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Future Watch 2025
The Hockey News has been providing the most comprehensive coverage of the world of hockey since 1947. In each issue, you'll find news, features and opinions about the NHL and leagues across North America and the world.
COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS
B+| RANK: 6TH THE BLUE JACKETS STILL have one of the NHL’s deepest talent pipelines, but they’re also leaning on a core group of youngsters they’ve drafted and developed. Already leading the charge in the NHL are forwards Adam Fantilli, Kirill Marchenko, Kent Johnson, Dmitri Voronkov, Cole Sillinger, Luca Del Bel Belluz, Mikael Pyyhtia and Yegor Chinakhov, along with defensemen Denton Mateychuk and Jake Christiansen. Plus, goalie Jet Greaves also shone when recalled from Cleveland, who remain one of the AHL’s better teams despite Mateychuk and Del Bel Belluz being called up to Columbus mid-season. 1 DENTON MATEYCHUK D, 20, 5-11, 185 Cleveland (AHL) 27–9–16–25–10 2022 draft, 12th overall OVERALL 27 Mateychuk impressed in a second consecutive pre-season, but the Blue Jackets’ defensive depth didn’t leave a spot open for him. He didn’t complain, instead going to Cleveland…
A TIGERS TALE
THERE’S NO POINT ASKING Duante’ Abercrombie what he’s doing nowadays. You’ll save time by just asking what he isn’t doing. The first hockey coach at Tennessee State, Abercrombie is constantly watching video, travelling, scheduling games, fundraising and recruiting for a Tigers program that plans to hit the ice next season with a top-tier team. That’s right, there has never even been club hockey at TSU – but they’re going straight to Div. I. If that sounds daunting, add to that the fact the school itself is currently going through financial problems, so the hockey team has to be privately funded by donations for at least its first season. So, as their coach was putting together the first TSU roster, he wasn’t just looking at player statistics. “If you haven’t gone through some type…
NEXT UP: THE NHL
ON THE THIRD WEEKEND in January, 345 teams converged on Southern Ontario for Canada’s largest minor-hockey tournament, the Oakville Rangers Winter Classic. Friday night at the Sixteen Mile Sports Complex, hundreds of rowdy kids packed the stands to watch the hometown Oakville Blades take down the King Rebellion 4-1 in OJHL Jr. A action. On the surface, it was a familiar scene. But history was made that night, as an all-female crew handled the officiating for the first time in the Ontario Hockey Association. With Lacey Senuk and Hillary Brennan wearing the referees’ armbands while Laura Gutauskas and Marlowe Schott worked the lines, the game itself was pretty standard stuff. The penalty total came out to 26 minutes, including scrums in each period that led to offsetting infractions. “You’re never sure…
SAN JOSE SHARKS
A | RANK: 1ST SAN JOSE HOPES THE most painful part of the rebuild is over. The Sharks sank to the bottom of the NHL standings last season after sending several veterans out the door for draft picks and prospects. While the moves were badly needed, they’ve also been painful, with wins few and far between and thousands of empty seats for several home games. But suffering has also paid dividends. Last year’s No. 1 overall pick, Macklin Celebrini, is primed for stardom, and the prospect pool is impressive and deep – and it’s got size. GM Mike Grier generally has stuck to drafting players who are 200-plus pounds. 1 SAM DICKINSON D, 18, 6-3, 210 London (OHL) 40–20–41–61–26 2024 draft, 11th overall OVERALL 7 As one of London’s offensive leaders, Dickinson has been everything the Sharks hoped…
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