The Hockey News Future Watch 2021

THERE’S A TIPPING POINT coming for the Pittsburgh Penguins, and we all know it. That’s not new information, but it is worth talking about in the pages of a themed issue that focuses on the next wave of NHLers. Sidney Crosby turns 34 this year and Evgeni Malkin 35. Let’s reflect upon that. The careers of superstar players generally last longer than those of mere mortal NHLers. That’s because their exceptional skill set can be utilized on multiple levels as they age. Exceptional players like these two can make the transition from superstar to star in their mid- to-late 30s and even contribute into their 40s. Players like Steve Yzerman, Mark Messier and Bryan Trottier did this and were winners. However, it’s also true some superstars leave the game when they see…

EUGENE MELNYK HAS THE right stuff when it comes to being an entrepreneur and business owner: leadership, thick skin and long-term vision. His single-mindedness on bringing the Stanley Cup to Ottawa is what he is focused on each and every day, and any naysayers or those who can’t see past the end of their hockey stick need to…stick it. This business owner fights and bleeds for the Sens. Eugene is the owner of a business and sometimes employees, customers and the community don’t agree with the tough decisions that an owner feels they must make for the long-term success of the business. That is why they say it is lonely at the top – as business ownership is not a popularity contest. As a business owner myself, I am acutely aware of…

LIKE A LOT OF us, Luke Evangelista put on a few extra pounds during the COVID-19 pandemic. Like almost none of us, they were actually in the right places. The way Evangelista sees it, if you’re going to go through more than a year of ice-olation, it would be wise to use that time productively. Of the first 100 players taken in the 2020 draft, 99 found a place to play and at least get some game reps in the 2020-21 season. The 100th was Evangelista, a 19-year-old right winger for the OHL’s London Knights who was taken 42nd overall by the Nashville Predators. Evangelista didn’t get into a game until late March, more than a year after he last saw action. Because of the pandemic, the OHL had been put on…

THE 2021 WORLD JUNIOR Championship was an oasis for fans patiently awaiting the late-starting NHL season. It was also a great opportunity for teams to see what they had on their hands, and numerous participating players made their NHL debuts following the tournament. Buffalo Sabres fans can take solace in the play of a couple prospects. Dylan Cozens led the tournament with eight goals and has subsequently played in the majority of Buffalo’s games. And though he’s yet to make his NHL debut, J-J Peterka had a stellar tournament, finishing fifth in scoring. Cozens isn’t alone in making his presence known with his NHL club. Tim Stutzle has been a bright spot for the spunky Ottawa Senators, ranking amongst the team’s top scorers. Other players who made their NHL debut this season,…

OH, TO BE A hockey fan in California in 2014. The NHL playoffs opened with the Anaheim Ducks, San Jose Sharks and Los Angeles Kings holding the top three spots in the Pacific Division and sitting second, fifth and 10th in the overall standings. The Kings rallied from a 3-0 series deficit in Round 1 to defeat the Sharks in seven games before taking down the Ducks in another seven-game war. Los Angeles ended up winning its second Stanley Cup in a three-season span. From 2007 through 2017, the Kings, Ducks and Sharks were among the league’s alpha franchises, combining for three Stanley Cups, four appearances in the final and 10 of 11 Pacific Division titles. Surviving the West meant going through Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty, Ryan Getzlaf and Corey…

PLENTY OF PEOPLE meet their idols. Few have realistic chances to become their idols. A decade ago, a 10-year-old kid named Trevor Zegras unknowingly looked into his future one night after watching the Chicago Blackhawks play live. He got the opportunity to enter their dressing room post-game and meet his favorite player: Patrick Kane, a superstar born in New York State who cut his teeth at USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program before building a Hall of Fame-worthy NHL career on the strength of his nearly unrivalled puck skills. By the time they met again years later, at a Red Wings game in Detroit, Zegras was a rising star, born in New York State, dominating at USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program on the strength of his nearly unrivalled puck skills.…