Articles in Non-NHL Talk

from Bob McKenzie of TSN,

There is no doubt whatsoever who will be taken No. 1 overall in the talent-laden 2023 NHL Draft.

Beyond that, though, at Nos. 2 through 5? Well, grab the popcorn because it’s going to be quite a show. It will be fascinating to see in what order a handful of elite prospects not named Connor Bedard are chosen on June 28 in Nashville.

That much became evident when compiling TSN’s 2023 NHL Draft Top 12 Ranking, the Draft Lottery Edition. And we will at least find out in Monday’s NHL Draft Lottery (8 p.m. ET) which clubs will win the Nos. 1 and 2 picks in this year’s draft and the order of selection.

While every scout surveyed by TSN had Bedard as the obvious and clear-cut No. 1, four other gifted prospects earned consideration from the scouts at No. 2, behind the phenom.

Those four prospects include: University of Michigan dominant offensive Canadian centre Adam Fantilli; surging U.S. Under-18 National Team Development Program centre Will Smith; Swedish two-way centre Leo Carlsson; and dynamic Russian goal-scoring winger Matvei Michkov.

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from ESPN,

The NCAA men's Frozen Four in Tampa, Florida, is loaded with star power as Minnesota, Michigan, Quinnipiac and Boston University vie for the national championship.

Minnesota, Michigan and Quinnipiac all were No. 1 seeds in their respective regionals, while BU was a No. 2 seed. The Frozen Four has plenty of offensive punch, as the national semifinalists all rank in the top four in the country in scoring (Michigan, 4.22 goals per game; Minnesota, 4.21; Quinnipiac, 3.95; BU, 3.90). Quinnipiac also is No. 1 in scoring defense, allowing just 1.54 goals per game. Minnesota ranks sixth at 2.24, BU 16th (2.56) and Michigan 42nd (3.08)....

The four teams have a total of 40 NHL draft picks on their rosters, including eight first-rounders.

The Frozen Four will be at Amalie Arena, home of the Tampa Bay Lightning, with the national semifinals Thursday and the national championship game Saturday. Every Frozen Four game will be on ESPN2 and will be available to stream on the ESPN app and ESPN+....

Schedule

All times Eastern

Frozen Four
at Amalie Arena, Tampa, Florida

April 6: National semifinals (ESPN2/ESPN+)
Boston University vs. Minnesota, 5 p.m.
Quinnipiac vs. Michigan, 8:30 p.m.

April 8: National championship game, 8 p.m. (ESPN2/ESPN+)

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43 years ago today.

via TSN's YouTube page,

The Ukrainian Men's Under-25 National Hockey Team are determined to keep playing despite the war.

In an effort to support their country in the best way they can, the team traveled to Canada for the Hockey Can’t Stop Tour and raised over $1,000,000 for humanitarian and hockey programs across Ukraine.

from Ryan Kennedy of The Hockey News,

Over the weekend, the Carnegie Initiative held a summit in Toronto, gathering big names from around the hockey world to both celebrate and speak on inclusion in the sport. Named after recent Hall of Fame inductee Herb Carnegie, whose legacy is being carried on by his family, the Carnegie Initiative held a number of symposiums on Saturday featuring some very interesting panels.

One such talk was a forum entitled Creating Sustainable Change, hosted by Sportsnet's Donnovan Bennett. He was joined by new Hockey Canada Chair Hugh Fraser, NHL senior executive VP Kim Davis, Team Trans founder Daniel Larson and U-16 Toronto Young Nats forward Ajay Rai....

Early on in her tenure with the NHL, she reached out to Dr. William Frey of the Brookings Institution, someone she had known from her days in the financial sector. Davis asked Frey to look at the Gen Z and Millennial demographics in every NHL market, and his research found that in 23 of the 31 markets (this was in 2019, before Seattle joined), those groups were so multicultural that calling them 'minorities' wasn't even mathematically accurate.

Which is to say that if the NHL and the hockey world at large wants to keep bringing in new fans, the sport has to make sure that all communities feel welcome.

"It's really going to be a missed opportunity if we don't embrace different communities that will be important for our future," Davis said. "We want a movement, not a moment."

Davis, whose own son stopped playing hockey in the Chicago area due to racist taunting, noted that it's not just outward acts of hatred that can turn someone off the game, but that hockey needs to be "culturally available" and explicitly inclusive. She used the analogy of someone walking past a building filled with people having a good time - it's not enough for those outside to just be able to look through the windows; someone needs to open the door and welcome that person in to join in on the fun.

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from Caitlan Foley of BlueJackets.com,

Yost Arena is one of the most historic arenas in college hockey.

Recently, former Wolverines Nick Blankenburg and Kent Johnson had the opportunity to go back to the University of Michigan's 100-year-old venue to receive their Frozen Four and Big Ten championship rings and also watch their former teammates take on the Ohio State Buckeyes.

Being an Ohio State student-athlete, I was curious to see how Yost Arena differed from your normal college rink. I had heard about how the University of Michigan had a different atmosphere when it came to college hockey but wanted to see it for myself.

Before going up to Ann Arbor for the Jan. 13 game, I had the chance to talk to both Blankenberg and Johnson to get their perspectives on what sets Yost apart from everywhere else.

"It's hard to explain, but once you step into the building and see the atmosphere and the student section … you will see the energy," Blankenberg said. "It will be pretty cool on Friday night, especially against Ohio State."

Being the Buckeye I am, I was a little hesitant to fully believe that Yost could be so much different than the other rinks I had been to. But after attending the game (and watching the Buckeyes win 7-2) I have to agree with Blankenberg. Yost was unlike any hockey rink I had ever been in before.

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from Mike Johnston of Sportsnet,

If you’ve ever tuned into 560 CFOS, you’ve likely heard his voice. If you’ve ever glanced up at the J.D. McArthur Arena announcer’s booth during an Owen Sound Attack game, or attended any other local sporting event in the Grey Bruce Area over the years, chances are you’ve seen Fred Wallace hard at work.

Dale DeGray, the longtime general manager of the OHL’s small-yet-storied franchise, sums it up like this: “Fred is Owen Sound.”

Wallace has been the voice of the Attack for more than three decades while working at Bayshore Broadcasting.

“He’ll know more about the players stats than I will,” DeGray joked, “He’ll be able to tell you anything as far as that goes, but it’s also not uncommon for me to call him up and he’s recently interviewed a rower or a speed walker or anything like that in the area, so Fred knows all the sports people, anybody that’s passed through Owen Sound, I wanna say, in the last 20 years.”

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Below is today's HDIC schedule.

NEW YORK (Jan. 13, 2023) – Connor Bedard (North Vancouver, B.C.), a center from the Western Hockey League’s Regina Pats, ranks No. 1 among North American skaters for the 2023 Upper Deck NHL Draft as the NHL Central Scouting Bureau today released its mid-season rankings presented by BioSteel. Bedard, who was just named Most Valuable Player at the 2023 World Junior Championship while leading the tournament in scoring and helping Team Canada earn gold, all at the age of 17, can become the first WHL skater selected first overall in the NHL Draft since Oilers forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins in 2011.

from Adam Kimelman of the NHL website,

On Tap for the semifinals

All games on NHL Network in U.S., TSN and RDS in Canada

Czechia vs. Sweden (2:30 p.m. ET) -- Czechia's only loss in the tournament came 3-2 in overtime against Sweden on Thursday. It also lost 3-1 to Sweden in the bronze-medal game at the 2022 WJC in August, denying the country its first World Juniors medal since winning bronze in 2005.

Czechia has 15 players back from the team that lost to Sweden in August, but avenging what happened then is not its focus....

United States vs. Canada (6:30 p.m. ET) -- Connor Bedard, the expected No. 1 pick of the 2023 Upper Deck NHL Draft, summed up the U.S.-Canada rivalry when he said, "What else is better? What else do you want? I think that's something that everyone in the country, everyone in the continent, is going to be pretty excited for."

The United States has been led by its top line of Logan Cooley (Arizona Coyotes), Jimmy Snuggerud (St. Louis Blues) and Cutter Gauthier (Philadelphia Flyers), who combined for 10 points (six goals, four assists) in the win against Germany in the quarterfinals. Cooley, who is second in the tournament with 11 points (five goals, six assists) had three goals and an assist against Germany.

"It's going to be a great experience," U.S. defenseman Ryan Ufko (Nashville Predators) said. "Every kid kind of dreams about playing Canada in some type of game. We're going to be prepared, they're going to be prepared. It'll be a great game."

more on each of the games...

It will be Sweden vs Czechia at 2:30pm ET and Canada vs USA at 6:30pm this Wednesday.

The best game from today was Canada/Slovakia. Slovakia forced the game to go to overtime, then in OT this happened.

Games are on the NHL Network and TSN.

FIN vs SWE 11am ET

CZE vs SUI 1:30pm

USA vs GER 4:00pm

CAN vs. SVK 6:30pm

Semifinal games are on Wednesday January 4th

Game 1 2:30pm ET

Game 2 6:30pm

Gold Medal Game is on Thursday January 5th at 6:30pm.

from Steven Ellis of The Hockey News,

Most top prospects have the spotlight on them at a young age, but when there’s legitimate “generational” potential – whatever that means to you – that’s magnified. And Bedard is again showing on the top stage of junior international hockey why he’s one of the greatest prospects in the game right now – and among an elite group of superstars that have stood out above the rest....

I polled some scouts at various levels of the game to get a read on what makes the player we can all see dominating his peers so good. With 14 points in just three games, he’ll have no issue passing the post-2000 single-tournament points record of 18, set by Jordan Eberle and Trevor Zegras. He has 14 goals all-time at the WJC to tie Eberle, too, and should have no issue overtaking him before long.

And sure, 13 of the points came against two bottom-feeders, but there’s a bit of nuance behind that. He’s the one creating the damage. Bedard is also on pace for 140 points in the WHL, and he has 48 points in just 27 games with Canada in overall international play. This isn’t a kid kicking the butts of teams that can barely register a shot – he’s better than everyone he plays against, simple as that.

The first thing everyone notices is his NHL-level shot. Bedard isn’t big at 5-foot-9, so he uses a 70-flex stick. For reference, you start seeing pre-teens and young teenagers using that as they finally start building body mass. But he gets so much torque out of every shot, and his release is both quick and deceptive. Bedard can place a shot anywhere he wants, from any angle and regardless of how much pressure he’s dealing with.

“The kid doesn’t waste much time setting up a release,” a scout said. “He doesn’t even need to wind it up much. He gets so much power in so little time. He’s getting a shot away before a defenseman can make the motion for a poke check every single time, and that’s not hyperbole. He’s going to score 60 in the NHL, and more than once.”

more

from Adam Kimelman of the NHL website,

Monday is the first day of the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship, which is being held at Scotiabank Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and Avenir Centre in Moncton, New Brunswick.

Latvia vs. United States (4 p.m. ET) -- Latvia has 15 players back from its surprising trip to the quarterfinals in August, including forward Sandis Vilmanis (Florida Panthers), who has 24 points (11 goals, 13 assists) in 29 games with Sarnia of the OHL. The United States will be looking to improve from its disappointing 4-2 loss to Czechia in the quarterfinals. The defense, led by Luke Hughes (New Jersey Devils), is skilled and mobile, and the top line of Cutter Gauthier (Philadelphia Flyers), Logan Cooley (Arizona Coyotes) and Jimmy Snuggerud (St. Louis Blues) could be one of the most dynamic in the tournament. Also keep an eye on forward Charlie Stramel, a top 2023 draft prospect who likely will start in a bottom-six role but could work his way up the lineup.

Czechia vs. Canada (6:30 p.m. ET) -- Czechia came up just short of winning its first WJC medal in August when it lost 3-1 to Sweden in the bronze medal game.

more information on the other games today...

from Michael Traikos of the National Post,

If what we know about the 10,000-hour rule is true — that it takes literally years of intensive practice to achieve the mastery of a complex skill — then maybe Connor Bedard does have a chance at becoming the next Connor McDavid.

After all, it’s not just their names that they have in common.

As early as the age of 10, McDavid has been practising with skills coach Joe Quinn, whose reactive-countering training technique is used by some of the best players in the NHL. Bedard started when he was just eight, giving him two more years — and hundreds, if not thousands — more hours of practice than McDavid.

“He’s one of the longest-serving superstars that we’ve had, no question,” said Nick Quinn, who runs Power Edge Pro with his father.

The Quinns still have video of an eight-year-old Bedard on the ice with a 16-year-old McDavid, both of them whizzing around an obstacle course that tests your ability to stickhandle and skate in tight spaces without losing speed. Even then, Bedard stood out. Not only because the North Vancouver native was so much smaller than McDavid and everyone else, as well as the only player wearing a full cage. But also because he was so good at what is basically a high-speed juggling act that has at times humbled the likes of John Tavares, Taylor Hall and Jack Hughes.

“I don’t say it lightly, because we’ve had so many top players come through the program, but he is the closest I’ve seen to Connor McDavid — both from a skill perspective and also his mental state.

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December 20, 2022 – NHL Network today announced it will serve as the exclusive U.S. TV home of the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship for the 15th consecutive year. Live game telecasts, plus comprehensive analysis, highlights, and interviews from Halifax and Moncton, NS, Canada will air throughout NHL Network’s programmin

from Helene Elliott of the LA Times,

The Americans and Canadians are the class of women’s hockey, which pops into public consciousness only during the Winter Olympics. They never disappoint. Their great goaltending acrobatics and clutch scoring produce exhaustingly dramatic matchups at the Olympics and world championships. They shine because of their talent and competitiveness and their persistence despite having been told as kids they shouldn’t play hockey, they were an annoyance, that coaching them would waste time better spent on guiding boys.

It’s during the four years between Olympics, when female hockey players are scrambling for adequate resources and working to establish a stable professional league, that those who govern the game continue to drop the ball when they should be dropping the puck.

The U.S. women’s national team had to threaten to boycott the 2017 World Championships until USA Hockey boosted its pay and promised to give the team much-needed youth development programs and more chances to showcase its extraordinary talent. From that came the U.S.-Canada Rivalry Series, extended this year to seven games but still not nearly long enough to promote awareness of who the players are and what they do — and that they constantly must work for a better hockey future between turns on the international stage.

“It’s every day. And I wish there were more opportunities for people to see what that every day looks like, for the game to be set up a little bit more sustainably for women to continue to play in this game,” said Kendall Coyne Schofield, captain of the U.S. team that lost to Canada in the Beijing Olympic gold medal game in February.

read on

from Joshua Clipperton of the CP at CBC,

Connor Bedard's highlight reel has been hard to miss.

Already the presumptive first overall selection at the 2023 NHL draft, the 17-year-old phenom with a bullet shot and an ability to make the puck look like it's on a string — often leaving defenders chasing shadows and goaltenders looking foolish — has taken his game to new heights this season.

Video of his jaw-dropping skill splashes across social media on what feels like a near-daily basis. And there's almost certainly going to be more viral clips when Bedard takes centre stage with Canada at the 2023 world junior hockey championship later this month.

His exploits have also already entered the NHL conversation.

"We have guys in the Kings dressing room talking about him like, 'You get to play with Bedard kid,"' said Canadian defenceman Brandt Clarke, who was loaned to the men's under-20 national team by Los Angeles for the tournament.

"I'm not going to name anybody."

So, was the teammate in question Kings defenceman and noted hockey geek Drew Doughty?

"[He] did say that, actually," Clarke, 19, added with a laugh. "[Bedard's] already getting that kind of recognition."

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via Sportsnet's YouTube page,

On this edition of 32 thoughts, Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman discuss how the Canucks are starting to explore a trade with Brock Boeser, the possibility of the All-Star game coming to Canada in 2024 & when the World Jr. roster will be announced.

from Nicholas J. Cotsonika of the NHL website,

The United States Hockey Hall of Fame celebrated its 50th anniversary Wednesday when it inducted the Class of 2022 at Saint Paul RiverCentre.

The class represented how far American hockey has come in a half-century, how it keeps striving for more.

The late Warren Strelow, a pioneering goaltending coach, received the Lester Patrick Trophy for outstanding service to hockey in the United States on the day Ryan Miller, the winningest American goalie in NHL history, was enshrined.

There were two female players: Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson and Monique Lamoureux-Morando, twin sisters who each won an Olympic gold medal and six world championships.

There was the first sled hockey player: Steve Cash, who won three Paralympic gold medals and five world championships.

And then there was the late Jim Johannson, the beloved USA Hockey executive who dedicated himself to developing American players from the grassroots to the elite levels.

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from the NHL,

Here are some of the key moments from the induction speeches of Daniel Alfredsson, Roberto Luongo, Riikka Sallinen, Daniel Sedin, Henrik Sedin and the family of Herb Carnegie, who was inducted as a Builder, as well as from NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman's comments.

HERB CARNEGIE: Stepping outside the box

Commonly regarded as the best Black player never to play in the NHL, Carnegie would channel his positive energy into making hockey a better game in myriad ways. On Monday, his inspirational, pioneering work was celebrated by his daughter, Bernice, and son, Dale, upon the late center's induction in the Builders category.

"He took the skills he learned from hockey and transposed them into his life-off-ice skills," Bernice said. "He was an entrepreneur, a trailblazer that kept stepping outside the box."...

Bernice brought the Meridian Hall Theatre audience to its feet as she closed her acceptance speech with a powerful, strong, timely message.

"I know my father is calling out to all of us to honor the sport he so loved by continuing to do it justice," she said. "We are responsible for making the sport better. We are responsible for ending sexism, gender bias, racism and homophobia.

"We are responsible for making all areas of our lives more accepting and inclusive. This was my father's life work. This is what I learned from him. This is why I'm grateful every day … that he gave me part of his vision and that we can share that with others." -- Dave Stubbs

much more