Links, News, and Notes: Canada Starts Strong, PWHL Previews, Atlanta Expansion, and more

Welcome to the last Links, News, and Notes of 2023!

• Team Canada have started the 2024 World Junior Championships at 2-0 after a 5-2 win over Finland and a 10-0 win over Latvia. Star prospect Macklin Celebrini has two goals and four assists, while Senators prospect Jorian Donovan has been held pointless. Not only did Finland fall to Canada, but they also lost yesterday to Germany 4-3—the first time Germany has ever defeated Finland at the WJC.
• This may be a couple of days late (we all take a holiday sometimes!), but here is a good preview for the World Juniors from Kristen Shilton of ESPN.
• Sean McIndoe of The Athletic wrote a fun primer on who people could/should be bandwagoning in the PWHL. Obviously if you're a Senators fan, you might want to stick with what you know and cheer for Ottawa, although fandom has no rhyme or reason. I highly recommend looking at their other season preview series as well. The season begins on January 1st!
• Kevin Weekes is reporting that "interviews for builders are taking place" for a potential suburban Atlanta arena, which could potentially be the next NHL expansion team. Although I think it's possible to get it right in Atlanta on their third try, I think it's a bit ridiculous for the NHL to expand again so soon. The whole thing seems inevitable at this point, though.
• Ryan Dixon of Sportsnet shares his bold predictions for 2024, including one that a Canadian team will make it to the Stanley Cup Finals. He didn't say the Senators, but he didn't say it couldn't be the Senators...
• Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic looks at the awards landscape and gives his picks so far. There aren't too many surprises, although the Hart Trophy seems wide open right now.
• Former Ottawa Senator Zack Smith was named an assistant coach for the Swift Current Broncos, the team he played for in the WHL. It will be interesting to follow to see if he wants to end up having an NHL career as a coach down the line.
• Before the Christmas break, both Connor Bedard and Trevor Zegras scored a "Michigan" goal on Sunday. Zegras even delivered a prediction for Ducks reporter Aly Lozoff during warmup that he'd score one.
• The Arizona Coyotes had another big comeback at home last night, and this time it was even more impressive: down 0-4 to the Colorado Avalanche, they ended up winning 5-4 in overtime.
• Kris Letang notched a whopping six assists in Pittsburgh's 7-0 win over the New York Islanders, which tied a record for most assists in a single game by a defenseman. Pretty impressive, especially for a guy who’s had to fight through as much as Letang has.