USA Hockey Magazine

October 2021

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After leading the U.S. to gold at the IIHF World Junior Championship, Spencer Knight made a splash in his NHL debut, winning all four of his regular-season games and his first playoff start against the eventual Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning. In his first full season, the Darien, Conn., native will be looking to wrestle the starting job away from Sergei Bobrovsky. Trevor Zegras was the talk of the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship, leading the U.S. to gold and being named tournament MVP. And now that he's had a taste of life in the NHL, the Bedford, N.Y., native is ready to help the rebuild- ing Ducks take flight. After posting six points in his final seven games, Zegras is ready to prove this is no Mickey Mouse team. What a year for Cole Caufield. First he wins the Hobey Baker Award for a stellar season with the Wisconsin Badgers (and the USA Hockey College Player of the Year to boot) and then went on to help the U.S. win gold at the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship. And for an encore, the Stevens Point, Wis., native notched 12 points in 20 playoff games to help the Montreal Canadiens reach the Stanley Cup Finals. COLE CAUFIELD RW (MONTREAL) SPENCER KNIGHT G (FLORIDA) TREVOR ZEGRAS C (ANAHEIM) After making the all-rookie teams in the USHL and in college with the National Collegiate Hockey Conference, the Franklin Square, N.Y., native is ready to do the same with the Ottawa Senators. After two solid seasons at the University of North Dakota, Pinto racked up seven points in 12 games to close out the season. Teaming up with fellow Americans Brady Tkachuk, Josh Norris and Collin White, Pinto is a key cog in the Senators rebuilding process. Normally, news that franchise goalie Tuukka Rask would be out until December after hip sur- gery would send the Bruins faithful into a deep depression. But not with Jeremy Swayman waiting in the wings. The former University of Maine star has proven he's more than up to the challenge of holding down the fort. In 10 games for the Bruins last season, the Anchorage native went 7-3-0 with a 1.50 goals-against average, a .945 save percentage and two shutouts. PAUL STASTNY WINNIPEG JETS (HAS 492) JOE PAVELSKI DALLAS STARS (HAS 394) PHIL KESSEL ARIZONA COYOTES (HAS 391) RYAN SUTER DALLAS STARS (HAS 1,198) Here are a few American players on the cusp of reaching some pretty impressive milestones this NHL season. USAHOCKEYMAGAZINE.COM NHL Preview 30 500 ASSISTS 400 GOALS 400 GOALS 1,200 GAMES PHOTOS BY Getty Images R YA N S U T E R JEREMY SWAYMAN G (BOSTON) SHANE PINTO C (OTTAWA) Milestone Men THE CALDER RACE IS ON The 2022 rookie class is one of the deepest in years, and that includes a number of talented Americans who will be looking to take that next step toward stardom and pick up a little hardware along the way in the form of the Calder Trophy. Here's a look at several American newcomers who could be in the mix when the Calder Trophy is announced next June:

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