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Tag Archives: Tampa Bay Lightning

Three players of color chosen in first round of 2017 NHL Draft

24 Saturday Jun 2017

Posted by William Douglas in Uncategorized

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2017 NHL Draft, Arizona Coyotes, Chicago Blackhawks, Edmonton Oilers, Kailer Yamamoto, Mathieu Joseph, Nick Suzuki, Pierre-Olivier Joseph, Tampa Bay Lightning

CHICAGO – Three players of color took center stage at the 2017 National Hockey League Draft at Chicago’s United Center Friday night.

Two major junior hockey players of Asian heritage and a black French-Canadian player were chosen in the first round of the 31-team draft. And Ryan Reaves, a pugnacious veteran forward, was traded by the St. Louis Blues to the Pittsburgh Penguins, a move that capped the first day of the draft.

Thirteen proved to be a lucky number for Nick Suzuki, a forward for the Owen Sound Attack of the Ontario Hockey League. He was taken with the 13th pick in the draft by the expansion Vegas Golden Knights.

Nick Suzuki of the OHL’s Owen Sound Attack hopes to be Vegas-bound after being drafted in the first round by the Golden Knights (Photo/Terry Wilson/OHL Images).

“It’s not every day you get picked by an expansion team,” Suzuki said after he had his named called  and donned the fledgling Golden Knights’ jersey. “I’m really happy about being picked by Vegas and I want to get there pretty  quick and see the new building.”

Suzuki was ranked as the 10th-best North American skater by NHL Central Scouting. The 5-foot-10 native of London, Ontario, was Owen Sound’s second-leading scorer last season with 45 goals and 51 assists in 65 games.

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His younger brother, forward Ryan Suzuki, was the first player chosen in the 2017 Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection Draft in April, plucked by the Barrie Colts.

Nick Suzuki said he has no worries about joining a new NHL team that’s bound to have more losses than wins in its first few seasons.

“I don’t think I’m nervous,” he said. “I’m more excited to see what Vegas is like. I don’t know if there’s pressure. I kind of just take it as a new team and you have to show them that you’re a good player.”

Kailer Yamamoto is looking forward to someday playing with Edmonton Oilers snipers Connor McDavid  and Leon Draisaitl  after Edmonton selected Yamamoto, a forward with the Western Hockey League’s Spokane Chiefs, with the 22nd pick of the draft.

“I’m really looking forward to going to that skill team,” Yamamoto said. “I think it’s going to definitely benefit my game.”

The 5-foot-7, 140-pound  right wing was listed as the 17th-best North American skater by Central Scouting.

Spokane Chiefs’ Kailer Yamamoto hopes to prove that size doesn’t matter after the Edmonton Oilers chose the 5-foot-7 forward in the first round of the NHL Draft (Photo/Larry Brunt/Spokane Chiefs).

A Spokane native of Japanese and Hawaiian heritage, Yamamoto led the Chiefs in scoring in 2016-17 with 42 goals and 47 assists in 65 games. His older brother, Keanu, was Spokane’s fourth-leading scorer last season with 26 goals and 43 assists in 72 games.

Embed from Getty Images

 

“My dad’s dad, he’s from Japan actually, he was in the internment camps,” Kailer Yamamoto said. “My dad’s half Japanese so that makes me a quarter Japanese. It’s unbelievable to be Japanese, get the Japanese heritage, and hopefully be in the NHL someday.”

Right after Yamamoto had his name called, defenseman Pierre-Olivier Joseph was chosen with the 23nd pick of the draft by the Arizona Coyotes.

Embed from Getty Images

Joseph patrolled the blue line last season for the Charlottetown Islanders of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, where he had 6 goals and 33 assists in 62 games.

Joseph wasn’t a stranger to the spectacle and hype of draft day. He watched his older brother, forward Mathieu Joseph of the QMJHL’s Saint John Sea Dogs, get drafted by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the fourth round in 2015.

Still, the younger Joseph – who was ranked as the 27th-best North American skater eligible for the draft by Central Scouting – admitted to having a case of the jitters on Friday.

“Obviously, I didn’t want to think about the draft,” he said. “I played cards and watched movies as the day goes on, but as I sat in the stands and watched the names go by, I was thinking whether I’d get called or not.”

He credited his older brother and his parents for helping him achieve his draft day moment.

“I was a bit of an underdog,” Joseph said. “Obviously, I had my brother and my family to push me. Everyone has been there for me to push me and make me the player I am now.”

Thanks to Evan Moore for contributing to this report.

Follow the Color of Hockey on Facebook and Twitter @ColorOfHockey.

 

 

 

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Players of color power their teams to Mastercard Memorial Cup tournament

18 Thursday May 2017

Posted by William Douglas in Uncategorized

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Bokondji Imama, Columbus Blue Jackets, Edmonton Oilers, Ethan Bear, Keegan Kolesar, Mathieu Joseph, Saint John Sea Dogs, Seattle Thunderbirds, Tampa Bay Lightning

The 2017 Mastercard Memorial Cup begins Friday and players of color are poised to play starring roles at the major junior hockey championship.

The Saint John Sea Dogs, champs of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, Seattle Thunderbirds, winners of the Western Hockey League crown, Erie Otters, kings of the Ontario Hockey League, and the Windsor Spitfires, the tournament’s host, vie for the coveted Cup.

Saint John Sea Dogs forward Mathieu Joseph was second on his team in scoring in 2016-17 (Photo/David Connell/Saint John Sea Dogs).

The offensively-potent Sea Dogs are powered by right wing Mathieu Joseph and left wing Bokondji Imama.

Joseph, 20, a 2015 Tampa Bay Lightning fourth-round draft pick and a member of the Silver Medal-winning 2017 Canadian World Juniors team, was the Sea Dogs second-leading scorer in 2016-17 with 36 goals and 44 assists in 54 games.

Saint John Sea Dogs’ Bokondji Imama showed he’s more than a fighter by scoring 41 goals in 2016-17 (Photo/David Connell/Saint John Sea Dogs).

Imama, a Tampa Bay sixth-round selection in 2015, accepted the Lightning organization’s challenge to prove that he’s more than the feared fighter that he’s been throughout his QMJHL career.

The 20-year old showed that his shot is as hard as his fists by being the Sea Dogs’ fourth-leading scorer with 41 goals and 14 assists, all while accumulating 105 penalty minutes in 66 games.

Seattle Thunderbirds defenseman Ethan Bear was a scoring threat from the blue line in 2016-17 (Photo/Brian Liesse/Seattle Thunderbirds).

The Thunderbirds also reached the Memorial Cup tournament because of their impressive offense – from the blue line by defenseman Ethan Bear and up front by right wing Keegan Kolesar.

This was the view a lot of Western Hockey League goaltenders got of Seattle Thunderbirds forward Keegan Kolesar during the regular season (Photo/Brian Liesse/Seattle Thunderbirds).

Bear, 19, who is Ochapowace First Nation, was the definition of an offensive defenseman. He  finished third on the Thunderbirds in scoring with 28 goals and 42 assists in 67 regular season games. The Edmonton Oilers 2015 fifth-round draft pick also tallied 6 goals and 20 assists in 17 WHL playoff games.

Kolesar, 20, a third-round draft pick by the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2015, was the Thunderbirds fourth-leading scorer in 2016-17 with 26 goals and 34 assists in 54 games. He had 12 goals and 19 assists in 19 WHL playoff contests.

Jeremiah Addison of the Windsor Spitfires. (Photo/Aaron Bell/OHL Images).

When it comes to leadership on the Windsor Spitfires, there’s “Addy” and “Chatty.” Left wing Jeremiah Addison, 20, and defenseman Jalen Chatfield are such integral parts of their team that they both were voted captain toward the end of the regular season and alternated wearing the “C’ on their jerseys every other game.

“Our players selected these guys equally. They’re two great people,” Spitfires Head Coach Rocky Thompson said in March. “They are both deserving and both represent what it takes to be a leader.”

Windsor Spitfires defenseman Jalen Chatfield provided offensive pop from the blue line (Photo/Aaron Bell/OHL Images).

Addison was the team’s third-leading scorer with 24 goals and 19 assists in 51 games. Addison, a seventh-round draft pick of the Montreal Canadiens in 2015, pitched in 5 goals in five OHL playoff games.

Though not as prolific as Seattle’s Bear, defenseman Chatfield, 21, provided some offensive pop from the Windsor blue line. He had 8 goals and 20 assists in 61 regular season games and 2 assists in seven playoff games.

The Vancouver Canucks were impressed enough with Chatfield’s game to sign him to a three-year entry level contract in March.

Windsor’s Cole Purboo, left, is ranked as the 189th-best North American skater eligible for the 2017 NHL Draft (Photo/Terry Wilson/OHL Images)

Windsor right wing Cole Purboo contributed 11 goals and 6 assists in 68 regular season games. The National Hockey League’s Central Scouting ranks Purboo, 17, as the 189th-best North American prospect eligible for the 2017 NHL Draft June 23-24 at Chicago’s United Center.

There are no minority players on the Erie Otters roster.

The 2017 Mastercard Memorial Cup games will be televised live in Canada on Rogers Sportsnet and on tape delay on the NHL Network in the United States. However, the network will carry the championship game live on Sunday, May 28.

Follow the Color of Hockey on Facebook and Twitter @ColorOfHockey.

 

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Lightning draftee Bokondji Imama goes from bare-knuckled brawler to bar down scorer

17 Tuesday Jan 2017

Posted by William Douglas in Uncategorized

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2015 NHL Draft, Bokjondji Imama, Mathieu Joseph, Saint John Sea Dogs, Tampa Bay Lightning

Saint John Sea Dogs left wing Bokondji Imama has gone from scrapper to sniper.

The rugged 20-year-old, the Tampa Bay Lightning’s sixth-round pick in the 2015 National Hockey League Draft, has a reputation as one of the fiercest fighters in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

But these days, Imama is scaring QMJHL goaltenders as much as opposing skaters. He has 27 goals and 10 assists in 40 QMJHL regular season games, up from 7 goals and 19 assists in 47 games during the 2015-16 season.

“I always try to prove to everyone that I’m not just a fighter, I’m also a player” Imama told me recently. “I consider myself as a power forward. This year, I’ve had a chance to prove it with the ice time that the coach gives me.”

Thanks to summer work on his shooting and skating, Saint John Sea Dogs forward Bokondji Imama a scoring threat this season (Photo/St. John Sea Dogs).

Thanks to summer work on his shooting and skating, Saint John Sea Dogs forward Bokondji Imama is a serious scoring threat this season (Photo/David Connell/St. John Sea Dogs).

Imama is the Sea Dogs’ top goal-scorer this season, one ahead of right wing Mathieu Joseph – a Tampa Bay 2015 fourth-round draft pick who played on Canada’s Silver Medal-winning team at the 2017 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship –  and center Matthew Highmore.

Imama’s 37 points – the combination of goals and assists – makes him the team’s fourth-leading scorer. Highmore’s 65 points – 26 goals and 39 assists  in 42 games- tops the team. Joseph, who signed a three-year, entry-level deal with the Lightning before the World Juniors, is second with 26 goals, 24 assists in 31 regular season games.

Imama’s  evolution from a bare-knuckled brawler to bar down goal scorer is also reflected by fewer trips to the penalty box. He has 62 penalty minutes so far  this season.

He collected 86 penalty minutes last season and probably would have had more except for a 15-game suspension  in December 2015 for leaving the bench to defend an under-age 15-year-old rookie teammate against an experienced enforcer and a seven-game suspension in April 2016  for a hit on then-Cape Breton Screaming Eagles defenseman Tobie Pauquette-Bisson.

What’s most striking is that Imama is fighting less this season. The website hockeyfights.com  notes that he’s fought only three times in QMJHL games so far this season. He had one scrap for the Lightning in a September 2016 preseason game against the Nashville Predators.

Imama had five fights in 2015-16 and a whopping 15  bouts in the 2014-15 season, according to hockeyfights.com.

The change in Imama’s game is part of a plan to show that the Montreal native, the son of immigrants from the Democratic Republic of Congo in Central Africa, is more than just a pair of fists as he completes his final QMJHL season and embarks on a professional hockey career.

“It started from my summer training, pretty much. I hired a skills coach, working on my offensive side, working on my power skating, working on my hands, working on my release,” the French-Canadian Imama told me recently. “The Saint John coach (Danny Flynn) has given me more responsibilities, putting me on the power play, putting me in different places. I’m doing great going to the net, putting puck on net.”

Lightning officials were impressed with what they saw of Imama offensively at the team’s development camp in Florida June 2016. He led a camp  3-on-3 tournament with 8 goals and tied Sea Dogs teammate Joseph for overall points in the tourney with 10.

Saint John Sea Dogs forward Bokondji Imama is putting the puck in the net more and fighting less, per instructions by the Tampa Bay Lightning (Photo/Saint John Sea Dogs).

Saint John Sea Dogs forward Bokondji Imama is putting the puck in the net more and fighting less, per instructions by the Tampa Bay Lightning (Photo/David Connell/Saint John Sea Dogs).

Still, Tampa Bay cut Imama during September’s training camp and sent him back to Saint John, the largest city in the Canadian province of New Brunswick. But the ‘Bolts organization gave him to-do list for his return to the Q.

“From the first day they released me from camp, it was clear: they don’t want to see me fight,  they don’t want to see me get suspended,” Imama said. “They want to see me on the ice, working on my game, scoring goals obviously, making some good plays, being an effective hockey player for my team.”

By following their prescription,  Imama says this has been his most rewarding season in the QMJHL.

He hopes that it ends with the Sea Dogs – currently in first place in the Q’s Maritimes Division – winning the President’s Cup league championship and later capturing the Memorial Cup as the top Canadian Hockey League team.

But  the 6-foot-1, 217-pound forward has no illusions about what will be expected of him in his pro career, whether it’s with Tampa Bay or its farm teams  in the American Hockey League or the ECHL.

“To be realistic, when I’m going to pro level, I’ll have to come back to myself, to be more of a grinder, more of a fighter,” he told me. “Right now, as a 20-year-old, I have the chance to play a more offensive dimension. So I’m pretty grateful and I’m having a lot of fun. But once I start playing pro, I have to get back to the old me, if I can say that.”

To that end, Imama looks to Philadelphia Flyers right wing Wayne Simmonds and Edmonton Oilers left wing  Milan Lucic  – tough customers who are also elite goal scorers – for inspiration.

“Those kind of players, I love to watch them play,” he said. “They’re big guys, tough players, they bring  size and meanness to their team. But also, the coach will put them in different situations.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Foley, Greenway, and Jones make U.S. roster for junior championship tourney

24 Saturday Dec 2016

Posted by William Douglas in Uncategorized

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Boston University, Edmonton Oilers, Hockey Canada, International Ice Hockey Federation, Minnesota Wild, Portland Winterhawks, Providence College, Tampa Bay Lightning, USA Hockey, Winnipeg Jets

Erik Foley, Jordan Greenway, and Caleb Jones received early Christmas presents Saturday – roster spots on the U.S. team that will compete in the International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship.

With its final roster announcement, USA Hockey will skate one of the most diverse teams in the 10-nation tournament that begins Monday in Toronto and Montreal.

The three American players join Team Canada’s Mathieu Joseph and  Team Sweden’s Oliver Kylington members of the diverse National Hockey League draft class of 2015 who will represent their countries in the tournament.

Providence College Friars forward Erik Foley in action for Team USA against Finland (Photo/Rena Laverty/USA Hockey).

Providence College Friars forward Erik Foley in action for Team USA against Finland (Photo/Rena Laverty/USA Hockey).

Foley, a Winnipeg Jets third round draft pick, is a forward for Providence College Friars of Hockey East. A sophomore, Foley leads the team in scoring with 7 goals and 8 assists in 15 games.

Boston University's Jordan Greenway earns spot on U.S. roster for IIHF world junior championship (Photo/Rena Laverty/USA Hockey).

Boston University’s Jordan Greenway earns spot on U.S. roster for IIHF world junior championship (Photo/Rena Laverty/USA Hockey).

Greenway, a Minnesota Wild second round draft pick, is a forward for Boston University of Hockey East. The sophomore is the Terriers’ second-leading scorer with 6 goals and 10 assists in 16 games.

Portland Winterhawks defenseman Caleb Jones will patrol the blue line for Team USA at IIHF world junior championship (Photo/Rena Laverty/USA Hockey).

Portland Winterhawks defenseman Caleb Jones will patrol the blue line for Team USA at IIHF world junior championship (Photo/Rena Laverty/USA Hockey).

Jones, an Edmonton Oilers fourth round draft pick, plays defense for the Portland Winterhawks, a major junior team in the Western Hockey League. Jones, the younger brother of Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Seth Jones, is fifth on the Winterhawks in scoring with 3 goals and 28 assists in 32 games. He’s tenth in scoring among WHL defensemen.

Mathieu Joseph, right, will play for Canada at the world junior championship tournament in Montreal and Toronto (Photo/Matthew Murnaghan/Hockey Canada Images)

Mathieu Joseph, right, will play for Canada at the world junior championship tournament in Montreal and Toronto (Photo/Matthew Murnaghan/Hockey Canada Images)

Team Canada’s Joseph, a Tampa Bay Lightning fourth round selection, is a forward for the Saint John Sea Dogs of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. He’s the Sea Dogs’ second-leading scorer with 33 goals and 40 assists in 58 games.

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And let’s not forget Sweden’s Kylington. When he isn’t wearing his country’s classy Three Crowns jersey, the Calgary Flames second round draft pick skates for the Stockton Heat, the Flames’ American Hockey League affiliate.

Kylington is ninth on the Heat in scoring – and second among defensemen – with 4 goals and 9 assists in 25 games. He appeared in one game for the Flames in 2015-16.

 

 

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Tampa Bay draftee Mathieu Joseph to play for Canada at 2017 junior championshp

20 Tuesday Dec 2016

Posted by William Douglas in Uncategorized

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Boston University, Caleb Jones, Erik Foley, International Ice Hockey Federation. Team Canada, Jordan Greenway, Mathieu Joseph, Portland Winterhawks, Providence Collge, Tampa Bay Lightning

Congratulations to forward Mathieu Joseph, a 2015 Tampa Bay Lightning fourth-round draft pick, for being selected to play for Team Canada in the 2017 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship.

Team Canada's Mathieu Joseph (Photo/Matthew Murnaghan/Hockey Canada Images).

Team Canada’s Mathieu Joseph (Photo/Matthew Murnaghan/Hockey Canada Images).

Joseph, 19, will represent Canada for the first time at any level internationally when he takes to the ice for the tournament that begins December 26 in Toronto and Montreal.

Canada will open with a tough matinee match against Russia at Toronto’s Air Canada Centre while the United States plays Latvia in an evening contest at the arena.

 Joseph is the second-leading scorer on the Saint John Sea Dogs of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League with 25 goals and 20 assists in 29 games. The 120th overall pick in the 2015 National Hockey League Draft has scored 80 goals and 91 assists in 176 QMJHL games since the 2013-14 season.

Mathieu Joseph in action against the Czech Republic in exhibition game play during the 2016 National Junior Team Sport Chek Selection Camp Photo/Matthew Murnaghan/Hockey Canada Images).

Mathieu Joseph in action against the Czech Republic in exhibition game play during the 2016 National Junior Team Sport Chek Selection Camp. Photo/Matthew Murnaghan/Hockey Canada Images).

Joseph got an early Christmas present in December when the Lightning signed him to a three-year entry-level contract on the eve of the IIHF tournament.

Extremely happy to sign my first NHL contract with the @TBLightning Organization! Thanks to everyone who help me along the way ! pic.twitter.com/qBL8aBAsCw

— Mathieu Joseph (@MathJoseph7) December 24, 2016

Joseph’s game is about high energy and enthusiasm – traits he carries on and off the ice. He’s a gregarious personality, something he inherited from his parents.

“I’m a pretty outgoing guy,” he told  Canada’s TSN. “Honestly, it’s easy for me to talk. My family has been raised like that. My parents are like that, maybe not as hyper per se, but I”d say they raised me like that.”

When you finally start your season tomorrow #TzAnthemChallenge pic.twitter.com/MjybRGv0U8

— Mathieu Joseph (@MathJoseph7) September 30, 2016

Joseph isn’t the only one in his family who was recognized this month for his hockey prowess. His younger brother, defenseman Pierre-Olivier Joseph of the QMJHL’s Charlottetown Islanders, was selected to play in the 2017 Sherwin-Williams CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game in Quebec City on January 30, 2017.

Charlottetown Islanders' Pierre-Olivier Joseph.

Charlottetown Islanders’ Pierre-Olivier Joseph.

Pierre-Olivier Joseph has 4 goals and 23 assists in 32 QMJHL games this season. NHL Central Scouting lists him as a player to watch and projects him to be a second or third-round pick at the 2017 draft to be held June 23-24 at Chicago’s United Center.

USA Hockey will announce its final 23-man  U.S. roster   for the IIHF world juniors on Dec. 24. Three players  of color who were also chosen in the 2015 draft are in the hunt for roster spots: Caleb Jones, a defenseman for the Western Hockey League’s Portland Winterhawks and an Edmonton Oilers fourth-round pick; Boston University forward Jordan Greenway, a Minnesota Wild second-round draft choice; and Providence College forward Erik Foley, a Winnipeg Jets third-round pick.

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Lightning’s J.T. Brown speaks out on Kaepernick protest, questions Tortorella

09 Friday Sep 2016

Posted by William Douglas in Uncategorized

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J.T. Brown, John Tortorella, Tampa Bay Lightning, World Cup of Hockey

Tampa Bay Lightning right wing J.T. Brown  has never been one to shy away from tough situations on the ice.

Tampa Bay Lightning forward J.T. Brown.

Tampa Bay Lightning forward J.T. Brown.

And Brown showed this week that he’s not afraid to wade into tough territory off the ice, either. Via Twitter and in a newspaper interview, Brown questioned the wisdom of World Cup of Hockey Team USA Head Coach John Tortorella’s declaration that he’d bench any player who doesn’t stand for the national anthem like San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick has done to protest the treatment of minorities in the United States.

On Tuesday, Brown tweeted “Wouldn’t benching a black man for taking a stance only further prove Kap’s point of oppression? But hey.” His post went viral.

Wouldn't benching a black man for taking a stance only further prove Kap's point of oppression? But hey 🐸☕️ https://t.co/p6aUjXYlq4

— Jt brownov (@JTBrown23) September 7, 2016

Brown later told The Tampa Bay Times’ Joe Smith he has “no ill will towards John Tortorella,” who’s the bench boss of the Columbus Blue Jackets during the National Hockey League season.

“He sees the situation through his reality and I see it through mine, as a black athlete in the NHL,” Brown told Smith. “I know I’m not on the United States World Cup roster, but I have had a chance to represent my country on other occasions. My tweet was hypothetical.”

Brown, a Minnesota native, added: “What if I took a stance to promote awareness for one of the many injustices still occurring in our country and was punished despite there being no rule or law against it? My tweet was a response to that question.”

He told The Times that he spoke out because “I don’t want young minorities who love the game of hockey to think that what’s going on in America today is going unnoticed by the hockey community.”

USA's World Cup of Hockey coach, John Tortorella, tells @lindacohn he will bench players for sitting during anthem. https://t.co/t5ecKWTmP9

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) September 8, 2016

“I love America and thank the military for protecting our freedoms, as well as law enforcement for protecting and serving our communities, but that doesn’t mean I can’t acknowledge that there is still racism today,” Brown added. “I am glad my tweet provoked discussion, because we need to start having a discussion.”

Brown has no intention of sitting out the national anthem a la Kaepernick. Instead, “I will look for more opportunities to positively impact my community and bring awareness to racial issues.”

Brown scored 8 goals and 14 assists in 78 games for the Lightning last season. He was held without a goal but tallied 2 assists in nine playoff games.

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What a difference a year makes for diverse 2015 NHL draft class: Part 2

28 Thursday Apr 2016

Posted by William Douglas in Uncategorized

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Andong Song, Bokondji Imama, Buffalo Sabres, Ethan Bear, Evander Kane, Rochester Americans, Tampa Bay Lightning, Washington Capitals

The brain trust of the Buffalo Sabres has lots of talent down on the farm with the AHL Rochester Americans who’ll soon join  Jack Eichel and sniper Evander Kane in terrorizing NHL goaltenders.

Forwards Justin Bailey, Nick Baptiste, and Evan Rodrigues are biding their time and getting better with the Americans. If they don’t make the Sabres roster in 2016-17, they’ll have company in Rochester: WHL Kelowna Rockets defenseman Devante Stephens.

Kelowna builds defensemen – Nashville Predators’ Shea Weber, Chicago Blackhawks’ Duncan Keith and Washington Capitals 2013 second round draft pick Madison Bowey.

Kelowna Rockets defenseman Devante Stephens hopes to be part of the Buffalo Sabres rebuilding process after the team drafted him in 2015 (Photo by Marissa Baecker/Kelowna Rockets).

Kelowna Rockets defenseman Devante Stephens hopes to be part of the Buffalo Sabres rebuilding process after the team drafted him in 2015 (Photo by Marissa Baecker/Kelowna Rockets).

The Sabres think they have another Kelowna defensive stud in Stephens, who was chosen in the fifth round with the 122nd overall pick. He scored 2 goals and 9 assists in 72 regular season games for the Rockets in 2015-16.

Edmonton feels it got a steal of the 2015 draft when the team selected Seattle Thunderbirds  defenseman Ethan Bear in the fifth round with the 124th pick. The 19-year-old high-scoring  Ochapowace First Nation member tallied 19 goals and 46 assists in 69 regular season games.

He’s maintained his scoring touch in the WHL playoffs with 3 goals and 8 assists in 11 games. In March, he was named a WHL Western Conference first-team all-star. If all goes well, the Oilers in the not-too-distant-future will have a defensive lineup that includes Bear, Caleb Jones and 2013 first-round pick Darnell Nurse.

Seattle Thunderbirds' D-man Ethan Bear hopes to patrol the Edmonton Oilers blue line someday (Photo/Brian Liesse/Seattle Thunderbirds).

Seattle Thunderbirds’ D-man Ethan Bear hopes to patrol the Edmonton Oilers blue line someday (Photo/Brian Liesse/Seattle Thunderbirds).

If all goes as defenseman Andong “Misha” Song and about a billion other folks in China hope, he’ll be patrolling the blue line for his country in the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.

Song became the NHL’s first draft pick born in China when the New York Islanders chose him in the 172nd over pick in the sixth round in 2015.

New York Islanders draftee Andong Song wants to play in the NHL - and in the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing (Photo/David Fricke/Phillips Academy).

New York Islanders draftee Andong Song wants to play in the NHL – and in the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing (Photo/David Fricke/Phillips Academy).

He skated for Phillips Academy in Andover, Mass., where he had 1 goal and 7 assists in 27 games in 2015-16. Song is doing for hockey in China what Yao Ming did for basketball – helping trigger interest in a sport that many in the country previously hadn’t watched or played.

“When Misha Song got drafted, it just blew up,” Wei Zhong, a friend of Song’s who plays hockey for Hinsdale Central High School in Illinois told The New York Times in January. “He inspired all these kids to start playing , and some of my friends who were with hockey before to dust off their skates and start playing again.”

The Tampa Bay Lightning went for toughness when it drafted Bokondji Imama in 2015.

The Tampa Bay Lightning went for toughness when it drafted Bokondji Imama in 2015.

Bokondji Imama, who was chosen by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the sixth round with the 180th overall pick in 2015, is poised to punch and hit his way to the NHL.

The Montreal-born son of immigrants from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Imama, 19, is one of the most-feared enforcers in the QMJHL and hardest body checkers. He had 7 goals, 12 assists and 86 penalty minutes in 48 games for the Saint John Sea Dogs.

He would have had more PIMs but he was suspended 15 games by the QMJHL in December for leaving the bench to defend a 15-year-old teammate who was being roughed up by a 20-year-old  member of the Halifax Mooseheads.

Though the league punished Imama, Sea Dogs management praiseed him for his actions.

“As an organization, we fully support Boko through this difficult situation,” Sea Dogs General Manager Darrell Young said in a statement in December. “He sacrificed himself to come to the aid of a young teammate. Once again, he proved to be the ultimate teammate and team comes first with us. Boko will be a big loss for our hockey club. He is a valuable member of our team both on and off the ice.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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What a difference a year makes for diverse 2015 NHL draft class

26 Tuesday Apr 2016

Posted by William Douglas in Uncategorized

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Boston University, Columbus Blue Jackets, Edmonton Oilers, Seth Jones, Tampa Bay Lightning, Winnipeg Jets

Almost a year ago, the National Hockey League celebrated a draft that was both deep in talent – Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel – and diversity.

With the 2016 draft rapidly approaching, we look back in this post and the next at the players of color who were selected in the 2015 NHL Draft in Sunrise, Fla., and how they performed in the 2015-16 season.

After a slow start to his freshman season, Boston University forward Jordan Greenway showed why the Minnesota Wild took him in the second round with the 50th overall pick in the draft.

He scored just two points in the first two months of the season for the Terriers. But the Canton, N.Y., native finished the season with 5 goals and 20 assists in 38 games. He performed well enough to be named Hockey East Rookie of the Week Feb. 5 and Feb. 15,  and a Hockey East Top Performer four times – Nov. 30, Dec. 7, Jan. 25, Feb. 22.

After a slow start, Boston University freshman Jordan Greenway, a Minnesota Wild 2015 second-round draft pick, found his scoring touch with the Terriers.

After a slow start, Boston University freshman Jordan Greenway, a Minnesota Wild 2015 second-round draft pick, found his scoring touch with the Terriers.

“He showed signs of coming on” around Thanksgiving, BU Head Coach Dave Quinn told College Hockey News in March. “He’s had a huge impact on a lot of our games. He’s a great athlete, very fluid and coordinated for a guy who is 6-5 (230) pounds, has really good skills. He has a playmaker’s mentality.”

Quinn told The Boston Globe in March that Greenway is “a freak athlete.”

“I joke all the time, if he was a football player, he would be a five-star tight end at Alabama or Notre Dame.”

But Greenway, 19, told the paper that the gridiron was the furthest thing on his mind, especially since he attended Shattuck St. Mary’s – a Minnesota prep school hockey factory attended by NHL stars like Sidney Crosby, Kyle Okposo, Jonathan Toews, and Nathan MacKinnon.

“I was a rink rat,” he told the newspaper. “I liked being at the rink so much, and using a stick and puck instead of a ball.”

Greenway will likely be at the First Niagara Center, home of the Buffalo Sabres, for the June 24-25 draft to watch his younger brother, defenseman James Greenway, get picked. He’s ranked 121st among 2016 North American draft prospects by NHL Central Scouting.

At  6-foot-4 and 210 pounds – the 18-year-old Greenway is a member of USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program. He notched 5 goals and 20 assists in 64 games for a team that played against U.S. college, international, and United States Hockey League teams in 2015-16.

NHL 2015 draftee Oliver Kylington made his debut with the Calgary Flames in early April.

NHL 2015 draftee Oliver Kylington made his debut with the Calgary Flames in early April.

Swedish defenseman Oliver Kylington’s family was visiting him in California, where he was playing for the American  Hockey League’s Stockton Heat, in April when he got a called up by he Calgary Flames, the team that drafted him in the second round with the 60th overall pick.

“Are you coming?” Kylington asked his father, according to The Calgary Herald. “And he was, like, ‘Yeah, yeah, yeah. I’m going to make it to the game.'”

The 18-year-old Kylington played one game for the injury-riddled Flames and managed one shot on goal against the Wild. In Stockton, he appeared in 47 games, scoring 5 goals and 7 assists.

“I think it’s the first step to a big journey,” Kylington told The Calgary Herald after the call-up. “Right now, I don’t care where I got picked. I’m just thankful that Calgary picked me and that I’m here right now.”

Forward Keegan Kolesar's return to the Seattle Thunderbirds after the 2015 NHL Draft spelled bad news for Western Hockey League goalies (Photo/Brian Liesse/Seattle Thunderbirds.)

Forward Keegan Kolesar’s return to the Seattle Thunderbirds after the 2015 NHL Draft spelled bad news for Western Hockey League goalies (Photo/Brian Liesse/Seattle Thunderbirds.)

Seattle Thunderbirds right wing Keegan Kolesar was chosen by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the third round with 69th pick. After the Jackets training camp, Kolesar returned to his Western Hockey League major junior team.

Seattle's Keegan Kolesar (Photo/Brian Liesse/Seattle Thunderbirds).

Seattle’s Keegan Kolesar (Photo/Brian Liesse/Seattle Thunderbirds).

Too bad for opposing teams in the major junior league. Kolesar, 19, notched 30 goals and 31 assists in 64 games regular season games for Seattle this season and is proving to be a force in the WHL playoffs. In December, he signed a three-year entry level contract with the Blue Jackets.

“He’s big, fast, and strong,” Thunderbirds Head Coach Steve Konowalchuk told The Seattle Times of the 6-foot-1 and 220-pound Kolesar. “He can skate, he has the physical tools to be a force and the skill to score goals.”

Forward Erik Foley distinguished himself in his freshman year playing for Providence College.

Forward Erik Foley distinguished himself in his freshman year playing for Providence College.

Like Jordan Greenway, left wing Erik Foley went from sunny Florida’s 2015 draft to chilly New England for hockey. A former forward for the United States Hockey League’s Cedar Rapids RoughRiders, Foley was taken by the Winnipeg Jets in the third round with the 78th overall pick.

The 18-year-old played for Providence College, where he tallied 7 goals and 12 assists for the Friars. Foley won the team’s Rev. Herman Schneider, O.P.,  Award as the team’s most valuable freshman.

Mathieu Joseph was all smiles at the 2015 draft. Not only was he taken by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the fourth round with the 120th pick, he was chosen by a team in a warm-weather state where he could work on his golf game.

Saint John Sea Dogs forward Mathieu Joseph confounded opposing QMJHL teams, scoring 33 goals in 2015-16.

Saint John Sea Dogs forward Mathieu Joseph confounded opposing QMJHL teams, scoring 33 goals in 2015-16.

But the links had to wait in 2015-16 as Joseph reported back to the St. John Sea Dogs, of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League for more seasoning.  There, the 19-year-old right wing resumed his torrid scoring ways, potting  33 goals and 40 assists in 58 games regular season games.

“He’s got a good combo of size and speed,” Sea Dogs Head Coach Danny Flynn told TampaBayLightning.com in February. “He’s a dangerous forward.”

Unfortunately, Joseph’s 2015-16 post season ended prematurely in April when he suffered a serious cut to the calf muscle on his left leg, a wound that required surgery. He’ll miss two to three months because of the injury, Ice Dog officials said.

Defenseman Caleb Jones, son of Popeye, brother of Seth (Photo/Dayna Fjord/Portland Winterhawks).

Defenseman Caleb Jones, son of Popeye, brother of Seth (Photo/Dayna Fjord/Portland Winterhawks).

Defenseman Caleb Jones, the Edmonton Oilers’ 2015 fourth-round pick, is following in the skates of his older brother – Blue Jackets D-man Seth Jones –  and is rapidly making a name for himself in the process.

Like his big brother, the younger Jones is doing his major junior hockey apprenticeship with the WHL Portland Winterhawks. And he’s becoming a force in the WHL, just like his brother was before he was chosen fourth overall in the 2013 draft by the Nashville Predators.

 Born in Texas, Caleb Jones tallied 10 goals and 45 assists in 72 regular season games for Portland, was fifth overall in scoring among WHL rookies and 10th overall among the league’s defensemen in 2015-16.

Edmonton Oilers 2015 draftee Caleb Jones quickly established himself on the blue line for the WHL Portland Winterhawks in his rookie season(Photo/Dayna Fjord/Portland Winterhawks).

Edmonton Oilers 2015 draftee Caleb Jones quickly established himself on the blue line for the WHL Portland Winterhawks in his rookie season(Photo/Dayna Fjord/Portland Winterhawks).

Jones, the son of retired National Basketball Association player Popeye Jones, signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Oilers in early April and appeared in three games with the Bakersfield Condors, Edmonton’s American Hockey League farm team.

“In his first season in Portland, Caleb had the ability to impact the game by using his skating ability to lead the rush as well as defend against the rush,” Winterhawks Assistant General Manager Matt Bardsley said. “He has a great passion for the game and we are happy to see that he was rewarded with a contract from the Oilers organization.

To be continued

 

 

 

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Alphonso and Sharrers share bond in NHL’s zebra fraternity

08 Thursday Oct 2015

Posted by William Douglas in Uncategorized

≈ 1 Comment

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Buffalo Sabres, Jay Sharrers, Lakehead University, NHL Amateur Exposure Combine, Philadelphia Flyers, Shandor Alphonso, Sudbury Wolves, Tampa Bay Lightning

When people ask Shandor Alphonso what number he wears on the back and sleeves of his black-and-white-striped National Hockey League linesman sweater, he smiles and assures them that “you won’t have any trouble finding me” on the ice.

Alphonso and Jay Sharrers are easily recognizable because they are the only black on-ice officials among the NHL’s small army of linesmen and referees.

Linesman Shandor Alphonso (Photo/Dave Sandford/NHLI via Getty Images)

Linesman Shandor Alphonso (Photo/Dave Sandford/NHLI via Getty Images)

The 31-year-old Orangeville, Ontario, native is a relative newbie to the league. He’ll begin his second season as an NHL linesman when he takes to the ice in Buffalo Saturday in a game between the Sabres and Tampa Bay Lightning.

Last season, Alphonso worked 50 NHL games along with 37 American Hockey League contests and that league’s Calder Cup Final.

“I’m a big hockey fan, so I love that I have the best seat in the house,” Alphonso told me recently. “I enjoy the fact that I’m there. As an on-ice official I feel like I’m part of the game, I’m in the game.”

Sharrers, 48, is the veteran, starting his 26th year as an NHL official. He became the league’s first black linesman when he worked a match between the Boston Bruins and Quebec Nordiques in October 1990.

A native of New Westminster, British Columbia, Sharrers made history again when he became the league’s first black referee, officiating a contest between the Philadelphia Flyers and Lightning in April 2001.

Since joining the NHL, Sharrers has officiated in more than 1,190 NHL regular season

Linesman Jay Sharrers (Photo/ Dave Sandford/NHLI via Getty Images)

Linesman Jay Sharrers (Photo/ Dave Sandford/NHLI via Getty Images)

games and 163 playoff games. He’s worked seven Stanley Cup Finals, the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, and the 2006 NHL All-Star Game in Dallas.

“Having done this job going on 26 years, I can say without a doubt that on a daily, game-in, game-out basis, you’re challenged every time you step on the ice,” Sharrers told me. “It’s very demanding. Physically, for one. And, of course, there’s the mental side of it because with the speed of the game now, and how it’s evolved into such a quick, fast-paced game, it’s a constant mental challenge game-in and game-out to be prepared, to be focused for 60 minutes of a game.”

Sharrers and Alphonso are co-workers but they haven’t worked an NHL game together yet. But that hasn’t stopped them from forming a mutual admiration society.

“He’s a tremendous young man, he’s got a great character, he’s got a good hockey IQ,” Sharrers said of Alphonso. “My goal when I got hired was to work the Stanley Cup, and I was fortunate enough to do that seven times. At this point in my career, it’s probably more of a responsibility to try to help the young people in the business, working with a guy like Shandor and give them the opportunity, the experience that was given to me when I first started by the veteran officials when I first started.”

“I looked up to him even before I started officiating,” Alphonso said of Sharrers. “Any time you see a player of color in the NHL, you notice him. And to see an on-ice official, it was pretty amazing to me. My very first training camp, he said ‘If you ever have any questions, no matter what it is, no matter what time, call.’ That was huge.”

So what possesses a person to put on minimal protective gear, carry a whistle, get on the ice and to try to police aggressive, well-armored players wielding sticks and possessing the power to launch pucks over 100 miles an hour in front of thousands of screaming, beer-fueled fans?

Sharrers and Alphonso both started out as hockey players. But Sharrers came to the realization at 15 that “my chances of making it as a player weren’t that good” so he sought a different path to the NHL.

“I turned my attention to officiating, thinking that could be a vehicle I could take to the NHL,” he told me. “I started working my way up through the junior hockey ranks in Canada, went to some officiating schools in the summer, got noticed, got scouted. I worked in the Western Hockey League, probably my first taste of elite hockey, in 1985. Then I got hired (by the NHL) in 1990. Officiating was a way of staying involved in a game I love.”

Alphonso played hockey through major juniors and college. He was a rugged left wing who played 183 games for the Ontario Hockey League’s Sudbury Wolves from 2001-02 to 2003-04, notching 25 goals, 48 assists and collecting 143 penalty minutes.

Before he became an NHL linesman, Shandor Alphonso was a rugged winger for Canada's Lakehead University (Photo/Lakehead University)

Before he became an NHL linesman, Shandor Alphonso was a rugged winger for Canada’s Lakehead University (Photo/Lakehead University)

He went on to skate for Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ontario, from 2005-06 to 2009-10. He tallied 18 goals, 22 assists, and accumulated 121 penalty minutes in 111 games for the Thunderwolves.

“I was on the other end yelling at the referee,” he said.

During his fourth year at Lakehead, Alphonso received an invitation from the NHL to participate in the NHL Amateur Exposure Combine, an officiating camp designed to entice major junior, U.S., and Canadian college hockey players to consider becoming linesmen or referees.

After his final season at Lakehead, Alphonso was prepared to sign a professional contract to play in the Central Hockey League when he had a sudden change of heart.

“The NHL kind of told us, ‘If you’re good, you can get to the NHL in five years,'” He recalled. “I thought why not give it try, I never officiated before, and I really enjoyed it once I tried it out.”

Alphonso chose becoming an NHL linesman over chasing a pro hockey career (Photo/Courtesy Shandor Alphonso).

Alphonso chose becoming an NHL linesman over chasing a pro hockey career (Photo/Courtesy Shandor Alphonso).

He attended an annual clinic for on-ice officials in Guelph, Ontario, hosted by the Ontario Minor Hockey Association where NHL referee Kevin Pollock was as a guest instructor.

“Learned a lot from him and the instructors at that camp,” Alphonso said. “In three days, they showed me everything, the basics and the fundamentals for officiating.”

He then embarked on an experience-gathering, dues-paying journey through the alphabet soup of hockey leagues.

“I went from minor hockey to the OHL,” he said. “Second-year officiating in the OHL and in the OHA as well, doing major junior and Tier II junior – did both those leagues for three years. Also worked minor hockey at the same time. I felt I had a lot to learn so I wanted to be on the ice as much as I could.”

Alphonso, left, worked the AHL's 2015 Calder Cup Final between the Utica Comets and Manchester Monarchs (Photo/Courtesy Lindsay A. Mogle/Utica Comets)

Alphonso, left, worked the AHL’s 2015 Calder Cup Final between the Utica Comets and Manchester Monarchs (Photo/Courtesy Lindsay A. Mogle/Utica Comets)

The NHL invited Alphonso back to its exposure combine in summer 2014 and hired him two weeks after the camp ended. Now he sometimes finds himself officiating games with former hockey teammates, opponents, or players he trained with before he donned the zebra stripes.

“I had a situation in the AHL, an individual I used to train with quite a bit. I had to kick him out of the face-off because of a violation he committed,” Alphonso recalled. “He comes over to me in a TV time-out, he’s like ‘Are you serious? You’re kicking me out of a face-off? We used to run hills and puke together after hot days working out so hard and you’re kicking me out?'”

Alphonso replied “Yeah, we used to spend a lot of time training and working hard and running hills together, but I have to do this job now.”

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Globetrotting Yushiro Hirano hopes long hockey road trip leads to NHL career

27 Sunday Sep 2015

Posted by William Douglas in Uncategorized

≈ 1 Comment

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Alex Ovechkin, Chicago Blackhawks, Jonathan Toews, Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning, USHL, Washington Capitals

Yushiro Hirano has taken the term “road trip” to a new level.

The 20-year-old right wing left Hokkaido, Japan, last year to play hockey in Tingsryds, Sweden, some 4,683 miles away from his island home.

This year, Hirano’s pursuit of a National Hockey League career has taken him nearly 5,960 miles from home to Ohio, where he made history over the weekend as a member of the Youngstown Phantoms. Skating in the Phantoms’ season-opening 6-4 loss to Team USA Saturday, Hirano became the United States Hockey League’s first player born in Japan.

Ohio is Japan's Yushiro Hirano's new hockey home (Photo/Bill Paterson).

Ohio is Japan’s Yushiro Hirano’s new hockey home (Photo/Bill Paterson).

“I’m happy because I feel there is a responsibility for me to represent Japan well,”  Hirano said when asked in an e-mail exchange about making the Phantoms roster. “I hope to grow the game in Japan and make everybody proud. I also want to play well enough to get to the professional ranks here in the United States.”

Joining the Phantoms capped an excellent hockey summer for Hirano. Before he tried out for the USHL team, he attended the Chicago Blackhawks development camp in July as a free agent invitee.

Hirano attended the Chicago Blackhawks development camp before joining the Phantoms (Photo/Bill Paterson).

Hirano attended the Chicago Blackhawks development camp before joining the Phantoms (Photo/Bill Paterson).

The Hawks learned about Hirano through Andrew Allen, who was a developmental goaltending coach in the Chicago organization before becoming the Buffalo Sabres’ goalie coach this season. Allen knew of Hirano because he served as goaltending coach and developmental coach for Japan’s national team.

The son of a former Team Japan player, Hirano compiled an impressive numbers in Japan and Sweden. He tallied 12 goals and 14 assists in 26 games for Tingsryds’ junior team last season.

He collected 6 goals and 2 assists in 5 games as captain for Japan’s Under-20 team playing in the International Ice Hockey Federation’s World Junior Championship in the D1B Division in 2014-15. He also notched 3 goals in 5 games for Team Japan’s men’s squad in the IIHF world championship D1A Division last season.

But Hirano – whose first name is sometimes spelled Yushiroh –  wasn’t widely known in North America because Japan isn’t a hockey power. Its men’s team is 21st in IIHF rankings. The women’s team is ranked eighth internationally and competed at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. The squad played hard in Russia, but didn’t win a game.

With a baseball and soccer-obsessed population of 127,103,388, Japan has 19,260 hockey players – 9,641 men, 6,996 juniors, and 2,623 women – playing on 120 outdoor rinks and 110 indoor ice sheets.

“It is still a minor sport in Japan, but more people have been watching and following hockey in the United States, which will only help the game,” Hirano told me.

So how did Hirano wind up in Youngstown?  Tingsryds team management emailed Phantoms CEO and Co-Owner Troy Loney that Hirano might be worth a look.

“He received an email this summer and passed it along to our general manager about a young Japanese player who was looking to pay his own way to come over and try out,” Phantoms Head Coach John Wroblewski told me recently. “I guess there was a little bit of intrigue because he attended Chicago Blackhawks rookie camp as well this summer, but we knew nothing about him when the emails started coming around.”

It didn’t take long for the 6-foot, 200-pound Hirano to impress Wroblewski.

“He’s a big kid, very strong and sturdy,” he said. “He looks a lot like some of the pro players I dealt with the last few years. This leads into him being able to shoot the puck extremely hard. Tremendous accurate shot, very, very heavy shot. Those are the things that stuck out right away.”

Hirano is one of the Phantoms' top forwards and skates on the power play (Photo/Bill Paterson).

Hirano is one of the Phantoms’ top forwards and skates on the power play (Photo/Bill Paterson).

But Wroblewski saw something more in Hirano than a big body and a shot. “His work ethic was the next thing, and the ability to make plays,” he said. “He has quite a bit of vision and the ability to make deft, subtle plays. He works extremely hard away from the puck. If he’s the last guy on a back-check he’s working as hard as if he has it (the puck) going forward.”

Hirano says he’s adjusting to life in North America on and off the ice just fine, though he cites “the language barrier” as the biggest challenge. His coach isn’t so sure about that.

“He’s sneaky, I think he might know a little more than he’s letting on,” Wroblewski said with a laugh. “He understands it very well, he does have to concentrate a little more than the next guy on it, but he does understand it quite nicely. I say that because he picks up on subtlties within drills that really aren’t explained very well. Either he’s really smart, knows a little bit more English than we think, or a combination of both. I think it’s the third scenario.”

The United States Hockey League is the nation’s only Tier 1 junior league and prides itself on being a pathway to college hockey for its players. More than 95 percent of USHL players receive an opportunity to play NCAA Division I hockey.

Hirano, however, is viewing his USHL stint in Youngstown as a stepping stone to the NHL. He hopes to someday play alongside or against his favorite players – Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews, Tampa Bay Lightning sniper Steven Stamkos, or Washington Capitals superstar Alex Ovechkin.

“I’m nowhere close to the (NHL) level yet,” he told The Chicago Tribune in July. “I’d like to keep improving, but if I do get there, it’d be a huge impact for kids in Japan. They’d have a legitimate dream they could look up to and strive for.”

Wroblewski believes that Hirano’s dream isn’t an impossible one.

“In this short time, if his learning curve continues on this pace, on the degree it has thus far, there’s no telling how much he can get done here,” he said. “His straight ahead speed has to improve, there’s definitely a skating factor that the NHL desires, but his ability to play with others and put the puck in the net is pretty special.”

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