'Your papers, please' must never be heard in America
Paul Stastny had two goals and two assists and Craig Smith had five assists on Thursday to give the United States an 8-3 win over Russia and a spot in the semifinals.
A year ago, Brandon Saad was just a footnote when he made his postseason debut for Chicago against the Phoenix Coyotes. He skated for just over 10 minutes in two games and picked up his first career NHL point on an assist, but the Blackhawks were eliminated in the first round.
Rookies arrived at NHL camps and made the most of a limited opportunity. With just a week to show what they could do, guys like Alex Galchenyuk of the Montreal Canadiens and Cory Conacher of the Tampa Bay Lighting didn't waste time showing that they belonged.
The Edmonton Oilers are getting tired of going first in the NHL draft and Nail Yakupov knows part of his job is to make sure it doesn't happen again.
Nail Yakupov is ready to live with the spotlight that comes with being a No. 1 pick.
Nail Yakupov is ready to live with the pressure of being a No. 1 pick.
When hot-shot prospect Nail Yakupov came to North America to play in the Canadian Hockey League, he didn't know English well enough to get around. He leaned on an American friend who knew Russian, teammate Alex Galchenyuk, for translation as long as he could.
Top NHL draft prospect Alex Galchenyuk will have surgery this week to repair a torn knee ligament.
"It was perfect to get used to that speed of the game," Galchenyuk said. "It was the best players playing against the best players, so it wasn't hard to come here after an experience like that."
NHL rookies like Cory Conacher, Alex Galchenyuk show they belong →
He already speaks two languages, and joked that he had better start picking up French.
