Las Vegas Review-Journal (Sunday)
Knights’ second-round pick excelling with junior squad
Hague, 19, nets 33 goals so far as defenseman
Nicolas Hague was overshadowed last summer by the Golden Knights’ first-round picks, Cody Glass, Nick Suzuki and Erik Brannstrom.
But the 19-year-old Hague has generated a buzz this season with his major junior team.
Hague last month became the first Ontario Hockey League defenseman to surpass the 30-goal mark since 2000 and gives the Knights another top prospect to watch.
“I think for me this year coming back (to juniors), I just wanted to have a more consistent year,” Hague said in a phone interview. “I wanted to be the guy for my team that would go out every night and be the best defenseman on the ice.”
Hague, a second-round pick (No. 34 overall) by the Knights, scored his 30th goal Feb. 28 for the Mississauga Steelheads and shares the team lead with 33 goals through Saturday. His team-leading 73 points are a franchise record for a defenseman with four regular-season games remaining.
The last OHL defenseman to reach 30 goals was Allan Rourke, who had 31 for Kitchener in 1999-2000.
“I need to focus on the little things that are going to turn me into a pro,” Hague said. “You show up to the rink every day wanting to get better, wanting to be a professional, and what that involves for me is just getting stronger. My skating is obviously a big part of my game that needs to improve if I’m going to play at the next level.”
The 6-foot-6-inch Hague signed an entry-level contract with the Knights in September before returning to his junior team. He said he patterns his game after other tall defensemen, such as St. Louis’ Colton Parayko.
The Knights will have a chance to gauge Hague’s development at the team’s rookie camp in July and again in training camp. He likely will start his pro career next season in the American Hockey League or ECHL.
“He’s played well, and he has developed well. But he has to work on the pace of his game,” Knights general manager George McPhee said. “He’s getting away with things at the junior level because he’s 6-feet-6 and talented. He’s not going to get away with some of those things at the next level, so he has to work on going as fast as he can and as hard as he can.
“It’s going to take time. That’s why we have a longterm development plan for him. It’s not going to happen overnight. But we think he’s going to be fine.”
Hall at peace with Devils
New Jersey center Taylor Hall thrust himself into the Hart Trophy conversation as league MVP with his streak of 26 straight games with a point that ended last week.
It’s been a season of redemption for Hall, 26, who was traded from Edmonton in June 2016 in a blockbuster deal for defenseman Adam Larsson.
“I’ve always wanted to be on a winning team, a successful team, and for whatever reason, it just didn’t happen in Edmonton,” Hall said during a conference call. “I don’t think ‘vindicated’ is the word I’d choose. I’m happy with the season I’ve had personally, and I’m happy with our team’s
season, and that’s a good feeling to have after the years I’ve been through.”
Survey says
The NHL Players Association annual survey was released last week, and clearly a large number of Swedish players participated.
Hall of Famer Peter Forsberg was first in the voting for “Who was your favorite player growing up?” with 8.4 percent of the votes and was fifth in the “Who is the best forward of all time?” category.
Golden Knights forward Ryan Reaves was voted the league’s toughest player with 44.7 percent of the votes.
Gerard Gallant finished third behind Chicago’s Joel Quenneville and Tampa Bay’s Jon Cooper in the vote for “Which coach would you most like to play for?”
Other surprising results: Montreal’s Carey Price garnered 3 percent of the vote for “Who is the best goalie of all time?” and players were overwhelmingly in favor of the way points are awarded for a win or a loss in the regular season, with 77.7 percent of the votes.