The Hockey News Future Watch - April 2, 2018

WITH BRIAN COSTELLO | @BCOSTELLOTHN THE EVOLUTION OF HOCKEY hit a fork in the road when the NHL’s post-2005 salary cap era met a junction years later named Crackdown on Officiating – first hooking and holding, then, this season, slashing. The turn the game took was in the direction of the speed- and skill-oriented style we see today. Used to be you needed big, strong power forwards and shutdown defensemen to challenge for the Stanley Cup. Teams like Anaheim, Boston and Los Angeles proved that with four Cup wins in an eight-year window, post 2004-05 NHL lockout. Now it’s all about mobility and skill, and, thanks to the salary cap, youth. The talent-rich Pittsburgh Penguins, winners of the past two Cups, chose to supplement their top-heavy roster with lower-budget, speed-oriented players such as…

Dear readers, As the new owner and publisher of The Hockey News, the first thing I wanted to achieve was to give you, our loyal audience, more. With that in mind, we’re going to add content and pages to each issue going forward, expanding not only our depth of coverage, but also our scope to go beyond the NHL. It’s a small gesture, but hopefully one you’ll notice and appreciate as you peruse your copies and find you’re learning more about our favorite game. That philosophy begins with this issue, the first one with which I’ve been fully involved. Growing the game has been a core passion of mine since I entered the hockey business in 1989, as part of a group that was bidding on bringing an NHL team to California’s Bay…

BEN PRENTISS HAS HEARD tales of Herculean summers turning formerly frail prospects into brawny behemoths ready to march into battle against the NHL’s best. He’s seen the stories of the 20-pound off-seasons supposedly transforming the same players from babies into muscle-bound men. But he approaches each and every one with a certain level of skepticism. “It doesn’t matter if you put on eight pounds if none of it was muscle mass or if you put on eight pounds and three of it was lean muscle mass and five is fat,” said Prentiss, founder of Prentiss Hockey Performance. “You’re better off only gaining two pounds and having all of it be lean muscle, which we do, but it’s just slower. But whenever you hear in these articles, that such and such put…

MIRO HEISKANEN HT: 6-0 WT: 170 DRAFTED: 3rd overall (DAL) His poise and puck-moving meant his size was not a factor when Finland picked the D-man for the Olympics. ELIAS PETTERSSON HT: 6-2 WT: 161 DRAFTED: 5th overall (VAN) Part of the reason he chose Vaxjo as his SHL team was because the Lakers are known for their off-ice training. MARTIN NECAS HT: 6-1 WT: 167 DRAFTED: 12th overall (CAR) Along with Filip Zadina, Necas was the big driver of the surprising Czechs’ offense at the world juniors. KAILER YAMAMOTO HT: 5-8 WT: 153 DRAFTED: 22nd overall (EDM) The smallest first-rounder was good enough to start the year in the NHL and had chemistry with Connor McDavid. PIERRE-OLIVIER JOSEPH HT: 6-2 WT: 161 DRAFTED: 23rd overall (ARI) The lanky blueliner has tons of upside, so the Coyotes will give him time to bulk up before the pro ranks call. MORGAN…

IT IS A FAMILIAR refrain. NHL amateur scouts say that they do not have the ability to analyze goaltending prospects beyond answering the question, “Can he stop the puck?” Player personnel directors and GMs are reluctant to invest early draft picks on goalies because “it is just so hard to tell.” I have the utmost respect for many of the people making these statements, but the fact remains they are wrong. Assessing the component parts of a goalie’s game should be no different than assessing a regular skater. The trick here is to separate the wheat from the chaff. Minimize the parts of a goalie’s game that are not significant to his success. Focus on the essentials. Be aware of problems that talented goalies have encountered over the years. Look…

IN A FIELD THAT tends to be an imperfect science to begin with, this year’s U.S. college free agent search promises to be even more volatile than usual. That’s because the crop of undrafted seniors isn’t very strong, while there are a number of sophomores and juniors who may be tempted to sign contracts with NHL franchises…or stay in school if they don’t see enough interest for their services. For this year’s roundup, we’ve also added European free agents. The game is global, and everyone is looking for the next Artemi Panarin or Nikita Zaitsev. While the results from this pool of players have been just as mixed as the college scene, you can never have too much hope in hockey. NCAA DANIEL BRICKLEY 22, D, Minnesota St. (WCHA) The most talked-about in the class,…