All posts by John Matisz

Q&A: Marc Crawford on millennials, Auston Matthews, and the Senators

TORONTO - Marc Crawford is at the point in his career where he's game planning to beat teams built by his former players.

The 57-year-old Senators associate coach won a Stanley Cup with Avalanche GM Joe Sakic as his captain. He was the final head coach during Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin's playing career. Crawford also walked the bench behind Kings GM Rob Blake as well as two assistant GMs in Tom Fitzgerald (Devils) and Craig Conroy (Flames).

Which means Crawford - whose NHL coaching resume spans 16 seasons, five teams, and countless outbursts - has been forced to evolve.

"I've lost a lot of jobs because of how I have been and how I have been perceived," Crawford said this past weekend during a presentation about interacting with millennials at the TeamSnap Hockey Coaches Conference.

“This generation,” Crawford added, “really thrives (on) and wants communication. They want interaction, they want a little bit of control over things, and when you meet with people and you talk with people, those sorts of things happen.”

Crawford chatted with theScore on Saturday about millennials, working with Auston Matthews overseas, and his mindset ahead of Senators training camp.

Note: This transcript has been lightly edited for clarity and length.

theScore: It feels like millennials and Generation Z’ers get a bad rap. You’re a champion for them. Why?

Crawford: "You have to be. It's your job as a coach to try to be understood, to try and get your message across, and to try and help people get to the next level. I think this generation has a lot of wonderful qualities, and I think it's important that we look at the positive aspects of their personalities or the things that they have been through. They’ve been through a lot.

"I didn’t have to worry about having a cell phone when I was a kid. It was a big thing to sit in the back room of my parents' house and talk on the phone to my girlfriend and say, 'Hey, what are you doing? Hey, how 'ya doing?' That sort of thing. Now they’re texting that to one another (and are hooked on social media). The generations haven't changed a lot, it's just different platforms that they're using.

"These guys have so many new skills. Their ability to multi-task, their ability to accept information is pretty important. I think, for us (coaches), if you can help them with retaining it, if you can help them with coping mechanisms for the sport - how to combat anxiety, how to combat some of the things that maybe we did a little bit more naturally, because we played a lot more in younger generations, whether it be road hockey or whether it be in the backyard, that sort of thing - this group is really good. They're the best-coached generation that I've seen. The skill that they come into the league with now is amazing. And that's a product of them working with skills coaches and a lot of them having a lot of individual attention in their upbringing. Again, I think it's positive. They're more ready for what we're ready to give them than maybe previous generations.”

(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)

theScore: You have lived two NHL coaching lives ...

Crawford: "Maybe three or four." (laughs)

theScore: Fair. You had a long run, then you spent five years in Europe, four of them coaching in the top Swiss league. What was the biggest change when you returned to the NHL in 2016?

Crawford: "One of the things that changed a lot for me was that when I went to Switzerland I had a smaller staff, just one assistant coach, so I had to do a lot more. That was great for my own personal development - it got me back a little bit more to my roots. But the other thing that was important when I went to Europe was my social group … I didn't have one. I had the players, I had their families, so I started to socialize a lot more with players and their wives. My wife and I did some babysitting for players, that sort of thing. I got to know the hockey people in our organization, too, and that became my social network.

"In the past, when I was coaching in the NHL, I really didn't want to become that close with players, because I was a guy that had to be hard, I was a guy that had to be demanding. I think what I found - and it was a big change for me - is that I really liked the interaction of being around the players. It changed me, because I didn't want to lose that connection that I had with them, I didn't want to lose their trust. So, maybe I started to frame my messages a little bit better - and, really, that's personal growth. I felt the personal growth coming out of Europe was very important, and it's shaped me for dealing with this new culture of players. …

“It is simple common-sense communication that is at the forefront of everything. If you can talk to a person face to face, if you can listen to them as much as you're speaking with them, if you can talk with them and not at them - I think you're getting a platform where players feel comfortable about giving input and I think that's what they want."

theScore: A big part of that Switzerland experience was taking in an 18-year-old Auston Matthews. Now that you’ve seen him develop over the past two years in the NHL, which areas of his game would you say have improved the most?

Crawford: "The NHL forces your team game to become a lot better. Watching him protect the puck - he's taken it from a level where he was very good to a level where you just can't get the puck off him. His ability to understand what to do when he doesn't have the puck is at a higher level. He's always had a great capacity to work, he's always been a guy that is first on the ice and is a tireless worker. He's taken ownership and control of his career from a very early age. He's got great parents. He's very respectful. I love Auston. I feel so fortunate for having been around him for a year and I love seeing the success that he has (earned).

“The night he scored four goals against us in Ottawa, I was secretly cheering for him (laughs). I was so glad when we ended up winning the game in overtime because we got the best of both worlds. Now, his team game and his team understanding has gone to a different level, and his puck-protection skills have gone to a new level from when I had him in Zurich.”

theScore: Matthews has a crafty takeaway move where he lifts the opponent’s stick to steal the puck and transitions into attack mode instantly, avoiding a penalty. Did he have that mentality in Europe?

Crawford: "From a very early age, he's the guy who's had the puck the most. If you watch videos of him as a kid, that was the case. I've seen him play at the U18 level, and at the U20 level. It gets a little harder as you go up, but he was still the best player in Zurich and he was still the guy who had the puck the most.

"In the NHL, it gets that much harder and you see that element taken to a different level. (Mike Babcock's) coaching (promotes) being a real aggressive puck-pursuit guy when you don't have it, and Auston was so ready to hear that information, so ready to employ it. The Leafs have done a great job of taking his game to the next level and there’s way more to come."

theScore: Training camp is coming up in a month and a half. With the current state of the Senators - Erik Karlsson trade rumors, Craig Anderson trade rumors, Randy Lee's legal situation, etc. - what kind of messages can you, head coach Guy Boucher, and the rest of the staff deliver to an unsettled team?

Crawford: "The biggest thing is that we have to improve upon our performance last year. Hockey, it's a great sport because it does have an outcome for every game. Every game you come out and you say, 'Hey, did we do well or did we not do well?' And that's easy, because a lot of businesses don't have that type of scorecard, if you will, or that type of evaluation. The one thing that we're going to try to do is, we want to have the same response whether we win or whether we lose. We want to be a team that is about improving every day.

"As I said in my session today, communication is really at a high level and a high premium. We place a high priority on having good communication with our players and creating the right type of environment where we can have success and focus as a team. Again, we're going to concentrate this year on being great teammates. If we're great teammates then we've got a chance to be a great team. If we're a great team then we're going to have a chance to have results on the scoreboard and everything takes care of itself.

"That’s really our message this year: Let's take care of the things that we can (control), let's make sure we're always being positive and putting our best foot forward and we're trying to do the things that will help us to improve every day.”

(Photo courtesy: The Coaches Site)

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Meet Nathan Oystrick, the new face of the Humboldt Broncos

Nathan Oystrick, a retired pro hockey player who skated in more than 500 games, shook behind the podium at Elgar Petersen Arena as he spoke about taking over for a local hero.

"I did not know Darcy Haugan, but, like so many people in this world today, I wish I had," Oystrick said during a news conference July 3, with Haugan's family sitting feet away.

Oystrick added, "I believe in his commitment to not just developing skilled hockey players but to developing great human beings. And I hope that I can make him proud while doing this job."

Haugan, the general manager and head coach of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League's Humboldt Broncos, died April 6 in the bus crash that also killed 10 players, an assistant coach, an athletic therapist, a broadcaster, a statistician, and their driver.

The Broncos were en route to a playoff game when a semi-trailer truck collided with their bus near Armley, Saskatchewan, in the heart of the prairies.

"I've played in that league for half a year. I played in Humboldt, whether it was hockey or baseball. It definitely hit home," Oystrick, of Regina, told theScore later in July.

"A hockey team on a bus traveling on a road that we've all ridden on thousands and thousands of times in our lives - it definitely struck, hard."

Along with his wife, Lindsay, and their dog, Wiley, Oystrick left Highlands Ranch, Colo. - their home since 2011 - to settle this week in Humboldt, a farming town of fewer than 6,000 whose name now resonates across Canada and beyond.

The GM-coach role Oystrick has assumed is heavy - perhaps the heaviest such role in all of hockey right now. It's a job in sports that, at the same time, is not about sports at all.

The position's multi-layered responsibilities require investment, honesty, and compassion from a certain type of person: somebody who's not only triumphed but failed, too; somebody who can relate - at least on a basic level - to those still healing from an unthinkable event.

"At times, it feels like it happened yesterday," Broncos vice president Randy MacLean said, pausing to collect his thoughts on the wreck that changed the course of so many lives, including his own. "At times, it feels like it happened many years ago."

Broncos president Kevin Garinger and MacLean combed through more than 60 applications for the GM-coach position. MacLean says the club ultimately extended an offer to Oystrick because it was clear the former Atlanta Thrasher "wants to be part of something bigger than hockey."

The hiring process was atypical for the Broncos after losing Haugan, the program's face inside and beyond the rink. The job itself is atypical, given the delicate situation. And Oystrick's story, though typical of a hockey lifer in some ways, is not so typical in others.

* * * * *

(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)

While growing up in a modest part of Regina, Oystrick and his neighbor Chris Lewgood spent virtually every hour of the day obsessing over the game.

They played hockey before school, practicing shooting in the basement. They daydreamed about hockey in the classroom. They played hockey with mini sticks during recess and lunch. They played hockey after school on the street, the pond, or the rink. They watched hockey on TV at night or played hockey video games.

Oystrick's childhood birthday gifts, presented in a shoebox, rarely changed from year to year: the latest edition of Don Cherry's "Rock 'Em Sock 'Em" series and spending money in the form of two-dollar bills.

When he was in Grade 5, along with his coveted VHS tape, his parents gave him something new: his adoption papers.

Oystrick remembers his parents telling him on several occasions that he'd been adopted. However, this was different. The documents laid out in no uncertain terms that his birth name was Jordan Robert and that he'd been the subject of a closed adoption when he was 2 months old.

The idea lived in the back of his mind from that day forward, but roughly 15 years passed before Oystrick connected with his biological mother. They met in 2009. His mom attended his wedding and is now a big part of his life, though he says he has no desire to contact his biological father.

"I'm happy I have this awesome story because a lot of people don't have a story like this," Oystrick said. "It's been really cool."

* * * * *

As Oystrick moves back to Saskatchewan after nearly 20 years away, Lewgood is already established there as manager and coach of the Estevan Bruins in the same league.

"There's a little more stress involved with running an SJHL program than playing Blades of Steel on Nintendo," Lewgood said, "but at the end of the day if you love what you're doing and you're passionate about it, it just happens."

Plenty of emotional and practical challenges face Oystrick in the early going. Training camp opens in late August. The Broncos will play two exhibition games in Haugan's hometown of Peace River, Alberta, over Labor Day weekend. Their regular-season home opener Sept. 12 will be broadcast nationally. The team's first road game is two days later. The Broncos still have staff openings for an assistant coach and an athletic therapist/equipment manager.

Meanwhile, thirteen crash survivors continue to recover. The record-breaking nearly $15 million in GoFundMe donations has yet to be distributed. The parents of one of the players killed in the crash recently sued the truck driver, bus company, and bus manufacturer. The truck driver, who wasn't hurt in the collision, has been charged with 16 counts of dangerous driving causing death and 13 counts of dangerous driving causing bodily harm.

In short, this is a moving story, and there is no handbook.

"It's part of the process of redefining what the new normal looks like while ensuring that we're respecting the legacy," MacLean said of the various post-crash firsts. "Don't lose sight and lose thought of what happened, but at the same time, don't live in it."

Haugan was posthumously honored with the NHL's inaugural Willie O'Ree Community Hero Award in June. Oystrick, Broncos brass, and those close to the action in Humboldt make it abundantly clear that the new coach is replacing Haugan in title only. Not only are the demands of the role different, but Oystrick doesn't have the same type of personality.

"They're completely opposite people on the surface," Lewgood said. "Darcy was very reserved, always well thought-out, and quiet in nature. Nathan is extremely emotional - very passionate and fiery. He speaks his mind at all times. From that standpoint, they're very different. The one thing that is the same in both of them is probably the most important element that you could have in junior hockey. It's their hearts."

* * * * *

A 2002 seventh-round pick whose EliteProspects.com profile lists him at 5-foot-11 and 214 pounds, Oystrick split his NHL tenure between the Atlanta Thrashers (53 games), Anaheim Ducks (three), and St. Louis Blues (nine). He also patrolled blue lines in the KHL, ECHL, and AHL. Former coaches and teammates describe him as a versatile "throwback" defender who blended skill with physicality. The crowning achievement of his playing career was winning the 2008 Calder Cup as a key member of the Chicago Wolves.

(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)

He landed a player-coach role with the ECHL's Elmira Jackals in 2015-16, and then stepped behind the bench full time as an assistant coach with the Atlanta Gladiators for the '16-17 season.

Despite being four months older than Oystrick, Gladiators captain Derek Nesbitt has always looked up to him. "He's such a gamer," Nesbitt said. "The bigger the situation, the better he is. At all times. He just relishes that. ...

"You'd be hard-pressed to find someone who wouldn't go to bat for Oystie. From knowing him on and off the ice, as a player and a person, he's just an easy guy to follow."

In the 2009-10 AHL season, Oystrick blocked a deflected point shot with his face. His broken jaw had to be wired shut for six weeks, and he lost 11 pounds.

"It actually pushed two of my teeth under my tongue and, in the training room, our team dentist took a scalpel and cut my two teeth out," Oystrick explained.

Then-Wolves goalie Peter Mannino had a front-row seat for the gory sequence.

"He’s a winner and he'll want these guys to win," Mannino said. "But he cares. He's the ultimate teammate and ultimate leader."

Through his relationships in hockey, Oystrick has also experienced loss.

Justin Kinnunen, a teammate and roommate of Oystrick's at Northern Michigan University, was struck and killed by an SUV in August 2016. The former AHLer was 35, the age Oystrick is now.

Seeing Kinnunen's parents at the funeral was particularly heart-wrenching for Oystrick, who broke down multiple times. "Losing a close, close friend was not easy," he said.

Oystrick added: "I think back to my playing career and some of the things that I went through and the ups and downs and adversity that I got through - not only on the ice but off the ice ... I learned a lot from all of those situations. It's nothing of this magnitude, but I thought that in some way I could help."

MacLean said, "He has lived a life. And with that comes experience and resiliency. He can sit there and have conversations and understand where kids are coming from, where parents and billets are coming from."

Last season, Oystrick took on a challenging assignment that turned out to be very relevant to his current role. As head of hockey with the Colorado Academy Mustangs, he was tasked with reviving a dormant program for high schoolers of varying skill levels.

(Photo courtesy: Colorado Academy)

"When I interview people for jobs, I don't have many of them show up with missing teeth," laughed Mike Davis, the academy's head of school. "He came in and within moments of my first meeting with Nathan it was so clear that he was a guy who had a successful career and now he wants to give back."

* * * * *

Only four names from the Broncos' organizational depth chart last year - two roster players and two affiliated players - are set to return. Oystrick's lineup card will largely be filled through June's SJHL draft and a flood of trades, and every acquisition is bittersweet.

"This is not like the Vegas Golden Knights. We're not an expansion franchise," MacLean said. "This is a situation where, when we hired Nathan, we had zero returning players cleared to play."

Humboldt will be "a team that plays a high-pressure game and who competes every single night, does all the small things well," Oystrick said. "It's a blank slate for everyone. I've never seen them play and they've never had me as a coach.

"Everyone's going into it with the same opportunity and a chance to keep building the organization and moving forward. I want to win. I'd love to win a championship in these three years. But we're starting off in rebuild mode."

Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar was raised in Humboldt and coached Oystrick in the AHL. He knows what he'd do if he were headed home to run the Broncos.

"The very first thing and the most important thing is that you have to go in there with the players' best interests as your No. 1 (priority)," Bednar said. "You have to protect them, shield them, help them focus on hockey and life and schooling, and try to move forward in a respectful way. …

"I think he can really help those kids and that organization get back on its feet."

* * * * *

Hockey lifers do plenty of moving. The 16-hour drive almost straight north for a new job was the kind of thing Oystrick and his wife are used to.

What unfolds from here is much less predictable.

"I don't know if you can totally prepare for September 12th," Oystrick said. "I can pretend to know what's going to happen, but until that day comes and it's the first game and the building's full, I just … have absolutely no idea."

Lewgood suggests his childhood friend will figure out how to handle it, saying, "He's one of these guys who doesn't think about what he's doing. It just comes to him naturally. He leads by example."

Oystrick also leads by the example of the person who preceded him. At his news conference, he promised to leave up the Broncos' core covenant that Haugan put on the wall outside the team's dressing room. It reads, in part: "Always give more than you take."

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Meet Nathan Oystrick, the new face of the Humboldt Broncos

Nathan Oystrick, a retired pro hockey player who skated in more than 500 games, shook behind the podium at Elgar Petersen Arena as he spoke about taking over for a local hero.

"I did not know Darcy Haugan, but, like so many people in this world today, I wish I had," Oystrick said during a news conference July 3, with Haugan's family sitting feet away.

Oystrick added, "I believe in his commitment to not just developing skilled hockey players but to developing great human beings. And I hope that I can make him proud while doing this job."

Haugan, the general manager and head coach of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League's Humboldt Broncos, died April 6 in the bus crash that also killed 10 players, an assistant coach, an athletic therapist, a broadcaster, a statistician, and their driver.

The Broncos were en route to a playoff game when a semi-trailer truck collided with their bus near Armley, Saskatchewan, in the heart of the prairies.

"I've played in that league for half a year. I played in Humboldt, whether it was hockey or baseball. It definitely hit home," Oystrick, of Regina, told theScore later in July.

"A hockey team on a bus traveling on a road that we've all ridden on thousands and thousands of times in our lives - it definitely struck, hard."

Along with his wife, Lindsay, and their dog, Wiley, Oystrick left Highlands Ranch, Colo. - their home since 2011 - to settle this week in Humboldt, a farming town of fewer than 6,000 whose name now resonates across Canada and beyond.

The GM-coach role Oystrick has assumed is heavy - perhaps the heaviest such role in all of hockey right now. It's a job in sports that, at the same time, is not about sports at all.

The position's multi-layered responsibilities require investment, honesty, and compassion from a certain type of person: somebody who's not only triumphed but failed, too; somebody who can relate - at least on a basic level - to those still healing from an unthinkable event.

"At times, it feels like it happened yesterday," Broncos vice president Randy MacLean said, pausing to collect his thoughts on the wreck that changed the course of so many lives, including his own. "At times, it feels like it happened many years ago."

Broncos president Kevin Garinger and MacLean combed through more than 60 applications for the GM-coach position. MacLean says the club ultimately extended an offer to Oystrick because it was clear the former Atlanta Thrasher "wants to be part of something bigger than hockey."

The hiring process was atypical for the Broncos after losing Haugan, the program's face inside and beyond the rink. The job itself is atypical, given the delicate situation. And Oystrick's story, though typical of a hockey lifer in some ways, is not so typical in others.

* * * * *

(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)

While growing up in a modest part of Regina, Oystrick and his neighbor Chris Lewgood spent virtually every hour of the day obsessing over the game.

They played hockey before school, practicing shooting in the basement. They daydreamed about hockey in the classroom. They played hockey with mini sticks during recess and lunch. They played hockey after school on the street, the pond, or the rink. They watched hockey on TV at night or played hockey video games.

Oystrick's childhood birthday gifts, presented in a shoebox, rarely changed from year to year: the latest edition of Don Cherry's "Rock 'Em Sock 'Em" series and spending money in the form of two-dollar bills.

When he was in Grade 5, along with his coveted VHS tape, his parents gave him something new: his adoption papers.

Oystrick remembers his parents telling him on several occasions that he'd been adopted. However, this was different. The documents laid out in no uncertain terms that his birth name was Jordan Robert and that he'd been the subject of a closed adoption when he was 2 months old.

The idea lived in the back of his mind from that day forward, but roughly 15 years passed before Oystrick connected with his biological mother. They met in 2009. His mom attended his wedding and is now a big part of his life, though he says he has no desire to contact his biological father.

"I'm happy I have this awesome story because a lot of people don't have a story like this," Oystrick said. "It's been really cool."

* * * * *

As Oystrick moves back to Saskatchewan after nearly 20 years away, Lewgood is already established there as manager and coach of the Estevan Bruins in the same league.

"There's a little more stress involved with running an SJHL program than playing Blades of Steel on Nintendo," Lewgood said, "but at the end of the day if you love what you're doing and you're passionate about it, it just happens."

Plenty of emotional and practical challenges face Oystrick in the early going. Training camp opens in late August. The Broncos will play two exhibition games in Haugan's hometown of Peace River, Alberta, over Labor Day weekend. Their regular-season home opener Sept. 12 will be broadcast nationally. The team's first road game is two days later. The Broncos still have staff openings for an assistant coach and an athletic therapist/equipment manager.

Meanwhile, thirteen crash survivors continue to recover. The record-breaking nearly $15 million in GoFundMe donations has yet to be distributed. The parents of one of the players killed in the crash recently sued the truck driver, bus company, and bus manufacturer. The truck driver, who wasn't hurt in the collision, has been charged with 16 counts of dangerous driving causing death and 13 counts of dangerous driving causing bodily harm.

In short, this is a moving story, and there is no handbook.

"It's part of the process of redefining what the new normal looks like while ensuring that we're respecting the legacy," MacLean said of the various post-crash firsts. "Don't lose sight and lose thought of what happened, but at the same time, don't live in it."

Haugan was posthumously honored with the NHL's inaugural Willie O'Ree Community Hero Award in June. Oystrick, Broncos brass, and those close to the action in Humboldt make it abundantly clear that the new coach is replacing Haugan in title only. Not only are the demands of the role different, but Oystrick doesn't have the same type of personality.

"They're completely opposite people on the surface," Lewgood said. "Darcy was very reserved, always well thought-out, and quiet in nature. Nathan is extremely emotional - very passionate and fiery. He speaks his mind at all times. From that standpoint, they're very different. The one thing that is the same in both of them is probably the most important element that you could have in junior hockey. It's their hearts."

* * * * *

A 2002 seventh-round pick whose EliteProspects.com profile lists him at 5-foot-11 and 214 pounds, Oystrick split his NHL tenure between the Atlanta Thrashers (53 games), Anaheim Ducks (three), and St. Louis Blues (nine). He also patrolled blue lines in the KHL, ECHL, and AHL. Former coaches and teammates describe him as a versatile "throwback" defender who blended skill with physicality. The crowning achievement of his playing career was winning the 2008 Calder Cup as a key member of the Chicago Wolves.

(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)

He landed a player-coach role with the ECHL's Elmira Jackals in 2015-16, and then stepped behind the bench full time as an assistant coach with the Atlanta Gladiators for the '16-17 season.

Despite being four months older than Oystrick, Gladiators captain Derek Nesbitt has always looked up to him. "He's such a gamer," Nesbitt said. "The bigger the situation, the better he is. At all times. He just relishes that. ...

"You'd be hard-pressed to find someone who wouldn't go to bat for Oystie. From knowing him on and off the ice, as a player and a person, he's just an easy guy to follow."

In the 2009-10 AHL season, Oystrick blocked a deflected point shot with his face. His broken jaw had to be wired shut for six weeks, and he lost 11 pounds.

"It actually pushed two of my teeth under my tongue and, in the training room, our team dentist took a scalpel and cut my two teeth out," Oystrick explained.

Then-Wolves goalie Peter Mannino had a front-row seat for the gory sequence.

"He’s a winner and he'll want these guys to win," Mannino said. "But he cares. He's the ultimate teammate and ultimate leader."

Through his relationships in hockey, Oystrick has also experienced loss.

Justin Kinnunen, a teammate and roommate of Oystrick's at Northern Michigan University, was struck and killed by an SUV in August 2016. The former AHLer was 35, the age Oystrick is now.

Seeing Kinnunen's parents at the funeral was particularly heart-wrenching for Oystrick, who broke down multiple times. "Losing a close, close friend was not easy," he said.

Oystrick added: "I think back to my playing career and some of the things that I went through and the ups and downs and adversity that I got through - not only on the ice but off the ice ... I learned a lot from all of those situations. It's nothing of this magnitude, but I thought that in some way I could help."

MacLean said, "He has lived a life. And with that comes experience and resiliency. He can sit there and have conversations and understand where kids are coming from, where parents and billets are coming from."

Last season, Oystrick took on a challenging assignment that turned out to be very relevant to his current role. As head of hockey with the Colorado Academy Mustangs, he was tasked with reviving a dormant program for high schoolers of varying skill levels.

(Photo courtesy: Colorado Academy)

"When I interview people for jobs, I don't have many of them show up with missing teeth," laughed Mike Davis, the academy's head of school. "He came in and within moments of my first meeting with Nathan it was so clear that he was a guy who had a successful career and now he wants to give back."

* * * * *

Only four names from the Broncos' organizational depth chart last year - two roster players and two affiliated players - are set to return. Oystrick's lineup card will largely be filled through June's SJHL draft and a flood of trades, and every acquisition is bittersweet.

"This is not like the Vegas Golden Knights. We're not an expansion franchise," MacLean said. "This is a situation where, when we hired Nathan, we had zero returning players cleared to play."

Humboldt will be "a team that plays a high-pressure game and who competes every single night, does all the small things well," Oystrick said. "It's a blank slate for everyone. I've never seen them play and they've never had me as a coach.

"Everyone's going into it with the same opportunity and a chance to keep building the organization and moving forward. I want to win. I'd love to win a championship in these three years. But we're starting off in rebuild mode."

Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar was raised in Humboldt and coached Oystrick in the AHL. He knows what he'd do if he were headed home to run the Broncos.

"The very first thing and the most important thing is that you have to go in there with the players' best interests as your No. 1 (priority)," Bednar said. "You have to protect them, shield them, help them focus on hockey and life and schooling, and try to move forward in a respectful way. …

"I think he can really help those kids and that organization get back on its feet."

* * * * *

Hockey lifers do plenty of moving. The 16-hour drive almost straight north for a new job was the kind of thing Oystrick and his wife are used to.

What unfolds from here is much less predictable.

"I don't know if you can totally prepare for September 12th," Oystrick said. "I can pretend to know what's going to happen, but until that day comes and it's the first game and the building's full, I just … have absolutely no idea."

Lewgood suggests his childhood friend will figure out how to handle it, saying, "He's one of these guys who doesn't think about what he's doing. It just comes to him naturally. He leads by example."

Oystrick also leads by the example of the person who preceded him. At his news conference, he promised to leave up the Broncos' core covenant that Haugan put on the wall outside the team's dressing room. It reads, in part: "Always give more than you take."

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Taylor Hall craving more success after getting a taste last season

OAKVILLE, Ont. — Taylor Hall finally got a taste. Now he wants the full course.

This spring, the eventual MVP winner and his 93 points dragged the New Jersey Devils into the NHL playoffs for the first time in five years. The experience lasted just five games, however, as the Devils were bounced by the Tampa Bay Lightning in unceremonious fashion.

Following seven playoff-free seasons with both the Edmonton Oilers and the Devils, Hall finds himself in unfamiliar territory. He's happy in red and black, but hungry for more.

"Definitely a successful season, but at the same time I watched playoff hockey for a month and a half before the Cup was handed out," Hall said Wednesday before teeing off at the NHLPA’s annual charity golf tournament. "We're a long way from where we want to be, but I think it was a great first step."

Despite the playoff berth, the Devils have been quiet this summer. General manager Ray Shero hasn’t acquired anybody of significance via free agency or trade; he also let a number of veteran players walk, with forwards Brian Gibbons (Anaheim), Michael Grabner (Arizona), and Patrick Maroon (St. Louis), as well as defenseman John Moore (Boston), all signing elsewhere.

"We’re going to have to find a way to make up for that," the 26-year-old said. "Those are guys that played key roles on our team, whether they were (picked up) at the trade deadline or just guys who came into (training) camp and surprised and made a huge difference for us."

Hall, whose 26-game point streak, career-high 39 goals, and 1.2 points per game helped him claim the 2018 Hart Trophy, laughed when he was asked about the potential of Shero using the club's salary cap space ($23 million in 2018-19) to add talent sooner than later.

"I just sit here like you guys …" he told a scrum of reporters. "I’d love to see us add a couple more pieces, but at the end of the day that’s not my job. My job’s to come into camp as healthy as possible, as committed as possible, and just worry about that."

While the Devils' depth chart remains unfilled, the team has Nico Hischier, the 2017 first-overall pick. Hall lauded the Swiss centre at the NHL awards, and heaped more praise onto him on Wednesday.

"If he was playing in Toronto, or a big market that would have a lot more spotlight, I think that he’d have a bigger name, a lot more recognition, certainly a lot more Calder votes than he had," Hall said of Hischier, who finished seventh in rookie-of-the-year voting.

"He had 50 points (52) as a centerman as an 18-year-old and, us playing on a line together, we played the top lines each and every night. I'm proud to be his teammate, I'm proud to be on a line with him, and I’m really looking forward to seeing the evolution of him, how he can improve next year."

The Devils vastly improved in 2017-18. Playing a speed game under coach John Hynes, they jumped from a winning percentage of .427 in 2016-17 to .591. It's an appetizing start, a jolt to the franchise's internal and external expectations.

"It's hard to get out of the basement. It's hard to get out of the basement and make the playoffs," Hall said, emphasizing the leap. "Now, I think the hardest step is going from making the playoffs to being a team that can challenge for the Cup. I'm really looking forward to trying to do that."

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Report: Blues expected to sign Patrick Maroon

The St. Louis Blues continue to stock up at the forward position.

According to Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic, unrestricted free agent Patrick Maroon and the Blues are expected to reach an agreement on a contract. No word yet on terms.

In the 2017-18 season, Maroon split his time between the New Jersey Devils and Edmonton Oilers, contributing a total of 17 goals and 26 assists in 74 games. The St. Louis native's production topped out the year prior, with 27 goals.

Blues GM Doug Armstrong has been a busy man over the past week. He signed UFAs Tyler Bozak and David Perron, and traded for Ryan O'Reilly in an effort to revamp his forward group.

Maroon, 30, was arguably the top UFA remaining on the market.

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Jaskin stays with Blues on 1-year deal

The St. Louis Blues have avoided arbitration with 25-year-old forward Dmitrij Jaskin.

Jaskin signed a one-year, one-way deal worth $1.1 million to remain with the Blues, the team announced Saturday. St. Louis' 2011 second-rounder is getting a minor earnings bump, as his most recent contract paid him $1 million per season.

The Omsk, Russia, native put up 17 points in 76 games this past season, just shy of his career-high 18 from 2014-15. Since breaking into the NHL in 2013, the 6-foot-2, 216-pounder has been used almost exclusively at even strength.

Meanwhile, three of the Blues' restricted free agents - forwards Jordan Schmaltz and Petteri Lindbohm, as well as defenseman Joel Edmundson (who has arbitration rights) - are still unsigned.

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Lamoriello believes Islanders in better spot than 2015 Leafs

Lou Lamoriello insists this time will be different.

Having digested the blow of John Tavares jetting to the Toronto Maple Leafs via free agency, Lamoriello told Postmedia's Michael Traikos that the New York Islanders do not intend on living in the NHL's basement like his former club did a few years ago.

When Lamoriello and Leafs coach Mike Babcock joined forces in Toronto back in May 2015, they were blunt about the team's bleak short-term prospects, with Babcock famously warning fans about imminent "pain." You won't be hearing anything similar from Lamoriello or new Islanders coach Barry Trotz anytime soon, the general manager said Friday.

“There’s always pain when you miss the playoffs so many years in a row," Lamoriello said, referring to the old Leafs. "But I think where the Islanders are today are more progressed than where Toronto was at the given time. It's different.

“In saying that, we have to see. But no, I do not think it will end up the way the first year it ended up in Toronto. Mike (Babcock) and I went through (pain) for one full year in Toronto. I want to jumpstart that.”

Despite the Tavares setback, there is apparently no time like the present for the Mat Barzal-led Islanders. The club's transactions in the hours and days immediately following Tavares' decision, while criticized by some as knee-jerk reactions, certainly back up Lamoriello's "jumpstart" mindset.

The 75-year-old Lamoriello inked pest Leo Komarov to a four-year contract, signed veteran Valtteri Filppula to a one-year pact, picked up winger Tom Kuhnhackl on a one-year deal, traded for fighter Matt Martin (who has two years remaining on his contract), and brought in goalie Robin Lehner for a single season.

“You don’t look back," Lamoriello added. "You don’t complain. You just go forward.”

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Made in America: The greatest NHL players by state

God bless America ... for these hockey players.

Happy birthday, United States. Below is an ode to your influence on the great game of hockey: a list of the greatest NHL players by state. First, a few notes.

Due to a dearth of homegrown talent, the following 15 states did not make the cut: Arkansas, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

For consistency's sake, players are sorted by birthplace according to the league's official website. Therefore, the odd player will seem out of place. For instance, Brett Hull (Belleville, Ont.) is excluded altogether from this exercise, and Arizona's Auston Matthews (San Ramon, Calif.) is elsewhere.

As for honorable mentions, we instituted a two-player limit. Exceptions were made for a handful of hockey-mad states, like Michigan and Minnesota, who received up to five mentions (Statistical info courtesy: QuantHockey.com and Hockey-Reference.com).

Alabama - Nic Dowd, F

GP G A PTS GWG
131 9 17 26 3

Slim pickings in the deep south. Dowd, while an excellent college player in his day, has struggled to make a major impact in the NHL. A 2009 seventh-round pick out of St. Cloud State University, the Huntsville native has filled a depth forward spot for the Kings, previously, and Canucks, presently.

Honorable Mention: N/A

Alaska - Scott Gomez, F

GP G A PTS ESA
1079 181 575 756 366

Gomez, a playmaking center who topped out at 84 points, picked up plenty of hardware over a six-team playing career. The pride of Anchorage won a Calder Trophy (1999-00) and two Stanley Cups (2000, 2003). At his peak, Gomez was a star, tying for the league lead in assists in 2003-04 with 56 helpers.

Honorable Mention: D Matt Carle, F Brandon Dubinsky

Arizona - Sean Couturier, F

GP G A PTS GWG
498 101 166 267 15

The desert has never been mistaken for a hockey hotbed, yet Couturier (raised in Quebec), Matthew Tkachuk (raised in St. Louis) and Matthews (born in California, raised in Arizona) represent legitimate NHLers with Arizona ties. Couturier, only 25 and the runner-up in Selke Trophy voting this spring, is a fringe star.

Honorable Mention: F Matthew Tkachuk

California - Auston Matthews, F

GP G A PTS ESG
144 74 58 132 61

It's two years into his NHL career and already Matthews is the top Cali-born player. The five-tool center is dynamic and strong, he drives play and takes very few penalties, and has amassed 74 goals in fewer than 150 games. Matthews, 20, is among a few in contention for the Maple Leafs' captaincy.

Honorable Mention: D Lee Norwood, D Brooks Orpik, F Jason Zucker

Colorado - Ben Bishop, G

GP W L T/O SV%
323 174 97 30 .919

Slavin may finish with a better career, but right now Bishop is the home run pick. The netminder has been a model of consistency since settling into the NHL, stopping between 91 percent and 92.4 percent of shots in all six seasons he has appeared in at least 20 games. Amazingly, Bishop has dressed for five teams.

Honorable Mention: F Mike Eaves, D Jaccob Slavin

Connecticut - Jonathan Quick, G

GP W L T/O SV%
556 293 195 56 .916

For a place with a population below 4 million, the southern New England state has produced some quality talent. Quick takes the cake here, in large part because he's a winner. Two Stanley Cups and one Conn Smythe vaults him ahead of Drury and Janney, forwards with impressive resumes.

Honorable Mention: F Chris Drury, F Craig Janney, F Max Pacioretty, D Kevin Shattenkirk

District of Columbia - Jeff Halpern, F

GP G A PTS FO%
976 152 221 373 54.2

Halpern and Kevyn Adams are the only notable NHLers born from the nation's capital. The former strung together a lengthier and more productive career. With stops in Washington, Dallas, Tampa, Los Angeles, Montreal, New York, and Phoenix, Halpern made the rounds. He was a faceoff-winning bottom-six forward.

Honorable Mention: F Kevyn Adams

Florida - Shayne Gostisbehere, D

GP G A PTS PPG
220 37 113 150 17

The man they call "the Ghost" is a byproduct of his surroundings, namely the nearby Panthers. Gostisbehere, 25, hails from Pembroke Pines, just down the highway from Sunrise. In 2017-18, he racked up 65 points for the Flyers to finish fourth in defenseman scoring. The sky is the limit for the power-play QB.

Honorable Mention: D Jakob Chychrun, F Dan Hinote

Georgia - Mark Mowers, F

GP G A PTS ESA
278 18 44 62 43

Mowers, now a pro scout for the Sabres, enjoyed seven NHL seasons despite going undrafted out of the University of New Hampshire. The center was born in Decatur but grew up in New York. In the mid-2010s, as Mowers fell out of favor with NHL teams, he jumped to the top Swiss league.

Honorable Mention: N/A

Illinois - Chris Chelios, D

GP G A PTS +/-
1651 185 763 948 +351

Underrated historically, Chelios is not only Illinois' claim to hockey fame but also one of the game's all-time defensemen. The ageless wonder finally retired at 48, riding off into the sunset with three Norris Trophies and three Stanley Cups. Chelios, an 11-time All-Star, offered a unique mix of grit and skill.

Honorable Mention: G Craig Anderson, F Ed Olczyk

Indiana - Jack Johnson, D

GP G A PTS TOI
788 66 212 278 22:52

Johnson, of Indianapolis, is past his prime but has enjoyed a productive career as a minute-munching defenseman. He spent nearly five full seasons on the Kings, before being dealt to the Blue Jackets in 2012. Now locked up by the Penguins, Johnson can reset and, at 31, potentially get back on track.

Honorable Mention: F Donald Brashear, D John-Michael Liles

Iowa - Scott Clemmensen, G

GP W L T/O SV%
191 73 59 24 .905

Perhaps best known for being one of Martin Brodeur's backups, the Des Moines native was no All-Star. However, considering he was picked in the eighth round of the 1997 NHL Draft, Clemmensen sure made something out of nothing. In retirement, he develops goaltenders for the Devils.

Honorable Mention: N/A

Maine - Brian Dumoulin, D

GP G A PTS TOI
243 7 44 51 19:50

The Pine Tree State is a toss-up. On one hand, blue-liner Dumoulin is a two-time Stanley Cup champion, yet a veteran of just 243 NHL games. On the other, Rick DiPietro, now an analyst, was a highly touted prospect and decent NHL goalie whose body of work is forever incomplete due to career-ending injuries.

Honorable Mention: G Rick DiPietro

Maryland - Jeff Brubaker, F

GP G A PTS SH%
178 16 9 25 16.7

There isn't much meat on the bone in Maryland, with Jeff Halpern's birthplace listed as Washington, D.C. So, by default, Brubaker is the state's golden boy. The Frederick native had trouble finding steady NHL work, topping out at eight goals and four assists in 68 games for the Maple Leafs in 1984-85.

Honorable Mention: N/A

Massachusetts - Jeremy Roenick, F

GP G A PTS PPG
1363 513 703 1216 184

Roenick is hands-down a top-10 American-born player. He edges out a great collection of players hailing from Massachusetts, thanks to a resume straddling the Hall of Fame line. J.R. produced three 100-point seasons and two 50-goal campaigns, and he never shied away from flaunting that magnetic personality.

Honorable Mention: F Tony Amonte, G Tom Barrasso, F Bobby Carpenter, F Bill Guerin, F Keith Tkachuk

Michigan - Mike Modano, F

GP G A PTS SH%
1499 561 813 1374 13.1

Modano is arguably the greatest U.S.-born player to skate in the NHL. One of his closest competitors, Brett Hull, was born in Canada, while Brian Leetch and Chris Chelios don't seem to carry the same clout. Modano holds the nation's record for goals and points, and he has a Stanley Cup ring.

Honorable Mention: D Mark Howe, F Ryan Kesler, G Ryan Miller, G Tim Thomas, F Doug Weight

Minnesota - Phil Housley, D

GP G A PTS PPP
1495 338 894 1232 609

Fourth all-time in points by a defenseman, Housley was a treat to watch for 20 years. His effortless skating, crafty passing, and ability to run a power play was a deadly combination. In 1992-93, the State of Hockey's best nearly hit triple digits - a rare feat for a blue-liner - but settled for 97 points in 80 games.

Honorable Mention: G Frank Brimsek, F Neal Broten, F Dave Christian, F Jamie Langenbrunner

Missouri - Pat LaFontaine, F

GP G A PTS ESP
865 468 545 1013 611

Call him Mr. Missouri. Among those born in the Midwest state, LaFontaine is in another realm. The Hall of Fame center racked up a ridiculous 148 points in 1992-93, his second of two triple-digit seasons. He made five All-Star teams and holds the 15th-highest points per game in NHL history.

Honorable Mention: F Patrick Maroon, F Paul Ranheim

Nebraska - Jed Ortmeyer, F

GP G A PTS TOI
345 22 31 53 11:12

A member of the Omaha Hockey Hall of Fame, Ortmeyer is as good as it gets in Nebraska. He averaged 11 minutes per night over eight seasons. The right-handed forward dressed for the Rangers, Predators, Sharks, and Wild. Nowadays, he is employed by the Rangers in a player development capacity.

Honorable Mention: N/A

New Hampshire - Deron Quint, D

GP G A PTS TOI
463 46 97 143 18:56

Drafted by the original Jets, Quint never made a major impact on the NHL. The left-handed blue-liner from Durham was by no means a point producer, with seasonal career highs of seven goals and 18 assists. Quint, now 42, was traded twice in 2000 and played for five clubs.

Honorable Mention: D Mark Fayne, D Ben Lovejoy

New Jersey - Johnny Gaudreau, F

GP G A PTS SH%
312 97 191 288 12.2

Gaudreau, the 5-foot-9, 157-pound perennial scoring threat, is just revving up, whereas Bobby Ryan and James van Riemsdyk have probably hit their respective ceilings. Johnny Hockey, who bagged 24 goals and 60 assists this past season, should be contending for Art Ross and Lady Byng honors over the next decade.

Honorable Mention: F Bobby Ryan, F James van Riemsdyk

New York - Joe Mullen, F

GP G A PTS PPP
1062 502 561 1063 334

Hall of Famer Mullen is a slam dunk here, even though Kane is arguably the best active American. A point-per-game player for his career, Mullen won three Stanley Cups in four years (1989 with the Flames; 1991, 1992 with the Penguins). He picked up two Lady Byngs and recorded 110 points in 1988-89.

Honorable Mention: F Dustin Brown, F Brian Gionta, F Patrick Kane, D Mathieu Schneider

North Carolina - Jared Boll, F

GP G A PTS HIT
579 28 38 66 1044

Boll, who hails from Charlotte, went 101st overall in the 2005 NHL Draft. Since, he has carved out a decent career as a big-bodied, throwback right winger. He's hanging on as the league drifts toward speed and skill. As of this writing, Boll is an unrestricted free agent following two years with the Ducks.

Honorable Mention: F Ben Smith

North Dakota - Paul Gaustad, F

GP G A PTS FO%
727 89 142 231 56.8

Size and faceoffs - that was Gaustad in three words. With a 6-foot-5, 227-pound frame and a knack for winning more draws than basically the whole league, he was a valuable role player. Now retired, Gaustad's body of work can be fairly compared to Tim Jackman's career. And it's Gaustad by a mile.

Honorable Mention: F Tim Jackman

Ohio - Bryan Smolinski, F

GP G A PTS GWG
1056 274 377 651 45

A handy player for 14-plus seasons, Smolinski's career can be summed up in a word: solid. The Toledo native scored the odd timely goal, pitched in on the power play, and was a mainstay on penalty-killing units across the NHL. All told, the 6-foot-1, 203-pounder dressed for eight teams.

Honorable Mention: D Dave Ellett, F Curt Fraser, D Moe Mantha

Oklahoma - Tyler Arnason, F

GP G A PTS GWG
487 88 157 245 14

This is basically a tie, with the advantage going to Arnason for (as of now) boasting a fuller resume than John Merrill. The left-handed center had a career year with the Blackhawks in 2002-03, contributing 22 goals and 33 assists in 82 games. Merrill, picked by the Golden Knights in the expansion draft, is just 26.

Honorable Mention: D Jon Merrill

Oregon - Jere Gillis, F

GP G A PTS GWG
386 78 95 173 14

It has been a long time since Oregon produced an NHLer. In fact, Gillis, who played from 1977 to 1986, is the only local to even flirt with the 200-game mark. The Bend native suited up for the Canucks, Rangers, Nordiques, Sabres, Canucks, and, for one game, the Flyers.

Honorable Mention: F Scott Levins

Pennsylvania - Mike Richter, G

GP W L T/O SV%
666 301 258 73 .904

Richter is America's most famous goaltender. Helping his case for Pennsylvania's best is a Stanley Cup, three All-Star selections and a career spent under the spotlight. Richter, who had his down years with the Rangers, ranks 33rd on the all-time wins list. John Gibson might eventually snatch his crown.

Honorable Mention: G John Gibson, F Ryan Malone, F Vincent Trocheck, F R.J. Umberger

Rhode Island - Bryan Berard, D

GP G A PTS TOI
619 76 247 323 20:49

Hailing from a place called Woonsocket, Berard burst onto the scene as the first overall pick and 1996-97 Calder Trophy winner. Unfortunately, his career was derailed by a gruesome eye injury. He missed the entire 2000-01 season and, though he didn't retire until years later, was never the same player.

Honorable Mention: G Brian Boucher, D Keith Carney

South Carolina - Ryan Hartman, F

GP G A PTS CF%
162 30 33 63 52.8

Hartman, born on Hilton Head Island, is a work in progress. The 23-year-old's underlying numbers are nice but the counting stats haven't caught up. After going 30th overall in the 2013 NHL Draft, Hartman has split two-and-a-half seasons between the Blackhawks (past) and Predators (current).

Honorable Mention: N/A

Texas - Brian Leetch, D

GP G A PTS ESA
1205 247 781 1028 431

Texas: Land of defensemen - apparently. All three of the state's NHLers are quality blue-liners. Unequivocally, it's Leetch who holds serve. He won four individual awards (Calder, Norris, Conn Smythe, Norris) despite competing against Nicklas Lidstrom. Plus: 11 All-Star nods and a Stanley Cup.

Honorable Mention: D Seth Jones, D Tyler Myers

Utah - Steve Konowalchuk, F

GP G A PTS GWG
790 171 225 396 26

Not the sexiest name in NHL history, but the Salt Lake City native built a decent career. Konowalchuk, recently fired by the Ducks as a coach, collected 40 or more points five times during his playing career. The left winger had his moments, registering a pair of hat tricks with the Capitals in 1995-96.

Honorable Mention: F Trevor Lewis

Vermont - John LeClair, F

GP G A PTS ESG
967 406 413 819 287

Standing alone atop the Vermont hockey mountain is one of the most dominant power forwards of his generation. LeClair, at 6-foot-3 and 226 pounds, was a beast in his prime, bagging 50 goals in back-to-back-to-back seasons. And he followed up those three golden years with campaigns of 43 and 40 goals.

Honorable Mention: N/A

Virginia - Eric Weinrich, D

GP G A PTS TOI
1157 70 318 388 22:55

Talk about longevity. Weinrich survived six NHL trades, stretching out his stay on the blue line to nearly 1,200 games. He provided teams with stability and durability. Scott Darling (longtime minor leaguer) and Scott Lachance (Olympian) are nice stories, but not quite at Weinrich's impact level.

Honorable Mention: G Scott Darling, D Scott Lachance

Washington - T.J. Oshie, F

GP G A PTS CF%
665 187 277 464 52.1

It's safe to say Oshie is a 50-point guy. The pride of Everett has been within striking distance of, hit, or surpassed 50 in the seven campaigns he has dressed for at least 60 games. Tyler Johnson (two 50-point seasons and a 70-pointer) is right there with him. Tie goes to Stanley Cup champion Oshie.

Honorable Mention: F Patrick Dwyer, F Tyler Johnson

Wisconsin - Gary Suter, D

GP G A PTS PPA
1145 203 641 844 387

Gary Suter leads an excellent group of Wisconsinites. A quick career synopsis: Ryan's uncle went in the ninth round of the 1984 NHL Draft, picked up the Calder Trophy in 1985-86, recorded 91 points in his third season, helped lead the Flames to a Stanley Cup in his fourth, and then played 13 more.

Honorable Mention: F Phil Kessel, F Joe Pavelski, F Drew Stafford, D Ryan Suter

(Photos courtesy: Getty Images)

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Former NHL coach Tim Hunter named Canada’s world junior bench boss

Tim Hunter is getting his chance.

Hunter, an assistant coach at the 2017 and 2018 World Junior Championships, has been promoted to head coach of Team Canada's world junior squad, Hockey Canada announced Tuesday.

The former NHL player (Flames, Nordiques, Canucks, Sharks) and NHL coach (Capitals, Sharks, Maple Leafs) will be tasked with leading Canada to glory in a tournament that's becoming increasingly difficult to handicap. This year's event, hosted by Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia, runs from late December to early January.

Joining Hunter on the 2019 world junior coaching staff are Marc-André Dumont, Jim Hulton, and Brent Kisio. Hunter and his assistants are all head coaches in the Canadian Hockey League - Hunter in Moose Jaw, Dumont in Cape Breton, Hulton in Charlottetown, and Kisio in Lethbridge.

"To be in a position to have familiarity in our coaching staff with Tim Hunter gives us the opportunity to again compete for a gold medal," Scott Salmond, Hockey Canada's senior vice-president of national teams, said in a statement. "All three assistant coaches have also had prior experience working within our Program of Excellence at various levels. Their experience and knowledge will help our players succeed in this prestigious international tournament."

The Canadians won the gold medal in Buffalo in 2018, settled for silver in Montreal/Toronto in 2017, and failed to medal in 2016. Over the past 10 world junior tournaments, Canada has won three golds, three silvers, and one bronze.

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Ducks pick up depth forward Brian Gibbons

Brian Gibbons has a one-way ticket to California.

The unrestricted free-agent forward has signed a one-year deal with the Anaheim Ducks, the team announced Monday. The first one-way contract of Gibbons' career is worth $1 million, reports Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports.

In 2017-18, he recorded 12 goals and 14 assists in 59 regular-season games. He leaves the New Jersey Devils organization after two campaigns.

The 30-year-old Boston College alumnus has also dressed for the Pittsburgh Penguins and Columbus Blue Jackets over a 125-game NHL career. In total, Gibbons has posted 17 goals and 31 assists.

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