{"id":20498,"date":"2017-12-23T21:28:32","date_gmt":"2017-12-24T02:28:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=20498"},"modified":"2018-01-17T20:51:17","modified_gmt":"2018-01-18T01:51:17","slug":"otpp-holiday-edition-world-junior-preview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2017\/12\/23\/otpp-holiday-edition-world-junior-preview\/","title":{"rendered":"OTPP: Holiday Edition, World Junior Preview and More"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last Word on Sports is proud to present their hockey podcast, On the Power Play with Ben and Colton. Join Ben Kerr and Colton Praill each week as they take a\u00a0<\/em>look around\u00a0the Hockey World focusing on the big issues of the NHL and elsewhere.<\/em><\/p>\n

OTPP: Holiday Edition, World Junior Preview and More<\/h1>\n

Holidays means the World Juniors are about to start. With the tournament in Buffalo, all eyes will be on Sabres<\/a>\u00a0top draft pick Casey Mittelstadt<\/a><\/strong>. Will the Americans use him at center or wing? Who are the other key players on Team USA.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile Canadian eyes will be focused on Carter Hart<\/a><\/strong>. The Philadelphia Flyers<\/a>\u00a0prospect is putting up a ridiculous .961 save percentage for Everett in the WHL. Can he be the best goalie in the tournament and lead Canada to gold? Do the Canadians have enough offence? Is Sam Steel<\/strong><\/a> or Robert Thomas<\/strong><\/a> the number one centre?<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, The Finns have five first rounders on their blue line and a strong group up front.\u00a0The Czechs have a number of top forwards including Martin Necas<\/strong><\/a>.\u00a0Rasmus Dahlin<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0leads the Swedes, and Andrei Svechnikov<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0will be a key part of Team Russia. Denmark is looking for another upset. Switzerland has another potential top-five pick (this one for 2019). Slovakia brings strong goaltending to the tournament. Belarus remains the plucky underdog. We have a full World Junior Preview.<\/p>\n

NHL News<\/h2>\n

The New York Islanders<\/a> have a new arena plan. They are headed back to Long Island, with their new building going at Belmont Park. What does this mean for their attempt to keep John Tavares<\/strong>?<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the boys look at the surprises around the league. Can the Vegas Golden Knights<\/a>\u00a0keep winning? What about the New Jersey Devils<\/a>? Are the Winnipeg Jets<\/a> for real? What is happening with the Dallas Stars<\/a>?<\/p>\n