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Prospects Unlimited 2018
The Hockey News has been providing the most comprehensive coverage of the world of hockey since 1947. The Hockey News is published 16 times a year, which includes our wildly popular Yearbook, Future Watch, Draft Preview, Collector’s Edition, Money & Power, Fantasy Pool Guide and much more!
BEWARE OF CHARGING BUFFALO
THE FIRST TIME MANY Sabres fans saw center Matej Pekar on the ice, he was getting trucked by No. 1 overall pick Rasmus Dahlin at Buffalo’s development camp this past summer. But first impressions can be deceiving, as Pekar is usually the one bringing the thunder. The native of the Czech Republic made that abundantly clear last season in the USHL, where he played for a very fun Muskegon Lumberjacks squad. “I loved it,” Pekar said. “It went way better than expected. We were that team that loved to entertain the fans and do whatever it takes. We loved to score a lot of goals, loved to fight, loved to throw some big bodies and do all the good chirping…sometimes the old-school hockey came to play. It was really fun.” Pekar had…
YOU ONLY GET ONE SHOT, KID
THE CALDER TROPHY IS arguably the most difficult individual award in hockey to win. Sure, it’s not as prestigious as the Hart, Vezina or Norris, and the pool of competitors is restricted to a relatively small group. On the other hand, you only get one chance at it. Many all-time greats don’t have a Calder on their mantle, including Gordie Howe, Sidney Crosby, Bobby Hull, Maurice Richard, Jean Beliveau and Doug Harvey. Wayne Gretzky never won one, either, but that was due to a technicality. He wasn’t just the NHL’s best rookie in 1979-80, he was its best player, but was ineligible due to his WHA experience. Some rookie classes are better than others. Many times in the NHL’s 100-year history, the second-best, and sometimes even the third-best rookie had such…
NEW NHL BREEDS POWER OUTAGE
TOM WILSON DOES ONE thing better than anyone in the game today: hurl his 6-foot-4, 218-pound pickup truck of a body into opposing players. After he claims a victim, he gladly drops the gloves with anyone trying to avenge a fallen teammate, and he typically claims casualty No. 2. A couple decades ago, we’d toast Wilson for his ability to change a game. Don Cherry would pump him up as a “beauty” on Coach’s Corner. But now? Wilson’s blunt toolbox renders him a villain in the eyes of almost anyone outside Washington, where he’s revered as a Stanley Cup winner. He’s earned many trips to the NHL Department of Player Safety and, since he’s repeatedly shown he hasn’t learned to avoid crushing hits to the head, it’s gotten him suspended for…
LOOKING FOR THE JERSEY TURNPIKE
SWEDEN NATIVES FABIAN Zetterlund and Jesper Boqvist were both drafted by the Devils in 2017, so they were a natural pair when the team held a ping-pong tournament during the team’s development camp over the summer. Zetterlund was great. Boqvist was not – and Zetterlund wasn’t afraid to bust the chops of his potential future teammate. Ping-pong skills aside, Zetterlund had a solid summer showing what he could bring to the Devils down the line. Taken after Nico Hischier and Boqvist in 2017, the third-round right winger possesses plenty of skill, speed and grit. At 5-foot-11 and 196 pounds, Zetterlund is tough to knock off the puck. As he showed during the NHL Prospects Challenge in September in Buffalo, he can maintain possession and win battles along the boards. He managed…