Whether it happens in your 78th game or occurs in just your sixth, netting that first National Hockey League goal is a special moment.
Madison Bowey, defense, Washington Capitals.
Just ask Washington Capitals defenseman Madison Bowey and Edmonton Oilers blue-liner Caleb Jones.
Bowey, who appeared in 51 games for the Capitals last season, finally got his first NHL goal Saturday night – a rifle from the slot at 1:01 of the second period in a 3-2 Washington win over the OttawaSenators in Ottawa.
Washington rookie defenseman Tyler Lewington also scored his first goal in just his second NHL game. It was a first period tally that gave the Capitals a 2-0 lead in the opening frame.
“Obviously, it’s a long time, but it definitely felt great,” Bowey told The Washington Post of his of his goal. “It turned out to be a big goal for us…It was awesome, and I know the boys were happy for me, and to get that success, it’s sweet.”
Jones’ first goal, in his sixth NHL game since being called up from the AHL BakersfieldCondors, was one of the few bright spots for the Oilers in a 7-4 drubbing by the San Jose Sharks in Edmonton Saturday.
His score came at 10:40 of the third period in the the Oilers’ fifth straight loss.
“I’m sure in a couple of days when I look back on it, I will have a little smile,” Jones, the younger brother of Columbus Blue Jackets All-Star defenseman Seth Jones, told The Canadian Press. after the game. “But there was a lot of bad things tonight in our game. The moment I scored it, it just felt like a garbage-time goal.”
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“I had never seen two black women at a hockey game before,” said Hess, a Riverside, California resident who likes to attend Anaheim Ducks games. “So I made it my mission this year to make that happen.”
Mission accomplished, big time. Hess’ organization, the Black Girl Hockey Club, held its inaugural meetup at the Washington Capitals–Buffalo Sabres game Saturday night at D.C.’s Capital One Arena.
The Black Girl Hockey Club meet members of the Washington Capitals after a game between the Buffalo Sabres and Capitals at Capital One Arena (Photo/ Patrick McDermott/NHLI via Getty Images).
More than 40 women of color traveled from across the country to join Hess and witness Capitals forward Devante Smith-Pelly notch his 100th National Hockey League career point in Washington’s 4-3 shootout win over Buffalo.
The game was exciting but so, too, was the sight of so many women of color and their hockey-playing children quickly bonding by sharing their experiences of being minorities in love with and involved in a predominately white sport.
“The more I started talking to women who were hockey fans, the more I realized that so many hadn’t been to games because they didn’t feel comfortable going to games or they didn’t know anybody who was going to go with them,” said Hess, an associate professor of English at La Sierra University in Riverside.
Black Girl Hockey Club Founder Renee Hess meets Washington Capitals defenseman Madison Bowey after a game between the Buffalo Sabres and Capitals (Photo/ Patrick McDermott/NHLI via Getty Images).
“Doing this in D.C., it turned into this big ‘ol thing that snowballed. Once people started hearing about it they were telling their friends – that one black friend who plays hockey,” she added. “We’re not islands, we just didn’t know the others existed. So what I wanted to do is make us more visible.”
Hess identified Washington as the perfect spot for the first meetup because the Capitals have two black players, Smith-Pelly and defenseman Madison Bowey; two black part-owners in Earl Stafford and Sheila Johnson; and the team won the Stanley Cup last season.
Washington also has a strong minority hockey history with the presence of the Fort Dupont Ice Hockey Club, North America’s oldest minority-oriented youth hockey program.
Members of the Black Girl Hockey Club enjoy the game between the Washington Capitals and Buffalo Sabres in D.C. Saturday night (Photo/Washington Capitals).
The Capitals and the National Hockey League – including Kim Davis, the league’s executive vice president of social impact, growth and legislative affairs -rolled out the welcome mat for BGHC.
Stafford hosted a pre-game reception and spoke to the group in a conference room at Capital One Arena. Shandor Alphonso, the NHL’s only black on-ice official, stopped by with the rest of the officiating crew that worked Saturday’s game and talked about what life is like wearing referee zebra stripes.
Washington Capitals forward Devante Smith-Pelly signs Black Girl Hockey Club member Corinne McIntosh-Douglas’ jersey (Photo/Oyin Adedoyin/Morgan State University).
“I had not known of this organization, a gathering of those you typically wouldn’t expect to see at a hockey game,” Stafford told NHL.com. “It just encourages me that there are people out there interested in this great sport and we want to tell their story.”
Even Slap Shot, the Capitals mascot popped in to give high-fives and pose for pictures with the women and their kids. He brought along the mascots for the Sabres, Tampa BayLightning, Dallas Stars, Washington Nationals baseball team and WashingtonWizards basketball team.
Lonnie Bunch III, the founding director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum ofAfrican American History and Culture, was on hand to witness the historic event and attend his first NHL game.
Lonnie Bunch III, founding director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, attends his first NHL game and meets the Black Girl Hockey Club rocking a Devante Smith-Pelly jersey (Photo/Jackie Jones).
Friday, the BGHC members were given a personal tour of the popular museum with sports curator Damion Thomas as their guide. The women took a tour of Capitol Hill’s Capitol Visitor’s Center Friday morning, courtesy of Eleanor Holmes Norton, the District of Columbia’s member of the U.S. House of Representatives and a member of the Congressional Hockey Caucus.
After Saturday’s game, the group met and chatted with Smith-Pelly, Bowey, goaltender Braden Holtby, defenseman Brooks Orpik, and center Nic Dowd.
“This is great, Smith-Pelly said. “I didn’t think it would be possible to have a room full of full of black hockey fans, black women hockey fans. It’s awesome. To have the people in this room behind me, it’s pretty cool.”
“That’s a good organization that they started and hopefully it gets bigger and they continue to try to change the game,” Smith-Pelly added.
Bowey agreed.
“This shows the diversity that’s come a long way,” he said. “Willie O’Ree broke the barrier for us, and I can’t thank him enough for what he’s done. It’s awesome to see this and it makes me very proud that I can be one player of color to make it in the NHL.”
Black Girl Hockey Club meet member Flo Clemmons strikes a pose with Washington Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby (Photo/Patrick McDermott/NHLI via Getty Images).
For Florence Clemmons, who traveled from Rochester, New York, meeting the Capitals players, Stafford and Alphonso was great, but bonding with such a large group of black female hockey fans was something truly special.
“I think it’s important to show folks what we’re really all about,” said Clemmons, who is program director for the Genesee Valley Youth Hockey Club. “We are a culture of folks that really likes the sport, knows about the sport, and really wants to see the sport grow.”
Washington Capitals defenseman Brooks Orpik signs autographs for some of the kids who attended the Black Girls Hockey Club meetup at the Capitals-Buffalo Sabres game in D.C. Saturday (Photo/Patrick McDermott/NHLI via Getty Images).
Kelsey Koelzer, a defenseman for the Metropolitan Riveters of the National Women’s Hockey League, said it was “a no brainer” for her and her mother, Kristine, to attend the meetup.
“Being a current black female hockey player and getting to meet up with fellow black hockey fans in general, it was something I knew I had to be a part of,” Koelzer said. “I was surprised about the numbers, but really not surprised. I think the sport is growing a lot and catching on. Getting to do this in this setting, at an NHL game, is really, really special.”
Hess and her fellow BGHC members promise that Saturday’s meetup won’t be a one-off. BGHC, along with the Color of Hockey, are planning a February 10 gather in Tennessee for the Nashville Predators-St. Louis Blues match followed by the NWHL All-Star Game.
“I know our numbers are going to grow, this being the first time,” Clemmons said. “I know once this becomes national, there’s no stopping us.”
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What’s better than eating pierogies out of the Stanley Cup?
Washington Captials defenseman Madison Bowey.
Eating grandma’s pierogies out of the Cup, just like Washington Capitals defense Madison Bowey did during his designated day with the trophy in Winnipeg on Saturday.
Bowey shared the Cup with his family and Winnipeg’s Varsity View Community Club, which he credited with helping mold him into a National Hockey League player.
“My hockey career began here, at this great community club in this wonderful hockey city, and this is my chance to pay tribute to everyone who helped me get started, and encouraged me to keep going,” Bowey said, per Canada’s Global News.
Bowey didn’t play in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. But the 23-year-old did appear in 51 regular season games as a rookie in the 2017-18 season. He didn’t score a goal, but he did register 12 assists.
Washington Capitals defenseman Madison Bowey samples some of grandma’s pierogies from the greatest serving bowl – the Stanley Cup (Photo/MParolin/HHOF).
The Capitals showed their faith in their 2013 second-round draft pick when they re-signed him to a two-year, $2 million deal earlier this month.
Bowey said he hopes bringing the Stanley Cup to his local rink will show younger hockey players that all things are possible.
Madison Bowey hoisted the Stanley Cup after the Capitals won it in Las Vegas against the Golden Knights. He lifted it again at his local rink in Winnipeg (Photo/MParolin/HHOF).
“Help the younger guys that are striving to be where I am right now, and I think if I can just come back and help out the community as much as I can, it goes a long way,” Bowey said, according to Global News.
Nothing says “Thank you” like bringing the Stanley Cup to where your hockey career began. Washington Capitals defenseman Madison Bowey did that on his Cup day Saturday (Pnoto/MParolin/HHOF)
Bowey and Caps forward Devante Smith-Pellywill become the eighth and ninth black players to have their names inscribed on the Stanley Cup.
Years before he won the Stanley Cup, Madison Bowey spent some quality time with it as a Hockey Hall of Fame visitor. And he has the picture to prove it (Photo/WNeubrand/HHOF).
Their names join those of goaltenders Grant Fuhr(Edmonton Oilers – 1984, 1985, 1987, 1998, 1990), Eldon “Pokey” Riddick(Oilers – 1990) and the late Ray Emery (Chicago Blackhawks – 2013), forwards Dustin Byfuglien(Blackhawks -2013) and Jamal Mayers(Blackhawks-2013), and defensemen Johnny Oduya (Blackhawks-2013, 2015) and Trevor Daley(Pittsburgh Penguins – 2016, 2017).
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We’ve taken a look at diversity in the National Hockey League at the start of the 2016-17 season. Now let’s take a peek at the future.
A growing number of players color have been drafted by NHL teams in recent years. Several of them are currently playing for the minor league affiliates of the NHL teams that drafted them or skating for the major junior teams they were chosen from.
Some players drafted between 2012 and 2016, like defensemen Seth Jones and Darnell Nurse, have made to the NHL.
And others, like forward Joshua Ho-Sang, have the potential to be called up to the parent club this season. So here’s a look at NHL diversity, the next generation.
Oliver Kylington, D, Calgary Flames 2015 2nd-round pick.
The 2013 National Hockey League Draft was as deep in talented defensemen as it was steeped in diversity.
And some defensemen from diverse backgrounds selected in that draft at New Jersey’s Prudential Center are beginning to make their mark in the professional game.
The Columbus Blue Jackets expect big things from defenseman Seth Jones.
Each player is chasing his dream for National Hockey League stardom, climbing professional hockey’s ladder at his own pace – or that dictated by the team that drafted him.
Jones, taken by the Nashville Predators with the fourth overall pick of the draft, hasn’t spent a day in the minor leagues. But after he spent more than two seasons in Music City, the Predators traded him last week to the ColumbusBlue Jackets for talented but enigmatic center Ryan Johansen.
The swap from Nashville, currently sixth in the NHL’s Western Conference, to Columbus, dwelling in the NHL Eastern Conference cellar, wasn’t a knock on Jones’ play.
The Blue Jackets expect big things from the Texas-born son of former National Basketball Association forward Popeye Jones. In Nashville, Seth Jones was the student to defensive master Shea Weber.
In 40 games with the Predators, Jones tallied 1 goal and 10 assists and averaged 19:42 minutes on ice per game.
With Columbus, he’ll play more minutes and see more power play time and penalty-killing action under demanding Head Coach John Tortorella. He’ll go from being one of the guys on Nashville’s blue line to being The Man on the Blue Jackets back end.
“He’s going to get a lot bigger role with our team,”Blue Jackets General Manager Jarmo Kekalainen told reporters last week. “He’s 21 years old and he’s got the future ahead of him and a lot of room for growth and development. We believe he’s a good two-way defenseman that can add some offense to our game.”
Ironically, one of the last things Jones saw in Nashville was the player he was traded for as he and Johansen passed each other at the airport. Jones expressed excitement about the new opportunity in Columbus.
“They made it pretty clear that they’re going to throw a little bit more at me than I’ve been used to getting,” Jones told reporters in Columbus. “I’m excited and ready to take on the challenge.”
Nurse believed he was NHL-ready from the moment he slipped on an Oilers jersey on draft day. But the team’s brain trust thought otherwise and sent him back to the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, his junior team inthe Ontario Hockey League, for the 2013-14 season. He went back to the Soo again in 2014-15.
He was assigned to the Bakersfield Condors, the Olilers’ AHL affiliate,after this season’s
After being promoted from the AHL, Darnell Nurse is averaging 21 minutes per game.
training camp and was called up to the parent club after some of its defensemen suffered injuries.
Since then, Nurse has tallied 2 goals and 5 assists while averaging 21 minutes of ice time per game in 34 games. He’s also added a little toughness to an offensively-talented but grit-challenged Oilers lineup. He’s amassed 19 penalty minutes, five of them coming from a fight against Milan Lucic, the Los Angeles Kings’ physically-imposing and feared veteran forward.
Some thought the bout was too much too soon for the rookie Nurse. He didn’t.
“My mum was like, ‘What are you doing?’ My dad said he was proud of me,” Nurse told The Edmonton Journal. “This (fighting) is something I’m going to have to do the way I play.”
Madison Bowey is only a two-hour drive from where he hopes to eventually be: With the Washington Capitals. The team took Bowey in the second round with the 53rd pick of the 2013 draft.
After he captained his Western Hockey League Kelowna Rockets to the MasterCardMemorial Cup Final last season and teamed up with Nurse on the blue line to help a diverse Team Canada win the Gold Medal at the 2015 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship, the Capitals sent Bowey to the AHL’s HersheyBears.
He has 2 goals, 11 assists, and 24 penalty minutes in 33 games with the Bears.
“I think it’s been going pretty well,” Bowey told PennLive last month. “It’s a learning process and I’m learning a lot every day.”
Madison Bowey hopes to be an impact player with the AHL Hershey Bears – and eventually with the Washington Capitals (Photo/Courtesy JustSports Photography).
Bears Head Coach Troy Mann agrees.
“From the bench as you watch him play, when he’s moving the puck and limiting his turnovers, he’s having a good game,” Mann told PennLive. “Like any young defenseman, there are nights where his gap control might not be as good as we need it to be, or his defensive-zone coverage. But I think he’s progressing the way we all thought he would. He’s a second-round pick that’s going to need some nurturing in the AHL for a couple seasons.”
Jordan Subban was chosen in the fourth-round of the 2013 draft by the Vancouver Canucks with the 115th pick. His older brother, MontrealCanadiens superstar defenseman P.K. Subban, declared before the draft that Jordan was a better, more cerebral blueliner than he is.
Like his big brother, Jordan is about offense from the back end. The 5-foot-9 defenseman notched 25 goals and 27 assists for the Ontario Hockey League’s Belleville Bulls last season.
Utica Comets defenseman Jordan Subban (left) doing what he does best – shooting (Photo/Lindsay A. Mogle/Utica Comets).
He’s continuing his offensive ways in his first season with for the Utica Comets, the Canucks’ AHL farm team, where he has 5 goals and 14 assists in 29 games.
“The (AHL) is a little more skilled than I thought it was going to be,” Subban told Utica’s Observer-Dispatch in November. “It was a bit of an adjustment. There are a lot of good players…I think I’ve taken a big step in my zone, but I still have work to do.”
Jonathan-Ismael Diaby will be the first to admit that he’s still very much a work in progress. At 6-foot-5 and 223 pounds, he’s described himself as “bigger, taller and slower” compared to other hockey players.
Nashville Predators 2013 draft pick Jonathan Diaby (left) working on improving his game with the AHL Milwaukee Admirals (Photo/Milwaukee Admirals).
But the Predators love his size – a “monster,” one scout called him – and his ruggedness. Nashville took him in the third round with the 64th pick in the 2013 draft.
Since then, the former Victoriaville Tigres defenseman has bounced between the Milwaukee Admirals, the Preds’ AHL affiliate, and CincinnatiCyclones, Nashville’s ECHL farm team.
The son of a soccer player from the Ivory Coast, Diaby is scoreless in five AHL games this season but has 21 penalty minutes. He has 1 assist and 11 penalty minutes in 17 ECHL games.
“I just want to show more consistency and show that I’m more poised and more in control of the game,” Diaby told The Tennesseanduring the Predators’ training camp in September. “As a hockey player, you come to training camp, you want to make the team, but it’s a learning experience. I’ve still got a lot to learn and a lot to improve on. The AHL’s a great league.”
The 2015 NHL Draft will forever be considered one of the deepest drafts in league history in terms of talent. But it will also go down as one the richest drafts in terms of diversity.
Nine players of color were selected in the draft’s seven rounds. Yes, Connor McDavid had his name called by the Edmonton Oilers, and Jack Eichel’s by the Buffalo Sabres. But forward Jordan Greenwayalso got the call. So did Bokondji Imama, a two-fisted winger whose family hails from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Ditto forward Andong Song, who carries the hockey aspirations of a nation on his New York Islanders jersey-clad shoulders. Here’s a look at some of the players chosen:
Jordan Greenway is wild about playing for Minnesota Wild – after attending college.
Greenway, a forward with the USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program, was drafted in the second round by the Minnesota Wild, the 50th player selected overall.
The 6-foot-4 player from Potsdam, N.Y., tallied five goals and 15 assists in 23 games last season for the NTDP’s United States Hockey League entry and nine goals and 35 assists in 53 games for the U.S. National Under-18 squad.
“I’m fortunate enough just to be here in the draft,” Greenway 18, told reporters after donning a Wild jersey. “Being drafted here is great. Everyone dreams of being in the NHL Draft one day. It’s just unbelievable.”
Greenway won’t be a stranger in the Twin Cities. He played three seasons for Shattuck-St. Mary’s, a hockey power prep school about 57 miles south of St. Paul. But don’t look for Greenway in the NHL soon. He’s committed to playing hockey at Boston University this fall.
“I really like the city of Boston,” he said. “Playing college hockey or the (Ontario Hockey League) is a good route. For some people college hockey is a good route and for some people the OHL is a good route. I like school.”
Keegan Kolesar’s loss proved to be his gain at the draft. The Seattle Thunderbirds right wing was taken by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the third round with the 69th overall pick.
Kolesar worked hard to shed about 20 pounds off his 2013-14 playing weight. At 6-foot-2 and 210 pounds, Kolesar scored 19 goals and 19 assists in 64 games for Seattle. He also was a regular visitor to the penalty box with 85 minutes.
Keegan Kolesar (right) lost weight and put up the points for Seattle last season (Photo/Brian Liesse/Seattle Thunderbirds).
“The weight loss and dedication I put into training and nutrition really helped,” Kolesar told The Winnipeg Sun. “I’m a power forward in the truest sense. I think I’m one of the better forecheckers in the (Canadian Hockey League). I like to fight and I have a knack for the net and offensive instincts. I play well in all three zones.”
The Winnipeg Jets nabbed left wing Erik Foley in the third round with the 78th pick in the draft. Foley grew up a Boston Bruins fan in Mansfield, Mass., but is looking forward to starting a pro career with the Jets in “a real hockey hotbed.”
Erik Foley meets the press after being drafted by the Winnipeg Jets.
Foley scored 27 goals and 27 assists in 55 games last season with the USHL’s CedarRapids RoughRiders. “I’m a power forward,” he said. “I like to use my body, use my shot.”
Foley’s stock rose in the days leading to the draft. One USHL coach told The WinnipegSun that Foley was “probably the toughest player in the USHL to play against.”
Foley won’t be playing with Jets defenseman Dustin Byfuglien soon. He’ll be in Rhode Island playing for the Providence Friars, the reigning NCAA Frozen Four champs, this fall.
Right wing Mathieu Joseph had been to Florida only once before attending the draft. Now he may be calling the Sunshine State home after the Tampa Bay Lightning chose him in the fourth round, the 120th overall pick.
Mathieu Joseph was all smiles after being drafted by Tampa Bay Lightning.
A native of Chambly, Quebec, Joseph notched 21 goals and 21 assists in 59 games for the Saint Johns Sea Dogs of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League last season.
“I’m kind of a power forward with a little bit of skill, so I can bring some offense but I can play on the penalty kill, too,” he said. “I’m more of a guy who’s hard to play against. I’m always a guy who’s going to forecheck and backcheck and I’m always intense, I think that’s pretty much the type of hockey (Tampa Bay) is playing.”
Caleb Jones came along to watch his big brother Seth Joneson draft day 2013 in Newark, N.J. The Jones family waited anxiously until the highly prized defenseman was taken fourth overall by the Nashville Predators.
Last weekend was Caleb’s turn. The sturdy 18-year-old defenseman from theNTDP was drafted in the fourth round by the Oilers, the 117th pick overall.
“This was a little less nerve-wracking,” Caleb said.
At 6 foot and 194 pounds, Caleb is the smaller of the hockey-playing sons of Popeye
Defenseman Caleb Jones hopes to join big brother Seth Jones in the NHL/.
Jones, the former NBA player, but he may be the grittier of the two. “I’m a two-way defenseman,” he said. “I play a physical game, aggressive in the corners”
He had 8 points in 25 games last season with the NTDP, but also 28 penalty minutes against opposition in the USHL.
As Seth Jones did, on the way to becoming one of the up-and-coming elite NHL defensemen, Caleb will go play for the Portland Winterhawks of the Western Hockey League next season. His Big Brother Seth offered any advice?
“I didn’t have too much for him,” Seth told The Hockey Writers. “I’m not like some grizzled vet, but with the draft being this summer (for him), I just told him to take it one step at a time. It’s not about rankings or this and that. Just go play hockey. Play the way you know how to play and just don’t try to do too much. Just the little things.”
Another NHL draft, another stud defenseman drafted from the WHL’s Kelowna Rockets. Blue-liner Devante Stephens was tabbed by the Sabres in the fifth round with the 122nd pick. He follows in the Kelowna skates of Madison Bowey, a Washington Capitals prospect, Nashville Predators D-man Shea Weber, and the Chicago Blackhawks’Duncan Keith.
Stephens had four goals and seven assists in 64 games for Kelowna. He had four assists in 17 WHL playoff games with the Rockets.
“He’s convinced he’ll be an NHL player,” Greg Royce, the Sabres director of amateur scouting, told The Olean Times Herald. “We’re convinced he’ll be an NHL player. I do believe he was a steal there.”
The Buffalo Sabres think they’ve found a jewel in Kelowna’s Devante Stephens (Photo: Marissa Baecker/Kelowna Rockets)
The Oilers added to its stockpile of young defensemen by taking Ethan Bear in the fifth round with the 124th player chosen overall.
Bear, 18, scored 13 goals and 25 assists for the WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds last season. He also contributed a goal and an assist playing for Canada’s Under-18 team last season. The 5-foot-11 native of Regina, Sask., is Ochapowace First Nation.
Ethan Bear, left, joins a young Edmonton defensive corps that includes 2013 first-round pick Darnell Nurse (Photo/Brian Liesse/Seattle Thunderbirds)
“It’s amazing,” Bear said after the Oilers drafted him. “They’re a great organization. It’s been exciting this whole day, especially to get picked by Edmonton.”
Perhaps no sixth-round draft pick in NHL history has generated as much attention as defenseman Andong Song, who was taken by the Islanders over the weekend with the 172nd pick.
China’s Andong Song made hockey history at the 2015 NHL Draft.
Song is the first player in draft history born in China. He arrived at Sunrise’s BB&T Center with an entourage: His family and a television crew from China’s CCTV that followed his every move.
“Hopefully what I want to do is rally people behind me,” the 18-year-old Beijing-born player said. “Not focus on myself but do something good for Chinese hockey.”
Hockey in China could surely use a boost. A country with over 1.3 billion people, China has only 610 hockey players – 118 men, 308 juniors, 184 females – according to IIHF figures. The nation has only 58 indoor ice skating rinks and 43 outdoor facilities.
Song’s selection prompted the IIHF to put a list of Asian hockey milestones on its website. Song admits that he feels “a lot of pressure from people back home” to help put hockey on the map.
“Good pressure,” he added. “That’ll motivate me to become a better player and hopefully I’ll make them proud.”
A 6-foot, 165-pound blue-liner, Song played last season for New Jersey’s Lawrenceville School. He tallied 3 goals and 7 assists in 26 games. He’ll play next season for Philips Academy, a top prep school in Andover, Mass. He hopes to catch the attention of an NCAA Division I hockey school.
Song has international hockey experience. He twice played for China in the InternationalIce Hockey Federation’s Division B World Under-18 championship and captained the team that played in the 2015 tournament in Novi Sad, Serbia. He had two assists in five tourney games.
“When I started playing (in China) there weren’t a lot of people,” he said. “There wasn’t much support for the game. Last year when I went back, it had been eight years since I’d seen Chinese hockey and it was tremendous how far it’s grown. I’m sure they’ll keep trying to catch up to Europe and North America and Russia. There’s still a gap between them, but I’m sure if we focus on hockey we can catch up.”
Lightning draftee Bokondji Imama apparently has a game as tough as his name.
Bokondji Imama could one day have the most distinctive name in the NHL.
The Montreal native, a solid 6-foot-1, 214 pound left wing for the QMJHL’s St. John’s Sea Dogs, realized his dream when the Lightning selected him with the 180th overall pick in the sixth round.
Imama had three goals and six assists in 23 games for the Sea Dogs, but he also had 48 penalty minutes. According to the website hockeyfights.com, Imama had 15 in the 2014-15 regular season and two during the preseason.
Imama’s father, also named Bokondji, and mother were born in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Bokondji grew up as a typical kid in Montreal, playing hockey on outdoor rinks. But he loved all sports, and played rugged games with his father. The training turned him into a physical player.
“I’m a physical player who likes to stick up for his teammates,” he said, “but I can play the game, too.”
It’s conceivable that you might see Imama in the NHL someday protecting Lightning sniper Steven Stamkos and Tampa’s other young scorers.
The Color of Hockey’s Lew Serviss contributed mightily to this post.
Tyrell Goulbourne isn’t going to let a little thing like recovering from surgery on a lacerated calf muscle keep him from being with his Kelowna Rockets teammates when they compete for the Memorial Cup in a four-team major junior hockey tournament that begins Friday in scenic Quebec City.
“I wouldn’t miss it if I was in a wheelchair, I’ll be there,” Goulbourne, the 21-year-old left wing told Western Canada’s AM 1150 radio.
Goulbourne’s injury – he was cut by Portland Winterhawks forward Keegan Iverson’s skate in the third round of the Western Hockey Leagueplayoffs – has been the only downer in the Rockets’ ride to the 97th annual Memorial Cup tourney that will determine the Canadian Hockey Leaguechampion.
Injured Kelowna Rockets forward Tyrell Goulbourne will root for his team in the Memorial Cup from the sidelines (Photo/Marissa Baecker/Kelowna Rockets).
The team stormed through the Tri-City Americans, the Victoria Royals, and the Brandon Wheat Kings to capture the WHL’s Ed Chynoweth Cup, losing only three games along the way. The Rockets began the playoffs with a four-game sweep of the Americans and ended it by sweeping the Wheat Kings.
The quest for the Memorial Cup begins Friday when the Rockets face the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’sQuebec Remparts, the tournament’s host team. The Rimouski Oceanic, the QMJHL’s champions, and the Oshawa Generals, the Ontario Hockey Leaguechamps, also qualified for the tournament.
An Edmonton native, Goulbourne was a major contributor to the Rockets’ 53-13-5-1 regular season record and in the team’s playoff run before his injury. A Philadelphia Flyers third-round draft pick in 2013, he tallied 22 goals and 23 assists in 62 regular season games and notched a goal and an assist in 12 playoff games.
Four Rockets players were among the Top 10 scorers in the WHL playoffs. Still, Kelowna is known more for its defense. After all, this is the team that produced the likes of defensemen Shea Weber of the Nashville Predators, Duncan Keith of the Chicago Blackhawks, Tyler Myers of the WinnipegJets, Josh Gorges of the Buffalo Sabres and the Flyers’ Luke Schenn.
Madison Bowey hoists WHL championship trophy, perhaps a practice lift for the Memorial Cup (Photo by Marissa Baecker/Kelowna Rockets).
Carrying on that blue line tradition is team captain Madison Bowey, a 2013 Washington Capitals 2013 second-round draft pick. His 2014-15 season could earn him more than a look-see from Capitals Head Coach Barry Trotz during the team’s rookie camp and training camp later this year.
The 20-year-old Winnipeg native scored 17 goals and 43 assists in 58 regular season games and had a gaudy plus-minus of plus-38. He had 7 goals and 12 assists in 19 WHL playoff games. Bowey also played for Gold Medal-winning Team Canada in the 2015 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship, scoring a goal and 3 assists in the tournament.
All Bowey has done is win this season to the point that he’s in a position to complete a hat trick – an IIHF championship, a WHL championship, and a Memorial Cup.
Another Rockets defenseman, Devante Stephens, hopes to follow in Bowey’s skates and be selected by a National Hockey League team at the 2015 NHL Draft in Sunrise, Fla., next month. He’s ranked 116th among North American skaters by the NHL’s Central Scouting Service.
Devante Stephens hopes to follow a long line of Kelowna defensemen into the NHL (Photo/ Marissa Baecker/Kelowna Rockets).
Stephens scored 4 goals and 7 assists for the Rockets in 64 regular season games and 4 assists in 17 playoff games. The Surrey, British Columbia, native won the team’s Rookie of the Year and Most Improved Player awards this season.
If Stephens, 18, hears his named called inside Sunrise’s BB&T Center at the June 26-27 draft, he may give an assist to Bowey, whose absence from the Rockets for the world junior championship gave Stephens more minutes and more responsibility on the ice.
“When the guys went away to world juniors….I really had an opportunity to show the coaches what I had,” Stephens told Rockets TV. “And I think it was a real stepping block for me, especially in this league. I really just got to show my stuff.”
Born in Haiti and raised in Canada, Michael Herringer helped backstop the Rockets to the WHL championship (Photo by Marissa Baecker/Kelowna Rockets).
Rockets goaltender Michael Herringer has had a chance to show his stuff to Rockets coaches – and potential NHL suitors – this season. In 14 regular season games Herringer posted an 11-2 record and recorded 2 shutouts.
Born in Haiti and raised in Comox, British Columbia, the 19-year-old Herringer had a 2.33 goals-against average and a .913 save percentage. He went 3-0 in the WHL playoffs with a 1.96 goals-against average and a .934 save percentage.
This is the best time of year, full of good friends, good food, and great hockey.
The Christmas-New Years’ window is like a bonus round for hockey. Not only is there the usual slate of National Hockey League games to watch but also the Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic.
This year’s outdoor spectacle is in my stomping grounds, Washington, D.C., at NationalsPark baseball stadium, in the shadow of the U.S. Capitol building. While the Nation’s Capital’s weather isn’t likely to provide the winter wonderland snow-globe scene that was last year’s outdoor game at massive Michigan Stadium or the frozen tundra feel of the 2008 contest at Buffalo’s Ralph Wilson Stadium, the D.C. event should be picturesque nonetheless.
Forget a White Christmas. The NHL is dreaming of a white 2015 Winter Classic in this artist’s rendering.
And the game should be good. The Washington Capitals and the ChicagoBlackhawks are two weather-tested teams – the ‘Hawks played the Detroit RedWings at Wrigley Field in 2009 and the Caps skated in a slightly rainy affair against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Heinz Field in 2011. And both are jockeying to improve their positions within their NHL divisions.
Chicago leads the NHL’s Central Division but is looking to create distance for itself from the surprisingly strong second-place Nashville Predators. After a shaky start to the 2014-15 season, the Capitals are tied with the New York Rangers in the Metropolitan Division and trying to climb the Eastern Conference ladder for better playoff position.
It’s a 10-nation tournament that kicks off Dec. 26 at the Bell Centre in Montreal and the Air Canada Centre in Toronto. The NHL Network will televise 28 games between Dec. 26 and the Gold Medal game on Jan. 5.
Consider the tournament the holiday Ghost of NHL Future. A healthy number of players in the tournament will likely be chosen in the 2015 NHL Draft. Team Canada’sConnor McDavid, a forward for the Erie Otters on the Ontario Hockey League, is the presumptive No.1 pick at the June 26-27 draft at the BB&TCenter in Sunrise, Fla.
The World Junior teams will also feature several players who are under 20 years old who are alums of the 2014 and 2013 drafts. Three players on Team Canada are graduates of the 2013 draft: Forward Anthony Duclair and defensemen Madison Bowey and Darnell Nurse.
Canada’s 2015 IIHF World Junior team. Defenseman Madison Bowey, front row left. Forward Anthony Duclair, back row left, and defenseman Darnell Nurse, back row center (Hockey Canada Images/Matthew Murnaghan)
Duclair, a speedy sniper who played for the Quebec Remparts of the Quebec MajorJunior Hockey League, was a third-round pick of the New York Rangers. He began the 2014-15 season on Broadway, making the NHL as a 19-year-old and earning the nickname “The Duke” from the Madison Square Garden faithful.
Team USA looks to crash Canada’s party at IIHF tourney in Montreal and Toronto (Richard Wolowicz/HHOF-IIHF Images).
Bowey, the only right-hand shot on Team Canada’s defense, plays for the Kelowna Rockets of the Western Hockey League. He was drafted in the second round by the Capitals in 2013.
Team Canada defenseman Darnell Nurse (Matthew Murnaghan/Hockey Canada Images).
Nurse, captain of the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the OHL, was the Edmonton Oilers’ first round pick in 2013, the seventh player chosen overall in that draft. Nurse hails from a sports family: his father played in the Canadian Football League, mother played college hoops in Canada, younger sister plays basketball for the University of Connecticut, and a cousin is a standout on the University of Wisconsin’s women’s hockey team. He’s also the nephew of retired National Football League star quarterback DonovanMcNabb.
If the world junior championship isn’t enough, catch the Spengler Cup in Davos, Switzerland. Six teams will compete in the world’s oldest invitational hockey tournament beginning Dec. 26: Team Canada, host HC Davos, KHL Medvescak Zagreb of Croatia, HC Salavant Yulaev Ufa of Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League, Jokerit Helsinki of Finland, and Geneve Servette HC of Switzerland, the defending cup champion. Canada’s TSN and TSN2 are broadcasting the tournament live.
Besides seeing some of the most colorful hockey jerseys on the planet – European players are skating billboards with advertising on their jerseys and gear – you’ll see some familiar NHL faces on some of the teams.
Team Canada is coached by Guy Boucher, the former head coach of the Tampa BayLightning. Members of his squad includes former Philadelphia Flyers/Chicago Blackhawks/Phoenix Coyotes/Calgary Flames/San Jose Sharks/Edmonton Oilers defenseman Jim Vandermeer; former Flyers defenseman Ryan Parent; former New York Islanders/Vancouver Canucks forward Jeff Tambellini; and former Edmonton Oilers forward Marc-Antoine Pouliot.
The Zagreb team features former Flyers and 2013 Team USA goalie Cal Heeter; former Flyers/Buffalo Sabres forward Ville Leino; and former Toronto Maple Leafs goalie prospect Mark Oyuwa.
Several players of color will participate in the tournament including Zagreb’s Oyuwa and forward Edwin Hedberg.
And if the Spengler Cup doesn’t quench the hockey thirst, head to the rink, lace up the skates, put the gear on, and play yourself.
The Rangers are loaning Anthony Duclair to Team Canada (Matthew Murnaghan/Hockey Canada Images).
Four players of color are vying for spots on Team Canada at the team’s selection camp in Toronto – New York Rangers forward Anthony Duclair, Erie Otters forward Nick Baptiste, Kelowna Rockets defenseman Madison Bowey and Sault Ste. MarieGreyhounds defenseman Darnell Nurse.
Thirty players – two goaltenders, 10 defensemen, and 18 forwards – were invited to the camp for 22 spots on the Canadian team that will compete in the 10-nation tournament with games in Montreal and Toronto.
The tournament is a showcase for talented players from around the world who may find their way to a National Hockey League arena near you in the near future. The four players in Team Canada’s camp share a bond: All were chosen by teams in the 2013NHLDraft at Newark’s Prudential Center.
The Rangers are loaning Duclair, their 2013 third-round draft pick, to Team Canada. The speedy rookie left wing has 1 goal and 6 assists for the Blue Shirts in 18 games. He scored he scored 50 goals and 49 assists in 59 games in 2013-14 for the Quebec Remparts of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
“We expect that the team will benefit greatly from the addition of Anthony for both his skill and leadership, and we believe this will be a great experience for Anthony, as he embarks on what we expect will be a long and successful professional and international playing career,” said Scott Salmond, vice president of hockey operations/national teams for Hockey Canada.
Duclair, who averages about 12 minutes a game but has been a healthy scratch in the last three Rangers games, said he was thrilled to be loaned to the Canadian team.
“Very happy, honored to be here,” Duclair told The Toronto Sun. “(Rangers Head Coach Alain Vigneault) asked me a couple days after the roster came out what my thoughts were and I told him I wanted to be part of this tournament. Being in Canada, being in my hometown of Montreal, I wanted to be part of this.”
Nurse, the Edmonton Oilers’ 2013 first-round draft pick, is on a mission to make Team Canada after being snubbed last season. Captain of the Greyhounds, Nurse has 6 goals and 13 assists in 19 games for his OHL team. He played two games for the Oilers this season without collecting a point.
Nurse told reporters in Toronto that he’s improving his game by keeping it simple.
Capitals draftee Madison Bowey (Matthew Murnaghan/Hockey Canada Images).
“I’m not putting myself in those situations where I get myself in trouble on the ice and not really helping out my teammates,” he told The Edmonton Sun. “It’s just maintaining that simple-game mindset and going out there and being someone who is hard to play against…I have always had the tools. It’s just finding the way to use them.”
Bowey, a Washington Capitals 2013 second-round draft pick, arrived at the Team Canada camp with a distinct advantage – he’s the only right-handed shot among the 10 blueliners invited to Toronto. He’s also second in scoring among defensemen in the Western Hockey League with 8 goals and 25 assists in 28 games for the Rockets.
He showed off his offensive skills earlier this season when he scored two goals and six assists in three games.
Nick Baptiste, a Buffalo Sabres 2013 draft pick (Matthew Murnaghan/Hockey Canada Images).
If right wing Nick Baptiste makes Team Canada, it will be his third team this season. Baptiste, a Buffalo Sabres third-round pick in 2013, began the 2014-15 season with the OHL Sudbury Wolves and was traded to the Otters in November. He notched 8 goals and 8 assists in 19 games with the two teams.
It’s early in the 2014-15 hockey season and Washington Capitals defensive prospect Madison Bowey is already putting up numbers that would make Bobby Orr, Paul Coffey, or Mike Green proud.
Bowey, a Capitals 2013 second-round draft pick, was the Canadian Hockey LeaguePlayer of theWeek for Sept. 29-Oct. 5. The defenseman for the Western Hockey League’sKelowna Rockets scored two goals and six assists in three games and had a plus-minus rating of plus-7.
Bowey, the team’s captain, did most of his damage last Wednesday in a 7-5 Rockets home win over the Vancouver Giants, notching two goals and three assists. Both goals were scored while the Rockets were shorthanded.
The 19-year-old Winnipeg native picked up two more assists in a 5-4 overtime road win against the Everett Silvertips last Friday and another in a 6-4 road victory against the Seattle Thunderbirds last Saturday.
Bowey’s scoring binge gives him two goals and nine assists in five games this season. He tallied 21 goals, 39 assists, and collected 93 penalty minutes in 72 games with the Rockets last season.
