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Morning Skate: It’s suddenly Canada or World Cup bust for Team USA
Tortorella and company face a must-win on Tuesday.
Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images
Lace ‘em up. Time for the Morning Skate.
DOWN GOES NORTH AMERICA
The intrepid youngsters of the World Cup were bound to stumble sooner or later, and it might as well have come against the offensively loaded Russians. Good news? Auston Matthews did a good. The bad news? Aaron Ekblad has a concussion.
Meanwhile, Europe is leading the whole damn thing. Just as we all predicted!
#IAMFORMERNHLerVALNICHUSHKIN
Scuttlebutt all summer had Stars winger Valeri Nichushkin jumping ship to play in the KHL this year. Now it appears those rumors weren’t really rumors at all, since multiple reports came out yesterday that the 21-year-old forward will sign with CSKA Moscow this year.
At first glance, losing your 10th overall pick from 2013 seems like a big loss for Dallas. But Nichushkin hadn’t earned top minutes yet, and Jiri Hudler seems more poised to contribute offensively in a competitive forward group in Big D than Nichushkin. His agent says he loves Dallas, so perhaps the Stars will benefit from his growth overseas in a few years.
As Stars GM Jim Nill put it, it’s not the end of the world.
WORLD CUP TONIGHT (or today depending on your time zone)
- Two little hockey teams called Canada and the USA play tonight. No big deal for the U.S., who totally doesn’t need to win tonight to avoid elimination.
- wait a minute
- Oh yeah, they totally do.
- If that’s not enough to whet your hockey appetite, Finland and Sweden play before that.
“HEY, THE SEASON IS AROUND THE CORNER” CORNER
- Red Wings prospects are heading to the Traverse City championship game.
- Several Senators face a make or break season.
- The Blackhawks expect big things from Nick Schmaltz this year.
- No, John Tavares is not going to Toronto.
- Depth is no longer an issue in Arizona.
- Here’s your unofficial guide to picking your favorite Oilers player.
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