The Saskatoon Blades celebrate their victory over the Halifax Mooseheads at the Memorial CupSASKATOON — In a game full of emotion, the Saskatoon Blades took a different approach in their game against the Halifax Mooseheads at the MasterCard Memorial Cup.

“One of our mottos in this tournament is to play like robots whistle to whistle,” said Blades forward Josh Nicholls.

The idea is to keep an even keel – regardless of the opponent -- and disregard the many momentum swings faced during a game.

The game plan worked as the Blades skated to a stunning 5-2 victory over the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League champions. For the first 50 minutes of the game, the Blades kept Halifax’s high-powered offence – led by the top line of Jonathan Drouin, Nathan MacKinnon, and Martin Frk -- in check. They were physical and made life in the crease difficult for Mooseheads goalie Zach Fucale.

“We were wearing them down,” said Nicholls, a New York Rangers prospect. “You could see their frustration. They were starting to come at us after the whistles and stuff like that. They have a highly skilled

Read More »from 2013 Memorial Cup: Saskatoon Blades ride robotic approach, rabid crowd to surprise win over Halifax Mooseheads

Nathan MacKinnon scores on Portland goaltender Mac Carruth at the 2013 Memorial Cup.SASKATOON — It was billed as one of the best junior hockey matchups at the Memorial Cup in almost a decade. The top-ranked Halifax Mooseheads, champions of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, pitted against the Portland Winterhawks, the second-ranked champions from the Western Hockey League.

It featured the upper echelon of talent for the 2013 NHL Entry Draft with Portland’s Seth Jones, Halifax’s Nathan MacKinnon and his Mooseheads teammate Jonathan Drouin, ranked 1-2-3 respectively by the NHL’s Central Scouting Service in their final rankings.

Not since Sidney Crosby’s appearance on opening night at the 2005 Memorial Cup against Corey Perry’s London Knights had a Canadian Hockey League game been so anticipated. And like Sid, it was another kid from the Halifax suburb of Cole Harbour, N.S., who put on a show.

It was MacKinnon’s hat trick in a 7-4 victory over the Winterhawks that was a grand enough performance for people to question whether those draft rankings were right. Long beforeRead More »from Memorial Cup 2013: Nathan MacKinnon does much more than keep up with Seth Jones

SASKATOON — Long before Seth Jones and Nathan MacKinnon were the top-ranked players for the 2013 NHL Entry Draft, they were friends. And before they became good friends, they were roommates.

The two junior superstars first met in Los Angeles at an elite summer camp run by the agency – CAA - that represents both players. They were barely 15 and still relatively under the radar in the grand scheme of hockey’s star system.

They spent two weeks rooming together.

“We just started bonding and sharing each other’s similarities,” said Jones, a defenceman with the Portland Winterhawks. “It’ just took off from there.”

[2013 Memorial Cup: Do the host Saskatoon Blades have what it takes?]

In every summer camp since that initial meeting, they’ve continued to share a room.

“Seth is a neat guy for sure,” said MacKinnon, a forward with the Halifax Mooseheads. “He’s pretty easy going. We like to have some late night food runs in the room and it’s pretty simple... he’s pretty solid and we like to have a goodRead More »from 2013 Memorial Cup: Seth Jones and Nathan MacKinnon were friends before becoming foes

Halifax star Nathan MacKinnon wearing the celebratory fur.HALIFAX — On this night, the smell of success for Nathan MacKinnon is more pungent than pure. A three-goal performance on this evening means the sweat-soaked MacKinnon is walking around the basement of the Halifax Metro Centre in black baseball cap, red undershirt, and a chocolate brown fur coat.

He might look ridiculous, but there's swagger in MacKinnon's walk.

The fur is a totem the Halifax Mooseheads have been giving their player of the game to wear this season. Its provenance is unknown, though it looks like something you might find in grandma’s attic.

And the coat reeks. Badly. It’s a gag-inducing mix of hockey sweat and wet fur.

“I’m sure you can smell it from here,” says MacKinnon, laughing and standing a foot away.

Yes, you can.

“It’s getting pretty gross,” he continues. “This is the ninth (playoff) game we’ve played and nobody showers before putting it on, so it’s definitely a little stinky. But it adds character, for sure.”

Character is something MacKinnon knows all too well.

Read More »from Playoff nirvana: Smells like team spirit for MacKinnon's Mooseheads

Rouyn-Noranda Huskies forward Nikita Kucherov.HALIFAX — Armed with a master's degree, Svetlana Kucherov was looking for work. It was the late 90's and opportunities in Moscow were hard to come by for her. One day she spotted a newly constructed arena. She went in and talked her way into a job.

It was on that ice that her son, Nikita, then five, first learned to skate.

“She worked at the rink and she would bring me,” said the now 19-year-old Kucherov. “All the small kids would come and start to practice.”

It was evident, even at an early age, that Kucherov had a natural talent for hockey. And now as a member of the QMJHL’s Rouyn-Noranda Huskies, he’s only getting better.

“He’s always one play ahead of the game,” said Huskies coach and general manager Andre Tourigny. “When he gets the puck he knows all his options and what he has to do. He knows where the pressure is. His hockey sense and his IQ are through the roof.

“He’s very passionate about the game.”

It’s partly that passion that has helped Kucherov find a new gearRead More »from Nikita Kucherov finds new focus after trade to Rouyn-Noranda Huskies

Interim head coach of the Portland Winterhawks Travis Green.At age 42, Travis Green is hardly a sage old man.

But turning pro at 19 and spending 14 seasons in the National Hockey League have provided him a life experience to which very few people can relate.

Now, as the interim head coach of the Western Hockey League’s Portland Winterhawks, he says there are times he wishes he could go back to his early playing days and do things a little differently.

“I joke about it,” says Green. “I never knew how important coaches were until I started coaching.

“I’ve learned what a pain in the ass I must have been as a player. At 19 when I turned pro until 37 when I retired, I learned a lot over that time and I look back now and, joking aside, I’m a little embarrassed at how I was as a young guy. I see a lot of that in our own players. It doesn’t surprise me some of the things these young guys will do or say or even how they’ll play at certain times of the game. They’re young and they haven’t been through a lot in their hockey careers. But

Read More »from Pressed into coaching duty, Travis Green’s Winterhawks aim for WHL title

Undertaking his first Ontario Hockey League playoff run, Barrie Colts defenceman Michael Webster has a little more confidence than your average rookie.

Barrie Colts goalie Mathias Niederberger. (Getty)No one ever wants to make a mistake, especially in the postseason, where every aspect of the game is magnified. But Webster said he and his fellow Barrie blueliners have a 5-foot-11, 171-pound safety net.

They have goaltender Mathias Niederberger.

“You don’t have to worry about getting beat or giving up a challenging shot because he’s proven he can keep that door shut,” said the 17-year-old Webster. “He doesn’t give up many rebounds and he really makes a defenceman’s job easy.”

It looked easy on Sunday night when Niederberger made 35 saves to shut out the Oshawa Generals 4-0 and steal an important road victory. The only time the Generals came close was early in the first period when the 20-year-old netminder made an initial save, but lost the puck in his crease. He fell flat on his back, with the puck smothered underneath,

Read More »from Barrie Colts goalie Mathias Niederberger stands tall as the last wall of defence

Halifax forward Nathan MacKinnonHockey players often say being a spectator is a difficult thing. When you are used to the fast pace, adrenaline and emotion of being a contributor on the ice, watching from afar can sometimes leave one feeling helpless.

For Nathan MacKinnon, however, being a fan of his Halifax Mooseheads only lasted 14 games. So while he sat out, mending a knee injury, he was able to appreciate some of the small details you only catch with a bird’s-eye view.

“It just seems like there’s always a little more time than you think when you have the puck,” said MacKinnon of what he learned from watching. “Sometimes you can rush a little bit if you think you’re under pressure, but I found that you can definitely create more time.”

Patience.

It’s a difficult virtue to master even for those of us who aren’t 17-year-old hockey prodigies. But it speaks to MacKinnon’s attention to the finer points of his game.

“It’s maturity more than anything,” said Halifax general manager Cam Russell. “It’s nice

Read More »from MacKinnon rested, revved for long playoff run with top-ranked Mooseheads