It’s The Hockey News' annual Champions Commemorative Edition, with 84 pages celebrating all the winners from the 2018-19 season, including 24 pages on the St. Louis Blues, plus features on the champs from the AHL, KHL, top Euro and women’s leagues, the Memorial Cup and much more. Plus, the THN Awards, our top 10 moments of the NHL season, and features on Andreas Johnsson, Carter Hart, Roope Hintz and 31 NHL players ready to break out in 2019-20.

Champions Issue 2019

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 June 19, 2019 - Champions Issue

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0050-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0050-0188/528573-1-eng-US/f0050-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(BANDITS: MATTHEW MURNAGHAN/HOCKEY CANADA IMAGES; CSKA: SERGEI SAVOSTYANOV\TASS VIA GETTY IMAGES DULUTH: BILL WIPPERT/NCAA PHOTOS VIA GETTY IMAGES; FINLAND: RVS.MEDIA/ROBERT HRADIL/GETTY IMAGES; WHITECAPS: MICHAEL HETZEL)</span></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

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The Champions

<b><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/eastern-logo/532269-1-eng-US/eastern-logo.jpg" title="eastern-logo" width="800" height="600"></div></b><p><b>&gt; BOSTON BRUINS</b><br>The top four is set on defense, and it already has one undersized player in Torey Krug, but <b>MATT GRZELCYK</b> made a case during the playoff run that he&rsquo;s ready to make a big contribution. In his three seasons, he&rsquo;s progressively had more minutes, more responsibility and more production.</p><p><b>&gt; BUFFALO SABRES</b><br><b>CASEY MITTELSTADT&rsquo;S</b> rookie season was underwhelming by eye-test or analytics standards. Shuttled between center and left wing in the bottom six, he never gained comfort and confidence. But with his pedigree, he&rsquo;ll produce more if he moves up in the lineup.</p><p><b>&gt; CAROLINA HURRICANES</b><br>Everything was better for left winger <b>WARREN FOEGELE</b> in the playoffs. The solidly built rookie had just 15 points in 77 regular-season games but tallied nine points in 15 playoff games with additional ice time. Quick with a nice two-way game, Foegele can kill penalties, too.</p><p><b>&gt;&nbsp;COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS</b><br>Power forwards are hard to find these days, but there&rsquo;s definitely something to right winger <b>JOSH ANDERSON</b>. Through three full seasons, Anderson&rsquo;s points per game have been on a steady incline, and he&rsquo;s in line to break 30 goals in 2019-20. His ill nature is icing on the cake.</p><p><b>&gt; DETROIT RED WINGS</b><br>After spending the second half in the NHL, <b>FILIP HRONEK</b> is primed to grab a full-time job on the blueline. Hronek improved his penalty killing in the AHL in the first half and came back a much better D-man. As he proved in the World Championship, he can produce offense.</p><p><b>&gt; FLORIDA PANTHERS</b><br>Amid criticism he was mismanaged by ex-coach Bob Boughner, <b>HENRIK BORGSTROM</b> gets a clean slate with Joel Quenneville. Borgstrom played just 12 minutes a game in his rookie season. If he receives more top-six ice time with better offensive players, his past suggests he&rsquo;ll score.</p><p><b>&gt; MONTREAL CANADIENS</b><br>In 120 career NHL games, <b>VICTOR METE</b> is still looking for his first goal, but his defensive game has been solid. He is a smart, puck-moving defenseman who has lots of upside. His skating ability gives him the potential to be an impact player at both ends of the ice.</p><p><b>&gt; NEW JERSEY DEVILS</b><br>The beginning and the end of <b>JESPER BRATT&rsquo;S</b> campaign were downers due to injuries, but the middle was very promising. The 2016 sixth-rounder upped his points per game as a sophomore, and the winger&rsquo;s hockey sense and versatility make him one to watch next season.</p><p><b>&gt; NEW YORK ISLANDERS</b><br>Every team could use a player like <b>DEVON TOEWS</b>. Though the Quinnipiac product spent some time with AHL Bridgeport, he made enough of an impression to find himself with a meaty role in all eight playoff games. At 25, the mobile defenseman is ready for the next level.</p><p><b>&gt; NEW YORK RANGERS</b><br>As the rebuild continues, that means opportunity for <b>TONY DEANGELO</b>. The offensively gifted defenseman was scratched numerous times, but he had an eight-game point streak in February and logged a healthy amount of minutes otherwise. Look for 30-plus points from him.</p><p><b>&gt; OTTAWA SENATORS</b><br>Once the dust settled and all the trades were made, <b>COLIN WHITE</b> was Ottawa&rsquo;s No. 1 center. His defense, one of the hallmarks of his game, suffered on the NHL&rsquo;s worst team, but he did put up good numbers for a rookie. White will get the opportunity to pick up where he left off.</p><p><b>&gt; PHILADELPHIA FLYERS</b><br>Center <b>NOLAN PATRICK,</b> the second overall pick from 2017, saw modest gains in points, ice time and faceoff win percentage in his sophomore season but, with another summer of training, Patrick could easily take off next year. New coach Alain Vigneault will be the X-factor.</p><p><b>&gt; PITTSBURGH PENGUINS</b><br>At 23, <b>JARED MCCANN</b> is already on his third NHL team, but the Penguins seem like a fit. After getting dealt from Florida, McCann found a home on Sidney Crosby&rsquo;s left wing and complemented the superstar well. McCann plays a two-way game and has untapped offense.</p><p><b>&gt; TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING</b><br>In his rookie season, <b>ANTHONY CIRELLI</b> proved himself to be the best penalty killer on the NHL&rsquo;s best penalty-killing team. And he scored 19 goals despite playing fewer than 15 minutes a game. If the Lightning move Tyler Johnson, it would vault Cirelli into a second-line role.</p><p><b>&gt; TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS</b><br>Assuming he&rsquo;s not traded or doesn&rsquo;t endure a contract impasse, <b>KASPERI KAPANEN</b> has the potential to jump into the 60-plus point range, particularly if he continues to play with Auston Matthews. In his first full NHL season, Kapanen impressed with his speed and skill.</p><p><b>&gt; WASHINGTON CAPITALS</b><br>With the trend towards giving starters more rest in the regular season, don&rsquo;t be surprised if goalie <b>PHEONIX COPLEY</b> takes on even more of a load from Braden Holtby. Copley had similar numbers to Holtby, and he has the size and frame to make a difference.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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NHL Team Reports

EASTERN CONFERENCE

<div class="byline">BY MATT LARKIN</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="countdown_d_047" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/countdown_d_0473/526912-1-eng-US/countdown_d_0472.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>KEN DRYDEN</b></p><p></p> <span class="photo-credit">(DENIS BRODEUR/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>A</span>S THE TAMPA BAY</b> Lightning showed us this year, regular-season success, even on an historic level, doesn&rsquo;t guarantee immortality. No one will ever include the 62-win Bolts from 2018-19 in discussions of the &ldquo;best NHL team ever.&rdquo; Same goes for the 1995-96 Detroit Red Wings, who share the wins record with Tampa. Neither team finished the job with a Stanley Cup.</p><p>The elite tier of our best-peak-season ranking thus includes teams that stuffed the stat sheet in the regular season <i>and</i> won a championship. They pretty much achieved hockey perfection. The game&rsquo;s greatest dynasties live here.</p><p>The next group includes teams that didn&rsquo;t necessarily sustain dominance throughout the entire season but put it all together when things mattered. The 2011-12 Los Angeles Kings, for instance, barely made the playoffs as a No. 8 seed yet lost just four times in the playoffs.</p><p>Beneath the winners: teams that accomplished memorable things in the regular season without winning the Stanley Cup. For franchises with no championships, these years qualify as their best. The Florida Panthers will always have that &rsquo;96 playoff run.</p><p>Other criteria factoring into these rankings: star power, Hall of Famers and, for selections before 2013-14, rankings from our <i>Greatest Teams of All-Time</i> collector&rsquo;s edition were honored.</p><h2><b>1. MONTREAL, 1976-77</b></h2><p><b>60-8-12, .825, WON STANLEY CUP</b></p><p>So dominant that image of &ldquo;bored&rdquo; Dryden, leaning on his stick waiting for action, became emblem of the dynasty.</p><h2><b>2. EDMONTON, 1983-84</b></h2><p><b>57-18-5, .744, WON STANLEY CUP</b></p><p>The greatest offensive team in hockey history featured Gretzky, Coffey, Messier & Co. churning out video-game stats.</p><h2><b>3. NY ISLANDERS, 1982-83</b></h2><p><b>42-26-12, .600, WON STANLEY CUP</b></p><p>Trottier, Bossy, Potvin led way to fourth Cup as part of unbeatable record: 19 consecutive playoff series victories.</p><h2><b>4. DETROIT, 1951-52</b></h2><p><b>44-14-12, .714, WON STANLEY CUP</b></p><p>Howe and Sawchuk were known for decades as the greatest skater and goaltender ever. Some still believe that.</p><h2><b>5. BOSTON, 1971-72</b></h2><p><b>54-13-11, .763, WON STANLEY CUP</b></p><p>Orr and Esposito posted best offensive numbers the NHL had ever seen, with a rough, tough team backing them up.</p><h2><b>6. PHILADELPHIA, 1974-75</b></h2><p><b>51-18-11, .706, WON STANLEY CUP</b></p><p>Most intimidating team in NHL history had a ton of skill, too, from leader Clarke to Conn Smythe goalie Parent.</p><h2><b>7. PITTSBURGH, 1991-92</b></h2><p><b>39-32-9, .544, WON STANLEY CUP</b></p><p>Lemieux, Francis led team with four Hall of Fame forwards &ndash; soon to be five once Jagr gets in. Stacked superstar offense.</p><h2><b>8. TORONTO, 1962-63</b></h2><p><b>35-23-12, .586, WON STANLEY CUP</b></p><p>Cagey squad had 10 players aged 30 or older. Stingy with Bower in goal, Horton on &lsquo;D&rsquo; and two-way aces Keon and Kelly.</p><h2><b>9. COLORADO, 2000-01</b></h2><p><b>52-16-14, .720, WON STANLEY CUP</b></p><p>Had Sakic and Forsberg up front, Roy in goal, but adding Blake alongside Bourque made an all-time-great squad.</p><h2><b>10. CALGARY, 1988-89</b></h2><p><b>54-17-9, .731, WON STANLEY CUP</b></p><p>Finally escaped Oilers&rsquo; shadow. Deep squad was physical but also had talent (Nieuwendyk, Fleury, Mullen, MacInnis).</p><h2><b>11. CHICAGO, 2012-13</b></h2><p><b>36-7-5, .802, WON STANLEY CUP</b></p><p>Peak of the Toews/Kane/Keith era. Set NHL record with 24-game point streak to open lockout-shortened season.</p><h2><b>12. ANAHEIM, 2006-07</b></h2><p><b>48-20-14, .671, WON STANLEY CUP</b></p><p>Ageless Selanne. Niedermayer and Pronger on defense. Plus Getzlaf and Perry as kids? It felt almost unfair.</p><h2><b>13. NEW JERSEY, 1999-2000</b></h2><p><b>45-24-3, .628, WON STANLEY CUP</b></p><p>Gutsiest firing ever? GM Lamoriello axed coach Ftorek with team in first place, installing Robinson before playoffs.</p><h2><b>14. NY RANGERS, 1993-94</b></h2><p><b>52-24-8, .667, WON STANLEY CUP</b></p><p>Year of Messier&rsquo;s &ldquo;guarantee&rdquo; win was remarkable because GM Neil Smith overhauled team so much.</p><h2><b>15. DALLAS, 1998-99</b></h2><p><b>51-19-12, .695, WON STANLEY CUP</b></p><p>Coached by Hitchcock, team played lockdown &lsquo;D.&rsquo; Featured Belfour, Modano, Zubov at peak of their powers.</p><h2><b>16. WASHINGTON, 2017-18</b></h2><p><b>49-26-7, .640, WON STANLEY CUP</b></p><p>Ovechkin got his Cup, Conn Smythe, killed narrative about inability to win the big one. Holtby stellar in goal.</p><h2><b>17. TAMPA BAY, 2003-04</b></h2><p><b>46-22-8, .646, WON STANLEY CUP</b></p><p>Rode St-Louis during MVP season, got clutch play from Richards and heart-stopping saves from Khabibulin.</p><h2><b>18. CAROLINA, 2005-06</b></h2><p><b>52-22-9, .683, WON STANLEY CUP</b></p><p>The first Cup champion of &lsquo;The New NHL&rsquo; era subbed in rookie goalie Ward partway through the playoffs.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/buzz_ward3/526863-1-eng-US/buzz_ward2.jpg" title="buzz_ward" width="1020" height="1121"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p class="ezoeAlignleft" align="left"><b>CAM WARD</b></p> <span class="photo-credit">(DAVE SANDFORD/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><b>19. LOS ANGELES, 2011-12</b><p><b>40-27-15, .579, WON STANLEY CUP</b></p><p>Sleeping giant as low seed. Lost just four games all post-season, received legendary puck-stopping from Quick.</p><h2><b>20. ST. LOUIS, 2018-19</b></h2><p><b>45-28-9, .604, WON STANLEY CUP</b></p><p>First team to win Cup after being last overall at the 30-game mark. Powered by stellar rookie stopper Binnington.</p><h2><b>21. OTTAWA, 2006-07</b></h2><p><b>48-25-9, .640, LOST CUP FINAL</b></p><p>Stacked team couldn&rsquo;t finish job. Had Sens re-signed Chara instead of Redden on &lsquo;D,&rsquo; might they have beaten Ducks?</p><h2><b>22. VANCOUVER, 1993-94</b></h2><p><b>41-40-3, .506, LOST CUP FINAL</b></p><p>A big, strong team, with a young Bure adding finesse, came close to winning it all in seven-game war with Rangers.</p><h2><b>23. VEGAS, 2017-18</b></h2><p><b>51-24-7, .776, LOST CUP FINAL</b></p><p>Greatest expansion team in major pro sports history ran out of gas in final. Fleury unbeatable in first three rounds.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/buzz_fleury_0493/526786-1-eng-US/buzz_fleury_0492.jpg" title="buzz_fleury_049" width="1023" height="790"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>MARC-ANDRE FLEURY</b></p> <span class="photo-credit">(DAVE SANDFORD/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><b>24. BUFFALO, 1974-75</b><p><b>49-16-15, .706, LOST CUP FINAL</b></p><p>Fell victim to Broad Street Bullies. Loaded team had &lsquo;French Connection&rsquo; line of Martin-Perreault-Robert.</p><h2><b>25. SAN JOSE, 2015-16</b></h2><p><b>46-30-6, .598, LOST CUP FINAL</b></p><p>Anchored by dynamic D-man Burns. Might go down as the last great chance for greybeards Thornton and Marleau.</p><h2><b>26. NASHVILLE, 2016-17</b></h2><p><b>41-29-12, .573, LOST CUP FINAL</b></p><p>Led by elite blueline quartet of Josi, Ellis, Ekholm and Subban, they shocked Chicago with first-round sweep.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/countdown_j_0483/526730-1-eng-US/countdown_j_0482.jpg" title="countdown_j_048" width="628" height="889"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>ROMAN JOSI</b></p> <span class="photo-credit">(RONALD C. MODRA/NHL/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><h2><b>27. FLORIDA,1995-96</b></h2><p><b>41-31-10, .561, LOST CUP FINAL</b></p><p>Rubber rats rained from stands during one of most improbable underdog runs in playoff history. Vanbiesbrouck shone.</p><h2><b>28. WINNIPEG, 2017-18</b></h2><p><b>52-20-10, .695, LOST SEMIFINAL</b></p><p>Arguably the 2018 post-season&rsquo;s most talented team, with young Scheifele putting on goal-scoring clinic.</p><h2><b>29. MINNESOTA, 2002-03</b></h2><p><b>42-29-10, .579, LOST SEMIFINAL</b></p><p>Trap team played vintage Devils style under coach Lemaire, had nice run, but torch snuffed by Ducks goalie Giguere.</p><h2><b>30. ARIZONA, 2011-12</b></h2><p><b>42-27-13, .591, LOST SEMIFINAL</b></p><p>Star-less team had no player eclipse five goals in playoffs. Big goalie Smith was the story before Round 3 setback.</p><h2><b>31. COLUMBUS, 2018-19</b></h2><p><b>47-31-4, .598, LOST SECOND ROUND</b></p><p>Swept 62-win Lightning in an all-time great upset. Great story, but it loses luster given Jackets exited next round.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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BUZZ

The Countdown

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Help Guide

How To Use The App

<div class="byline">Jason Kay, Editor in chiefJason Kay, Editor in chief</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/firstword_s_0083/526232-1-eng-US/firstword_s_0082.jpg" title="firstword_s_008" width="858" height="990"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>TEEMU SELANNE</b></p> <span class="photo-credit">(TONY BIEGUN/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>P</span>ERFECT STORMS ARE SO</b> 2000. By definition, they&rsquo;re meant to be rare, yet they arise in our exchanges daily, overused and abused, literally, ironically and tragically. Give me a break. Give me an imperfect storm. Give me 1992-93.</p><p>In this issue, in which we toast champions and identify the best seasons for each NHL team (pg. 14), I&rsquo;m saluting the most wonderfully irregular and entertaining NHL year in my lifetime, 1992-93. The NHL&rsquo;s 76th year was one of experimentation, great successes and spectacular failures. There was expansion and relocation. Veterans, rookies and teams were making history for offense and awfulness. Scandals erupted. Davids took down Goliaths. A savior got traded. Twice. At the same time. A woman tended goal. And one icon accomplished a feat so rare, unique and unreal, it will never be equalled.</p><p><b>Mario&rsquo;s comeback.</b> Lemieux missed 24 games while undergoing radiation treatment for cancer &ndash; and returned to win the scoring title by 12 points. Top that. Anybody.</p><p><b>Goals, goals, goals.</b> Perhaps Lemieux inspired his brethren, as 21 players had 100 or more points, 14 had 50 or more goals, both bests. Cripes, a journeyman goalie, Jeff Reese, had a record three assists in one game. Goals-per-game spiked to 7.26, a number reminiscent of the roaring 1980s.</p><p><b>Flash mob.</b> Teemu Selanne obliterated the freshman goal standard, connecting 76 times &ndash; 23 more than the previous best frosh total established by Mike Bossy.</p><p><b>The Big Entrance.</b> Selanne was the best rookie, but Eric Lindros was the most hyped. After spurning Quebec, Lindros got his wish and was traded at the 1992 draft to the Flyers <i>and</i> Rangers. An arbitrator sided with Philly, and Lindros enjoyed a good first year on the ice, scoring 41 goals in 61 games. He was nearly as famous for an off-ice incident, charged with common assault following a beer-spraying he-said/she-said encounter in a bar, fittingly named Koo Koo Bananas. Lindros was ultimately found wet, but not guilty.</p><p><b>Room for Rheaume.</b> Tampa Bay GM Phil Esposito was guilty of roughing up reporter (and former THN editor in chief) Bob McKenzie following a game in Toronto. Seems Espo didn&rsquo;t like negative coverage about his first-year club. He didn&rsquo;t mind the press he got when he used Manon Rheuame in a pre-season game, making her the first woman to suit up for an NHL team.</p><p><b>Mighty Pens.</b> They had a (still) record 17-game win streak, the Presidents&rsquo; Trophy and a roster loaded with future Hall-of-Famers. A three-peat was imminent.</p><p><b>Mighty Isles.</b> The Islanders disagreed. They finished 32 points behind the Pens in the regular season and were minus their best player, Pierre Turgeon, for virtually the entire series but knocked off the champs in overtime of Game 7 in Round 2. Eight-goal man David Volek got the winner. Naturally.</p><p><b>Hunter&rsquo;s prey.</b> Turgeon missed all but a few moments of Round 2 due to a separated shoulder he incurred in Round 1 on one of the most notorious cheap shots in league history. Dale Hunter, the perpetrator, was assessed a record 21-game suspension to start the next season by yet another prominent NHL rookie, Gary Bettman.</p><p><b>The Commish.</b> NBA whiz Bettman was unveiled as the NHL&rsquo;s first commissioner mid-season, and two expansion clubs, the Florida Panthers and Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, followed. Among the group of candidates Bettman beat out was incumbent, interim and injudicious president Gil Stein.</p><p><b>Ol&rsquo; Gil</b>. Stein&rsquo;s whirlwind year in charge included the introduction of neutral-site games, contests with no home team. They didn&rsquo;t gain traction but did beget 84-game seasons, which in turn allowed Jimmy Carson to play in a record 86 games following a mid-year trade. Later that season, it was learned Stein shamefully engineered his own induction into the Hall of Fame.</p><p><b>Eagle grounded.</b> Another soon-to-be ex-Hall-of-Famer, Alan Eagleson came under scrutiny in 1992-93. The FBI and RCMP ramped up investigations of financial impropriety by the former director of the NHLPA. Eagleson insisted he was not a crook.</p><p><b>Green days.</b> North Stars owner Norm Green wasn&rsquo;t a crook, but he was a villain. He became public enemy No. 1 in Minnesota after declaring the franchise would, at season&rsquo;s end, be leaving the state of hockey for the state of hickory sauce &ndash; Texas.</p><p><b>Bucket list.</b> From head-scratching to head-shaking, helmets became optional again in 1992-93. Seriously. All one had to do was sign a waiver. The theory: see pretty faces, get more fans. Only one player, pugilist Greg Smyth, took up the offer, and he abandoned the trial after a few games.</p><p><b>Kerry On.</b> Referee Kerry Fraser&rsquo;s perfect coif was on frequent display, though Maple Leaf fans were more interested in his head, on a platter. Long story short, Fraser didn&rsquo;t see a Wayne Gretzky high-stick in overtime of the Western Conference final and The Great One scored a pivotal goal soon after. Sadly for Toronto fans, it&rsquo;s the closest they&rsquo;ve been to the Cup since 1967, and they still moan about it.</p><p><b>The Champs.</b> Sadly for Kings fans, Gretzky&rsquo;s stick couldn&rsquo;t do as much damage as teammate Marty McSorley&rsquo;s in the final. McSorley was caught using an illegal curve, was assessed a penalty, and the Habs tied the game then won it in overtime. That extra-time triumph was one of an astounding 10 OT wins that Patrick Roy and mates amassed on their Cup run. Fun fact: all four conference finalists in 1993 placed third in their divisions during the regular season. Less fun fact: the &rsquo;93 Habs are the most recent Canadian team to win a Cup.</p><p><b>Stop Making Sens</b>. A slightly less successful Canadian team, the expansion Senators, gave losing a bad name. They won 10 games, just one on the road, and finished with the second-fewest points in modern history (24). The silver lining for Ottawa in this imperfect storm of a season was the No. 1 overall pick, the next Lemieux, Quebec&rsquo;s latest perfect product, Alexandre Daigle.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/jasonkay_si_0067/526225-1-eng-US/jasonkay_si_0062.jpg" title="jasonkay_si_006" width="418" height="226"></div><p><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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THE FIRST WORD

THE YEAR EVERYTHING HAPPENED

<div class="byline">W. Graeme Roustan</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/graeme_rous_0093/526322-1-eng-US/graeme_rous_0092.jpg" title="graeme_rous_009" width="547" height="540"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(PHOTO BY MICHELLE VALBERG)</span></figcaption></div><p>Dear readers,</p><p>NHL Rule 84 pertains to overtime. The Hockey News&rsquo; new Rule 84 also pertains to overtime.</p><p>We&rsquo;ve increased our content in rapid and record fashion, causing the editorial team to work overtime to fill these bright and new exciting pages. And in addition to the content you read in the magazine, the editorial team posts in excess of 84 pages worth of stories every month at <a href="http://TheHockeyNews.com">TheHockeyNews.com</a> to help you deepen your knowledge of the game.</p><p>Eighty-four is significant for a host of other reasons. Among them: it&rsquo;s the name of a town in Pennsylvania, it&rsquo;s the atomic number of polonium, it&rsquo;s the international code for direct-dial phone calls to Vietnam, and it&rsquo;s the number years it takes Uranus to orbit the sun.</p><p>But most significantly in our world, 84 is now the new minimum number of pages in any issue of The Hockey News. When I acquired The Hockey News, the minimum page count per issue was 52, and I have gradually increased it 32 pages over the past 16 months. In an age when magazines are typically getting thinner, your magazine is getting much thicker, increasing in size by more than 62 percent. I can&rsquo;t imagine any other magazine has even come close to this growth during this period of time.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/7216_openin_0153/526315-1-eng-US/7216_openin_0152.jpg" title="7216_openin_015" width="348" height="424"></div><p>We are constantly working overtime, adding more because our readers want and deserve it. You are the most informed hockey fans in the world, and we feel it&rsquo;s our job to deepen your knowledge. We have recently wrapped this information in a brand new and upgraded cover, which makes the magazine the best it has ever been. We do all of this for our loyal readers.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/graemeroust_0103/526308-1-eng-US/graemeroust_0102.jpg" title="graemeroust_010" width="583" height="124"></div><p>Executive Chairman & Publisher,<br>Roustan Media Ltd.<br><b><a href="http://roustan.com">roustan.com</a></b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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Opening Thoughts

Taking Care Of Business & Working Overtime

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/buzz_mcdavi_0173/526367-1-eng-US/buzz_mcdavi_0172.jpg" title="buzz_mcdavi_017" width="340" height="527"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>CONNOR MCDAVID</b></p> <span class="photo-credit">(MINAS PANAGIOTAKIS/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/buzz_kucher_0183/526360-1-eng-US/buzz_kucher_0182.jpg" title="buzz_kucher_018" width="376" height="520"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>NIKITA KUCHEROV</b></p> <span class="photo-credit">(MARK BLINCH/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/buzz_mackin_0193/526353-1-eng-US/buzz_mackin_0192.jpg" title="buzz_mackin_019" width="408" height="584"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>NATHAN MACKINNON</b></p><p>&nbsp;</p> <span class="photo-credit">(MINAS PANAGIOTAKIS/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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Who would you pick first overall in your fantasy draft for next season?

The Hockey News Poll

<div class="byline">BY RYAN KENNEDY</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="buzz_kakko" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/buzz_kakko3/526426-1-eng-US/buzz_kakko2.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p>When Kakko torched NHL competition at the worlds, he gave scouts one extra reason to drool over him.</p><p></p><p></p> <span class="photo-credit">(LUKASZ LASKOWSKI/PRESSFOCUS/MB MEDIA/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>N</span>EW JERSEY DEVILS GM</b> Ray Shero is in an enviable position: armed with the No. 1 selection in the 2019 NHL draft, he gets to decide whether Jack Hughes or Kaapo Kakko will wear his franchise&rsquo;s sweater next season. And thanks to some lottery luck, it&rsquo;s the second time in three years Shero has been in this situation.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/2019_nhl_dr_0233/526412-1-eng-US/2019_nhl_dr_0232.jpg" title="2019_nhl_dr_023" width="187" height="187"></div><p>Shero and the Devils also had the first overall pick in 2017, opting for Swiss sensation Nico Hischier over Canadian two-way center Nolan Patrick. Hischier burst onto the mainstream hockey scene at the world juniors that year as a one-man offensive attack for Switzerland. Thanks to his devastating speed and talent, the young pivot nearly pulled off a quarterfinal upset of Team USA by himself. And while the Americans eventually prevailed 3-2, Hischier had officially planted his flag in the 2017 draft conversation. For Shero, however, Hischier&rsquo;s work with the QMJHL&rsquo;s Halifax Mooseheads was just as crucial. &ldquo;It was really how he played in the Quebec League,&rdquo; Shero said. &ldquo;That Halifax team wasn&rsquo;t supposed to be good that year. The world juniors was his coming-out party, but with his league play, he drove that team.&rdquo;</p><p>Playing well at a big international event can provide a nice bump in profile for a prospect, but for the teams scouting them, it&rsquo;s all part of the puzzle. &ldquo;Now you&rsquo;re seeing it on a bigger stage with more stress and pressure,&rdquo; said Arizona Coyotes GM John Chayka. &ldquo;You want to see how guys respond, basically. We have a pretty detailed analysis going into those events of what we&rsquo;re looking for, so seeing how they react in those environments is the main thing.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/buzz_hughes_0243/526419-1-eng-US/buzz_hughes_0242.jpg" title="buzz_hughes_024" width="715" height="667"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>JACK HUGHES</b></p> <span class="photo-credit">(LUKASZ LASKOWSKI/PRESSFOCUS/MB MEDIA/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>The final main scouting event of the season is the world under-18s in April, and a good showing there can confirm some of the inklings a team may already have on a player. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s the cherry on top,&rdquo; Chayka said. &ldquo;We want to win a Stanley Cup, and in order to do that, you need guys who can perform on big stages. If they have a history of doing that, it&rsquo;s a positive. Clayton Keller is a good example. Obviously he had the body of work, and then to do it against top competition at the under-18s (in 2015 and 2016) and perform at that high level added value to a player we highly coveted to begin with.&rdquo;</p><p>For the players themselves, competing in the spotlight of those big tournaments can have an impact, too. Nathan MacKinnon was only a bit player on Canada&rsquo;s WJC team during his draft year, but he was a lion at the 2013 Memorial Cup that spring, beating Seth Jones&rsquo; Portland Winterhawks to win the championship. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a big stage,&rdquo; MacKinnon said. &ldquo;Everybody is watching, and I remember it felt like a massive event, which it is. It prepared us well, those of us who went on to NHL careers. I remember it like it was yesterday.&rdquo;</p><p>Back in the day, teams could also find value at the World Championship, where many of the best European players were thrust into the spotlight. Shero, who was the Ottawa Senators&rsquo; assistant GM for five years in the 1990s, remembers drafting previously passed-over talents such as Magnus Arvedson and Andreas Dackell on the strength of their performances at the worlds for Sweden. Now, the vast majority of Europe&rsquo;s best free agents are picked off by NHL teams before the worlds even start. The tournament is not without its merits, however.</p><p>This year&rsquo;s worlds saw Kakko put on an early clinic for Finland, which eventually led to a gold medal. Hughes also suited up in the tournament for Team USA, with less of an impact, albeit on a team with a lot more NHL talent. But the Devils GM isn&rsquo;t getting caught up in all the internet buzz that was calling for Kakko to go first overall. &ldquo;The last impression could sway things, but I&rsquo;m not so sure that&rsquo;s a good way to go about it,&rdquo; Shero said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s not like, &lsquo;Oh, who the heck is <i>this</i> guy?&rsquo; Obviously, Kaapo played really well in a big tournament, but Jack Hughes was fantastic at the under-18s. His body of work is very good, just like Kakko&rsquo;s body of work.&rdquo;</p><p>Back in 2017, the Devils kept their Hischier-over-Patrick pick hidden until Shero made the podium announcement. And while it really seems like Hughes is their guy this year, Shero once again isn&rsquo;t making any public pronouncements. &ldquo;Let&rsquo;s put it this way, there&rsquo;s no rush,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;And it adds a little intrigue.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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BIG-STAGE BUMP VS. THE DAY JOB

<div class="byline">BY RYAN KENNEDY&#xA0;BY RYAN KENNEDY&#xA0;</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/buzz_brober_0253/526485-1-eng-US/buzz_brober_0252.jpg" title="buzz_brober_025" width="471" height="621"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>PHILIP BROBERG</b></p> <span class="photo-credit">(KEVIN LIGHT/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><h2><b>HLINKA-GRETZKY CUP</b></h2><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span>he pre-season under-18 showdown has been a great kickoff event in recent years. While Canada won gold again, Swedish defenseman Philip Broberg burst onto the scene with his mobility and offensive prowess, and Russian power forward Vasili Podkolzin tied for the tournament lead in scoring.</p><h2><b>WORLD JUNIORS</b></h2><p>Finland nabbed gold in Vancouver, but it was a couple of Russians who saw their stock spike thanks to their play. Speedy right winger Kirill Slepets was a constant scoring threat, while under-the-radar Pyotr Kochetkov earned Top Goalie honors. Both had been passed over in the draft, but that won&rsquo;t happen again.</p><h2><b>WORLD UNDER-18s</b></h2><p>While Team USA fell short of its annual gold-medal goal, two of its top forwards went off in Sweden. Jack Hughes and Cole Caufield combined for 38 points in seven games, proving once again why they are rated so highly in 2019.</p><h2><b>WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP</b></h2><p>Yes, Kaapo Kakko was great at the world juniors, but he really shook foundations at the men&rsquo;s worlds, leading the gold-medal Finns with six goals in 10 games. Meanwhile, defenseman Moritz Seider gave scouts some extra material to work with by playing for Germany at the tourney. The 2019 draft prospect missed time due to injury during the regular season, so the exposure at the worlds helped.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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STEALING THE SPOTLIGHT

<div class="byline">BY CHARLIE TELJEUR</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="charlie_721_040" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/charlie_721_0403/526516-1-eng-US/charlie_721_0402.jpg"></div><p><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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Instigator

<div class="byline">BY MATT LARKIN</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/buzz_mascot_0363/526547-1-eng-US/buzz_mascot_0362.jpg" title="buzz_mascot_036" width="653" height="538"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(BILL SMITH/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>IS TOMMY HAWK THE</b> NHL&rsquo;s most controversial mascot today? It seems he can&rsquo;t escape making news no matter what he does.</p><p>Sure, he checks all the regular mascot boxes. Since debuting for the Blackhawks at the United Center in 2001-02, he&rsquo;s become known for firing the T-shirt cannon and walking around the United Center before and during games, interacting with fans.</p><p>But Tommy takes the mascot gig to an extreme level. He once went skydiving wearing his full costume, and he&rsquo;s not one to back down from a fight. A fan attacked him on the concourse immediately following a December 2018 home game against the Winnipeg Jets. Tommy fought back and then some, body-slamming the fan and raining punches down on him while an onlooker took a video that quickly went viral. Chicago police investigated the incident.</p><p>And it wasn&rsquo;t the first time Tommy made head-scratching headlines as the victim of an attack. In 2017 during an intermission skit in Minnesota, Wild mascot Nordy beat Tommy with a baseball bat viciously. Parents complained about the violence, and the Wild had to issue a formal apology.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

Meet A Mascot

<div class="byline">BY MATT LARKIN</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/buzz_mask114/526592-1-eng-US/buzz_mask12.jpg" title="buzz_mask1" width="506" height="557"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>A</span>RTIST DAVE GUNNARSSON&rsquo;S SPECIALTY:</b> masks that look clean and simple from afar but tell stories up close. KHL Gagarin Cup champ Sorokin&rsquo;s lid boasts the CSKA Moscow&rsquo;s star logo on the forehead. Come closer and you&rsquo;ll see a Russian fighter jet beside the star. Come even closer and you&rsquo;ll find blueprints of the aircraft. It&rsquo;s a detailed mask for a top prospect goalie who does all the little things right on the ice.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/buzz_mask37/526585-1-eng-US/buzz_mask32.jpg" title="buzz_mask3" width="438" height="582"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(MASK BY: DAVID GUNNARSSON/DAVEART.COM)</span></figcaption></div><p><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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Behind the Mask

<div class="byline">BY MATT LARKIN</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0011-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-0168/526623-1-eng-US/f0011-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(RINNE: JONATHAN KOZUB/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES; BABCOCK: MARK BLINCH/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES; POINT: ANDREA CARDIN/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES; MCDAVID: ANDY DEVLIN/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES; RUTHERFORD: BRUCE BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES; DUCHENE: ANDREA CARDIN/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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Summer Hot Seat-O-Meter

<div class="byline">BY RYAN KENNEDY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/buzz_jersey_0343/526654-1-eng-US/buzz_jersey_0342.jpg" title="buzz_jersey_034" width="568" height="645"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>JARED MCISAAC</b></p> <span class="photo-credit">(VINCENT ETHIER)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>T</span>HE SPECIAL MILITARY TRIBUTE</b> jersey has been a staple at the Memorial Cup since 2008, and this year&rsquo;s host from Halifax used their opportunity to honor the Nova Scotia Highlanders, one of only two units from the Maritimes to participate in the Second World War&rsquo;s Normandy Invasion.</p><p>The crest on the front of the Mooseheads&rsquo; sweater is the hat badge worn by the Highlanders, and while the Mooseheads usually wear red and green, the blue and white of the Nova Scotia flag looks pretty sharp in this iteration.</p><p>As usual, the jerseys were auctioned off, with this year&rsquo;s proceeds going to the Dominion Command Poppy Trust Fund.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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Jersey Hound

<div class="byline">BY SAL BARRY OF PUCKJUNK.COM</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/buzz_cards7/526685-1-eng-US/buzz_cards2.jpg" title="buzz_cards" width="637" height="453"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>T</span>RADING CARDS PICTURING A</b> team celebrating a hard-fought championship &ndash; like this one from the 1990-91 Score Canadian set &ndash; are not as common as they used to be, and that&rsquo;s a shame. Just look at how happy the Oshawa Generals were after winning&hellip;a television set?</p><p>Captain Iain Fraser led the team to the Memorial Cup championship in 1990, and really brought home the hardware, receiving the Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy, along with a color TV courtesy of Toshiba Canada, for being the series MVP.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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In The Cards

<div class="byline">BY TOM THOMPSON</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0014-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-0193/526985-1-eng-US/f0014-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>RYAN O&rsquo;REILLY AND&nbsp;</b><b>LOGAN COUTURE</b></p><p></p> <span class="photo-credit">(GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>C</span>learly, Logan Couture</b> of<b>&nbsp;</b>the San Jose Sharks and Ryan O&rsquo;Reilly of the St. Louis Blues have established themselves as vital contributors on Stanley Cup contenders. They have been regulars in the league for a decade, and both impressed in this season&rsquo;s playoffs. Talk to hockey people and you will not find anyone who has a bad word to say about Couture or O&rsquo;Reilly on a personal level. They are both dedicated team men who compete hard on a consistent basis. Both have good size, good hands and good hockey sense. However, neither Couture nor O&rsquo;Reilly is an elite-level NHL player. Both have flaws that prevent them from achieving superstar status. After watching them go head-to-head for six hard-fought playoff games in the Western Conference final, let&rsquo;s assess them closely to determine an important question &ndash; which of these players is more valuable to a team in the hunt for the Stanley Cup every year?</p><h2><b>CAREERS</b></h2><p>Their career paths have&nbsp;been different. Couture was a first-round selection (ninth overall) by the Sharks in 2007. San Jose had a strong team. Couture continued to play junior for the next two seasons and then spent half of his first pro season in the AHL. During his 10 seasons with the Sharks, they have been Stanley Cup contenders, only missing the playoffs once. Since his sophomore NHL campaign, Couture has been a second-line center averaging about 18 minutes of ice time per game. In the playoffs, he was used for more than 20 minutes per game. O&rsquo;Reilly was a second-round selection (33rd overall) by the Avalanche in 2009. Colorado was not a good team. He made the Avs as an 18-year-old in 2009 and played there for six seasons. The team only made the playoffs twice and never won a series. He was then traded to a weak Buffalo Sabres team where he played for three seasons with no playoff appearances. In his first season with the Blues, O&rsquo;Reilly won the Stanley Cup and was named Conn Smythe Trophy winner. Since his third season in the NHL, he has averaged more than 20 minutes per game. In St. Louis, he centers the second line, but with his special-teams time, he gets first-line minutes. In the 2019 playoffs, he averaged 21 minutes per game. O&rsquo;Reilly has competed at the World Championship on five occasions for Canada, and he and Couture played on Team Canada in the 2016 World Cup.&nbsp;<b>EDGE: NEITHER</b></p><h2><b>ROLES</b></h2><p>Both players have established their appropriate roles on a Cup contender. They are second-line centers who skate on the first power-play unit and who are also employed regularly as penalty-killers. O&rsquo;Reilly gets more ice time than Couture because O&rsquo;Reilly is used for virtually every important faceoff in the last half of close games.&nbsp;<b>EDGE: O&rsquo;REILLY</b></p><h2><b>OFFENSIVE PRODUCTION</b></h2><p>Couture averages 0.76 points per game in the regular season, with O&rsquo;Reilly at 0.68. Both players ramped up their production in the playoffs by 0.1 PPG. O&rsquo;Reilly generated a higher percentage of his points on the power play. Worth noting: in 2018-19, when both were playing for good teams, O&rsquo;Reilly was more productive than Couture.&nbsp;<b>EDGE: COUTURE</b></p><h2><b>DEFENSIVE PLAY</b></h2><p>Couture is a solid&nbsp;defensive player. He is alert, smart and always seems to be in a good position. When he is killing penalties, the opposition&rsquo;s power play always has to be concerned about his ability to turn errant passes into scoring opportunities. Couture is mediocre on faceoffs. O&rsquo;Reilly is an elite defensive player. He is one of the NHL&rsquo;s best forecheckers. The key to his effectiveness is his hockey sense. He has the ability to approach at an angle that forces an opponent to one area of the ice. In this way, O&rsquo;Reilly is able to reduce the speed of his attack. He has an incredible takeaway/giveaway ratio of over 2.5/1. I have long considered Patrice Bergeron of the Boston Bruins to be the NHL&rsquo;s best faceoff man on important draws. I now believe O&rsquo;Reilly has surpassed him. On defensive-zone faceoffs, O&rsquo;Reilly consistently gets clean wins on the backhand and forehand. His well-documented &ldquo;no whip&rdquo; hockey stick works magic.&nbsp;<b>EDGE: O&rsquo;REILLY</b></p><h2><b>SKATING</b></h2><p>Computer programmers and analytics people have shown me that skating is the category where scouting reports have the greatest divergence. It is often difficult to reconcile style with effectiveness. Couture&rsquo;s skating confused scouts when he was playing junior. After more than 700 NHL games, it still confuses them. The reality is if you catch Couture on the right night, he shows quickness and his stride is pretty effective. On those nights, his skating looks average by NHL standards. On other nights, he cannot keep up. His effort and hockey sense remain high, but he becomes ineffective. The reason is the dramatic drop-off in his skating. He cannot sustain an average NHL tempo. Every scout I know rated O&rsquo;Reilly as a below-average skater during his days in junior. After more than 700 NHL games, even his biggest supporters maintain that below-average rating. He has a strange, hunched-over style with a choppy stride and very little glide. A closer look at O&rsquo;Reilly&rsquo;s skating does reveal two positive aspects. In tight quarters, he is effective because his first few steps are powerful. More importantly, there isn&rsquo;t any noticeable deterioration in O&rsquo;Reilly&rsquo;s skating during the course of a game or from night to night. What you see is what you get on a pretty consistent basis. On a good night, Couture&rsquo;s skating is better than that of O&rsquo;Reilly. However, Couture has a number of bad nights when his skating is worse. What would appear to be an advantage for Couture is actually not. Both he and O&rsquo;Reilly are below-average NHL skaters.&nbsp;<b>EDGE: NEITHER</b></p><h2><b>ENDURANCE</b></h2><p>Winning the Stanley Cup&nbsp;is an arduous task. It is not a job for the faint of mind or body. Couture and O&rsquo;Reilly are both consummate hockey warriors. They compete hard every night and will play hurt. Who will ever forget the sight of Couture returning to action in the 2016 playoffs after incurring a painful facial injury? Since entering the NHL, Couture has played in 91 percent of his team&rsquo;s games while O&rsquo;Reilly has played in 93 percent. In the playoffs, they are used more than they are in the regular season. In 2016 and 2019, Couture posted great numbers in the playoffs. However, in both post-seasons, he looked absolutely gassed in the big games where his team was eliminated. In the last two games against St. Louis this spring, Couture was not a factor. He could not move. O&rsquo;Reilly&rsquo;s play was remarkably consistent on a nightly basis. In games that went to overtime, he appeared as fresh as anybody on the ice. He was probably the best player in the overtime of Game 2 of the Cup final and he was full value for his Conn Smythe win.&nbsp;<b>EDGE: O&rsquo;REILLY</b></p><h2><b>CONCLUSION</b></h2><p>At 30 and 28, Couture and O&rsquo;Reilly are basically finished products as players. They have reached their potential. Both are above-average NHL players with good reputations in all intangible areas. Neither of them is an elite player. Neither ever will be. In today&rsquo;s high-tempo game, every elite player is a better skater than Couture and O&rsquo;Reilly. Now that both are on contending teams, they fit nicely into their roles as second-line centers who are used on special teams. Couture has been more productive offensively during his career, but that gap is narrowing. O&rsquo;Reilly is better defensively, a stronger faceoff man and he has better endurance when fatigue sets in. His play is more consistent. The objective is to win the Stanley Cup and O&rsquo;Reilly has done that. O&rsquo;Reilly is a more valuable asset than Couture.</p><p><i>Tom Thompson has been an NHL scout/director/assistant GM since 1985.</i><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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Ryan O’Reilly Vs. Logan Couture

<div class="byline">BY MATT LARKIN</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/awards_mcda_0643/527163-1-eng-US/awards_mcda_0642.jpg" title="awards_mcda_064" width="688" height="1012"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(CODIE MCLACHLAN/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><h1><b>MARIO LEMIEUX AWARD</b></h1><p><b>(Best Player)</b></p><h1><b>CONNOR McDAVID</b></h1><p><b>EDMONTON OILERS</b></p><p>The team around him crumbled enough to require a mid-season GM change, yet McDavid still achieved career highs in assists (75) and points (116). He couldn&rsquo;t catch Nikita Kucherov in the scoring race, but imagine what McDavid could do with a supporting cast to rival Kucherov&rsquo;s. New Oilers GM Ken Holland&rsquo;s mission is to provide that.</p><h1><b>RUNNERS-UP</b></h1><p><b>2. Nikita Kucherov, TB 3. Sidney Crosby, PIT 4. Patrick Kane, CHI 5. Nathan MacKinnon, COL</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/awards_gior_0583/527149-1-eng-US/awards_gior_0582.jpg" title="awards_gior_058" width="450" height="646"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(DEREK LEUNG/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><h1><b>BOBBY ORR AWARD</b></h1><p><b>(Best Defenseman)</b></p><h1><b>MARK GIORDANO</b></h1><p><b>CALGARY FLAMES</b></p><p>At 35, Giordano is getting better with age. He earned every first-place vote from our panel of nine staffers thanks to his magical blend of elite offense <i>and</i> defense this season. His 74 points were a career high, while he also ranked near the top of the league in suppressing shot attempts despite playing tough minutes against other teams&rsquo; top forwards.</p><h1><b>RUNNERS-UP</b></h1><p><b>2. Brent Burns, SJ 4. Victor Hedman, TB 3. John Carlson, WSH 5. Morgan Rielly, TOR</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/awards_cros_0553/527135-1-eng-US/awards_cros_0552.jpg" title="awards_cros_055" width="607" height="544"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(MARK BLINCH/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><h1><b>WAYNE GRETZKY AWARD</b></h1><p><b>(Most Valuable Player)</b></p><h1><b>SIDNEY CROSBY</b></h1><p><b>PITTSBURGH PENGUINS</b></p><p>Crosby&rsquo;s most common linemates: Jake Guentzel and a revolving door of Bryan Rust, Jared McCann and Dominik Simon. That pales in comparison to what other elite scorers had for help, yet Crosby still managed 100 points while playing the best defensive hockey of his career. He carried the Penguins more than ever.</p><h1><b>RUNNERS-UP</b></h1><p><b>2. Nikita Kucherov, TB 3. Connor McDavid, EDM 4. Nathan MacKinnon, COL 5. Mark Giordano, CGY</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/awards_lehn_0563/527121-1-eng-US/awards_lehn_0562.jpg" title="awards_lehn_056" width="617" height="570"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(JONATHAN KOZUB/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><h1><b>SAKU KOIVU AWARD</b></h1><p><b>(Comeback Player)</b></p><h1><b>ROBIN LEHNER</b></h1><p><b>NEW YORK ISLANDERS</b></p><p>Coming to terms with bipolar disorder and becoming a viable starting NHL goalie again were courageous accomplishments, but Lehner didn&rsquo;t stop there. He wasn&rsquo;t merely relevant again. He was elite, ranking at or near the top of most major goaltending categories. The remarkable rebirth made him a unanimous winner.</p><h1><b>RUNNERS-UP</b></h1><p><b>2. Max Domi, MTL 3. Zach Parise, MIN 4. Carey Price, MTL 5. Jeff Skinner, BUF</b></p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/awards_vasi_0573/527107-1-eng-US/awards_vasi_0572.jpg" title="awards_vasi_057" width="1088" height="706"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(JEFF VINNICK/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><h1><b>PATRICK ROY AWARD</b></h1><p><b>(Best Goalie)</b></p><h1><b>ANDREI VASILEVSKIY</b></h1><p><b>TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING</b></p><p>&lsquo;Vasy&rsquo; led the NHL in victories for a second straight year despite starting 11 fewer games than he did last season. The key to his dominance was consistency. He posted a .925 SP before the all-star break and .926 SP after it, with an SP of .915 or better in six of seven months. Still just 24, he&rsquo;s on an early Hall of Fame trajectory.</p><h1><b>RUNNERS-UP</b></h1><p><b>2. Ben Bishop, DAL 3. Jordan Binnington, STL 4. Robin Lehner, NYI 5. Frederik Andersen, TOR</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/awards_lind_0593/527093-1-eng-US/awards_lind_0592.jpg" title="awards_lind_059" width="652" height="664"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(DEREK LEUNG/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><h1><b>CAM NEELY AWARD</b></h1><p><b>(Breakout Player)</b></p><h1><b>ELIAS LINDHOLM</b></h1><p><b>CALGARY FLAMES</b></p><p>Lindholm always had breakout pedigree as the No. 5 overall pick in the 2013 draft. It was a matter of opportunity. Acquired by the Flames and placed on a line with Sean Monahan and Johnny Gaudreau, Lindholm racked up 78 points, obliterating his previous high of 45. He slumped in the second half but nevertheless established himself as a front-line talent.</p><h1><b>RUNNERS-UP</b></h1><p><b>2. Erik Gustafsson, CHI 3. Dylan Strome, CHI 4. Alex DeBrincat, CHI 5. Thomas Chabot, OTT</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/awards_wils_0603/527079-1-eng-US/awards_wils_0602.jpg" title="awards_wils_060" width="696" height="664"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(SCOTT AUDETTE /NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><h1><b>BOB PROBERT AWARD</b></h1><p><b>(Toughest Player)</b></p><h1><b>TOM WILSON</b></h1><p><b>WASHINGTON CAPITALS</b></p><p>Does he play on the right or wrong side of the line? Whatever the answer is, he&rsquo;s the most dangerous player on the ice every game. He pancakes opponents with his hits. Anyone who takes exception has to eat his fists. And he&rsquo;s skilled enough to skate with Alex Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov. Wilson scored 22 goals in 63 games. Now <i>that&rsquo;s</i> scary.</p><h1><b>RUNNERS-UP</b></h1><p><b>2. Ryan Reaves, VEG 3. Zdeno Chara, BOS 4. Dustin Byfuglien, WPG 5. Matthew Tkachuk, CGY</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/awards_pett_0623/527065-1-eng-US/awards_pett_0622.jpg" title="awards_pett_062" width="632" height="671"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(JEFF VINNICK/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><h1><b>TEEMU SELANNE AWARD</b></h1><p><b>(Best Rookie)</b></p><p>&nbsp;</p><h1><b>ELIAS PETTERSSON</b></h1><p><b>VANCOUVER CANUCKS</b></p><p>Pettersson&rsquo;s scintillating debut, which included 10 goals in his first 10 games, called to mind Teemu Selanne&rsquo;s magical 1992-93 rookie season. Pettersson&rsquo;s jaw-dropping dangles and laser shot instantly made him appointment viewing. He endured a concussion and knee sprain but looked like a future superstar for the Canucks across his 71 healthy games.</p><h1><b>RUNNERS-UP</b></h1><p><b>2. Jordan Binnington, STL 3. Miro Heiskanen, DAL 4. Rasmus Dahlin, BUF 5. Brady Tkachuk, OTT</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/awards_gree_0613/527051-1-eng-US/awards_gree_0612.jpg" title="awards_gree_061" width="655" height="731"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(JEFF VINNICK/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><h1><b>GUY CARBONNEAU AWARD</b></h1><p><b>(Top Penalty-Killer)</b></p><p>&nbsp;</p><h1><b>ANDY GREENE</b></h1><p><b>NEW JERSEY DEVILS</b></p><p>The Devils boasted the NHL&rsquo;s No. 4 penalty kill, and no player in the league averaged more shorthanded minutes per game than Greene. The Devils also took the fourth-most minor penalties, so Greene had the best possible shorthanded performance despite one of the largest possible sample sizes. His 208 blocked shots were 21 more than anyone else.</p><h1><b>RUNNERS-UP</b></h1><p><b>2. Anthony Cirelli, TB 3. Michael Grabner, ARI 4. Andrei Vasilevskiy, TB 5. Mark Jankowski, CGY</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/awards_ekho_0633/527037-1-eng-US/awards_ekho_0632.jpg" title="awards_ekho_063" width="778" height="695"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(KEVIN SOUSA/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><h1><b>ROD LANGWAY AWARD</b></h1><p><b>(Best Defensive Defenseman)</b></p><p>&nbsp;</p><h1><b>MATTIAS EKHOLM</b></h1><p><b>NASHVILLE PREDATORS</b></p><p>He&rsquo;s 6-foot-4, 215 pounds, with a wingspan for days and the engine to play 23-plus minutes a night. He ranked among the league leaders in defensive-zone starts per 60 minutes yet his team still placed near the top in fewest shots and shot attempts against per 60 when he was on the ice at 5-on-5.</p><h1><b>RUNNERS-UP</b></h1><p><b>2. Mark Giordano, CGY 3. Seth Jones, CLB 4. Victor Hedman, TB 5. Roman Josi, NSH</b></p><h1><b>SCOTTY BOWMAN AWARD</b></h1><p><b>(Best Coach)</b></p><p>&nbsp;</p><h1><b>BARRY TROTZ</b></h1><p><b>NEW YORK ISLANDERS</b></p><p>Allow the most goals in NHL, lose John Tavares and Calvin de Haan, <i>then</i> allow the fewest goals the next season? Trotz&rsquo;s imprint on the shockingly successful Isles was crystal clear. Including his time with Washington, his teams have ranked in the top two in GAA in three of the past four seasons.</p><h1><b>RUNNERS-UP</b></h1><p><b>2. Craig Berube, STL 3. Jon Cooper, TB 4. Rod Brind&rsquo;Amour, CAR 5. Bill Peters, CGY</b></p><h1><b>SAM POLLOCK AWARD</b></h1><p><b>(Best GM)</b></p><p>&nbsp;</p><h1><b>DOUG WILSON</b></h1><p><b>SAN JOSE SHARKS</b></p><p>The year&rsquo;s biggest trade came when Wilson went all-in to nab Erik Karlsson from Ottawa. Karlsson and trade-deadline grab Gustav Nyquist helped a deep Sharks team reach the Western Conference final. They fell short, but injuries were partly to blame. Wilson iced the best lineup he could.</p><h1><b>RUNNERS-UP</b></h1><p><b>2. Doug Armstrong, STL 3. Don Sweeney, BOS 4. Jarmo Kekalainen, CLB 5. Lou Lamoriello, NYI</b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

awards_mcda_064

The Hockey News Awards

<div class="byline">BY BRIAN COSTELLO</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="buzz3_wicke_065" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/buzz3_wicke_0653/527201-1-eng-US/buzz3_wicke_0652.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(PHOTO BY JOHN BERRY/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>H</span>AYLEY WICKENHEISER</b> is a shoo-in when the Hockey Hall of Fame announces its 2019 induction class this summer. And she&rsquo;s going in at the head of the class as the best player in the history of women&rsquo;s hockey.</p><p>And there&rsquo;s a good chance she will be the lone inductee in the players&rsquo; category, as there are no NHLers who retired in 2016 who fall into the &ldquo;automatic&rdquo; department. Wickenheiser&rsquo;s accomplishments are undeniably Hall of Fame-caliber &ndash; she&rsquo;s a five-time Olympic medallist (four golds) and has 13 World Championship medals, including seven golds. She&rsquo;s the all-time leader in goals (168), assists (211) and points (379) for the Canadian women&rsquo;s team.</p><p>The only question that remains is who walks down the red carpet with her at the Hall&rsquo;s induction showcase in November. There are three first-year eligible players who will surely be considered. They&rsquo;re solid candidates, but not slam dunks.</p><p><b>BRAD RICHARDS:</b> Won Stanley Cup and Conn Smythe Trophy with Tampa Bay and had 298 goals and 932 points in 1,126 games.</p><p><b>VINCENT LECAVALIER:</b> Won Cup and Rocket Richard Trophy with Tampa Bay and had 421 goals and 949 points in 1,212 games.</p><p><b>PATRIK ELIAS:</b> Won two Cups with New Jersey and had 408 goals and 1,025 points in 1,240 games.</p><p>If you&rsquo;re not sure any of these three are Hall of Famers, there&rsquo;s a list of candidates from the unofficial Hall of Very, Very Good who will be considered again this year. In the past four years alone, seven new inductees were leftovers from previous years.</p><p><b>CURTIS JOSEPH:</b> Didn&rsquo;t win any Stanley Cups or major individual awards, but he was a Vezina Trophy finalist three times and ranks fifth in all-time wins with 454. Eligible since 2012.</p><p><b>ALEXANDER MOGILNY:</b> Cup winner with New Jersey had 76 goals and 127 points in his best season with Buffalo. Ranks 53rd all-time with 473 goals and 77th with 1,032 points. Eligible since 2009.</p><p><b>TOM BARRASSO:</b> Won two Cups, the Vezina, Calder and Jennings Trophies and ranks 19th in all-time in wins with 369. Eligible since 2006.</p><p><b>SERGEI ZUBOV:</b> Helped two teams (Rangers and Dallas) to Cups and was a second-team all-star. Ranks 19th in all-time scoring among defensemen with 152 goals and 771 points. Eligible since 2012.</p><p><b>THEOREN FLEURY:</b> Won Cup as rookie with Calgary and averaged more than a point per game (455 goals and 1,088 points in 1,084 games). Eligible since 2006.</p><p><b>DANIEL ALFREDSSON:</b> Won Calder Trophy. Had 444 goals and 1,157 points in 1,246 games. Eligible since 2017.</p><p><b>DOUG WILSON:</b> Had 39 goals in his Norris Trophy-winning season. Ranks 15th all-time in points by defensemen with 827. Eligible since 1996.</p><p><b>KEITH TKACHUK:</b> One of the top power forwards of his era, ranks 33rd in all-time goals with 538. Eligible since 2013.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

buzz3_wicke_065

Who’s Headed To The Hall?

<div class="byline">WITH SAM MCCAIG</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/buzz_vatran_0673/527232-1-eng-US/buzz_vatran_0672.jpg" title="buzz_vatran_067" width="649" height="1114"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(GERRY THOMAS/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>What was the best piece of advice you received?</b></p><p>Work for everything. I was taught that at a young age, and I still use it now. Nothing is given to you in hockey, so you need to work hard for what you deserve.</p><p><b>Was there a player you looked up?</b></p><p>Sidney Crosby. He was becoming a superstar in the league when I was growing up as a kid.</p><p><b>Who was your favorite team growing up?</b></p><p>I was a Bruins fan, so obviously it was a dream come true to start my career (signing with Boston as an undrafted free agent in 2015).</p><p><b>Why do you wear No. 72?</b></p><p>It was given to me as a rookie, and I stayed with it.</p><p><b>Did you have a &lsquo;welcome to the NHL&rsquo; moment?</b></p><p>Playing in Montreal my first game. I got hit by Alexei Emelin early in the game and that was a wake-up call.</p><p><b>Is there a part of your game you&rsquo;d like to improve?</b></p><p>You can always improve your skating and your skill set. The game is so skilled and so fast that the more you can develop those skills, the more successful you&rsquo;ll be.</p><p><b>What&rsquo;s the best thing about being in the NHL?</b></p><p>Just the whole life and everything you experience. You spend a lot of time with teammates, on plane rides and road trips. You meet some great people and create a lifetime of friendships.</p><p><b>What&rsquo;s the worst thing about being in the NHL?</b></p><p>The only downside is you don&rsquo;t get much rest. Once the season gets going, you&rsquo;re playing and practising every day. You wish you had a couple days off. But you&rsquo;re working for that one goal, to win the Stanley Cup. I wouldn&rsquo;t change it for anything.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

buzz_vatran_067

Rapid Fire

<div class="byline">WITH MATT LARKINWITH MATT LARKIN</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="rask_malark_066" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/rask_malark_0663/527263-1-eng-US/rask_malark_0662.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>JOB SPLITTING IN CREASE</b></p><p>Rask played barely more than half of Boston&rsquo;s games during the regular season. Sharing the net with Halak kept Rask fresher for the Bruins&rsquo; playoff run.</p><p></p> <span class="photo-credit">(JONATHAN KOZUB/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>A</span> CANADIAN. A FINN.</b> A rookie. A veteran. On paper, Stanley Cup final goaltenders Jordan Binnington and Tuukka Rask had little in common. But they shared one common trait that may have carried them within a few feet of hockey&rsquo;s highest summit.</p><p>Between the AHL and the NHL, Binnington played 48 regular-season games. Rask: 46. They crusaded to the final with light workloads. For Binnington, just 25 and in his physical prime, a relatively low number of games may not have mattered a ton, but for Rask, 32, there&rsquo;s evidence a more restful season than usual made a massive difference in his spring play.</p><p>Rask&rsquo;s 45 starts in the regular season made up 54.9 percent of Boston&rsquo;s schedule, giving him his smallest chunk of the goaltending pie since 2011-12, when he was Tim Thomas&rsquo; backup. According to Bruins GM Don Sweeney and coach Bruce Cassidy, the reduced workload was by design. That&rsquo;s why the team signed Jaroslav Halak, who had years of starting experience, to a one-year contract last summer at a &ldquo;luxury backup&rdquo; price of $2.75 million. &ldquo;That was our plan, to give (Rask) less starts,&rdquo; Cassidy said. &ldquo;There wasn&rsquo;t a specific number. We wanted to keep it closer to 52 to 55. Jaro allowed us to rest him a little more. So I would assume it would help him this time of year. I still think he was certainly capable of playing well this time of the year if he had a few more starts. If you had him in the 60s? Then I don&rsquo;t know.&rdquo;</p><blockquote class="pullQuote">THERE&rsquo;S A BIG DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PLAYING 45 GAMES AND 65 GAMES. PLAY 15, TAKE ONE OFF, PLAY ANOTHER 10. IT WEARS ON YOU<br>&ndash; Tuukka Rask</blockquote><p>Rask had developed a reputation for fading late in seasons, with a career save percentage 10 points lower after the all-star break than before it. Even with a smaller workload this season, the pattern held true, as he slipped to just .903 after the all-star break. Perhaps managing the reps messed with his rhythm at times, but it paid off for Boston in the post-season, when, Game 7 of the Cup final aside, Rask was easily the top netminder in the 16-team field, posting a 2.02 goals-against average and .934 SP. The frequent regular-season breaks gave his body and mind time to recover. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s a big difference between playing 45 and 65 games,&rdquo; Rask said. &ldquo;You no longer go on those runs where you play 15 games in the regular season. When you do, you don&rsquo;t get that time and rest you want to. Play 15, take one game off, then you play another 10. It wears on you. This year, that wasn&rsquo;t the case. Both of us, me and Jaro, were mentally and physically fresh throughout the year and going into the playoffs.&rdquo;</p><p>Based on the trend over the past decade, we shouldn&rsquo;t have been surprised to see two fresh netminders reach the final. The regular-season games played for the 10 Cup-winning starters before this year: Braden Holtby, 54; Matt Murray, 49; Murray, 44 (AHL/NHL); Corey Crawford, 57; Jonathan Quick, 49; Crawford, 30 (lockout, pro-rates to 51); Quick, 69; Tim Thomas, 57; Antti Niemi, 39; Marc-Andre Fleury, 62. So, only two of the past 11 Cup-winning goalies &ndash; and none of the past seven &ndash; hit the 60-game mark in the regular season. Are we thus witnessing the start of a league-wide trend? &ldquo;The condensed schedule is very difficult,&rdquo; said Blues GM Doug Armstrong. &ldquo;When you add the all-star break and then the mandatory five-day break, you can get into some long stretches of play. You certainly need a group of 25 players, and that includes two goaltenders, to have a successful season.&rdquo;</p><p>The number of NHL goalies appearing in 60 or more games over the past five seasons: 12, 10, 13, 12, eight. This year&rsquo;s number really sticks out, but it&rsquo;s too early to declare the reduced workloads a trend.</p><p>At this point, it&rsquo;s only a select group of wise teams making the change. But we all know the NHL&rsquo;s reputation as a copycat league, so it&rsquo;s only a matter of time before the majority of teams start giving their No. 1 stoppers more regular-season siestas.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

rask_malark_066

Malarkey

MORE DAYS OFF INDEED PAYS OFF

binnington__075

Stanley Cup Finals

The Man Who Saved St. Louis

<div class="image-hero"><img title="Game1" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/game18/532160-1-eng-US/game1.jpg"></div><p>&nbsp;</p><p class="dropcap"><b><span>O</span>NE THING THAT BECAME</b> increasingly evident during the Boston Bruins&rsquo; 2019 playoff run was how impressive Bruce Cassidy is and how much he has evolved into an elite NHL coach. After the morning skate prior to Game 1, instead of treating his player deployment like a state secret for which he&rsquo;d be executed if he let it out, the Bruins coach essentially said his plan was to put Patrice Bergeron&rsquo;s line up against the St. Louis Blues&rsquo; top unit, and if that didn&rsquo;t work, he&rsquo;d throw Sean Kuraly&rsquo;s trio up against Brayden Schenn between Jaden Schwartz and Vladimir Tarasenko.</p><p>And that&rsquo;s exactly what happened. Shortly after a terrible no-look pass in the defensive zone by David Pastrnak led to a gift goal that put the Blues up 2-0 and the Bergeron unit minus-2 in the game, Cassidy changed his strategy. &ldquo;It wasn&rsquo;t going our way, it&rsquo;s that simple,&rdquo; Cassidy said. &ldquo;I thought Bergy&rsquo;s line had a tough time finding their game tonight, and the other guys were a little bit ahead of them.&rdquo;</p><p>That&rsquo;s the kind of thinking that wins Stanley Cups. And it&rsquo;s also the kind of thinking that pretty much led to the Bruins dominating the rest of the game, rallying to win 4-2 and taking a 1-0 series lead. That second Blues goal was their ninth shot of the game, and it came at the one-minute mark of the second period. For the final 39 minutes of the night, the Bruins limited the Blues to just 11 more shots, including only two more in the second period. &ldquo;We pushed back and got some goals out of that,&rdquo; said Boston goalie Tuukka Rask, &ldquo;so (I was) just pretty much a spectator after that.&rdquo;</p><p>Kuraly, the fourth-line center who came through with some clutch goals earlier in the post-season, did it again by scoring the game-winner.</p><p>Consider Game 1 a huge missed opportunity for the Blues.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

Game1

Game 1: Recap

<div class="image-hero"><img title="Game2" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/game22/531662-1-eng-US/game2.jpg"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>W</span>ITH GAME 2 TIED</b> 2-2 at the end of regulation time, and the Blues staring down a potential 0-2 series hole, St. Louis defenseman Carl Gunnarsson and coach Craig Berube had a chance meeting at the dressing-room urinal. Gunnarsson, who drilled one off the crossbar with 1:57 remaining in the third period, spoke like a prophet. &ldquo;I just told him I needed one more chance,&rdquo; Gunnarsson said.</p><p>Gunnarsson made good less than four minutes into overtime with a shot from the point on what was effectively a power play &ndash; a delayed penalty was coming to the Bruins, and the Blues had an extra attacker. It was fitting. The Blues should have gotten their first Stanley Cup final win ever off the stick of a defensive defenseman who was injured or ill five times this season and was a healthy scratch for the first four games of the playoffs. Because that is how the Blues rolled. When things looked most dire, this group had an uncanny penchant for picking itself up, dusting itself off and getting back into the action.</p><p>&ldquo;Everybody obviously has character, especially at this point of the season,&rdquo; said defenseman Colton Parayko. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know. We just continue to push. We&rsquo;re so close. We&rsquo;re obviously a good team, and when things are kind of tough, it brings us closer. It&rsquo;s cool to be a part of it. When times get tough, we don&rsquo;t deviate from each other. We come closer together and (say), &lsquo;We&rsquo;re going to get this done.&rsquo;&rdquo;</p><p>The Blues weren&rsquo;t pleased with how Game 1 unfolded, particularly since they were dominated after taking a 2-0 lead. They completely turned the tables in Game 2. This time they were the dominant team. Had they not won this game, it might have prompted an NHL investigation. &ldquo;I knew coming into Game 2 that we were going to be a hard team to play against,&rdquo; Berube said. &ldquo;And we were.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

Game2

Game 2: Recap

<div class="image-hero"><img title="Game3" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/game3/531669-1-eng-US/game3.jpg"></div><b></b><p class="dropcap"><b><span>I</span>F THE BRUINS WERE</b> going to win the series, it was imperative that their top line of Patrice Bergeron between Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak played better. Much better. Mission accomplished. Not only did they score three of Boston&rsquo;s four power-play goals on an extra-man unit that went 4-for-4 on just four shots, but they also found themselves on the right side of the puck, they generated chances and were far more responsible in their puck management. The result was a lopsided 7-2 win in Game 3, chasing Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington from the crease. There had been a lot of speculation about the Bruins&rsquo; top unit going into the game, including the notion that Bergeron was playing with an unspecified injury. &ldquo;You saw him tonight,&rdquo; Marchand said. &ldquo;Did he look hurt to you?&rdquo; Everything the Bruins failed to do in their Game 2 loss, they did in their Game 3 victory. They shot more. They got the puck out of their own zone without succumbing to the Blues&rsquo; ferocious forecheck. The Bruins created far more room for themselves in the offensive zone, which allowed them to find seams for cross-ice passes and avoid the Blues&rsquo; sticks that nullified those plays in Game 2. Another big reason why Boston&rsquo;s power play was so deadly: defenseman Torey Krug, who had a goal and four points, setting a franchise record for points in a Stanley Cup final game. &ldquo;It was just a night where everything went our way,&rdquo; Krug said. &ldquo;We tried to be more decisive and assertive, getting pucks to the net after one or two passes. The fact that we knew that someone was going to shoot the puck after one or two passes allowed our guys to get to the net and in front of the goaltender&rsquo;s eyes and recover the puck if there&rsquo;s a rebound. Assertiveness and good decision-making.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

Game3

Game 3: Recap

<div class="image-hero"><img title="Game4" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/game4/531676-1-eng-US/game4.jpg"></div><b></b><p class="dropcap"><b><span>G</span>OING INTO GAME 4,</b> it appeared the Blues&rsquo; storybook season was almost over. But if the 2019 playoffs taught us anything, it&rsquo;s that nobody knows anything. What they taught us in particular is that the Blues would not cower in the face of adversity nor would they shy away from doing what needs to be done to stay in the picture. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s fun because it&rsquo;s hard, as weird as that sounds,&rdquo; said Colton Parayko. &ldquo;We knew it was going to be hard, and nothing comes easy.&rdquo; In their 4-2 win in Game 4, the Blues&rsquo; first victory on home ice in a Stanley Cup final in franchise history, they could not have possibly drawn up and executed a better game plan.</p><p>They really, really needed their best players to be a lot better, and Ryan O&rsquo;Reilly and Alex Pietrangelo, two of the most impactful players on St. Louis&rsquo; roster, responded with monster efforts. Much was made of O&rsquo;Reilly&rsquo;s two goals, but you could argue the Blues got just as much energy from an enormous penalty kill in the second period where he came inches from scoring shorthanded. The Blues needed to be more disciplined and they were, taking just three minor penalties. They needed to be more aggressive on their forecheck without going overboard, and they succeeded in that, too, swarming the Bruins at every opportunity.</p><p>The Blues had a day to think about their worst game of the playoffs before playing their best one. The Blues&rsquo; interim coach &ndash; yeah, he&rsquo;s still technically the interim coach &ndash; Craig Berube said there was no need to rally his team. &ldquo;Nothing. Nothing,&rdquo; said Berube when asked what his message to the team was after losing Game 3 by a five-goal margin. &ldquo;Our team responds pretty well. They have all playoffs. We knew what we had to do to be a better team.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

Game4

Game 4: Recap

<div class="image-hero"><img title="Game5" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/game5/531683-1-eng-US/game5.jpg"></div><b></b><p class="dropcap"><b><span>T</span>HE HAND PASS THAT</b> cost St. Louis Game 3 of the Western Conference final in overtime turned out to be the best thing that could have happened to them.</p><p>In Game 5 of the Cup final, the Bruins had to take a page from the Blues&rsquo; book when it came to dealing with the officiating problems dominating the 2019 playoffs.</p><p>Boston was understandably livid after a non-call on Tyler Bozak&rsquo;s trip/slew-foot of Noel Acciari led directly to the winning goal in Game 5, just as the Blues were pretty hot when all four on-ice officials missed the hand pass by the San Jose Sharks&rsquo; Timo Meier in Game 3 of the previous round. However, instead of allowing a terrible non-call to derail their playoff run, the Blues went out and won the next three games in the West final, outscoring the Sharks 12-2 in the process. Blues coach Craig Berube made a point of saying his team had moved on, and his players were in lockstep with their bench boss. Like the Blues, the Bruins were entitled to their moment of believing they had been screwed over at the worst possible time. Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy unloaded on the league and its officials, alleging that Berube&rsquo;s complaints about the officiating earlier in the series had changed the complexion of the way the games were being called. Cassidy said the officiating in the playoffs was a &ldquo;black eye&rdquo; for the league.</p><p>But the best thing for the Bruins coach to do would be to make it clear right off the hop, the way Berube did in the conference final, that the team had moved on and was preparing for Game 6. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got a good group here that doesn&rsquo;t hang their heads, and we&rsquo;re just going to continue to try to move forward,&rdquo; said Bruins defenseman Torey Krug. &ldquo;We don&rsquo;t let those things bother us.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

Game5

Game 5: Recap

<div class="image-hero"><img title="Game6" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/game6/531690-1-eng-US/game6.jpg"></div><b></b><p class="dropcap"><b><span>T</span>HERE WAS TOO MUCH</b> pride, too much experience, too much character for the Bruins not to at least go down swinging. If the Blues were going to lift the Stanley Cup for the first time in franchise history on their home ice, they had to earn the privilege. Patrice Bergeron and Tuukka Rask made sure that didn&rsquo;t happen, one with his words, the other with his actions. Prior to the 5-1 victory, Bergeron stood up and gave what was, by all accounts, a goosebump-worthy speech. And Rask went out and added to his Conn Smythe Trophy-caliber play with a performance for the ages. He stopped 12 shots on the penalty kill and crushed the Blues&rsquo; spirits.</p><p>First, Bergeron. The Bruins&rsquo; alternate captain speaks softly and carries a two-way stick. He is careful with his words and did not waste a single one when he spoke from the heart before Game 6. &ldquo;He stepped up big-time,&rdquo; said Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy. &ldquo;It was exactly what we needed. It was. It was an element of what the dream is. Growing up, every one of us shares the same dream. We were all little kids once, and we all wanted this bad, and I think it was just an element of savoring this moment and not letting it end tonight. When he talks, you listen. That&rsquo;s the presence he has.&rdquo; And speaking of presence, the guy in the Bruins&rsquo; net has a certain amount of that, too. &ldquo;Best player, he&rsquo;s our best player,&rdquo; McAvoy said. &ldquo;He has been all playoffs and all regular season. We know when he plays like that, to the best of his abilities, and we do our jobs in front of him, he&rsquo;s going to be there. He&rsquo;s going to be that stone.&rdquo;</p><p>While the final score was one-sided, Rask stopped all 19 shots that came his way through the first two periods as Boston clung to a 1-0 lead, and he made 28 saves in all.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

Game6

Game 6: Recap

<div class="image-hero"><img title="Game7" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/game7/531697-1-eng-US/game7.jpg"></div><b></b><p class="dropcap"><b><span>R</span>YAN O&rsquo;REILLY TALKED HIS</b> way into all of this. If he doesn&rsquo;t talk about falling &ldquo;out of love&rdquo; with the game when the Buffalo Sabres were cleaning out their lockers last season, perhaps he doesn&rsquo;t get dealt to the Blues, and none of this ever happens. O&rsquo;Reilly had a lot to say after his trade, and almost all of it came true when St. Louis defeated Boston 4-1 in Game 7 to capture the first Stanley Cup in the franchise&rsquo;s 52-year history. To wit, in his first conversation with Blues GM Doug Armstrong after the trade: &ldquo;Let&rsquo;s go win a Stanley Cup.&rdquo; Later that summer at the annual BioSteel camp in Toronto: &ldquo;A Stanley Cup is possible. It&rsquo;s not going to be easy, but it&rsquo;s definitely possible.&rdquo; The day before Game 7 of the final: &ldquo;I know this has to be the best game of my life.&rdquo; The man who couldn&rsquo;t win for losing before this season hit the trifecta.</p><p>After acquiring O&rsquo;Reilly on July 1, Armstrong said he was never concerned about the O&rsquo;Reilly comments. &ldquo;I think the raw emotion came out last year at his end-of-the-year meeting,&rdquo; Armstrong said. &ldquo;I think if Ryan could take it back, he wouldn&rsquo;t have said it like that, but at the end of the day that worked out really good for the St. Louis Blues.&rdquo;</p><p>It was revealed after Game 7 that O&rsquo;Reilly, who won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP, was playing with a cracked rib that he sustained in Round 2. Although he said it had pretty much healed up by the final, that&rsquo;s not a comfortable injury to endure. Funny how lifting up 35 pounds of silver and nickel alloy high over his head didn&rsquo;t seem to aggravate it. &ldquo;I guess all the adrenaline made it feel pretty light,&rdquo; O&rsquo;Reilly said. &ldquo;I felt like I could have tossed it into the crowd.&rdquo; Safe to say, O&rsquo;Reilly is back in love with the game of hockey.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

Game7

Game 7: Recap

<h2></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/game1_14/527689-1-eng-US/game1_12.jpg" title="game1_1" width="897" height="975"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p>&lsquo;Sunny the Stanley Pup&rsquo; jumps for joy over a rematch 49 years in the making: the Blues and Bruins, meeting in the final for the first time since 1970.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(DAVE SANDFORD/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/game1_24/527682-1-eng-US/game1_22.jpg" title="game1_2" width="1141" height="1162"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p>The NHL&rsquo;s tallest, oldest player, Zdeno Chara, soaks up TD Garden&rsquo;s ambience before commencing the third Stanley Cup final of his career.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(DAVE SANDFORD/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/game1_34/527675-1-eng-US/game1_32.jpg" title="game1_3" width="2117" height="1452"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p>Leave Brayden Schenn <i>this</i> open at your peril. He leans into a wrister. Patrice Bergeron can only watch. St. Louis draws first blood in Game 1.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(SCOTT ROVAK/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/game1_44/527668-1-eng-US/game1_42.jpg" title="game1_4" width="655" height="714"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p>Weren&rsquo;t the Blues supposed to be underdogs? Vladimir Tarasenko didn&rsquo;t get the memo. He lets out a war cry after scoring to put the Blues up 2-0.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(ADAM GLANZMAN/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/game1_64/527661-1-eng-US/game1_62.jpg" title="game1_6" width="657" height="832"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p>The Blues&rsquo; David Perron doesn&rsquo;t quite take Torey Krug&rsquo;s head off, settling for a helmet instead. Krug then takes off up the ice where&hellip;</p> <span class="photo-credit">(BRIAN BABINEAU/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/game1_74/527654-1-eng-US/game1_72.jpg" title="game1_7" width="1556" height="1159"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p>He pays his revenge forward with a brutal hit on&hellip;Robert Thomas? The NHL rules it clean. Krug plays on. Thomas does not. He&rsquo;ll miss Game 2.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(BRUCE BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/game1_54/527647-1-eng-US/game1_52.jpg" title="game1_5" width="1382" height="1627"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p>Connor Clifton was an AHLer in March. Now he admires the greatest view of his life: a Stanley Cup goal, the first domino in Boston&rsquo;s comeback win.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(PATRICK SMITH/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

game1_1

Cup In Photos - Game 1

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/game2_14/527769-1-eng-US/game2_12.jpg" title="game2_1" width="898" height="704"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p>Want winning vibes in Boston? Call Bill Belichick, coach of the reigning Super Bowl champion New England Patriots, and ask him to wave the Bruins banner.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(BRIAN BABINEAU)</span></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/game2_24/527762-1-eng-US/game2_22.jpg" title="game2_2" width="898" height="662"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p>The Blues possess the puck far more in Game 2 than Game 1 thanks to tactics like this box-out by Alex Pietrangelo and Ivan Barbashev in the defensive zone.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(DAVE SANDFORD/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/game2_34/527755-1-eng-US/game2_32.jpg" title="game2_3" width="1138" height="1449"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p>Robby Fabbri draws into Game 2 as an injury replacement for the Blues. Gracious host Clifton introduces his new series guest to the TD Garden glass.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(PATRICK SMITH/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/game2_44/527748-1-eng-US/game2_42.jpg" title="game2_4" width="2113" height="1349"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p>The Bruins&rsquo; fourth line has its first-line impression down pat at this point. After a nifty goal, Joakim Nordstrom even shows the swagger of a first-line scorer.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(DAVE SANDFORD/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/game2_54/527741-1-eng-US/game2_52.jpg" title="game2_5" width="1384" height="1160"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p>Krug improves to 2-for-2 in his quest to play every game of the final without a helmet, this time tangling, literally, with Blues behemoth Colton Parayko.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(BRUCE BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/game2_64/527734-1-eng-US/game2_62.jpg" title="game2_6" width="898" height="663"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p>Human crash-test dummy Sammy Blais, no pipsqueak at 205 pounds, speeds into a 215-pound cement wall named David Backes. The result: predictable.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(PATRICK SMITH/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/game2_74/527727-1-eng-US/game2_72.jpg" title="game2_7" width="898" height="579"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p>The camera spots Carl Gunnarsson&rsquo;s shot a split-second before Tuukka Rask does. That&rsquo;s a split-second too late. The Blues win a Game-2 thriller in overtime.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(BRUCE BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/game2_83/527720-1-eng-US/game2_82.jpg" title="game2_8" width="1140" height="1451"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p>The Blues celebrate their first Cup final win in franchise history. Game-winning goal-scorer Gunnarsson is somewhere in the huddle. You&rsquo;ll have to take our word for it.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(BRUCE BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

game2_1

Cup In Photos - Game 2

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/game3_14/527849-1-eng-US/game3_12.jpg" title="game3_1" width="898" height="745"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p>As Don Draper on <i>Mad Men</i>, he sold clients on his ad creations. As himself, actor Jon Hamm sells anyone who will listen on his love for his hometown Blues.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(DAVE SANDFORD/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/game3_24/527842-1-eng-US/game3_22.jpg" title="game3_2" width="898" height="580"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p>The series shifts to St. Louis, and the menu changes. Barbashev serves Clifton a glove sandwich. Three games in, it&rsquo;s the most physical Stanley Cup final in years.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(BRUCE BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/game3_34/527835-1-eng-US/game3_32.jpg" title="game3_3" width="1140" height="1368"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p>The Bruins, road beasts all playoffs, relish ruining rival parties. They embrace after staking a 2-0 lead in St. Louis&rsquo; first Stanley Cup home game since 1970.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(DAVE SANDFORD/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/game3_44/527828-1-eng-US/game3_42.jpg" title="game3_4" width="1383" height="1246"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p>Just because you want to hit David Pastrnak doesn&rsquo;t mean you will. Schenn tries, misses and accidentally parodies Boston legend Bobby Orr&rsquo;s horizontal leap.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(BRIAN BABINEAU/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/game3_54/527821-1-eng-US/game3_52.jpg" title="game3_5" width="2116" height="1335"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p>The Bruins&rsquo; power play can&rsquo;t miss in Game 3, going 4-for-4. Pastrnak waits out Blues goalie Jordan Binnington to make it 4-0 early in the second. The rout is on.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(BRUCE BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/game3_64/527814-1-eng-US/game3_62.jpg" title="game3_6" width="896" height="1453"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p>The Blues can&rsquo;t even bully someone successfully on a night when nothing goes right. Perron mad-dogs Rask and receives an amused smile behind the mask.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(DILIP VISHWANAT/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/game3_74/527807-1-eng-US/game3_72.jpg" title="game3_7" width="1142" height="579"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p>Binnington, the main reason St. Louis even made the playoffs, goes from starter to spectator. The Blues mercifully bench him after he allows his fifth goal in Game 3.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(DILIP VISHWANAT/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/game3_84/527800-1-eng-US/game3_82.jpg" title="game3_8" width="1142" height="788"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p>The Blues watch Noel Acciari deliver Bruins biscuit No. 6 to an empty basket. Boston later adds an exclamation mark to a decisive victory with a seventh goal.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(BRUCE BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

game3_1

Cup In Photos - Game 3

<div class="image-hero"><img title="game4_1" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/game4_14/527929-1-eng-US/game4_12.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p>Desperate to bounce back in Game 4, the Blues go to their nuclear option: Brett Hull, their all-time leading goal-scorer, hyping up the crowd at Enterprise Center.</p><p></p> <span class="photo-credit">(DAVE SANDFORD/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/game4_24/527922-1-eng-US/game4_22.jpg" title="game4_2" width="896" height="813"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p>Alexander Steen crosses swords with Clifton to the delight of the fans lucky enough to score seats at the glass, though Steen gets the worst of the duel.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(BRUCE BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/game4_34/527915-1-eng-US/game4_32.jpg" title="game4_3" width="899" height="579"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p>Blues mob bearded bulldog Ryan O&rsquo;Reilly after his wraparound goal puts St. Louis up 1-0 just 43 seconds into Game 4. The Game 3 loss feels miles away.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(SCOTT ROVAK/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/game4_44/527908-1-eng-US/game4_42.jpg" title="game4_4" width="2115" height="1335"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p>Rangy Charlie Coyle can&rsquo;t miss in these playoffs. He enjoys a private tour of Binnington&rsquo;s crease, corrals a rebound and stuffs it home, tying the game 1-1.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(JOE PUETZ/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/game4_54/527901-1-eng-US/game4_52.jpg" title="game4_5" width="599" height="1247"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p>A shorthanded goal from&hellip;defensive D-man Brandon Carlo, who had none after 20 playoff games? If any moment requires a Brad Marchand jump-hug, this is it.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(BRIAN BABINEAU/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/game4_64/527894-1-eng-US/game4_62.jpg" title="game4_6" width="812" height="580"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p>We rarely see Chara this close to ice level, but a deflected puck to the face bloodies him, breaks his jaw, drops him to his knees and knocks him out of Game 4.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(JAMIE SQUIRE/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/game4_74/527887-1-eng-US/game4_72.jpg" title="game4_7" width="814" height="579"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p>By ice, by sea or, in Tarasenko&rsquo;s case, by air. The Blues go wherever necessary to beat the Bruins to pucks in Game 4. St. Louis badly outshoots Boston.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(DAVE SANDFORD/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/game4_83/527880-1-eng-US/game4_82.jpg" title="game4_8" width="2118" height="1370"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p>The last image Rask wants to see: O&rsquo;Reilly, open, popping up on the blocker side, puck on his stick. He chops home a flying rebound for the game-winning goal.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(SCOTT ROVAK/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

game4_1

Cup In Photos - Game 4

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/game5_15/528009-1-eng-US/game5_12.jpg" title="game5_1" width="896" height="1160"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p>He&rsquo;s back from the dead. Chara can&rsquo;t speak with a broken jaw, but his ears work fine as he soaks up appreciative cheers from the Boston faithful before Game 5.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(BRUCE BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/game5_24/528002-1-eng-US/game5_22.jpg" title="game5_2" width="1143" height="1162"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p>Hitters in this series come in all shapes and sizes. Marchand gives up six inches but has no problem playing predator to Pietrangelo&rsquo;s prey along the glass.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(DAVE SANDFORD/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/game5_44/527995-1-eng-US/game5_42.jpg" title="game5_4" width="2111" height="1450"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p>No need for a red light. Perron&rsquo;s face tells us this puck, backhanded by O&rsquo;Reilly, has Rask beat. The Blues take a 1-0 lead on O&rsquo;Reilly&rsquo;s third goal of the series.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(BRUCE BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/game5_64/527988-1-eng-US/game5_62.jpg" title="game5_6" width="1386" height="955"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p>You need a short memory to win the Cup. With no trace of Chara&rsquo;s facial injury on his mind, Krejci slides in front of a Pietrangelo shot for a massive save.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(PATRICK SMITH/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/game5_74/527981-1-eng-US/game5_72.jpg" title="game5_7" width="1386" height="871"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p>Acciari feels the painful thud of his head against the ice, and he obviously didn&rsquo;t put himself there. Surely, whoever did gets a trip to the penalty box. Right?</p> <span class="photo-credit">(STEVE BABINEAU/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/game5_54/527974-1-eng-US/game5_52.jpg" title="game5_5" width="1387" height="872"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p>Wrong. Acciari struggles to his feet while the Blues celebrate a Perron goal, which comes seconds after the officials miss Tyler Bozak&rsquo;s trip on Acciari.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(BRUCE BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/game5_93/527967-1-eng-US/game5_92.jpg" title="game5_9" width="655" height="663"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p>Marchand&rsquo;s size works in his favor this time, helping him gain position on O&rsquo;Reilly, but that&rsquo;s about the only thing that goes right for Boston in a Game-5 home loss.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(DAVE SANDFORD/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/game5_84/527960-1-eng-US/game5_82.jpg" title="game5_8" width="655" height="788"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p>Goalies thank their goal posts. Players thank their goalies. Tarasenko honors Binnington with a head-to-head embrace. The Blues are one win from their first Cup.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(SCOTT ROVAK/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

game5_1

Cup In Photos - Game 5

<div class="image-hero"><img title="game6_1" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/game6_13/528082-1-eng-US/game6_12.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p>Perron dares enter Chara&rsquo;s orbit and pays for it violently. Broken jaw be damned, Chara clears the net and protects his goalie like few D-men in hockey history.</p><p></p> <span class="photo-credit">(JAMIE SQUIRE/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/game6_33/528075-1-eng-US/game6_32.jpg" title="game6_3" width="1138" height="1449"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p>Bad angle or not, Marchand has all the space he needs during a 5-on-3 power play. A big follow-through, nothing but net, and Boston leads 1-0 early in Game 6.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(BRIAN BABINEAU/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/game6_93/528068-1-eng-US/game6_92.jpg" title="game6_9" width="894" height="1450"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p>There&rsquo;s no &lsquo;I&rsquo; in Tuukka. He&rsquo;s done a tremendous job stopping pucks all playoffs but isn&rsquo;t above a helping hand (or stick) from blueliner Charlie McAvoy.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(DILIP VISHWANAT/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/game6_43/528061-1-eng-US/game6_42.jpg" title="game6_4" width="2115" height="1160"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p>Caught in the act: Rask does block this O&rsquo;Reilly shot with an athletic pad save but not until after it crosses the goal line. The Blues have life but still trail 3-1 in the third.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(JAMIE SQUIRE/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/game6_83/528054-1-eng-US/game6_82.jpg" title="game6_8" width="1140" height="1458"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p>Patience pays off for the rally-killing Pastrnak, who waits out Binnington before personally escorting this puck home from point-blank range. The Bruins lead 4-1.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(BRUCE BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/game6_63/528047-1-eng-US/game6_62.jpg" title="game6_6" width="897" height="706"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p>Sometimes the Big, Bad Bruins just like to be bad. McAvoy trips up Tarasenko. The Bruins trip up the Blues in Game 6 and force a winner-take-all Game 7 scenario.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(SCOTT ROVAK/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/game6_103/528040-1-eng-US/game6_102.jpg" title="game6_10" width="898" height="663"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p>A relieved Rask rests his head on hockey&rsquo;s highest shoulder. He and Chara are a win away from seeing their names engraved on the Cup for a second time.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(BRIAN BABINEAU/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

game6_1

Cup In Photos - Game 6

<div class="image-hero"><img title="game7_1" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/game7_13/528169-1-eng-US/game7_12.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p>Binnington has to be sharp in Game 7, with his first-period heroics proving crucial. Here, he stares down a Krejci break.</p><p></p> <span class="photo-credit">(PATRICK SMITH/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/game7_23/528162-1-eng-US/game7_22.jpg" title="game7_2" width="1136" height="1453"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p>Two dudes who take no quarter collide at mid-ice, with Marchand and Barbashev smashing atoms together in the first period.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(PATRICK SMITH/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/game7_33/528155-1-eng-US/game7_32.jpg" title="game7_3" width="898" height="665"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p>Jay Bouwmeester takes the shot and O&rsquo;Reilly makes the tip that fools Rask as St. Louis grabs a 1-0 lead after an early Bruins barrage.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(RICH GAGNON/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/game7_43/528148-1-eng-US/game7_42.jpg" title="game7_4" width="899" height="706"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p>Things don&rsquo;t get any easier for Rask in the second period, but at least he gets some help from the crossbar. Boston is down but not out.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(PATRICK SMITH/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/game7_53/528141-1-eng-US/game7_52.jpg" title="game7_5" width="1140" height="1453"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p>Teammates rush Binnington, whose only blemish on championship night is a meaningless Matt Grzelcyk tally to make it 4-1.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(BRUCE BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/game7_63/528134-1-eng-US/game7_62.jpg" title="game7_6" width="411" height="706"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p>O&rsquo;Reilly cradles the Conn Smythe Trophy, a well-earned accolade as he turned it up when the games got harder. Binnington also gets votes.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(PATRICK SMITH/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/game7_73/528127-1-eng-US/game7_72.jpg" title="game7_7" width="412" height="708"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p>Somehow still the &lsquo;interim&rsquo; coach, mid-year replacement Craig Berube shares a moment with big defenseman Parayko.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(DAVE SANDFORD/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/game7_83/528120-1-eng-US/game7_82.jpg" title="game7_8" width="899" height="663"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p>As much as he loves his coach, Parayko&rsquo;s bond with 11-year-old Laila Anderson is even deeper. She gets her chance to touch the Cup.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(PATRICK SMITH/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/game7_93/528113-1-eng-US/game7_92.jpg" title="game7_9" width="2117" height="1349"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p>With St. Louis native Patrick Maroon sliding into the front of the pile at the last second, the champion Blues are immortalized.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(DAVE SANDFORD/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

game7_1

Cup In Photos - Game 7

<div class="byline">BY RYAN KENNEDY</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="top10" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/top103/528207-1-eng-US/top102.jpg"></div><h2><b>1. ST. LOUIS BLUES WIN 1ST CUP</b></h2><p class="dropcap"><span>W</span>orst to first, literally. On Jan. 2, the St. Louis Blues were dead-last in the NHL standings, but with interim coach Craig Berube installing his culture (after Mike Yeo was fired in late November) and the ascension of rookie goaltender Jordan Binnington to the starter&rsquo;s role in place of Jake Allen, the Blues pulled themselves together in the second half and went all the way to win the franchise&rsquo;s first Stanley Cup in 52 years of existence. After knocking off highly regarded Winnipeg in the first round, the Blues outlasted Dallas in seven games, with hometown boy Patrick Maroon scoring the winner in double-overtime. From there, St. Louis survived a controversial hand-pass goal by San Jose to best the Sharks, setting up a date with the Boston Bruins &ndash; the same franchise that beat St. Louis in the final way back in 1970. This time, St. Louis matched the Bruins&rsquo; heavy, two-way play with some excellent 200-foot hockey of their own. Binnington remained a champ in net, while Ryan O&rsquo;Reilly earned the Conn Smythe. <i>Play Gloria!</i><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

top10

TOP 10 2018-19 NHL MOMENTS

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-0178/528238-1-eng-US/f0045-012.jpg" title="f0045-01" width="665" height="575"></div><h2><b>2. COLUMBUS SWEEPS TAMPA BAY</b></h2><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span>ampa Bay appeared to be the juggernaut that would not be stopped. The Bolts tied the 1995-96 Detroit Red Wings for most NHL wins with 62, while Nikita Kucherov posted the most points by an NHLer since the 2004-05 lockout with 128. The Lightning won their division by 21 points and didn&rsquo;t play a meaningful game for months. Maybe that was a harbinger of doom.</p><p>When the playoffs began, the Lightning crumbled. The Columbus Blue Jackets, who had to scrape and claw their way into a wild-card berth, laid waste to the Bolts with one of the most shocking sweeps in NHL history.</p><p>While Columbus went all-in at the trade deadline by adding Matt Duchene, while also holding on to UFAs Artemi Panarin and Sergei Bobrovsky, no one expected them to rout Tampa Bay. But that&rsquo;s what Columbus did, erasing a 3-0 deficit in Game 1 to win 4-3. From there, the Blue Jackets never trailed again. As Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper noted in his post-mortem, the Lightning couldn&rsquo;t find their game for six days in April, and it cost them dearly.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0045-01

TOP 10 2018-19 NHL MOMENTS #2

<div class="image-hero"><img title="top10_allst_078" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/top10_allst_0783/528276-1-eng-US/top10_allst_0782.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(PHOTO BY EZRA SHAW/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><h2><b>3. WOMEN TAKE OVER THE ALL-STAR GAME</b></h2><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span>he all-star weekend (we can&rsquo;t even call it a game anymore since it&rsquo;s really three mini-games) has become a fun event for local fans and corporate types, but it&rsquo;s a dirge for those watching on TV lately. The skills competition in particular has suffered, as certain events are technically challenging but visual death &ndash; and shooting pucks into mini-nets takes way too long. But this year&rsquo;s festivities in San Jose were saved by an unlikely source: the women who came in as demonstrators and left as heroes. Team USA&rsquo;s Kendall Coyne and Brianna Decker became the most buzzed-about names of the weekend when they got their time in the spotlight, along with Canadians Rebecca Johnston and Renata Fast.</p><p>Coyne ended up taking part in the fastest skater competition as a real entry when Colorado&rsquo;s Nathan MacKinnon pulled up with an injury. With the unenviable task of skating first, Coyne put up a time of 14.3 seconds on her lap, which ended up beating Arizona&rsquo;s Clayton Keller. Later, Decker&rsquo;s unofficial time in demonstrating the premier passer competition had some folks believing she had beaten Edmonton&rsquo;s Leon Draisaitl, the official winner of the event (the NHL later revealed that, according to their timing, she did not). Since there was prize money involved, a social media campaign to #PayDecker was spawned, and eventually CCM stepped up to give her a $25,000 prize.</p><p>Not only were Coyne and Decker&rsquo;s skills fun to watch, but their accomplishments spurned on a debate about the value of women&rsquo;s hockey in North America, a debate that raged on through the summer.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

top10_allst_078

TOP 10 2018-19 NHL MOMENTS #3

<div class="image-hero"><img title="top10_surge_079" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/top10_surge_0793/528314-1-eng-US/top10_surge_0792.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(PHOTO BY GREGG FORWERCK/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><h2><b>4. CAROLINA&rsquo;S STORM SURGE</b></h2><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span>hey came into the season as an afterthought but ended up leaving an indelible mark. The Carolina Hurricanes, a.k.a. &lsquo;Bunch of Jerks&rsquo; (thanks to Don Cherry&rsquo;s derision), found a culture under coach Rod Brind&rsquo;Amour, but just as importantly, captain Justin Williams. It was Williams who spearheaded the &lsquo;Storm Surge&rsquo; celebrations that began with the Canes at center ice after home wins, leading the crowd in a soccer-style &lsquo;Skol Viking&rsquo; clap, followed by some sort of extracurricular activity. The first one occurred Oct. 7 after an 8-5 win over the New York Rangers, with Williams leading the Canes in a team-wide leap into the end boards. From there, the fun got increasingly complex. Brock McGinn scattered his teammates across the ice by using his stick as Thor&rsquo;s hammer, while Trevor van Riemsdyk dunked a basketball on an actual net brought out to the ice by the rink crew. Boxing legend Evander Holyfield even got in on the action by &ldquo;knocking out&rdquo; Jordan Martinook in a staged bout. There was fishing. There was Duck Hunt.</p><p>The Storm Surges ended after the regular season, but the passion and fun they evoked from fans and players carried into the playoffs, where the Canes made a surprise run to the Eastern Conference final.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

top10_surge_079

TOP 10 2018-19 NHL MOMENTS #4

<div class="image-hero"><img title="top10_stars_081" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/top10_stars_0813/528352-1-eng-US/top10_stars_0812.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(PHOTO BY MARK BLINCH/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><h2><b>5. HORSE$%@# IN DALLAS</b></h2><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span>yler Seguin and Jamie Benn have been horses for the Dallas Stars for years, but that&rsquo;s not exactly how CEO Jim Lites framed it when he went off on two of his most important players in late December. Lites lambasted his own troops to reporters, saying Seguin and Benn were getting outperformed and outworked by opponents on a nightly basis, despite their high salaries. He called the pair &ldquo;terrible&rdquo; and &ldquo;horses---,&rdquo; which naturally garnered a ton of press. This came not long after first-year coach Jim Montgomery got fired up about his team&rsquo;s lack of effort in practice. For their parts, Seguin said he was surprised by the CEO&rsquo;s comments, while Benn noted that he plays for his teammates, not Lites.</p><p>In the end, the Stars pulled themselves together enough to hold onto a wild-card spot in the second half, then knocked off the division champion Nashville Predators in the opening round. Seguin&rsquo;s numbers got better after the Lites rant with 48 points in his final 45 games, while Benn continued his sunken play, netting just 23 in his last 40 outings for his worst offensive performance in a full NHL season since he was a rookie.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

top10_stars_081

TOP 10 2018-19 NHL MOMENTS #5

<div class="image-hero"><img title="top10_shark_082" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/top10_shark_0823/528390-1-eng-US/top10_shark_0822.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(PHOTO BY LACHLAN CUNNINGHAM/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><h2><b>6. SHARKS&rsquo; CRAZY COMEBACK</b></h2><p class="dropcap"><span>I</span>n terms of momentum shifts, you can&rsquo;t get more dramatic than what happened in Game 7 of the first-round playoff series between San Jose and Vegas. With the Golden Knights up 3-0 midway through the third period, a faceoff went dramatically awry. Vegas&rsquo; Cody Eakin cross-checked San Jose captain Joe Pavelski in the chest, propelling the Sharks center into Paul Stastny of the Golden Knights. Pavelski crashed to the ice, leaving a pool of blood. Eakin was assessed a five-minute major, and the Sharks went on to score a remarkable four goals on the ensuing power play. While Vegas tied the game late, Barclay Goodrow won it for the Sharks in overtime, sending the Golden Knights home &ndash; and in very bad spirits. Jonathan Marchessault called the ruling a &ldquo;joke&rdquo; and &ldquo;embarrassing.&rdquo;</p><p>In the aftermath, referees Eric Furlatt and Dan O&rsquo;Halloran were not assigned duty for the second round of the playoffs, and the Sharks went on to beat Colorado in seven games before falling in the conference final to St. Louis. Pavelski missed the first six games of the Avalanche series before returning to the ice, only to get hurt again in Game 5 against the Blues.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

top10_shark_082

TOP 10 2018-19 NHL MOMENTS #6

<div class="image-hero"><img title="top10_pette_083" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/top10_pette_0833/528428-1-eng-US/top10_pette_0832.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(PHOTO BY JEFF VINNICK/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><h2><b>7. ELIAS PETTERSSON ON FIRE</b></h2><p class="dropcap"><span>F</span>ew players have tickled the fancy of Vancouver Canucks fans like Elias Pettersson &ndash; heck, even if you&rsquo;re not a Canucks fan, the rookie was a sight to behold. Pettersson, the skinny Swede with the silky moves, dazzled out of the gates, notching 10 goals in his first 10 games with his rebuilding squad. In doing so, Pettersson became the youngest NHLer to accomplish such a feat and only the fifth to do it since the league&rsquo;s inaugural season (when everyone was playing their first NHL games).</p><p>Not only did the young center score in bunches, but he did it with style: his 10th goal was reminiscent of Wayne Gretzky&rsquo;s famed slapshot tally against Calgary in the 1988 playoffs, which, being shorthanded and in overtime, was admittedly a little more crucial. Nonetheless, Pettersson&rsquo;s elite skill caught the eye of The Great One himself, with Gretzky telling a radio program that Pettersson&rsquo;s hockey sense and playmaking ability were something the two had in common.</p><p>Thanks to Pettersson and other youngsters such as Brock Boeser and Bo Horvat, the Canucks were a lot more competitive than many expected. Ultimately, Vancouver fell short of a playoff position, but Pettersson&rsquo;s Calder-worthy season made proceedings a lot more palatable for the fans.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

top10_pette_083

TOP 10 2018-19 NHL MOMENTS #7

<div class="image-hero"><img title="top10_seatt_084" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/top10_seatt_0843/528466-1-eng-US/top10_seatt_0842.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(PHOTO BY PATRICK MCDERMOTT/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><h1><b>8. SEATTLE GETS GREEN LIGHT</b></h1><p class="dropcap"><span>L</span>ong speculated but now official, Seattle was granted entry into the NHL Dec. 4, thanks to the board of governors meeting in Sea Island, Ga. The expansion team, which will bring the NHL to an even 32 teams and four divisions of eight squads each, is scheduled to hit the ice for 2021-22.</p><p>Led by a high-powered ownership group featuring billionaire David Bonderman, Hollywood super-producer Jerry Bruckheimer and sports executive Tod Leiweke, the Seattle franchise ponied up a $650-million expansion fee, much greater than the $500 million paid by Vegas in 2016. But the group is also paying for the retrofitting of KeyArena, bucking a trend in sports that has seen sports owners soak taxpayers for their buildings.</p><p>While the team doesn&rsquo;t have a name or colors yet, speculation about Seattle&rsquo;s on-ice success began almost immediately thanks to Vegas&rsquo; run to the Stanley Cup final in the Golden Knights&rsquo; rookie campaign. Seattle&rsquo;s expansion draft will have the same set of rules as the one that governed the Vegas edition, though the Golden Knights themselves will be exempt from losing a player. And though the Seattle team still has a couple of years, questions about the new GM came up very early on (Ken Holland, since hired by Edmonton, was one popular option).</p><p>The 2021-22 start date gave Seattle extra time to get its arena ready, but there is also the labor subtext to consider: the NHL could once again lock out its players in 2020-21 when the collective bargaining agreement ends, and having Seattle sit out that campaign takes away leverage from the Players&rsquo; Association.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

top10_seatt_084

TOP 10 2018-19 NHL MOMENTS #8

<div class="image-hero"><img title="top10_tavar_085" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/top10_tavar_0853/528504-1-eng-US/top10_tavar_0852.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(PHOTO BY BRUCE BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><h2><b>9. JOHN TAVARES&rsquo; RETURN GETS RAUCOUS</b></h2><p class="dropcap"><span>I</span>t was never going to be quiet. After leaving the franchise he entered the NHL with, center John Tavares returned to New York Feb. 28 with the Toronto Maple Leafs after nearly a decade with the Islanders.</p><p>It wasn&rsquo;t pretty. Not only did the Leafs get blown out 6-1, the Long Island faithful were merciless in their scorn for their former captain. Tavares, who the Isles drafted first overall in 2009, was booed lustily whenever he appeared on the ice, with the fans also chanting &ldquo;We don&rsquo;t need you!&rdquo; Numerous jerseys and signs referenced Tavares as a &ldquo;traitor&rdquo; to the franchise for which he was once seen as a savior.</p><p>While the Islanders went deeper in the playoffs than the Maple Leafs, Tavares did enjoy his best offensive season in the NHL, forming a potent duo with Mitch Marner up front and flirting with 50 goals for the first time.</p><p>Tavares signed with the Maple Leafs as a UFA in the summer after whittling down his choices to six teams, including the Islanders, Bruins and Sharks. Growing up in the Toronto suburbs, he famously wore Leafs pajamas as a kid and posted a picture as evidence after signing his seven-year, $77-million pact with the team.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

top10_tavar_085

TOP 10 2018-19 NHL MOMENTS #9

<div class="image-hero"><img title="t10_ovi" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/t10_ovi3/528542-1-eng-US/t10_ovi2.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(PHOTO BY JANA CHYTILOVA/FREESTYLE PHOTOGRAPHY/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><h2><b>10. ALEX OVECHKIN BECOMES NO. 1</b></h2><p class="dropcap"><span>R</span>arely does this annual article pass without an entry from Alex Ovechkin, the captain and catalyst of the Washington Capitals. Last year, he was all over the Champions Issue after guiding the Caps to their first title; this time it&rsquo;s back to his individual scoring exploits. With an assist on a T.J. Oshie goal Feb. 5, Ovechkin passed the legendary Sergei Fedorov by notching his 1,180th career point to become the highest-scoring Russian in NHL history. &lsquo;Ovie&rsquo; hit the mark in 1,055 games, 193 games fewer than it took for Fedorov to accomplish that standard.</p><p>At 33 with a lot of miles on him, it would be understandable if Ovechkin began slowing down (particularly after his bleary post-Cup celebrations last summer), but that was far from the case. He topped the 50-goal mark again this season, the seventh time he&rsquo;s done so in his career. He also nudged out Edmonton&rsquo;s Leon Draisaitl for the Rocket Richard Trophy, giving Ovechkin an NHL-record eight for his career.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

t10_ovi

TOP 10 2018-19 NHL MOMENTS #10

<div class="byline">BY STEVE LYTTLE</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="ahl6" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/ahl63/528632-1-eng-US/ahl62.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>CHAMPION CHECKERS</b></p><p>Charlotte proved too much for Chicago in the AHL final, claiming the Calder Cup in five games.</p><p></p> <span class="photo-credit">(JONATHAN DANIEL/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>ALEX NEDELJKOVIC WAS</b> able to check off a lot of boxes this season.</p><p>The AHL&rsquo;s goalie of the year? Done. A Calder Cup championship with the Charlotte Checkers? Got it. Set a bit of hockey history? That too.</p><p>In fact, if you ignore one little episode with a power tool, Nedeljkovic accomplished just about everything he set out to do this season. &ldquo;He was the goalie of the year for a reason, right?&rdquo; said Checkers coach Mike Vellucci after Nedeljkovic&rsquo;s 38-save win in Game 3 of the AHL final against the Chicago Wolves.</p><p>That 4-1 victory put the Checkers ahead in a series that they won in five games, a fitting ending to a season in which Charlotte dominated the AHL from start to finish. A steadying force behind all that was Nedeljkovic, 23, an athletic, take-charge goaltender with his sights set on the NHL. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s the ultimate goal, obviously,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;But my job is to keep making myself better so I&rsquo;m ready when the time comes.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/ahl23/528618-1-eng-US/ahl22.jpg" title="ahl2" width="720" height="784"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>ALEX NEDELJKOVIC</b> <span class="photo-credit">(JONATHAN DANIEL/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>That time might be soon. A second-round draft pick (37th overall) by the Carolina Hurricanes in 2014, Nedeljkovic could be in Raleigh next season. The Hurricanes went to the Eastern Conference final in the NHL playoffs behind Petr Mrazek and Curtis McElhinney. But both are UFAs, and some followers have surmised this is the time to move Nedeljkovic to Raleigh. &ldquo;He wants to play in the NHL, and I know he&rsquo;ll play in the NHL,&rdquo; Vellucci said.</p><p>Those familiar with Nedeljkovic describe him as hardworking. Youth hockey coaches in his native Ohio recall the strong work ethic of a goalie who played in the Cleveland Barons program. His dedication and athletic ability are family traits. His parents, Butch and Theresa, moved the family to Michigan for two years so Alex and younger brother Andy (now a winger with the NAHL&rsquo;s Johnstown Tomahawks) could face higher-level competition. The Nedeljkovics spent many weekends traveling across the U.S. Midwest and Canada, taking their sons to tournaments.</p><blockquote class="pullQuote">HE WAS THE GOALIE OF THE YEAR FOR A REASON, RIGHT?<br>&ndash; CHARLOTTE COACH MIKE VELLUCCI ON NEDELJKOVIC</blockquote><p>In 2012, Alex joined the OHL&rsquo;s Plymouth Whalers, where Vellucci was coach. Nedeljkovic compiled a 19-2-2 record with a 2.28 goals-against average. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve had him since he was 16,&rdquo; Vellucci said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s always willing to put in the work.&rdquo;</p><p>The hard work resulted in a steady progression up the hockey ladder &ndash; several good seasons in the OHL, with a few ECHL appearances in 2014-15; mixing time in 2016-17 between the ECHL&rsquo;s Florida Everblades and the Checkers; and then full time in Charlotte in 2017-18.</p><p>Nedeljkovic was a standout stopper during much of 2017-18, with a 31-12-3 record. But Vellucci wanted something more this season. He asked for his goaltender to be outstanding all the time. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s been really consistent this year, and we talked about that at the beginning of the year,&rdquo; Vellucci said. &ldquo;Just be consistent, game in and game out. He&rsquo;s a complete pro right now.&rdquo;</p><p>He also became a big-leaguer during 2018-19. He was among a sizeable group of Checkers who wore out Interstate 85 between Charlotte and Raleigh, seeing some action with the Hurricanes. Nedeljkovic got his first NHL start Jan. 23, making 26 saves in a 5-2 win over Vancouver. That&rsquo;s where the history comes in. With that appearance, he became the first Cleveland-area goalie to play in the NHL, according to <a href="http://Hockey-reference.com">hockey-reference.com</a>.</p><p>Nedeljkovic remains a Cleveland guy. He says he enjoys being able to return home to his family, which has moved back to the Cleveland suburb of Parma. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s home,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I like getting back there. In some ways, it seems like nothing has changed.&rdquo;</p><p>When the Checkers played a late-season game in Cleveland, Nedeljkovic received almost as big a cheer as some of the hometown Monsters players. He posted a 34-9-5 record during the season and was 10-4 in the playoffs. His GAA dropped from 2.55 last season (18th in the AHL) to 2.26 (first), en route to the Aldege &lsquo;Baz&rsquo; Bastien Memorial Award as the league&rsquo;s top netminder.</p><p>Checkers captain Patrick Brown, another player who made the Charlotte-Raleigh shuffle during the season, says Nedeljkovic gave his teammates a sense of security. &ldquo;He knows when to play the puck,&rdquo; Brown said. &ldquo;He can play the puck, and he can make a big save when you need it.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/ahl53/528611-1-eng-US/ahl52.jpg" title="ahl5" width="1008" height="818"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>CELEBRATION TIME</b></p><p>With several players who bounced between the AHL and NHL, Charlotte came together when it mattered.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(JONATHAN DANIEL/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>Nedeljkovic drew raves during the final from the Wolves, who hadn&rsquo;t seen him until the playoffs, as the AHL&rsquo;s Eastern and Western teams don&rsquo;t meet during the season. Chicago&rsquo;s Gage Quinney had a breakaway in Game 3 that Nedeljkovic stopped. &ldquo;I tried to go low blocker,&rdquo; Quinney said, &ldquo;and it was almost like he knew what I would be doing.&rdquo;</p><p>Nedeljkovic&rsquo;s family was with him all the way, with his grandparents even getting TV time in the final when the camera showed them holding a large sign with Nedeljkovic&rsquo;s picture and the words, &ldquo;That&rsquo;s My Grandson.&rdquo;</p><p>Perhaps the only low point in 2018-19 was a dressing-room episode with a power screwdriver. Checkers players carried a one-foot-by-two-foot board with them throughout the playoffs, and the star player in each victory was assigned the task of driving a screw through a puck into the board. After Game 3 in the final, Nedeljkovic got the assignment. But he could only get the screw halfway in, leading one teammate to sarcastically observe, &ldquo;I guess we can&rsquo;t trust him with power tools.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/ahl73/528604-1-eng-US/ahl72.jpg" title="ahl7" width="1024" height="1527"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>ALEX NEDELJKOVIC</b></p> <span class="photo-credit">(JONATHAN DANIEL/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>His teammates trusted him on the ice, however. &ldquo;Any time we get hemmed in our zone, &lsquo;Ned&rsquo; is there, backing us up,&rdquo; Brown said.</p><p>For his part, Nedeljkovic considers himself blessed to have a career doing something he enjoys. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s fantastic every day to come to the rink and play a game you grew up loving,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Every day, it&rsquo;s just fun.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

ahl6

Hard Work Pays Off

<div class="byline">BY SLAVA MALAMUD</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="sorokin" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/sorokin6/528684-1-eng-US/sorokin2.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>RISK & REWARD</b></p><p>Sorokin plays a gambling game in the crease, and it paid off with an MVP performance in the KHL playoffs.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(ERGEI SAVOSTYANOV\TASS VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>I</span>LYA SOROKIN WAS ROOTING</b> for Jon Snow to bite the dust in the final episode of <i>Game of Thrones</i>. But, just like Islanders fans who want the electrifying young goalie on Long Island right now, he was disappointed. &ldquo;He is the one I&rsquo;d feel pity for the least,&rdquo; said Sorokin to Match TV when the reporter got to the Really Important Questions part of the interview. &ldquo;Besides, he has already been killed once, so my heart has already been taken through this tragedy. The second time wouldn&rsquo;t be as hard.&rdquo;</p><p>Whether or not Sorokin makes it big in the NHL, fans are sure to love his personality. The young goaltender has a wicked sense of humor, embraces the spotlight, will talk about pretty much anything (did you know he is a big science-fiction buff, likes to meditate and has recently tried learning to box?) and has the looks and self-confidence to become a media darling in New York. In fact, Sorokin, with his well-trimmed beard and curly hair, looks a bit like the very Jon Snow he was wishing death upon.</p><p>Of course, it is more than his heartthrob visage that is drawing attention to Sorokin right now. After being named the KHL&rsquo;s playoff MVP for leading CSKA Moscow to its first title since the Soviet era, Sorokin has earned some very lofty comparisons. &ldquo;He reminds me of a young Vladislav Tretiak,&rdquo; said Bob Hartley, whose Avangard Omsk was vanquished by Sorokin&rsquo;s CSKA in the Gagarin Cup final. &ldquo;He was saving everything against us.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/sorokin43/528677-1-eng-US/sorokin42.jpg" title="sorokin4" width="1023" height="958"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>ILYA SOROKIN</b></p> <span class="photo-credit">(SERGEI SAVOSTYANOV\TASS VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>Hartley then went on to compare Sorokin&rsquo;s style to that of Evgeni Nabokov, which had a particular significance to the 23-year-old Sorokin, who grew up idolizing the former NHL star. The Nabokov comparison could be particularly apt, since Sorokin is an aggressive and acrobatic goalie who isn&rsquo;t afraid to take risks and boasts one of the most impressive collections of flashy saves in the KHL. He is incredibly explosive and uniquely flexible, which allows him to play his somewhat risky and swaggering style with fewer negative consequences than might be expected.</p><blockquote class="pullQuote">HE REMINDS ME OF A YOUNG VLADISLAV TRETIAK. HE WAS SAVING EVERYTHING AGAINST US<br>&ndash; BOB HARTLEY ON SOROKIN</blockquote><p>Still being very young in goalie years, Sorokin&rsquo;s style does tend to backfire once in a while, but he made enormous progress this season and was widely regarded as the KHL&rsquo;s best netminder. While skeptics point out that the youngster has been playing behind probably the best defense corps outside the NHL, it&rsquo;s hard to argue with his ridiculous .940 save percentage in 40 regular-season games &ndash; including a league-high 11 shutouts &ndash; which became an even more ridiculous .947 in the playoffs.</p><blockquote class="pullQuote">I&rsquo;LL START THINKING ABOUT (LEAVING FOR THE NHL) LATER. OTHERWISE, YOU&rsquo;LL BE TORN INSIDE AND WILL FIND YOURSELF IN NO MAN&rsquo;S LAND<br>&ndash; ILYA SOROKIN</blockquote><p>The Islanders, who got a great season out of Robin Lehner in 2018-19, might not be as impatient to get Sorokin into blue-and-orange as they were a year ago, which is a good thing because he isn&rsquo;t coming until 2020. The Siberian prodigy &ndash; Sorokin is from Novokuznetsk, which is also Sergei Bobrovsky&rsquo;s hometown &ndash; is under contract with CSKA through next season and isn&rsquo;t planning on getting out of it. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m the kind of man who tries to fulfill his obligations,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll start thinking about (leaving for the NHL) later. Otherwise, you&rsquo;ll be torn inside and will find yourself in no man&rsquo;s land.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/sorokin33/528670-1-eng-US/sorokin32.jpg" title="sorokin3" width="2123" height="978"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>NO. 1 MOMENT</b></p><p>Thanks in big part to Sorokin, front, CSKA grabbed it&rsquo;s first Gagarin Cup.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(SERGEI SAVOSTYANOV\TASS VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>So, no, it doesn&rsquo;t look like Sorokin is exploring his buyout options. In truth, it wouldn&rsquo;t make sense for him to do so, what with Lehner coming off a Vezina Trophy nomination and not looking ready to give up the No. 1 spot to a young prospect (assuming Lehner re-signs with the Islanders, of course). One more season behind CSKA&rsquo;s impenetrable defensive wall and another potential run at the Gagarin Cup sound much more enticing than warming the bench in Brooklyn or riding the bus for AHL Bridgeport.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/sorokin23/528663-1-eng-US/sorokin22.jpg" title="sorokin2" width="1050" height="1044"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>COMING SOON?</b></p><p>With one more year on his KHL contract, Sorokin could arrive in the NHL as early as next spring.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(SERGEI SAVOSTYANOV\TASS VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>That said, nobody in Russia is doubting Sorokin will be New York-bound next year and might even join the Isles in time for the 2020 playoffs, provided they get there. Sorokin is suitably impressed with his future NHL team. &ldquo;They have a strong system, and the players execute it well,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Their goalies look much better now than they did a couple of years ago. A goalie can change the outcome of the game, but without strong team play it&rsquo;s very hard.&rdquo;</p><p>Sorokin should like what he sees when he finally arrives in New York, with the Islanders&rsquo; young roster promising a brighter future for the team&rsquo;s long-suffering fan base. And there should be little doubt about the franchise&rsquo;s goalie of the future.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

sorokin

Talk About Overdue

<div class="byline">BY RISTO PAKARINEN</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="hpk1" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/hpk13/528729-1-eng-US/hpk12.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(FINNISH HOCKEY LEAGUE / JUSSI MAATTA)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>E</span>VERYBODY LOVES AN</b> underdog story with a fairytale ending. There&rsquo;s Cinderella, Rocky and the Miracle on Ice. And in Finland, there&rsquo;s HPK Hameenlinna, who defied the odds all the way to a Finnish League title.</p><p>To call HPK a no-name team is more than fair. They didn&rsquo;t have any Team Finland regulars on the roster, and the one player with NHL experience was 28-year-old winger Philippe Cornet, who returned to HPK from the Norwegian League having played two games with the Edmonton Oilers back in 2012.</p><p>But somehow, the team that missed the playoffs the year before came together and came out on top. Finishing fifth in the standings, Hameenlinna defeated fourth-place TPS Turku, second-place Tappara Tampere and regular-season champs Karpat Oulu en route to hoisting the Canada Bowl, the Liiga&rsquo;s championship trophy.</p><p>And they did it in style, beating Karpat in the final on Markus Nenonen&rsquo;s title-winning goal in overtime of Game 7. &ldquo;Hockey is a team sport, and this here is a band of brothers,&rdquo; said HPK coach Antti Pennanen. &ldquo;This is the result of people, both players and coaches, moving forward, developing and maturing. That, and hard work, which is boring at times, but these players have put in the hours.&rdquo;</p><p>Pennanen&rsquo;s band of brothers included Arto Laatikainen, a one-time defenseman of the year who signed a one-season deal with HPK; Filip Riska, who didn&rsquo;t get a new contract with his previous team despite offering to take a pay cut; Valtteri Puustinen, who had been shown the door by KalPa Kuopio&rsquo;s junior program; and goaltender Emil Larmi, who, days after Game 7, tweeted out a screenshot of a rejection email he had received from HPK several years earlier. In the email, HPK informed the then-15-year-old Lahti Pelicans junior netminder that he didn&rsquo;t get a spot at their under-16 tryout camp. Larmi tweeted out the image along with the words, &ldquo;No hard feelings.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/hpk23/528722-1-eng-US/hpk22.jpg" title="hpk2" width="1061" height="1125"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>&lsquo;NO HARD FEELINGS&rsquo;</b></p><p>Days after the team&rsquo;s championship, HPK goalie Larmi tweeted out a rejection letter he&rsquo;d received from the club as a 15-year-old netminder.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(FINNISH HOCKEY LEAGUE / JUSSI MAATTA)</span></figcaption></div><p>&ldquo;We were underdogs in every series, but we had also seen in the regular season that we could beat any team in the league, even when we had a lot of injuries, even in the playoffs,&rdquo; said the 22-year-old Larmi. &ldquo;And that put the pressure on the opponents. Our veteran players showed great leadership, and we had that one elusive thing: chemistry. We had a room full of different personalities and everybody could be fully themselves.&rdquo;</p><p>Whenever an underdog team rises up and goes all the way, just about everything has to work perfectly, and that was the case with Hameenlinna, according to Larmi. &ldquo;Everything has to fall into place, and I&rsquo;ve never seen a team that was this close-knit,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Everybody gave their all.&rdquo;</p><p>And of course, all successful teams need solid goaltending. &ldquo;Well, as long as the goalie makes a save every now and then,&rdquo; said Larmi with laugh.</p><p>He did a lot more than that, posting a .932 save percentage and 1.71 goals-against average in 18 playoff games, including two shutouts in the final series. &ldquo;The best thing about winning in team sports is that you win it together with a team,&rdquo; Larmi said. &ldquo;And Hameenlinna is a true hockey town, to see the main market square packed with people was amazing. It made me think we had accomplished something meaningful.&rdquo;</p><p>While Pennanen &ndash; who also doubled as Finland&rsquo;s assistant coach when they won gold at the World Championship &ndash; is under contract for another year, he&rsquo;s losing several key pieces from the championship team. Larmi signed with the Pittsburgh Penguins, while playoff MVP and team captain Otto Paajanen is moving on to Helsinki IFK. &ldquo;That made winning this all the more special,&rdquo; Larmi said.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

hpk1

WIN ONE FOR THE RAGTAGS

<div class="byline">BY UFFE BODIN</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="lasch3" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/lasch33/528781-1-eng-US/lasch32.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>DOUBLE GOLD</b></p><p>Frolunda reigned supreme in the Swedish League while winning the Champions League as well.</p><p></p> <span class="photo-credit">(TOMMY HOLL)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>L</span>ABELED TOO SMALL AND</b> too weak for the North American game, Ryan Lasch found stardom in Europe instead of in the NHL. After leaving St. Cloud State and a productive NCAA career for Sweden in 2010, the 5-foot-7, 165-pound right winger has become a marquee player on the other side of the Atlantic with five different titles to his credit over the past four years.</p><p>His latest two conquests came with Frolunda in the Swedish League this season. The 32-year-old won both the Champions League and the SHL title. It&rsquo;s a championship double that he also captured with the same team in 2016. In between those accomplishments, he claimed a Swiss title with SC Bern in 2017.</p><p>The unique thing for Lasch this season was that he was able to win the scoring title at every step along the way. He had 22 points in the Champions League, six more than the runner-up, teammate and defenseman Chay Genoway. He had 50 points in 46 regular-season games in the SHL, eight more than Joakim Lindstrom of Skelleftea and Derek Roy of Linkoping. And he had 19 points in 16 playoff games, two more than teammate Rhett Rakhshani.</p><p>All in all, it was a dominant season for Lasch, who was named MVP of the SHL playoffs, taking home the Stefan Liv Memorial Trophy. The award is named after the legendary Swedish goaltender who was among the 44 Lokomotiv players and staff killed in the tragic KHL plane crash in Yaroslavl in 2011. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a very big honor to win this award,&rdquo; said Lasch when accepting the trophy after defeating Djurgarden in the SHL final. &ldquo;But I mainly see it as a team award. For me personally, this is more of a bonus.&rdquo;</p><p>Lasch was a leading player for Frolunda in 2016 as well, but he ranked this championship title higher. &ldquo;It feels a lot better this time around,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;There was nothing wrong with the first title, but it was harder to win this second one. We were underdogs the whole season and no one expected us to win. It was harder to get here.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/lasch13/528774-1-eng-US/lasch12.jpg" title="lasch1" width="1217" height="622"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>A REAL CROWD-PLEASER</b></p><p>Throngs of fans showed up to cheer Lasch and his Frolunda mates after a second SHL title in four years.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(TOMMY HOLL)</span></figcaption></div><p>Frolunda entered the season with a lot of uncertainty. They had lost last June&rsquo;s No. 1 overall NHL draft pick Rasmus Dahlin and leading goal-scorer Victor Olofsson to the Buffalo Sabres, along with players such as Carl Grundstrom (Los Angeles Kings) and Christoffer Ehn (Detroit Red Wings). Following an uneven start, things fell into place in February when they beat German outfit EHC Munich in the Champions League final.</p><p>After that, Frolunda was more or less unstoppable. &ldquo;We found our identity,&rdquo; said captain Joel Lundqvist after hoisting the Le Mat Trophy for the fourth time in his career. &ldquo;We added some good players during the season that made a difference, and everyone bought into their roles. That&rsquo;s what you need to win.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/lasch23/528767-1-eng-US/lasch22.jpg" title="lasch2" width="515" height="958"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>RYAN LASCH</b></p> <span class="photo-credit">(TOMMY HOLL)</span></figcaption></div><p>Another player who really made a difference for Frolunda was rookie winger Samuel Fagemo. Last June, he surprisingly went unclaimed by NHL teams at the draft in Dallas. The 19-year-old will be taken this summer, perhaps as early as the second round, after he was productive both in the regular season and the playoffs while skating on the top line with Lasch and veteran Simon Hjalmarsson.</p><p>&ldquo;I just wanted a chance to prove myself in this league,&rdquo; Fagemo said. &ldquo;I knew if I got that chance, I would be able to establish myself in this league. I&rsquo;m very proud of what I accomplished.&rdquo;</p><p><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

lasch3

RACKING UP THE TITLES

<div class="byline">BY CAROL SCHRAM</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="word_fin4" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/word_fin43/528840-1-eng-US/word_fin42.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>NO NHLERS, NO PROBLEM</b></p><p>Finland didn&rsquo;t have much in the way of star power, but they made up for it with cohesion and clutch play.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(PAWEL ANDRACHIEWICZ/PRESSFOCUS/MB MEDIA/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>A</span>LEX OVECHKIN, EVGENI</b> Malkin and Patrick Kane have Conn Smythe Trophies. Matt Murray has two Stanley Cup rings. But none of these NHL stars could stop an unheralded Team Finland from claiming gold at the 2019 World Championship.</p><p>In Slovakia, Finland iced a roster with just two players who spent any time in the NHL this season. The Finns triumphed by finishing second in group play, then knocking off flashier rosters from Sweden, Russia and Canada in the sudden-death playoff round. &ldquo;Everybody&rsquo;s giving everything out there,&rdquo; said Finnish winger Toni Rajala of the team&rsquo;s success. &ldquo;Probably on paper, it looked worse because we didn&rsquo;t really have NHL players. But I think we have proved it now: you don&rsquo;t always need NHL players when you really play as a team and your coaches pick the right players.&rdquo;</p><p>This time around, the NHL players on Finland&rsquo;s roster weren&rsquo;t Sebastian Aho, who starred at the 2018 worlds with 18 points in eight games, or 2016 phenom Patrik Laine, who earned MVP honors in Russia a month before he was drafted second overall by the Winnipeg Jets.</p><p>In 2019, the Finns&rsquo; NHL contingent consisted of 19-year-old defenseman Henri Jokiharju, a first-round pick who split his first North American season between the Chicago Blackhawks and AHL Rockford IceHogs, and 23-year-old winger Juho Lammikko, a third-round pick of the Florida Panthers in 2014 who has been in North America for five years and played his first 40 NHL games this season.</p><blockquote class="pullQuote">ON PAPER, IT LOOKED WORSE BECAUSE WE DIDN&rsquo;T REALLY HAVE NHL PLAYERS. BUT I THINK WE&rsquo;VE PROVED IT NOW: YOU DON&rsquo;T ALWAYS NEED NHL PLAYERS WHEN YOU REALLY PLAY AS A TEAM AND YOUR COACHES PICK THE RIGHT PLAYERS<br>&ndash; TONI RAJALA</blockquote><p>Jokiharju and Lammikko have combined for zero goals and 18 points in 78 NHL games. So why was this Finnish team greater than the sum of its parts? &ldquo;Everybody plays together,&rdquo; Lammikko said. &ldquo;The systems are really good and everybody plays within the systems. It&rsquo;s been fun. We&rsquo;re having fun off the ice, on the ice, so I think we play as a group. Everybody trusts each other and plays for the guy next to them.&rdquo;</p><p>Offensively, the Finns ranked eighth out of 16 teams in goals per game (3.1) and 10th in shooting accuracy (9.2 percent). Four Czechs, two Russians, two Canadians, a Swede and an American finished with more points than Finland&rsquo;s leading scorer, Sakari Manninen, an undrafted 27-year-old who plays in the KHL. He tied for 11th in tournament scoring with two goals and 11 points in 10 games.</p><p>Towering 6-foot-8 winger Marko Anttila, Finland&rsquo;s 34-year-old captain who had 15 points in 38 games for KHL Jokerit this season, delivered the clutch offense his team needed. His four goals in the tournament all came in the final three games and were all enormous: the tying goal with the Finnish net empty to force overtime in the quarterfinal win over Sweden, the only goal in the semifinal victory over Russia and Finland&rsquo;s first two goals against Canada, including what proved to be the gold-medal winner.</p><p>&ldquo;He&rsquo;s had a long trip to get here, and what an amazing story,&rdquo; said Finland defenseman Oliwer Kaski. &ldquo;Unreal guy. Great player, but even better off the ice. Great captain.&rdquo;</p><p>Added blueliner Miika Koivisto: &ldquo;He&rsquo;s the most famous person in Finland right now.&rdquo;</p><p>That&rsquo;s a bold statement after Kaapo Kakko did his best to stake his claim on the No. 1 spot at the NHL draft in June. Kakko led Finland with six goals, all scored in the first four games. He helped put the rest of the field on notice when he scored twice as Finland opened its preliminary round with a 3-1 win over the favored Canadians.</p><p>While fellow top prospect Jack Hughes was lighting it up for the U.S. at the world under-18 tournament in Sweden in April, Kakko trained with the men&rsquo;s team. Strong performances in pre-tournament games in the Czech Republic helped the Finns build confidence. &ldquo;We played against the Czechs, Sweden and Russia,&rdquo; Kaski said. &ldquo;We beat Russia, and we kind of realized that it doesn&rsquo;t matter who we&rsquo;re against. We can win.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/world_fin5/528833-1-eng-US/world_fin2.jpg" title="world_fin" width="1015" height="678"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>FINAL FRENZY</b></p><p>Canada kept the pressure on in the gold-medal game, but the sturdy Finns refused to yield.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(JOE KLAMAR/AFP/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>Finland&rsquo;s success started on the defensive side of the puck. They finished third behind Slovakia and Canada with just 24.9 shots against per game, fourth in penalty-killing efficiency and second in goals against with just 16 goals allowed in 10 games.</p><p>Slovakian cooking agreed with the Finns: they claimed their last gold at the world championship in Bratislava eight years ago. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s a lot of similarities with that team,&rdquo; said Kaski, who was 15 in 2011. &ldquo;I remember I was watching that tournament at home. Little kid, so nervous. It&rsquo;s weird. Here, I wasn&rsquo;t that nervous.&rdquo;</p><p>In a tournament where the goaltenders included NHL luminary Henrik Lundqvist for Sweden, two-time Vezina Trophy finalist Andrei Vasilevskiy for Russia and two-time Stanley Cup winner Murray for Canada, Finland&rsquo;s lesser-known Kevin Lankinen outduelled them one by one in the playoff round.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/world_fin23/528826-1-eng-US/world_fin22.jpg" title="world_fin2" width="1016" height="909"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>KEVIN LANKINEN</b></p> <span class="photo-credit">(MARTIN ROSE/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>Signed as a free agent by the Blackhawks in 2018, the 24-year-old Lankinen bounced between the ECHL and the AHL during his first season in North America. He faced just 18 shots as Finland eliminated Sweden in overtime in the quarterfinal, then 32 shots in shutting out Russia&rsquo;s high-powered offense led by Ovechkin, Malkin and Nikita Kucherov in the semis.</p><p>In the gold-medal game, Canada outshot Finland 44-20, including 21-3 in the third period. Canada pressed hard for an equalizer after Anttila put the Finns ahead for good when he took a feed from behind the net and deposited the puck over Murray&rsquo;s right shoulder early in the final frame.</p><p>The win in Bratislava gave Kakko his third gold medal in 14 months, after the 2018 world under-18 tournament in Russia last April and the 2019 WJC in Vancouver in January. In becoming just the seventh player to hit that trifecta, the 18-year-old also earned a pass from the NHL scouting combine, which began in Buffalo just as the national celebration was ramping up in Helsinki. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ll take him home for sure,&rdquo; said teammate Jere Sallinen. &ldquo;He can enjoy the summer now. I&rsquo;m sure he&rsquo;s ready to have a good summer, then play in the NHL.&rdquo;</p><blockquote class="pullQuote">I&rsquo;M SURE KAKKO IS READY TO HAVE A GOOD SUMMER, THEN PLAY IN THE NHL. HE&rsquo;S A BEAUTY<br>&ndash; JERE SALLINEN</blockquote><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/world_fin33/528819-1-eng-US/world_fin32.jpg" title="world_fin3" width="440" height="1065"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>KAAPO KAKKO&nbsp;</b> <span class="photo-credit">(RVS.MEDIA/ROBERT HRADIL/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>According to Sallinen, Kakko&rsquo;s talent is sublime in any language. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a beauty.&rdquo;</p><p>And a winner.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

word_fin4

GOLDEN LIONS: FINLAND SURPRISES WITH WORLD’S WIN

<div class="byline">BY KEN CAMPBELL</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="champs_deck_097" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/champs_deck_0973/528885-1-eng-US/champs_deck_0972.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>AUSTON MATTHEWS & BRIANNA DECKER</b></p><p></p> <span class="photo-credit">(DAVE SANDFORD/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>W</span>HEN BRIANNA DECKER</b> looks back on 2018-19, she&rsquo;ll likely do so with a mix of contrasting emotions. That&rsquo;s because there was nobody in the hockey world who had a stranger, more rewarding and more eventful season.</p><p>When Decker was named MVP of the Clarkson Cup in March, neither she nor anyone else knew she would hold the distinction of being the last one to win the award, or that her Calgary Inferno team would be remembered as the last team to be crowned champions of the Canadian Women&rsquo;s League. There&rsquo;s a good chance she also didn&rsquo;t know that months later she&rsquo;d be facing the most uncertainty she has ever stared down in her career, being one of the 200 female players who vowed to sit out the 2019-20 season unless a viable women&rsquo;s league is formed.</p><p>But uncertainty is nothing new to Decker, who decided along with Kacey Bellamy to make the move to Calgary on a full-time basis last season to join the Inferno, in part because of the opportunity to play for coach Shannon Miller. Joining them in the trek north was Zoe Hickel, who was the first star in Calgary&rsquo;s 5-2 win over Les Canadiennes de Montreal in the CWHL championship game, along with Hickel&rsquo;s younger sister, Tori, and goalie Alex Rigsby. &ldquo;I just wanted a change,&rdquo; Decker said. &ldquo;Kacey and I just said, &lsquo;Hey, let&rsquo;s try something new.&rsquo; After the Olympic year, we just needed a change. Coming back to this league, the competition just shows through every single weekend. No game is guaranteed.&rdquo;</p><p>That plan changed abruptly when Miller resigned in December and was replaced by assistant coach Ryan Hilderman. What made it even more shocking was that the Inferno were 10-1-1 at the time of Miller&rsquo;s resignation. And while there was a certain amount of upheaval, the Inferno didn&rsquo;t allow it to derail their season. They went 13-2-2 the rest of the way and finished first in the standings.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/champs_deck_0963/528878-1-eng-US/champs_deck_0962.jpg" title="champs_deck_096" width="1053" height="698"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>BLAZE OF GLORY</b></p><p>The Calgary Inferno will go down as the last champion of the CWHL before the league folded.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(STEVE RUSSELL/TORONTO STAR VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>After losing their first playoff game to the Toronto Furies, the Inferno ran the table the rest of the post-season. &ldquo;All season, we were battling through,&rdquo; Decker said. &ldquo;The coaching change was a bit of a hiccup for us, but we battled through together. We have a lot of experience, and that carried us through.&rdquo;</p><p>When you think of some of the best American players, Decker isn&rsquo;t the first who comes to mind. But she remains the only player in history to win an Olympic gold medal, a World Championship, a World Under-18 championship, a Clarkson Cup, an Isobel Cup (champion of the National Women&rsquo;s League) and an NCAA title.</p><p>And while Kendall Coyne Schofield garnered most of the headlines for her outstanding showing in the fastest-skater competition at the NHL All-Star Game, Decker &ndash; competing unofficially &ndash; actually appeared to win her event, the passing challenge, over Leon Draisaitl. Since Decker was only demonstrating in the event, the NHL made the ill-advised decision to not give her the $25,000 prize money, giving it instead to a player who made $9 million this season. CCM ultimately stepped up and paid Decker the money.</p><p>So it&rsquo;s fair to say that with two Clarkson Cups &ndash; the first of which she claimed with the Boston Blades in 2014-15 &ndash; winning seems to follow Decker around. Weeks after the Clarkson Cup, she picked up her sixth World Championship gold medal with Team USA. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been on a lot of great teams, and I&rsquo;ve been surrounded by a lot of great players,&rdquo; Decker said. &ldquo;I thrive off that pressure. I thrive off these games. It&rsquo;s fun to be able to be out there and compete in these championship games every season.&rdquo;</p><p>At 28, Decker still has a lot of productive career ahead of her, the uncertainty surrounding pro women&rsquo;s hockey notwithstanding. She is an elite offensive player who has averaged at least a point per game since her days at Wisconsin. Teammate Rebecca Johnston said Decker is one of the more underrated players in the women&rsquo;s game, in large part because of the star power on the U.S. team. But a lack of recognition isn&rsquo;t something that seems to bother Decker or hinder her game. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know,&rdquo; she said when asked about her lower profile. &ldquo;I just try to do the little things right every single game. I work hard off the ice and try to focus on that. And, you know, flying under the radar isn&rsquo;t always a bad thing.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

champs_deck_097

A YEAR TO REMEMBER

<div class="byline">BY JARED CLINTON</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="mw2_tommorr_101" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/mw2_tommorr_1013/528930-1-eng-US/mw2_tommorr_1012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>EXPANSION CHAMPS</b></p><p>Minnesota&rsquo;s NWHL title felt even sweeter after some tough times as an independent outfit.</p><p></p> <span class="photo-credit">(TOM MORRIS)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>T</span>HERE&rsquo;S A MOMENT FROM</b> the 2018-19 NWHL season that stands out to Chelsey Brodt-Rosenthal, but it&rsquo;s not the one you might think. It&rsquo;s not when she held the Isobel Cup high over her head, not the moment she and her Minnesota Whitecaps teammates celebrated a storybook run from expansion team to champions in their inaugural campaign, and not skating alongside her older sister, captain Winny Brodt-Brown, in a professional women&rsquo;s league.</p><p>Instead, it&rsquo;s the moment the 35-year-old first touched the ice this season, when she stepped out in front of the 1,200-plus fans inside TRIA Rink in St. Paul, Minn., and realized that after several years with an independent outfit, she was finally back playing at the level she had dreamed of since leaving the University of Minnesota. &ldquo;Having that same thing, where we&rsquo;re in a league again and playing for something, was spectacular to be able to do and something I thought was possible I&rsquo;d never do again,&rdquo; Brodt-Rosenthal said. &ldquo;Being in the NWHL gave me an opportunity to do that.&rdquo;</p><p>Better yet, the opportunity came with the same Whitecaps organization that is steeped in so much family history.</p><p>It was 15 years ago, June 2004, that the team was founded by Dwayne Schmidgall and Jack Brodt, Chelsey&rsquo;s father. The intention was to provide a place for post-college athletes to continue to compete at an elite level, which the Brodt family patriarch said will always be the goal of the program.</p><p>In the time since its formation, the Whitecaps&rsquo; banner has grown to include a development team and offshoot training programs, and with that the Brodt name has become embedded into the fabric of women&rsquo;s and girls&rsquo; hockey in the state. So much so, in fact, that it could be said the Whitecaps&rsquo; Isobel Cup win took its roots well before the modern NWHL was established. &ldquo;I would say at least seven, eight or 10 of the players (who) were on the team went through the Jr. Whitecaps program,&rdquo; Jack Brodt said. &ldquo;Jonna Curtis is one, (Amy) Schlagel is one, (Hannah) Brandt, (Lee) Stecklein&hellip;I think about 80 percent of our roster was Minnesota-bred players, probably 50 to 60 percent of those players have been in our youth organizations.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/bw1_whiteca_1003/528923-1-eng-US/bw1_whiteca_1002.jpg" title="bw1_whiteca_100" width="1217" height="740"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>CHELSEY BRODT-ROSENTHAL</b></p> <span class="photo-credit">(TEMO PHOTO AT TEMOPHOTO.COM)</span></figcaption></div><p>It wasn&rsquo;t always smooth sailing for the program. There were lean years, seasons when players needed sponsorships reaching into the thousand-dollar range in order to travel during those early campaigns in the Western Women&rsquo;s League.</p><p>There was also a brief foray and later a contentious exit from the CWHL &ndash; though not before the Whitecaps became the only American team to etch their name onto the Clarkson Cup. That was followed by the independent years, during which Brodt and Co. were tasked with finding games against prep schools, college teams or anyone willing to square off against the Whitecaps. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve kind of just been holding on the past six or seven years,&rdquo; Brodt said.</p><p>It&rsquo;s those trials and tribulations, though, that made not only the franchise&rsquo;s entrance into the NWHL, but the Isobel Cup so meaningful to everyone involved. And it&rsquo;s likely it was more meaningful to the Brodt family than anyone else. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve known the history of the Whitecaps and how much work my dad has put into the program and making all of this happen,&rdquo; Brodt-Rosenthal said. &ldquo;It wouldn&rsquo;t have happened if it wasn&rsquo;t for all of his time and effort trying to hold it all together and give us an opportunity to continue playing. It was a little extra special for me and my family.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

mw2_tommorr_101

BACK IN THE LIMELIGHT

<div class="byline">BY RYAN KENNEDY</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="mem4" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/mem43/528989-1-eng-US/mem42.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>FAMILIAR FOES</b></p><p>Rouyn-Noranda defeated Halifax for the QMJHL title, then beat them again in the Memorial Cup final.</p><p></p> <span class="photo-credit">(VINCENT ETHIER/LHJMQ/CHL)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>F</span>OR THE SECOND STRAIGHT</b> year, the Memorial Cup was won by a small-market QMJHL team with a hyphenated name. The 2018 Acadie-Bathurst Titan and the 2019 Rouyn-Noranda Huskies had quite a bit more in common than that, too: coach Mario Pouliot and star defenseman Noah Dobson, for example.</p><p>After guiding the Titan to its first national championship last year, Pouliot returned to his previous post in Rouyn-Noranda, albeit with an expanded portfolio as both coach and GM. &ldquo;I was there for three-and-a-half years as an assistant coach, so it was nothing new for me,&rdquo; Pouliot said. &ldquo;I have a special relationship with ownership, and I know the Husky identity. I went there with Andre Tourigny, and he put the foundation in. After that, it was Gilles Bouchard, who won the President&rsquo;s Cup in 2016, and for me, we&rsquo;re here to keep the right team culture in the right place.&rdquo;</p><p>The Huskies were pretty good in 2017-18, but when Pouliot looked at his new roster, there was a glaring hole that Dobson, the New York Islanders&rsquo; 2018 first-rounder, could perfectly fill. &ldquo;We knew we needed a No. 1 &lsquo;D,&rsquo; and we started with him,&rdquo; Pouliot said. &ldquo;It was a big price, but when you want a top player you have to pay for it. If you look at our run, we won the President Cup and he was MVP. At the Memorial Cup, he could have been the MVP, but it was Joel Teasdale, another guy we acquired at the deadline. It was important to bring top players, great people fitting with our group.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/mem33/528982-1-eng-US/mem32.jpg" title="mem3" width="1024" height="959"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>PETER ABBANDONATO</b></p> <span class="photo-credit">(VINCENT ETHIER/LHJMQ/CHL)</span></figcaption></div><p>Indeed, the Dobson trade with Acadie-Bathurst cost the Huskies three first-round draft picks and a second-rounder (two of which previously belonged to Chicoutimi), while the Teasdale deal with Blainville-Boisbriand meant giving up prospect Max Ledoux and five draft selections (including another first-rounder) at the trade deadline. But Teasdale, a Montreal Canadiens prospect, brought plenty of playoff experience from his time with the Armada, not to mention a solid game as a power forward. As for Dobson, having history with Pouliot was a big help. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a great guy on and off the ice, and he has the experience,&rdquo; Dobson said. &ldquo;He knows how to win, and he deserves everything that has come to him the past two years.&rdquo;</p><p>In the Memorial Cup final against Halifax, the Huskies took a calm, measured approach against the host Mooseheads, who were looking for revenge after Rouyn-Noranda beat them in the QMJHL final on Halifax ice.</p><p>Though the Mooseheads jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the Memorial Cup final, the Huskies never seemed rattled and evened the score late in the second period. With devastating speed, Rouyn-Noranda overwhelmed Halifax at the beginning of the third frame to take a 4-2 lead they would not relinquish.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/mem13/528975-1-eng-US/mem12.jpg" title="mem1" width="2403" height="1084"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>PHOTO FINISH</b></p><p>The Huskies trailed in the Memorial Cup championship game but kept their cool and came out on top.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(VINCENT ETHIER/LHJMQ/CHL)</span></figcaption></div><p>Dobson didn&rsquo;t have to play the 40 minutes he did against OHL Guelph in the semifinal, but he was out there a lot and his poise was a big help as the Huskies fended off Halifax&rsquo;s desperate charge in the dying minutes. At this point in their relationship, Pouliot is never surprised at how many minutes Dobson can soak up. &ldquo;He still has a ton of gas at the end of the game,&rdquo; Pouliot said. &ldquo;Look at the Guelph game, when he had his breakaway for a penalty shot (late in the third period). He&rsquo;s an effortless skater, he&rsquo;s really smart, he knows when it&rsquo;s time to push and when it&rsquo;s time to contain. For me, he&rsquo;s the best player in the &lsquo;Q.&rsquo;&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/mem23/528968-1-eng-US/mem22.jpg" title="mem2" width="1013" height="601"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>MARIO POULIOT</b></p> <span class="photo-credit">(VINCENT ETHIER/LHJMQ/CHL)</span></figcaption></div><p>But surely Dobson gets tired at some point, right? Based on the way he prepares, maybe not. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s why you put the work in during the summer, so you have the energy,&rdquo; Dobson said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve always been a guy who can eat up minutes. My skating really helps me, and I&rsquo;m able to move a lot out there.&rdquo;</p><p>So far, it&rsquo;s been a charmed junior career for Dobson, who took an intriguing path to his current perch. Born and raised in P.E.I., he went over to Austria at 15 to play for the Red Bull Akademie, where his teammates included future NHL draft picks Sampo Ranta (Colorado) and Martin Pospisil (Calgary). From there, he headed to Acadie-Bathurst, where he was a point-per-game player and a Memorial Cup champion in his second year. After a tough world juniors with Canada that saw his stick break on a wide-open shot in overtime in an eventual quarterfinal loss to Finland, Dobson was traded to Rouyn-Noranda for the stretch drive.</p><blockquote class="pullQuote">IF YOU LOOK AT OUR RUN, WE WON THE PRESIDENT CUP AND (NOAH DOBSON) WAS MVP. AT THE MEMORIAL CUP, HE COULD HAVE BEEN THE MVP, BUT IT WAS JOEL TEASDALE, ANOTHER GUY WE ACQUIRED AT THE TRADE DEADLINE<br>&ndash; ROUYN-NORANDA COACH MARIO POULIOT</blockquote><p>&ldquo;Every experience is something you can learn from,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Playing in the world juniors on the biggest stage against other countries, you see their best players. I try to draw things from every experience and grow as a person.&rdquo;</p><p>He also played through a lot of booing at the Memorial Cup, as Halifax fans jeered him every time he touched the puck. In the end, Dobson cheekily sympathized with the locals. &ldquo;I guess I get the last laugh,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I won two championships here in the past two weeks.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

mem4

TWO TRADES, ONE TITLE

<div class="byline">BY KEN CAMPBELL</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="sandelin1" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/sandelin13/529027-1-eng-US/sandelin12.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>SCOTT SANDELIN</b></p><p></p> <span class="photo-credit">(ELSA/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>M</span>ORE THAN THREE</b> decades ago, Scott Sandelin was a second-round pick out of North Dakota who, like anyone else in his situation, was desperate to play in the NHL. He thought he had a future there, too, especially after 1987-88 when he played for the AHL&rsquo;s Sherbrooke Canadiens under up-and-coming coach Pat Burns. The NHL never did work out. Sandelin played just 25 games in the best league in the world during a nine-year career that was cut short by injuries.</p><p>But the lessons he learned from the Hall of Fame coach never faded, even if the NHL dream did. &ldquo;I appreciated his honesty &ndash; I appreciated knowing where you stood,&rdquo; said Sandelin, now 54. &ldquo;You wanted to play hard for him. Unfortunately, when he went to Montreal, he wasn&rsquo;t making that decision. I begged, but&hellip;&rdquo;</p><p>But after 19 years and three NCAA titles with the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs, the most recent of which came this year when his team gave up one goal in two games in a convincing Frozen Four run, Sandelin is not begging anymore.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/sandelin23/529034-1-eng-US/sandelin22.jpg" title="sandelin2" width="1157" height="653"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>FROZEN FOUR REGULARS</b></p><p>The Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs have played in the NCAA title game three straight years, winning twice.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(ELSA/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>He doesn&rsquo;t yearn for the NHL the way he once did. In fact, he thinks about it a lot less than other people do. And when you talk to his players about him, a lot of the same things he said about Burns come out. Kids want to play for him because they know exactly where they stand and what is expected of them. It&rsquo;s that kind of accountability that led to a dominant performance in Buffalo &ndash; a 4-1 win over Providence in the semifinal, then a 3-0 victory over UMass in the final &ndash; in which the Bulldogs gave up just 47 shots in two games.</p><p>For the Bulldogs, it was their second straight Frozen Four victory and third consecutive appearance in the championship game. For Sandelin, it was his third NCAA title with Minnesota-Duluth. Quite an accomplishment for the Bulldogs and Sandelin, both of whom operate in the shadow of the University of Minnesota. There has been some NHL interest in Sandelin, who was tabbed not long after the Frozen Four to coach the U.S. entry in the 2020 World Junior Championship. But all indications are he&rsquo;ll stay at Minnesota-Duluth and continue to build championship teams that smother their opponents. &ldquo;Everything starts with our coaching staff because it takes every guy buying into that system,&rdquo; said captain Parker MacKay, who had a goal and an assist in the final and signed an AHL deal with the Texas Stars. &ldquo;(Sandelin) is so passionate. You want to follow that. He loves this program, and you can tell by the things he does for this program and the time he puts in. You want to follow him and put that time in as well.&rdquo;</p><p>Playing for Sandelin requires players to check their egos. And it&rsquo;s fairly easy to do because Sandelin does it himself. The result is a team where St. Louis Blues defense prospect Scott Perunovich was the only player who finished near the point-per-game area code. In fact, the powerhouse Bulldog teams of the past three years have produced only one player &ndash; Los Angeles winger Alex Iafallo &ndash; who has averaged more than a point per game. But there&rsquo;s not a big need for points when you&rsquo;re as dominant defensively as the Bulldogs have been. In the 2019 Frozen Four, there was not one moment in either game where Minnesota-Duluth wasn&rsquo;t in complete control or where the result was in peril. Cale Makar of UMass, who picked up the Hobey Baker Award the day before the final and was one of the NCAA&rsquo;s leading scorers, was neutralized in the title game.</p><p>The New York Rangers considered Sandelin before hiring David Quinn out of Boston College, and Sandelin interviewed with the Anaheim Ducks this spring. But if the NHL ship has sailed, he will have no problem reconciling that. He loves where he lives and has a stable income of about $300,000. Still, it would take Sandelin 40 years to earn the $12 million Quinn, who did not win a national title, will earn with in his five-year NHL deal. &ldquo;I have no doubt he would be successful in the NHL,&rdquo; Perunovich said. &ldquo;Anywhere he went he would be successful, because he knows how to get everything out of a player. You want to run through a wall for that guy.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

sandelin2

THAT BULLDOG MENTALITY

<div class="byline">BY ROBIN SHORT</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/echl_growle_1083/529072-1-eng-US/echl_growle_1082.jpg" title="echl_growle_108" width="752" height="490"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(PHOTO BY JEFF PARSONS)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>IT WASN&rsquo;T THAT LONG</b> ago when being sent to the ECHL was akin to hockey banishment. Out of sight, out of mind.</p><p>But that was then and this is now. &ldquo;The organization,&rdquo; said center Giorgio Estephan, speaking of the Toronto Maple Leafs, &ldquo;has proven that we&rsquo;re not forgotten about down here. There&rsquo;s a feeling within this team that we really are part of the Leafs&rsquo; organization, that we really are part of their plans. That&rsquo;s a good feeling to have.&rdquo;</p><p>Almost as good, if you&rsquo;re Estephan and the plethora of fellow rookies on the Newfoundland Growlers, as the feeling of winning a Kelly Cup title. The Growlers won the ECHL championship in their first year of operation, dispatching the Toledo Walleye in a six-game final, with Estephan, the 22-year-old from Edmonton, scoring a pair of goals and adding an assist in the series-clinching 4-3 win.</p><p>Estephan was one of 11 first-year pros to dress for the Growlers in the post-season. It&rsquo;s all part of the grand plan of Leafs GM Kyle Dubas to align the ECHL Growlers and AHL Toronto Marlies in the same vein as baseball&rsquo;s minor leagues, with players breaking into AA ball (ECHL), before climbing to AAA (AHL) and perhaps, down the road, to the big leagues (NHL). &ldquo;Absolutely, 100 percent,&rdquo; Dubas said. &ldquo;Our plan for the organization in terms of the Growlers has been to have this team be a starting ground for our prospects when they enter pro hockey and graduate up to the Marlies and one day the Maple Leafs.&rdquo;</p><p>It&rsquo;s a plan that&rsquo;s not lost on players such as Estephan, who signed an AHL contract last season after playing for the Memorial Cup following a WHL title with Swift Current. On top of the 69 games he played with Newfoundland this year, he also got a three-game taste with the Marlies. &ldquo;As a player, you&rsquo;re always trying to raise the bar, for yourself and the team,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;You do whatever you can do to aspire to be a better hockey player and just hope somebody is watching. In this organization, we know they are. We know we&rsquo;re not just an afterthought down here.&rdquo;</p><p>Estephan was actually drafted by Buffalo in the sixth round (152nd overall) in 2015 but never signed with the Sabres. He uses that snub as motivation. &ldquo;Oh yeah,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;that lit a fire under me to prove myself even more.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

echl_growle_108

ROOKS ROCK

<div class="byline">BY MIKE CAMPOS</div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>A</span>T THE END OF</b> a disastrous 2014-15 season where the Huntsville Havoc endured a franchise-worst 11-38-7 record, team owner Keith Jefferies gave coach Glenn Detulleo a vote of confidence rather than a pink slip. Four years later, Jefferies&rsquo; decision has never looked better.</p><p>That&rsquo;s because the Havoc claimed the Southern Pro League title for the second year in a row, sweeping their Alabama rivals down the I-65, the Birmingham Bulls, in front of a sellout crowd of 6,100 at Huntsville&rsquo;s Von Braun Center.</p><p>During the regular season, the Havoc had a franchise-best 36-17-3 record but flew under the radar due to the record-setting campaign by the Peoria Rivermen (40-7-9) and the turnaround sophomore season of the Bulls (39-15-2).</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/havoc_darra_1103/529117-1-eng-US/havoc_darra_1102.jpg" title="havoc_darra_110" width="467" height="561"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>ROB DARRAR</b></p></figcaption></div><p>After the Rivermen were swept in two games in the challenge round of the playoffs (where the top teams in the league get to select their first-round opponents), the Havoc &ndash; choosing and defeating the Pensacola Ice Flyers in three games &ndash; emerged as contenders to repeat as league champions. In the semifinal, the Havoc swept their longtime archrival, the Knoxville Ice Bears, needing extra time in both games.</p><p>The final against the Bulls, the first SPHL championship series between teams from the same state, was regarded as a dead heat. The opening game was a back-and-forth contest that was decided in overtime &ndash; Huntsville&rsquo;s fourth such game in the post-season &ndash; on Rob Darrar&rsquo;s breakaway after a Bulls turnover.</p><p>In Game 2, the Havoc scored three straight, sparking a jubilant celebration on home ice. &ldquo;We may not have players with the pedigree that other teams have, but I wanted the hardest-working guys who had something to prove,&rdquo; Detulleo said.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/havoc_coach_1093/529110-1-eng-US/havoc_coach_1092.jpg" title="havoc_coach_109" width="469" height="575"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>GLENN DETULLEO</b></p></figcaption></div><p>A short postscript: In late May, Detulleo got another vote of confidence from Jefferies in the form of a five-year contract extension. In sports, where it&rsquo;s easy to dismiss coaches after seasons like the Havoc endured in 2014-15, Jefferies&rsquo; faith in his bench boss was both refreshing and wise.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

havoc_darra_110

COOL HAVOC

<div class="byline">BY MATT ZIMMER</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="siouxfalls" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/siouxfalls3/529162-1-eng-US/siouxfalls2.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>STAMPEDE TO VICTORY</b></p><p>Sioux Falls ran roughshod over their playoff competition, losing just once en route to the Clark Cup.</p><p></p> <span class="photo-credit">(HICKLING IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>B</span>Y THE TIME THE</b> 2018-19 season had ended, the Sioux Falls Stampede were United States League champions, having staged a spectacular run through the Clark Cup playoffs, losing only one game as the No. 3 seed out of the Western Conference.</p><p>The team took a similar path as that of arguably their best player, defenseman Ryan Johnson. When the season started, Johnson, a six-foot, 170-pound left-hander, was a raw prospect with plenty of talent and potential but some rough edges to smooth out in his game. By year&rsquo;s end, he was a key player on a championship team, showing himself ready for the college level and sure to be an early pick in the 2019 NHL draft.</p><p>If the USHL is a development league, it lived up to that reputation in getting Johnson to where he is today. A 17-year-old Minnesota commit who played for Sioux Falls this season after spending 2017-18 on the Anaheim Jr. Ducks U-16 squad, Johnson was the Stampede&rsquo;s third-round pick in 2017 and made his USHL debut amid a fair amount of hype.</p><p>He&rsquo;s the son of Craig Johnson, himself a former Golden Gopher who played 557 NHL games across 10 seasons and was once traded for Wayne Gretzky. Craig spent most of his career playing for the Los Angles Kings and still lives in California today, where he coaches youth hockey and works specifically on skill development. Ryan grew up in Irvine, Calif., and surely benefited from the teachings available to him from his father.</p><p>Still, Stampede coaches weren&rsquo;t certain what they&rsquo;d get from a 17-year-old USHL rookie. But Johnson impressed them more and more as the year went on. &ldquo;He came in highly touted, so we had pretty high expectations,&rdquo; said Stampede coach Scott Owens. &ldquo;But because of his age we just kind of let it play out to see what happened. I was a little surprised how good he was defensively and how easily he could adapt to better competition. But I was not surprised by his skill package or his overall game.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/johnson_sio_1123/529155-1-eng-US/johnson_sio_1122.jpg" title="johnson_sio_112" width="1024" height="958"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>RYAN JOHNSON</b></p> <span class="photo-credit">(HICKLING IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>That skill package is centered around what one might call a finesse game. Johnson is a fast skater and adept passer. He moves the puck quickly and easily through transition and can catch opponents sleeping while leading the breakout. He&rsquo;s a decent finisher at the net, too, though indications are he&rsquo;s only scratched the surface of his scoring ability. And Johnson&rsquo;s work on the defensive end is considered advanced for his level of experience.</p><p>But it took some time for Johnson to find his groove in a league of mostly older players. It helped that he didn&rsquo;t need to carry the load himself on the blueline, with Max Crozier, Matt Kessel and others providing Johnson with capable partners while happy to act as mentors. &ldquo;When he came here he was pretty raw, but he really improved as the year went on,&rdquo; said Jim Olander, the Stampede&rsquo;s longtime play-by-play caller and team president. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s really skilled, and obviously he has the bloodlines. He probably showed more improvement from the beginning of the season to the end than anyone.&rdquo;</p><p>Johnson finished with six goals and 25 points in 54 games and added another eight points in the Stampede&rsquo;s 12-game playoff run, where he was a key factor in Jaxson Stauber&rsquo;s MVP goaltending. Johnson is ranked as the No. 29 prospect in The Hockey News&rsquo; Draft Preview and has a legitimate shot at being a first-round pick.</p><p>Wherever he&rsquo;s drafted, it&rsquo;s unlikely Johnson will be back in Sioux Falls. Though he won&rsquo;t turn 18 until July 24, he&rsquo;s expected to join the Gophers for 2019-20. &ldquo;I definitely think he&rsquo;ll be an NHL player,&rdquo; Owens said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s got the skill set and the drive and desire. He needs to get stronger and physically mature, but the thing is, I know this is cliche, but he has so many of the things you can&rsquo;t teach.</p><p>&ldquo;He&rsquo;s got the innate ability to get out of his own end, to get the puck to the right person, to see the play in front of him. He&rsquo;s an outstanding player. His game translates to both the college game and today&rsquo;s NHL.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

siouxfalls

SWEET AND JUST SEVENTEEN

<div class="byline">BY STEVEN ELLIS</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/jra_bandits_1153/529200-1-eng-US/jra_bandits_1152.jpg" title="jra_bandits_115" width="763" height="493"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(MATTHEW MURNAGHAN/HOCKEY CANADA IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>J</span>UST LIKE THEIR NAME</b> suggests, the Brooks Bandits took off running and never looked back in what can only be described as one of the greatest seasons in Canadian Jr. A hockey history.</p><p>The Bandits, members of the Alberta Junior League, spent the entire 2018-19 campaign at the top of the Canadian Jr. A League rankings, finishing the regular season with an astounding 57-3-0 record and setting the all-time AJHL marks for wins and points along the way.</p><p>With a bye to the second round, Brooks posted a 12-3 playoff record to capture the league title. The Bandits then faced the Prince George Spruce Kings in the Doyle Cup, a best-of-seven series between the BCHL and AJHL champions. The Spruce Kings took the series in six games, giving Brooks their only blemish in an otherwise remarkable season.</p><p>But it all worked out in the end for the Bandits, as Brooks served as the host team for the national Jr. A championship. And for the second time in tournament history, Brooks claimed the crown, running up a perfect 6-0 record.</p><p>The depth of this season&rsquo;s roster was second to none. Up front, the Bandits had the league&rsquo;s top scorer in William Lemay, who took the title with 90 points. In the crease, Pierce Charleson and Tanner Marshall combined for the best goals-against average in the league while also allowing the ninth-fewest goals in AJHL history. &ldquo;We had tremendous leadership and a group that was accountable to each other,&rdquo; said coach-GM Ryan Papaioannou. &ldquo;We had a team that went to work every day and was rewarded for what they put in. We had a ton of depth, which made our lineup versatile, and it helped us through injuries when they hit.&rdquo;</p><p>For most clubs that dominate Jr. A hockey, the follow-up season typically serves as a hangover after the team relied heavily on veterans to carry the squad deep into the previous spring. Led by Taylor Makar, the brother of Colorado Avalanche prospect and former Bandits star Cale Makar, the Bandits will have their work cut out for them next year as they look to stay near the top of the AJHL standings.</p><p>But right now, that doesn&rsquo;t really matter: they&rsquo;re national champions.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

jra_bandits_115

RARE GLORY

<div class="byline">BY RYAN KENNEDY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/wings_nahl3/529238-1-eng-US/wings_nahl2.jpg" title="wings_nahl" width="746" height="502"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>I</span>F YOU&rsquo;RE GOING TO</b> make a run at a championship, you could do worse than having a goalie named Vernon in your crease. The North American League&rsquo;s Aberdeen Wings won their first Robertson Cup with the backing of netminder Matt Vernon, the son of two-time Stanley Cup champion Mike Vernon. Matt, a Colorado College commit, was named MVP of the playoffs after posting a .926 save percentage and allowing just a single goal in the final two games.</p><p>During the regular season, Vernon led the NAHL by playing 52 of Aberdeen&rsquo;s 60 games. &ldquo;Matt was a horse,&rdquo; said coach-GM Scott Langer. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve never ran a goalie like that, he never really got a rest. Matt&rsquo;s compete level is off the charts, and when he got to the playoffs, he was just a focused individual.&rdquo;</p><p>Aberdeen, which is in South Dakota, had a 19-game winning streak and entered the post-season as one of the league&rsquo;s top outfits. But the Robertson Cup playoff format is tricky: the first two rounds are best-of-five divisional affairs, with the four winners then coming together in Minnesota for a best-of-three semifinal, followed by a one-game championship. So having a star goalie really helps at the end. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s less room for error,&rdquo; said Vernon, 21. &ldquo;The final is one game, so every play, every rebound counts.&rdquo;</p><p>It also inverts that whole it&rsquo;s-a-marathon-not-a-sprint clich&eacute;: the Wings focused their pre-scouting on semifinal opponent Amarillo before taking on Fairbanks in the final game. &ldquo;Then it&rsquo;s a sprint,&rdquo; Langer said. &ldquo;You can only give your guys so much to think about.&rdquo;</p><p>For Vernon, thinking about the game has been one of the areas his famous dad could be counted on for advice. &ldquo;He has been exactly what I needed,&rdquo; Vernon said. &ldquo;He never pushed too hard, and he let me figure things out on my own. But he also really helped me with the mental side of the game.&rdquo;</p><p>Born in San Jose during the latter years of his dad&rsquo;s NHL career, Vernon moved to Calgary as a child and grew up there before playing Jr. A in Saskatchewan. Part of the reason he chose Colorado College for next season is that the rising program is one of the closer schools to Calgary.</p><p>This was his second year with Aberdeen and one he&rsquo;ll never forget. &ldquo;We had such a tight-knit group,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Everybody hopped on board for the same goal, and everybody had the same work ethic.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

wings_nahl

SON OF MASK

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0068-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0068-0129/529276-1-eng-US/f0068-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(GUELPH GYPHONS: MIKE NEEDHAM/U SPORTS; GENERALS: LACOBME; KIMBALL: DUSTIN MELTZER, KIMBALL UNION ACADEMY)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><span>W</span>e&rsquo;re The Hockey News &ndash; not The NHL News. And while we do have a lot of NHL coverage, we also pride ourselves on making sure other leagues get some love. So with this being the Champions Issue, we want to celebrate as many champs as possible. The following map details the ultimate winners in a variety of leagues across North America, from the best American high-school circuits to Canadian Jr. A (as well as regional Jr. B champs) and the U.S. Nationals winners at several age groups. We&rsquo;ve even got some lower-tier pro leagues and the Allan Cup, Canada&rsquo;s long-running senior league showdown. While we couldn&rsquo;t get every league represented, we feel we found a strong cross-section of winners, and the geographic variance bears that out.</p><p><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0068-01

THEY ARE (ALSO) THE CHAMPIONS

<div class="byline">BY MATT LARKIN</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="nhl1_johnss_145" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/nhl1_johnss_1453/529328-1-eng-US/nhl1_johnss_1452.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(MARK BLINCH/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>F</span>IRST ANDREAS JOHNSSON</b> was the sleeper. Then he was the steal. Then he was The Man. Then came the heaviest expectations of his professional career.</p><p>Johnsson&rsquo;s stock has changed so much since the Toronto Maple Leafs grabbed him in the last round of the 2013 draft, 202nd overall, that it feels like they chose a different player entirely. Back then, he was a blindfolded pinata-swing pick, a small and speedy left winger from Frolunda of the Swedish League before small and speedy were en vogue in the NHL. Undiagnosed asthma created the perception that he quit late in shifts, which hurt his draft stock. Once he started taking inhalers every morning and night &ndash; something he says he&rsquo;ll do for life &ndash; his motor caught up to his raw puck skills, and so did his numbers.</p><p>Flash forward past some steady improvement in the SHL and AHL, and Johnsson really started to tantalize by 2017-18. He was a point-per-game player in the AHL, got a taste of the NHL including a playoff series, then went bananas with 24 points in 16 AHL playoff games, leading the Toronto Marlies to a Calder Cup title and winning post-season MVP honors last season. Suddenly, packs of rabid Leafs fans were recognizing Johnsson on the street and literally yelling praise at him. He entered 2018-19 expected to compete for a plum scoring-line job in the NHL.</p><p>Instead, he started slowly. Really slowly. Enough to land himself in the doghouse of Leafs coach Mike Babcock. Johnsson failed to play 10 minutes in any of his first seven games. By the 10-game mark, he&rsquo;d recorded a single point, an assist, while averaging 9:34 of ice time.</p><p>Johnsson, however, doesn&rsquo;t rattle easily. He grew up in pro dressing rooms. His father, Jonas, was a longtime center in the SHL, winning three championships and holding Frolunda&rsquo;s captaincy for five seasons. As kids, Andreas and older brother Jonathan got to meet their idols, who happened to be their dad&rsquo;s linemates, Tomi Kallio and Niklas Andersson.</p><p>And Andreas, through good times and bad, always has his seasoned father around as a sounding board. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s always saying, &lsquo;It&rsquo;s tough but to keep going, and if you don&rsquo;t think it&rsquo;s fun, then you should quit,&rsquo;&rdquo; Johnsson said. &ldquo;Both he and my mom have supported me well. You can get another view on a game, get some tips from him after the game that are not from the coach here or teammates, from someone else who sees the game a little differently.&rdquo;</p><p>Johnsson, 24, stayed patient and, thanks to a blend of hard work, roster shuffling and injuries, slowly climbed Toronto&rsquo;s depth chart until he was parked on a scoring line with Auston Matthews at center and Kasperi Kapanen at right wing. Then the long-awaited breakout happened. Johnsson scored his first career hat trick on Nov. 24, kicking off a 55-game stretch in which he racked up 18 goals and 40 points, which extrapolates to 27 goals and 60 points across a full season. So is that a fair ask for 2019-20&rsquo;s stat line, then? &ldquo;I always want for every single season to improve from my season before,&rdquo; Johnsson said. &ldquo;I want to have a bigger role, and I want to be a bigger part of the team, and I want to score more points. That&rsquo;s what I&rsquo;ve been trying to do all my life.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/nhl1_johnss_1443/529314-1-eng-US/nhl1_johnss_1442.jpg" title="nhl1_johnss_144" width="1556" height="1026"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>NUMBERS CLIMBING</b></p><p>After a slow start, Johnsson worked his way up to the Leafs&rsquo; top line and became an analytics wonder.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(PHOTO BY KEVIN SOUSA/NHLI VIA GETTY)</span></figcaption></div><p>A large chunk of the analytics community saw the explosion coming and believes that Johnsson&rsquo;s profile screams true first-line scorer if he gets the ice time. Among the 365 NHL forwards who logged at least 500 minutes at 5-on-5 this season, Johnsson ranked 25th in individual points per 60 minutes, ahead of Evgeny Kuznetsov, Evgeni Malkin, David Pastrnak and Alex Ovechkin.</p><p>Johnsson showed he belongs on a high-skill line yet averaged just 1:35 of power-play time per game &ndash; 11th on the Leafs. He saw more looks on the power play in the playoffs when Nazem Kadri got suspended, so if Johnsson gets another opportunity on the loaded first unit, his stats will skyrocket.</p><p>At least, that&rsquo;s what one side of the advanced-stats debate claims, says Leafs GM Kyle Dubas. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know if I&rsquo;ve seen such a polarizing player in those circles,&rdquo; Dubas said. &ldquo;On one hand, you have the data-driven mindset that, &lsquo;He produces at this rate, so he should play more.&rsquo; The other side is, &lsquo;The production is being inflated by an unsustainable shooting percentage, and you should sell high on him.&rsquo; That&rsquo;s one of the more interesting things to follow.&rdquo;</p><p>It&rsquo;s no surprise Dubas has studied the numbers painstakingly. Johnsson is an RFA, after all, and represents one third of Toronto&rsquo;s crucial trifecta along with Kapanen and priority No. 1 Mitch Marner. The Leafs are crushed against the cap with less than $9 million available, and Marner alone sure to ask for at least that much. Dubas must perform backbreaking salary gymnastics to fit the RFAs onto the payroll before they become vulnerable to offer sheets &ndash; or before negotiations get protracted like they did for William Nylander last year.</p><p>Luckily, as Dubas points out, Johnsson is eligible for arbitration, meaning he&rsquo;s the one RFA for which the Leafs can count on a resolution by the end of July. That also makes him less likely to be the odd forward out if Dubas decides to trade one, which is the only way the Leafs can upgrade markedly on defense, as they&rsquo;d have to ship salary out to squeeze a top-end blueliner under their cap.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/nhl1_johnss_1463/529307-1-eng-US/nhl1_johnss_1462.jpg" title="nhl1_johnss_146" width="1135" height="886"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(PHOTO BY CLAUS ANDERSEN/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>So has Johnsson shown enough to earn a long-term deal? Or are the Leafs better off going the bridge or arbitration route with him? Guessing a player&rsquo;s future production is a game of chicken. &ldquo;Every team faces that challenge, right?&rdquo; Dubas said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s not simple, and a lot of it is impacted by the amount of salary space you have at any given time. On a long-term deal, a player is obviously going to expect to be paid more, because they&rsquo;re giving up more in terms of their unrestricted years.&rdquo;</p><p>Whatever contract Johnsson signs, he&rsquo;s not worried. His camp has negotiated an RFA deal before. And he seems more likely than not to don a Leafs sweater come October. Dubas, who has known Johnsson for five years, singles out his tenacity on the ice but also his smiley-faced joy playing the game and his beloved dressing-room presence. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a player who&rsquo;s going to continue to add to his skill set, continue to improve, continue to stay healthy, continue to build himself, stronger, faster,&rdquo; Dubas said. &ldquo;And I can see him being a major contributor to the Maple Leafs for a long time.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

nhl1_johnss_145

READY TO BREAK OUT (EVEN MORE)

<div class="byline">BY CAROL SCHRAM</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="nhl_hart1" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/nhl_hart13/529380-1-eng-US/nhl_hart12.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>GOLD & SILVER & ORANGE</b></p><p>Hart&rsquo;s trophy case already features medals from international play with Team Canada. Next up: lead the Flyers to a Stanley Cup.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(DAVID KIROUAC/ICON SPORTSWIRE VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>B</span>RASH AND BOLD, NEW</b> mascot Gritty was a magnet for attention in Philadelphia this season. Meanwhile, a low-key rookie was changing the trajectory of the franchise.</p><p>At just 20, Carter Hart brought stability to the Flyers&rsquo; crease after years of turmoil. &ldquo;I was trying to make the team at the beginning of the year,&rdquo; Hart said. &ldquo;When I got sent down after training camp, right before the season, I was really disappointed. But I kept it in the back of my mind that I wanted to be there and made sure that every day when I came to the rink, that there was extra motivation to get to the NHL. I had to make the most of everything I was doing down in Allentown so I could make that jump and be ready when I do get that call.&rdquo;</p><p>The call came soon enough: Dec. 17, the same day coach Dave Hakstol was fired by the 12-15-4 Flyers, who had also parted ways with GM Ron Hextall three weeks earlier. &ldquo;My first game, I was really nervous,&rdquo; Hart said. &ldquo;The guys did a good job of making things easy for me and kind of settled me down.&rdquo;</p><blockquote class="pullQuote">IT&rsquo;S IMPORTANT THAT YOU TAKE CARE OF YOUR BODY AND GET REST SO THAT YOU&rsquo;RE FULLY PREPARED TO GO EVERY NIGHT<br>&ndash; Carter Hart</blockquote><p>After that 20-save, first-star performance in a 3-2 home victory over the Detroit Red Wings, Hart quickly claimed the crease as his own. Appearing in 31 of the Flyers&rsquo; 51 games after his call-up, he went 16-13-1 with a .917 save percentage and earned the trust of a notoriously emotional fan base. &ldquo;I know when things weren&rsquo;t going well for us, they were letting us have it,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;but when we were starting to turn things around, they really got behind us and supported us. As players, we really appreciate that.</p><p>&ldquo;Philly&rsquo;s a sports city. They care about all their sports. They just want all their teams to succeed.&rdquo;</p><p>A second-round pick (48th overall) in 2016, Hart won plenty during his impressive junior career. As a member of the Everett Silvertips, he earned three Del Wilson Awards as the WHL&rsquo;s top goaltender and was twice named CHL goaltender of the year. With Team Canada, he won silver and gold at the World Junior Championship and, this spring, he added another silver as a member of the men&rsquo;s team at the World Championship.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/nhl_hart23/529366-1-eng-US/nhl_hart22.jpg" title="nhl_hart2" width="785" height="1191"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>CARTER HART</b></p> <span class="photo-credit">(DAVID KIROUAC/ICON SPORTSWIRE VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>Serving as Matt Murray&rsquo;s backup in Slovakia, Hart gave up just two goals in 171 minutes of action against Great Britain, France and Denmark. &ldquo;It felt good,&rdquo; Hart said. &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t get a lot of shots but tried to stay engaged in those games and be sharp and ready.&rdquo;</p><p>But was there any awkwardness when working with Murray, a member of the rival Penguins? &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a really good guy,&rdquo; Hart said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a good goalie. I&rsquo;d just known him from playing against him a couple of times with Pittsburgh, and we see them a lot, so that&rsquo;s our biggest rivalry.&rdquo;</p><p>In Slovakia, Hart also got a sneak peek of his new bench boss for the Flyers next season, Team Canada coach Alain Vigneault. &ldquo;He seems like a good guy,&rdquo; Hart said. &ldquo;The guys really like him and respect him. He&rsquo;s a good coach. He&rsquo;s got a good track record in the NHL, and he seems like a reasonable guy to talk to and easy to approach. That&rsquo;s what I&rsquo;ve told all the guys in Philly that have asked. I&rsquo;ve said it&rsquo;s been nothing but good things, so I look forward to working with him down the road next year in Philly.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/hart_east3/529359-1-eng-US/hart_east2.jpg" title="hart_east" width="797" height="518"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(MARTIN ROSE/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>Hart&rsquo;s biggest takeaway from his rookie season is the relentless nature of the NHL regular-season schedule: &ldquo;You&rsquo;re playing just about every second day, and it&rsquo;s a little bit different than in the minors or juniors when you play a lot on weekends or have four or five days sometimes between games,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;You never get that in the NHL.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s important that you take care of your body and get rest so that you&rsquo;re fully prepared and physically and mentally rested to go every night. That&rsquo;s important if you want to stay consistent.&rdquo;</p><p>After spending a month in Europe, he&rsquo;ll be sticking close to home the rest of the off-season. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m going to spend my summer back home in Sherwood Park (Alta.),&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Go to Philly maybe once in July for a couple of days to see the guys there, and then that&rsquo;s probably it.&rdquo;</p><p>It&rsquo;s best he rests now, because, next season, expectations will be heavy. But every indication so far is Hart will be able to shoulder the load.</p><p><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

nhl_hart1

FINALLY, A NO. 1 YOU CAN TRUST

<div class="byline">BY STEPHEN MESERVE</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="hintz2" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/hintz23/529568-1-eng-US/hintz22.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>EARNED TOP-SIX JOB</b></p><p>After Hintz found chemistry with the company he kept on Dallas&rsquo; second line, his production soared in the spring.</p><p></p> <span class="photo-credit">(GERRY THOMAS/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>IF IT&rsquo;S TRUE THAT</b> speed kills, left winger Roope Hintz was a stealth assassin in the post-season.</p><p>In his rookie NHL campaign, Hintz was a surprise breakout difference-maker for the upstart Dallas Stars. &ldquo;He was one of the driving forces of our playoff success,&rdquo; said coach Jim Montgomery. &ldquo;His speed is what everybody talks about. His compete and his awareness at both ends of the ice allow us to transition pucks and allow us to gain a lot of possession time and create scoring chances.&rdquo;</p><p>The native of Tampere, Finland, turned heads when he scored a pair in Dallas&rsquo; series-tying Game 4 win over Nashville in Round 1. And he forced everyone to take notice when he had a three-point effort (two goals and an assist) in Game 2 against St. Louis in the second round. But Hintz sustained a broken foot in that series, which severely hampered his ability to deploy his trademark speed. Even with that limitation for the final few contests, Hintz notched five goals and eight points while playing in all 13 of Dallas&rsquo;s playoff games. That&rsquo;s setting expectations quite high for 2019-20.</p><blockquote class="pullQuote">HE HAD TO BELIEVE HE COULD DO IT &ndash; TO PLAY THE RIGHT WAY EVERY NIGHT TO HAVE SUCCESS. ONCE HE DID THAT, HIS GAME TOOK OFF<br>&ndash; Jim Montgomery</blockquote><p>Hintz, 22, took a relatively long route to NHL success. Dallas GM Jim Nill is famous for his overripe prospect approach, leaving youngsters who may seem like they&rsquo;re NHL-ready to marinate just a bit longer in Europe or the AHL. It was a tactic he had success with during his days in Detroit. Hintz was a second-round pick (49th overall) in 2015 but didn&rsquo;t begin his North American career until 2017, when he spent the entire year with the AHL&rsquo;s Texas Stars. His development has been slow and almost methodical. Hintz was ranked the No. 8 prospect for Dallas in Future Watch 2016, then rose to No. 6 the next year, No. 5 in 2018 and No. 4 (and 85th league-wide) this year. &ldquo;You have to let them develop,&rdquo; Montgomery said. &ldquo;You can&rsquo;t force it. You&rsquo;ve got to let them figure it out, and then all of a sudden it clicks. When it clicked with Roope, that was really fun to watch.&rdquo;</p><p>Last season, Hintz went deep in the AHL&rsquo;s Calder Cup playoffs with the Texas Stars, going to the final but losing to Toronto in seven games. He collected 12 points in 22 games. That experience taught Hintz how to dig deep. Montgomery called him a player who could &ldquo;change the momentum of the game and lift the whole bench with his effort and skill plays.&rdquo;</p><p>After starting the season on the NHL roster, Hintz bounced back and forth between the Dallas and Texas. He had the physical skills to compete from opening night, but there was a mental gap according to Montgomery. The Dallas bench boss credited Texas coach Derek Laxdal and his staff with ensuring Hintz came back a better player every time he was sent down.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/hintz13/529554-1-eng-US/hintz12.jpg" title="hintz1" width="795" height="1471"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>ROOPE HINTZ</b></p> <span class="photo-credit">(ANDY DEVLIN/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>There is also significant credit to be given to the player himself, as many NHL-ready prospects sent down to the minors lose their drive as they pity themselves for the assignment. Hintz never lost his edge, even after multiple AHL demotions. &ldquo;He had to believe he could do it &ndash; to play the right way every night to have success,&rdquo; Montgomery said. &ldquo;Once he did that, his game took off.&rdquo;&nbsp;</p><p>Hintz had 22 points in 58 regular season games, but 17 of those came in the last 30 outings, showing a clear upward trajectory that carried him to playoff success.</p><p>Along with late-season addition Mats Zuccarello, Hintz gave Dallas a legitimate second-line threat, taking pressure off the top line. The Stars&rsquo; first-line trio of Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin and Alexander Radulov was a scoring phenomenon, but Dallas&rsquo; offense outside that top line was inconsistent, as the Stars couldn&rsquo;t find effective secondary combinations. Hintz stepped into the role late in the season and looks to be set for high-end duty next year as well. &ldquo;I expect him to be a driving force on our team &ndash; to be in a top-six role,&rdquo; Montgomery said. &ldquo;And he&rsquo;s going to have to earn that again. He should have the confidence and the mental toughness to want and know that he is that for us.&rdquo;</p><p>Hintz&rsquo;s offensive knack will also give him a shot on the power play, while his speed makes him an effective player on the penalty kill. Montgomery expects Hintz to play in all situations and all zones. After playing through a broken foot to end the playoffs, Hintz headed back to Finland for the summer, keeping a low profile while preparing for the coming season.</p><p>More than even the offensive upside, the Stars are excited about the intangible side of his game. &ldquo;His will is what inspires teammates,&rdquo; Montgomery said. &ldquo;We don&rsquo;t know what his ceiling is as how much he affects the team every night, but we know that it&rsquo;s a lot. He doesn&rsquo;t need to score to help the Dallas Stars be dominant.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

hintz2

SPEED SOMETIMES TAKES SLOW ROAD

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/western-logo/532276-1-eng-US/western-logo.jpg" title="western-logo" width="800" height="600"></div><p><b>&gt; ANAHEIM DUCKS</b><br>The case can be made <b>ONDREJ KASE</b> broke out in 2018-19 but just couldn&rsquo;t stay healthy long enough to make it last. The 23-year-old winger scored at a 30-goal pace (11 goals in 30 games) in his third NHL season, but a concussion and torn labrum cost him 52 games of staying power.</p><p><b>&gt; ARIZONA COYOTES</b><br><b>CONOR GARLAND&rsquo;S</b> past shows that as soon as he&rsquo;s comfortable at a certain level, he raises the bar the next season. He did that in the QMJHL with Moncton, then in the AHL with Tucson. After impressive spurts in 47 NHL games, the winger is poised to blossom next season.</p><p><b>&gt; CALGARY FLAMES</b><br>As an NHL rookie, defenseman <b>RASMUS ANDERSSON</b> showed poise and maturation, but most of all a lot of ceiling space. With a booming shot and limitless puck patience, he is sure to start producing. He&rsquo;ll get more time on the power play than his one-minute average this season.</p><p><b>&gt; CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS</b><br>Smooth puck-mover <b>HENRI JOKIHARJU</b> gained tons of experience in 2018-19, first as Duncan Keith&rsquo;s partner, then winning gold with Finland at the WJC, then with AHL Rockford (because the Hawks wanted him to play more). He&rsquo;ll assume an important top-four NHL role in 2019-20.</p><p><b>&gt; COLORADO AVALANCHE</b><br>Juxtaposed with fellow 2016 top-10 picks like Auston Matthews and Matthew Tkachuk, two-way pivot <b>TYSON JOST</b> disappointed in his first two full NHL seasons, scoring 23 goals in 135 games. But he&rsquo;s just 21 and flashed potential in the playoffs with three goals in his final three games.</p><p><b>&gt; DALLAS STARS</b><br><b>JASON DICKINSON</b>, a 2013 first-rounder, didn&rsquo;t settle in as a full-time NHLer until this season. He&rsquo;s a tenacious, intelligent and a disruptive penalty killer. He earned work as a first-liner on Tyler Seguin&rsquo;s left wing and has a chance to stay there given Dallas&rsquo; lack of forward depth.</p><p><b>&gt; EDMONTON OILERS</b><br><b>MIKKO KOSKINEN</b> has the demeanor and experience to use his first full NHL season as a stepping stone for a career that can take off. At 30 and with 10 prior seasons in Finland and the KHL, the 6-foot-7 stopper just needs a bit of defensive team aid to establish his groove.</p><p><b>&gt;&nbsp;LOS ANGELES KINGS</b><br>A player&rsquo;s fourth NHL season is often the one in which he breaks out. So <b>ADRIAN KEMPE</b> has two chances to make this work. Did his 25-game NHL trial in 2016-17 count as Year 1? If so, he&rsquo;s bound to bloom in 2019-20. He showed promise as a sophomore but struggled this season.</p><p><b>&gt; MINNESOTA WILD</b><br><b>RYAN DONATO</b> evolved into a scoring-line forward after arriving in the Charlie Coyle trade. Playing 3:03 more per night than he did as a Bruin, Donato notched four goals and 16 points in 22 games, which pro-rates to 15-45-60 over 82 games. He&rsquo;s earned top-six work.</p><p><b>&gt; NASHVILLE PREDATORS</b><br><b>DANTE FABBRO</b>, easily Nashville&rsquo;s top blueline prospect, left Boston College, turned pro and played 10 games for the Preds between the regular season and playoffs. He projects as a well-rounded minutes eater and is ready for a significant NHL role.</p><p><b>&gt; SAN JOSE SHARKS</b><br>Other teams knocked on GM Doug Wilson&rsquo;s door to try to pry <b>TIM HEED</b> loose. The 28-year-old veteran of Sweden&rsquo;s top league has offensive instincts but has been stuck in a seventh &lsquo;D&rsquo; role for two years. That will change for the pending UFA &ndash; in San Jose or a new city.</p><p><b>&gt; ST. LOUIS BLUES</b><br>It wasn&rsquo;t a surprise <b>ROBERT THOMAS</b> made the Blues, as his high hockey IQ meant he could play anywhere in the lineup. He busted out for 19 points in 33 games after the all-star break and will be asked to do far more than grind next year. He has a Selke-Trophy ceiling long term.</p><p><b>&gt; VANCOUVER CANUCKS</b><br><b>TANNER PEARSON&rsquo;S</b> career has been so cyclical, it makes sense he&rsquo;s due for another breakout. He arrived as a flashy 21-year-old rookie in L.A.&rsquo;s Cup run in 2014, then blossomed for 24 goals a few seasons later. Two teams later, the winger made a good impression in Vancouver.</p><p><b>&gt; VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS</b><br><b>SHEA THEODORE</b> is coming off a big spike in production, but there&rsquo;s more noise to be made. The 23-year-old offensive blueliner doubled his goal total to 12 while adding a new dimension to the power play. It wouldn&rsquo;t surprise many if he upped his point count from 37 to 50-plus.</p><p><b>&gt; WINNIPEG JETS</b><br>Another year, another predicted <b>JACK ROSLOVIC</b> breakout. The speed and smarts are there. The consistency and ice time haven&rsquo;t been. But cap constraints might stop the Jets from retaining UFA Kevin Hayes, meaning someone has to climb the depth chart.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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