There are a few significant headlines that happened recently in the hockey world that I want to discuss on CPF Hockey. However, I figured it would be easier to include all of those headlines in one post, rather than write separate posts on each headline. Let's get into them:
Realigned Divisions Receive Naming Rights for 2021 Season
The NHL has announced that four of its sponsors will receive naming rights to each division for this season only as another way to recoup lost revenue due to the pandemic. The four realigned divisions will now be known as the Scotia North Division, Honda West Division, Discover Central Division, and MassMutual East Division. I expect only the NHL, its personnel, and the media to include presenting sponsors when referring to the new divisions this season. However, this move by the league has received a lot of negativity from fans because they don't like the way it sounds or aren't used to something like this happening. Personally, I don't have an issue with these naming rights because they're insignificant and temporary, and the main intention of these are for the NHL make up lost revenue from the pandemic.
World Junior Championship Results
This year's IIHF World Junior Championship wrapped up last night in Edmonton with the bronze medal and gold medal games.
Finland defeated Russia 4-1 to capture the bronze medal.
Spencer Knight recorded a 34-save shutout as the US blanked Canada 2-0 to win the gold medal. Alex Turcotte and Trevor Zegras scored the only two goals in the final. Zegras was also awarded World Juniors MVP as he put up 18 points thoughout the entire tournament and played better than almost everyone else on the ice. I can only imagine that Trevor Zegras will continue to light it up once he makes his NHL debut with the Ducks as soon as next season, which is bad news for the Sharks as Team Teal will have to face off against Zegras more frequently in the near future. The US is now 4-0 in their last four gold medal games against Canada in the World Juniors.
As for Team Canada, despite their injuries and shortcomings, they were absolutely stacked and had a great tournament, dominating all of their opponents until the gold medal game against the US.
I am very proud that the US captured gold at this year's World Juniors against heavily-favored Canada, and the US National Development Team should remain a dominant force in international tournaments for years to come.
Joe Thornton to Spend Time on the Maple Leafs' Top Line with Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner This Season
It will be quite unusual to not have Joe Thornton skating for the Sharks this season. Jumbo will now assume the role that Patrick Marleau had with the Maple Leafs from 2017-19 as a mentor and big brother to the Leafs' top stars Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner.
Lastly, Jumbo Joe is entering his age 41 season, holds all types of records, and will be a surefire hall-of-famer when he hangs up the skates. However, the only thing missing from his prestigious playing career is a Stanley Cup, and who knows how much time he has left to win one. At the same time, Joe Thornton is one of those ageless wonder-type players and could play in the NHL until he's 50. It would be absolutely incredible and the cherry on top if he can win a Cup before he retires and very disappointing if he doesn't. All the same can also be said about Jumbo's longtime teammate in San Jose, Patrick Marleau.
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