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Cody Franson has signed, as expected, a two year deal with the Sabres. It is a great fit for both sides and I can see Cody thriving in that transition game system.
Thus ends the longest and most in-depth Franson coverage in history.
Moving on...
It is time for the young guns team. The under, including 23 team. This is a team that will be VERY, very good and quite possibly could medal and honestly has a chance to redefine how the NHL views its younger players and it is not surprising when you look at it. Over the past several years we have gone from a league where “maybe… one or two players from a draft jumps right into the NHL, and maybe one every few years makes an immediate impact, to a league where many young players have made huge impacts right away.
It has much to do with training and the fact that this generation grew up with great diets and exercise regimens from day one. Anyone who has raised children over the last 20 years knows how much has changed regarding that process. The culture has shifted dramatically from when we were kids drinking cokes and eating fluffernutters. That simply doesn’t happen anymore and the young athletes of today are in way better condition at 19 than we, well frankly most of us, EVER were.
Add that to the fact that the youth hockey programs are now year round with incredible competitiveness forcing many players to commit to one sport only by the age of ten. Right or wrong, and believe me you can argue that well-rounded kids are more scarce than ever, we are building better hockey players…and should this team medal or come up with a win over Canada or USA…more might change again…
Here are my picks for this team:
Eklund’s Projection for the Young Guns
Forwards:
MacKinnon McDavid Eichel Gaudreau Monahan Couturier Nugent-Hopkins Galchenyuk Saad Domi Strome Reinhart Lazar Huberdeau Scheifele
Bubble: Jenner, Duclair
Defense
Ekblad Seth Jones Rielly Hamilton Trouba Ryan Murray Ceci Dumba
Bubble: Severson, Reinhart, Sanheim, Hanafan
Goal:
Gibson Hellebuyck Fucale
Bubble: Subban, Pickard, JF Berube, Comrie, Demko
Pretty damn impressive group. My question to you is simple:
Can the North American Young Guns medal?
We will discuss all this and more on today’s Buzzcast…