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Stanley Cup dreams deferred, some NHL players seek gold at IIHF championship

03 Thursday May 2018

Posted by William Douglas in Uncategorized

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2018 NHL Draft, Akil Thomas, Alec Marinez, Darnell Nurse, K'Andre Miller, NHL Central Scouting, Serron Noel

Their dream of hoisting the Stanley Cup deferred for at least another season, several National Hockey League players are going for the gold overseas, and players of color are no exception.

Edmonton Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse and Los Angeles Kings defenseman Alec Martinez are in Denmark hoping to power their countries to a gold medal at the International Ice HockeyFederation World Championship, which begins Friday.

Edmonton Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse suits up for Team Canada at the IIHF World Championship in Denmark.

Nurse’s Team Canada will face Martinez’s Team USA in an opening round match Friday at Jyske Bank Boxen in Herning, Denmark, at 10:15 a.m. Eastern Time. The NHL Network will televise the May 4-20 tourney in the United States and TSN will carry it in Canada.

Nurse and Martinez became available to play in the 16-country tournament after the Oilers had a disappointing 2017-18 season and didn’t qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs and the Kings got swept in the first round by the surprising expansion Vegas Golden Knights.

They’ll join other NHLers whose teams also either missed the playoffs or suffered early Stanley Cup exits to form world championship tournament squads with way more talent than the U.S. and Canadian teams that skated at the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea.

Those teams were stocked with U.S. and Canadian players from North American minor leagues, colleges, European and Russian leagues after the NHL opted not to suspend operations during the Winter Games to allow its players to participate.

So how good are these IIHF teams?

Team Canada is captained by Oilers center Connor McDavid,  he of 41 goals and 67 assists in 82 games.

He’s joined by fellow Oilers center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (24 goals, 24 assists, 62 games);  St. Louis Blues center Brayden Schenn (24 goals, 46 assists, 82 games); New York Islanders center  Mathew Barzal (22 goals, 63 assists, 82 games); Buffalo Sabres center Ryan O’Reilly (24 goals, 37 assists, 81 games); and, of course, Nurse (6 goals, 20 assists, 82 games).

Los Angeles Kings defenseman Alec Martinez plays for the U.S. at the IIHF World Championship.

Martinez (9 goals, 16 assists, 77 games) is joined on the U.S. team by Chicago Blackhawks right wing Patrick Kane (27 goals, 49 assists, 82 games);  Calgary Flames left wing Johnny Gaudreau(24 goals, 60 assists, 80 games); New York Rangers left wing Chris Krieder (16 goals, 21 assists, 58 games); Blackhawks right wing  Alex DeBrincat (28 goals, 24 assists, 82 games); and Columbus Blue Jackets right wing Cam Atkinson ( 24 goals, 22 assists, 65 games).

New York Rangers center Mika Zibanejad (27 goals, 20 assists, 62 games) is representing Sweden at the worlds. He tallied a goal and an assist in Sweden’s 5-0 rout of Belarus on Friday.

And speaking about international hockey tournaments, congrats to Team USA defenseman K’Andre Miller and Team Canada forwards Serron Noeland Akil Thomas –three potential first-round picks at the 2018 NHL Draft in June – for their play at the 2018 IIHF U18 World Championship that ended last weekend in Russia.

OHL Niagara IceDogs center Akil Thomas scored a goal at the IIHF U18 World Championship in Russia (Photo/Terry Wilson/OHL Images).

Noel, a right wing for the Ontario Hockey League’s Oshawa Generals    who’s ranked the 10th-best North American skater eligible for the draft by NHL Central Scouting, had 2 goals and 4 assists in  five games for Canada.

Thomas, a center for the OHL’s Niagara IceDogs, tallied a goal and an assist in four games. Thomas is ranked the 15th-best North American skater in the draft by Central Scouting.

Forward Serron Noel of the OHL’s Oshawa Generals scored two goals for Canada at the IIHF U18 World Championship (Photo/Terry Wilson/OHL Images).

Miller, ranked as the 23rd-best North American skater available for the June 22-23 draft in Dallas, had a goal and 2 assists for the silver medal-winning U.S. team that lost 3-2 to Finland in the tournament final.

K’Andre Miller helped anchor the defense and chipped in with a goal and 2 assists for the United States at the IIHF U18 World Championship.

Whichever NHL team selects Miller will have to wait for his services. He’s committed to play hockey for the University of Wisconsin Badgers starting this fall.

Follow the Color of Hockey on Facebook and Twitter @ColorOfHockey. And download the Color of Hockey podcast from iTunes, Stitcher, SoundCloud and Google Play.

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Noel and Woo join Akil Thomas as potential NHL first-round draft picks

19 Sunday Nov 2017

Posted by William Douglas in Uncategorized

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2018 NHL Draft, Akil Thomas, Jett Woo, Moose Jaw Warriors, NHL Central Scouting, Niagara Ice Dogs, Oshawa Generals, Serron Noel

Two players of color have been upgraded to potential first-round picks in the 2018 National Hockey League Draft in June by NHL Central Scouting.

Serron Noel, a forward for the Oshawa Generals of the Ontario Hockey League, and defensman Jett Woo of the Western Hockey League’s Moose Jaw Warriors were elevated to “A” ratings from “B” ratings last week by Central Scouting.

NHL Central Scouting has elevated Oshawa Generals forward Serron Noel to an “A” rating, meaning he’s considered as a potential first-round pick in the 2018 NHL Draft (Photo/Aaron Bell/OHL Images).

An A rating designates players as potential first-round candidates. A B rating indicates a player is a likely second or third-round pick in the June 22-23 draft at Dallas’ American Airlines Center.

Noel, a 6-foot-5, 200-pound right wing and son of a former Canadian Football League player, has 10 goals 4 assists and 20 penalty minutes in 18 games for Oshawa.

“Noel is a power forward who is a strong skater with deceptive outside speed to separate himself from checking and quickness by pulling away on the rush,” NHL Central Scouting Director Dave Marr told NHL.com. “He works hard on the forecheck, forcing turnovers and finishing hits.”

Woo, a 6-foot, 200-pound blue liner, has 6 goals, 11 assists and 20 penalty minutes in 18 games for the Warriors.

“He’s a point-a-game player now, runs the first power-play unit and plays with a lot more poise and patience with the puck,” Central Scouting’s John Williams told NHL.com. “He’s not likely a power play guy in the NHL, but more of a two-way guy who can bring a physical element with enough skill to contribute.”

Moose Jaw Warriors defenseman Jett Woo has played for Team Canada and is now projected as a potential first-round pick in the 2018 NHL Draft (Photo/ Matthew Murnaghan/Hockey Canada Images).

He also owns one of the coolest first names in hockey, though he has no idea why his father chose it.

“I know he’s a fan of (Chinese actor/producer) Jet Li, but I don’t know if that’s why I got the name. I like my name, though,” Woo told the International Ice Hockey Federation’s Andrew Podnieks in April.

Niagara IceDogs forward Akil Thomas began the 2017-18 season as a prospective first-round selection in the 2018 NHL Draft (Photo/Terry Wilson/OHL Images).

Noel and Woo join Akil Thomas, a forward for the OHL’s Niagara IceDogs as minority players who could hear NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman call their name in the first round of the Dallas draft.

A 5-foot-11, 170-pound right wing, Thomas has 5 goals, 16 assists and 8 penalty minutes in 20 games for the IceDogs. He tallied 21 goals and 27 assists in 61 games in his rookie season with Niagara.

The three 17-year-olds  played for Canada’s gold medal-winning team at the 2017 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Cup tournament last August in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Thomas tallied 2 goals and 4 assists in five tournament games while Noel had a goal in five contests. Woo, an assistant captain on the team, went scoreless.

#NewProfilePic pic.twitter.com/emQB0CH1b7

— Serron Noel (@serron_noel) August 14, 2017

Follow the Color of Hockey on Facebook and Twitter @ColorOfHockey. And download the Color of Hockey podcast from iTunes, Stitcher, SoundCloud and Google Play.

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