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Kids, Candy And Calder Cups: How The Sweetest Place On Earth Produces Top-Notch Stars For The Capitals
For Washington Capitals prospects, the road to the NHL is paved with chocolate – and Hershey’s AHL championship success is pretty sweet, too.
There are enough on-the-nose context clues sprinkled throughout Hershey, Pa., that it doesn’t take a Mensa member to decipher the town’s chief commodity.
To wit, a jaunt down West Chocolate Avenue, with its Hershey Kiss-shaped streetlights, to Cocoa Avenue provides one key to this particular mystery, while a quick stroll along Chocolate World Way likewise serves as a dead giveaway. Of course, if you’re still not getting the hint, a venture down Hersheypark Drive, which borders the confection-centric theme park, provides a sense of what Hershey is all about. But if the sights are of little help, the distinct aroma wafting its way through town – yes, this is, in fact, a regular occurrence – removes any doubt: Hershey is America’s home of chocolate.
Ask around the nation’s capital, though, and you’ll bump into folks who argue that Hershey’s greatest export ends up not on candy-store shelves but at Capital One Arena, darting around the ice in red-and-white wrapping. Because while most know Hershey as Chocolatetown, Capitals faithful call it Bears Country. And the real sweetest smell in the rural Pennsylvania community? Calder Cup success.
While it’s true the Bears have had plenty to celebrate throughout their long history, the past two decades as the top affiliate of the Capitals have been particularly fruitful for Hershey. Among the top three tiers of professional hockey in North America – the NHL, AHL and ECHL – no team has hosted more championship parades in the time since Hershey and Washington joined forces in 2005-06. The Bears captured a Calder Cup in the first season of the affiliation, and they have since followed up with another six appearances in the final and four additional AHL crowns.
And the Bears’ success, as well as the Capitals’ part in it, is by design. In an era when the AHL is arguably seen more as a talent incubator than a high-stakes hockey battleground, Washington and Hershey have taken a different tack, one which sees the Capitals make a meaningful effort to ensure the Bears consistently remain more than an also-ran. “That’s kind of the crux of our philosophy,” said Capitals GM Chris Patrick. “We want our players, our prospects, playing meaningful games against good competition. So, one of the better ways to do that is to have playoff experience and long playoff runs, if possible. Looking at our series in the last couple years, as we’ve won Calder Cups, as you’re getting into the conference final and the final, it’s a high level of hockey, and the players on the other side that you’re playing against, a bunch of them are going to end up in the NHL very soon.”
This is how Washington and Hershey operate, and the symbiosis and the success on the farm that’s been intrinsic to the partnership between the two clubs isn’t novel. It has been a central part of the Capitals’ development model. Consider Washington’s 2018 Stanley Cup-winning team.
While key members such as Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and Evgeny Kuznetsov skipped over the AHL en route to NHL stardom, the rest of the championship roster was dotted with former Bears. In total, nine players who saw more than a dozen playoff games during the Cup run had come through Hershey. Among those were John Carlson and Jay Beagle, members of the Bears’ 2009 and 2010 championship teams, and Braden Holtby, who was with Hershey for the latter title.
But maintaining a winning AHL culture isn’t always easy. Despite the aforementioned Calder Cup victories, counted among which are two sets of back-to-back titles, including the 2023 and 2024 championships, the Bears haven’t entirely avoided down years. From 2010 to 2015, the franchise won just a single playoff round. And that 2018 Cup-winning Capitals campaign? It coincided with the worst season Hershey has seen since the early 1990s. Unsurprisingly, it was also a year in which the Bears were faced with the realities of feeding the big-league beast, as several Hershey mainstays from the season prior had graduated to the NHL.
But it’s in the aftermath of those rare bottom-feeding Bears campaigns where the reciprocity between the two organizations becomes increasingly evident.
Though Patrick wasn’t in the big chair in 2018 – he was the Capitals’ director of player personnel, rising to assistant GM in 2021 before being promoted to GM this summer – the relationship that has been built with Hershey and, in turn, with Bears vice-president of hockey operations Bryan Helmer, is based on respect for what the other is trying to accomplish. “He understands our goals, understands, like any AHL team at times, there are things the NHL club has to do that are going to directly harm the AHL team’s ability to win games,” Patrick said. “He gets it. He’s been around, and he has faith in us that we’re going to do whatever we can to make up for that and help Hershey win games.”
That help can come in a number of ways, not least of which is personnel decisions. Among the biggest changes that Patrick and Helmer have seen, however, is in the resources provided to not just prospects but the entire Bears roster and staff.
Helmer, a veteran of 1,117 AHL games (the third-most in league history), remembers a time when a skating coach was a novelty, not a necessity, in the minors. He can’t readily recall a time when members of the NHL team’s front office were dropping in to check on and chat with the AHL talent. And development personnel? Forget it. It was nothing like today, where former NHLers Olaf Kolzig, Brooks Orpik and Jim Slater are among those the Capitals enlist as development coaches.
“We want our players, our prospects, playing meaningful games against good competition." – Capitals GM Chris Patrick
As for Patrick, whose on-ice career concluded after four NCAA seasons at Princeton, he had a front-row seat as change swept in. In one of his first gigs with the Capitals in the late 2000s, Patrick assisted the player-development staff. He recalls the Bears working with what these days would be seen as a skeleton staff – a coach and one assistant. Now, Hershey coach Todd Nelson patrols the bench alongside two assistants, and the staff is supported by a goaltending coach and a video coach.
And that’s just scratching the surface of what’s available to the Bears these days.
“Any week in Hershey, one of our guys is there and getting on the ice with the prospects or the older guys who want to work with them and work on skills and situational things,” Patrick said. “Nutrition has become a lot more of an important factor in the AHL now. On the strength-and-conditioning, we have a full-time strength-and-conditioning coach and two trainers versus one in the past. We have catered meals on practice days and things like that. It’s the amount of resources we put into the players in the AHL that has probably been the biggest change since I started.”
And the importance of the investment can’t be overstated.
Given the Capitals’ near perpetual playoff-contender status – with playoff appearances in all but two of the past 17 seasons – Washington has made just one top-10 draft choice in the past 15 years. As a result, and in order to stay competitive, demands on the Capitals’ front office and backroom staff have been twofold. First, a premium has been put on talent identification. Then, those who are selected must be nurtured properly. As it pertains to the former, there is a reliance on management and the scouting staff to do their due diligence. There is also trust put into the analytics team, which Patrick has overseen in the past while on his rise to the GM’s chair.
Where analytics are most valuable come draft day, he said, isn’t necessarily in striking gold with every pick but determining the best way to support a player once he arrives. In the past, a prospect might be drafted as a future first-line center when his true ceiling was as a penalty-killing specialist. The breadth of information now available helps mitigate misidentification, Patrick said. That leads to better development programs, which is where the support provided to the Bears comes to roost. “The guys you bring into Hershey, you need to have a relatively higher hit rate on these guys,” Patrick said. “There is a premium and a lot more time spent on giving these players all the resources they can have to help make them successful.”
That being the case, the Capitals are sure getting a good return on their investment. Last season, the Capitals, at one time or another, dressed 16 players who had ties to Hershey. True, the likes of Carlson and Tom Wilson, whose minor-league days have long since passed, qualify for that list, but 10 of those former Bears were part of one or both of the team’s recent set of back-to-back titles. That includes Connor McMichael.
A first-round pick, 25th overall, in 2019, McMichael seemed on the fast track to the NHL, especially after a 102-point explosion with the OHL’s London Knights in his post-draft campaign boosted his stock. And his standing only rose higher as a result of the pandemic throwing the hockey world into disarray.
Among the handful of players who benefitted from a temporary tweak in the AHL’s eligibility rules following the OHL’s pandemic-related shutdown, McMichael landed with the Bears as a 19-year-old. What he experienced in Hershey was a crash course in professional hockey, and he handled himself with brilliance. He led the Bears in goals during the shortened 2020-21 season, made the AHL all-rookie team and found himself in Washington for the duration of the 2021-22 campaign. But he wasn’t there to stay. A difficult nine-goal, 18-point performance in his NHL rookie season resulted in McMichael being returned to the AHL for all but six games in 2022-23.
Though the demotion stung, it is perhaps why McMichael is the current Capital most representative of the premium the organization puts on spending time not just in the AHL but as part of a winning program.
Upon his return to Hershey, he worked to round out his game. The growth was noticeable. And while McMichael’s per-game production dipped in the regular season, he was a standout when the chips were down in the post-season. He led the 2023 Calder Cup-winning Bears with six goals. Included among those was the goal that sparked Hershey’s offense – and eventual victory – in a winner-take-all Game 7 over the Coachella Valley Firebirds. That run served as the precursor to McMichael’s return to the NHL last season, where he finished sixth in Capitals scoring and sixth in average ice time among Washington’s forwards. “There’s a kid that really benefitted from the process,” Helmer said.
“One thing that I like about Washington is that they just don’t hand their young guys anything. They have to earn it." – Hershey vice-president of hockey operations Bryan Helmer
If McMichael is most representative of the process, though, Hendrix Lapierre might be the next-best indication of how the Bears are building better big-leaguers.
The Capitals’ top pick, 22nd overall, in the 2020 draft, Lapierre arrived in Hershey with plenty of fanfare, and he delivered. In his first 22 games, he scored seven goals and 16 points. But the rigors of the professional ranks can take a toll on even the most gifted rookies, and Lapierre hit a wall. “Right around Christmastime, he started to falter,” Helmer said. “In junior, he got hurt, so he didn’t play as many games. Now, he’s played a bunch of games, professional games, and I think it caught up to him a bit. That’s when we sat him out, recharged his batteries, watched a game, and then, he just took off.”
By season’s end, Lapierre had 30 points, making him Hershey’s sixth-best scorer, and his playoff performance was all the more indicative of his growth. Like McMichael, Lapierre became a difference-maker, which was highlighted by his game-tying goal in Game 7 of the 2023 Calder Cup final.
Come last season, Lapierre picked up where he left off in the AHL and turned heads in Washington. He played 51 games with the Capitals, scoring eight goals and 22 points, adding another goal and assist while skating regular fourth-line minutes in Washington’s four post-season games. He then headed back to Hershey, where he led the AHL in playoff scoring and won the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy as post-season MVP. “Those are two great examples of the culture that we have down here,” Helmer said, “and how it helps guys make that next step and helps Washington have success.”
Though they’re prime examples, it’s foolish to suggest that McMichael and Lapierre exist at the terminus of the Hershey-to-Washington pipeline. If anything, they’re a sign of what’s to come, such as 2022 first-rounder Ivan Miroshnichenko.
A bit player with the Caps last year, Miroshnichenko first got his feet wet with the Bears and returned to the AHL to contribute seven goals and 12 points to last season’s championship run. Defenseman Vincent Iorio, Washington’s top choice in the 2021 draft, is likewise primed to be integral to the Bears’ pursuit of – and his personal opportunity for – a Calder Cup three-peat. And 2020 fourth-rounder Bogdan Trineyev is another who will look to build on the lessons learned during the 2024 title-winning season.
Their chance to prove they’re ready for the next step, as with any other Bear with designs on becoming a Capitals cub, is accepting the weight of expectation that comes amid a tradition of winning. “One thing that I like about Washington,” Helmer said, “is that they just don’t hand their young guys anything. They have to earn it.”
And as the next generation of Caps has shown, there’s no place better to do so than the Sweetest Place on Earth.
In this 2024-25 edition of our annual Prospects Unlimited issue, we count down the top 100 21-and-under players in the world (with features on Connor Bedard, Macklin Celebrini, Ivan Demidov, Rutger McGroarty and Zach Benson) and profile the Washingon Capitals development system. In addition, we have NHL team pages with features, grades and full rosters for each organization.
It's available on newsstands now, or you can get it in print for free when you subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/Free today. All subscriptions include complete access to more than 76 years of articles at The Hockey News Archive.
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World Juniors Snub-O-Meter: Highest NHL Scorers Since 2005 With No WJC Experience
From 2005 to the start of this season, here are the highest-scoring NHLers who never appeared in the world juniors.
As many future NHLers begin the 2025 world juniors in Ottawa, keep in mind that playing in the tourney doesn’t make or break a career.
From 2005 to the start of this season, here's a sneak peek from The Hockey News' World Junior Championship edition at the highest-scoring NHLers who never appeared in the annual men's U-20 tournament.
Joe Pavelski, USA, 1,068 Points
We'd shame the brain trust at USA Hockey who overlooked Pavelski, but few saw his potential. A late-bloomer and dogged competitor, 'Little Joe' made up for missing out on the world juniors with a selection to Team USA's silver-medal-winning 2010 Olympic squad.
Eric Staal, Canada, 1,032 Points
Staal was legitimately snubbed in 2003. By the time the tournament arrived, he had amassed 20 goals and 52 points in 32 games for the OHL's Peterborough Petes. He became a full-time NHLer immediately following the 2003 draft – and eventually became a member of the Triple Gold Club.
Patrick Marleau, Canada, 870 Points
Age and timing conspired against Marleau. Canada didn't want to take two 17-year-olds to the 1997 tournament, so Joe Thornton was selected over his future Sharks teammate. And the following year, Marleau – taken second overall, behind Thornton, in the 1997 NHL draft – was San Jose's young cornerstone.
This is an excerpt from the list of six players on the world juniors snub-o-meter, as featured in The Hockey News' WJC magazine issue.
In this edition, we feature wall-to-wall coverage of the 2025 World Junior Championship, complete with looks at all 10 teams and some of the most prominent players involved.
Also in this issue, we shine the spotlight on San Jose's Tyler Toffoli, Philadelphia's Travis Konecny and a team from Haida Gwaii that really goes the extra mile.
Subscribe to The Hockey News today at THN.com/free or gift a subscription at THN.com/gift.
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Do You Know The Way To San Jose? Tyler Toffoli's Return To California Aims To Boost Rebuilding Sharks
For Tyler Toffoli, it’s been a circuitous route back to California. But after years of bouncing around, he’s found a long-term home with the Sharks. And his nose for the net and head full of experience will be invaluable assets in San Jose.
What with Tyler Toffoli having been around the block a couple of times, and then once more for good measure, the simple pleasures of life in the NHL have mostly worn off. Don’t take that to mean he’s jaded by the experience. He still wakes up thrilled to go to the rink, some days feeling like a bright-eyed, bushy-tailed kid instead of a well-worn vet. But as with anything, experiences that were once novel over time become less so. Eventually, they even start to feel somewhat old hat.
Take travelling, of which Toffoli has done plenty. By playing as far west as Vancouver and as far east as Montreal, he’s racked up frequent flier miles. And having touched down in Utah earlier this season, Toffoli is among those whose travels have allowed them to see the inside of every single NHL dressing room. Truly, there isn’t much big-league ground Toffoli hasn’t covered.
It’s no wonder he’s getting a kick out of seeing the jet-set life through the eyes of Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith. It sounds like the rookies, who sit behind him on the team plane, feel like they’re living in the lap of luxury. “It’s funny seeing them come on the plane, seeing how much food there is, the type of food we have on the plane,” Toffoli said. “It definitely makes me laugh and brings me back to when I was 20 years old.”
Hard as it is to believe, that was some 13 years and more than 900 combined regular- and post-season games ago for Toffoli. Coincidentally, too, the first of those outings was against the same Sharks for whom he now finds himself suiting up.
Signing in San Jose this summer marked a return to California for the 32-year-old Toffoli, who broke into the NHL with the L.A. Kings in 2013 and spent parts of eight seasons in Hollywood. That was before he became a marauder. Since February 2020, Toffoli has skated for the Vancouver Canucks, Montreal Canadiens, Calgary Flames, New Jersey Devils and Winnipeg Jets. Only twice did he spend more than one season with any of those five clubs, and there was a two-year span where he was traded three times.
Toffoli’s forced nomadism resulted from the fact he’s never really had the option to put down roots. He signed a four-year, $17-million pact with the Canadiens in 2020 during his first go-round as a UFA, but he put pen to paper without any clauses that would allow him to nip any trade in the bud. That’s not the case this time. His four-year, $24-million deal with the Sharks, signed after he hit the open market in July, has a full no-trade clause for the first three seasons and modified no-trade protection in the final campaign. Finally, he has the chance to really call a place home.
But don’t think Toffoli was only drawn to the Bay Area for the security, scenic views and the payday. He arrived with a purpose. He considered his options this summer and weighed offers from a handful of teams, engaging in talks with at least three clubs. But despite the Sharks posting the second-worst points percentage of any team in the post-lockout era last season, Toffoli saw potential and possibilities. “I thought the opportunity in San Jose was going to be the best fit for me,” he said. “Being able to play and getting the opportunity to continue to play big minutes, that was kind of what I was excited for. And then coming here, being able to try and lead a team and bring success back to San Jose.”
Righting the ship in San Jose will require Toffoli to be, well, Tyler Toffoli. Though he rarely gets the credit he deserves for being one of the NHL’s most effective goal-scorers, his resume speaks for itself. From his first full season in 2013-14 through to puck drop this season, Toffoli ranked 33rd in the NHL with 258 goals in 802 games. And he’s seemingly gotten better with age. His full-season scoring pace has been a stellar 32 goals per 82 games since 2019-20. Among players to play the equivalent of two full campaigns over that span, Toffoli’s per-game goal-scoring rate is as good or better than the likes of Cole Caufield, Alex DeBrincat and Jack Hughes. It comes down to consistency, which is an attribute Toffoli discovered with maturity.
"He was high on our list just because of all the other intangibles, not just the goal-scoring ability." – Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky
“I still get frustrated if I don’t score for a stretch of games, but I sort of look at the positives and understand that if I’m still getting chances to score and good opportunities that I’m doing something right,” he said. “That’s the way I’ve been looking at things for the past few seasons.”
As important as Toffoli’s production was to the Sharks’ front office, however, the tutelage he could provide was just as crucial. What sticks in the mind of San Jose coach Ryan Warsofsky is seeing Toffoli wear the ‘C’ for Canada at the 2023 World Championship, where he helped lead the tournament’s fourth-youngest team to gold. That left an impression on Warsofsky, who had Toffoli on his mind during off-season meetings with Sharks GM Mike Grier. “When we talked this summer about turning this thing around and what we needed to bring in,” Warsofsky said, “he was high on our list just because of all the other intangibles, not just the goal-scoring ability.”
And Toffoli has already become central to the leadership group in San Jose. That was clear when he was named an alternate captain prior to the campaign. But where he’s situated in the dressing room arguably matters even more. He takes up a spot right next to rookies Celebrini and Smith.
Warsofsky sees it as an opportunity for two of the Sharks’ young guns to be mentored by a Stanley Cup winner. The belief is that, between everything from squaring off against opposing stars to game-day preparation and media obligations, Toffoli can act as a guide. “It’s not going to be smooth sailing for both Mack and Will,” Warsofsky said. “They’re going to go through their ups and downs, and we thought it was important to have Tyler next to them in certain situations to help them.”
Warsofsky said Toffoli’s impact is already evident. That’s particularly true on the ice. No one becomes a perennial 30-goal threat without paying close attention to the fine details. That’s something Toffoli learned coming up in Los Angeles under the likes of Justin Williams and Dustin Brown. And Toffoli’s commitment to playing well in small areas and on the walls – “That’s what I take a lot of pride in,” he said – is something Warsofsky sees not just rubbing off on Celebrini and Smith but on others, young and old, throughout San Jose’s lineup.
That perhaps wasn’t apparent through the first few weeks of the season, as the club sputtered out of the gates on a nine-game losing streak, but the Sharks came to life in November. No one, though, is expecting instant gratification. That includes Toffoli, who arrived confident, yes, that the Sharks weren’t all that far off, but who is also aware that true contention takes time. “It’s going to be a process,” he said. “But I think we’re slowly getting there.”
The good news, too, is this time, Toffoli will have the chance to see things through.
This article appeared in the Nov. 25, 2024, World Junior Championship issue of The Hockey News. In this edition, we feature wall-to-wall coverage of the 2025 World Junior Championship, complete with previews of all 10 teams plus some of the most prominent players involved. Also in this issue, we shine the spotlight on San Jose's Tyler Toffoli, Philadelphia's Travis Konecny and a team from Haida Gwaii that really goes the extra mile.
It's available on newsstands now, or you can get it in print for free when you subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/Free today. All subscriptions include complete access to more than 76 years of articles at The Hockey News Archive.
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Cable Cutters: Utah Hockey Club Steps Ahead In Game Streaming For Fans
More and more, NHL teams are bringing the game straight to their fans through streaming services as the landscape of sports media faces drastic change, and the Utah Hockey Club is no different.
Utah might be the new kid on the hockey block, but give the franchise and its ownership credit for already understanding one of the sport’s great axioms, often attributed to Walter Gretzky: skate to where the puck is going, not where it’s been.
In September, the franchise became one of a growing number of pro sports organizations to join the burgeoning trend of bringing the game directly to their fans. That came in the form of UtahHC+, a direct-to-consumer streaming service that, at a price point of $70 for the entire campaign, will put at least 75 of the franchise’s inaugural-season games onto fans’ devices. In doing so, Utah effectively cut out the burdensome middleman – there’s no need for fans to deal with a pesky cable provider – while creating a franchise-controlled platform on which their supporters can get their hockey fix.
Utah’s gambit comes at an interesting time in the sports-media landscape. The once-ubiquitous model for regional sports networks has faced a decline that was at first slow and then seemingly sudden. Major media conglomerates such as Warner Bros. Discovery have sold off their regional properties. Others have remained in the game as business has collapsed. Such is the case with Diamond Sports Group. Though the specter of bankruptcy looms, the company continues to own and operate the FanDuel Sports Network, formerly known as Bally Sports and Fox Sports Network. The company owns local broadcast rights to the likes of the Detroit Red Wings, Los Angeles Kings and Tampa Bay Lightning.
The launch of UtahHC+ also comes as teams and leagues have begun to invest more in streaming – and that includes the NHL itself. Though the league has long broadcast its games digitally and continues to offer league-wide streaming packages, the announcement of a two-year sub-licensing deal with Amazon and the subsequent launch of Prime Monday Night Hockey in Canada saw the NHL dive deeper into the streaming world. Asked about the decision to partner with the streamer, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said it was a matter of reading the room. “The world’s moving away from cable TV,” said Bettman in mid-October. “Cord-cutting, cord-nevers continues, and the reach of cable and satellite is not what it was. The world, putting us aside, is moving towards other forms of distribution.”
That’s backed up by the numbers. A report from industry forecasters Digital TV Research noted a decline of more than four million paid television subscribers from 2023 to 2024 in the United States. In Canada, Converge Research reported that roughly four of 10 households didn’t subscribe to traditional cable by the end of 2023. And the forecasts aren’t rosy, either. By 2026, the latter report suggests half of Canada’s households will have ditched cable. The U.S. could arrive at that point by the end of this year, per Digital TV Research.
The departure from traditional cable, though, has created coverage gaps, and those gaps will inevitably increase. That’s true even for the supposed all-team, all-game services provided by ESPN in the U.S. and Sportsnet in Canada. Subscribers to those platforms aren’t free from blackout restrictions, where in-market broadcast-rights deals can leave hometown fans without a way to watch the local team. That’s where direct-to-consumer streaming comes in – and Utah isn’t the only franchise following the new model. In fact, due to circumstance, one NHL team was on the leading edge.
After the regional sports network serving Nevada was shuttered in April 2023, the Vegas Golden Knights became just the second ‘Big Four’ sports team to bring games directly to their fans, introducing KnightTime+ ahead of 2023-24. And Vegas has gone from test case to proof of concept.
Since KnightTime+ launched, the Florida Panthers have followed suit. The Dallas Stars and Anaheim Ducks, meanwhile, leverage a free streaming platform, Victory+, for viewers in their respective regions. As of this season, the Seattle Kraken are also broadcasting regional games on Amazon Prime. And there are another dozen NHL clubs whose local broadcasts are available via an organizational or multi-team streamer, such as MSG+, which provides local streaming access to the clubs in the NHL’s Tri-State area, or Altitude+, home of the Colorado Avalanche and NBA’s Denver Nuggets.
"Cord-cutting continues. The reach of cable and satellite is not what it was" – Gary Bettman
Adopting these team-centric platforms has an added benefit for fans, as some organizations have leveraged the in-house production to return to a classic method of delivering on-ice action: over-the-air broadcasting. To wit, fans in Utah, Vegas, Florida, Dallas, Anaheim and Chicago can watch each of their teams’ non-national broadcasts on television using an antenna. Yes, rabbit ears are back.
What this newfound shift toward direct-to-consumer streaming portends for the future remains to be seen. If – or when – those regional sports networks left standing begin to fall, more teams could follow suit, particularly south of the border. It’s unlikely to be the case in Canada, at least not for some time. The Bell-owned TSN and Rogers-owned Sportsnet control in-market Canadian broadcasts. The Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers, for instance, have agreements with Sportsnet through 2035. But as media corporations wrestle with new realities, it could just be that single-team streaming is the next big thing.
This article appeared in the Nov. 25, 2024, World Junior Championship issue of The Hockey News. In this edition, we feature wall-to-wall coverage of the 2025 World Junior Championship, complete with previews of all 10 teams plus some of the most prominent players involved. Also in this issue, we shine the spotlight on San Jose's Tyler Toffoli, Philadelphia's Travis Konecny and a team from Haida Gwaii that really goes the extra mile.
It's available on newsstands now, or you can get it in print for free when you subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/Free today. All subscriptions include complete access to more than 76 years of articles at The Hockey News Archive.
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Sink Or Swim: Askarov Has True Chance To Prove His Immense Potential Between Pipes In San Jose
The off-season trade to the San Jose Sharks gives Yaroslav Askarov exactly what the promising young netminder has always wanted – the chance to show he has what it takes to be a starting goalie in the NHL.
It's one thing to see the writing on the wall. It’s another to see your future spelled out in flashing neon lights. And when Juuse Saros signed a mega-money extension with the Nashville Predators in July, followed not long after by the Preds’ signing of veteran second-stringer Scott Wedgewood, upstart keeper Yaroslav Askarov couldn’t ignore what was staring him in the face: a gargantuan sign letting him know that his hope of becoming an NHL No. 1 wasn’t going to happen in Music City.
By all accounts, of course, this wasn’t how it was supposed to happen. Drafted 11th overall in 2020, Askarov was – and still is – considered one of the top goaltending prospects in the world. He seemed destined to be shepherded into the top job in Nashville, much like Saros had been by Predators icon Pekka Rinne. But with Askarov’s path to the NHL blocked by Saros’ new long-term deal, he wanted a fresh start. He wanted a chance.
And in August, after a month of rumors and trade chatter, Askarov got it.
Days after reports surfaced Askarov had asked for a trade out of Nashville, the San Jose Sharks scooped up the 22-year-old netminder in a swap that GM Mike Grier said was a golden opportunity for his franchise. “We’re very confident that he’s going to be a No. 1,” Grier said.
“You don’t have too many chances to add players of this caliber in this position. It’s the hardest position to draft and develop and find, and to be able to get someone like this and add him to our group, we’re really excited.” - Sharks GM Mike Grier, on adding Askarov to the San Jose Sharks
Not that Grier needed much cajoling to add a prospect as coveted as Askarov, but integral to the Sharks’ decision to pull the trigger was the positive feedback from San Jose’s resident crease experts, headed up by director of goaltending Evgeni Nabokov. And if anyone knows a thing or two about being a young Russian kid standing in the blue paint for the Sharks, it’s Nabokov, who arrived in San Jose in 2000 as a 24-year-old and spent the next decade as the franchise’s starting goalie.
When it comes to Askarov, though, Nabokov is quick to temper expectations. “Everybody has their own route to the NHL,” Nabokov said. “Some kids adapt really quickly; some kids not. And to be honest with you, I don’t know yet.”
Don’t take that to mean Nabokov isn’t bullish on Askarov’s ability. The former Sharks stopper has had an eye on his compatriot since Askarov was a teenager, and Nabokov sees the same attributes as all who’ve watched Askarov: the size, the athleticism and the ability to read and stay ahead of the play. Nabokov also noted that Askarov’s footwork and quickness is a step ahead of his peers.
However, despite Askarov’s abundant talent, Nabokov doesn’t want the Sharks to just hand the reins to the newcomer. “For us, what’s important is that he has to earn it,” Nabokov said. “That’s huge for us. It’s not all about how your structure is or your technique is. It’s more than that. With a No. 1 goaltender, it’s always the mental part of the game, the emotional part of the game, how you handle so many different things. Because if you want to be special, if you want to be that No. 1 goalie, it takes more than just being talented.”
If there has been any criticism of Askarov, it’s been the intangibles. But don’t misconstrue that as a knock against his personality. His bench-pressing celebration after shootout wins in the AHL isn’t an issue, nor is the edge he has to his game. “It’s a competitive sport, and we want guys who compete hard every night, play with emotion and play with fire,” Grier said. “Obviously, you have to reel it in and harness it in the right way, but it’s hard to play any sports at a high level without playing with emotion and fire.”
But Askarov has lacked consistency. In his two AHL seasons, he’s been among the league’s top netminders, appearing in the All-Star Game in both campaigns. He’s racked up 56 wins and nine shutouts in 92 regular-season outings on the farm. But Askarov also fumbled his starting gig in consecutive post-seasons, and he has posted a combined .897 save percentage and 2.85 goals-against average in the playoffs.
Few will begrudge a goalie of Askarov’s age for not being a finished product, though, and the Sharks signing him to a two-year, $4-million extension shortly after his arrival is an indication that while they believe in his ability, they aren’t hitching their wagon to him quite yet.
All that means is that Askarov, with the Sharks in the nascent stages of a full-scale rebuild, will have room to grow. He’ll be given time to develop, to slip, to stumble. He’ll even, according to Grier, accept more time in the AHL if need be, which was reportedly a sticking point for Askarov prior to moving to San Jose. And then, when the time comes, it will be up to Askarov to prove he can be the No. 1 he believes he can be. “For me, it’s all about how bad do you want it,” Nabokov said. “That’s what it comes down to.”
This article appeared in the Oct. 7, 2024 edition of The Hockey News. In this edition, we turn to goaltending, putting a focus on three-time Stanley Cup champion goalie, Marc-Andre Fleury, during the final season of his NHL career. Also in this issue, we analyze which teams have the best and worst tandems in the league. In addition, we take a look at the six revealed PWHL team names and logos following the league's inaugural season.
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Playoff Division: Is It Time to Change the NHL's Post-Season Format?
The NHL has more or less maintained its current Stanley Cup playoffs format – a divisional gauntlet with wild cards – for a decade. Changing it is possible, but it's easier said than done.
For 10 years now, the NHL's Stanley Cup playoff format has emphasized divisional rivalries. In this excerpt from the special-edition 2024 Champions issue, The Hockey News' Jared Clinton looks back at the pros and cons of the league's post-season format.
When the 2023-24 NHL post-season concluded – when the Stanley Cup was awarded, the parties started and the parade plans were finalized – the NHL put a bow on a decade of its current playoff format.
Pedants, perhaps, will offer a correction. It’s been nine years, really, given the pandemic-altered playoffs of 2019-20 saw the addition of a qualification round, and, wait, what about the one-off full-scale divisional realignment necessary to complete the 2020-21 season? OK, fine. Give it an asterisk, but the point stands that the league has stuck with at least some version of its four-division-plus-wild-card-combatants arrangement for the past decade.
More than simply a tidy milestone, there’s significance to the NHL’s commitment to its post-season structure. Notably, it’s the second-longest stretch the league has gone without fine-tuning or altogether reorganizing the path to the Stanley Cup since 1967 expansion.
For some, that the format has remained unchanged brings comfort. Nothing wrong with leaving well enough alone. But among other sections of the greater hockeysphere, including portions of the fan base, pundits, players and management, familiarity has, as it is wont to do, bred a level of contempt. A system that was once shiny and new has become tiresome, or its faults have become increasingly apparent, leading to everything from murmurs to outright calls the league should amend its playoff procedures. And making a change wouldn’t be without precedent, particularly at this precise moment in the world of major sports.
Of the so-called big four leagues in North America, the NHL is the only circuit that hasn’t revised its post-season structure since 2020. Further to that, the NHL is the only one of the four leagues that has held out on playoff expansion, with each of the NFL, MLB and NBA expanding their title tournaments the past five years by way of win-and-you’re-in showdowns or additional wild-card spots. And for each of those leagues, it’s been a massive boon to television ratings. The NBA, for instance, reported a record-setting average of 3.2 million viewers over the six play-in games it held ahead of its 2024 playoffs.
In spite of this, the NHL has held fast that it does not see the benefit in following suit.
“We’re not giving any thought to expanding the playoffs,” said NHL commissioner Gary Bettman during a pre-playoff press conference. “We have no interest in it. What we have is working very well. When you look at how our playoffs play out – the number of six- and seven-game series, the competitiveness of it – nothing in anybody else’s playoffs rivals that.”
There won’t be many who argue. But it’s worth noting that if the NHL has no intention of adopting a play-in procedure similar to the NBA, Bettman and Co. have, in fact, flirted with the idea in the past – and the option to at least broach the subject in an official manner exists in the current collective bargaining agreement.
Indeed, in the CBA between the NHL and NHLPA that was ratified in January 2013, the same agreement that was later extended in July 2020 as part of the league’s Return to Play following the COVID-19 outbreak, Article 16.2 states the Players’ Association has consented to a “playoff qualification round” consisting of four teams from each conference playing in best-of-3 series. Though not specified, logic dictates such a play-in round would pit the seventh seed against the 10th seed and eighth against the ninth.
Equally fascinating is the language wasn’t written anew in the CBA that ended the 2012-13 lockout. Instead, the proviso is a holdover from the deal that concluded the 2005-06 stoppage. The document notes the NHL was permitted by the NHLPA to adopt the qualification round in either the 2005-06 or 2006-07 season without the need for any additional green light. That no such play-in came to pass in either of those campaigns following the NHL’s lost year doesn’t render the Article obsolete, though.
“If the league desires to implement a playoff qualification round with respect to future NHL season(s),” the CBA reads, “it may only do so with the consent of the NHLPA, which shall not be unreasonably withheld.”
That last bit, of course, is the wrinkle, and it’s not as though the players haven’t exercised their power to shoot down changes to league structure in the past.
In January 2012, the NHLPA threw a wrench in a “radical realignment plan” that had been approved by the NHL’s board of governors a month earlier. A similar realignment and a pivot to today’s playoff framework were included in the divisional revamp that took effect after the ratification of the current CBA.
If we’re to take the league at its word and assume there’s no interest in an expanded playoff universe, though, is there an arrangement the suits and skaters would all agree on?
Well, remember that bit about the divisional playoffs’ status as the second-longest-tenured structure? The first was the one that existed from 1998-99 to 2013, known more colloquially as the one-versus-eight format. Though the NHL’s version was not a true one-versus-eight, as division winners were seeded first through third based on their point totals, with the five next-best records earning the fourth through eighth seeds. The design is considered in some corners the platonic ideal of post-season play. And it has support.
In the time since the present format was introduced, along with its two rounds of intra-division play, a number of players – including the likes of Steven Stamkos, John Tavares and Nazem Kadri – have expressed displeasure with the playoff configuration. As recently as the 2023 All-Star Game, Sidney Crosby made his feelings clear.
“I like one to eight,” Crosby said. “The regular season, as difficult as it is, teams should be rewarded, and I guess that’s probably the best way that you should be rewarded.”
This is an excerpt from Jared Clinton's feature story on the NHL's playoff format, which appeared in The Hockey News' 2024 Champions Issue.
In this video, Adam Proteau offers his perspective on the NHL's playoff format:
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Connor In Calgary: Zary's Journey from the Prairie Rinks to the NHL Flames
Flames winger Connor Zary proved himself a solid NHL player this past season. And in this magazine excerpt from THN's 2024 Rookie issue, writer Jared Clinton profiled Zary as he set out to become a long-term piece in Calgary.
Depending on the company you keep, the saying, “Saskatchewan is difficult to spell but easy to draw” is either considered a fun-loving slogan or a wry jab about provincial plainness.
Among locals, it has doubtless served as both. And while city-slicking outsiders have made a habit of distilling the sparsely populated territory down to one defined by six months of flat farmland and six months of frigid and unforgiving cold, many who call the province home learn to love it, coming to embrace the charm and, yes, climate to make figurative and literal hay. Connor Zary is among them.
There is a tell, however, that Zary has perhaps had a difficult time explaining all there is to love about his home to those who haven’t experienced life on the prairies. It comes in the way the Calgary Flames rookie prefaces and then professes his love of playing on an outdoor rink.
“I know it might sound crazy that you could love winter…,” Zary starts, before explaining that while he didn’t exactly spend his youth wishing away the summer months, his favorite time of year was when the double-digit temperatures dipped then disappeared, with falling snow and windchill warnings arriving in their place by October. So deep-seated is Zary’s zeal for twirling around the outdoor ice that the 22-year-old somehow found himself green with envy all the while three months into living his big-league dreams.
“My buddy was sending me pictures and texts because they were going to the outdoor rink the other day,” Zary said. “Obviously, it’s a little different that we’re older now, but it kind of made me feel jealous. I’m here playing in the NHL, and I was pretty jealous of my buddies who were just at the outdoor rink in Saskatoon.”
Despite it seeming an obvious rite of passage for many Canadian kids, it bears repeating just how much Zary cherished his time at community-center rinks, on ponds or any slapdash surface he could carve up.
Whether it was at the park located a slapshot from his family home or on the backyard sheet that Zary begged his parents to build, hardly a day went by when he wasn’t braving the elements to sharpen his skills or test a cheeky new deke. Before games. After games. It didn’t matter. And it’s all that time spent, as much as anything, that helped Zary develop the offensive tools – poise with the puck, playmaking vision and a shot with power and precision – that caught scouts’ eyes early.
In time, his offensive abilities were what drew the attention of the Flames’ brain trust, particularly after Zary turned heads with a top-five scoring season with the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers. His 86-point performance in 57 games in his third year on the circuit was the precursor to Calgary making him a first-round selection (24th overall) in 2020, and Zary has followed a steady upward trajectory in the time since.
The pandemic-related delay to the start of the 2020-21 WHL season allowed him to see nine games of AHL action, where he notched three goals and seven points, and that cup-of-coffee stint with the Flames’ farm club set the table for Zary to dive head-first into the pro game the following season.
Long is the list of players, though, whose major-junior success didn’t instantly translate to effectiveness in the AHL overnight. It can be a difficult adjustment, and there were some teachable moments during Zary’s time in the AHL.
Don Nachbaur, whose coaching career spanned 20 WHL campaigns and a fistful of professional gigs prior to his landing as an assistant coach with the Flames’ AHL club in 2021, said one of the first things Zary had to learn was the speed of the game.
“What really jumped out at me, a lot of young guys come into the pro game and they get a little intimidated and forget what their skill set is,” Nachbaur said. “(Zary) grabbed pucks in the AHL and, for me, probably hung on to them too long. We wanted him to move it a little quicker, so that was a process. But as far as compete, going to the right areas to make plays, going to the right areas to score, he had a good upbringing.”
And, in point of fact, upbringing happens to be precisely the word. Because while the finer details and his offensive skill set have been carefully crafted, the determination that’s a hallmark of Zary’s game – or the “little junkyard dog” mentality, as Nachbaur called it – was instilled while growing up.
“That’s just something my dad beat down into my brain, that if you get to the front of the net, you’re going to get rewarded eventually,” Zary said. “It’s easy to get away from that, especially when you get to junior or you become older or a higher-end player because you can play on the outside. That’s something that (Nachbaur) reminded me of, that you get inside those dots, you get inside the house, inside the crease, and that’s where the puck is eventually going to come to score a goal.”
This is an excerpt from Jared Clinton's article in THN's 2024 Rookie issue, in which the Flames winger Connor Zary's road to the NHL, love for the game and experience in Calgary were analyzed as he put up solid numbers in limited appearances for the Flames in 2023-24. Here's THN's Adam Proteau with more on Connor Zary:
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Anaheim Ducks' Olen Zellweger Is a Lot Better Than 'Just OK'
Olen Zellweger may not be overly impressed with his pro debut in the Anaheim Ducks organization, but just about everyone else is.
By all accounts, Olen Zellweger is precisely the type of young player every team would be thrilled to have.
He’s dedicated to his craft, receptive to coaching and even has those intangible, take-him-home-to-meet-the-folks qualities that clubs seek when they talk about drafting the player and the person.
But it’s our unfortunate duty to report that, in one particular area, the Anaheim Ducks prospect is not to be trusted.
Asked to evaluate his own adjustment to the professional game, Zellweger offered that he was “just OK” in the early part of the season. And it’s here that Zellweger must be admonished, because “just OK” is a lie.
While readily acknowledging there’s more to the game than what appears in the summary, and especially so for a blueliner such as Zellweger, it’s difficult to accept his assessment. The ho-hum attitude about his performance suggests he struggled or outright failed to display the attributes that saw him twice named the WHL’s top defenseman. Neither is true.
Matter of fact, the evaluation is particularly challenging to square considering Zellweger opened his pro career with a two-point night for the San Diego Gulls and proceeded to notch four goals and 17 points in his first 20 AHL games.
This is, though, who Zellweger is: an inexhaustibly driven youngster whose goal isn’t to be good but great. So, perhaps it makes sense he’s critical of his near-point-per-game production to start his pro career. Anything less than out-and-out excellence doesn’t seem to pass muster.
“I was definitely having a lot of highs and lows throughout that time,” he said.
By Zellweger’s measure, he really started to come into his own by January. That’s when he started to feel like he was moving his feet and making dangerous plays with the puck, akin to his days in major junior. That this period culminated with being called up to the NHL for the first time was no surprise.
Despite registering an assist and averaging 16 minutes per game, Zellweger had his big-league stay end after four games and without promise he’d be back before the season was up. The Ducks wanted him to focus on his two-way game and defending, which are the most difficult adjustments for young blueliners. But the taste of the NHL motivated the 20-year-old.
“I was just really hungry and determined to be my best and get called back up,” he said. “I really found confidence in my game.”
This is an excerpt from Jared Clinton's profile of Olen Zellweger, which appears in The Hockey News' 2024 Champions Issue.
To access the full article and gain entry to read thousands more stories from The Hockey News, you can subscribe to the magazine at THN.com/Free. Your subscription includes full access to more than 76 years of articles at The Hockey News Archive.
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On the Prowl: Sam Reinhart's Time with Sabres Helped Him Stick to the Process in Florida
Florida Panthers forward Sam Reinhart enjoyed a spectacular season in 2023-24, winning a Stanley Cup in the process and picking a great time for a breakout 57-goal season.
What contributed to Sam Reinhart's 57-goal season that took the NHL by surprise? Check out this excerpt from The Hockey News' Playoffs Special edition, lightly edited with updated information.
Sam Reinhart has historically been more tortoise than hare.
And before anyone takes umbrage with the comparison, let it be said this is not a comment on his ability to get up and down the ice. Sure, he’s not going to be throwing his hat in the ring to compete for the fastest-skater crown anytime soon, and his 21.9 miles-per-hour top speed is listed in the inauspicious “Below 50th” percentile in the league’s newfangled player-tracking data, but that’s only because Reinhart prefers, ahem, economy of movement. Yeah. Let’s go with that.
In all seriousness, Reinhart is self-aware enough to know he’s not the quickest straight-line skater. He’s also conscious enough about his own output to know that hitting the ground running has never quite been his thing.
Nine seasons into his NHL career – or a decade, if you want to count his nine-game cameo as a 19-year-old – Reinhart has never scored in the opening game of the season. He’s found the scoresheet on occasion on opening night, registering three assists, but it’s taken him an average of six games off the top of each of his big-league seasons to open his goal account.
But battling through and emerging from the other side of a slow start can teach a player a thing or two. It’s why Reinhart often looks back to his 2017-18 season.
Then in the final season of his entry-level contract with the Buffalo Sabres, Reinhart was saddled with expectations. Fresh off a 17-goal, 47-point sophomore season, Reinhart was expected to continue to break out and take a step toward becoming one of the Sabres’ offensive leaders. The No. 2 pick overall three years earlier was also supposed to help usher in a new generation of on-ice success in upstate New York. The reality was that 20 games into the season, Reinhart had three goals and eight points for a five-win Sabres outfit.
“You’re trying to get a deal; you’re trying to give yourself the best opportunity to get the best deal you can, so, obviously, there’s that added pressure,” Reinhart said. “But that first half of the year, the numbers really were not supporting my case. I was able to stick with it and, obviously, turn it around. I had a very good second half. Just being on short-term deals my whole career there, you were able to play through some tough things, build some confidence in some tough times. And I think that shaped me a little bit.”
“There are times where it feels like he doesn’t even look at you, but he’s finding a seam and hitting you right on the tape.” - Evan Rodrigues on Sam Reinhart
Again, we go back to the tortoise. Whereas the Aesopian hare is best characterized by a rapid, brash and boastful start, its adversary is the representation of calm, cool and confident consistency. In a variety of ways, the lessons that Reinhart, 28, learned through his early-career trials in Buffalo – which ended with his trade to sunny South Florida in July 2021 – have molded him in that model.
Statistically, and particularly when it comes to filling the net, Reinhart has become a known quantity. He’s an eight-time 20-goal scorer. Prior to this past season, he’d averaged nearly three points for every four games. And better yet, his coaches have understood what they were going to get on a nightly basis – a responsible, versatile forward who’s more substance than style.
Reinhart plays the type of game, according to former Sabres and current Panthers teammate Evan Rodrigues, that often goes underappreciated. And having first been Reinhart’s linemate in Buffalo and again now in Florida, Rodrigues knows more than most about what Reinhart brings to the table.
“There are times where it feels like he doesn’t even look at you, but he’s finding a seam and hitting you right on the tape,” Rodrigues said. “Those little things, you don’t recognize as much until you’re playing with him. He’s very strong on pucks in the corner, he doesn’t lose many wall battles, he hangs on to pucks, and he makes it look easy when he does it. He doesn’t do it in a flashy way with overly dramatic plays, but it seems like every play, he just makes the right play.”
And now, he’s making those right plays more than ever. Reinhart cinched up a personal best in goals and points and was top-two in the NHL in power-play (first), shorthanded (second) and game-winning goals (second). Most impressive about Reinhart’s output, though, aside from the fact he bucked his own trend by flying out of the starting blocks, is that the results continue to be a product of process rather than any desire to pad his stats.
To wit, in a contract year, and with the pressure on for him to produce as he sought a long-term pact, Reinhart remains the diametric opposite of what one might call a volume shooter.
Perhaps there are those who would argue with Reinhart’s approach, suggesting that nearly a decade into his career, he should start ripping the puck a bit more. Undoubtedly, there’ve been coaches along the way who’ve tried to get him to pull the trigger more often. But that’s never been his game. He’s never kneeled at the altar of the almighty Pucks On Net.
Reinhart entered this season having only registered 200-plus shots on goal in a single season on one occasion, the 2022-23 campaign, in which he lit the lamp 31 times. To give that some context, Mark Scheifele and Brayden Point are the only players with more goals but fewer shots than Reinhart over the last nine seasons. It’s exclusive company.
This is an excerpt from Jared Clinton's story in The Hockey News' Stanley Cup playoffs 2024 special edition, in which Sam Reinhart was put in the deep-dive spotlight. He has since signed an eight-year contract to remain with the Panthers and, more importantly, captured the Stanley Cup.
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As NHL Expands Video Review, How Can It Strike A Balance Between Accuracy and Speed?
As the NHL expands its video review process, it's worth considering how it can make accurate calls while balancing quantity, quality and efficiency.
The offside that wiped out a Zach Hyman goal in a January contest between the Edmonton Oilers and Chicago Blackhawks wasn’t a matter of a foot but the smallest fraction of an inch.
From where Connor McDavid was sitting, the entire situation – the review, the time it took to rule on the offside, and the resulting no-goal call – felt farcical.
“If it takes you 15 minutes to determine if it’s offside or not, it probably doesn’t matter,” McDavid said. “I talked to the linesman after. Ultimately, it’s not their call, I guess. Obviously, they said it came down from the league. You zoom in, you zoom in, you keep zooming in until you can’t zoom in anymore, and I guess it’s offside.”
If McDavid is displeased with the almost Zapruder-esque state of the various replay reviews in the NHL, though, he’s not about to get any happier. In March, at their annual meeting, NHL GMs voted to expand the scope of the coach’s challenge – which currently allows for review of offside, goaltender interference and missed stoppages – to include puck-over-glass and high-sticking penalties, for the sake of rescinding the infractions. The proposed changes passed through the NHL/NHLPA competition committee and the board of governors in June to officially amend the rulebook.
The concern from those who sympathize with McDavid’s stance is that broadening challengeable plays will lead to an increase in video reviews, and particularly those of an especially forensic nature. With that comes the fear of longer stoppages, less flow in play and an altogether less exciting product. But Colin Campbell, the NHL’s senior executive VP of hockey operations, takes umbrage with such anxieties.
Speaking with reporters at the March meetings following the proposal of expanded review (and after refuting McDavid’s assertion about the length of that specific January review: “It didn’t take us 15 minutes,” he said. “It took us four minutes and 15 seconds.”), Campbell specified he believes the current system is working and will continue to work with the new additions.
“We try to make the right call,” he said. “We try to get as many of the right views as we can with technology, and it seems to be improving constantly. It might linger for five or six minutes in that game, but if you get the wrong call, it could linger for five or six weeks or longer.”
There is merit to Campbell’s assertion that sacrifices need to be made for the sake of accuracy. Ask a Calgary Flames fan about the 2004 Stanley Cup final or, to use a more contemporary example, a Vegas Golden Knights fan about the phantom five-minute major that preceded one of the most stunning collapses in playoff history in 2019. (Since this issue has a ’90s bent, we could point to the infamous Wayne Gretzky high stick on Doug Gilmour to placate the unrelenting Toronto Maple Leafs faithful, but that play wouldn’t have been reviewable under modern rules.)
But if the way to mitigate these circumstances is to expand review, the NHL’s challenge is to make accurate decisions while finding the balance between quantity, quality and efficiency. It should be acknowledged the league, for whatever missteps it has made in implementing the coach’s challenge since its introduction in 2015-16, has done well to reduce the frequency of challenges.
Consider that, per morehockeystats.com, there were more than 260 coach-initiated reviews in each of the first four seasons after the challenge was introduced. The majority of those were failed challenges: success rates varied from 27.9 to 39.6 percent from 2015-16 to 2018-19, which speaks to the trivial nature of challenges in those seasons. In 2017-18, to combat those frivolous reviews, the league instituted a delay-of-game penalty for failed offside challenges. It produced immediate results. There were 293 challenges in 2017-18, down from a record 381 the season prior. And the NHL’s continued efforts to tweak and tune its rulebook to reduce the number of challenges has worked. This past season saw 232 challenges, the fewest in the nine years since their introduction, and the per-game rate has been in decline over the past six seasons.
Far more difficult to address, however, is arriving at the right decisions quickly, though perhaps there are ways in which the NHL could rely on technology to get there – and they can draw on an event such as the 2022 FIFA World Cup as a test case.
This is an excerpt from Jared Clinton's feature story in The Hockey News' Top 90 Of The 90s issue, which put the spotlight on the NHL's efforts to improve its video review process.
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Detroit Red Wings Are Back in the Playoff Hunt While Continuing to Develop Their Future
The Detroit Red Wings knew their rebuild would take time, but a change in philosophy means they're back in the playoff hunt while the future continues to look bright.
The Detroit Red Wings were oh-so-close to a playoff spot in 2023-24. That said, their prospect pool has a lot of promising talent as the 'Yzerplan' continues. Here's an excerpt from The Hockey News' Future Watch 2024 issue in February, which is available for you to get at THN.com/free:
After the applause and the thank yous, after recounting his history in Detroit and what the city meant to him, after he had shown appreciation for outgoing GM Ken Holland and expressed his gratefulness for the Ilitch family, Steve Yzerman’s first act as Red Wings GM was to urge the fan base to temper its expectations.
This was April 19, 2019, and Yzerman understood the excitement. It was the return of the prodigal son, even if those are, in no uncertain terms, not the words he would have used.
But here was Yzerman – a franchise legend whose decorated playing days included three Stanley Cups and a mantle’s worth of individual hardware – back in the Motor City. He had strayed from his adopted home not long after his post-career foray into management, leaving for the Tampa Bay Lightning, where he constructed the foundation of what became a miniature modern dynasty. His executive career included Olympic gold and World Championship gold. And though such things are subjective, Yzerman was considered among the NHL’s best architects, his 2015 GM of the Year award backing up the claim.
Yet, still, Yzerman encouraged calm. He asked for patience, intimating he could not replicate what he had built in Tampa Bay overnight.
Ushered in by a string of three first-round exits, Detroit’s 25-season post-season streak had ended in 2017. Upon Yzerman’s hiring, the Red Wings had experienced three consecutive early summers. And it had all been precipitated by the departure of stars. Pavel Datsyuk headed for the KHL in 2016. Henrik Zetterberg hung up his skates in 2018. Nicklas Lidstrom’s exit came even earlier, in 2012, but Niklas Kronwall had done his best to paper over the cracks until his own retirement in 2019.
Yzerman wasn’t taking over the Cup-winning Red Wings. He wasn’t even taking over the shell of those teams. So, he levelled with the fan base: this wasn’t going to be easy.
“There’s a lot of work to be done,” Yzerman said. “This organization and this fan base, as you all know, is used to winning and being successful. We’ve got a lot of work to do, and depending on your age, you know that this takes time.”
But even the most pragmatic fan can get swept up in romanticism. It was difficult to look at what Yzerman had accomplished with the Bolts without having visions of a Red Wings resurgence. At their height, the Wings had become the paragon of competitiveness not only in the game but in all of professional sport, a model organization that was, for a time, the destination for the NHL’s title-hungry stars, each of whom knew the path to glory almost inevitably wound its way through the now-shuttered Joe Louis Arena. Surely, the thinking went, the Red Wings would rediscover that former glory now that Yzerman was at the helm.
Somewhere amid this fervor, ‘The Yzerplan’ was born.
Four-and-a-half seasons later, the Red Wings still haven’t sniffed the playoffs. In a business where careers are made and reputations tarnished on the basis of wins and losses, that might be enough for another GM to get his walking papers. But that Yzerman has been given leniency and more than a little latitude should come as no surprise. After all, he was allowed to take to the business of reshaping the Red Wings following his arrival less with pruning shears than with gasoline and a blowtorch.
When he was unveiled as GM, Yzerman referred to a core, the centerpiece of which was Dylan Larkin. In that regard, nothing has changed: the Michigan born-and-bred Larkin is now the Wings captain, and even then, he was the heir apparent for the ‘C.’ But different fates have befallen Anthony Mantha, Andreas Athanasiou, Tyler Bertuzzi and Filip Hronek, the other players Yzerman cited on that day as part of the foundation. None of those four are still with the Wings. In fact, Larkin and Michael Rasmussen are the only NHL regulars remaining from the roster that Yzerman inherited.
Though this dismantling took place over the course of the past four seasons, the broader picture it paints is instructive of what exactly Yzerman’s grand designs were for the Red Wings, at least initially.
“If we follow the process, we do our job right, and, truthfully, we get a little bit of luck,” said Yzerman during his introductory press conference, “we’ll get back to where we need to, where we’re expecting to be.”
This is an excerpt from writer Jared Clinton's feature in The Hockey News' Future Watch edition, where he took a deep-dive look at the Red Wings and their road back to Stanley Cup playoff relevance.
To read the full article and much more, they're all available to you with a subscription at THN.com/Free. Your subscription includes access to more than 76 years of exclusive articles at The Hockey News Archive.
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The Calgary Flames Are Getting Ready To Reignite
The Flames may have dulled for now, but with a boatload of draft picks to add to a core and prospect pipeline, it might not be too long before Calgary is back in it.
On Jan. 10, 1962, the sleepy town of Pincher Creek, Alta., tucked 200 kilometers south of Calgary and a stone’s throw north of the Canada-U.S. border, was penciled into the history books.
On an otherwise unassuming day, its roughly 3,000 residents arose to greet a frost-bitten morning and battle subzero temperatures. As the day rolled on, however, so did a mass of air, which rumbled and rose over the Rocky Mountains only to spill over the downslope and pour toward Pincher Creek. In time, the warm, dry winds reached the town, which was then warding off the chill of a cold that had reached minus-19 Celsius. But as the gusts enveloped the region, the mercury began rising. In one hour, degree by degree, the temperature rose to a suddenly sweltering high of 22 Celsius. The 41-degree single-day swing remains a Canadian record.
There’s a name for the meteorological event that caused Pincher Creek’s record-setting day and often creates wild weather throughout southern Alberta. They’re called Chinook winds – or what some aptly refer to as snow-eaters. They also happen to be the reason Calgary has a tongue-in-cheek civic slogan for the city’s climate: if you don’t like the weather, wait five minutes. It’s to the great benefit of Calgarians that they’re familiar with these winds of change, too, because over the past two seasons, they’ve been blowing through Stampede Park and right into the Saddledome.
Indeed, in many ways, the roster the Flames trotted out for their final game this season is unrecognizable from the one that finished third in the Western Conference with 111 points just two years ago. Only six skaters – captain Mikael Backlund, Blake Coleman, Andrew Mangiapane, Walker Duehr, Rasmus Andersson and Oliver Kylington – and goalie Dan Vladar remain from 2021-22’s Pacific Division-winning crew. For context, only the San Jose Sharks and Detroit Red Wings had fewer 2021-22 roster holdovers as of this season’s end. It’s an almost unfathomable level of turnover considering the heights the Flames had reached and the legitimate Stanley Cup-contender potential they so recently seemed to possess.
Tasked with getting Calgary back to that place is GM Craig Conroy, the longtime front-office understudy who spent nearly nine years in the assistant’s seat. And after his first year, the former Flames pivot undersells his whirlwind rookie season as GM with an aw-shucks response stereotypical of the 1,000-game NHL veteran he is: “It was definitely a busy year, to say the least.”
We’ll say. When he stepped into the post in May, he was staring down a coachless club and a roster replete with free agents-to-be. He took care of the former in short order, elevating Ryan Huska from the assistant post to the top job. The latter, well, that was more complicated, particularly as the organizational sea change unsettled some.
In late June, Conroy was pressed into moving out 2024 UFA Tyler Toffoli after a reported trade request. Before November was over, blueliner Nikita Zadorov had likewise asked to be moved, and Conroy acquiesced. And as rocky on-ice results put Calgary in the category of fringe playoff hopeful, it became clear the Flames were destined to be a dealer at the deadline.
Out went Elias Lindholm, soon followed by Chris Tanev and then Noah Hanifin. Of the seven pre-season pending UFAs, only Backlund and Kylington remain. (Backlund, now 35, signed for an additional two years at a lesser AAV in September.)
The notability of the subtractions paints a picture of a foundering Flames outfit. The standings tell a different story. Through a combination of Conroy’s dealings, quality goaltending and the graduation of prospects, Calgary managed to stay competitive, if not in realistic playoff contention, far longer than the incomings and outgoings suggest.
“We finally were able to bring guys up and give an opportunity, and we see that as a huge positive,” Conroy said. “You saw some guys take real steps, and obviously, moving forward, they’re going to need to take another step, because we’re not quite where we want to be.”
Perhaps what most defined the Flames in Conroy’s first campaign as architect are those opportunities, the embodiment of which are Connor Zary and Martin Pospisil.
For his part, Zary, 22, parlayed standout rookie and sophomore AHL campaigns and a white-hot start in the minor league this season into full-time NHL work. He responded brilliantly, putting up 14 goals and 34 points in 63 games, the eighth-best totals among NHL rookies.
As for Pospisil, whose early career fits and starts can be blamed in part on battles with the injury bug, the 24-year-old arrived and brought skill and sandpaper. The result was an eight-goal, 24-point and whopping 238-hit output in 63 games. Only nine NHL forwards bashed more bodies.
If there was any coup among Conroy’s early workings, however, it was Yegor Sharangovich, acquired along with a third-round pick for Toffoli.
Calgary’s GM chuckles now thinking back to the reaction to the swap (“People were not very happy,” he said). But what the Flames saw in the 25-year-old were hands, skill and smarts. What they didn’t see was that he’d lead the team with 31 goals.
“He had 24 one year, and you were hoping he could get back to that kind of number, but it’s a credit to him,” Conroy said. “He came in, worked hard, started on the first line, was on the fourth line, all over the place, and he never complained. Just worked hard and got better every day. He had a great season. I was happy to see him get 30. The sky is the limit for him.”
The Chinook sky, perhaps?
This is an excerpt from Jared Clinton's feature on the Flames in The Hockey News’ Draft Preview. To read the full article and much more, they're all available to you with a subscription at THN.com/Free. Your subscription includes access to more than 76 years of exclusive articles at The Hockey News Archive.
Adam Proteau discusses the Flames more with which veterans they should keep:
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'All Right, This Kid Has Got Something': Cole Eiserman Is the NHL Draft's Standout Sharpshooter
Cole Eiserman has worked tirelessly to hone his goal-scoring craft. But this NHL draft prospect is no one-trick pony.
The mid-October meeting between Boston University and USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program’s U-18 squad wasn’t an audition for Cole Eiserman so much as it was a showcase. But there were any number of reasons the standout American sniper entered the game under the microscope.
In part, it was a chance to prove he could be a future star for the Terriers, to whom he’d committed only weeks prior. It gave Eiserman the opportunity to go head-to-head with his former Shattuck-St. Mary’s teammate Macklin Celebrini, the consensus No. 1 pick heading into the June NHL draft. And it was another occasion for Eiserman to prove he can perform on a big stage under the bright lights.
“There were lots of pieces to that game,” said NTDP coach Nick Fohr, “and he just rose.”
In action, that looked like Eiserman receiving a pass in transition before making a perfect feed to Cole Hutson to put the NTDP ahead 1-0 less than five minutes in. It looked like Eiserman driving wide before tucking home a backhand less than three minutes later. And it looked like Eiserman adding another goal in the first period, another helper in the second and then completing the hat trick with a power-play blast in the third for a three-goal, five-point, six-shot, plus-four evening against his future club.
“I knew he could score,” Fohr said. “I knew he could do all these things, but that moment this year was like, ‘All right, this kid has got something there that gives him a chance to be a world-world-class hockey player.’ ”
That isn’t the first time that tag has been attached to Eiserman, mind you.
"When you start to get that label as a goal-scorer, it starts to become more of an external pressure. I like it. It drives me and never really keeps me satisfied, so I think it’s good to have." - Cole Eiserman
He first appeared in The Hockey News in 2022, then tabbed as the 22nd-best 21-and-under player in the world in Prospects Unlimited, and again last year in Draft Preview 2023, at which time he was projected as a top-two selection in the upcoming NHL draft. (Technically, he also appeared in 2013 in a feature about his older brother Shane, though Cole was referenced only as one of two then-seven-year-old twin brothers.)
Even before he graced these pages, though, he was tearing up the U.S. high-school circuit with Shattuck, all the while heralded as one of the next big things.
It’s never been all that difficult to ascertain why, either.
Though his per-game scoring rate has declined as the level of competition has risen from middle-school wunderkinds to legitimate elite-level NHL hopefuls, Eiserman has proven himself time and again to be the most gifted and pure goal-scorer of his draft cohort – and perhaps even any in the past decade.
Since the beginning of his 2020-21 prep-school season, he’s scored 290 goals in 233 games. That includes 58 goals in 57 games this season, bringing his NTDP total to an incredible 127 – one more than the previous record held by Cole Caufield.
“What I always tell people, especially when we start talking about Cole and his abilities as a hockey player, he does the hardest thing in hockey the best,” Fohr said. “Scoring, and scoring big ones, and scoring them when we need it. Being that go-to guy and the guy you can count on to score a goal for your team really every night.”
But it isn’t just that Eiserman scores. It’s that he’s set for himself the expectation that he will score and do so with a consistency few players can match. It’s enough that Fohr is only barely joking when he says Eiserman is upset with himself if he’s not scoring at least one a night.
“It’s a pressure I gave myself at a young age,” Eiserman said. “Whether it’s good or bad, I’ve always had that pressure on myself. Now, when you start to get that label as a goal-scorer, it starts to become more of an external pressure. I like it. It drives me and never really keeps me satisfied, so I think it’s good to have.”
This is an excerpt from Jared Clinton's feature on Eiserman in The Hockey News’ Draft Preview. To read the full article and much more, they're all available to you with a subscription at THN.com/Free. Your subscription includes access to more than 76 years of exclusive articles at The Hockey News Archive.
With more on which teams could be in the range to draft Eiserman, here's Adam Proteau:
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From Stick to Pickle: Kris Draper and Paul Holmgren Discuss the NHL to Pickleball Pipeline
Many former NHLers have been hit with pickleball fever, and that's led to a new initiative that aims to bring fans and players together on the court.
Look, despite its standing as one of the world’s fastest-growing sports, Kris Draper knows the name sounds ridiculous. Pickleball? Really? And truth be told, if the game was called just about anything else, perhaps he would have given it a shot sooner. That’s not to say he had to be dragged, kicking and screaming, onto the court, but it’s true that he couldn’t be bothered to pick up a paddle until the world was in the throes of pandemic-related restrictions and there was almost literally nothing else to do. That’s how, roughly three years ago, Draper was finally persuaded to step on the court.
Now? He’s obsessed.
Just so we’re clear, too, it is that Kris Draper we’re talking about. The four-time Stanley Cup champion, Selke Trophy winner and Detroit Red Wings assistant GM? One and the same. And it turns out, that first day on the court and a rematch the next day turned into an enthusiasm for the sport so deep that Draper can quicker tabulate the days he hasn’t played pickleball than those he has.
If you’re in need of more evidence, consider that Draper explained all of this moments after stepping off the court. Or that he competed in the Beer City Open in Grand Rapids, Mich. Or – and this is maybe most telling – that whatever scenic view his house might have once had is now instead a pickleballer’s paradise. “In 2013, I put a hockey rink in my backyard,” he said. “And that has now, in the summer months, been transitioned into a pickleball court, and I play there every day. Even if I’m not there, I have four people coming over and playing in my backyard. It’s open to all of them.”
Given he’s so passionate about the game – so much so that he plays whenever and wherever he can find a game, including when he was on scouting duty for the Red Wings – it’s no surprise that news of his pickleball affinity disseminated throughout the hockey world. It spread far enough, in fact, that it reached longtime Philadelphia Flyers player and executive Paul Holmgren, an avid pickleballer in his own right. Thus, when Holmgren helped co-found PBX Pickleball, among the first people he reached out to was Draper. And it wasn’t a hard sell.
What Holmgren explained to Draper was that PBX was an opportunity for former professional athletes to come together and compete with and against each other while also making time to give back to fans and supporters who were there throughout their big-league careers. The idea itself had first been brought to Holmgren by Mark Piazza, a former New York Rangers executive, and fellow co-founders Ken Byck and Kevin Wilson, the latter a former professional baseball player and coach, and the former leveraging his experience in the fantasy camp world to assist in building this brand-new venture. As much as it sounded to Holmgren like a great chance to relight the competitive flame in himself and others, he saw it as an opportunity for former NHL players to reunite and earn a bit of money on the side.
“Every step of the way, I’ve kept that in mind,” Holmgren said. “I’ve been very blessed and fortunate to be in the great game of hockey for as long as I’ve been, and maybe there are others who aren’t as lucky as I’ve been who could use a little help, whether it be financial or just the camaraderie or fellowship side that you get with playing a team sport.”
Holmgren, 67, hasn’t had to do much twisting of the proverbial rubber arms of ex-NHLers to get them on board. Draper was first, but the PBX roster has expanded since with the additions of Patrick Sharp, Dave Bolland and Freddy Modin, a trio with a combined six Stanley Cups and more than 2,200 NHL games. Al Iafrate, Mike Krushelnyski, Ruslan Fedotenko and Ulf Samuelsson are also listed as members of the NHL-to-PBX pipeline. And as if that’s not enough NHL notability, PBX also brought on Columbus Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen, who just so happened to be Draper’s daily opponent when the IIHF U-18 World Championship was held in Texas in 2021. “Jarmo and I created a good friendship through our passion for pickleball,” Draper said.
Already, the PBX crew has made their way down to Columbus for a training camp of sorts – some of the former big-leaguers squared off against legitimate pickleball pros – but the big launch isn’t expected until 2024, in large part because the details of PBX’s core experiences are still being ironed out. The most important of those experiences is the pro-am component, which will give fans the chance to take part in games alongside past NHL, MLB, NFL and NBA talent. “That’s something that all of us, to a man, we’ve talked about all the time whenever we’re doing our conference calls, giving back to the fans who were there cheering us on when we played,” Holmgren said.
That includes Draper, though it should come as no surprise that a former member of the Red Wings’ beloved ‘Grind Line’ is just as excited about the chance to test himself against the best of the best from the other major leagues. “Let’s be honest, we think hockey players are the greatest athletes that there are, and I’m sure you’re going to have three other sports, baseball, football, and basketball, that think otherwise,” Draper said. “And you know what? We get to see who’s right, and that’s the fun part of that. It’ll get very competitive and very heated very fast. That’s something that I love. And saying that right now gets the juices flowing.”
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Free To Be Me: PL Dubois Thrilled To Be With Kings
PL Dubois has a new start in Los Angeles, where he plans to just be himself – and win multiple Stanley Cups – after skepticism surrounded his second trade in nearly three years.
This feature on PL Dubois appears in September's Meet the New Guys Issue at The Hockey News. Find this article on the new Los Angeles Kings center, along with features on the Toronto Maple Leafs, Erik Karlsson joining the Pittsburgh Penguins, the new PWHL and much more by receiving the issue for free with an annual subscription here.
There Pierre-Luc Dubois sits, overflowing with joy, in a crisp, white T-shirt, tattoos poking out.
In fact, it seems it’s about all he can do to stifle a full, toothy and goofy grin, one seemingly teeming with equal parts overwhelmed excitement and relief, as he speaks about what his first handful of days as a member of the Los Angeles Kings have been like.
The relief bit stems from navigating his tricky relocation from the Winnipeg Jets, an arduous process that culminated with Dubois slapping his signature on an eight-year, $68-million contract extension and being shipped off to La La Land. As for the excitement, well, beyond moving from the Canadian Prairies to sunny Southern California and a team in transition to one on the upswing, there are at least 68 million reasons for that, even if house hunting in one of the most expensive cities in North America is right at the top of his to-do list.
There is, though, a strange undercurrent to the proceedings. On a day that should only be euphoric for all involved, there’s an air of skepticism. Not that this isn’t all real, mind you. Dubois is sitting right there, live and in living color. Los Angeles has indeed landed and locked in one of the top talents on the market. And Kings fans can celebrate the strengthening of their bid for Western Conference contention. Yet, as Dubois speaks to reporters about past visits to L.A., his goals for the year and where he’ll fit into the lineup, beneath the surface lie questions about whether this – his third team in four seasons – is where he’ll be to stay.
When the subject is finally broached, when he’s asked about whether this is a chance for him to rewrite the narrative that has surrounded him for the past few seasons, Dubois smiles again. He chuckles. And then he pinches the bridge of his nose.
It might seem absurd, especially as he’s formally meeting with media for the first time since his big-ticket acquisition and long-term signing. It’s also not a question most would expect of a player whose pact includes four years with a no-movement clause and three with no-trade protection. Then again, everyone understands why he’s being asked. It was less than three years ago, and just three seasons into his career, Dubois told the Blue Jackets he wanted out. Then, from the time he wound up in Winnipeg, few were the moments his future and whether he wanted one with the Jets wasn’t discussed. It did eventually become clear he didn’t have designs on remaining with the franchise, though that’s not to say his departure wound up acrimonious.
“Everybody looks at those decisions, and some people agree, some people disagree, some people think this, some people think that,” Dubois said. “Everybody’s entitled to their own opinion, but at the end of the day, it’s my life. I have to do what I think is right. And I had three unbelievable years in Columbus, three great years in Winnipeg, with both organizations I learned a lot and met some unbelievable people, but I felt like I was ready to move on to a new chapter in my career, in my life, and now I’m here in L.A., where I’ve signed an eight-year deal, and I couldn’t be happier.”
He’s right, of course. These are his decisions to make. And perhaps the handwringing around this nomadic span to start his career is a bit overwrought. It’s easy enough to understand why that would be. In a league and a sport that oftentimes appears allergic to personality to the extent of anaphylaxis, individualism is so often frowned upon. It doesn’t take much, rightly or wrongly, to get saddled with a reputation. And in Dubois’ case, demanding to be traded out of Columbus and the subsequent disinterest in putting down roots in Winnipeg has painted him in a particular light among a subset of hockey fans.
“I think I’m misunderstood at times, but I think a lot of people don’t really know me. And that’s fine.” - Pierre-Luc Dubois
The unfairness here is that Dubois, the third-overall pick in 2016, isn’t really much different from his peers, even among his draft class. Among the top 10 selections in 2016, only Auston Matthews and Clayton Keller remain with their original clubs, and there are 11 players from that first round who, like Dubois, are about to or have already played for their third NHL franchise.
It’s true some of those relocations were team- and not player-driven, but consider the case of 2016’s second pick overall, Patrik Laine, the man dealt to Columbus for Dubois. Laine’s move came amid rumblings he wanted out of Manitoba’s capital. The No. 6 pick in 2016, Matthew Tkachuk, made clear he had no desire to ink a long-term extension with the Flames before being shipped from Calgary to the Florida Panthers, and he has since only further solidified himself as one of the NHL’s great young leaders. And Jakob Chychrun, the 16th-overall pick in 2016, spent seasons – plural – requesting to be moved by the Arizona Coyotes.
Yet the perception of Dubois simply feels different. More charged. More contentious. Less reporting and more gossip column. It was enough that he admitted he had moments where he wanted nothing more than to “grab the microphone” and set the record straight himself.
“There’s times you read stuff and you’re like, ‘Wow, that’s not me,’ or ‘I never said that,’ or ‘I would never say or do or think that,’ ” Dubois said, “but in this day of social media, sometimes the most outrageous comments, they get the most attention.”
So, what about Dubois, specifically, even necessitates he rewrites some nebulous narrative in the first place?
For many, it’s an infamous, lackadaisical shift, ultimately his last in Columbus, in which he seemed lost, unengaged and frustrated, that earned him the ire of and a benching by then-coach John Tortorella. For that, Dubois’ drive, his heart, his desire, his passion – essentially any of the attributes the old-school, grit-minded, game-was-better-when types believe is what wins hockey games – has been called into question.
And, hey, Dubois said it himself: everyone is entitled to their opinion, and that shift wasn’t Dubois’ best. But while it was a lightning-rod moment, Dubois didn’t hesitate in January 2021 to point out the ludicrousness of all the pearl clutching. Asked about the shift in his first meeting with media upon becoming a Jet, he said he had done the math and noted that the shift was only one in an NHL career that had then spanned 300 games and 6,000 shifts across the regular season and playoffs. Those numbers have since climbed to more than 450 and 10,000, respectively. Not every one of those has been a Picasso. But the vast majority of Dubois’ time in the NHL has been such that he was not just a steady and reliable two-way contributor but also a prolific offensive force for both the Blue Jackets and Jets during his tenures with those clubs.
“Whether you finish your career with 800 points or 843 points, if you didn’t win, you didn’t win.” - Pierre-Luc Dubois
But none of this is anything Dubois wants to talk about anymore, not really, despite how graciously and thoughtfully he handles the questions. He’s not looking back or living in the past, he said. Instead, he wants to view this next chapter in Los Angeles as an opportunity to showcase a different side of himself.
“I think I’m misunderstood at times,” Dubois said, “but I think a lot of people don’t really know me. And that’s fine. Sometimes, in this world, it’s hard to get to know guys. You know, my mom always tells me to show my personality more in interviews, but sometimes you can’t, you know? So, I think now it’ll be a fun opportunity for me to just be who I am and not show anybody, not prove to anybody, but just fully be me.”
What exactly does that mean? As far as the on-ice aspects, it’s not so difficult to dissect.
When Dubois is himself, playing to the apex of his ability, he’s the same hulking, physical, hardnosed pivot he’s been since the day he arrived in the NHL as a 19-year-old. Now that he’s 25, he refers to himself as an “old young guy.” He’s been around the block a few times, inching closer toward his 500th big-league contest and fresh off one of the most successful campaigns of his career. In 73 games last season, playing with all of the contract uncertainty hanging over his head, Dubois notched 27 goals, one shy of his career high. He reached new heights with 63 points. He was a focal point of the power play. And he averaged 18:27 per outing, working hard to become difficult to handle in all three zones.
What being himself most certainly is not is seeing the zeroes on his paycheque and believing he needs to be the type of player who values ultimately meaningless milestones. As nice as a big, round number like 30 goals would look on his resume, he doesn’t seem at all concerned with ticking off those boxes. If statistical success is a by-product of his play? So be it.
“Whether you finish your career with 800 points or 843 points, if you didn’t win, you didn’t win,” Dubois said. “That’s the only thing on my mind. And to be around this group and all of the things I’ve heard this week, I haven’t met everybody yet, but the people I have, the only thing on everybody’s mind here is to win, and nothing else matters.”
Among those for whom winning is all that matters, and no doubt among the most important figures in Dubois’ journey to elevate his game in Los Angeles, will be Anze Kopitar. Dubois cites the Kings captain as a childhood favorite, and he sees the opportunity to work alongside Kopitar as one that can help him elevate his game, adding and honing the elements necessary to mold Dubois into the franchise cornerstone he’s now paid to be.
Whether Dubois is playing down the middle or on the wing, he believes he can grow by soaking up Kopitar’s knowledge, understanding his preparation and absorbing the shift-in, shift-out details that make Kopitar one of the NHL’s best two-way centers. None of this is unlike how the new King came to understand the game in the first place: learning by osmosis, watching game tape with and getting quizzed by his dad, former professional blueliner and current AHL Manitoba Moose assistant coach Eric Dubois.
What this next chapter looks like for Dubois away from the rink is more difficult to pin down. Though he cuts an imposing figure and speaks with confidence, the reservedness he hinted at when suggesting his mom wanted him to showcase his personality won’t subside overnight. But that’s not to say he won’t open up little by little.
He’s prideful, for instance, when speaking about the work he was set to do back in Rimouski, Que., with the Pierre-Luc Dubois Foundation. Formerly known as the Vincent Lecavalier Foundation, Dubois took the reins and helped it start anew when Lecavalier – yes, that one – decided it was time to take a step back.
Dubois jokes a bit, too, about being something of a good-luck charm when visiting other pro-sports clubs in Los Angeles – the MLB Dodgers won with Dubois on hand, and the Galaxy pulled off an MLS upset as he watched on. He even allows a peek into his off-ice interests when he excitedly speaks about checking out Los Angeles’ neighborhoods and seeking out coffee shops and dining spots, name-checking the world-renowned Nobu Malibu as one eatery he’d already hit.
In fact, talking about the never-ending list of recommendations that have come his way in the short time he’s been with the Kings seemed to thrill him, and his love of exploration seems to be something he comes by honestly. In tow during his dad’s on-ice and coaching career, Dubois regularly found himself adapting to new surroundings. The first year of his life was spent in England. He learned to skate in Germany. Then, the family was off to Baie-Comeau and Rimouski, before Dubois set out on his own to pursue his big-league dreams.
Maybe most important about this version of Dubois, however, is that it’s one who is content not only with his on-ice situation but his off-ice one, too. The ink on his deal has dried. He’s a Los Angeles King. And his pact suggests he’ll be one for the next eight years. So, after spending the better part of the past few seasons in the rumor mill for one reason or another, perhaps finally, at long last, all the will-he-stay-or-will-he-go chatter can subside.
“The stability is something that feels good, but now it’s also in my mind that I’m ready to get to work,” Dubois said. “Eight years is a long time, and the dream and the objective is obviously to win a Stanley Cup, but you don’t want to win just one. You want to win a couple, and the effort and the sacrifices you make in Year 1 can pay off in Year 8. You never know when you’re gonna win, but I think if you set yourself up every year, you have a good opportunity, and I’m just really excited to get (to Los Angeles) and to know this is where I’ll be for the next eight years. I’m just really thrilled right now.”
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Arizona Coyotes' Hayton: Grin and Barrett
The cerebral Barrett Hayton is set for even greater offensive returns after persevering through struggles early on in his career.
Heading into Barrett Hayton’s draft year, scouts keeping tabs on the then-Soo Greyhounds standout described him in many ways. “Hardworking” was among the top descriptors, as were comments about his two-way play. But perhaps Hayton’s most impressive attribute was one he showcased off the ice. At the OHL’s 2018 awards ceremony, Hayton, boasting a near-90 percent average, accepted the Bobby Smith Trophy as the league’s scholastic player of the year.
That alone, of course, would be impressive enough, but it’s all the more admirable given Hayton wasn’t exactly taking the path of least resistance. Among his courses were university-level classes in math and science, including advanced functions and data management.
So, as the Coyotes prepare a move to Arizona State University’s campus – the NHL club will share a facility with the NCAA Div. I men’s program for the next three seasons – is Hayton considering hitting the books again? “I wouldn’t rule it out of the equation,” he said. “Right now, obviously, being so busy and being so focused, it’s something I don’t really see myself doing in the near future, but it’s something that’s good to have in the back of your head if you want to one day pursue that.”
Fair enough. And it makes sense Hayton isn’t yet ready to jump into what ASU might have to offer, given the 22-year-old pivot is currently on the fast track to a big-league education.
Consider this season, in which Hayton parlayed a four-game stint in the AHL into full-time NHL duty. He said that starting the campaign in the minors put a bit of a chip on his shoulder, and it was evident once he got the call to join the big club in late October that he had no intention of going anywhere. The Coyotes’ coaching staff made that clear, too, putting Hayton in a sink-or-swim position rather than slowly ushering him into the lineup.
Case in point: Hayton averaged 11:17 of ice time across 34 games in his first two NHL seasons but skated more than 15 minutes in his first NHL contest this season and eclipsed the 18-minute mark five times in his first 15 games. It no doubt helped Hayton’s cause that there was familiarity with Coyotes coach Andre Tourigny, an assistant on Canada’s World Junior Championship club that Hayton captained to gold in 2020. “I took a lot of pride in earning minutes, earning matchups, earning ice time in different situations throughout the game,” Hayton said. “It was something I was ready for. I always want to be that player who plays big minutes and is impactful on the game. It was something I really strived for, and I felt comfortable when I was in that situation.”
But while Hayton was getting opportunities to kill penalties and play key defensive minutes for the Coyotes, a role in which he felt he was excelling, he was critical of his offensive output. He mustered only two goals and six points in 26 games before being sidelined by a hand injury in January. It wasn’t up to his standards. “Coming through that second half, the end of February and March and the rest of the season, I really wanted to generate more offense, have a bigger impact offensively, be a bit more creative and dynamic,” he said. “That was a focus of mine in that last stretch. I felt that I was able to learn a lot there, get a good feel for what that takes.”
The numbers bear that out, as Hayton posted eight goals and 18 points in Arizona’s final 34 games. And though that might not seem an otherworldly total, only Phil Kessel, Clayton Keller, Shayne Gostisbehere and Nick Schmaltz contributed more to Arizona’s meager attack during that stretch. Hayton’s production provided a window into what he can mean to a Coyotes squad looking for a core group who can, at long last, lead the franchise to sustained success.
The opportunity to be such a player isn’t at all lost on Hayton, either, and he welcomes the responsibility. In fact, it’s something Hayton said he and others – he name-checks Keller and Schmaltz – take pride in, adding they’re hungry to prove the
future is bright in the desert.
As for his own game? Hayton isn’t shy about what he wants to accomplish. “My development over the past couple years has progressed, progressed, progressed,” he said, “and personally, I want to reach my highest potential and get everything I can out of my game. That was reciprocated by the coaching staff. Everyone wants your trajectory to be as high as it can. They spoke on some identity stuff and all that in my game, stuff to dial in on
in the off-season, and to be ready to come in next year and have a big impact.”
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Logan Cooley is Ready for the NHL Draft Spotlight
If opponents aren’t attentive, Logan Cooley can become hockey’s answer to the ‘invisible gorilla’ when he’s on the ice. His savvy and 200-foot game have vaulted him to elite-prospect status ahead of the 2022 NHL draft.
Let’s talk about the Invisible Gorilla.
In 1999, researchers Daniel Simons and Christopher Chabris set out to study inattentional blindness, the phenomenon of failing to perceive something happening in plain sight. In doing so, the pair conceived of the Invisible Gorilla Test. In a 24-second clip, two three-person teams, separated into black and white shirts, passed a basketball to teammates while bobbing and weaving around each other. The study tasked participants with watching the clip and counting the white team’s passes.
The majority of those who participated correctly counted the 15 passes. What roughly half of those participants missed, however, was the person in a gorilla suit passing directly through the frame. Upon rewatching the clip, of course, the gorilla’s cameo is clear as day. But, hey, you’re looking for it.
In a sense, that experience – that how-didn’t-I-see-it befuddlement – is akin to watching Logan Cooley’s game tape. Just ask Brian Mueller, the executive director of hockey development and programming for the Pittsburgh Penguins Elite program. Mueller was behind the bench as an underaged and undersized Cooley dazzled against players one year his senior, playing for the U-16 team in 2019-20. Often, Mueller only saw Cooley’s true brilliance when rewatching the games on video. “That’s what I was always amazed with,” Mueller said. “ ‘OK, I remember the goal, but how did that goal get set up?’ And there were so many times where it was like, ‘Holy cow, he set that goal up 10 seconds before we actually scored.’ It’s those subtle little plays that if he didn’t do that or see the play before it was going to happen, the play would have been dead. That’s where I really took an appreciation for what he does and what he can do.”
Mueller isn’t alone in his assessment; just about anyone you ask will trumpet Cooley’s hockey IQ as his defining on-ice characteristic. Mueller, who coached big-league prospects such as Jack Drury, Jacob Pivonka and Spencer Stastney, said he has yet to come across another youngster with a mind for the game quite like Cooley. Adam Nightingale, the bench boss of the U-18 squad for USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program, said the first thing he noticed upon joining the program two seasons ago was Cooley’s smarts. And Brent Darnell – a former NTDP assistant coach and now assistant director of player personnel – made it sound as though catching Cooley out of position is about as rare as spotting Bigfoot.
It could just be that his mind comes with the territory. Cooley is the nephew of two Div. I college players, and there’s an argument to be made his hockey IQ is innate, that it’s simply part of his genealogical makeup. That he has three cousins who either played or are playing elite-level hockey gives the natural-gifts view some credence. More likely, though, is road-hockey summers and backyard-rink winters spent competing against his bigger and stronger older brothers acted as his stick-and-skates study hall. Eldest brother Eric played this year at Ohio State, while middle brother Riley last played in the NAHL in 2019-20. In those 1-on-1-on-1 games, the baby of the Cooley brothers learned to outwit rather than outmuscle.
“Being the younger brother, I always had to work as hard as I could just to even catch up to them,” Cooley said. “Just in general, too, we have a group of buddies that played junior or college, and their friends were older. So, going against my older brothers and their older friends helped push me big-time. It’s one of the reasons I’m at where I’m at today, because of how hard I had to work.”
Cooley has shown that work ethic in the effort he’s put into rounding out his skill set. More specifically, the 18-year-old pivot developed his two-way game to become a 200-foot threat. Arriving out of AAA hockey, it had been enough at times for Cooley to take a game into his own hands and control the flow of play with his offensive gifts. He could score his way out of trouble. But NTDP life required newfound attention to detail in his own zone.
If you haven’t already guessed, Cooley is a quick study. So, when Nightingale feeds him a tip here or there mid-game, puts the time in during practice to give the youngster pointers or sits him down to watch master-of-the-craft Patrice Bergeron at work, it pays dividends in a hurry. Cooley’s scouting reports often cite his defensive responsibility and reliability in all three zones. And Cooley understands its impact on his appeal to teams at the top end of the draft. “It’s one of the reasons I feel my stock has grown, because of the way I play both sides of the puck,” he said.
Can’t argue with that, given he has risen from being a likely top-10 pick as of last summer to now being a projected top-three selection in July’s cattle call. And the improvement in the defensive side of his game is such that Nightingale believes it has become part of what separates Cooley from his peers. “When the draft comes here, teams are going to make decisions on guys and really the decision is, how can this guy help us win a Stanley Cup?” Nightingale said. “Logan is one of those guys. If I’m a team looking and I’m making a decision, I definitely think when you watch him play, this is a guy that helps us win because he does play 200 feet.”
The irony is the players Cooley cites as his greatest influences are the antithesis of the two-way-pivot profile he seemingly fits. Rather, he sees himself as a Clayton Keller or Patrick Kane type. Cooley wants the puck on his stick. He wants to use his speed and beat defenders. His creativity and smooth stickhandling make him a constant offensive threat. And his numbers are impressive: 78 goals and 197 points in 160 games across all competitions in his two NTDP seasons.
Sure, some areas could use work. His shot, for instance. Cooley has been working on his strength, too, and has been filling out his frame as he prepares to make the leap from the NTDP to the NCAA, where he recently changed commitments from Notre Dame to the University of Minnesota. Having watched him for two seasons, however, Nightingale asserts that the attributes that make Cooley successful offensively are those which he already possesses, the most important of which might be his knack for finding teammates and raising those around him to his level. “I think that he really, truly does have a gift,” Nightingale said.
And if you’re not already, here’s the part where you really start to root for the kid: that on-ice selflessness is a carryover from the way he lives his life off the ice. Mueller, Darnell and Nightingale are all are quick to praise Cooley’s character. Despite coaching him at a time when most adolescents have a nose for nuisance, Mueller said Cooley was one player that he never had to worry about. Darnell used the descriptor “low-ego kid.” And Nightingale heaped on the praise, saying Cooley is “low maintenance, like zero maintenance. Doesn’t expect special treatment, knows it’s about team, and you can tell his parents have really done a nice job of raising him to be respectful,
humble, appreciative.”
That’s all especially impressive given it has no doubt been impossible to shelter himself from the draft hubbub. It would be easy to get a big head when all the chatter surrounding you isn’t as much about whether you’ll be drafted as it is if you’ll be going in the top three. And hey, Cooley could lie. He could say he hasn’t thought about that at all, hasn’t checked the prospect rankings, spied a mock draft or two. Instead, he’s willing to admit his curiosity has gotten the better of him, but there’s not an ounce of insincerity to his aw-shucks attitude about his spot on those lists.
That doesn’t mean there haven’t been times Cooley has been swept up in it all. It’s a whirlwind, one he’ll only experience once in his life. But if ever there was a time it all got to be a bit much, he didn’t hesitate to lean on his family. And it was in conversation with his dad that Cooley would be reminded about the days when none of this mattered, when the game was just about a stick, a puck and the chance to go out and have some fun.
“When you put that aside and I focus on what I love to do, which is play hockey and try to enjoy it, that’s when things really started to take off,” Cooley said. “I didn’t let the noise get to me. It is every kid’s dream to get drafted to the NHL, so that’s something you have to enjoy and take it day by day.”
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Cole Perfetti: Loose From the Moose
Thanks in large part to some unexpected AHL seasoning, Cole Perfetti has quickly swapped the ‘prospect’ tag for ‘full-time NHLer’. And he's thankful for the journey.
Note: This article originally appeared in The Hockey News' Future Watch issue.
Cole Perfetti would be quite all right with never having to pull on a Manitoba Moose jersey ever again. And it's unlikely he ever will.
He’ll be the first to tell you he has faith in what the Jets have planned for him. At its root, this is a matter of not only seeing the grass is greener but being able to enjoy what the pasture has to offer.
“The NHL lifestyle, the dinners, the private planes, playing in front of 20,000 people, everything about it is just everything you dream of and as advertised,” Perfetti said. “It really is. It’s unbelievable. And as much as I love the Moose, love the guys, had a great opportunity, great chance, and great time there with them and learned so much and am grateful for everything I had with the Moose, once you’ve had that taste of the NHL, you never want to go back to the ‘A.’ ”
Inextricable from Perfetti’s story, however, will be what the league will have meant to his career. He was among the rare few who could be used as case studies for what elevating top-tier prospects to the AHL instead of relegating them to an additional season of pounding on their junior peers can do for a player’s development. As a result of the OHL’s initially postponed and later cancelled 2020-21 campaign, and thanks to the AHL opening its doors during the pandemic-shortened season to prospects orphaned by league shutdowns, Perfetti had the opportunity to spend last year getting a grasp on what life was like at the next level.
“To get the chance in the AHL and to do the same the first half of this year has helped so much with the little things,” he said. “Playing the right way, learning both sides of the puck, all that kind of stuff. Learning the man’s game is a big difference. When most kids were taking a step back and not getting any better, I was fortunate enough to take a step forward in my hockey career. So, to learn the pro style, that was huge for me.”
It was also a crash course. Selected 10th overall by the Jets in 2020 on the heels of an outrageous 111-point season with the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit, Perfetti couldn’t have had any reasonable expectation that he’d be spending the following season playing against the pros. That’s particularly true given the Jets’ model of development is one that distinctly takes its cues more from the tortoise than the hare. Yet there was Perfetti, a little more than a month after helping Canada to silver at the 2021 World Junior Championship, lining up in the AHL.
Statistically, the early returns weren’t bad. He scored his first pro goal in his first pro game. Through seven games, he had two goals and four points. Pretty good for a kid who describes himself as “not the biggest, not the fastest,” and said he needed to find a way for his game to translate. But to Jets assistant GM and Moose GM Craig Heisinger, the middling offensive production masked some larger deficiencies. “He was able to contribute somewhat on the power play early on in the AHL season last year,” Heisinger said. “The struggles at 5-on-5 continued.”
Perfetti can agree with that assessment. He’ll even add things didn’t really start to click until about his 10th game, which is a sentiment Heisinger readily echoes. Perfetti was beginning to figure out how to see soft spots in coverage, how to create offense from defense and the necessity of being on the right side of the puck. It added up to a sizable leap in the back half of the season. His point-per-game performance – 22 points in his final 22 games of 2020-21 – is enough to bear that out, and Heisinger noted a marked change in Perfetti’s ability to contribute at five-a-side. It was much of the same when Perfetti landed back in the AHL early in this season, too.
“He was able to pick that up at the start of this year and nothing was a surprise,” Heisinger said. “And the (AHL) certainly stepped up a notch, because it was back to where it normally is with no taxi squads. He was able to be a factor, and being able to do that as a 19-year-old is really, really challenging and a credit to him.”
His play didn’t go unnoticed or unrewarded, either.
When the Jets found themselves in need of reinforcements as injuries and ailments took a bite out of the squad, Perfetti was among the first plucked from the AHL, on Dec. 31, the day before he turned 20. On Jan. 18 – five games into his NHL career – he was raising his arms and drifting face-first into the glass celebrating his first NHL goal, a well-placed wrister fired home on a 2-on-1 against the Washington Capitals. “I’ve never anticipated scoring a goal more than that,” he said. “Dreamed of it since I was two years old. To have that come true, to score, it’s relief, joy, happiness. You work so hard and your family puts so much time and effort in, it’s almost like a celebration. Scoring that first goal was like, ‘Wow, I’m here now.’ ”
Just being there isn’t enough, though. Perfetti wants to be there to stay. And to make that a reality, Perfetti knows he needs to take a page out of his time in the AHL. That means getting that little bit better with each passing game until he gets to the point he feels he’s finally starting to break through. He’s done enough to impress the Jets. He’s been with the big club throughout 2022, which resulted in his shift from Future Watch “prospect” to “21-and-under NHLer”. Before the status change, he was easily Winnipeg’s No. 1 prospect and would’ve ranked among the top 10 in our league-wide rankings.
An injury prematurely ended his season, but he's just getting started. As change looms in Winnipeg, expect Perfetti to be a huge part of the team's future.
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Bruins' Jeremy Swayman is a Student of the Game
Young Bruins stopper Jeremy Swayman learned some valuable lessons at the University of Maine. Among them: being a goalie isn’t rocket science – and finding a good pair of ballet slippers may just take you to the next leveL
What makes writing about Jeremy Swayman difficult isn’t that he has no story to tell. Quite the opposite. The challenge, rather, is figuring out where to start – what provides the best window into the bright-eyed, bushy-tailed and gregarious netminder who has, in short order, stolen the hearts and minds of the Bruins faithful.
On the one hand, the feigned agony he employs when reminiscing about his now-dearly departed Doris, a Chevy Tahoe that chugged its way to a 200,000-plus-mile existence before leaving Swayman’s life, speaks to his good humor. That there’s also a hint of earnestness speaks to his sentimental side.
On the other hand, one can explore the free-spirited personality of the 23-year-old by detailing the indelible mark he left on current Maine Black Bears goaltenders. That isn’t by finishing as a Hobey Baker Award finalist, by the way. Not by winning the Mike Richter Award, either. No, it’s that other thing – the ballet thing – the one where his decision to add the performance-dance elective to his course load during his junior year led Maine assistant and goalie coach Alfie Michaud to encourage the new batch of stoppers to take the class, too. And hey, Swayman will vouch for what it did for his balance and body awareness, not for a second tongue-in-cheek.
But anecdotes shared by friend and off-season goalie coach P.D. Melgoza perhaps best encapsulate Swayman. Days after Swayman’s first start at the Bell Centre, in March 2022, Melgoza said Swayman didn’t care to talk about the actual game so much as how cool it was to play in Montreal. It points directly to Swayman’s sincere, egoless, kid-in-a-candy-shop mentality. Melgoza hammered the point home when describing Swayman’s reaction to getting beaten by Tampa Bay Lightning sniper Steven Stamkos. “He was laughing when we were talking after,” said Melgoza. “ ‘Dude, one-timer from Stamkos, no one is stopping that. But how cool is it that’s happening?’ That’s just the kind of guy he is. Salt-of-the-earth kind of guy.”
As much is evident in Swayman wistfully reflecting on a childhood spent in Alaska. While kids growing up may have dreamed of bright lights and big cities, there’s not even the slightest indication the Anchorage native was the type to wish his way out of the Alaskan wilderness. When others were quick to flee for elite-level major junior, Swayman delayed his departure to the Lower 48. He felt it more important to spend every second he could with his family. Even today, Swayman’s voice is tinged with regret when he talks about his junior hockey days.
“I was so bummed because we had so many talented kids that were leaving the state so early, so the level of play would go down when all these kids would leave,” Swayman said. “If we all stayed in Alaska together, we would have a pretty legit, competitive team. That was the moment where it was getting realistic that if you wanted to get elite exposure with scouts and other teams that I was going to have to leave eventually.”
“Eventually” arrived in 2015, when Swayman left home for Colorado to play for the North American Prospect League’s Pikes Peak Miners. His journey then took him to USHL Sioux Falls the following season. Much of his transformation into the goaltender he has become, however, took place upon his arrival at the University of Maine in 2017. More specifically, it took place under the watchful eye of Michaud.
As Swayman explains, inquisitiveness defined his earliest days as a Black Bear. Swayman would want to talk X’s and O’s with Michaud, be it positioning, save selection, or just about anything to do with the position. And while care for the craft can be what separates
upper-echelon netminders from those whose high-school glory days are relived ad infinitum, Michaud wanted Swayman to get out of his head. “He would just say, ‘It’s not rocket science. Just stop the puck.’ And that shaped my understanding,” Swayman said. “It is just a game, and if you compete, do whatever you can to stop the puck, it doesn’t matter how it looks. It just simplifies things for me, and it’s kind of a life mantra for me, too.”
One needn’t search high and low to find evidence of what that credo means to Swayman, either: “It’s Not Rocket Science” is emblazoned on his mask. And embracing simplicity was metamorphic for Swayman, who arrived at Maine a promising prospect and left at the college game’s zenith. Though he had excelled during his first two seasons as a Black Bear, Swayman put his stamp on the program in his third campaign, winning the NCAA’s top-goalie honors with a .939 save percentage, three shutouts and an NCAA-best 1,099 saves.
Unfortunately, Swayman’s collegiate career ended with a pandemic-related whimper. Cancellations cost Maine its chance at a Hockey East title, and Swayman, on a path to early graduation, inked his pro deal with Boston one week after the official nixing of the conference tournament. That his business management degree was in reach (and has since been completed) checked one box for Swayman. But he had another in mind. “I definitely had visions and goals set for myself, and I knew I wanted to be an NHL goaltender for the Boston Bruins, especially being drafted by them,” said Swayman, selected 111th overall in 2017. “I wasn’t going to stop until I got that.”
He didn’t have to wait long. Though he yo-yoed between the taxi squad, baby Bruins and big club throughout 2020-21, he was making NHL starts by last April. His .945 save percentage through 10 games gave Boston’s front office an indication of the caliber of keeper they had discovered, too. And by the Bruins’ post-season run last spring, Swayman was backing up Tuukka Rask. “Getting to go to the rink with him every day last year was a dream,” Swayman said. “When you’re there, you kind of want to pinch yourself, but at the same time, he’s your teammate, so you want to treat him with that respect, too, and not giving him the awe, the gaze. He wants to be competing, he wants a competitor, and that’s what I wanted to do, be the hardest competitor out there to make each other better.”
The same steel-sharpens-steel approach persisted through the early part of this season when goalie Linus Ullmark arrived as a free agent as an injured and unsigned Rask stepped away from the game to recover. And when Rask’s rumored return came to fruition in January, another approach – the same control-what-you-can-
control outlook he adopted back in Maine – kept Swayman grounded. Of course, Swayman couldn’t have known he’d be back in Boston so soon, nor could he know it would come at the expense of Rask’s career. Rask landed on the injured list four games into his return. Not even two weeks later, he announced his retirement. That cleared a path for Swayman, who hasn’t looked back since.
Before Rask’s return, the netminder’s specter loomed over the B’s crease. Every mention of Swayman – or Ullmark, for that matter – was punctuated with an “if,” “when” or “but,” the sentiment being that Swayman and Ullmark were placeholders. Rask’s retirement, however, sent Boston into the post-Rask era a year or two (at least) earlier than planned. Yet Swayman, who will end this season shy of 60 NHL appearances, has already used his natural athleticism, in-crease battle and positional awareness to instill in the Bruins a measure of confidence in a seamless transition from Rask to a new No. 1.
“Just from his first cup of coffee until now, the biggest thing when I watch, for me, is that he’s trusting his edges a lot more, staying on his feet, staying patient, not oversliding. He’s upright, and I think he’s doing a really good job at reading,” Melgoza said, expanding on the growth he’s seen in Swayman. “A lot of it is adjusting to the speed of the game. His hockey IQ has definitely grown and almost his ability to just stay patient, let the game come to him. It’s been a big jump from Day 1 until now.”
The goal now for Swayman is to build, not only on his in-crease experience but on the things that will make him mean as much to the organization as the netminder from whom he’s taking the reins. A non-bubble campaign has gone a long way in that department, said Swayman, who expressed that his bond with his teammates has grown day by day, road trip by road trip. The same goes for understanding the travel schedule, the toll of a long season and the ways in which to stay in the mental and physical condition necessary to shoulder the load. But next comes the most difficult hurdle, and that’s backstopping the Bruins when the games matter most, and ensuring he has the faith of an Original Six franchise that has built a culture of success.
“I want this team to believe in me, I want this city to believe in me, and I think it’s such a great family to be a part of, the Bruins, because it extends all over the world,” Swayman said. “It’s just such an incredible team and franchise to play for, and to be known as one of the goalies for this team is an incredible honor. I’m hungry for more and want to do everything I can to help this team win games.”
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Most Improved Prospects in The Hockey News' Future Watch Rankings
Whether going from unranked to the middle of the pack or jumping into the top 10, these prospects made huge leaps from 2021 to this year’s THN top-100 list.
Whether going from unranked to the middle of the pack or jumping into the top 10, these prospects made huge leaps from 2021 to this year’s THN top-100 prospects list from the recent Future Watch issue, available here.
Marco Rossi, MIN2021: 19 // 2022: 9
Rossi went from missing an entire season to top-tier prospect. His adjustment to the professional game has been seamless, as evidenced by his scoring at a near point-per-game clip as an AHL freshman.
Topi Niemela
2021: N/A // 2022: 35
From third-rounder in 2020 to top of the prospect chart in Toronto. He’s producing at a prolific rate from the blueline as a teenager in Finland’s top league. He’s not that big, but Niemela is smart, fast and skilled.
Kaiden Guhle
2021: 34 // 2022: 16
His Canadian captaincy at the WJC was cut short, but the big blueliner’s mix of offensive acumen and defensive deftness has the Canadiens looking as though they’ve found themselves a future blueline pillar.
Ridly Greig
2021: 94 // 2022: 43
The Senators’ late first-rounder in 2020 has added an additional offensive element to his game, while his physical nature and willingness to stir the pot will win fans over.
Scott Perunovich
2021: 68 // 2022: 25
The 2020 Hobey Baker Award winner’s minor-league excellence earned him an NHL opportunity, and he didn’t disappoint. Perunovich has the makings of a power-play quarterback and top-four defender.
Daniil Tarasov
2021: NR // 2022: 59
Tarasov is best equated to a fresh cut of prime beef: raw and in need of some seasoning. Given his brief NHL spell, though, Columbus’ goaltending situation could be ironed out for the foreseeable future.
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