Tanner Brown, the junior pitcher for Huntington Beach High, is often overshadowed by teammate Jared Grindlinger, a likely first-round draft pick, yet he has proven his worth with a 1.94 ERA and a save in a recent game.
Protas finished the game with a career-high six points (1g, 5a), while Cristall notched his first professional hat trick with his own five-point performance (3g, 2a).
Jack Hughes's overtime goal to win Olympic gold is hockey history, maybe the single most important physical object in American hockey history. The Hughes puck is a pure distillation, the sudden-death difference between defeat and world-champ status in one small, black disc of vulcanized rubber and entrance-fee bait.
With the NHL not happening due to the 2026 Winter Olympics, more eyes were on the AHL All-Star Showcase taking place during their break. And the Toronto Maple Leafs' representative absolutely shone above the rest. Toronto Marlies netminder Artur Akhtyamov was chosen to be the member of the Leafs organization that went to Rockford, Illinois to play in an East vs. West matchup and during the skill competition went completely off. The 24-year-old Russian goalie shut the door in just about every opportunity he had.
But he was brought up to Boston on November 8 when Elias Lindholm was injured. He didn't allow this chance pass him by. Steeves made an immediate impression with his hustle, scoring in his second game with the Bruins against his old team. He's got 8-6-14 totals and is plus-5 in 33 games, though he's gone very cold lately. He has not scored a goal since December 23, a span of 12 games.
The upstart Anaheim Ducks overachieved out of the gate this season in eye-popping fashion. Anaheim was 11-3-1 through its first 15 games, led the NHL in scoring (4.13 goals per game) at that mark and perhaps most shockingly, it was the Ducks' 21-year-old forward Leo Carlsson sitting second overall in league scoring with 10 goals and 25 points to start the season. It was a script particularly befitting the club's Disney roots. But the Ducks' Cinderella story has taken a Maleficent-like turn.
