That Laine was good enough to dominate against players who were as much as two years older was just one part of the equation. The other part was Jalonen. Canada had been conservative with its underage players in the tournament. Finland did the opposite. Realizing that the team’s youngsters were its best players, the coaching staff loosened the reins on them and just let them play. For Laine, it was the first time he was allowed to be himself. “If you over-coach them, you will make a mistake,” said Jalonen. “Obviously they will make some mistakes, but if you try to correct them all the time and they start thinking all over the ice, it’s bad. So you have to let them play.”
It made for some wild hockey. In a back-and-forth game against Canada, Laine scored the game-winner on a slapshot that seemed to go through goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood. Laine finished the tournament ranked third in scoring with 7 goals and 13 points in 7 games—behind Puljujärvi (17 points) and Aho (14 points). “It was one of those rare experiences,” said Jalonen. “Once in a while, you have a line on the club team where you can sit back. You can’t teach the skills of those offensive players. Talent doesn’t automatically mean that three guys can click together and play together. It doesn’t always happen. But with those guys, it really worked so well.”
The win was a huge turning point in Laine’s career. Laine had always been full of swagger. But now it was justified. He was being encouraged to use the shot that so many had previously tried to tame. He won a league title and was named to Finland’s world championship team, where he was the MVP of the tournament, and then played at the World Cup before he even made his NHL debut. That he did it his own way made the ascent even sweeter.
“He rose up like a rocket, more or less,” said Goran Stubb, the European-based scout for NHL Central Scouting. “Two, three years ago he wasn’t outstanding. But when you get to know him a little bit, you realize that his will and his ambitions are not normal. He wants so much and he’s willing to work hard for these goals. He was practising his shot all year round. It was a great year for him.”
* * *
When you get an opportunity to draft in the top end of the draft, those are the type of players that can make a difference. Every year is different, so you don’t know exactly what that player is going to do moving forward. But from what I’ve seen at the top end of the draft, these are players that can make an impact over a period of time. No one player is going to change a franchise overnight. But certainly it is a big building piece and building block moving forward. — Kevin Cheveldayoff, Winnipeg Jets general manager, April 2016
* * *
Kevin Cheveldayoff was in Finland for the World Junior Championship, but perhaps wisely didn’t stay for the after-party that shut down the country. “I’ve heard stories from guys that stayed,” said the Winnipeg Jets GM, laughing. “I wouldn’t want anyone doing any work on my brakes, or anything like that on my car the next day, that’s for sure.” At the time of the tournament, Cheveldayoff wasn’t in Helsinki on a scouting mission. He couldn’t have imagined that the Jets would finish low enough to select Laine or Puljujärvi or even a player in the top ten. He was simply there to watch his team’s prospects. Even so, he couldn’t keep his eyes off what the two kids from Finland were doing.
“You knew that whoever was going to get an opportunity to draft any of those players was going to be fortunate.” When the Jets missed the playoffs and then won the second overall pick in the draft lottery—jumping up four spaces—one of the first calls Cheveldayoff made was to Finland-based scout Jari Grönstrand. “What do you think?” Cheveldayoff asked.
“I said that he can be a forty-, fifty-, sixty-goal scorer. He’s that good,” said Grönstrand. As for the other factors—the criticisms that Laine was immature and selfish—Grönstrand was not worried in the least. He was from Laine’s hometown. He knew Laine’s parents. His wife was a teacher where Laine went to school. “It was blown out of proportion,” he said. The kid would give the team zero problems.
“From a personal standpoint, we certainly did do a lot of due diligence,” said Cheveldayoff. “The more we spent time with Patrik and talked with people about Patrik, the more excited we got as an organization. You really began to understand what drives him, what he is, who he is. It’s like, ‘Okay, now I get that interview [that he did at the draft lottery with Sportsnet].’ There’s just a ‘I am who I am, and I’m just going to go play hockey’ type of mentality. He’s not in this for you. He’s in this to be the player that he believes he can be and that’s all. At the end of the day, Patrik is a very, very driven person who wants to be the best.”
Conclusion
Their stories are different. But they are pretty much all the same. If you haven’t already realized it by now, go back and read them again. Whether it was McDavid weaving through paint cans or Matthews showing up to the rink with a duffle bag full of different-coloured jerseys or Eichel hanging pictures of his role models—and rivals—on his bedroom door, the same underlying theme runs throughout each origin story.
You need to be driven to succeed. You need talent, sure. But it’s not nearly enough. The players in this book are not just good NHLers; they are some of the best rising stars, something they achieved through practice, passion and perseverance—almost to the point of obsession.
What’s the big difference between McDavid and his older brother? Connor felt like he had to take one hundred shots every day. Why did Johnny Gaudreau make it to the NHL, whereas his father ended up a really good college player? Johnny didn’t listen to the doubters who said he was too small. There have been first-overall flops and can’t-miss prospects who have missed their mark. But while analysts were questioning Scheifele’s future or wondering if Laine had the mental maturity to realize his potential, the players themselves were putting in the work to get to where they wanted to be.
It wasn’t a fluke. No one actually wakes up one day with superhero abilities. Even for the so-called “phenoms,” it takes time and effort and all the things that most of us are not prepared to invest. There are sacrifices made, obstacles to overcome and critics to answer to. It’s a lesson for the next generation of young stars, many of whom are already writing their origin stories. We can’t wait to read them.
Acknowledgements
None of the players in this book would be in the NHL without the support of their families and the same applies to me. Thank you Mom, Dad and Chris for being my biggest fans. Thank you Danielle for your love and support (even if you are quite slow at transcribing) and thank you Madison and Joshua for being really quiet when Daddy was conducting interviews on the phone. I would also like to thank the players in the book for allowing me to properly tell their stories, as well as their parents, friends, agents, coaches, teammates for being open and honest. A special thank-you goes out to my former sports editors Jim Bray and Bev Wake, for taking a chance on me so long ago. And to my current Sports Editor, Bill Pierce, a big thanks for your daily email emojis, which always put a much-needed smile on my face, and for thinking I’m a “normal guy.” Last, but certainly not least, thank you to my agent, Brian Wood, for pushing me to write something—anything—as well as the kind people at Harbour Publishing Co. Ltd./Douglas and McIntyre for making this possible, and in particular to Brianna Cerkiewicz, for being really, really patient with me during this entire process.
Credits
Eichel quote on page 126: Courtesy of Sports Illustrated.
Marner quote on page 169: Material republished with the express permission of: Toronto Sun, a division of Postmedia Network Inc.
Marner quote on page 170: Material republished with the express permission of: National Post, a division of Postmedia Network Inc.
Karlsson quote on page 174: Material republished with the express permission of: Ottawa Citizen, a division of Postmedia Network Inc.
Millard Sportsnet interview on pages 197–198: Used with permission of Rogers Media Inc. All rights reserved.
Cheveldayoff quote on page 213: Courtesy of NHL.com.
Index
Numbers in bold indicate an image
Anderson, Craig, 174, 173
Arizona Bobcats, 183, 193, 196
Arizona Coyotes, 55, 179
Arizona, hockey in, 2, 174, 175, 177, 182–83, 193
Arizona, popularity of hockey in, 194–95
Art Ross Trophy, 6
Babcock, Mike, 5, 170, 173, 189, 190
Backstrom, Nicklas, 95, 99, 106
Barrie Colts, 5, 15, 16, 17, 18, 21, 70, 81, 84, 85
Bassin, Sherry, 129–30, 145, 146, 147
Beanpot, 41, 121, 125
Belle River, 73, 74, 75
Bergman, Thommie, 104
Borrow, Howie, 47, 49
Boston Bruins, 39, 110, 118, 122, 151
Boston College, 40, 41, 43, 44, 118, 121, 122, 123
Boston University, 121, 122–25
Boughner, Bob, 71–72, 73
Branch, David, 69–70, 83, 84
Brisson, Pat, 175, 177, 182–83, 187, 188, 189
Brown, Connor, 146
Buffalo Sabres, 61, 108, 109, 114, 124, 125
Burke, Brian, 110
Button, Craig, 186
Button, Tod, 39
Calder Trophy, 2
Calgary Flames, 24, 35, 39, 40, 92, 110, 136, 184
Campbell, Jack, 59–61
Canadian Hockey League (CHL), 37, 69. See also specific teams
Catalde, Bob, 148
Cheveldayoff, Kevin, 20, 21, 22, 213, 214
Chiarelli, Peter, 39, 191, 192
Chicago Mission, 99, 100
Ciaccio, Mark, 179
Clark Cup, 37
Clarkson, Ryan, 12, 13, 14, 15
Cottage Cup, 16, 17
Crawford, Marc, 187, 188
Dermott, Travis, 136, 137
Desveaux, Rob, 153, 154–55, 158–59
Doak, Aidan, 137
Doak, Jack, 136–37, 141
Dorozhenko, Boris, 177, 179–81
Dubas, Kyle, 57–62
Dubuque Fighting Saints, 35, 36, 38, 39
Dunda, Liam, 159, 162
Dvorak, Christian, 99, 169, 128
Edmonton Oilers, 125, 126, 128, 130, 196
Eichel, Anne, 111
Eichel, Bob, 110–11, 112, 113–14, 115, 116, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122–23, 124, 126
Eichel, Jack, 108, 168, 182, 186, 192
childhood, 109–112–114
college, 122–25
junior, 117–21
NHL, 109, 114, 125–26
NTDP, 121
training, 114–17
Ekblad, Aaron, 3, 19, 21, 68, 126, 145
awards, 71
bantam, 76–77–81–82
childhood, 74
exceptional status, 69–71, 81, 82–84
midget, 72–73, 75–76
NHL, 71, 87–88
OHL, 84–87
Ekblad, Dave, 74, 76, 83
Ekblad, Lisa, 71, 73, 74, 83–84
Elkin, Jon, 54, 55, 56
European vs. North American styles of play, 93, 99, 101, 102, 186, 187, 188, 204
Evoy, Rick, 50, 52, 54
Ferri, Dan, 113, 114, 115, 116–17, 126
Ferris, Darren, 161, 162, 165
Filion, Ron, 180, 181, 193–95
Florida Panthers, 11, 68, 71, 73, 77, 87
Foligno, Nick, 190
Ford, Jason, 5, 17, 18, 70, 84–85, 86
Forsberg, Anders, 100, 102–3, 104
Ftorek, Robbie, 145–46, 147
Gagner, Sam, 143–44
Gaudreau, Guy, 25, 26, 27–29, 30–32, 33, 34, 43, 44
Gaudreau, Johnny, 1, 3, 24, 217
awards, 41, 43
bantam, 34
childhood, 25, 26, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33
college, 40–42, 43
height, 26, 27, 32, 34–36, 38, 40, 41
NHL, 39, 44
nicknames, 27, 37, 43–44
training, 33, 41
USHL, 26, 34, 35–38
World Junior Championship, Ice Hockey (2013), 41–43
Granato, Don, 183–85, 186
Green, Mike, 28, 30–32
Grönborg, Rikard, 101, 107
Grönstrand, Jari, 202, 205, 214
Harding, Martin, 141, 142
Harper, Stephen, 145, 148
Hart Memorial Trophy, 2, 99, 130
Hasanen, Pertti, 203
Hawerchuk, Dale, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 84, 85 86, 87
Hiitelä, Juha, 205
Hobey Baker Award, 43, 44, 118, 123
Hoffman, Todd, 11, 12, 15, 16
Hofford, Lindsay, 152, 160–61, 165, 166, 170
Houck, Dan, 97, 98
Housley, Phil, 42
Hudler, Juri, 35
Hunter, Dale, 165–66, 168
Hunter, Mark, 157, 165, 170
Hynes, John, 63, 65
Iliakis, Dan, 104
Jackson, Jeff, 143–44
Jalonen, Jukka, 211, 212, 213
Johnny Hockey. See Gaudreau, Johnny
Junior Bruins, 117, 119, 120–21, 122
Juujärvi, Juha, 203, 206, 207, 208
Karlsson, Erik, 174
Kasperi, Kapanen, 212
Keegan, Rob, 97
Kitchener Dutchmen, 11, 12, 13
Kitchener Junior Rangers, 9, 10
Kitchener Rangers, 11, 12
Kostopoulos, Tom, 63, 64, 65
Laine, Patrik, 3, 190, 192, 196
attitude, 204–7, 208–9
childhood, 199–201
Finland, 202, 204, 205, 206–10
interview, 197–98
shot, 200–201, 203
World Junior Championship, Ice Hockey (2016), 211–14
Lalonde, Brandon, 70, 74, 79, 80
Lalonde, Todd, 72, 73, 76, 77, 78–80, 81, 82, 83
Leahy, Brendan, 120
London Knights, 165, 167, 168–69
McDavid, Brian, 138
McDavid, Cameron, 135, 136, 138, 139, 140
McDavid, Connor, 2, 3, 6, 100, 125–26, 128, 160, 161, 168, 183, 186, 191, 192, 217
awards, 130, 144
childhood, 130–36, 138–139–141
GTHL, 144
OHL, 145–47, 148
OMHA, 136–37
training, 129, 140–43
World Junior Championship, Ice Hockey (2015), 147
McDavid, Kelly, 131–32, 133–34, 135–36, 138, 144, 145
MacDonald, Blaise, 116
MacDonald, Cameron, 116
McKegg, Greg, 145
McLellan, Todd, 191, 192
Makinen, Antti, 198
Maple Leafs. See Toronto Maple Leafs
Marjamäki, Lauri, 203
Marner, Bonnie, 151–52, 156, 157
Marner, Chris, 158, 169
Marner, Mitch, 3, 102, 137, 150
childhood, 152, 153–156–157, 160
GTHL, 162
Hill Academy, 166–67
junior, 152, 162–64
NHL, 151, 153, 168, 169–70
OHL, 152, 164–66, 167–69
size, 152, 157, 158, 160–62
training, 158–59
Marner, Paul, 151, 153, 154–58, 159, 161, 164
Masters, Chris, 117, 118, 119, 120, 122
Masters, Peter, 118, 122
Matthews, Auston, 2, 153, 172, 197, 217
childhood, 175–176–177
minor, 183
NHL, 173–75, 189–91, 194–95
NTDP, 182–86
Switzerland, 186–88
Team North America, 191–93
training, 178–81
Matthews, Brian, 175, 176, 177, 178, 179, 181–82, 184–85, 187
Matthews, Ema, 173, 175, 177
Maurice, Paul, 22
Memorial Cup, 11, 16, 165, 168, 169
Mercer, Steve, 162
Merrill, Patrick, 166
MODO, 100, 103, 104, 105
Montgomery, Jim, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39
Murphy, Patrick, 75
Murphy, Todd, 74–75
Murphy, Trevor, 79
Murray, Fenny, 48, 51, 54
Murray, Jim, 52, 54, 55, 61
Murray, Matt, 2, 3, 46
AHL, 63–66
childhood, 51, 52, 53, 54
NHL, 51, 61, 66
OHL, 55, 57–61, 62
Stanley cup, 47–48–50, 51
training, 55, 56
university, 49
Murray, Michael, 48, 52–53
Murray, Tim, 125
National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), 43, 44, 122, 124, 162, 164, 174, 186
National Team Development Program (NTDP), 121, 182, 183, 186, 192
NHL. See specific teams
Nieminen, Ville, 198
Noble, Dan, 166
Noble Ball, 166–67
Nylander, Michael, 91, 92, 93, 95, 96, 99, 100, 104–6
Nylander, William, 3, 90, 153, 172, 174
childhood, 92–97
NHL, 94, 104
pee-wee, 91–92, 97–98–100
Sweden, 100–106
World Junior Championship, Ice Hockey (2016), 106–7
Ofner, Richard, 75–76, 77, 78
Ojanen, Marko, 206
Ontario Hockey League (OHL). See specific teams
Ontario Minor Hockey Association (OMHA), 75–76, 137
Orr, Bobby, 3, 69, 71
Pard, Zach, 91–92, 97, 98
Pittsburgh Penguins, 2, 46, 48, 51, 63, 66
Plastino, Nick, 210–11
Puljujärvi, Jesse, 211–13
Quinn, David, 124
Quinn, Joe, 131, 138, 141, 142–43
Ricci, Rich, 163, 164
Rupert, Ryan, 167–68
Rutherford, Jim, 66
Saginaw Spirit, 11, 13, 17
Scheifele, Brad, 7, 8, 9, 10
Scheifele, Mark, 3, 4, 85, 86, 192, 217
childhood, 5, 8, 9
junior, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15
midget, 9, 10, 11
NHL, 7, 20, 21, 22
OHL, 11, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21
training, 6, 14
Schoenmakers, Derek, 14
Scranton Penguins, 63–64
Selänne, Teemu, 200, 205, 211
Shanahan, Brendan, 189, 190, 193, 202
Sheary, Conor, 64