion and was able to put together a deal to buy the Rockets for $2.2 billion last year. And unlike former Rockets owner Les Alexander, he&rsquo;s interested in having a hockey team in his building. Alexander&rsquo;s aversion to the sport was a big obstacle to any NHL consideration. Fertitta is a native of nearby Galveston and built his restaurant and casino empire in the area. He was one of the original investors in the NFL&rsquo;s Houston Texans but had to sell because of his association with casinos.</p><p>&#10003; Must have an NHL-ready facility. No problem there. The Toyota Center was home to the AHL&rsquo;s Houston Aeros until four years ago, and they&rsquo;re no longer playing there only because the team couldn&rsquo;t come to a lease agreement. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a terrific building for hockey, and it was very successful,&rdquo; said AHL president David Andrews. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think it would be a stretch to say they were in the top four or five revenue generators in our league. But it was an expensive place to operate, and it wasn&rsquo;t getting any less so.&rdquo;</p><p>&#10003; Eyeballs, eyeballs, eyeballs. According to the 2017 Nielsen rankings, Houston is the eighth-largest television market in the U.S. with 2.5 million homes. The seven ahead of Houston all have NHL teams. By comparison, Las Vegas ranks 40th with 758,000 homes.</p><p>&#10003; A hockey pedigree. Well, you could argue Houston is one of the most successful hockey cities that doesn&rsquo;t have an NHL team. The Montreal Canadiens operated their Central League affiliate there from 1965 to &rsquo;69, with future Hall of Famers Guy Lapointe, Jacques Lemaire, Serge Savard and Rogie Vachon starting their pro careers there. It was also in Houston where history was made when Gordie Howe starred with his two sons, Mark and Marty, in the WHA. The Aeros were an on-ice success story, winning two Avco Cups and making it to the WHA final three times in six years of operation. The Aeros played in the International League from 1994 until 2001 when the league folded, winning the Turner Cup in 1999. Then it was on to the AHL, where the Aeros played for 10 years as the Minnesota Wild&rsquo;s affiliate. They made the league final twice, winning the Calder Cup in 2003. The Aeros averaged 6,173 per game and were in the top 10 in AHL attendance eight of the 10 years they played in Houston. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s a real solid hockey fan base in that market,&rdquo; Andrews said. &ldquo;It was clear to us and to the Minnesota Wild at the time that (Rockets ownership) really weren&rsquo;t interested in having a team there. I don&rsquo;t think there was any question about that. It was an odd business strategy, but it was theirs to make.&rdquo;</p><p>&#10003; A robust local economy with good corporate sponsorship possibilities. According to the Greater Houston Partnership, Houston is the home headquarters for 20 <i>Fortune</i> 500 companies that account for a total of $330.4 billion in yearly revenues. Even though the economy has diversified, it is still dependent on oil, which could be a cause for concern going forward. Robert Gilmer of the Institute of Regional Forecasting with the University of Houston wrote a report in September that while some of the 77,000 oil-related job losses that occurred in 2014 have been made up, &ldquo;these jobs also are unlikely to return soon in large numbers. The result is a return of positive job growth in Houston but at a relatively slow pace. Currently, we don&rsquo;t expect to see a return to long-term trend rates of employment growth before 2020.&rdquo;</p><p>FOR UP-TO-THE-MINUTE COVERAGE, VISIT <a href="http://THN.com">THN.COM</a><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p></div>

f0008-01

PUT SKATES ON HOUSTON?

<div class="byline">&#x2013; WITH KEN CAMPBELL</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-0334/225870-1-eng-US/f0010-032.jpg" title="f0010-03" width="315" height="318"><figcaption class="caption-body">ADAM <b>HENRIQUE</b> <span class="photo-credit">(HENRIQUE: GERRY ANGUS/ICON SPORTSWIRE VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-0245/225877-1-eng-US/f0010-022.jpg" title="f0010-02" width="137" height="151"><figcaption class="caption-body" style="width: 137px"><i>ADAM HENRIQUE</i></figcaption></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-0420/225863-1-eng-US/f0010-042.jpg" title="f0010-04" width="165" height="1184"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(STICK: WARRIOR HOCKEY;)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>I</span>&rsquo;VE BEEN USING A</b> Warrior stick for quite a while. I used to have what they called &lsquo;The Modano Curve,&rsquo; but I&rsquo;ve done some things with the toe and the heel, so I guess I&rsquo;d have to call it &lsquo;The Henrique Curve&rsquo; now. I&rsquo;ve probably cut about six or seven inches off the stick, and that was mostly because of (former Devils coach) Adam Oates. When he came here, he talked to me about it and a lot of what he said made sense. He was always a great puckhandler, and he used a shorter stick, so he got me to do it, and it&rsquo;s really all about puck control. You can do a lot more with the puck in a confined space when you have a shorter stick. Maybe your range is limited a little more, but you notice how a shorter stick helps, especially when the puck is in around your feet. You can bring it in much closer to your body with the shorter stick and anytime you can do that, you lessen the chance it will be stripped from you. It was a really good idea that has helped me a lot.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0010-03

My WEAPON

<div class="byline">&#x2013; MATT LARKIN</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-0513/225913-1-eng-US/f0010-052.jpg" title="f0010-05" width="257" height="252"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-0611/225906-1-eng-US/f0010-062.jpg" title="f0010-06" width="249" height="249"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(MASK: CHRIS TAYLOR/CTAIRBRUSHING.CO.UK;)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>T</span>HE BEST MASKS DON&rsquo;T</b> always reside in hockey&rsquo;s most prominent leagues. The UK Elite League has a doozie belonging to Latvian stopper Mustukovs. He&rsquo;s an emotional man who believes his mask should feature something dear to him. In this case, it&rsquo;s his wife Karina and their two cats, recreated with stunningly photoreal art by Chris Taylor. Mustukovs&rsquo; previous lid featured his childhood hero, Peter Falk as <i>Columbo.</i><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0010-05

Behind THE MASK

<div class="byline">BY CHARLIE TELJEUR</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-0165/225834-1-eng-US/f0010-012.jpg" title="f0010-01" width="685" height="975"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0010-01

THE INSTIGATOR

<div class="byline">BY MATT LARKIN</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-0152/225942-1-eng-US/f0011-012.jpg" title="f0011-01" width="704" height="1182"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(BRODEUR: B BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES; ST. LOUIS: DAVE SANDFORD/GETTY IMAGES/NHLI; ALFREDSSON: BRUCE BENNETT STUDIOS/GETTY IMAGES; WICKENHEISER: ABELIMAGES/GETTY IMAGES; ROENICK: DENIS BRODEUR/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES; MOGILNY: DENIS BRODEUR/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES; JERSEY: KOOTENAY ICE)</span></figcaption></div><h2><b><i>JUST A FORMALITY</i></b></h2><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span>he Hall used to allow supernovas to gain immediate entry upon retirement. <b>MARTIN BRODEUR</b> would have been ideal for that in 2015. He has 140 more wins than the No. 2 goalie, four Vezinas, three Cups, a Calder and two Olympic golds. He&rsquo;s hockey royalty.</p><h2><b><i>ON THE HALL&rsquo;S SPEED DIAL</i></b></h2><p>Hall of Fame or Hall of Very Good? The debate is moot, because plenty of other Hall of Very Good types have already been inducted. So why not <b>DANIEL ALFREDSSON</b> then? He has more than 1,000 points, won the Calder Trophy, finished top 10 in scoring three times, won Olympic gold with Sweden and is the Ottawa Senators&rsquo; longest-serving captain.</p><h2><b><i>MAYBE SOMEDAY</i></b></h2><p><b>JEREMY ROENICK</b> has been eligible since 2012. With 513 goals and 1,216 points, he&rsquo;ll pop up on Hall candidacy lists for years to come. But he lacks any major individual hardware. His best chance at induction will come in a year without any obvious picks. That year could be 2019.</p><h2><b><i>CHECKS OFF EVERY BOX</i></b></h2><p><b>MARTIN ST-LOUIS&rsquo;</b> resume screams Hall of Fame: two scoring titles, an MVP, three Lady Byngs, a Stanley Cup and Olympic gold. He also did some of his best work in the Dead Puck Era when few players as small as him were making big impacts.</p><h2><b><i>WISHFUL THINKING</i></b></h2><p>Eligible yet? No. She just retired this year. But <b>HAYLEY WICKENHEISER</b> would have been part of that skip-the-three-yearwait group had the Hall not closed that loophole. Wickenheiser is surely the best female player ever, armed with four Olympic gold medals. She is Team Canada&rsquo;s all-time scoring leader, too.</p><h2><b><i>THE RODNEY DANGERFIELD PICK</i></b></h2><p><b>ALEXANDER MOGILNY</b> gets no respect considering he was the first Soviet NHL defector, one of the first European NHL captains, better than a point-per-game player and proud owner of a 76-goal season. Mogilny was a sublime talent, but his enigmatic personality seems to have alienated him among the voters.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0011-01

HALL OF FAME LOCK-O-METER

<div class="byline">&#x2013; RYAN KENNEDY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-0238/225971-1-eng-US/f0011-022.jpg" title="f0011-02" width="288" height="333"><figcaption class="caption-body">PETYON <b>CREBS</b></figcaption></div><p><b>THE KOOTENAY ICE&rsquo;S LOGO</b> definitely needed an upgrade from its humble roots and with this year&rsquo;s edition of the WHL franchise, it got it.</p><p>The new abominable snowman is a lot more stylized and modern than its predecessor and with it came new colors &ndash; though it should be noted the previous combination of royal blue and gold was attractive, too. That said, the new powder blue, black and grey scheme is really nice. Some critics pointed out that the new logo looks a lot like the old USHL Indiana Ice crest, but let&rsquo;s give Kootenay a pass since you can only go so many ways with a mythological creature. It&rsquo;s fierce and it works here.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0011-02

Jersey HOUND

<div class="byline">&#x2013; SAL BARRY OF PUCKJUNK.COM</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-049/226000-1-eng-US/f0011-042.jpg" title="f0011-04" width="340" height="303"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>W</span>HILE NOT AS BIG</b> as the WJC, the U-18 Ivan Hlinka Memorial tournament has grown into a popular prospect showcase. It has gone by different names, including the Mexico Cup in 1994. Canada won gold that year, and the 1994-95 Pinnacle Select set featured 20 players from that competition, including 17-year-old Jarome Iginla, who led scoring with five goals and nine points. Like many cards from that era, the card has a garish design, with gold-foil lettering, drop shadows, gradients, feathered edges and a serape (Mexican poncho/blanket) background pattern.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0011-04

In the CARDS

<div class="byline">BY TOM THOMPSON</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0012-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-0165/226029-1-eng-US/f0012-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p>JONATHAN <b>QUICK</b></p><p>COREY <b>CRAWFORD</b></p> <span class="photo-credit">(GETTTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>H</span>ALL OF FAME GOALIE</b> and acclaimed author Ken Dryden has noted that not all NHL netminders can perform well on different caliber teams. To perform well on a &ldquo;bad team,&rdquo; a goalie can face many dangerous shots and be forced to make &ldquo;near-impossible saves that few others can make.&rdquo; In doing so, the bad-team goalie may require &ldquo;the cushion of an occasional bad goal.&rdquo; A successful goalie on a &ldquo;good team&rdquo; is usually not required to make many spectacular saves, but he doesn&rsquo;t have the cushion of letting in bad goals because &ldquo;playing in close and critical games as he does, he gets no second chance.</p><p>Jonathan Quick of the Los Angeles Kings and Corey Crawford of the Chicago Blackhawks have each led their teams to two Stanley Cups. Both are respected for their performances in clutch situations. Both goalies are smart and competitive. With Quick at 31 and Crawford at 32, both are still in their peak years. A comparison of their respective talents, &ndash; and keeping the Dryden formula in mind &ndash; shows, however, there is a definite difference in their overall ability. Let&rsquo;s take a look.</p><h2><b>HOCKEY SENSE</b></h2><p><b>BOTH HAVE ELITE LEVEL</b> hockey sense, anticipating passes and recognizing the positioning of dangerous shooters. Both realize the opportune time to force a stoppage in play. <b>EDGE: NEITHER</b></p><h2><b>COMPETITIVENESS</b></h2><p><b>BOTH ARE AT THE</b> top of the chart. They battle to find pucks in traffic, and neither goalie ever gives up on a shot. In close games and in last-minute situations, they are at their best. <b>EDGE: NEITHER</b></p><h2><b>CONSISTENCY</b></h2><p><b>HOW MANY BAD GOALS</b> have you seen Crawford surrender? There are very few. At times, Quick, with his paddle-down approach, is vulnerable to high shots on the short side and bad-angle plays. <b>EDGE: CRAWFORD</b></p><h2><b>ATHLETICISM</b></h2><p><b>THIS COMPARISON IS NOT</b> close. Crawford is fundamentally sound and consistent. A veteran NHL scout compared him to a &ldquo;robot,&rdquo; well programmed, square to the puck, with very few shots going &ldquo;through&rdquo; him. However, his ability to move quickly for shots to either side of him is average. Quick is one of the most athletic goalies of this era. He moves laterally across the net with his pads and stick on the ice and his catching glove in position as well as any goalie I have ever seen. He is fast and agile on his skates and probably reaches dumped-in pucks as quickly as any goalie in the NHL. <b>EDGE: QUICK</b></p><h2><b>SCRAMBLE SITUATIONS</b></h2><p><b>THIS IS ANOTHER COMPARISON</b> that is not close. Crawford can look awkward when forced to scramble. When Quick adopts the &ldquo;spread eagle&rdquo; position with pads down on either side, he is the best I have seen defending scrambles since Dominik Hasek in his prime. Quick is especially good at denying wraparound attempts. <b>EDGE: QUICK</b></p><h2><b>PUCKHANDLING</b></h2><p><b>CRAWFORD HAS REALLY IMPROVED</b> in this category over the years. He has more confidence now, and he can make basic plays consistently. Quick has very good ability to get out of the net and handle the puck in tight situations. He has the confidence to make strong outlet passes and attempt higher-risk plays. He has masked the deficiencies of some slow-footed defensemen who have trouble retrieving dumped-in pucks. <b>EDGE: QUICK</b></p><h2><b>REBOUND CONTROL</b></h2><p><b>GOALTENDING ICON GLENN HALL</b> once told me that, aside from stopping the initial shot, rebound control is the most important job of a goalie. To him, that was the difference between simply &ldquo;stopping a shot&rdquo; and actually &ldquo;making a save.&rdquo; Quick&rsquo;s athleticism and confidence in his catching glove give him the edge over Crawford in this category. He catches more pucks than Crawford and he is &ldquo;softer&rdquo; absorbing shots. <b>EDGE: QUICK</b></p><h2><b>CAREER ACCOMPLISHMENTS</b></h2><p><b>QUICK&rsquo;S CAREER NUMBERS ARE</b> slightly better than Crawford&rsquo;s in the regular season and the playoffs, but both goalies have impressive totals. To make a proper comparison of their accomplishments, we must look closely at the situations of their teams. Crawford&rsquo;s first Stanley Cup in Chicago was in 2013. The Blackhawks were without a doubt the best team in the NHL. They finished first in goal differential and goals against and second in goals scored. They were the poster boys for the analytics crowd in areas such as puck possession and eliminating shots from dangerous areas. Crawford&rsquo;s role was to be consistent and avoid bad goals. He succeeded, much in the same way Antti Niemi did in 2010. Chicago was not as dominant in the regular season in its next Cup victory, in 2015, but in the playoffs, its cadre of future Hall of Famers was terrific. Crawford was not as good in that Cup run as he had been in 2013. When he faltered in the playoffs, he was replaced by Scott Darling, who had three of Chicago&rsquo;s victories.</p><p>Quick won the Conn Smythe Trophy in 2012 and could&rsquo;ve won again in 2014. In 2012, the Kings were the No. 8 seed in the West, and in 2014, they were No. 6. Of their eight wins in the two Cup final series, five were in overtime. Nobody who watched the games will ever forget Quick&rsquo;s performances, especially the two double-OT victories over the New York Rangers in 2014. His goaltending opponents in the finals will be first-ballot Hall of Famers (Martin Brodeur in 2012 and Henrik Lundqvist in 2014). Quick outplayed both. <b>EDGE: QUICK</b></p><h2><b>CONCLUSION</b></h2><p><b>JONATHAN QUICK IS A</b> better goalie than Corey Crawford. Remember the Ken Dryden test: when called upon, Quick can make a number of spectacular, athletic saves, and he flourishes in situations when one goal against would spell disaster. He can function effectively on a &ldquo;bad team&rdquo; or a &ldquo;good team.&rdquo; Crawford has been effective on a &ldquo;good team.&rdquo; He is solid and consistent but lacks the athletic ability to perform as a savior. He would be exposed as an average goalie on a &ldquo;bad team.&rdquo;</p><p>Quick is ready to carry the Kings on his back. Blackhawks fans need only concentrate on the rest of their team. If it is good enough, Crawford will not screw up their chances. I believe Ken Dryden would nod approvingly.</p><p><i>Tom Thompson has been an NHL scout/director/assistant GM since 1985</i><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0012-01

JONATHAN QUICK Vs. COREY CRAWFORD

f0014-01

THE COUNTDOWN

<div class="byline">BY BOB DUFF</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-0154/226549-1-eng-US/f0017-012.jpg" title="f0017-01" width="429" height="329"><figcaption class="caption-body">JOE <b>HALL</b> <span class="photo-credit">(HALL: HHOF IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>O</span>FFICIALS WERE QUITE</b> different than what you see on the ice today. With no lines, there was no need for linesman. Officiating crews were two-man units consisting of a referee, who was in charge of the game, and an assistant referred to as a judge of play, although both were eligible to call penalties. Some of the officials were past stars of the game like Harvey Pulford, once a defenceman with the legendary Ottawa Silver Seven and a four-time Stanley Cup champion, and Jack Marshall, a forward who won six Stanley Cup titles with four different teams as a player.</p><p>Others came from different backgrounds. Lou Marsh was a sportswriter with the <i>Toronto Telegram</i> who would often officiate a game and also write a story for his paper about the contest. It&rsquo;s a safe bet that he never criticized the work of the officials in his write-ups.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-0233/226542-1-eng-US/f0017-022.jpg" title="f0017-02" width="164" height="268"><figcaption class="caption-body"><i>Excerpted from</i> The First Season <i>by Bob Duff, copyright 2017. Published by Biblioasis.</i></figcaption></div><p>There was no such thing as a power play in the NHL of this era. In the case of a penalty, the opposition was immediately allowed to substitute for the penalized player, so they were never required to play shorthanded. If a team drew so many penalties at the same time as to not be able to put five skaters on the ice in front of their netminder, the opposition team was required to remove players from the ice until the two teams were at even strength. There was talk of introducing a delayed penalty rule during the season, but it was determined to defer that decision until after the season ended. The NHL moguls also felt there was no need for a red light behind the net to signify a goal, as was suggested by some in the hockey world as a way of making it easier for fans around the rink to know that the puck was in the net.</p><p>With so little in terms of regulatory measures on the ice left to impact play, stoppages generally only resulted from goals, pucks going out of play, or penalty calls. That led to a humorous moment during a Feb. 20, 1918, contest between the Canadiens and Toronto. The levity was supplied by Canadiens defenceman Joe Hall. Nicknamed Bad Joe for his rugged and often illegal style of play, after a Toronto player fell over his stick. Hall, who would lead the league with 100 penalty minutes, instinctively skated over and sat down in the penalty box. When Canadiens captain Newsy Lalonde demanded to know what infraction Hall had committed, referee Marshall informed Lalonde he&rsquo;d called no foul and Hall was merely penalized by a guilty conscience. Hall sheepishly skated back onto the ice. &ldquo;Sorry, Newsy,&rdquo; Hall said. &ldquo;Force of habit.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0017-01

IN THE BEGINNING

<div class="byline">BY MATT LARKIN</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0018-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-0160/226635-1-eng-US/f0018-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(BILL WIPPERT/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>&ldquo;IT WASN&rsquo;T JUST ANY</b> cognac. It was Louis XIII.&rdquo;</p><p>It&rsquo;s a crucial distinction for Evander Kane, relaxing in his dressing room stall, airing out his equipment after practice at Buffalo&rsquo;s KeyBank Center on a cold, damp November morning. He&rsquo;s eager to stress how much the gift meant to him.</p><p>Ever try to buy a bottle of Louis XIII? Don&rsquo;t, unless you&rsquo;ve recently won the lottery. It will set you back $3,000, give or take. So when Sam Reinhart, Jack Eichel and Zach Bogosian pooled their (admittedly considerable) funds and presented the bottle to Kane, commemorating his 500th NHL game, he was beyond touched. It came in a fire-engine-red case, signed, <i>Congrats on 500, Kaner! Reino, Eichs, Bogo.</i></p><p>That bottle of exquisite booze is a microcosm of Kane&rsquo;s career to date.</p><p>First of all, it highlights his famously debonair taste. Kane is known for living a glamorous lifestyle. He got into trouble during the 2012 lockout when he posted an Instagram photo of himself using a huge stack of cash as a phone to &ldquo;call&rdquo; superstar boxer Floyd Mayweather. In 2015, Kane bought a billboard in an effort to win back his then-girlfriend, model Mara Teigen. And this past August, minutes before Mayweather threw down with UFC multi-weight champion Conor McGregor in The Money Fight in Las Vegas, Kane got his hands on Mayweather&rsquo;s championship belt and posed with it for some dream-come-true photos.</p><p>That&rsquo;s the persona many hockey fans and media types associate with Kane. A $3,000 bottle of cognac feels very &ldquo;him,&rdquo; doesn&rsquo;t it? But there&rsquo;s much more to it than that. It&rsquo;s not like Kane purchased it for himself. It was given to him by a group of teammates who have forged a meaningful bond with him. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m going to go into battle for him, and he&rsquo;s going to do the same for me,&rdquo; said Reinhart, Kane&rsquo;s frequent linemate over the past couple seasons. &ldquo;I full well know that. The media is going to say what they want, and he&rsquo;s got a personality with him, and you&rsquo;ve got to embrace that. I enjoy being around it. It&rsquo;s fun.&rdquo;</p><p>Imagine hearing praise like that from Kane&rsquo;s Winnipeg Jets teammates in February 2015. That&rsquo;s when Kane wore a tracksuit to a team meeting, violating a policy, and big blueliner Dustin Byfuglien may or may not have hurled Kane&rsquo;s clothes into a shower. When he ended up traded to Buffalo along with Bogosian in a blockbuster days later, the sentiment coming from Manitoba was very much, &ldquo;Don&rsquo;t let the door smack you on the way out.&rdquo; Jets coach Paul Maurice referred to Kane&rsquo;s relationship with the team as a &ldquo;difficult marriage.&rdquo; Kane later told THN he never felt the team &ldquo;had his back,&rdquo; especially as he played through injuries. He couldn&rsquo;t seem to avoid controversy in those days, whether it was CashGate or TracksuitGate or accusations of not paying restaurant bills. Kane and Winnipeg jived about as well as Sean Avery and Martin Brodeur.</p><p>So a friendly gesture from Kane&rsquo;s Sabres teammates, then, really means something. The cognac has the flash we know Kane for, but it also tells us he&rsquo;s finally found a city and group of people who like him for who he is. Kane actually belongs.</p><p>It has to feel good, as Kane has always been different. Growing up half black in Vancouver, he obviously didn&rsquo;t fit the mold of typical Canadian hockey player. Kane&rsquo;s father, Perry, a junior hockey player and amateur boxer, prepared his son for that reality early. &ldquo;My dad always made me aware that I&rsquo;m not going to always be looked at the same as every other kid and I&rsquo;m going to have to be that much better than everyone else to get the same opportunity,&rdquo; Kane said.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-0161/226628-1-eng-US/f0020-012.jpg" title="f0020-01" width="1198" height="1613"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(KEVIN HOFFMAN/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><blockquote class="pullQuote">PART OF SELLING YOUR GAME IS SELLING YOUR PLAYERS. <b>FANS AND KIDS GROWING UP WANT TO SEE DIFFERENT PERSONALITIES FROM PLAYERS</b><br>&ndash; Evander Kane</blockquote><p>And Kane wasn&rsquo;t physically different solely because of his race. He sculpted his body unconventionally, too. Perry, who played a dual role of dad and lifelong trainer, decided to incorporate boxing into his son&rsquo;s workouts when he was 13. Kane greatly admires the sweet science, living up to his first name, which comes from legendary heavyweight Evander Holyfield. Kane calls boxing the toughest sport to train for, pointing out McGregor&rsquo;s superfight with Mayweather slipped away in the later rounds when the mixed martial artist&rsquo;s gas tank couldn&rsquo;t match the true boxer&rsquo;s. Training with that conditioning work in mind developed Kane&rsquo;s tremendous strength and stamina and helped give him the ripped, intimidating physique he still possesses today. Learning boxing had other benefits, too. &ldquo;I was hoping to go into junior hockey, and there&rsquo;s fighting, so I wanted to help defend myself,&rdquo; Kane said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t do that much anymore, because of injuries and the body needing more rest and relaxation. I stopped doing all that when I was 21, 22. Once in a blue moon, it&rsquo;s good to sharpen those skills. Fighting is still part of the game, and I think it should be.&rdquo;</p><p>Maybe he also doesn&rsquo;t drop his mitts because it&rsquo;s not his choice, as other players might be scared to tangle with him. This is the guy who, as an 18-year-old rookie, knocked out Matt Cooke with one punch in 2010. Per <a href="http://hockeyfights.com">hockeyfights.com</a>, where fans can watch bouts and vote on the winner, Kane&rsquo;s NHL fisticuffs record is 10-3-1. He&rsquo;s also riding a five-fight winning streak and hasn&rsquo;t lost since Luke Schenn got the better of him almost five years ago.</p><p>There&rsquo;s a boogeyman factor in fighting Kane, and it&rsquo;s just one of the many reasons he breaks the mold. Kane has never been afraid to say or do something controversial. His response to the 2012 incident with the stack of cash in Vegas? Post another photo, two years later, around the anniversary of it, this time with him doing pushups carrying <i>more</i> cash stacks on his back. When visiting New York in 2013, he staged a photo of himself getting arrested by a New York police officer. (Three years later, he actually did get arrested for alleged harassment in a Buffalo bar, though the charges were dropped.)</p><p>Sure, Kane might be a little tone deaf with his jokes, but they are jokes nonetheless. Any time he gets into trouble with the media, the common denominator is that he&rsquo;s trying to have F.U.N., a word the NHL is aller- gic to sometimes. As the NFL&rsquo;s TV ratings nosedive, the electric NBA surges in popularity, on track to become king of the four major North American sports, and a big reason why is the fun factor. Pro basketball welcomes a star system in which rival superstar players can tweet taunts at each other leading up to games. It celebrates when LeBron James decides to ride the New York subway before a game and films a video of his experience with his smartphone. It lauds him and Steph Curry for trashing U.S. president Donald Trump online. It lets coaches like San Antonio&rsquo;s Gregg Popovich and Golden State&rsquo;s Steve Kerr voice strong, potentially polarizing political opinions.</p><p>The NHL has worked to become more socially conscious with initiatives like You Can Play and Hockey is for Everyone, designed to promote equality, but the sport remains light years behind the NBA in its progressiveness. Hockey still shies away from individuality and personalities who like to stand out from a crowd instead of fall in line with the soldiers, subscribing to what Don Cherry calls The Canadian Way. &ldquo;Part of selling your game is selling your players,&rdquo; Kane said. &ldquo;Fans and kids growing up want to see different personalities from players. It&rsquo;s boring to hear the same thing over and over again. If you look at the reasons why the NBA is so successful, it&rsquo;s because their best players speak out and show personality and do things outside the sport that are entertaining. That showcases them in a different way. People can be a fan of the sport just because of seeing something else outside of it.&rdquo;</p><p>And Kane&rsquo;s otherness is of course doubled when he&rsquo;s outspoken <i>and</i> a visible minority. In a sport where it&rsquo;s rare to find more than one black player on a team, Kane and P.K. Subban attract more attention than white players whenever they do something for fun. Coverage of either athlete is often laced with micro-aggressive terms like &ldquo;flamboyant.&rdquo; Kane tries not to carry that notion around with him, but it&rsquo;s difficult to ignore. He sees a double standard when it comes to how the media treats his extracurricular activities. &ldquo;Something outside of the rink, like me holding stacks of cash in Vegas, was just me having a fun time, trying to give a little insight as to what I&rsquo;m doing when hockey isn&rsquo;t even going on,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;You&rsquo;ve got guys like (now-retired wide receiver) Wes Welker throwing money in the air at the Kentucky Derby, $100 bills. He plays in the NFL, and it&rsquo;s just another day in the life. For me, being a Canadian hockey player in a Canadian market, it was looked at as a selfish, poor thing to do.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-0164/226621-1-eng-US/f0022-012.jpg" title="f0022-01" width="910" height="692"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>BUFFALO CHARGE</b></p><p>Kane is well on his way to a career-best season with the Sabres, with unrestricted free agency on the horizon.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(BOTH: BILL WIPPERT/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><blockquote class="pullQuote">THE MEDIA IS GOING TO SAY WHAT THEY WANT, <b>AND HE&rsquo;S GOT A PERSONALITY WITH HIM, AND YOU&rsquo;VE GOT TO EMBRACE THAT</b><br>&ndash; Sam Reinhart</blockquote><p>Kane doesn&rsquo;t want to accuse anyone of outright racism. He says he can&rsquo;t confidently pinpoint if his media treatment is rooted in that but says he&rsquo;s absolutely felt it &ldquo;in people&rsquo;s underlying thoughts&rdquo; throughout his career. It helps that, in light of Colin Kaepernick&rsquo;s anthem kneeling and the NFL&rsquo;s ensuing war with Trump, the entire world is becoming more comfortable talking about race in sports. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s a lot going on in the world that doesn&rsquo;t have to do with sports,&rdquo; Kane said. &ldquo;It has gotten better, but it hasn&rsquo;t fully gone away.&rdquo;</p><p>Despite knowing he&rsquo;ll never blend in physically or figuratively, that he&rsquo;ll never resist speaking his mind, Kane has found in Buffalo an environment where he seems to thrive. Reinhart summarizes the team&rsquo;s attitude toward Kane best by explaining that it&rsquo;s not Kane&rsquo;s fault most of the hockey world doesn&rsquo;t act the way he does toward the media or in public. Just because he&rsquo;s different doesn&rsquo;t mean what he does is wrong, and the Sabres have decided to embrace him for it.</p><p>Coincidence or not, Kane is playing the best hockey of his career. His physical style of play tears away at his body &ndash; he admits he returned far too early from four broken ribs and a collapsed lung last season &ndash; but as the Sabres cleared the 20-game mark, Kane was healthy and on pace to destroy his career highs of 30 goals and 57 points&hellip;just in time for him to hit unrestricted free agency this summer. Oh, the irony. The moment Kane finds real friendship with the likes of Eichel and Reinhart, the moment he realizes his potential as a prototypical power forward, an important career crossroads threatens to change everything.</p><p>Kane&rsquo;s fate between now and July 1 isn&rsquo;t exclusively in his hands, of course. His current contract, a six-year deal carrying a $5.25-million annual cap hit, has no clauses or limitations in it. If GM Jason Botterill wants to trade Kane, he can and will. The Sabres have finished dead last in the Atlantic Division three times in the past four seasons (that one-year &ldquo;reprieve&rdquo; was a seventh-place finish), and they occupied the No. 8 spot again through late November. The odds of rallying to join the playoff race already look thin, especially with Buffalo sharing a division with the Tampa Bay Lightning and Toronto Maple Leafs, the Eastern Conference&rsquo;s winningest teams. That positions Botterill to be a definite seller in his first year as Sabres GM. With Matt Duchene now donning an Ottawa Senators uniform and John Tavares, James van Riemsdyk, Michael Backlund and James Neal all playing for teams in playoff positions, Kane looks like the No. 1 available rental forward this winter. Teams will line up in hopes of bolstering their top-six with his combination of speed, strength, nastiness and goal-scoring ability, all of which combine to trump any concern that he brings potential dressingroom distraction with him. It&rsquo;s probable the bidding war will allow Botterill to demand a firstround pick plus a good prospect for Kane, whose trade value has never been higher given the fact he&rsquo;s stayed healthy and productive so far this season.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-0145/226614-1-eng-US/f0023-012.jpg" title="f0023-01" width="683" height="399"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>STAR TREATMENT</b></p><p>He never quite found his comfort zone in Winnipeg, but Kane has made connections in Buffalo.</p></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-0227/226607-1-eng-US/f0023-022.jpg" title="f0023-02" width="251" height="251"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>MEANINGFUL GIFT</b></p><p>The pricey bottle of cognac given to Kane by teammates shows just how much he&rsquo;s been embraced in Buffalo.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(GIFT: @EVANDERKANE_9)</span></figcaption></div><p>But maybe he&rsquo;s become too important to this franchise, especially given the chemistry he&rsquo;s found with Eichel. Maybe trading Kane just leaves the Sabres searching for another Kane. He&rsquo;s only 26, so he has several peak seasons left in him. It&rsquo;s possible, then, that Botterill wants to resign Kane, though the Sabres and Kane&rsquo;s camp at Newport Sports had reportedly not yet engaged in any contract talks.</p><p>And there&rsquo;s no guarantee Kane wants to return. If the Sabres decide not to trade him, he&rsquo;ll have to decide between the names scrawled on the cognac bottle and starting again somewhere else. Re-signing with Buffalo would mean digging roots into a team culture where he fits and has played his best hockey. It would also mean staying in a market known for its frigid weather and loyal fans but not for its swanky nightlife. And is Kane willing to walk way from the biggest financial opportunity of his life? You only get to be a firsttime UFA once. He&rsquo;ll stare down a mammoth payday this July, with the chance to sign wherever he wants. Given his playboy ways, would a California team like the Los Angeles Kings or Anaheim Ducks tempt him? What about the bright lights of Manhattan? The New York Rangers will clear Rick Nash&rsquo;s $7.8-million cap hit off their books, after all. Even Kane can&rsquo;t deny the allure of going to market just to experience free agency for the first time. &ldquo;You&rsquo;ve got to live in reality,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;This is my ninth year in the league. I&rsquo;m very aware that, as much as it&rsquo;s a game, No. 1, it&rsquo;s always a business. It&rsquo;s always about money. You see that with lockouts and CBA negotiations and player holdouts. That&rsquo;s why you have an agent, to make you aware of your options, your possibilities that may happen and what goes on during or after a season.&rdquo;</p><p>That&rsquo;s an uncharacteristically diplomatic answer for Kane. And maybe it&rsquo;s a telling one, spoken like someone who doesn&rsquo;t want to turn his back on his new friends just yet. If his GM doesn&rsquo;t make the decision for him with a trade this season, Kane must choose between the lifestyle he adores &ndash; and a group of people who adore him.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0018-01

VINTAGE KANE

<div class="byline">BY KEN CAMPBELL</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0024-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-0162/226699-1-eng-US/f0024-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(MARK BLINCH/NHLI/ GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>CONSIDER YOURSELF WARNED.</b></p><p><b>If you ever find yourself being invited to meet over a meal with New Jersey Devils GM Ray Shero, it would be wise to clear the schedule. The man does some of his best work and forges his most important relationships while breaking bread. Prior to drafting Nico Hischier first overall last June, Shero had lunch with the kid in Bern, Switzerland, a meal that lasted five hours and stretched into afternoon coffee. Good thing they were in Europe. Otherwise it probably would have been dinnertime by the time they finished lunch.</b></p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-0163/226692-1-eng-US/f0026-012.jpg" title="f0026-01" width="1459" height="1043"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>RELAXED AND RECHARGED</b></p><p>Hall is a creature of comfort, so it stands to reason the more familiar he gets in New Jersey, the better he&rsquo;ll become.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(KEVIN SOUSA/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><blockquote class="pullQuote">ANYTHING DIFFERENT FROM NEW JERSEY WOULD FEEL WEIRD NOW. <b>AND THAT&rsquo;S A GOOD THING</b><br>&ndash; Taylor Hall</blockquote><p>So it was that after the Devils missed the playoffs for the fifth straight season that Shero decided to eschew the traditional exit meeting in favor of having dinner with his star left winger, Taylor Hall. Time got away from them on this one, too. Shero stopped looking at his watch after the four-hour mark. The dinner went so long that, in a cruel, cruel irony, about halfway through the meal, Shero looked up at one of the television sets and noticed the Edmonton Oilers and Anaheim Ducks were playing in their second-round playoff series. But Shero figured that was a good thing. If the conversation had gone south and Hall told Shero he wanted out, the two probably would have parted before the appetizers had arrived.</p><p>At one point in the proceedings, Shero looked at Hall and posed what could have been a really awkward question. He asked Hall where he thought his game was, on a percentage basis, compared to where it could be at his best. Hall told Shero to go first. Shero said 35 percent. Hall remarked that he thought Shero was a really tough grader and offered 50. &ldquo;So I said, &lsquo;OK, let&rsquo;s call it 40.&rsquo;&rdquo; Hall was right about Shero being tough, because it doesn&rsquo;t take long to figure out that if his GM had truly been willing to split the difference, it would have actually been 42.5.</p><p>The point of the exercise, though, was achieved. Both sides acknowledged there was a lot of room for positive growth and that the player had barely scratched the surface of his potential. Before coming to the Devils, Hall had been in a losing environment for, well, all his NHL career, and the team was getting concerned that accepting it was coming too easily to him. What they didn&rsquo;t know, however, and what Shero gleaned most from the conversation, is that Hall is a creature of comfort. Some players thrive amid uncertainty and chaos, but Hall isn&rsquo;t one of them. He&rsquo;s truly at his best as a player and person when he feels comfortable and secure in his surroundings. It&rsquo;s been that way since his parents, Kim Strba and Steve Hall, raised him. The family moved from Calgary to Kingston, Ont., when their only child was 13 and Hall took about a year to feel comfortable in his new surroundings. Once he did, he prospered.</p><p>Shero wasn&rsquo;t exactly dealing with a broken man that night &ndash; just one who needed some assurance that things were moving in the right direction. Devils coach John Hynes made a special trip to Hall&rsquo;s home training base in Toronto during the summer to meet with him and put it best when he said, &ldquo;I think he needed to know we had his back and we needed to know he had ours.&rdquo;</p><p>Eight months later, the Devils were in first place in the dog&rsquo;s breakfast known as the Metropolitan Division. It was no surprise Hall was leading the team in scoring and producing at better than a point-per-game clip, but what was turning heads was that the four next-highest scoring Devils &ndash; Nico Hischier, Jesper Bratt, Will Butcher and Brian Gibbons &ndash; combined for zero NHL games last season. Starting with Hall, Shero was intent on building a team based on speed, and he now has a cast of players who move both the puck and their feet quickly.</p><p>As for Hall, he&rsquo;s finally settled into life with the Devils. When he arrived in New Jersey a little more than a year ago, Hall had been in the NHL for six seasons, and the tandem of Shero and Hynes represented the fifth GM and the fifth coach of his career. Clearly the time and restaurant expenses Shero and Hynes set aside for Hall were well spent. Hall has a belief in the Devils coaches and management, and they know the player is in for the long haul. &ldquo;This is his team now,&rdquo; Hynes said. &ldquo;These are his guys. I think you&rsquo;re seeing a guy who is comfortable with his situation, and the great thing for us is he&rsquo;s a hungry, hungry, talented player.&rdquo;</p><p>And that comfort level goes beyond the ice for Hall. He&rsquo;s settled into an apartment near his teammates in Hoboken, and nothing seems as overwhelming as it once did. The thought of jumping in his car and, depending on Holland Tunnel traffic, being in New York City within a half hour is one that appeals to him. Whether it&rsquo;s taking his billets from his junior days in Windsor to see <i>Miss Saigon</i> or simply heading over with a teammate for a couple beers and a walk around Manhattan, Hall has learned to embrace all of it. &ldquo;Anything different from New Jersey would feel weird now,&rdquo; Hall said. &ldquo;And that&rsquo;s a good thing.&rdquo;</p><p>That represents a big 180 from the emotionally fragile young man who arrived there last fall. It has been well documented how difficult it was for Hall to accept he had been traded from the Oilers just as things were getting good there. Hall felt abandoned and betrayed, and watching his former team &ndash; and Adam Larsson, the player he was traded for &ndash; have so much success last season made the transition even more difficult. It certainly did nothing to quell the critics who thought maybe Hall was part of the problem and not the solution in Edmonton. It&rsquo;s a notion that makes his new GM laugh. &ldquo;They would have done well with (Hall),&rdquo; Shero said, &ldquo;and we would have done s---ty with Adam. That&rsquo;s just where both teams were.&rdquo;</p><p>It&rsquo;s funny how things work out sometimes. Early this season, the Oilers were looking like a team that wasn&rsquo;t nearly as good as advertised, while the Devils were exceeding everyone&rsquo;s expectations. The Oilers, aside from a couple notable exceptions, looked as a team a tad slow and unable to keep up to the crazy speed of their all-world captain. Weird. It almost seems as though a winger with a ton of speed who likes to get the puck and give the puck and has size and a high skill level might be what&rsquo;s missing in Edmonton these days. Hall takes no particular joy in watching his former team struggle to regain its form from last season. He was quoted as saying after the Oilers bowed out in seven games to the Ducks in the playoffs that he was happy they had lost, but what he meant was that he was relieved that both teams&rsquo; seasons were over and that there could finally be closure.</p><p>To relate it to a real-life situation, it&rsquo;s kind of like this. You and your partner have been together for six years and you&rsquo;ve had a lot of ups and downs. Just as the relationship looks to be turning the corner &ndash; Wham! &ndash; you&rsquo;re blindsided by a breakup. A couple months later, you check Instagram and Facebook and your partner appears to be doing great and as much as you want to say the same thing, you really can&rsquo;t. You go through the seven stages of grief and you come out the other side a stronger and more mature person, and you even learn to look upon the relationship fondly. &ldquo;I&rsquo;d say that&rsquo;s a decent analogy,&rdquo; Hall said. &ldquo;Like, what do they say? &lsquo;Don&rsquo;t be mad because it ended, smile because it happened.&rsquo; I don&rsquo;t care to see them lose anymore. They&rsquo;re a team in the other conference, and I&rsquo;m happy to say that. Last year, if they had been losing to start the year, I would have been like, &lsquo;OK, screw them.&rsquo; But I don&rsquo;t feel like that at all this year. I have friends on that team still, and I know that city is passionate about their hockey, so I kind of feel bad. In saying that, they&rsquo;re a lot better than their record suggests. They have the best player in the world, and as long as they&rsquo;re healthy, they&rsquo;re going to be in the playoffs and do some damage. I have no doubt about that.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-0165/226685-1-eng-US/f0028-012.jpg" title="f0028-01" width="1062" height="636"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(ANDY MARLIN/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-0150/226678-1-eng-US/f0029-012.jpg" title="f0029-01" width="337" height="459"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-0235/226671-1-eng-US/f0029-022.jpg" title="f0029-02" width="337" height="366"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-0315/226664-1-eng-US/f0029-032.jpg" title="f0029-03" width="749" height="459"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>QUEST TO BE BEST</b></p><p>Hall has achieved individual and team success at a variety of levels the past decade &ndash; except in the NHL.</p><span class="photo-credit">(SPITFIRES/CANADA: RICHARD WOLOWICZ/GETTY IMAGES; DEVILS: BRUCE BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><blockquote class="pullQuote">THIS IS HIS TEAM NOW. <b>THESE ARE HIS GUYS</b><br>&ndash; John Hynes</blockquote><p>During Hall&rsquo;s time in Edmonton, the Oilers had been so bad for so long that it was getting more and more difficult to wade through what the problems were. The revolving doors in the coach&rsquo;s and GM&rsquo;s offices didn&rsquo;t help, but it wasn&rsquo;t long ago that the Oilers were building their team around Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Justin Schultz, Jordan Eberle and Hall. Three of the four are now gone, and Hall was part of the losing for so long that it was getting difficult to remember a time when things were different. So different.</p><p>Let&rsquo;s start in 2008 when Hall helped Team Ontario to a gold medal at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge. Four months after that, as a late-birthday 16-year-old, he helped Canada win the Under-18 World Championship. Two years later, as an 18-year-old, he had 12 points in the World Junior Championship with Canada being denied a sixth straight title by losing the gold-medal game in overtime. Meanwhile, he was tearing up major junior with the Spitfires, winning back-to-back OHL titles and Memorial Cups, where he was MVP in both tournaments, before be- ing taken first overall by the Oilers in 2010. As a pro, he was a part of goldwinning World Championship teams for Canada in 2015 and 2016. It all went so south with the Oilers, but the numbers, both the ones that hit you right in the eyeballs and the subtler analytics numbers, suggest Hall did his part. In fact, if Alex Ovechkin had not been named a second-team all-star at left wing the only season he actually played right wing (2012- 13), there&rsquo;s a good chance that designation would have gone to Hall.</p><p>But on any losing team, there are lightning rods, and Hall was one of them in Edmonton. By the time he left the Oilers, he was seen as another underachieving young player who was rewarded with a long-term deal but wasn&rsquo;t holding up his end of it. So the Oilers dealt a talented, possession-driving player for a minute- munching defensive defenseman with almost no offensive potential. And even though the trade looked very good from an Oilers&rsquo; perspective last season, there are not too many GMs (if any at all) in the NHL who would not sacrifice Larsson for the opportunity to get Hall 100 days out of 100. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t take full, full responsibility for the fact I have not been in playoffs,&rdquo; Hall said. &ldquo;If you look at some of the teams I was on, there&rsquo;s no chance we were making the playoffs. In junior I had a lot of success, and it almost seemed like hockey was too easy. It hasn&rsquo;t worked out in the NHL yet. I&rsquo;d love to play in a playoff game. That&rsquo;s a great stage for a player to show what he is. I&rsquo;ve never even been in a playoff race. That&rsquo;s what I&rsquo;m looking forward to.&rdquo;</p><p>It&rsquo;s not as though Hall is in danger of becoming a modern-day Guy Charron, who was traded in 1970-71, his rookie season, from the Montreal Canadiens to the Detroit Red Wings as part of a package for Frank Mahovlich. The Canadiens went on to win six Stanley Cups in the nine years after that, and Charron, an industrious and productive center, proceeded to play for some truly god-awful teams and endured a 734-game career without ever playing a playoff game. Jay Bouwmeester played 764 games before logging any meaningful spring games, and Ron Hainsey appeared in a mind-boggling 907 without post-season participation before being traded to Pittsburgh at the trade deadline last season and winning the Stanley Cup with them at 36. Should Hall play all 82 games for the Devils this season and make the playoffs, his streak stops at 535.</p><p>Whenever Hall needs some perspective on the life of a professional athlete, he doesn&rsquo;t have far to turn. Hall&rsquo;s father, Steve, was drafted by the Canadian Football League&rsquo;s Edmonton Eskimos, then dealt to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers along with Willard Reaves in 1983. Upon Hall&rsquo;s arrival, Bombers GM Cal Murphy told him he could be the next Joe Poplawski. If you don&rsquo;t know who that is, look it up. It&rsquo;s a pretty big deal. So Steve, now a professional painter, does have some insight on living up to lofty expectations. (Hall did not reach the heights predicted for him, but Reaves did. The year of the trade, Reaves went on to be named the CFL&rsquo;s rookie of the year and a year later won a Grey Cup with the Bombers and was the league&rsquo;s most outstanding player. He later had a son, Ryan, who took up hockey and now plays for the Pittsburgh Penguins. True story.)</p><p>Steve Hall switched to bobsledding and was due to represent Canada at the 1988 Olympics in Calgary when his hopes were suddenly dashed after he sustained an injury just before the Games. So he has a pretty good grip on dealing with crushing disappointment as well.</p><p>So when a 12-year-old Taylor Hall told his dad he wanted to play in the NHL, Steve was equipped to provide more than just fatherly advice. He had already been painstakingly building an outdoor rink for his son every year in Calgary, something that became a little more challenging once the family took up residence in Kingston. Even though Steve played college and pro football, he said he never really learned to be an athlete until he became a bobsledder. That was when he really learned the value of proper training and making the most of his reps, and he was able to pass that on to his son with the benefit of practical experience. &ldquo;I was able to lend a hand,&rdquo; Steve said. &ldquo;but in the end, he was the guy who has executed the plan.&rdquo;</p><p>The result is a 26-year-old player who was told to become a better practice player, and he did. Hall moved his off-season base to Toronto so he could work with renowned pro trainer Andy O&rsquo;Brien. He&rsquo;s comfortable now &ndash; at peace with himself and stable in his surroundings. And even through the difficult times, Hall always knew deep down how good he was. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve never lost confidence in myself, I&rsquo;ll say that,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve never wavered in my self-confidence. You have to have that self-confidence and trust in your abilities, and when you don&rsquo;t, then you&rsquo;re screwed. I think self-confidence and self-belief is, almost to a fault, a good thing to have.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0024-01

NEW JERSEY STATE OF MIND

<div class="byline">PHOTO BY MATT ZAMBONIN/HHOF-IIHF IMAGES</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0030-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-0163/226728-1-eng-US/f0030-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>AMERICA THE BEAUTIES</b></p><p>Team USA won gold in a classic last year. The squad will be quite different this time, but the depth is still there to win it all.</p></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>B</span>UFFALO LAST HOSTED THE</b> world juniors in 2011 with great success, but expectations are even higher now. Back then, the Americans were proud to earn bronze, as it gave them backto- back podium finishes for the first time in tournament history. Now, the U.S. is a powerhouse, and even the area around Buffalo&rsquo;s KeyBank Center has bloomed exponentially. We can still expect an invasion of Canadian fans from across the border &ndash; especially for the first WJC outdoor game &ndash; but they might not be so cocky now. While Canada has a good chance at winning, Sweden will have some of the most elite talents in the tourney, while Finland&rsquo;s defense corps is the best that nation has ever assembled. Heck, even the Czechs look like they could pull it off this year. In the ensuing pages, we&rsquo;ve got features on top players and scouting reports on every team. May the games be close and the chicken wings plentiful&hellip;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0030-01

COVER STORY

WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP

<div class="byline">BY RYAN KENNEDY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-0244/226771-1-eng-US/f0032-022.jpg" title="f0032-02" width="993" height="768"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>FORWARD THINKING</b></p><p>Team Canada might not have a bona fide breakout scorer up front, but returnee Taylor Raddysh leads a talented group.</p><span class="photo-credit">(RADDYSH: MINAS PANAGIOTAKIS/GETTY IMAGES; BEAN: MATT ZAMBONIN/HHOF-IIHF IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-0165/226778-1-eng-US/f0032-012.jpg" title="f0032-01" width="73" height="73"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>Y</span>OU CAN&rsquo;T COME ANY</b> closer to gold than Canada did last year, losing in a shootout to Team USA in an instant-classic final in Montreal. But the Canucks still head into Buffalo as the silver medallists, and they don&rsquo;t enter this year&rsquo;s event as the favorites. This will be a tough tournament with a lot of parity, and even though the games will feel like home dates thanks to the ravenous hockey hordes of Southern Ontario crossing over the bridge, Canada&rsquo;s kids will still have to coalesce, and they&rsquo;ll need a few things to go right if they want to strike gold in Western New York.</p><p>The highlight of the preliminary round will no doubt be the outdoor game against the U.S. at New Era Stadium Dec. 29, but the Canadians will get a challenge right off the hop with Finland as their Boxing Day opponent. With Dominique Ducharme returning behind the bench, Canada has a coach with a championship pedigree who is well-versed in the national program. As per usual, the absences on Canada&rsquo;s roster will be just as famous as the players who actually don the jersey.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-0322/226764-1-eng-US/f0032-032.jpg" title="f0032-03" width="302" height="335"><figcaption class="caption-body">JAKE <b>BEAN</b></figcaption></div><h2><b>OFFENSE</b></h2><p>With Pierre-Luc Dubois entrenched in Columbus and Tyson Jost in Colorado, the Canadians will be missing two very good centers. But the country just churns out pivots, so expect new recruits to pick up the slack. Perhaps the most important combo up front will be Sam Steel (Anaheim) and Jordan Kyrou (St. Louis). The two clicked in a major way at the World Junior Summer Showcase in Michigan and Kyrou in particular has stayed hot back home, torching the OHL as the head of a surprisingly dangerous Sarnia Sting team. Kyrou&rsquo;s excellent skating ability will give defenders fits at the tournament.</p><p>Another star at the WJSS was Robert Thomas (St. Louis), a 2017 first-rounder who plays a smart game for the prospect-machine London Knights in the OHL. Add in the returning Michael McLeod (New Jersey) and Taylor Raddysh (Tampa Bay), sniper Owen Tippett (Florida) and the WHL duo of Cody Glass (Vegas) and Kole Lind (Vancouver), who had excellent chemistry with each other and Mi- chael Rasmussen (Detroit) at the CHL-Russia series, and you&rsquo;ve got the makings of a solid attack, albeit one that is not bulletproof. &ldquo;Up front, it&rsquo;s one of their deeper skill groups,&rdquo; said one scout. &ldquo;But in Michigan, they lacked a certain dimension. Maybe they didn&rsquo;t have the elite high-end, like a Dylan Strome, but Thomas was great. On paper, they&rsquo;re deep, but they need to find guys willing to take on third- and fourthline roles. I&rsquo;m not sure if they&rsquo;ve done that yet.&rdquo;</p><p>Could a Boris Katchouk (Tampa Bay) or Nick Suzuki (Vegas) take on that challenge? That&rsquo;s where the pre-tournament camp in December will be crucial.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-0157/226757-1-eng-US/f0033-012.jpg" title="f0033-01" width="540" height="605"><figcaption class="caption-body">DANTE <b>FABBRO</b> <span class="photo-credit">(FABBRO: MATT ZAMBONIN/HHOF-IIHF IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><blockquote class="pullQuote">THEY&rsquo;RE DEEP, BUT THEY NEED TO FIND GUYS WILLING TO TAKE ON THIRD- AND FOURTH-LINE ROLES. <b>I&rsquo;M NOT SURE IF THEY&rsquo;VE DONE THAT</b><br>&ndash; Scout</blockquote><h2><b>DEFENSE</b></h2><p>An area of abundance and aptitude, this is where Canada has the chance to put opponents on their heels. Even with Samuel Girard (Colorado) and Victor Mete (Montreal) in the NHL, the Canadians have more skilled blueliners than they have roster spots, and the internal competition will serve the team well. &ldquo;The defense is similar to last year,&rdquo; said the scout. &ldquo;Even without Thomas Chabot, it will be one of their biggest strengths. They&rsquo;ve got a nice mix of guys who can create offense, guys who can run a power play and guys with size and physicality.&rdquo;</p><p>In terms of puck-movers, returning players Jake Bean (Carolina), Dante Fabbro (Nashville) and Kale Clague (Los Angeles) are all adept at pushing the pace, while at the same time they&rsquo;re still responsible in their own end. Cale Makar (Colorado), 2017&rsquo;s fourth overall pick, showed a rapid maturation during the WJSS, proving he would not be intimidated by the step up from Jr. A. The fact he has been solid as a freshman at UMass bolsters his reputation, and Makar&rsquo;s puck skills are second to none. The unheralded Josh Mahura (Anaheim) is another solid option and, if the team is looking for a different feel, 6-foot-7 Logan Stanley (Winnipeg) has the reach and snarl to be the guy you don&rsquo;t want to meet in the corners. Cal Foote (Tampa Bay) can give the team size and skill. Canada heavily pursued the dual citizen, and this will be his last chance at a WJC appearance.</p><h2><b>GOALTENDING</b></h2><p>This has been the most controversial position for Team Canada in recent years, and even last year&rsquo;s silver squad was not immune. The team kept starter Carter Hart (Philadelphia) on a short leash, bringing in Connor Ingram at the first signs of trouble. Eventually, Ingram folded, and Hart came back to help the squad battle for gold. The fact he was on the wrong end against Team USA&rsquo;s Tyler Parsons in a spirited final is no blemish on Hart&rsquo;s resume, as they don&rsquo;t come more clutch than Parsons these days.</p><p>With Hart returning, Canada gets an experienced netminder who has gone through the totality of pressure already. Not only that, but Hart will be well rested, since he had to battle mononucleosis at the start of the season (silver lining!) and was just getting busy again in mid-November. While the backup slot is up for grabs, don&rsquo;t be surprised if Michael DiPietro (Vancouver) seizes the job. Athletic and tenacious, he already has a Memorial Cup title to his name, and he has been excellent for an OHL Windsor squad that has dealt with all sorts of roster holes this season. &ldquo;My initial thought is that their goaltending is better than it has been in the past few years and that had been their Achilles&rsquo; heel,&rdquo; said the scout. &ldquo;The guys they have available this year are more established and consistent.&rdquo;</p><p>In a perfect world, Hart is the unquestioned starter who has the backing of his coaches all the way, but if DiPietro has to come in and steady the ship for Canada, at least he&rsquo;s got a nice pedigree himself and has proven to be a winner with a great attitude.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0032-02

WORLD JUNIORS

RINSE, WASH CONTEND

<div class="byline">BY KEN CAMPBELL</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-0237/226828-1-eng-US/f0034-022.jpg" title="f0034-02" width="540" height="797"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>RED, WHITE & READY</b></p><p>Hart shared the crease at the world juniors last year, but he should be the main masked man this time around.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(ANDRE RINGUETTE/HHOF-IIHF IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-0165/226835-1-eng-US/f0034-012.jpg" title="f0034-01" width="73" height="73"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-0325/226821-1-eng-US/f0034-032.jpg" title="f0034-03" width="209" height="395"><figcaption class="caption-body">CARTER <b>HART</b> <span class="photo-credit">(CHRIS TANOUYE/HHOF-IIHF IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>A</span>S RON HEXTALL LOOKED</b> across his desk, the future of his team&rsquo;s goaltending was looking a little sickly. &ldquo;You would too if you were drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers,&rdquo; the joke around the NHL might go. Heh-heh. Since hitting big on Hextall in the draft 35 years ago, the Flyers have picked a total of 41 goaltenders, and not one of them would be confused with Bernie Parent. In fact, the Flyers have not drafted and developed a goalie who has won a playoff game for them since Roman (Frickin&rsquo;) Cechmanek in 2000.</p><p>But when Hextall sent Carter Hart on his way back to junior hockey after just a so-so training camp, he did so with a very specific challenge. The GM challenged Hart to not only be the best goaltender in the WHL this season, he laid down the gauntlet and dared Hart to be the best <i>player</i>. The way Hextall saw it, Hart has been the top goaltender in the WHL the past two years and was the best goaltender in all of junior hockey in 2015-16, so expecting him to be the best player in his league this season wasn&rsquo;t a stretch. &ldquo;When a player has been as successful as Carter has at a certain level, that player needs to challenge himself,&rdquo; Hextall said. &ldquo;I think it was a fair and reasonable expectation. It doesn&rsquo;t mean he will be, it doesn&rsquo;t mean he won&rsquo;t be, but that&rsquo;s what he should be striving for.&rdquo;</p><p>There&rsquo;s still a long way to go before that gets decided, but if the ability to deliver under less-than-ideal circumstances is any indication, Hart took the challenge seriously. Take the night of Sept. 29 at Prospera Place in Kelowna, for instance. Hart stopped 35 of 38 shots, then stoned all three shooters in the shootout to deliver his Everett Silvertips a 4-3 win. Nothing terribly unique about that, as the Silvertips have grown to expect that kind of performance from him. But remember how Hextall thought Hart looked sickly? What they both thought was the flu was actually so bad that Hart had to pass on what would&rsquo;ve been the first pre-season NHL game of his career. Hart almost passed out a couple of times during the Kelowna game and was so tired he had to take a knee when the play was in the other end of the ice. &ldquo;I had literally zero energy that night,&rdquo; he said.</p><p>Hart told the Silvertips trainers something was seriously wrong and that he needed to see a doctor. A couple of blood tests later, he was diagnosed with mononucleosis. It took Hart a couple of weeks to regain his health. He lost almost 20 pounds off his 6-foot-2, 185-pound frame, which didn&rsquo;t leave much to spare. But like he did with Hextall, Hart took his doctor&rsquo;s orders to heart. &ldquo;He told me to eat a lot of high-carb, high-fat foods,&rdquo; Hart said. &ldquo;He didn&rsquo;t want me going to McDonald&rsquo;s and slamming back a couple of Big Macs.&rdquo;</p><p>By mid-November, Hart was fed, watered and healthy, and it was showing. In one five-game stretch, he gave up just four goals, recorded three shutouts and was named the first star four times (and was the third star in the other game). Hockey Canada must&rsquo;ve been pleased given that, barring an unforeseen circumstance of biblical proportions, Hart will be counted on to backstop Canada to a gold medal in the World Junior Championship. But like the Flyers, who drafted Hart 48th overall in 2016 and expect him to take their crease one day, Team Canada has had something of a checkered history when it comes to goaltending.</p><p>So to recap, all Hart is being asked to do is deliver gold medal-caliber goaltending in a hyper-intense environment for a hockey-mad country that will be watching his each and every move for two weeks, then put the brakes on a freight train of mediocrity that has lasted decades and sabotaged one of the league&rsquo;s most storied franchises time and again. No pressure there. &ldquo;If you think it&rsquo;s pressure, then yeah, it is,&rdquo; Hart said. &ldquo;But at the same time, if you approach it with a different mindset, it&rsquo;s nothing, really. I don&rsquo;t really pay attention to what they say at all. Obviously, I&rsquo;ve heard it before, but at the same time I just have to worry about what I&rsquo;m doing right now. I&rsquo;m only 19 years old and I&rsquo;m playing junior hockey in Everett, so that&rsquo;s where I am right now.&rdquo;</p><p>Dealing with that level of expectation, at least on the WJC side of things, should be a little easier for Hart this year. After all, he was smack-dab in the middle of that cauldron in 2017 when Canada hosted the tournament. Both he and Connor Ingram took turns seizing, then losing, the starting job, with Hart coming into the net in relief after Ingram gave up two goals on five shots in the semifinal game against Sweden. Hart stopped all 26 shots in that game, then stopped 31 of 35 shots in the final, with the killing blow coming when Team USA&rsquo;s Troy Terry went five-hole on him in the shootout. It wasn&rsquo;t a bad showing for Hart, but it stung that Canada was leading 4-2 in the third period and watched a pair of two-goal leads evaporate. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not really focused on going out there to steal a game for my team,&rdquo; Hart said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m focused on taking one puck at a time. That has to be your approach and you can&rsquo;t get too far ahead of yourself. The world juniors is a short-term event, and there&rsquo;s not a lot of room for error. You just have to take things one day at a time and focus on exactly what you&rsquo;re doing at that moment.&rdquo;</p><p>Must be a goalie thing. Like most others who play the position, Hart is remarkably proficient at staying in the moment. He&rsquo;s much like his idol, Braden Holtby, in that sense. Hart wears No. 70 with the Silvertips, same as Holtby with the Capitals, and they share the same mental coach, Dr. John Stevenson. (Shortly after the WJC gold medal game, Holtby texted Hart to tell him to keep his head up, that he had done a great job and should be proud of his effort. &ldquo;But remember, you&rsquo;re a Philadelphia Flyer,&rdquo; the text said, &ldquo;and when you get to the NHL I&rsquo;m going to kick your f---ing ass.&rdquo;)</p><p>Stevenson can offer Hart a unique perspective into the mental side of the game, given that he&rsquo;s not only been working with Hart since he was nine, but Stevenson&rsquo;s also been a goaltending coach for three WHL teams, as well as a goaltending consultant for the Ottawa Senators and Edmonton Oilers. Hart also works with Stevenson&rsquo;s wife, Jaci, a cognitive and visual trainer who works with him on his cognitive work and puck tracking. Hart goes every day to a place he and Stevenson euphemistically refer to as his &ldquo;mental gym&rdquo; where he works on each part of his game through visualization.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-0157/226814-1-eng-US/f0035-012.jpg" title="f0035-01" width="581" height="422"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>EYE FOR AN EYE</b></p><p>After losing gold to the U.S. on home ice in 2017, Hart and Canada are looking to return the favor in Buffalo.</p></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-0239/226807-1-eng-US/f0035-022.jpg" title="f0035-02" width="395" height="387"></div><p>Sometimes that mental training requires him to put bad moments behind him. To his credit, Hart didn&rsquo;t dwell on the loss to the American team in last year&rsquo;s gold medal game, and he shook off a subpar performance in which he gave up four goals on 14 shots in the final of the World Junior Summer Showcase in Plymouth, Mich., in early August. &ldquo;He loves playing for Canada, he just loves it, and it&rsquo;s what he&rsquo;s wanted to do all his life,&rdquo; Stevenson said. &ldquo;But he knows how to put it into perspective.&rdquo;</p><p>Hextall, of course, has been watching closely. He was impressed with how strongly Hart came back from the bout of mononucleosis, noting that you can&rsquo;t exactly ease goaltenders back into your lineup the way you might be able to do with a skater. The Flyers like his focus, his devotion to fundamentals and his character. &ldquo;We have high hopes for him,&rdquo; Hextall said. &ldquo;But in saying that we know he&rsquo;s a young kid who is going to take time. The worst thing you can do is rush a kid. We&rsquo;ve seen it over and over and over again, and we would not rush him into a position he&rsquo;s not ready for.&rdquo;</p><p>That will likely mean an apprenticeship in the minors before we see Hart in the Flyers&rsquo; net on a regular basis. His apprenticeship at the world juniors took place in last year&rsquo;s tournament, and Hockey Canada will be expecting big things this time around. The lineage of great Canadian goaltending performances, starting with Jimmy Waite 30 years ago and continuing through Stephane Fiset, Manny Legace and Carey Price has set the bar very high. But the reality is that Hart probably doesn&rsquo;t need to be that dominant for Canada to contend for a gold medal. More likely, his mandate will be to be good enough to keep Canada in the big games and come up with his best play at the most crucial times. Hart will be the 12th goalie to play for Canada twice in the world juniors and hopes to become the eighth to come away from that experience with at least one gold medal. To return the favor and do it in the U.S.&rsquo;s backyard would make the experience that much sweeter. &ldquo;Losing to the Americans resonated with the whole Hockey Canada crew, and that resonated with all the players coming back this year,&rdquo; Hart said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re not stopping until we get that gold medal. That&rsquo;s our goal. It would be incredible.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0034-02

CARTER HART

<div class="byline">BY RYAN KENNEDY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-0239/226878-1-eng-US/f0036-022.jpg" title="f0036-02" width="992" height="768"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>BACK FOR MORE</b></p><p>Kieffer Bellows returns for a team that&rsquo;s trying to become the first American side to repeat as WJC champions.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(BELLOWS: ANDRE RINGUETTE/HHOF-IIHF IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-0162/226885-1-eng-US/f0036-012.jpg" title="f0036-01" width="73" height="73"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>A</span>S THE DEFENDING CHAMPIONS,</b> the Americans have set the bar pretty high. Center Clayton Keller, defenseman Charlie McAvoy and goaltender Tyler Parsons made up a fearsome triumvirate last year, and Troy &lsquo;The Dagger&rsquo; Terry was as clutch a teenager as you&rsquo;ll find. Which is not to say that you should sleep on this year&rsquo;s squad, however. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s pretty much the same type of team as last year,&rdquo; said one scout. &ldquo;A lot of skill up front and a defense that can skate and transition the puck.&rdquo;</p><p>Winning at home in Buffalo would be an undeniable treat for Team USA, though Canada will certainly want revenge after losing last year&rsquo;s final in Montreal. Also of note: the Americans have never repeated as WJC champs or won the tournament on home ice. The two North American teams meet for the first outdoor game in tournament history &ndash; at New Era Stadium, home of the NFL&rsquo;s Buffalo Bills &ndash; during the round-robin, but don&rsquo;t be surprised if they clash again with a medal on the line. In beating the Russians last year, the Americans also got a huge monkey off their backs, as success against their Cold War rivals had been scarce. In returning coach Bob Motzko, the U.S. has a motivator who knows his players, and the talent pool is once again deep.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-0333/226871-1-eng-US/f0036-032.jpg" title="f0036-03" width="238" height="324"><figcaption class="caption-body">LOGAN <b>BROWN</b> <span class="photo-credit">(BROWN: DAVE REGINEK/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><h2><b>OFFENSE</b></h2><p>For a minute there, it looked like the NHL was going to blow a hole in Team USA&rsquo;s roster. But when Ottawa sent Logan Brown back to OHL Windsor and Edmonton returned Kailer Yamamoto to WHL Spokane, the path was cleared for a scintillating top line with Casey Mittelstadt (Buffalo) to reunite. That trio was excellent together at the World Junior Summer Showcase in Michigan and will be a bellwether for the team&rsquo;s success. If it can dominate, watch out. If the dazzling moves of Yamamoto and Mittelstadt can be contained, then the Americans will have more work to do. A lot of pressure will be on Mittelstadt in particular, being a Sabres firstrounder who&rsquo;s off to an impressive start at the University of Minnesota.</p><p>There is a sense amongst Team USA that they&rsquo;re not as strong down the middle as in previous years, and that could hurt them against top squads such as Canada or Sweden. But Ryan Poehling (Montreal) is in the midst of a breakout season with St. Cloud State, while Trent Frederic (Boston) has been a solid two-way player for Wisconsin. In Brown, the team has a 6-foot-6 titan who has been getting stronger since the Senators drafted him 12th overall in 2016. He already has a Memorial Cup title to his name and has run roughshod in the OHL since returning from Ottawa. If he plays like a No. 1 center, there will be no problem here.</p><p>Overall, Team USA has a wide variety of skill sets up front, from waterbug Patrick Harper (Nashville) to power forward Joey Anderson (New Jersey) and sniper Kieffer Bellows (New York Islanders). Expect some grinders to get into the mix, too, as the U.S. always finds spots for hard workers who can skate and kill penalties. High-end 2018 prospect Brady Tkachuk will also get a look. He played on a line with Poehling and Anderson at the WJSS and was effective.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-0150/226864-1-eng-US/f0037-012.jpg" title="f0037-01" width="540" height="522"><figcaption class="caption-body">ADAM FOX <span class="photo-credit">(MATT ZAMBONIN/HHOF-IIHF IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><blockquote class="pullQuote">IT&rsquo;S THE SAME TYPE OF TEAM AS LAST YEAR. A LOT OF SKILL UP FRONT <b>AND A DEFENSE THAT CAN SKATE AND TRANSITION THE PUCK</b><br>&ndash; Scout</blockquote><h2><b>DEFENSE</b></h2><p>Don&rsquo;t be surprised if Adam Fox (Calgary) earns some post-tourney accolades for his work in Buffalo. The Harvard sophomore has a hockey brain befitting of someone who plays at an Ivy League school, and he uses it to put a lot of points on the board. Fox was the top scorer at the WJSS in Michigan, and he&rsquo;ll challenge Swedish prodigy Rasmus Dahlin in the blueline scoring department at the world juniors. With Fox quarterbacking the power play, the Americans are in good hands. But he&rsquo;s not the only skilled member on the back end. David Farrance (Nashville) showed incredible moves with the puck in the summer, while Quinn Hughes (2018 draft) will get a shot at the roster, too. The University of Michigan freshman is a dynamic puckhandler.</p><p>When Team USA needs to settle things down, it can always turn to Ryan Lindgren (Boston). The University of Minnesota sophomore is a veteran of last year&rsquo;s team, though a stomach bug forced him to miss the final. Nonetheless, he has been a leader on international squads for a while now. If the Americans need size, Dylan Samberg (Winnipeg) of Minnesota-Duluth is a good option and comes with the benefit of playing alongside Fox during the Michigan series. In an era of mobility, Team USA will come well prepared.</p><h2><b>GOALTENDING</b></h2><p>This is where things get intriguing for the U.S. Last year, Parsons carried the mail, and he was stellar in the gold-medal game, stoning the Canadians in the shootout. The two heir apparents to the throne are Jake Oettinger (Dallas) and Joseph Woll (Toronto). They were teammates with the U.S. National Team Development Program, then parted for archrival NCAA programs: Oettinger at Boston University, Woll down the street at Boston College. Both played well last season but have been struggling this year (as have their teams, uncharacteristically).</p><p>While Oettinger has the status of being a firstrounder, don&rsquo;t count out Woll in this race, as he&rsquo;s had more consistency to his game this season. Woll also saw two games of action last year as Parsons&rsquo; backup, so he has a leg up on Oettinger in that department. With Keith Petruzzelli (Detroit) still finding his feet at Quinnipiac, the competition will likely be more about starts for Oettinger and Woll than for actual roster spots. It&rsquo;s even conceivable they work as a straight-up platoon in Buffalo until one netminder establishes himself as the go-to guy. One wild card to keep an eye on is Colgate&rsquo;s Colton Point (Dallas). He&rsquo;s a dual Canadian citizen with great size and a championship pedigree from his Jr. A days with the Carleton Place (Ont.) Canadians. Point was off to a monster start for the Raiders and had some wondering if he&rsquo;d get a shot at making the U.S. team.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0036-02

CHASING HISTORY

<div class="byline">BY JASON BUCKLAND</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-0242/226914-1-eng-US/f0038-022.jpg" title="f0038-02" width="560" height="610"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>DARE TO DREAM</b></p><p>Yamamoto made some NHL memories in October and says he&rsquo;s ready to take on the world at the 2018 WJC.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(MINAS PANAGIOTAKIS/HHOF-IIHF IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-0165/226921-1-eng-US/f0038-012.jpg" title="f0038-01" width="73" height="73"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>I</span>T WAS BOUND TO</b> happen for Kailer Yamamoto, this introduction to NHL royalty, but few, perhaps even the prized rookie included, thought it would come this soon.</p><p>Imagine, for a moment, that you were him. On June 23, as a modestly sized, impossibly baby-faced 18-year-old, the Spokane Chiefs winger was drafted 22nd overall by the Edmonton Oilers. On stage in Chicago, as he shook hands with a lineup of team brass, waiting for him with an outstretched grip was the man himself, Wayne Gretzky, who again represents the team in an official capacity, as a club partner and vice-chairman of the Oilers Entertainment Group.</p><p>There was little Yamamoto could do to hide the stunned look on his face, the weight of the moment not lost on the teen even then. Welcome to the NHL, indeed.</p><p>But the whirlwind would not stop there. Next it was time for training camp, where Yamamoto&rsquo;s first taste of the pros came in the considerable presence of his new linemate, none other than Connor McDavid.</p><p>This was expected for the newest Oiler, an audience first with the franchise&rsquo;s most hallowed name of years past, later with its greatest hope for the future, though here is where Yamamoto went off script. No matter that he stood only 5-foot-8, weighed just 154 pounds, and was presumed to first need at least a little more seasoning back in the WHL, Yamamoto went ahead and made Edmonton&rsquo;s regular season roster, anyway.</p><p>A few weeks into the season, the Oilers travelled to Pittsburgh. Across the ice from Yamamoto inside the Penguins&rsquo; PPG Paints Arena was Sidney Crosby, his childhood idol and hero.</p><p>For the third time in just a few short months, he felt it: whoa.</p><p>So it went for Yamamoto, who in his brief stint in the pros has already shown that no conventional storyline in hockey can quite stick to him. &ldquo;It almost,&rdquo; said Yamamoto of his breakneck first months in the NHL, &ldquo;seemed surreal.&rdquo;</p><p>With McDavid and other top draftees in tow, the future of Edmonton hockey doesn&rsquo;t rest entirely on Yamamoto&rsquo;s shoulders. But Team USA is another story. Suddenly Yamamoto, who didn&rsquo;t make the cut last year, is a key player for Team USA&rsquo;s 2018 WJC squad.</p><p>Yamamoto starred for the U.S. at the World Junior Summer Showcase, and his journey to the big tournament can be traced to the emergence of America&rsquo;s three-headed frontline monster. At the 2016 World Under-18 Championship in North Dakota, Yamamoto beasted alongside winger Casey Mittelstadt (drafted eighth overall by Buffalo in 2017) and center Logan Brown (drafted 11th overall by Ottawa in 2016 and the son of longtime NHL defenseman Jeff Brown), scoring seven goals in seven games. The trio combined for 34 points, each of them easily placing among the tournament&rsquo;s scoring leaders.</p><p>The line&rsquo;s chemistry was apparent from the start and only continued to build over the summer. During a game against Canada in August, an 8-2 victory for the U.S., an American split-squad team featuring Yamamoto, Mittelstadt and Brown poured in four goals and nine points. &ldquo;Those are guys I have really good connections with on the ice,&rdquo; Yamamoto said.</p><p>Championship or bust isn&rsquo;t quite the winger&rsquo;s mindset heading to Buffalo, but he won&rsquo;t mince words, either. &ldquo;Every player in this tournament wants to win gold,&rdquo; he said.</p><p>The world juniors will be Yamamoto&rsquo;s first real time in the spotlight, his early season run in Edmonton notwithstanding. After nine games with the Oilers, Yamamoto was sent down Nov. 6 to rejoin the Chiefs in the WHL, where he will surely spend the rest of the season.</p><p>In Spokane, Yamamoto&rsquo;s hometown, there is still work to do. There is a shot to add quickness and velocity to, and footwork to improve, for he is never going to make an impact in the NHL through size and strength. Those things will come. For now, the memories are here.</p><p>It was just Yamamoto&rsquo;s first career NHL game when he watched with eyes wide as dinner plates, as McDavid took the puck in his own end, sped down the right side of the ice like a rocket, and shelved his second goal of the game over the glove of Calgary&rsquo;s Mike Smith. From the bench, Yamamoto could only marvel with his new teammates. Was this what every rookie&rsquo;s first moments in the NHL were like? &ldquo;That was something,&rdquo; Yamamoto said, &ldquo;that I&rsquo;ll probably never forget.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0038-02

KAILER YAMAMOTO

<div class="byline">BY UFFE BODIN</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-0239/226950-1-eng-US/f0039-022.jpg" title="f0039-02" width="684" height="453"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(ANDERSSON: MINAS PANAGIOTAKIS/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-0155/226957-1-eng-US/f0039-012.jpg" title="f0039-01" width="85" height="85"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>T</span>HE PAST SIX MONTHS</b> have been a whirlwind for Lias Andersson. After being drafted seventh overall by the New York Rangers in June, he was shuffled back and forth between Sweden and North America until being assigned to Frolunda of the Swedish League in October. This took a toll on his body and mind and the 19-year-old admits the start of the season wasn&rsquo;t what he expected from himself.</p><p>So when the Swedish under-20 team played its last tournament before the world juniors in Russia in November, Andersson decided to skip the event and stay home. &ldquo;We had a good chat, (Sweden&rsquo;s coach) Tomas Monten and I,&rdquo; Andersson said. &ldquo;It was a very intense summer. I haven&rsquo;t really achieved what I wanted to achieve, and I felt it would be better for me to stay home and practice. And also to get a chance to rest and reload.&rdquo;</p><p>For Monten, this might turn out to be a good investment as well. A rested Andersson will be a huge asset for the Swedes, as they hunt their first WJC medal since 2014. Andersson captained the Swedish team during the World Junior Summer Showcase in Plymouth, Mich., in early August and drew praises from his coach. &ldquo;He was what Joel Eriksson Ek was for us last year,&rdquo; Monten said, comparing Andersson to the Minnesota Wild center and Sweden&rsquo;s former WJC captain. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s always first in line, works hard and produces against the best opponents. He&rsquo;s the one leading the charge.&rdquo;</p><p>Andersson&rsquo;s talents were inherited from his dad Niklas, who played 165 NHL games during a 10-year stint in North America in the 1990s. The elder Andersson was a hometown hero with Frolunda in Gothenburg. That was also the main reason why Lias chose to represent HV71 instead. He didn&rsquo;t want to be compared to his dad.</p><p>But after winning the Swedish championship with HV71 last season, Andersson decided to go home. This gave him the opportunity to experience his dad&rsquo;s emotional jersey retirement ceremony in October.</p><p>As Frolunda sent No. 24 to the rafters, Lias removed his own jersey with the same number and donned No. 61 instead. &ldquo;I was prepared,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I knew there would be some tears. I wasn&rsquo;t able to hold them back. It was very emotional when they showed all the old video clips, because so many memories came back to me. All the feelings just came at once.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0039-02

LIAS ANDERSSON

<div class="byline">&#x2013; RYAN KENNEDY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-0329/226986-1-eng-US/f0039-032.jpg" title="f0039-03" width="259" height="316"><figcaption class="caption-body">ELIAS <b>PETTERSSON</b> <span class="photo-credit">(PETTERSSON: FRANCOIS LAPLANTE/HHOF-IIHF IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-0156/226993-1-eng-US/f0039-012.jpg" title="f0039-01" width="85" height="85"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>I</span>F WE&rsquo;RE GOING TO</b> make a blanket statement, Swedes don&rsquo;t like to draw attention to themselves. But for several players on this year&rsquo;s world junior squad, that&rsquo;s not going to be a choice. &ldquo;Sweden is going to be more star driven than usual,&rdquo; said one scout. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s going to be a little more flashy. You&rsquo;ll be looking at individuals to do their thing rather than three or four lines.&rdquo;</p><p>Headlining the marquee are forwards Elias Pettersson (VAN) and Lias Andersson (NYR) and top 2018 draft prospect Rasmus Dahlin on defense. All three return from last year&rsquo;s fourth-place team, and getting Sweden back on the podium for the first time since 2014 is a priority. The on-ice work shouldn&rsquo;t be too difficult, but keeping focus with international media at their doors will be something to consider. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s going to be a lot of eyes on Dahlin,&rdquo; said the scout. &ldquo;The media attention will be on those guys.&rdquo;</p><p>On top of the mentioned players, there&rsquo;s also NHL first-rounders Erik Brannstrom (VEG) and Timothy Liljegren (TOR) on the back end. They&rsquo;ll help make Sweden&rsquo;s defense corps a dangerously mobile puck-moving group. Brannstrom and Dahlin often lead the rush in a fourth-forward kind of role.</p><p>Aiding Andersson and Pettersson up front will be a veteran group that has scoring punch and hard-working, reliable players such as Fredrik Karlstrom (DAL) and Tim Soderlund (CHI).</p><p>As per usual, the Swedes will have capable goaltending, led by Filip Gustavsson (PIT). He&rsquo;s a veteran from last year&rsquo;s squad and had a good showing at the World Junior Summer Showcase. With all the positions covered, Sweden&rsquo;s final challenge is a mental one. This team has been crestfallen by losses the past couple years, turning in zombie performances in the bronze medal game before last year&rsquo;s overtime loss to Russia. Perseverance will be a key.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0039-03

SCOUTING REPORT

<div class="byline">BY KEN CAMPBELL</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-0238/227022-1-eng-US/f0040-022.jpg" title="f0040-02" width="684" height="453"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(ABRAMOV: VINCENT ETHIER)</span></figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-0163/227029-1-eng-US/f0040-012.jpg" title="f0040-01" width="73" height="73"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>T</span>HERE MIGHT NOT BE</b> a better example of the major flaw in the agreement between the NHL and the CHL than Vitaly Abramov. The right winger is clearly good enough to play in the AHL, and he proved that in a four-game stint last season, but he&rsquo;s still riding buses in major junior because the rules tell him that&rsquo;s what he must do.</p><p>Two years ago, Abramov came to the QMJHL as a 17-year-old and dominated, scoring 93 points and winning rookie-ofthe- year honors. Last season, he kicked that up a notch with the Gatineau Olympiques, winning the scoring title with 104 points and being named league MVP. This season, instead of pouting or sulking and wishing he were somewhere else, Abramov has not let up and is playing with as much vigor as ever. And he didn&rsquo;t miss a beat when in November he was traded to the Victoriaville Tigres for a boatload of draft picks. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m very proud to be a Tiger,&rdquo; Abramov said, even though his cellphone still displays &lsquo;Les Olympiques&rsquo; when he calls someone.</p><p>Abramov figures to be a big part of coach Valeri Bragin&rsquo;s team at the world juniors. Bragin is renowned for going with teams of 19-year-old players with lots of experience, and Abramov fits the bill. He&rsquo;s dominated at this level of play and is particularly adept at turning nothing into something in the confined spaces of North American ice. Abramov, drafted 65th overall by Columbus in 2016, has dedicated himself to becoming a North American pro. He didn&rsquo;t speak a word of English when he arrived in 2015, but he took language lessons three days a week and now speaks fluently. As far as his game is concerned, he doesn&rsquo;t feel his development is taking a step back in major junior. &ldquo;I think I can get better in every aspect of my game,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Of course I must get much stronger.&rdquo;</p><p>He&rsquo;s right about that. The fact he&rsquo;s 5-foot- 9 and 172 pounds likely kept him from being a first-round pick. But it certainly didn&rsquo;t deter him from impressing last season when he suited up for the AHL&rsquo;s Lake Erie Monsters, scoring a goal and four points in four games. He has displayed an ability to put up eye-popping numbers and has excelled on the international stage, tying Dmitri Sokolov for the team scoring lead when Russia won gold at the under-17 World Hockey Challenge in 2014. And size won&rsquo;t be a factor for him in Buffalo with Team Russia.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0040-02

VITALY ABRAMOV

<div class="byline">&#x2013; RYAN KENNEDY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-0325/227058-1-eng-US/f0040-032.jpg" title="f0040-03" width="231" height="345"><figcaption class="caption-body">MIKHAIL <b>MALTSEV</b> <span class="photo-credit">(MALTSEV: STEVE HISCOCK/WHL)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>R</span>USSIA IS BY FAR</b> the hardest team to pinpoint every year. The only consistent thing is that coach Valeri Bragin always has the national side in a position to medal.</p><p>Lately, it&rsquo;s been of the bronze variety, but opponents always have to beware when they face the Russians. Based on how they played in the CHL-Russia series this year, expect a slight tweak in their approach in Buffalo. &ldquo;From what I saw in the series, they&rsquo;re going to be a team that competes really hard,&rdquo; said one scout. &ldquo;You could see a change in the style of their game to more of a North American game. They&rsquo;re a pretty fast and physical team. They play disciplined but hard.&rdquo;</p><p>Among the notables in the CHL series were big power forward Mikhail Maltsev (NJ) and the smaller but offensively deadly Andrei Altybarmakyan (CHI). Continuing on the theme of change, don&rsquo;t be surprised if Bragin and his braintrust lean more heavily on CHLers for this year&rsquo;s cohort. The 2017 edition had just four kids from North American rosters (with a fifth, German Rubtsov, leaving for the &lsquo;Q&rsquo; after the tournament), but this year&rsquo;s depth chart may call for more. &ldquo;A lot of their best &rsquo;98s are a part of the CHL,&rdquo; noted the scout.</p><p>That includes Rubtsov (PHI), Vitaly Abramov (CLB) and Dmitri Sokolov (MIN). OHL Barrie&rsquo;s Andrei Svechnikov, the top-ranked forward in the 2018 draft class, would be a huge addition up front, too, though he was still recovering from a broken hand and would have to get up to speed quickly for December&rsquo;s camp. Another name to consider is 2017 first-rounder Klim Kostin (STL), who&rsquo;s playing well in the AHL with San Antonio.</p><p>In net, the Russians won&rsquo;t be as strong as they have been in previous years, as there is no obvious heir to Ilya Samsonov&rsquo;s throne.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0040-03

<div class="byline">BY RYAN KENNEDY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-0237/227087-1-eng-US/f0041-022.jpg" title="f0041-02" width="686" height="470"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(HEISKANEN: FRANCOIS LAPLANTE/HHOF-IIHF IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-0152/227094-1-eng-US/f0041-012.jpg" title="f0041-01" width="85" height="85"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>T</span>HE HELSINKI ICE HALL</b> is a nice old barn. Built in 1966, it&rsquo;s home to Finland&rsquo;s HIFK franchise and is modest compared to Jokerit&rsquo;s gleaming Hartwall Arena, a 10-minute drive away. Hartwall is also where the international Karjala Cup was held this year. That meant HIFK blueliner Miro Heiskanen was skating under the brighter lights of Hartwall for once &ndash; but considering he&rsquo;s a teen, playing in a tournament that had Olympic implications already meant the spotlight was in full effect.</p><p>Heiskanen is having a great season with HIFK. The Dallas Stars prospect, drafted third overall in 2017, is playing 24 minutes per game to lead his team by a wide berth. Only four other players in the Liiga are logging more ice time, and Heiskanen is the only positive plus-minus player in the lot.</p><p>While Heiskanen is being considered for the Olympics, his more pressing bit of international business will come at the world juniors, where he hopes his second run will turn out better than the first. When your team goes from gold medallists to the relegation series in one year and fires the coach halfway through the tournament, that&rsquo;s a given. &ldquo;Of course it was weird with the coach getting fired,&rdquo; Heiskanen said. &ldquo;It was a really bad tournament. We&rsquo;ll be better this year.&rdquo;</p><p>Expectations will be higher. Heiskanen was one of Finland&rsquo;s few bright spots last year, using his effortless skating and hockey smarts to execute at both ends of the ice. That helped make him the first defenseman off the board in the draft, and while Heiskanen says he wants to get stronger so he can battle more effectively in the corners, there isn&rsquo;t much else he needs to do to become an NHLer in short order.</p><p>Finland is poised to be competitive again. The scrappy nation has won two of the past four WJC titles, which Heiskanen recalls watching with fondness. With him leading a blueline corps that could be comprised of only first-round NHL picks, the Finns will be able to transition the puck with ease. Add Jokerit sniper Eeli Tolvanen up front and the talent is there. &ldquo;We have a good chance to win the tournament,&rdquo; Heiskanen said.</p><p>Given his trajectory, it may be Heiskanen&rsquo;s last shot at gold. The Stars will beckon next season, and expectations will be high for the talented teen. After all, everything&rsquo;s bigger in Texas. Why would the spotlight be any different?<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0041-02

MIRO HEISKANEN

<div class="byline">&#x2013; RYAN KENNEDY</div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-0153/227130-1-eng-US/f0041-012.jpg" title="f0041-01" width="85" height="85"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-0325/227123-1-eng-US/f0041-032.jpg" title="f0041-03" width="235" height="309"><figcaption class="caption-body">EELI <b>TOLVANEN</b> <span class="photo-credit">(TOLVANEN: ANDRE RINGUETTE/HHOF-IIHF IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>L</span>AST YEAR&rsquo;S FINNISH ENTRY</b> did about as poorly as a power country can fare at the world juniors. As in, it almost got relegated. But a lot of that failure could be chalked up to coaching &ndash; Jukka Rautakorpi was fired <i>during</i> the tournament &ndash; and youth. Now, the Finns are more experienced, particularly on the back end. &ldquo;Finland&rsquo;s defense will be excellent,&rdquo; said one scout. &ldquo;They&rsquo;ve got everybody&rsquo;s first-rounder. Miro Heiskanen is playing at the same level as Eeli Tolvanen right now, if you can believe it. His game doesn&rsquo;t crack up.&rdquo;</p><p>Indeed, Heiskanen (DAL) headlines a defense corps that includes Olli Juolevi (VAN), Juuso Valimaki (CGY) and Henri Jokiharju (CHI), all NHL first-rounders. Tolvanen, a right winger and Nashville first-rounder, has been ripping it up in the KHL as a member of the Helsinki-based Jokerit club, and his sniping ability will be a key weapon. One word of advice for opponents? Stay out of the box against Finland. &ldquo;Tolvanen and Heiskanen together on the power play?&rdquo; said the scout. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re going to be awesome.&rdquo;</p><p>If there&rsquo;s a weakness in Finland, it will come up the middle. The team doesn&rsquo;t have a lot of highend talent at center, and that could hurt them against the strong North American teams.</p><p>Beyond Tolvanen, Finland should have a nice offensive balance in its forwards, particularly if big Kristian Vesalainen (WPG) can dominate off the wing. Joni Ikonen (MTL) and Aarne Talvitie (NJ) showed great scoring punch at the World Junior Summer Showcase.</p><p>And while Finland has produced some of the finest netminders in the world, the national side doesn&rsquo;t have a phenom right now. Ukko- Pekka Luukkonen (BUF) is the best option and according to the scout, he only needs to be competent in his future home: &ldquo;The goaltending just can&rsquo;t fail,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s all they need.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0041-03

<div class="byline">BY RYAN KENNEDY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-0240/227159-1-eng-US/f0042-022.jpg" title="f0042-02" width="561" height="651"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(CHYTIL: STEVE KINGSMAN/HHOF-IIHF IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-0163/227166-1-eng-US/f0042-012.jpg" title="f0042-01" width="73" height="73"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>N</span>O MATTER WHAT TEAM</b> he finds himself on, Filip Zadina always seems to be the rookie. He&rsquo;s the one picking up pucks after practice. He&rsquo;s the one collecting all the water bottles. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s true,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;But I like it. I don&rsquo;t care if I&rsquo;m young, I just want to play.&rdquo;</p><p>The reason Zadina is always the youngest is he&rsquo;s incredibly skilled. From international teams to the Czech Extraliga, where he made his debut with hometown Pardubice at 16, Zadina has used his speed, dynamism and strength to put up points and impress his coaches. Now, he&rsquo;ll be part of a Czech WJC squad that has more promise than we&rsquo;ve seen in years.</p><p>The foundation of the team was laid at the 2016 Under-18 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament. The home side shocked the field by taking the title thanks to a crew that included Zadina, Martin Necas, Filip Chytil and Ostap Safin. Zadina scored twice in the 4-3 nail-biter final over Team USA. &ldquo;We played as a group and stuck together,&rdquo; Zadina said. &ldquo;We were so happy after the final. It was a big experience in my life.&rdquo;</p><p>Next up? The NHL draft. Zadina&rsquo;s November 1999 birthday meant he has to wait until the summer of 2018 to join his Hlinka compatriots, but he&rsquo;s putting together a really nice resume and will surely go higher than any of them. Moving over from Pardubice to play for the QMJHL&rsquo;s Halifax Mooseheads this season, Zadina has taken the circuit by storm. The left winger was one of the top scorers overall (35 points in 24 games), bringing to mind the dominance demonstrated by former Moosehead imports Nico Hischier and Nikolaj Ehlers. Zadina even gets to play rivalry games against Safin, whom he has known for years, as the Edmonton Oilers draft pick skates for Saint John.</p><p>Zadina will be one of the first forwards taken in next June&rsquo;s draft, and a good showing at the world juniors in Buffalo will further his cause. Drawing off his Ivan Hlinka experience gives him confidence in the Czech under- 20 team. &ldquo;Exactly,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We will try to have fun again and play as a group. We must be patient and work hard.&rdquo;</p><p>And playing on North American ice after growing up in bigger European rinks has been great for him. In fact, the high-energy Zadina prefers it. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s faster and my ambition is to be fast on the ice,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I love action.&rdquo;</p><p>Who doesn&rsquo;t love that kind of attitude?<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0042-02

FILIP ZADINA

<div class="byline">&#x2013; RYAN KENNEDY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-0328/227195-1-eng-US/f0042-032.jpg" title="f0042-03" width="193" height="322"><figcaption class="caption-body">FILIP <b>CHYTIL</b> <span class="photo-credit">(ZADINA: ANDREA CARDIN/HHOF-IIHF IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>T</span>HERE&rsquo;S A GOOD REASON</b> to expect a lot from the Czechs this year &ndash; and perhaps even more in 2019. The group that won the Ivan Hlinka tournament for the first time in history two summers ago is now entering its prime WJC time, headlined by 2017 first-rounders Martin Necas (CAR) and Filip Chytil (NYR), plus big Ostap Safin (EDM) and budding top-five 2018 pick Filip Zadina. Also on that gold medalwinning squad was netminder Jakub Skarek. &ldquo;For them, the most important will be the goalie,&rdquo; said one scout. &ldquo;If he has a good tourney, you never know what could happen.&rdquo;</p><p>Skarek is the starter for Dukla Jihlava in the Czech Extraliga, the nation&rsquo;s top circuit. He saw spot duty at the WJC last year, and though he later disappointed at the world under-18s, the big kid has mental toughness and will be one of the top goaltenders available in the 2018 NHL draft. The Czechs also have Tomas Vomacka (NSH) and Josef Korenar, so there is some depth in the crease. Unfortunately that&rsquo;s not the case on the blueline, and if the Czechs fall short of medal contention again, that will be why. &ldquo;Compared to the top countries like Canada or Sweden, they don&rsquo;t have it,&rdquo; said the scout. &ldquo;They have some good forwards, but not much potential on defense.&rdquo;</p><p>Indeed, all the teen stars who emerged from that Ivan Hlinka cohort are forwards, with Jakub Galvas (CHI) as the lone defenseman to get drafted from the crop.</p><p>There are several Czechs with plenty of scoring power, including 2018 prospect Jakub Lauko, who has enough speed, compete level and talent to earn a long look.</p><p>If the defense corps can hold together and the forwards perform, the Czechs have a shot at a medal. If not, look for yet another quarterfinal loss: that&rsquo;s where they&rsquo;ve bowed out in the past six WJC tournaments.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0042-03

<div class="byline">&#x2013; RYAN KENNEDY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-0233/227224-1-eng-US/f0043-022.jpg" title="f0043-02" width="385" height="612"><figcaption class="caption-body">MARIAN <b>STUDENIC</b> <span class="photo-credit">(STUDENIC: MINAS PANAGIOTAKIS/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-0151/227231-1-eng-US/f0043-012.jpg" title="f0043-01" width="74" height="73"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>E</span>XPECTATIONS AREN&rsquo;T HIGH FOR</b> Slovakia &ndash; they rarely are &ndash; but, based on team unity, the nation should be able to scrape by once again. Most of the Slovakian side will be comprised of players from the national Orange 20 program, the local version of the American NTDP. &ldquo;The big advantage is playing all season long together in the men&rsquo;s league,&rdquo; said one scout. &ldquo;They don&rsquo;t win many games, but it makes them mentally strong. If you look at the past four or five years, they didn&rsquo;t have great players, but they survived. The coach did a good job.&rdquo;</p><p>Bench boss Ernest Bokros is back once again, and he knows the score when it comes to his group. And while the Orange 20 crew will supply the soldiers, the high-end players will come from OHL teams. Adam Ruzicka (Calgary) has been hot right off the hop with the surprising Sarnia Sting this season, piling up points and winning faceoffs. His combination of size and skating is excellent, while his consistency has improved over last year. Another NHL pick is Marian Studenic (New Jersey), now in his second year with the Hamilton Bulldogs. Like Ruzicka, Studenic battled inconsistency, but his speed and smarts lead to good things. Draft picks have not been flowing out of Slovakia lately, so these two represent the high-water mark.</p><p>Slovakia has been lucky in the goaltending department, from 2015 world junior MVP Denis Godla to last year&rsquo;s tandem of Adam Huska and Matej Tomek. But the latter two have aged out, meaning Roman Durny of Orange 20 and David Hrenak from St. Cloud State will likely carry the water. Hrenak has played well as the Huskies&rsquo; backup in his first NCAA season, while Durny has done the best he can against older competition in the Liga back home. Slovakia&rsquo;s main goal will be survival &ndash; by beating Denmark in the round-robin or, failing that, Belarus in the relegation series.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0043-02

BLEEDING ORANGE

<div class="byline">&#x2013; RYAN KENNEDY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-0421/227260-1-eng-US/f0043-042.jpg" title="f0043-04" width="576" height="658"><figcaption class="caption-body">PHILIPP <b>KURASHEV</b> <span class="photo-credit">(KURASHEV: STEVE KINGSMAN/HHOF-IIHF IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-0325/227267-1-eng-US/f0043-032.jpg" title="f0043-03" width="74" height="74"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>F</span>OR A WHILE, IT</b> seemed as though Switzerland was moving up in the under-20 world. Thanks to names such as Nino Niederreiter, Kevin Fiala and most recently Nico Hischier, the Swiss either contended for a medal (making the semifinal in 2010 thanks to &lsquo;El Nino&rsquo; and goalie Benjamin Conz) or scared the hell out of actual contenders (Hischier vs. Team USA last year). But that high end isn&rsquo;t there this year. &ldquo;I have a feeling they&rsquo;re going to be another ordinary Swiss team,&rdquo; said one scout.</p><p>As a mid-level hockey nation, star power is crucial, the scout explained. &ldquo;You&rsquo;ve got to have the mindset that you can compete with the big countries,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;If there isn&rsquo;t anyone like that, you get the 7-1 games instead of 3-2.&rdquo;</p><p>The Swiss will have some talent, though no one on the level of Hischier, naturally. Tobias Geisser (Washington) will have a big job on the blueline after being one of the final cuts last year, while 2018 draft hopeful Nico Gross is set to return after making the 2017 squad at 16. Gross came to North America this season and is skating for the OHL&rsquo;s Oshawa Generals. With Jonas Siegenthaler too old for the tourney, the blueline has a big hole to fill.</p><p>An even bigger hole is up front, since Hischier is a little busy in the NHL right now. Quebec Remparts center Philipp Kurashev is a smart and talented 2018 draft prospect who can help, while undrafted Axel Simic was the top scorer at a Four Nations tournament hosted by the Swiss in November. There&rsquo;s also the delightfully named Nando Eggenberger, a 2018 draft prospect with size and skill.</p><p>In net, the Swiss have tried a number of goalies during international play, with Andrin Seifert getting slightly more action than anyone else. Matteo Ritz was a backup to Joren Van Pottelberghe at last year&rsquo;s WJC and brings more size than Seifert.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0043-04

FLOOR OVER CEILING

<div class="byline">&#x2013; RYAN KENNEDY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-0245/227296-1-eng-US/f0044-022.jpg" title="f0044-02" width="443" height="612"><figcaption class="caption-body">JONAS <b>RONDBJERG</b> <span class="photo-credit">(RONDBJERG: MINAS PANAGIOTAKIS/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-0161/227303-1-eng-US/f0044-012.jpg" title="f0044-01" width="73" height="73"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>D</span>ENMARK IS COMING OFF</b> two straight trips to the medal round &ndash; the <i>only</i> two trips in the nation&rsquo;s world junior history &ndash; but the good times may be ending soon. Last year, a gritty veteran squad took advantage of Finland and the Czechs in the round-robin. Before that, Nikolaj Ehlers and Oliver Bjorkstrand led the charge. But they&rsquo;re gone. &ldquo;They don&rsquo;t have those kinds of guys right now,&rdquo; said one scout. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re going to be a regular, ordinary Denmark team.&rdquo;</p><p>Which is an unfortunately dismissive way of saying that the most important game on the schedule will be against Slovakia in the round-robin finale. Win, and the Danes avoid playing in the relegation series. Lose and they most likely battle Belarus for topcircuit survival.</p><p>There are no surefire future NHLers at the Danes&rsquo; disposal this time, but there are some drafted prospects who bring experience and talent to the table. Right winger Jonas Rondbjerg (Vegas) is having a solid season in Sweden and that&rsquo;s also the playing home of two notable defensemen on the national side, undrafted Oliver Larsen and towering two-way presence Malte Setkov (Detroit).</p><p>St. Louis Blues pick Nikolaj Krag is in Denmark, while Joachim Blichfeld (San Jose) is making an impact in the WHL with Portland. Meanwhile, undrafted Jacob Schmidt-Svejstrup is tearing up the USHL with Fargo.</p><p>In pre-tournament play, the Danes bested other minnow teams such as Belarus, Austria and Latvia, but the Danes face much stiffer tests in late December. Goaltending will have to be strong to have any chance of competing. Can Kasper Krog be this year&rsquo;s Denis Godla? The fact Denmark&rsquo;s players are so familiar with each other (the talent pool is small) is a distinct benefit of the country&rsquo;s hockey niche, but will that matter against the titans?<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0044-02

TURNING INTO PUMPKINS

<div class="byline">&#x2013; RYAN KENNEDY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-0425/227332-1-eng-US/f0044-042.jpg" title="f0044-04" width="473" height="610"><figcaption class="caption-body">MAKSIM <b>SUSHKO</b> <span class="photo-credit">(SUSHKO: SVEN PETER)</span></figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-0331/227339-1-eng-US/f0044-032.jpg" title="f0044-03" width="73" height="74"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>T</span>HE BELARUSIANS ARE JUMPING</b> into the deep end this year after promotion from the second tier of the under-20s. While they are certainly the most likely program to get relegated back down, never say never when it comes to the world juniors. &ldquo;They have a chance to survive,&rdquo; said one scout. &ldquo;Last year they did well at the under-18s, and a lot of those players will be on the team.&rdquo;</p><p>A different NHL scout in Europe was a little less positive: &ldquo;Honestly, I can&rsquo;t name one player on that team.&rdquo;</p><p>A good place to start is goalie Andrei Grishenko, a driving force behind Belarus&rsquo; defeat of Latvia in the under-18 relegation series. He was also solid for the under-20 squad at a recent Four Nations tournament. Grishenko is part of Team Belarus, a hothouse under-20 squad that, like Slovakia&rsquo;s Orange 20, plays against men in the nation&rsquo;s top league. Team Belarus has actually fared pretty well in the standings, led in offense by Alexander Lukashevich and Nazar Anisimov, both point-pergame players. The real challenge, of course, will come when they face off against the best of the best internationally rather than just the men who have stuck around locally in Belarus.</p><p>In terms of players with experience in that realm, Maksim Sushko (Philadelphia) leads the way. In his second year with the OHL&rsquo;s Owen Sound Attack, he&rsquo;s a quick and talented player averaging a point per game. In the WHL, defenseman Vladislav Yeryomenko has been vital for the Calgary Hitmen. Another talented defender to watch is Vladislav Martynyuk, who has been great for Belarus in past tournaments and now plays in the KHL&rsquo;s junior league. Big center Yegor Sharangovich brings actual KHL experience as a regular with Dinamo Minsk.</p><p>The mountain will be high for Belarus, but familiarity with each other will give them at least a chance of sticking around another year.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0044-04

A PUNCHER’S CHANCE

<div class="byline">WITH RYAN KENNEDY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-0244/227368-1-eng-US/f0045-022.jpg" title="f0045-02" width="396" height="667"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>CREAM OF THE CROP</b></p><p>Hockey is no longer a fallback sport for elite U.S. athletes like Jones. Many choose it as their primary career path now.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(PHILLIP MACCALLUM/HHOF-IIHF IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><span class="image-inline"><img src="mon12.jpg" title="common1" width="22" height="18"></span><p>@THNRYANKENNEDY</p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-0155/227375-1-eng-US/f0045-012.jpg" title="f0045-01" width="103" height="130"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><blockquote class="pullQuote">SOME TRADITIONALISTS WOULD RATHER SEE HOCKEY DIE IN THE SUN BELT, <b>BUT THE &lsquo;GRETZKY EFFECT&rsquo; OF THE 1990S IS REAL</b></blockquote><p class="dropcap"><b><span>F</span>OR THE SECOND TIME</b> in as many opportunities, the city of Buffalo won the bid as America&rsquo;s host for the world juniors. The fit makes a ton of sense: the previous tournament in 2011 had top-notch organization from the NHL&rsquo;s Sabres, the atmosphere was great thanks to the large hockey fan bases of Western New York and Southern Ontario, and the home team even skated away with a bronze medal.</p><p>Competition for this year&rsquo;s bid came from St. Louis, an emerging market with an NHL rink and a growing number of homegrown talents, from Clayton Keller and Matthew Tkachuk to Ben Bishop and Paul Stastny before them. Now, St. Louis is not a border town like Buffalo, so the tourney couldn&rsquo;t count on Canadian fans flooding in with their wallets the way Buffalo can. But is proximity the only way to ensure a good crowd? I would argue there&rsquo;s another way to make the WJC an event destination in the U.S. and that would be to hold a future tournament in the Sun Belt.</p><p>Not only would you be luring scores of snowbirds out of their parkas when they need a shot of Vitamin D the most, but holding the WJC in California or Florida would also help what are growing hockey cultures in the U.S.</p><p>I recognize there are traditionalists out there who would rather see hockey wither and die in the Sun Belt, but the &lsquo;Gretzky Effect&rsquo; of the 1990s is still real, and the amount of talent to come out of the sunnier states the past 10 years or so is promising. And while we are still seeing a rise in players from Florida (Jakob Chychrun, Shayne Gostisbehere, Andrew Peeke), it feels as though California has hit a bit of a plateau. Sure, the U.S. National Team Development Program will have one or two players from the state on each of its teams, but places like Arizona are starting to catch up on the high end. High school hockey has been building in California thanks to leagues promoted by the Ducks, Sharks and Kings, and at the youth levels, teams do well at national tournaments. But another push could really open things up. According to Mike Bertsch, hosting bids follow popularity booms. Bertsch is USA Hockey&rsquo;s assistant executive director of marketing, communications and events, and he likes the idea of more markets pushing for the world juniors. But we&rsquo;ll have to be patient. &ldquo;The interest level has been minimal,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;But we&rsquo;re seeing interest expanding.&rdquo;</p><p>Tampa Bay is a city to keep an eye on. The Florida locale has hosted two very successful NCAA men&rsquo;s Frozen Four tournaments, and Bertsch noted the city and surrounding area has a base of Canadian snowbirds. Out west, San Jose will get a chance to see elite international hockey when the U.S. women clash with Canada in a pre-Olympic tilt at SAP Center, home of the Sharks. A future WJC in sunny California &ndash; say, Los Angeles and/or San Diego (home of the AHL&rsquo;s Gulls) would be enticing to snowbirds, right? &ldquo;No question that&rsquo;s a consideration,&rdquo; Bertsch said. &ldquo;You ask where the traffic&rsquo;s coming from.&rdquo;</p><p>Financial stability is a key in awarding a tournament such as the world juniors. In North America, the WJC is basically an NHL arena event now &ndash; nothing smaller. Vancouver plays host in 2019 after Toronto and Montreal split the past two tournaments based in Canada. And while I completely understand the monetary issue, I&rsquo;d love to see a warmweather WJC because I believe it could have a tremendous effect on the sport. California, Florida and Texas all have huge populations, with many locals still outside hockey&rsquo;s grasp. But that potential is real, and there&rsquo;s a reason the NHL has looked into Houston as a future market. What we&rsquo;ve seen in the past 10 years is hockey getting top American athletes, not just the kids predisposed to hockey. Auston Matthews, Seth Jones and Justin Bailey are the most high-profile examples, but they&rsquo;re not alone.</p><p>USA Hockey won&rsquo;t know when its next hosting opportunity will be until late next summer. We know for sure it can&rsquo;t be before 2022, as the years before that have gone to the Czech Republic (2020) and Canada (2021). But if the will is there and the financials work, I&rsquo;d love to see the Sun Belt get rewarded with the tournament. Let&rsquo;s see how much more potential can be unlocked down there.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0045-02

SUNNY DAYS A WORLD AWAY

<div class="byline">BY JOHN VOGL</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0046-0249/227432-1-eng-US/f0046-022.jpg" title="f0046-02" width="993" height="490"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>BACK TO THE FUTURE</b></p><p>Since hosting the 2011 world juniors, the hockey world has returned to Buffalo again and again &ndash; and for good reason.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(ANDRE RINGUETTE/HHOF-IIHF IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0046-0158/227439-1-eng-US/f0046-012.jpg" title="f0046-01" width="73" height="73"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0046-0330/227425-1-eng-US/f0046-032.jpg" title="f0046-03" width="395" height="386"><figcaption class="caption-body">TERRY <b>PEGULA</b> <span class="photo-credit">(BILL WIPPERT/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>ON THE DAY TERRY</b> Pegula took ownership of the Buffalo Sabres, he and his management group set the bar.</p><p>&ldquo;A clarion call should go out to the league and to hockey players everywhere that Buffalo is hockey heaven,&rdquo; said Ted Black, who was installed as team president at that news conference on Feb. 22, 2011.</p><p>Looking back, it&rsquo;s easy for NHL fans to chuckle. The Sabres have been cellar-dwellers. They haven&rsquo;t made the playoffs since that 2010-11 season, when they were eliminated in the first round just a few months after Pegula took over. Black is long gone, along with four coaches, two GMs and dozens of others in the hockey department.</p><p>But hockey is more than just the NHL. The sport is in the blood of Buffalo residents, who join the steady stream of visitors to the city in saying Black was on to something. Buffalo has become a second home for Colorado- based USA Hockey, hosting everything from national youth tournaments to the All-American Prospects Game to the world juniors. The IIHF under-20 tournament is coming back to Buffalo in late December after a successful run in 2011.</p><p>The NHL makes a regular stop in western New York, too. The league moved its annual pre-draft scouting combine from Toronto to Buffalo in 2015, and it has committed to staying through at least 2019.</p><p>Toss in television ratings that usually rank in the top three in U.S. viewership &ndash; and even an OHL showcase &ndash; and &ldquo;hockey heaven&rdquo; is a pretty accurate description. &ldquo;Our experience here has been terrific,&rdquo; said Dave Ogrean, former executive director of USA Hockey. &ldquo;We just think that we are in Ground Zero for such a tremendous confluence and population of hockey fans on both sides of the border.&rdquo;</p><p>Pegula has drawn them in. After buying the Sabres, the billionaire decided he wanted more than a team. He wanted a hockey business.</p><p>He had a lot of work to do. The area around the Sabres&rsquo; arena was barren in 2011. The next year, Pegula announced the creation of HarborCenter. He spent $200 million to build a two-rink palace that also includes a high-rise hotel, stores and restaurants. HarborCenter is across the street from the Sabres&rsquo; arena and is connected by walkways.</p><p>It was a game-changer. Surrounding development increased and hockey became a year-round business. On any given day, visitors to HarborCenter can see five-year-olds taking part in a clinic, teenage prospects playing on one rink and an NHL team practicing on the other. &ldquo;One of the things they wanted to do with building HarborCenter was create an area where any NHL player at one time or another comes through Buffalo to see what we have to offer here in the city,&rdquo; said Michael Gilbert, senior vice-president of the Sabres and GM of HarborCenter.</p><p>Few people and organizations have bought in more than USA Hockey. It chose Buffalo to host the 2011 world juniors in large part because of its border status. Overlooking the Niagara River, Buffalo is less than a two-hour drive from millions of Toronto hockey fans.</p><p>But when USA Hockey chose to return this year, it was primarily because of what Buffalo has become. With one exception, all of the WJC games will be played on the same block. In 2011, some games were held near Niagara Falls, about 45 minutes away. &ldquo;These two weeks that the kids are here will really allow us to showcase Buffalo and the great game of hockey,&rdquo; said Pegula&rsquo;s wife, Kim, who&rsquo;s CEO of Pegula Sports and Entertainment, &ldquo;A lot has changed here in the city and the surrounding area. We expect to do a lot more to make sure the event is a world-class event.&rdquo;</p><p>The one location exception for the 2018 WJC is a big one. The Pegulas also own the NFL&rsquo;s Buffalo Bills, and Canada and the United States will play hockey outdoors in the 71,000-seat football stadium Dec. 29. &ldquo;Buffalo obviously stacks up very, very well because of the facilities, because of the fans, because of the people who run this team and run this building,&rdquo; Ogrean said. &ldquo;Buffalo has set a very high bar.&rdquo;</p><p>Snow swirling through the stadium for the outdoor game will be reminiscent of the first NHL Winter Classic. The Sabres hosted Pittsburgh on Jan. 1, 2008, and the passion of Buffalo fans helped convince the league to make it an annual event.</p><p>The Sabres are technically the home team against the New York Rangers for this year&rsquo;s Winter Classic, but the game will be played in the New York Mets&rsquo; baseball stadium. Buffalo fans who aren&rsquo;t making the journey will be watching from their couches.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-0162/227418-1-eng-US/f0047-012.jpg" title="f0047-01" width="396" height="424"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>SNOW IN FORECAST</b></p><p>When Canada and the U.S. play outdoors Dec. 29, it will be almost 10 years to the day since that memorable game in Buffalo.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(DAVID E. KLUTHO /SPORTS ILLUSTRATED/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>Every year when television ratings are released for the NHL playoffs, the top two places are held by the Stanley Cup finalists. No. 3 is always Buffalo. And while fans are watching the NHL in the spring, the league is working in the city. The scouting combine has become an anticipated week-long event.</p><p>From Sunday through Saturday in late May and early June, all 31 NHL teams and more than 100 prospects set up shop in Buffalo. During the week, each team conducts interviews in the suites of the Sabres&rsquo; arena. For the weekend fitness testing, they converge upon HarborCenter. &ldquo;The Buffalo Sabres, HarborCenter complex and the city of Buffalo have proven to be amazing hosts and the ideal location,&rdquo; said Dan Marr, director of NHL Central Scouting. &ldquo;Everything&rsquo;s smooth and the flow goes well. Having the suites available for the interviews makes everything on time, and everything is handled in a very professional manner.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-0247/227411-1-eng-US/f0047-022.jpg" title="f0047-02" width="537" height="304"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>PROSPECT CENTRAL</b></p><p>The NHL scouting combine has found a home in Buffalo, thanks to the HarborCenter complex and central location.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(BILL WIPPERT/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><blockquote class="pullQuote">BUFFALO OBVIOUSLY STACKS UP VERY, VERY WELL BECAUSE OF THE FACILITIES, <b>THE FANS, AND THE PEOPLE WHO RUN THIS TEAM</b></blockquote><p>Sabres fans hope the arena suites will be unavailable someday. It would mean the team is deep in the playoffs. The city has been waiting a long time for meaningful NHL hockey</p><p>In the interim, the folks in Buffalo will keep welcoming youth players, NHL prospects and beerleaguers to their version of hockey heaven. They plan to keep building. &ldquo;Here in Buffalo, whenever I came the city has changed,&rdquo; said Hannes Ederer, the IIHF&rsquo;s deputy general secretary and event director. &ldquo;I always think I&rsquo;m in a different city, but for a very positive end.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0046-02

HOCKEYTOWN BUFFALO

<div class="byline">BY MATT LARKIN</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0048-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0048-0160/227489-1-eng-US/f0048-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(MARK BLINCH/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>W</span>ANT TO WITNESS</b> David Pastrnak painfully straddle the line between childhood and adulthood? Ask him about his Halloween costume about six hours before he plays a road game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, with a half-dozen reporters and TV cameras staring him down.</p><p>Pastrnak&rsquo;s idea, for a Boston Bruins team party in which every player had to dress as a movie character: Steve and Doug Butabi, better known as the <i>Night at the Roxbury</i> guys, the dimwitted, head-bopping, nightclub-frequenting brothers immortalized by Will Ferrell and Chris Kattan on <i>Saturday Night Live</i> two decades ago. Standing in for them: Pastrnak and rookie Jake DeBrusk. De- Brusk is Canadian, Pastrnak is Czech, yet it was Pastrnak who knew and loved the movie. He had to teach DeBrusk about it. They donned stunningly accurate and provocative mesh shirts with faux sideburns and arrived at the Bruins party ready to perform. &ldquo;We did have a dance,&rdquo; Pastrnak said. &ldquo;We had a couple lines ready.&rdquo;</p><p>Oh yeah? Care to quote them, David?</p><p>Pastrnak shifts nervously and gives it a shot. &ldquo; &lsquo;And I was standing there on the pay phone call&hellip;&rsquo;&rdquo;</p><p>He stops, too embarrassed to finish what fans of the movie know as the &ldquo;Emilio!&rdquo; bit. &ldquo;Ah, I don&rsquo;t want to say it. This is game day today.&rdquo;</p><p>Pastrnak is just 21 and known for being the team&rsquo;s free spirit. He dresses with panache and tours the world in the off-season. He was the NHL&rsquo;s youngest player at 18 years, 183 days when he jumped from the 2014 draft, where he went 25th overall, to the Bruins in November of that year. But you can see him at war with the kid version of himself talking about his extracurricular activities on a game day. He&rsquo;s trying to hold himself accountable as one of the most important players on his team, if not <i>the</i> most important given how many prime years he has left.</p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0048-0248/227482-1-eng-US/f0048-022.jpg" title="f0048-02" width="95" height="95"></div><p>Life gets more serious for Pastrnak by the day. We saw it in the preseason when he refused to report to the NHL until he completed a contentious contract extension with the Bruins, which ended in mid-September with a six-year, $40-million deal. Things have become more businesslike for Pastrnak on the ice, too.</p><p>It&rsquo;s no secret he&rsquo;s growing into an elite offensive weapon. He has 14 more career goals than any other player from his draft class, which includes Leon Draisaitl, William Nylander and Nikolaj Ehlers (see sidebar), and only Draisaitl has more points. Pastrnak cracks the league&rsquo;s top 10 in goals since the start of 2016-17, too, after exploding for 34 in 75 games last year and carrying that productivity into 2017-18. But as talented and silky-handed as he is, there&rsquo;s more to him than that &ndash; and his team is asking for more out of him. There&rsquo;s a reason why the trio of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and Pastrnak, one of the game&rsquo;s very best lines, regularly ranks among the league&rsquo;s elite in the possession stats. Playing such a dominant two-way game requires a grown-up&rsquo;s hockey mind, and there&rsquo;s no better player for Pastrnak to learn from than Bergeron, who just tied Bob Gainey for the all-time lead in Selke Trophies with four. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s an unbelievable player all around,&rdquo; Pastrnak said. &ldquo;His stick on the ice is really good. It&rsquo;s so nice to play with him. We talk together every shift, so I know I&rsquo;m going to get better with this guy.&rdquo;</p><p>Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy benched Pastrnak in November and scheduled a 1-on-1 sitdown meeting to discuss commitment to defense, and Cassidy has spoken openly to the media about Pastrnak&rsquo;s need to improve as a backchecker. Bergeron, however, believes it&rsquo;s already happening. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s learning,&rdquo; Bergeron said. &ldquo;He wants to learn, too, and that&rsquo;s the main thing. He&rsquo;s working hard to get back to his position in his zone. I&rsquo;ve always told him to try and collapse as much as he can in the slot. If you feel like we&rsquo;re in trouble and running around in our zone, if you get back to the slot, usually that&rsquo;s where danger happens.&rdquo;</p></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-0159/227475-1-eng-US/f0049-012.jpg" title="f0049-01" width="513" height="522"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>NATURAL-BORN SCORER</b></p><p>Pastrnak, 21, ranks in the NHL&rsquo;s top 10 in goals since the start of last season, and there&rsquo;s plenty more to come.</p></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-0250/227468-1-eng-US/f0049-022.jpg" title="f0049-02" width="238" height="251"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>PARTY HEARTY</b></p><p>DeBrusk, Tuukka Rask (as Pablo Escobar) and Pastrnak got in the Halloween spirit for the B&rsquo;s shindig.</p></figcaption></div><blockquote class="pullQuote">HE&rsquo;S LEARNING. HE WANTS TO LEARN, TOO, <b>AND THAT&rsquo;S THE MAIN THING</b><br>&ndash; Patrice Bergeron on David Pastrnak</blockquote><p>Younger players not immersing themselves in defense often don&rsquo;t want to stop moving on the backcheck in the hopes that they&rsquo;ll still have speed going for the next offensive rush up ice. As Bergeron explains, he&rsquo;s been drilling into Pastrnak that he sometimes needs to come to a full stop in his own zone to establish better positioning and ensure opposing scoring chances get thwarted before Pastrnak starts dreaming about the counter-attack. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s been really good on back pressure and stuff like that,&rdquo; Bergeron said. &ldquo;To be on the puck and retrieve and win some battles, that can make a big difference.&rdquo;</p><p>There&rsquo;s still work to do based on the underlying possession numbers, albeit the Marchand- Bergeron-Pastrnak line&rsquo;s standard is absurdly high. The trio is even better at generating shot attempts this season than last, but it&rsquo;s allowing more attempts as well. The stat known as WOWY &ndash; With Or Without You &ndash; tells us that Pastrnak&rsquo;s possession numbers completely tank when he&rsquo;s not on the ice with Bergeron and Marchand. So Pastrnak hasn&rsquo;t reached the point where he can drive the play on his own line. But that&rsquo;s OK. He&rsquo;s only 21 and already an offensive star. The defensive maturity comes later for most players, and he has many years left to learn from Bergeron and Marchand, who are signed through 2021-22 and 2024-25.</p><p>And we don&rsquo;t want Pastrnak to grow up <i>too</i> fast, at least not off the ice. Team harmony matters almost as much as defense, and he is the Bruins&rsquo; designated spreader of joy. Maybe he&rsquo;s too mature to recite movie quotes on game days now, but odds are his days of playing dress-up will continue. Fun is what makes Pastrnak who he is &ndash; and the Bruins are better for it.</p><p>FOR UP-TO-THE-MINUTE COVERAGE, VISIT <a href="http://THN.com">THN.COM</a><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0048-01

WORKING ON THE FINER POINTS

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-0338/227518-1-eng-US/f0049-032.jpg" title="f0049-03" width="258" height="1229"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(PASTRNAK 1: FRED KFOURY III/ICON SPORTSWIRE VIA GETTY IMAGES; PASTRNAK 2: MARK BLINCH/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES; PASTRNAK 3: COURTESY OF @DAVIDPASTRNAK; DRAISAITL: CODIE MCLACHLAN/GETTY IMAGES; EHLERS: DARCY FINLEY/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES; ARVIDSSON: JOHN RUSSELL/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES; LARKIN: ANDRE RINGUETTE/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES; REINHART: BILL WIPPERT/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0049-03

A NAK FOR GOAL SCORING

<div class="byline">&#x2013; JEREMY RUTHERFORD</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0050-0161/227568-1-eng-US/f0050-012.jpg" title="f0050-01" width="696" height="584"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>BLUE STREAK</b> The points have come fast and furious for Schenn in St. Louis, where he&rsquo;s centering one of the NHL&rsquo;s most prolific lines. <span class="photo-credit">(DEREK CAIN/ICON SPORTSWIRE VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><blockquote class="pullQuote">I WAS JUST TRYING TO GET BETTER. THERE WAS HYPE, <b>BUT SOMETIMES IT&rsquo;S TOUGH LIVING UP TO IT AS A 19- OR 20-YEAR-OLD KID</b><br>&ndash; Brayden Schenn</blockquote><p class="dropcap"><b><span>T</span>HE FRAMED MAGAZINE STILL</b> hangs proudly in the basement of Jeff and Rita Schenn. It features their teenage son, Brayden, on the cover of The Hockey News&rsquo; 2011 Future Watch issue as the NHL&rsquo;s No. 1 prospect. &ldquo;Grandpa always subscribed to it, and it was always the magazine that you wanted to read growing up, so it was pretty cool for me,&rdquo; Schenn said.</p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0050-0255/227561-1-eng-US/f0050-022.jpg" title="f0050-02" width="95" height="94"></div><p>After starring in the WHL with the Brandon Wheat Kings and being drafted fifth overall by the Los Angeles Kings in 2009, Schenn was indisputably a top-flight prospect worth watching, but the future took longer than expected to arrive. Now 26 and with his third NHL team, he&rsquo;s on pace for the most prolific season of his career, ranking among the league leaders in offensive productivity.</p><p>A trade to the St. Louis Blues from the Philadelphia Flyers this summer might have flown under the radar, but everyone is now in the know after a blazing start by Schenn that has him in the NHL&rsquo;s top 10 in assists and points. &ldquo;I think coming out of junior, being a higher pick, some guys step right into the NHL and make an immediate impact and play 19 to 20 minutes a night,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;For me, maybe it was a longer process because of not playing as many minutes in Philadelphia. That&rsquo;s something you have to get used to and get used to the pro type of game. I felt year to year I was just trying to get better. There was hype, but sometimes it&rsquo;s tough living up to it as a 19- or 20-year-old kid.&rdquo;</p></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0050-0329/227554-1-eng-US/f0050-032.jpg" title="f0050-03" width="157" height="239"><figcaption class="caption-body"><i>Schenn was No. 1 in FW 2011. His linemates, Tarasenko and Schwartz, were fifth and 23rd.</i></figcaption></div><p>After just nine games with L.A., Schenn was shipped to Philadelphia along with Wayne Simmonds and a 2012 second-round pick (Devin Shore) in exchange for Mike Richards and Rob Bordson. Schenn produced with the Flyers, putting up 109 goals and 246 points in 424 games, but was ultimately deemed expendable. Philadelphia felt Schenn sometimes struggled at even strength as well as when he lined up to play center, and the Flyers had promising prospects on the way such as 2017 No. 2 overall pick Nolan Patrick.</p><p>The Blues, meanwhile, were looking for an upgrade at center after Jori Lehtera, in the first year of a three-year contract that paid him $4.7 million last season, managed just 22 points in 64 games.</p><p>So on the first night of the NHL draft this summer, the Blues sent Lehtera and two first-round picks to Philadelphia for Schenn, who was entering the second year of a fouryear, $20.5-million contract. His annual cap hit is only slightly higher than Lehtera&rsquo;s, and Schenn had one more year on his deal.</p><p>The trade couldn&rsquo;t be working out any better for the Blues, who, despite Schenn&rsquo;s recent reputation at center ice, didn&rsquo;t hesitate to put him in the middle. He&rsquo;s played with Jaden Schwartz since the season opener, and Vladimir Tarasenko was soon added to the line. In their first month together, the trio has rivalled Tampa Bay&rsquo;s top unit featuring Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov as the best in the league. &ldquo;I just feel more comfortable on the ice, more confident,&rdquo; Schenn said. &ldquo;When you&rsquo;re playing in all situations with top players, you&rsquo;ve got to go out there and perform. I&rsquo;ve had chemistry with &lsquo;Schwartzy&rsquo; from Day 1, and then adding Tarasenko, playing with two great players, there&rsquo;s really not much more than you can ask for.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0051-0149/227547-1-eng-US/f0051-012.jpg" title="f0051-01" width="403" height="616"><figcaption class="caption-body">BRAYDEN <b>SCHENN</b> <span class="photo-credit">(GERRY THOMAS/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>A year after Schenn scored 18 of his 25 goals with Philadelphia on the power play, sharing the NHL lead in that department, a majority of his point production with the Blues this season has come at even strength. In fact, Schenn, Schwartz and Tarasenko were vying for the league lead in even-strength points through late November. &ldquo;Early on in my career, I was maybe running around too much and always looking for that offense,&rdquo; Schenn said. &ldquo;You realize the better you play defense, the more offensive chances you&rsquo;re really going to get and the more time you&rsquo;re really going to have the puck. When you look at the top players in the league now, they all play defense. You try and learn from those guys and build your game from watching other players as well.&rdquo;</p><p>The future is now for Schenn, whose performance this season has made the Blues welcome beneficiaries. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s better than what we would have even hoped, to be honest with you,&rdquo; said Blues coach Mike Yeo. &ldquo;Everybody develops at their own rate, and obviously you have situations and roles (on other teams). I don&rsquo;t know what went on before, but we&rsquo;re real pleased to have him, and it looks like this is not a fluke. He&rsquo;s consistently involved in scoring chances, involved in being an offensive threat, and I don&rsquo;t see any reason why this wouldn&rsquo;t continue. We&rsquo;re thrilled to have him.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0050-01

THE FUTURE HAS ARRIVED

<div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0051-0241/227702-1-eng-US/f0051-022.jpg" title="f0051-02" width="95" height="94"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><h2><b>WORLD JUNIOR TO WATCH</b></h2><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0051-0330/227695-1-eng-US/f0051-032.jpg" title="f0051-03" width="55" height="56"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>S</span>AM STEEL</b> was in the midst of a 50-goal, 131-point season for WHL Regina when he was the final cut for Canada a year ago. The national team instead kept Dillon Dube, who was hurt at the time. Steel has struggled offensively this season, but he&rsquo;ll be relied upon as a top-line center.</p></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0051-0426/227688-1-eng-US/f0051-042.jpg" title="f0051-04" width="55" height="55"></div><p>Second-rounder <b>FILIP WESTERLUND</b> was named a top-three player for Sweden at last year&rsquo;s world under-18s and will play a supporting role at the WJC. The defenseman has split his time between Frolunda&rsquo;s junior squad and the men&rsquo;s team and plays a composed, intelligent game.</p></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0051-0517/227681-1-eng-US/f0051-052.jpg" title="f0051-05" width="55" height="55"></div><p>With five blueliners graduating from last year&rsquo;s U.S. gold-medal team, the onus is on <b>ADAM FOX</b> to pick up the slack. One of just two returning D-men, Fox will be a leader and offensive force. The Harvard sophomore has averaged an assist per outing in his 40-game NCAA career.</p></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0051-0615/227674-1-eng-US/f0051-062.jpg" title="f0051-06" width="55" height="55"></div><p><b>TIM SODERLUND&rsquo;S</b> career path freakishly mirrors Viktor Arvidsson&rsquo;s. Both are feisty 5-foot-9 speedsters, both went 112th in the draft, both played for Skelleftea and both were passed over in their first draft year. Soderlund will be a key veteran pivot for Sweden in his second WJC.</p></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0051-0711/227667-1-eng-US/f0051-072.jpg" title="f0051-07" width="55" height="55"></div><p><b>CALE MAKAR&rsquo;S</b> offense didn&rsquo;t immediately translate to the NCAA, which is understandable when you&rsquo;re a 5-foot-11, 190-pound blueliner playing against men for the first time at 19. He&rsquo;ll get his offense cooking as Canada&rsquo;s top puck-mover and power play specialist at the WJC.</p></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0051-084/227660-1-eng-US/f0051-082.jpg" title="f0051-08" width="55" height="55"></div><p>Towering <b>JAKE OETTINGER</b> is no stranger to pressure. He backstopped the U.S. to gold at the 2016 world under-18s and plays for a Boston U. program that&rsquo;s always expected to contend. He&rsquo;ll platoon with Joseph Woll for the defending WJC champs, just as they did at the under-18s.</p></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0051-094/227653-1-eng-US/f0051-092.jpg" title="f0051-09" width="55" height="55"></div><p>Right winger <b>OSTAP SAFIN</b> is big, skates well and has a booming shot. The knock on him is intensity and consistency, but those haven&rsquo;t been issues as an 18-year-old QMJHL rookie. He&rsquo;s averaging more than a point per game for Saint John. He&rsquo;ll be a go-to player for the Czechs.</p></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0051-102/227646-1-eng-US/f0051-102.jpg" title="f0051-10" width="55" height="55"></div><p><b>KALE CLAGUE</b> finished tied for third in defensemen scoring at last year&rsquo;s WJC (six points in seven games) and is one of three returnees on Canada&rsquo;s blueline, alongside Jake Bean and Dante Fabbro. Clague is more a speedy, crafty playmaker as opposed to a heavy shooter.</p></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0051-112/227639-1-eng-US/f0051-112.jpg" title="f0051-11" width="55" height="56"></div><p>Don&rsquo;t let <b>DMITRY SOKOLOV&rsquo;S</b> draft slot of 196th fool you. The right winger fell in 2016 due to conditioning and maturity concerns but has since lit up the OHL with Sudbury and gotten himself into better shape. His deadly skills will earn him a scoring-line assignment with Russia.</p></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0051-122/227632-1-eng-US/f0051-122.jpg" title="f0051-12" width="55" height="56"></div><p>The 2017 WJC was a disaster for Finland, but it could&rsquo;ve been way worse without left winger <b>EELI TOLVANEN</b>, who had six points in six games and scored in the Suomi&rsquo;s relegation-game win over Latvia. This year, Tolvanen will be counted upon as his team&rsquo;s go-to sniper.</p></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0051-132/227625-1-eng-US/f0051-132.jpg" title="f0051-13" width="55" height="56"></div><p>Defenseman <b>JOSH NORRIS</b> and center <b>SCOTT REEDY</b> played on U.S. U-18 and U-17 teams the past two seasons and now they&rsquo;re both NCAA freshmen. Norris, drafted 19th overall, has been an instant hit at Michigan, while Reedy, picked 102nd, is getting broken in slowly at Minnesota.</p></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0051-142/227618-1-eng-US/f0051-142.jpg" title="f0051-14" width="55" height="55"></div><p>Steal alert. Swift playmaker <b>JORDAN KYROU</b> would be a first-rounder, not the 35th pick, if 2016 redrafted today. He went wild to start 2017-18 with 17 goals and 43 points in 19 games for OHL Sarnia. Canada, lacking mega star power this year, needs him to be a primary scoring threat.</p></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0051-152/227611-1-eng-US/f0051-152.jpg" title="f0051-15" width="55" height="55"></div><p>Considering how dominant center <b>ELIAS PETTERSSON</b> has been for Vaxjo as a teenager &ndash; he&rsquo;s easily the leading scoring on a team of men &ndash; it&rsquo;s hard to believe he played just a bit part in Sweden&rsquo;s fourth-place WJC finish a year ago. The lanky sniper has world-class acceleration.</p></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0051-16/227604-1-eng-US/f0051-162.jpg" title="f0051-16" width="55" height="55"></div><p>Take your pick. The Golden Knights will have a murderers&rsquo; row of blue-chippers at the WJC. Centers <b>NICK SUZUKI</b> and <b>CODY GLASS</b> lead the charge for Canada. Suzuki had a three-point night in a CHL-Russia Series game and was on pace to top his 96 OHL points from a year ago.</p></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0051-17/227597-1-eng-US/f0051-172.jpg" title="f0051-17" width="55" height="55"></div><p>Big goal-scorer <b>KRISTIAN VESALAINEN</b>, a left winger, was overmatched in the Swedish and Finnish Leagues last year but has found his touch with HPK in the Liiga this season. The extra year of experience will help him and Finland bounce back in a big way at the WJC.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p></div>

f0051-02

WESTERN CONFERENCE

<div class="byline">&#x2013; JARED CLINTON</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0052-0235/227745-1-eng-US/f0052-022.jpg" title="f0052-02" width="696" height="647"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>IT&rsquo;S ALL IN HIS HEAD</b> The same hockey IQ that makes Couturier as superb defensive center has made him a cerebral and creative scoring threat. <span class="photo-credit">(TERRENCE LEE/ICON SPORTSWIRE VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>Y</span>OU COULD CALL WHAT</b> Sean Couturier dealt with the hockey equivalent of typecasting. While not yet 25, Couturier, a veteran of more than 400 games, had spent his first six seasons in Philadelphia taking on tough assignments and even tougher minutes, out against topline players and asked to keep them off the scoresheet. He was good in the role. Some would say he played it to near perfection. He earned Selke Trophy votes in each of the past four seasons and twice finished top-nine in the balloting.</p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0052-0322/227738-1-eng-US/f0052-032.jpg" title="f0052-03" width="95" height="95"></div><p>Like many of those pigeonholed and stamped as one-tool players, Couturier was lying in wait for the opportunity to prove he was more than what most believed him to be, that he could break out of his shell and contribute in ways other than fiery <i>tete-atetes</i> with the likes of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and John Tavares. &ldquo;Those first five, six years I&rsquo;ve been known more as a defensive guy, a shutdown guy,&rdquo; Couturier said. &ldquo;But I always thought I could bring more offensively. I just had to be patient.&rdquo;</p></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><blockquote class="pullQuote">I&rsquo;VE BEEN KNOWN MORE AS A SHUTDOWN GUY, <b>BUT I ALWAYS THOUGHT I COULD BRING MORE OFFENSIVELY. I JUST HAD TO BE PATIENT</b><br>&ndash; Sean Couturier</blockquote><p>As it often does, patience paid off.</p><p>Looking to spark the Flyers&rsquo; offense, coach Dave Hakstol made the decision to shift longtime first-line center Claude Giroux to the left side, flank him with right winger Jakub Voracek and give Couturier a shot as top-line pivot. (They&rsquo;re cleverly called the Ginger Beard Men now.) Some questioned the decision, citing Couturier&rsquo;s lack of scoring punch as a flaw in the design. But almost from the moment he hit the ice as a No. 1 center, Couturier has done nothing but assuage all concerns about his offensive prowess.</p><p>In his first five outings, he ripped off three goals and six points. He doubled his point total by the 10-game mark and, 20 games into the season, Couturier was on pace for a near 50-goal, 90-point season all the while driving the second-highest scoring line in the NHL. In no way is he getting distracted by his early form, though. &ldquo;I try not to think long term and instead go by segments, three to five games, and try to do my best during those games and start over,&rdquo; Couturier said. &ldquo;If you think too much ahead you get lost sometimes during a year and it can get either frustrating or you can get too comfortable.&rdquo;</p><p>Playing no small part in Couturier&rsquo;s revelatory performance is a newfound calm to his offensive game. There are outsiders who feared an increased role would expose Couturier, but it&rsquo;s done the opposite. If anything, he&rsquo;s feeling less pressure to produce with each passing game, not more. &ldquo;Going into games you know you&rsquo;re going to get five or six chances a night compared to before, when you&rsquo;re playing against top lines but more in the defensive shutdown role, where you&rsquo;re getting maybe one or two opportunities a night,&rdquo; Couturier said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s tough mentally. You feel the pressure that you need to capitalize every chance you get or you feel you&rsquo;re not doing anything offensively Being a little looser out there helps.&rdquo;</p><p>As does Couturier&rsquo;s time spent honing his defensive game. Spending the first six seasons of his career with a focus on stopping snipers allowed Couturier a window into what makes those same top-flight scorers click. He learned how they make room for themselves, find holes in coverage and capitalize. Given he&rsquo;s not an offensive threat known for juking defenders out of their skates, Couturier has to use that on-ice IQ to gain an advantage over opponents, and he displays an almost devious nature now when explaining how he attacks against the same lines he used to be asked to defend. &ldquo;There are some guys that are pretty solid at both ends of the ice, and those are the guys that are tougher to play against,&rdquo; Couturier said. &ldquo;But you have some guys who are all offense. They have great skill, but you can take advantage of their weaknesses defensively. That&rsquo;s the way I think the game.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0053-0156/227731-1-eng-US/f0053-012.jpg" title="f0053-01" width="403" height="637"><figcaption class="caption-body">SEAN <b>COUTURIER</b> <span class="photo-credit">(ANDRE RINGUETTE/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>Couturier&rsquo;s intellect carries over to other aspects of his play, too. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s so smart with his stick and body positioning,&rdquo; said Flyers center Scott Laughton. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s always in the right place at the right time.&rdquo;</p><p>That&rsquo;s not to mention Couturier&rsquo;s understanding of how to use his 6-foot-3, 200-plus pound frame to make him a devil to get off the puck. &ldquo;There are big guys that are hard to move but you can figure out how to get to the puck,&rdquo; said Flyers rearguard Andy Mac- Donald. &ldquo;But the way he feels you on his hip, uses his body to shield the puck and puts it in good positions makes it really tough to defend him.&rdquo;</p><p>And that&rsquo;s what those looking to flip the script and shut down Couturier are finding out in a hurry this season. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve waited for an opportunity, and to finally get one this year, it&rsquo;s a huge boost,&rdquo; Couturier said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m just trying to take advantage of it.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0052-02

COUTURIER NO ONE-TRICK PONY

<div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0053-0241/227886-1-eng-US/f0053-022.jpg" title="f0053-02" width="95" height="94"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><h2><b>WORLD JUNIOR TO WATCH</b></h2><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0053-0326/227879-1-eng-US/f0053-032.jpg" title="f0053-03" width="52" height="52"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>C</span>enter <b>TRENT FREDERIC</b> seems destined for a checking role in the NHL &ndash; the Bruins described him as a bottom-sixer when they drafted him &ndash; but he has consistently been a point-per-game player at NCAA Wisconsin. Team USA will want him to be a diligent performer in both ends.</p></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0053-0423/227872-1-eng-US/f0053-042.jpg" title="f0053-04" width="52" height="52"></div><p><b>CASEY MITTELSTADT</b> was named Mr. Hockey as the top high school player in Minnesota and scored 30 points in 24 USHL games last season. This year, he&rsquo;s once again showing off his offensive tools as freshman center at University of Minnesota, averaging nearly a point per game.</p></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0053-0515/227865-1-eng-US/f0053-052.jpg" title="f0053-05" width="52" height="52"></div><p>Playing for a struggling WHL Calgary team, defenseman <b>JAKE BEAN</b> could use the bump-up in peers at the WJC. As one of several Canadians eligible to return from last year&rsquo;s silver medal squad, the smart and smooth puck-mover has one more shot at gold before he ages out.</p></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0053-0612/227858-1-eng-US/f0053-062.jpg" title="f0053-06" width="52" height="52"></div><p><b>ANDREW PEEKE</b> will be in tough to earn a roster spot on Team USA&rsquo;s blueline, but he&rsquo;s making a case for himself. The Notre Dame sophomore was already halfway to his freshman point total (14) after just 12 games. His combination of size and two-way play make him a worthy candidate.</p></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0053-076/227851-1-eng-US/f0053-072.jpg" title="f0053-07" width="52" height="52"></div><p><b>MICHAEL RASMUSSEN</b>, drafted ninth overall in 2017, gives Canada size (6-foot-6, 220 pounds), physicality and a decent scoring touch (19 points in 16 games with WHL Tri-City). The center isn&rsquo;t afraid to use his frame, going to the net and creating lunar eclipses in front of goalies.</p></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0053-083/227844-1-eng-US/f0053-082.jpg" title="f0053-08" width="52" height="52"></div><p>The Panthers were not scared off by center <b>ALEKSI HEPONIEMI&rsquo;S</b> size (5-foot-10) and it looks as though they might have a Johnny Gaudreau on their hands. His numbers with WHL Swift Current have been mind-boggling (54 points in 21 games). Finland will count heavily on him.</p></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0053-093/227837-1-eng-US/f0053-092.jpg" title="f0053-09" width="52" height="51"></div><p>The Canadiens&rsquo; long and painful search for a big, talented center might come to an end with <b>RYAN POEHLING</b>, who continues to develop nicely with NCAA St. Cloud. He gives the U.S. a two-way presence who can win faceoffs, produce offense and shut down opposing star players.</p></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0053-103/227830-1-eng-US/f0053-102.jpg" title="f0053-10" width="52" height="52"></div><p>Right winger <b>JOEY ANDERSON</b> won gold with Team USA last year, bringing weight to Clayton Keller&rsquo;s wing. This year, at the World Junior Summer Showcase, the power forward with excellent scoring touch was paired up with Poehling, and the results were promising.</p></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0053-113/227823-1-eng-US/f0053-112.jpg" title="f0053-11" width="52" height="52"></div><p>Since leaving Boston University for WHL Portland, sturdy sniper <b>KIEFFER BELLOWS</b> has been on fire. The key for the left winger is to maintain consistency. His best showing for the U.S. last year came in the gold medal game. They&rsquo;ll need that version of Bellows to show up again.</p></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0053-123/227816-1-eng-US/f0053-122.jpg" title="f0053-12" width="52" height="52"></div><p>Fans have been drooling over center <b>FILIP CHYTIL</b> since he went straight from the draft to the NHL. Chytil&rsquo;s now putting up great numbers for AHL Hartford and will be a potent weapon for a Czech team that could surprise: he was part of their 2016 Ivan Hlinka tourney gold medal squad.</p></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0053-132/227809-1-eng-US/f0053-132.jpg" title="f0053-13" width="52" height="52"></div><p>It was a shock when left winger <b>ALEX FORMENTON</b> made the Senators&rsquo; opening night roster. But Formenton, an 11th-round pick of OHL London in 2015, has made a habit of surprising. He&rsquo;s the kind of guy who could start for Canada as the 13th forward and work his way up.</p></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0053-142/227802-1-eng-US/f0053-142.jpg" title="f0053-14" width="52" height="51"></div><p>Center <b>GERMAN RUBTSOV</b> was dealt from QMJHL Chicoutimi to Acadie-Bathurst in November and immediately found chemistry with Anaheim pick Antoine Morand. His 2017 WJC was handicapped by injury, so the skilled but well-rounded scoring machine will be raring to go for Russia.</p></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0053-152/227795-1-eng-US/f0053-152.jpg" title="f0053-15" width="52" height="52"></div><p>If Sweden is going to shed its ungainly streak of fourth-place finishes at the world juniors, <b>FILIP GUSTAVSSON</b> is going to be a big factor. The returning netminder uses size and positioning to steal games and he&rsquo;s been solid in the Swedish League while playing backup minutes in Lulea.</p></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0053-16/227788-1-eng-US/f0053-162.jpg" title="f0053-16" width="52" height="52"></div><p>Adam Foote&rsquo;s son, <b>CAL FOOTE</b>, was born in Colorado but chose to represent Canada over the U.S. in international competition, and the Great White North appreciates the gesture. Foote is a thinking-man&rsquo;s defenseman who reads the play well and is equally efficient in both ends.</p></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0053-17/227781-1-eng-US/f0053-172.jpg" title="f0053-17" width="52" height="52"></div><p>Defenseman <b>TIMOTHY LILJEGREN</b> sustained an upper-body injury in the AHL in November, but it&rsquo;s not expected to keep him off Sweden&rsquo;s WJC roster. Liljegren has come as advertised, playing regularly as a pro at 18. He stood out at the World Junior Summer Showcase.</p></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0053-18/227774-1-eng-US/f0053-182.jpg" title="f0053-18" width="52" height="52"></div><p>Blessed with great size and skating acumen, defenseman <b>TOBIAS GEISSER</b> just needs to toughen up and continue to develop. Playing for EV Zug in Switzerland&rsquo;s top league, Geisser is getting third-pairing minutes, but he&rsquo;ll be leaned on heavily by the Swiss in Buffalo.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p></div>

f0053-02

EASTERN CONFERENCE

<div class="byline">BY JARED CLINTON</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0054-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0054-0153/227922-1-eng-US/f0054-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>SPECIAL ON SPECIAL TEAMS</b></p><p>The power play is great, but Roslovic takes pride in killing penalties as well for the Manitoba Moose.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(JONATHAN KOZUB/MANITOBA MOOSE)</span></figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0054-0237/227915-1-eng-US/f0054-022.jpg" title="f0054-02" width="95" height="95"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>G</span>IVEN THAT JACK ROSLOVIC</b> is on pace to surpass last year&rsquo;s point total around mid-season and scoring more than a point per game in the AHL, one would expect Manitoba Moose GM Craig Heisinger to offer high praise when asked about the sophomore center&rsquo;s performance. Truth is, Heisinger wasn&rsquo;t seeing what he wanted out of Roslovic until early November. &ldquo;I say that respectfully,&rdquo; Heisinger said. &ldquo;Last year, he got off to a great start and did really well, but that&rsquo;s because his expectations were simplified. They were to play for the Moose. This year he was dealing with a situation that everybody else had dealt with in the past but he hadn&rsquo;t, and that&rsquo;s the disappointment of getting sent down from the NHL.&rdquo;</p><p>The demotion stung. After all, Roslovic came very close to making the Winnipeg Jets out of training camp, sent to the farm two days before the start of the season. But even if he was finding the scoresheet, Roslovic admitted it took him a while to find his overall game. More than a quarter of the way through his second year in Manitoba, he&rsquo;s hitting his stride. &ldquo;The coaches have done a good job of finding my assets and trying to squeeze that out of me,&rdquo; said Roslovic, the 25th pick in the 2015 draft.</p><p>Chief among those attributes is the speed which much of Roslovic&rsquo;s game is predicated upon. It&rsquo;s his greatest weapon and has helped him excel at every level, from the U.S. National Team Development Program to the University of Miami (Ohio) and now the AHL. &ldquo;The key is he plays fast,&rdquo; Heisinger said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s really what it comes down to. He needs to play with pace that pushes other people back and makes more space for himself to use his skill.&rdquo;</p><p>But there&rsquo;s more to it for Roslovic than using that quickness to generate opportunities. It makes him a threat on the penalty kill, where he&rsquo;s earning the chance to showcase his defensive awareness. Roslovic&rsquo;s speed allows him to force turnovers, beat opponents to loose pucks and create havoc on the forecheck. &ldquo;He has courage on the penalty kill, especially in the open ice with his willingness to get in the way and block shots,&rdquo; Heisinger said. &ldquo;Besides hockey sense for killing penalties, you need courage.&rdquo;</p><p>Roslovic, 20, believes proving his worth as more than a scorer will be what propels him to the big leagues, too. &ldquo;As a young guy, if you&rsquo;re going to break into the NHL, you have to be able to do other things,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Being a skill guy, you want to play on the power play, but being able to be on the penalty kill is something you can pride yourself on.&rdquo;</p><p>When he gets the call up to the NHL, though, is out of Roslovic&rsquo;s hands. All he can control for the time being is his game and continue to &ldquo;trust the process.&rdquo; And Heisinger knows sooner or later, when the time is right, Roslovic will get that chance. &ldquo;The most important thing for Jack is that he gets there not when he wants to get there,&rdquo; Heisinger said, &ldquo;but when he&rsquo;s ready to get there.&rdquo;</p><p>FOR DAILY PROSPECT COVERAGE, VISIT <b><a href="http://THN.com">THN.COM</a></b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p></div>

f0054-01

JACK ALMOST OUT OF THE BOX

<div class="byline">&#x2013; STEVEN ELLIS</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0055-0323/227987-1-eng-US/f0055-032.jpg" title="f0055-03" width="239" height="303"><figcaption class="caption-body">CHRIS <b>BOURQUE</b></figcaption></div><h2><b>CHRIS BOURQUE, LW</b></h2><p><b>HERSHEY BEARS</b></p><p><b>Drafted:</b> 33rd overall, 2004 (WSH)</p><p>His 5-foot-8 frame didn&rsquo;t stop him from becoming one of the greatest Bears ever, and at 31, he has several years left to add to his legacy. Ray Bourque&rsquo;s son is a two-time AHL scoring champ and he&rsquo;s leading the way again this season.</p><h2><b>TRAVIS BOYD, C</b></h2><p><b>HERSHEY BEARS</b></p><p><b>Drafted:</b> 177th overall, 2011 (WSH)</p><p>The 5-foot-11 pivot is averaging more than a point per game and he&rsquo;s on pace for his best AHL season &ndash; an impressive feat after leading the team in scoring last year. Boyd, 24, has been a formidable center for Bourque.</p><h2><b>ANDREW MANGIAPANE, LW</b></h2><p><b>STOCKTON HEAT</b></p><p><b>Drafted:</b> 166th overall, 2015 (CGY)</p><p>Mangiapane, 21, put up back-to-back 100-point seasons with OHL Barrie and that scoring prowess has followed him to the AHL. The 5-foot-10 winger was vying for the league&rsquo;s scoring lead in his sophomore season.</p><h2><b>TEEMU PULKKINEN, LW</b></h2><p><b>CHICAGO WOLVES</b></p><p><b>Drafted:</b> 111st overall, 2010 (DET)</p><p>Pulkkinen, 5-foot-10, bounced from Detroit to Minnesota to Arizona before being plucked by Vegas in the expansion draft. The 25-year-old has yet to see time with the Golden Knights, but if he keeps producing in the AHL, he will.</p><h2><b>CORY CONACHER, RW</b></h2><p><b>SYRACUSE CRUNCH</b></p><p><b>Drafted:</b> N/A (signed by TB in 2012)</p><p>He&rsquo;s been around. The 27-year-old has played for 12 teams &ndash; including four NHL clubs &ndash; since turning pro in 2011. He produces, but like many on this list, his size (5-foot-8) prevents him from getting regular NHL work.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0055-03

SMALL STATURE, BIG PRODUCTION

<div class="byline">BY STAN FISCHLER</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0056-0152/228023-1-eng-US/f0056-012.jpg" title="f0056-01" width="513" height="469"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>SCHOOL OF HARD NOCKS</b></p><p>Nocks rubbed shoulders with famous actors one day and stonewalled future Hall of Famers the next.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(STAN FISCHLER)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>A</span>RNEE NOCKS WAS A</b> successful television producer and director who was regarded for his affability and good looks. Yet some friends thought he was dumb and dumber.</p><p>At least they did during from 1956 to 1963. New York Rangers goalie Lorne &lsquo;Gump&rsquo; Worsley considered his good pal Arnee the perfect fool &ndash; and for good reason. During team scrimmages those seven seasons, Nocks was at the other end of the rink, doing his thing as the practice goaltender.</p><p>Now, how foolish was that? Worsley had the answer: &ldquo;At least I have an excuse for being a goalie, I get paid for it. You risk your life stopping those crazy shots when you&rsquo;ve got a good job, lead a comfortable life&hellip;and don&rsquo;t get paid a cent for it.&rdquo;</p><p>What&rsquo;s worse &ndash; or better, depending on how you look at it &ndash; Nocks never wore a mask.</p><p>Week after week, he defied the likes of Hall of Famers such as Andy Bathgate and Bill Gadsby, regularly risking his health and handsomeness by facing slapshots up to 100 miles per hour.</p><p>When I was covering the Rangers for the <i>New York Journal- American</i>, Nocks showed me where some shots had cut him so badly that his face began to look like a map of the Alaskan Highway. At the time, he estimated that he had accumulated 60 brow-to-chin stitches over a seven-year span. &ldquo;I stopped counting after the 25th,&rdquo; Nocks told me. &ldquo;But during a workout I never think about getting hurt. If I did I&rsquo;d probably crack up like some of the NHL goalies do.&rdquo;</p><p>Standing 5-foot-8 and 155 pounds, the native of Brooklyn, N.Y., insisted that being a human target for hockey missiles was fun. Possibly even more fun than directing TV hits such as <i>The Kraft Theater</i>, <i>Captain Vid-</i> <i>eo</i> and <i>The Mike Wallace Show</i>. &ldquo;People tell me I ought to get paid to get on the ice with the Rangers,&rdquo; Nocks said, &ldquo;but the fact is, I&rsquo;d pay them just to be able to do it.&rdquo;</p><p>Nocks, who was 37 when I interviewed him in 1963, didn&rsquo;t lace up his first pair of skates until his 20s. He got his break with the Rangers in February 1955 while watching the New York team practice. The regular spare goalie didn&rsquo;t show up so trainer Frank Paice, who had seen Nocks play with local recreation teams, suggested the TV man put on the pads. &ldquo;I directed a lot of glamorous TV shows,&rdquo; Nocks said, &ldquo;but the day Paice came over to me was the biggest thrill of my life. I was scared yet I knew this was the chance I&rsquo;d waited for, and I was going to go through with it.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0056-0244/228016-1-eng-US/f0056-022.jpg" title="f0056-02" width="238" height="261"><figcaption class="caption-body">ARNEE <b>NOCKS</b></figcaption></div><blockquote class="pullQuote">MY STOMACH WAS IN KNOTS. THEN ANDY BATHGATE FIRED A SHOT AND TO MY AMAZEMENT <b>I STOPPED IT</b><br>&ndash; Arnee Nocks</blockquote><p>&ldquo;When I got on the ice my stomach was tied up in a thousand knots. Then Andy Bathgate fired a shot and to my amazement I stopped it. After that, one by one, the little knots began to untie themselves and I felt this was what I should&rsquo;ve been doing all my life.&rdquo;</p><p>Nocks became so good, he was taken for granted by Rangers coaches. In 1958, he visited the club&rsquo;s training camp where coach Phil Watson urged him to get between the pipes opposite his chum, Gump. While Worsley allowed five goals, at the other end, Nocks blanked the Blueshirts &ldquo;I&rsquo;d make you my regular goalie,&rdquo; Watson said, &ldquo;but you&rsquo;re too old.&rdquo;</p><p>It&rsquo;s worth noting that Arnee&rsquo;s impossible dream of playing an NHL game could be realized today. According to current NHL rules, every arena must have an emergency goalie available for either team.</p><p>When legendary entertainer Dean Martin begged Nocks to go West, promising big bucks for him to produce a major Hollywood movie, Nocks declined. &ldquo;I want to play my hockey in New York,&rdquo; he said.</p><p>Before giving up puck-stopping and concentrating on TV work, Nocks did his friends a favor and for one day wore a mask during a workout. Until then he had never lost a tooth. But during the scrimmage a shot from Pat Hannigan burst through a maze of players and struck Nocks&rsquo; mask at the mouth. The mask shattered into 100 fragments. Among the pieces on the ice were his two front teeth. &ldquo;Now,&rdquo; he exclaimed, &ldquo;I&rsquo;m a real hockey player!&rdquo;</p><p>Nocks died of Parkinson&rsquo;s disease in 1992. During services at a church in Pennsylvania, his best friend and beer league teammate, Jim Sullivan, put it succinctly about his buddy: &ldquo;Here we are at a Protestant church, honoring a Jewish boy who tended goal always wearing a Catholic medallion. Arnee not only could stop shots, he covered all bases!&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0056-01

REALIZING HIS FANTASY ISLAND

<div class="byline">BY LARRY HUMBER</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0057-0149/228073-1-eng-US/f0057-012.jpg" title="f0057-01" width="512" height="513"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(GUESS WHO: PHILADELPHIA FLYERS; NAME GAME: GETTY IMAGES; CROSSWORD: JONATHAN KOZUB/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>ACROSS</b></p><p>1 Goalie Scott ___ is now with Carolina</p><p>4 First name of 2015&rsquo;s No. 4 overall pick</p><p>7 Veteran puckstopper ___ Johnson</p><p>8 Canes winger previously with Caps, pictured</p><p>10 Temporarily banning from playing</p><p>12 Rick Pagnutti was drafted ___ overall in 1967 but never played an NHL game</p><p>13 Forward lines</p><p>14 Finishing or putting away: two words</p><p>18 He&rsquo;s the team president in Beantown</p><p>19 Modano has more goals than any other ___</p><p>20 Sarnia&rsquo;s team</p><p>21 Don ___ is third in all-time GP for Bruins</p><p><b>DOWN</b></p><p>1 Visnovsky and Vishnevski were ___</p><p>2 Encourage or cheer up</p><p>3 What checking lines must do</p><p>4 Oiler from Vancouver</p><p>5 There&rsquo;s no &lsquo;I&rsquo; in ___</p><p>6 Never stops skating</p><p>9 He wears the &lsquo;C&rsquo; in &lsquo;Motor City&rsquo;</p><p>11 Where &lsquo;Grapes&rsquo; comes from</p><p>12 Ron ___ is Canes GM</p><p>15 Yanks</p><p>16 He took the Hart in 2011</p><p>17 The ___ was Atlanta&rsquo;s old arena</p><h2><b>Name GAME</b></h2><p>Use the picture clues to uncover the name of a prominent hockey personality.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0057-0243/228066-1-eng-US/f0057-022.jpg" title="f0057-02" width="470" height="460"></div><h2><b>Guess WHO?</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0057-0335/228059-1-eng-US/f0057-032.jpg" title="f0057-03" width="239" height="314"></div><p><b>CLUE #1</b></p><p>&ldquo;I hail from Hearst, an Ontario town that is almost entirely French-speaking.&rdquo;</p><p><b>CLUE #2</b></p><p>&ldquo;The only players with more points than me in the 2010s: Crosby, Ovechkin, Kane.&rdquo;</p><p><b>CLUE #3</b></p><p>&ldquo;Only Bobby Clarke has captained the Flyers for longer than my six seasons.&rdquo;</p><h2><b>PUCK PUZZLE</b></h2><p>Can your hockey brain bring its A-game? The challenge is on!</p><p>We&rsquo;ve listed eight Canadians who were named the world juniors&rsquo; top forward. Once you&rsquo;ve filled in the missing letters, the name of 2005&rsquo;s top forward will appear in the RED boxes. (Hint: He often wears red, but he&rsquo;s not Canadian.)</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0057-0430/228052-1-eng-US/f0057-042.jpg" title="f0057-04" width="317" height="446"></div><p><b>GUESS WHO ANSWER:</b> CLAUDE GIROUX <b>CROSSWORD SOLUTION: ACROSS</b> 1. DARLING, 4. MITCH, 7. CHAD, 8. WILLIAMS, 10. SUSPENDING, 12. FIRST, 13. UNITS, 14. WRAPPING UP, 18. CAM NEELY, 19. STAR, 20. STING, 21. SWEENEY <b>DOWN</b> 1. DUCKS, 2. REASSURE, 3. GRIND, 4. MILAN LUCIC, 5. TEAM, 6. HUSTLES, 9. ZETTERBERG, 11. KINGSTON, 12. FRANCIS, 15. PULLS, 16. PERRY, AND 17. OMNI <b>PUCK PUZZLE SOLUTION:</b> DOMI, TAVARES. EBERLE, MCCOURT, SCHENN, GRETZKY, LINDROS, IGINLA (FINAL ANSWER: OVECHKIN) <b>NAME GAME SOLUTION:</b> NICKLAS BACKSTROM<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0057-01

CROSSWORD

<div class="byline">WITH KEN CAMPBELL</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0058-0244/228102-1-eng-US/f0058-022.jpg" title="f0058-02" width="598" height="403"><figcaption class="caption-body">PATRICK MARLEAU <b>& JOE THORNTON</b> <span class="photo-credit">(DON SMITH/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><span class="image-inline"><img src="mon12.jpg" title="common1" width="22" height="18"></span><p>@THNKENCAMPBELL</p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0058-0153/228109-1-eng-US/f0058-012.jpg" title="f0058-01" width="103" height="130"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>A</span>LL RIGHT THEN, JUST</b> so we have this straight, fewer than six months ago the guys who run the hockey departments in the NHL wanted the league to do something about faceoff cheats. They implored the league to use its existing rules to crack down on players who were using their star power to curry favor with linesmen, which allowed them to encroach on the faceoff circle and win the draw.</p><p>So in September the league responded by doing just that, reviving an obscure rule that calls for a two-minute penalty after two faceoff infractions on the same draw. But then when the same GMs met in mid-November, they floated the idea that a two-minute penalty for a faceoff violation just might be &ldquo;too punitive&rdquo; and talked about the possibility of asking the league to reduce it to one minute. While at it, they brought up the possibility of lobbying for a one-minute penalty for shooting the puck over the glass and reducing minor penalties in 3-on-3 overtime to just one minute.</p><p>Wow, that&rsquo;s almost like carping about how high player salaries are and how they damage small-market teams, then spending the first couple of years after the league imposes a salary cap complaining about how difficult it is to keep your players and manage your payroll. Hey, wait a minute&hellip;</p><p>It would be difficult to find a league that blunts skill and smarts in the name of leveling the playing field the way the NHL does. Can anyone rationally explain why teams are allowed to ice the puck with impunity when killing a penalty? When the Montreal Canadiens were running roughshod over their opponents with a lethal power play in the 1950s, the league imposed a rule limiting the number of goals scored on a power play to one. And we can&rsquo;t have a team play 60-plus minutes and come away with nothing, which gave rise to the loser point.</p><p>What makes this latest pondering by GMs so difficult to fathom is that it has nothing to do with the law of unintended consequences. If it did, well, then you might be able to understand their thinking. But when the GMs told their bosses to crack down on faceoffs, did they not envision it would result in penalties during crucial times in games and might even decide some of them? When they lobbied for 3-on-3 overtime to increase offense and reduce the number of shootouts, did they not ponder the possibility some games would be decided by 4-on-3 situations? Isn&rsquo;t that the kind of thing they were trying to achieve in the first place?</p><p>If these things had been foisted upon GMs &ndash; and in their defense the puck-overthe- glass penalty was &ndash; you might have a little sympathy for them. But the faceoff crackdown and 3-on-3 were moves not only endorsed by them, they were concocted and spearheaded by them. And now that they&rsquo;re seeing the results, they want to pull back.</p><p>With respect to faceoffs, it is having the desired effect. After some initial hiccups, we&rsquo;re seeing players adapt to the new standard. Joe Thornton, who was one of the most prominent faceoff cheaters in the league, is still winning 55 percent of his draws. Kyle Turris, another player who was mentioned in that vein, is also at 55 percent. Players are adjusting and still winning on merit.</p><blockquote class="pullQuote">IF A TEAM TAKES A PENALTY IN OVERTIME, <b>IT SHOULD BE PREPARED TO SPEND 40 PERCENT OF THE EXTRA PERIOD KILLING A PENALTY</b></blockquote><p>Then there&rsquo;s the notion of making some minor penalties worth less than others, which would send us down a slippery slope. Those in favor of doing this argue that inadvertently flipping the puck over the glass is less egregious of an infraction than elbowing your foe in the head. So where does it end? What do you do with too-many-men-on-theice where the puck hits a player&rsquo;s skate as he&rsquo;s headed to the bench? Mini-egregious, so maybe just a 45-second penalty?</p><p>Here&rsquo;s the way it works, or should work in hockey: you break the rules, either deliberately or by accident, and you&rsquo;re subject to a minimum two-minute penalty. It&rsquo;s not about severity, unless of course the action is so egregious or dangerous that it merits a five-minute major and game misconduct. When the league imposed the puck-overthe- glass penalty, it didn&rsquo;t do so because it was delaying games or disrupting the flow. It did it to create more pressure on defensemen playing the puck in their own zone. If a guy knew all he had to do was ring it off the glass to get it out with no worries about whether or not it cleared the glass, that takes a lot of skill and poise out of the equation. The league was, and has been, steadfast in its intent on this. By not giving defensemen that option, it either forces them to be better at what they do or risk the consequences of trying to make an easy, lazy play.</p><p>By the same token, if a team takes a penalty in OT, it should be prepared to spend 40 percent of the extra period killing a penalty. Overtime is supposed to be different than the first 60 minutes. You&rsquo;re supposed to be trying to determine a winner, aren&rsquo;t you? The ramifications for making a mistake in OT should be a lot more significant than those that are made during regulation.</p><p>Each player in the NHL doesn&rsquo;t get to hoist the Stanley Cup when the season ends. That&rsquo;s not how it works. This is the highest level of competition in the world, featuring the best players in an environment where the standard of play is worlds above any other league. These guys wear big-boy hockey pants and they can handle two-minute penalties.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

Search for your favorite player or team

World Juniors 2018

MARTEL THE MAGICIAN

RAPID FIRE

PRO HOCKEY IN HOUSTON

THN POLL