The Bolts
The NHL Network has ranked Tampa Bay Lightning superstar pivot-man Steven Stamkos as the seventh-best center in the NHL right now. Despite his injury history recently, Stamkos has risen on the list from last year, where he was eleventh. You can find that article here at Raw Charge.
The Top 20 Centers Right Now are…. #NHLTopPlayers pic.twitter.com/9NOYsJoHuQ
— NHL Network (@NHLNetwork) August 21, 2017
Top 20 NHL Centers Right Now
| Rank | Player |
|---|---|
| 1 | Connor McDavid |
| 2 | Sidney Crosby |
| 3 | Evgeni Malkin |
| 4 | Auston Matthews |
| 5 | Nicklas Backstrom |
| 6 | John Tavares |
| 7 | Steven Stamkos |
| 8 | Tyler Seguin |
| 9 | Ryan Getzlaf |
| 10 | Mark Scheifele |
| 11 | Patrice Bergeron |
| 12 | Jonathan Toews |
| 13 | Anze Kopitar |
| 14 | Jack Eichel |
| 15 | Leon Draisaitl |
| 16 | Ryan Johansen |
| 17 | Alekander Barkov |
| 18 | Jeff Carter |
| 19 | Evgeny Kuznetsov |
| 20 | Sean Monahan |
Let us know what you think of this list? Auston Matthews, of the Toronto Maple Leafs, at #4 is the first name that jumped out at me.
The Prospects
Slater Koekkoek is one heck of a salesman!
Mikhail Sergachev at a hockey camp in Russia! (Nice jersey)
The ECHL Adirondack Thunder have renamed the street outside of their newly named arena to Bill Dineen Way, named after the long-time coach of the Adirondack Red Wings from 1983-1989. Mr. Dineen passed away last December. [Thoughts Inside the Box]
The Game
The South East Asian (SEA) Games have begun in Kuala Lampur, Malaysia and for the first time ICE HOCKEY is one of the events! Despite the ice starting to melt after the first period, the game and tournament is going well! “This is a milestone in the bigger development of this super-beautiful sport.” – Jonathan Sudharta, Indonesia’s captain
The Aberdeen Linx of the Scottish National League just finished a £110,000 upgrade to their arena in Scotland. “The revamp wasn’t the only thing being celebrated as Sport Aberdeen’s Linx Ice Arena and Beach Leisure Centre were recently certified as autism friendly, making the Granite City’s ice rink the first to receive this award in the UK.” [Evening Express]
(If you’re trying to remember where you’ve heard of the Linx before, it might have been here)
Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan spoke about how invaluable having clips of gameplay on iPads placed on the benches during games, especially in the playoffs. “The main areas where we probably gained the most use out of it was special teams, because you get immediate feedback.” [Sportsnet]
Nick Bonino eating spaghetti out of the Stanley Cup, as one does.
When you have an Italian background…spaghetti is a must! Nick Bonino enjoys Moms homecooking. #stanleycup @HockeyHallFame @NHL @penguins pic.twitter.com/zgBVy9AShr
— Philip Pritchard (@keeperofthecup) August 20, 2017
And let’s end this Quick Strike with some quality P.K. Subban mobility training
Just out for a little skate… 🏒 pic.twitter.com/0AqwGVZ7Ns
— P.K. Subban (@PKSubban1) August 16, 2017
