The Hockey News World Juniors 2019

WHIPPERSNAPPERS, TAKE NOTE OF these signs you’re getting old: 1. You groan involuntarily during routine exertion. 2. You start caring about inconsequential minutiae, like the girth of your cutlery. 3. Your eyebrows flow in the wind. 4. You refer to people as whippersnappers. Another symptom you might experience is nostalgia-itis, a frequent default to “back-in-the-day” thoughts. I’m a sufferer. Take our Countdown, ranking the 31 NHL teams’ groups of centers (pgs. 16-17). When the idea was floated, I began mental Googling some of the best I’ve seen in my time. Then I did some research to corroborate or refute my memory (mushy-recall syndrome is another telltale sign of aging) and came up with a top five since 1967 expansion. The list is based on success as a group during an entire and…

Dear readers, If you are a Gold Member or became one by Nov. 30, you will be getting our first ever Money and Power special edition in January. This exclusive business issue, available on newsstands and via our website, will become an annual staple in our lineup of publications. For the past couple decades, The Hockey News has been assembling and publishing a “100 People of Power and Influence” list, which has typically run as a large section in a December issue. That ranking, a point of prestige and debate in the hockey world, now moves to the Money and Power issue permanently. In addition to naming the 100 People of Power and Influence, we will present rankings in the individual categories we use to help formulate the century club. These silos…

IT WAS MORE FIRING squad than press conference. Sure, the 2018 World Junior Championship delivered the first outdoor game in its history, Canada as gold medalist and Team USA’s Casey Mittelstadt as MVP. But another enduring image from the event was the pre-semifinal media availability in which organizers were blitzed with questions about poor attendance. Hockey-mad Buffalo is arguably the most successful U.S. NHL market on a pound-for-pound basis, coming close to sellouts regardless of where the Sabres sit in the standings and churning out great TV ratings even when the team misses the playoffs. As WJC host in 2011, the city drew 329,687 spectators, the fourth-most in tournament history. But Buffalo flopped as the WJC host in 2018, drawing 211,210 fans, a number also artificially inflated by the 44,592 attending…

S.J. SHARKIE | SAN JOSE SHARKS He may have an unoriginal name, but S.J. Sharkie has become one of the most recognizable mascots in the NHL. Debuting in January 1992, Sharkie has been a ring bearer at a wedding, a date to senior prom and was even run into by Theoren Fleury after a game. He also took center stage in one of the most memorable mascot moments of all-time. Before a game against Detroit in March 1999, Sharkie was tasked with propelling down from the arena rafters to hype up the fans. It was a great stunt – until his jersey became entangled with the rope and equipment. Sharkie was stranded 40 feet above the Wings’ crease, dangling. But even as rubber mats were being stacked below to provide a…

BOSTON BRUINS | 2019 WINTER CLASSIC The Bruins have played in a couple outdoor games already and while they wore a similar version of the latest special jersey during the NHL’s 75th anniversary season, this iteration is of course an updated Adidas production. The sweater was inspired by the uniforms worn by the team from 1932-36, and features a color scheme that’s brown and gold instead of the traditional black and gold. In a nod to the olden days, felt material will be part of the construction. And since the game will be held at Notre Dame’s football stadium, Boston’s sweater also features six shamrocks on the inside of the collar, representing the franchise’s six Stanley Cups.…

LOS ANGELES KINGS SEASON-TICKET holders received a collectible holiday card around Christmastime in 1992. It was produced by Upper Deck, serial-numbered to 7,000 copies and about twice the size of a standard hockey card. The front shows the Kings celebrating a victory from earlier in the season and states “Season’s Greetings from the Los Angeles Kings.” The back features action images of players Wayne Gretzky, Rob Blake and Luc Robitaille, as well as shots of coach Barry Melrose and GM Nick Beverley under famous namesake street signs.…