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Crosby, MacKinnon, McDavid among 1st 6 Canada players for 2025 4 Nations Face-Off

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Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche and Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers are among the first six players named to the Canada team for the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off on Friday.

Canada, the United States, Sweden and Finland will play in the tournament, scheduled for Feb. 12-20 at TD Garden in Boston and Bell Centre in Montreal.

“Obviously there is a lot of excitement getting to represent Canada best on best,” Crosby said. “It’s been a while since we’ve had the opportunity to do that. I think if you talk to all the guys who got named today I’m sure they’re all excited. It’s been a while.”

Joining them will be Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar and forwards Brad Marchand (Boston Bruins) and Brayden Point (Tampa Bay Lightning). The remainder of the roster, which will consist of 23 NHL players (20 skaters, three goalies) will be named later this year.

Crosby led the Penguins with 94 points (42 goals, 52 assists) in 82 games. It was the 19th season the 36-year-old forward has averaged at least 1.00 points per game, tying Wayne Gretzky for the most in NHL history.

A three-time Stanley Cup champion (2009, 2016, 2017), Crosby is 10th all-time with 1,596 points (592 goals, 1,004 assists) in 1,272 games since being selected by the Penguins with the No. 1 pick of the 2005 NHL Draft. Among his honors, the native of Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia, has won the Hart Trophy as NHL most valuable player twice (2006-07, 2013-14), the Art Ross Trophy as the League’s scoring leader twice (2006-07, 2013-14) and the Conn Smythe Trophy as MVP of the Stanley Cup Playoffs twice (2016, 2017).

MacKinnon was second in the NHL this season with 140 points (51 goals, 89 assists) in 82 games, and won the Hart Trophy and the Ted Lindsay Award, given to the most outstanding player as voted by members of the NHL Players’ Association. The 28-year-old forward, a native of Halifax, Nova Scotia, also had 14 points (four goals, 10 assists) in 11 playoff games.

Since being selected by the Avalanche with the No. 1 pick of the 2013 NHL Draft, MacKinnon has 899 points (335 goals, 564 assists) in 791 regular-season games, and 114 points (48 goals, 66 assists) in 88 playoff games. That includes 24 points (13 goals, 11 assists) in 20 games to help the Avalanche win the Stanley Cup in 2022.

MacKinnon recently said he and Crosby had spoken about line combinations and potentially playing on the same line.

“We were on a golf trip and he brought it up,” Crosby said. “I think it was Day One. He was just kind of picking my brain. … Having the chance to play with him at the 2015 Worlds was a lot of fun. And it’s been a while since then.”

McDavid tied Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov for the NHL lead with 100 assists; they’re the first players with at least 100 assists in a season since Gretzky (122) in 1990-91. McDavid was third in the League with 132 points, the seventh time in nine NHL seasons he’s reached 100 points.

The 27-year-old native of Richmond Hill, Ontario, also led the NHL with 42 points (eight goals, 34 assists) in 25 playoff games to help the Oilers reach the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 2006. He became the sixth player to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoffs MVP from a losing team. McDavid’s 34 assists were the most by a player in a single playoff run, and the most points since Mario Lemieux had 44 (16 goals, 28 assists) in 23 games for the Penguins in 1991.

Since being selected by the Oilers with the No. 1 pick of the 2015 NHL Draft, McDavid has 982 points (335 goals, 647 assists) in 645 regular-season games and 117 points (37 goals, 80 assists) in 74 playoff games. He’s a three-time Hart Trophy winner (2016-17, 2020-21, 2022-23) and is a finalist for the award this season.

“And the fact that we know a little further out (about being on the roster), and it’s something we can talk about and prep a little bit,” Crosby said. “I think there’s anticipation of guys preparing for the season but also being motivated in knowing this is something they can be a part of, I think that’s great for everybody.”

Makar was second among NHL defensemen with 90 points (21 goals, 69 assists) in 77 games this season, and had 15 points (five goals, 10 assists) in 11 playoff games.

The 25-year-old, who was born in Calgary, was a finalist for the Norris Trophy as the best defenseman in the NHL for the fourth straight season; he won the award in 2021-22, the same season he also won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP when the Avalanche won the Stanley Cup. His 29 points (eight goals, 21 assists) in 20 games led the postseason and set a record for Avalanche/Quebec Nordiques defensemen.

Selected by Avalanche in the first round (No. 4) of the 2017 NHL Draft, Makar has 336 points (86 goals, 250 assists) in 315 regular-season games and 80 points (21 goals, 59 assists) in 72 playoff games.

Marchand, in his first season as Bruins captain, was second on the team with 67 points (29 goals, 38 assists) in 82 regular-season games, and had 10 points (three goals, seven assists) in 11 playoff games.

The 36-year-old forward, who was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, has 929 points (401 goals, 528 assists) in 1,029 regular-season games and 138 points (56 goals, 82 assists) in 157 playoff games. That includes 19 points (11 goals, eight assists) in 25 games to help the Bruins win the Stanley Cup in 2011. Boston selected him in the third round (No. 71) of the 2006 NHL Draft.

Point was second on the Lightning with 90 points (46 goals, 44 assists) in 81 regular-season games and had five points (two goals, three assists) in five playoff games.

The 28-year-old native of Calgary was selected by the Lightning in the third round (No. 79) of the 2014 NHL Draft, and has 553 points (264 goals, 289 assists) in 580 regular-season games and 87 points (42 goals, 45 assists) in 87 playoff games. That includes a combined 56 points (28 goals, 28 assists) in 46 games to help the Lighting win the Stanley Cup in 2020 and 2021.

Don Sweeney of the Boston Bruins is Canada’s general manager, and Jon Cooper of the Tampa Bay Lightning will be the coach.

Canada will play Sweden at Bell Centre on Feb. 12, the United States at Bell Centre on Feb. 15 and Finland at TD Garden on Feb. 17.

 

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Flames re-sign defenceman Ilya Solovyov, centre Cole Schwindt

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CALGARY – The Calgary Flames have re-signed defenceman Ilya Solovyov and centre Cole Schwindt, the NHL club announced Wednesday.

Solovyov signed a two-year deal which is a two-way contract in year one and a one-way deal in year two and carries an average annual value of US$775,000 at the NHL level.

Schwindt signed a one-year, two-way contract with an average annual value of $800,000 at the NHL level.

The 24-year-old Solovyov, from Mogilev, Belarus, made his NHL debut last season and had three assists in 10 games for the Flames. He also had five goals and 10 assists in 51 games with the American Hockey League’s Calgary Wranglers and added one goal in six Calder Cup playoff games.

Schwindt, from Kitchener, Ont., made his Flames debut last season and appeared in four games with the club.

The 23-year-old also had 14 goals and 22 assists in 66 regular-season games with the Wranglers and added a team-leading four goals, including one game-winning goal, in the playoffs.

Schwindt was selected by Florida in the third round, 81st overall, at the 2019 NHL draft. He came to Calgary in July 2022 along with forward Jonathan Huberdeau and defenceman MacKenzie Weegar in the trade that sent star forward Matthew Tkachuk to the Panthers.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Oman holds on to edge Nepal with one ball to spare in cricket thriller

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KING CITY, Ont. – Oman scored 10 runs in the final over to edge Nepal by one wicket with just one ball remaining in ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 play Wednesday.

Kaleemullah, the No. 11 batsman who goes by one name, hit a four with the penultimate ball as Oman finished at 223 for nine. Nepal had scored 220 for nine in its 50 overs.

Kaleemullah and No. 9 batsman Shakeel Ahmed each scored five in the final over off Sompal Kami. They finished with six and 17 runs, respectively.

Opener Latinder Singh led Oman with 41 runs.

Nepal’s Gulsan Jha was named man of the match after scoring 53 runs and recording a career-best five-wicket haul. The 18-year-old slammed five sixes and three-fours in his 35-ball knock, scoring 23 runs in the 46th over alone when he hit six, six, four, two, four and one off Aqib Ilyas.

Captain Rohit Paudel led Nepal with 60 runs.

The 19th-ranked Canadians, who opened the triangular series Monday with a 103-run win over No. 17 Nepal, face No. 16 Oman on Friday, Nepal on Sunday and Oman again on Sept. 26. All the games are at the Maple Leaf Cricket Ground.

The eight World League 2 teams each play 36 one-day internationals spread across nine triangular series through December 2026. The top four sides will go through to a World Cup qualifier that will decide the last four berths in the expanded 14-team Cricket World Cup in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.

Canada (5-4) stands second in the World League 2 table. The 14th-ranked Dutch top the table at 6-2.

Oman (2-2 with one no-result) stands sixth, ahead of Nepal (1-5).

Canada won all four matches in its opening tri-series in February-March, sweeping No. 11 Scotland and the 20th-ranked host Emirates. But the Canadians lost four in a row to the 18th-ranked U.S. and host Netherlands in August.

Canada which debuted in the T20 World Cup this summer in the U.S. and West Indies, is looking to get back to the showcase 50-over Cricket World Cup for the first time since 2011 after failing to qualify for the last three editions. The Canadian men also played in the 1979, 2003 and 2007 tournaments, exiting after the group stage in all four tournament appearances.

The Canadian men regained their one-day international status for the first time in almost a decade by finishing in the top four of the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier Playoff in April 2023 in Bermuda.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Vancouver Canucks will miss Demko, Joshua, others to start training camp

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PENTICTON, B.C. – Rick Tocchet has already warned his Vancouver Canucks players — the looming NHL season won’t be easy.

The team made strides last year, the head coach said Wednesday ahead of training camp. The bar has been raised for this year’s campaign.

“To get to the next plateau, there are higher expectations and it’s going to be hard. We know that,” Tocchet said in Penticton, B.C., where the team will open its camp on Thursday.

“So that’s the next level. It starts day one (on Thursday). My thing is don’t waste a rep out there.”

The Canucks finished atop the Pacific Division with a 50-23-9 record last season, then ousted the Nashville Predators from the playoffs in a gritty, six-game first-round series. Vancouver then fell to the Edmonton Oilers in a seven-game second-round set.

Last fall, Jim Rutherford, the Canucks president of hockey operations, said everything would have to go right for the team to make a playoff push. That doesn’t change this season, he said, despite last year’s success.

“The challenges will be greater, certainly. But I believe the team that we started with last year, we have just as good a team to start the season this year and probably better,” he said.

“As long as the team builds off what they did last year, stick to what the coaches tell them, stick to the system, stick together in good times and bad times, this team has a chance to do pretty well.”

Some key players will be missing as Vancouver’s training camp begins, however.

Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin announced Wednesday that star goalie Thatcher Demko will not be on the ice when the team begins it’s pre-season preparation.

Allvin did not disclose the reason for Demko’s absence, but said the 28-year-old American has been making progress.

“He’s been in working extremely hard and he seems to be in a great mindset,” the GM said.

Demko missed several weeks of the regular season and much of Vancouver’s playoff run last spring with a knee injury.

The six-foot-four, 192-pound goalie has a career 213-116-81 regular-season record with a .912 save percentage, a 2.79 goals-against average and eight shutouts across seven seasons with the Canucks.

Allvin also announced that veteran centre Teddy Blueger and defensive prospect Cole McWard will also miss the start of training camp after each had “minor lower-body surgery.”

Vancouver previously announced winger Dakota Joshua won’t be present for the start of camp as he recovers from surgery for testicular cancer.

Tocchet said he’ll have no problem filling the holes, and plans to switch his lines up a lot in Penticton.

“Nothing’s set in stone,” he said. “I think it’s important that you have different puzzles at different times.”

The coach added that he expects standout centre Elias Pettersson to begin on a line with Canucks newcomer Jake DeBrusk.

Vancouver inked DeBrusk, a former Boston Bruins forward, to a seven-year, US$38.5 million deal when the NHL’s free agent market opened on July 1.

The glare on Pettersson is expected to be bright once again as he enters the first year of a new eight-year, $92.8 million contract. The 25-year-old Swede struggled at times last season and put 89 points (34 goals, 55 assists) in 82 games.

Rutherford said he was impressed with how Pettersson looked when he returned to Vancouver ahead of camp.

“He seems to be a guy that’s more relaxed and more comfortable. And for obvious reasons,” said the president of hockey ops. “This is a guy that I believe has worked really hard this summer. He’s done everything he can to play as a top-line player. … The expectation for him is to be one of the top players on our team.”

A number of Canucks hit milestones last season, including Quinn Hughes, who led all NHL defencemen in scoring with 92 points and won the Norris Trophy as the league’s top blue liner.

Several players could once again have career-best years for Vancouver, Tocchet said, but they’ll need to be consistent and not allow frustration to creep in when things go wrong.

“You’ve just got to drive yourself every day when you have a great year,” the coach said. “You’ve got to keep creating that environment where they can achieve those goals, whatever they are. And the main goal is winning. That’s really what it comes down to.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024.

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