Five superstars had hat tricks last night. What is happening! Nothing spreads the great game of hockey like your best players playing like they are the best players. And last night did not disappoint. Conor McDavid, Patrice Bergeron, Ovi, Brayden Schenn, and Simmonds all had big point days.
Bergy and Ovi each had four. Enough reading, here are all seventeen goals.
Anaheim Ducks prospect, Max Jones, has been traded from OHL's London Knights to the Kingston Frontenacs for Left Wing Sergey Popov and picks. This is a surprising move for London as they are very much in the hunt for an OHL Title and another run at the Memorial Cup, which they won with Max Jones in 2016 and lost in the finals in 2017.
Jones recently played in the World Juniors netting two points in the Bronze Medal performance. Jones is known for being a beast. He is not afraid to mix it up with the toughest around (getting suspended for 10 games for a hit), but puts up big points too. In 63 games he had 52 points in 2016; in 33 games he had 36 points in 2017, and currently in 25 games he has 21 points. Jones will join Dallas Stars draft pick Jason Robertson who has 50 points in 38 games and Buffalo Sabres draft pick, Cliff Pu, who has 49 points in 38 games.
It will be interesting to see how Jones plays with Kingston, but here are his highlights from 2017.
After coming up short with a Silver Medal in 2014, the United States National Lacrosse team is out for blood this year. The U.S. has just named the roster for the 2018 Lacrosse World Championships and they did not disappoint. There are 8 guys returning from the 2014 team including Savage Paul Rabil, who has made the All-World Team in 2010 and 2014. The other seven returners include notable lacrosse demos like Rob Pannell, Ned Crotty and Jesse Bernhardt.
Another giant addition to the 2018 Roster will be face-off man, Trevor Baptiste, from Denver University. Baptiste has the NCAA record for best face-off record by a freshman; he also has been a First Team All-American two years, Big East Midfielder of the Year, named to the NCAA All-Tournament Team and won a National Championship. The kid's a work horse.
By college, Maryland has five selections, Duke has three, Hopkins has three, Hofstra and Syracuse have two. The tournament isn't until July, but by all measurements it looks like the USA has positioned themselves for a run at the Gold Medal. We will keep an eye on these Collegiate players during the NCAA Season and the strong Canadian team that will surly bring the heat.
