TIMMINS - I am no orthopedic surgeon, but I can safely say Auston Matthews is nursing a bad back. When you stuff a 6' 3", 215-pound hockey player into a small shopping cart like the one in the commercial featuring Matthews, it's bound to make you have a sore back. That's my astute observation. Just sayin'!
What a refreshing interview I watched with St. Louis captain Brayden Schenn last week. The 33-year-old Saskatoon native was talking about how he and his brother Luke spent their young years learning the game. The two brothers, as well as a few other locals who would go on to play Major Junior and NHL, all shared one thing in common — countless hours on outdoor ice developing the basic skills to be built upon when part of an organized team late on. I can tell you so many stories about watching kids who I knew spent many, many hours skating on outdoor ice. Their skating skills were so pure from skating on what is less than a perfect surface. Think back to when you were playing and remember the best skaters of your time. The vast majority skated a ton on outdoor ice.
The Schenns are in their 30s so they are part of the video game, computer age. But they and their parents made outdoor ice a part of their hockey regimen. Fausto Coppi, a great champion cyclist, once said, "You want to be a world cycling champion? Ride a bike....ride a bike...ride a bike..''' Get my drift?
I keep hearing how young Connor Bedard is "struggling". He may not be lighting it up goal-wise like some people projected, that's a fact. This is a teenager who could be on Canada's World Junior team roster. A teenager leading his last-place team in total points and assists. A teenager with 21 points in 28 games including 16 assists, which is six more than the next closest Blackhawk. For comparison, his assist total is the same as Brady Tkachuk. His assist total is more than John Tavares, Jake Guentzel, Brayden Point, Sam Bennett, William Nylander, Nikolats Ehlers and Anthony Cirelli.
If you lead the team in assists, it means you are setting up players for goals and Chicago does not have one single goal scorer of note so Bedard is obviously spreading it around.
The list of players with the same or less assists than Bedard has one thing he does not — a dearth of goal-scorers and playmakers on their roster.
Chicago is a young team supplemented by some solid veteran players. They just don't have enough of them. Bedard will have to adjust his game to get into dirtier areas to bolster his scoring. But he desperately needs a wingman.
But when a teenager leads an NHL team in scoring does he really need the added pressure of hearing he is struggling? The whole team is struggling. As he and his young mates mature and the veterans stay focused and committed, things will get brighter.
It was a tough start for Canada East and West at the 2024 World Junior A Challenge. Canada East dropped a decision to team USA, while West dropped a game to Sweden. East would bounce back to grab a win versus West a little later. In other games, Sweden beat the Americans 5-3.
Action resumes Thursday with East vs Sweden and USA vs West. Saturday sees the semis being played with Sunday sporting the medals games. Lots of hockey left for Canada to grab the gold.
Not sure what the column's schedule will be over the holidays so keep a sharp eye.
Later Skater.
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