Paperback
-
PICK UP IN STORECheck Availability at Nearby Stores
Available within 2 business hours
Related collections and offers
Overview
From the incredible debut of Auston Matthews to the unparalleled speed of Connor McDavid, the NHL is experiencing a rebirth that is based on speed and skill, not size, fighting, or intimidation. Fast Ice: Superstars of the New NHL features profiles of more than 50 of today’s greatest stars. Included are veterans like Sidney Crosby and arch-rival Alexander Ovechkin, but the heart of the book is the youth movement that has given fans new optimism for an exciting future. Written by bestselling author Andrew Podnieks and featuring dozens of full-colour photographs, this is sure to be a compelling addition to the hockey lover’s library.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781770414297 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | ECW Press |
| Publication date: | 10/17/2017 |
| Pages: | 176 |
| Sales rank: | 967,894 |
| Product dimensions: | 5.70(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.60(d) |
About the Author
Read an Excerpt
CHAPTER 1
CAM ATKINSON B. RIVERSIDE, CONNECTICUT, JUNE 5, 1989 5'8" 182 LBS. RIGHT WING/SHOOTS RIGHT DRAFTED 157TH OVERALL BY COLUMBUS IN 2008 NHL DEBUT OCTOBER 7, 2011 @CamAtkinson13
Apart from the top-player selections, the NHL Entry Draft is a lottery as much as it is an opportunity. Case in point: Cam Atkinson. Drafted in the distant sixth round in 2008, Atkinson has slowly and steadily developed into one of the top scorers in the NHL — and no one could have predicted that a decade ago.
Atkinson's ambitions were high even as a young teenager. He moved away from home at age 15 and attended Avon Old Farms, a prep high school in Connecticut that had previously developed Hall of Famer Brian Leetch and Stanley Cup–winning goaltender Jonathan Quick.
Despite averaging nearly a goal per game over three years with the Winged Beavers, Atkinson was never on the radar of USA Hockey for U18 or U20 tournaments. When he became draft eligible in 2007, exactly zero NHL teams showed interest.
The reason? Atkinson was small. Even now at 5'8" and 182 pounds, he is small to be doing such miraculous things in the NHL; as a teen, he was even less intimidating. But what he had was great skating ability and quickness. He could make plays at top speed and could simply outskate many opponents.
After being selected by the Blue Jackets in his second year of eligibility, the 19-year-old attended Boston College that fall, beginning a three-year stint there that saw him develop far beyond anyone's expectations.
In 2010–11, in what proved to be his final year of college hockey, Atkinson led the NCAA with 30 goals and took BC to the championship game where the Eagles defeated Wisconsin, 5–0. Atkinson had two goals for the winners and, soon after, was sent by the Blue Jackets to finish the season with their AHL affiliate in Springfield.
Showing no signs of being overwhelmed, he scored three times in five games. The Jackets signed him to a pro contract, and his college days were over. Atkinson was en route to the NHL.
The next year, he started the season with Columbus, making his NHL debut on October 7, 2011. He scored his first NHL goal in his third game, but after five games he was sent back to Springfield. After scoring 29 goals in 51 games — and playing in the AHL's All- Star Game — he was recalled by Columbus in late February and stayed the rest of the year. Atkinson finished strongly, recording 10 points in his final six games, including his first career hat trick.
At season's end, and the Jackets out of the playoffs, Atkinson was invited by Team USA to play at the World Championship in Sweden and Finland. He accepted and was impressive on a young and fast American team that lost a tight 3–2 game to Finland in the quarter-finals.
Atkinson seemed to get stuck in neutral the next year, splitting the season evenly between the NHL and AHL. But in 2013–14, he turned the corner. Playing the whole season with Columbus, he scored 21 goals and proved that speed and skill — and a phenomenal shot — could trump size and strength.
Over the course of the next four seasons, Atkinson improved his goal production each year, going from 21 to 22, 27, and 35 by 2016–17. Only seven players put the puck in the net more often than Atkinson in 2016–17, with Sidney Crosby leading the league with 44.
Midway through that season, he was named to play in the NHL's All-Star Game at the Staples Center in Los Angeles as a replacement for the injured Evgeni Malkin. It was fitting: many thought Atkinson should have been named to the game initially.
In the 2017 playoffs, though, the Jackets were eliminated by Crosby and the Penguins in five games in the first round. Atkinson was limited to two goals, but the playoffs were only his second such experience.
At season's end, Atkinson tweeted, "It's been a fun year, Columbus. Thank you as always to #5thline [diehard Jackets fans] for cheering loud. See you next year."
It has been a decade since Atkinson started his ascent. From prep hockey to leading scorer in the NCAA to a top scorer in the NHL, the diminutive and skilled forward has proven skeptics wrong and rewarded Blue Jackets scouts who took a late chance on him in 2008.
CHAPTER 2
NICKLAS BACKSTROM B. GAVLE, SWEDEN, NOVEMBER 23, 1987 6'1" 213 LBS. CENTRE/SHOOTS LEFT DRAFTED 4TH OVERALL BY WASHINGTON IN 2006 NHL DEBUT OCTOBER 5, 2007 @BACKSTROM19
Batman and Robin. Simon and Garfunkel. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
Hockey's equivalent: Ovi and Backstrom.
Nicklas Backstrom has been serving as Alexander Ovechkin's top setup man for the last decade with the Washington Capitals, and he is also a star in his own right. Backstrom became the franchise's all-time leader in assists before reaching his 30th birthday.
The slick Swedish centre is among the best passers and two-way players in the world. His skating and shooting are also world class, but perhaps the quality of his game that is most under-appreciated is that he makes Ovechkin a better player.
A native of Gavle, Sweden, Backstrom is the son of a hockey-playing father — who spent 10 years with the local team, Brynas — and an equally athletic mother — a Finnish native who was an elite handball player.
Backstrom got his hockey start with Brynas's junior squads. He graduated to the senior men's team during the 2004–05 season but wasn't able to establish himself then at that level due to the high number of locked-out NHL players plying their trade in Europe that season.
As a result, Backstrom spent most of the 2004–05 campaign with the Brynas Under-20 team. At age 17, in April 2005, he recorded five points as Sweden won the bronze medal at the IIHF U18 World Championship.
Once the NHL got back to business in 2005–06, Backstrom quickly rose through the ranks, establishing himself as Brynas's top-line centre, and being named rookie of the year in the Swedish Elite League and top junior player in Sweden. At 18 years old, playing in his first World Junior Championship in 2006, he was Sweden's leading scorer with seven points.
At age 18, the draft-eligible Backstrom became the youngest player ever to play for the Swedish national team at the 2006 men's World Championship in Latvia. A late addition, he didn't record a point in four games but did win a gold medal while skating on Sweden's top line with Henrik Zetterberg and Johan Franzen.
In June 2006, Backstrom was selected fourth overall by Washington in the NHL draft. At the time, it was the fourth-highest draft position in history for a Swedish player, behind Mats Sundin (first, 1989) and the Sedin twins (second and third, 1999).
After being drafted, Backstrom elected to continue his development in Sweden for another year. He increased his offensive output to 40 points in 45 games to lead his team in scoring in 2006–07 and was named captain of Sweden's 2007 entry at the World Junior Championship, collecting seven assists in seven games as the Swedes settled for a fourth-place finish on home ice. When Backstrom's club season was over, he signed on once again to play at the World Championship, where Sweden finished fourth.
During the summer of 2007, Backstrom signed an entry-level NHL contract with the Capitals and stepped right into the Washington Capitals lineup at age 19. Backstrom scored 19 goals and 69 points in his first campaign, finishing second in rookie scoring and Calder Trophy voting to Chicago's Patrick Kane.
Backstrom put up a solid 14 points in his first 26 NHL games, but his rookie year caught fire when he was promoted to Washington's first line after a mid-season injury to veteran centre Michael Nylander. Backstrom used his playmaking skills to help Ovechkin produce a career year. The "Great 8" scored a career-high 65 goals and 112 points, winning the Rocket Richard Trophy, the Art Ross Trophy, the Hart Trophy, and the Lester B. Pearson Award at season's end.
Thanks in large part to the magic combination of Ovechkin and Backstrom, the Capitals improved in the standings by 24 points in 2007–08. Washington qualified for the playoffs for the first time in four seasons, and Backstrom tallied six points in the Capital's seven- game first-round loss to the Philadelphia Flyers.
At the 2008 World Championship, Backstrom chipped in seven points in nine games as Sweden skated to a fourth-place finish. Backstrom moved into the top 10 in NHL scoring in his sophomore campaign with 88 points, as Ovechkin scored 56 goals to capture his second straight Rocket Richard Trophy, Hart Trophy, and Lester B. Pearson Award.
The Capitals improved by another 14 points to finish fourth in the 2008–09 standings with 108 points, then Backstrom tallied 15 points in 14 games as the Capitals won their first playoff series since reaching the Stanley Cup finals in 1998. The team was knocked out of the post-season in the second round by the eventual champion, Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Capitals had spent a decade in the weeds, but Backstrom's arrival and Ovechkin's magic scoring touch had pulled the team into the ranks of the NHL elite. The next target: the Stanley Cup.
The plan looked promising during the 2009–10 regular season. Backstrom took another giant leap forward with career highs in goals (33), assists (68), and points (101) to finish fourth in league scoring. Even as his offensive output was peaking, Backstrom started to earn serious attention for his strong play on the other side of the puck, finishing 10th in voting for the Frank Selke Trophy, awarded to the NHL's top defensive forward.
The Capitals finished the 2009–10 season with a franchise- high 121 points, winning the Presidents' Trophy as the NHL's top regular-season team. Their high playoff hopes were dashed in the first round, however, in a seven-game loss to the Montreal Canadiens.
After failing to reach their Stanley Cup goal, Backstrom and his Capitals slid back over the next five seasons. Backstrom's personal point totals started to drop as he dealt with injuries while the Capitals developed a reputation for playoff futility, unable to push past the second round.
A personal low for Backstrom came in his second Olympic appearance in 2014. After a strong tournament for the Swedes, Backstrom was barred from playing in the gold-medal game after a drug test came back with a positive result due to an allergy medication that he had been taking. Sweden lost 3–0 to Canada and settled for the silver medal. After a long appeal process, Backstrom accepted a reprimand but was cleared of attempting to enhance his performance and was ultimately allowed to keep his silver medal.
The Capitals started to push for a championship once again after Barry Trotz took over behind the bench for the 2014–15 season. Trotz led the team to three straight regular seasons of at least 100 points and two more Presidents' Trophies in 2015–16 and 2016–17.
Backstrom's personal numbers also started increasing after he recovered from arthroscopic hip surgery during the summer of 2015. His 23 goals and 86 points during the 2016–17 regular season were his best totals since his 101-point season in 2009–10. But, once again, playoff success eluded Backstrom and the Capitals. Though Backstrom tallied 13 points in 13 games, Washington suffered another second-round defeat in seven games at the hands of their archrivals, the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Not satisfied with the disappointing end to his season, Backstrom elected to join Team Sweden at the World Championship for the first time in five years. His decision paid off as he found instant chemistry with Sweden's top line, which included Oscar Lindberg and William Nylander, the son of Backstrom's former teammate from his early years with the Capitals, who was quickly evolving into a star in his own right.
Sweden won gold. Nylander was named the tournament's most valuable player, and Backstrom collected seven points in five games — and scored the tournament-winning goal in the shootout against Canada.
CHAPTER 3
SVEN BAERTSCHI B. BERN, SWITZERLAND, OCTOBER 5, 1992 5'11" 192 LBS. LEFT WING/SHOOTS LEFT DRAFTED 13TH OVERALL BY CALGARY IN 2011 NHL DEBUT MARCH 9, 2012 @SvenBaertschi
As one of the highest-drafted Swiss players in NHL history, Sven Baertschi has sometimes struggled to live up to expectations. However, his talent and perseverance through injuries bode well for his future as a top-flight sniper.
Noted for his skating ability, excellent stickhandling, and quick shot, Baertschi filled the net in Swiss junior hockey with the team in Langenthal, a town of 15,000 outside Bern. Seeking to maximize his potential, the winger jumped to the WHL's Portland Winterhawks in 2010–11 and took the league by storm.
Racking up 34 goals and 85 points, Baertschi was named the runner-up to star Red Deer Rebels defenceman Matt Dumba as the rookie of the year. The Swiss forward totalled 27 points in 21 playoff games as the Winterhawks fell to the Kootenay Ice in the WHL finals.
When the Calgary Flames selected him in the first round of the draft that June, fans wondered how long it would take before he could make an impact in the NHL. The answer? Not long. During a WHL sophomore season that saw him post 94 points in just 47 games, Baertschi was recalled by the injury-riddled Flames on an emergency basis. He reacted ecstatically: "I could score 10 goals in a game and it wouldn't be as good as this."
Baertschi lived up to the hype when he scored his first NHL goal on March 11, 2012, in a 4–3 victory over the Minnesota Wild. He added two more goals before being returned to the WHL. He led the playoffs with 34 points as the Winterhawks narrowly lost the league finals for the second straight year, this time to the Edmonton Oil Kings.
A neck injury limited Baertschi's productivity during his first pro season with Calgary's AHL affiliate, the Abbotsford Heat, in 2012–13. But he saw time in the NHL in 2013, chipping in three goals and 10 assists during the lockout-shortened campaign.
The Flames organization proved to be an uneasy fit for Baertschi, despite his many gifts. Just before 2013–14, Brian Burke, the team's outspoken president of hockey operations, criticized the creative young star for a lack of consistency: "Flashes of brilliance are fine if you're working in a university, but they're not much good to people in an NHL building."
When Baertschi was dealt to the Vancouver Canucks on March 2, 2015, it gave him a much-needed fresh start. He got into only three regular-season games with the Canucks but scored twice. He also saw duty in two playoff games, going pointless as Vancouver was eliminated by his old Calgary teammates in the first round. Yet he made his mark in the AHL playoffs immediately afterwards, tallying eight goals and 15 points for the Utica Devils in their run to the finals.
Baertschi finally established himself as an NHL regular in 2015–16, setting career highs with 15 goals and 13 assists in 69 games. With Vancouver, he developed on-ice chemistry and off-ice friendship with centre Bo Horvat. Daniel Sedin, who won the Art Ross Trophy with 104 points in 2011, stunned Baertschi by stating early in 2016–17 that the Swiss prodigy had more talent than he did. The team handed Baertschi a two-year, $3.7-million contract extension in June 2016.
He continued to build his popularity in Vancouver with his community involvement. Memorably, he and his girlfriend, Laura Calvert, volunteered to be locked up in the British Columbia SPCA's dog kennels to raise money and awareness for animals in need. However, ending up in Canucks coach Willie Desjardins's doghouse wasn't part of his plan for 2016–17. Baertschi was a healthy scratch for a 3–0 loss to the Washington Capitals on December 11.
Nonetheless, he responded well. Late in the season, his line with Horvat and Finnish winger Markus Granlund was the team's most effective, outshining the aging Sedin twins. And Baertschi's 18 goals and 17 assists in 69 games marked new career highs. Despite battling a concussion and another neck injury, he was a bright spot for the Canucks, even though the team finished 29th overall and fired Desjardins at the end of the year.
"It's been a little bit of a tough run," Baertschi admitted. "But everybody goes through ups and downs during the season." If healthy and happy, Baertschi still has the potential to become a dominant NHL scorer.
(Continues…)
Excerpted from "Fast Ice"
by .
Copyright © 2017 Andrew Podnieks.
Excerpted by permission of ECW PRESS.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION,
CAM ATKINSON,
NICKLAS BACKSTROM,
SVEN BAERTSCHI,
ALEKSANDER BARKOV,
JAMIE BENN,
SAM BENNETT,
ANDRE BURAKOVSKY,
BRENT BURNS,
SIDNEY CROSBY,
MAX DOMI,
DREW DOUGHTY,
LEON DRAISAITL,
JONATHAN DROUIN,
MATT DUCHENE,
JORDAN EBERLE,
NIKOLAJ EHLERS,
JACK EICHEL,
AARON EKBLAD,
FILIP FORSBERG,
ALEX GALCHENYUK,
JOHNNY GAUDREAU,
SHAYNE GOSTISBEHERE,
MIKAEL GRANLUND,
TAYLOR HALL,
NOAH HANIFIN,
VICTOR HEDMAN,
BO HORVAT,
JONATHAN HUBERDEAU,
PATRICK KANE,
ERIK KARLSSON,
ANZE KOPITAR,
NIKITA KUCHEROV,
PATRIK LAINE,
NATHAN MACKINNON,
EVGENI MALKIN,
MITCH MARNER,
AUSTON MATTHEWS,
CONNOR MCDAVID,
SEAN MONAHAN,
WILLIAM NYLANDER,
ALEXANDER OVECHKIN,
MAX PACIORETTY,
ARTEMI PANARIN,
DAVID PASTRNAK,
SAM REINHART,
MORGAN RIELLY,
RASMUS RISTOLAINEN,
MARK SCHEIFELE,
TYLER SEGUIN,
KEVIN SHATTENKIRK,
STEVEN STAMKOS,
MARK STONE,
RYAN STROME,
P.K. SUBBAN,
VLADIMIR TARASENKO,
JOHN TAVARES,
JONATHAN TOEWS,
VINCENT TROCHECK,
JACOB TROUBA,
SHEA WEBER,
ALEXANDER WENNBERG,
ZACH WERENSKI,
MATS ZUCCARELLO,
APPENDIX,
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS,
PHOTO CREDITS,
ABOUT THE AUTHOR,
COPYRIGHT,