Linkorama

World Junior Championships

With the 2018 WJCs less than a week away, teams are finalizing their rosters. Jake Oettinger, Patrick Harper and Brady Tkachuk are on the roster for Team USA, which plays an exhibition game tonight against Belarus. Kasper Kotkansalo (photo) is on Finland’s roster.  Dante Fabbro is inactive for Canada due to a lower-body injury.

● IIHF World Junior Championships home page

● NHL Network  TV Schedule

● EliteProspects.com WJC page

One more Terrier will be playing international hockey during the semester break. Captain Brandon Hickey has been named to Team Canada’s roster for the Spengler Cup Tournament in Davos, Switzerland beginning next Monday. Hickey is one of four current college players suiting up for Canada. Two seasons ago, the defenseman from Leduc, Alberta represented Canada in the World Junior Championships.
● USCHO report

Dylan Sikura (Northeastern), Jeremy Davies (Northeastern), Brandon Hickey (BU) and Jake Evans (Notre Dame) are the current NCAA players named to Team Canada's Spengler Cup team.

— College Hockey News (@chnews) December 20, 2017

Looking ahead

2018 recruit Jack DeBoer scored his fourth goal of the season and fellow recruit Tyler Weiss contributed an assist in the NTDP U18s’ 6-3 loss to Muskegon.

● USA Hockey recap

Looking back

Charlie McAvoy produced a Gordie Howe hat trick—a goal, an assist and a fight—in the Bruins 7-2 win against Columbus on Monday. And, to add an exclamation mark, his 5^th goal of the season was the game-winner.

With an assist on Danton Heinen's goal, Charlie McAvoy becomes the first Bruins player to record a Gordie Howe hat trick since Zdeno Chara did it on November 29th, 2013! pic.twitter.com/7paRv4HPdF

— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) December 19, 2017

● NHL.com recap and highlights

● CBS Boston report and video

In case you missed it—the Boston Globe’s Fluto Shinzawa, a former Daily Free Press writer, had a pair of articles in Sunday’s paper about Jack Parker and Matt Grzelcyk (photo).  The former looks at recent U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame inductee Parker’s impact on changes in college hockey, including the challenge of a new “landscape where players are already considering their exits as soon as they’ve put down their bags for their first college lectures. The latter makes a strong case for the former BU All-American, who is averaging nearly 15 minutes a game and sees time on the power play, to remain on the Bruins' blueline rather than be returned to Providence.

● Boston Globe: The Reach & Influence of Jack Parker

● Boston Globe:  Matt Grzelcyk deserves to keep playing

Former BU goalie Sean Maguire has  been traded to Arizona as part of a multiplayer deal involving the Penguins and Coyotes. Maguire has spent most of the season with ECHL Wheeling (8-3-0, .910 save percentage, 3.28 GAA) and played four games with AHL Wilkes Barre/Scranton.

● NHL.com report

David Warsofsky’s shootout goal was the difference as San Antonio edged Rockford, 2-1.

● Mile High Hockey report