NHL.com staffers give thanks to hockey world in special roundtable 

The NHL will take a rare day off during the regular season Thursday for U.S. Thanksgiving.

It’s the perfect time to take stock of what has happened and what is to come. It’s a time to gather with friends and family and enjoy food, drink and some good hockey conversation.

It’s also a time to reflect on those things for which we are grateful.

We asked a panel of NHL.com staff members to reveal what they are thankful for in the hockey world.

Here are their responses (listen in alphabetical order by staffer).

Breaking barriers behind the bench

I was talking to a friend of mine recently whose significant other doesn’t watch a lot of hockey. She happened to be watching the game between the Boston Bruins and Seattle Kraken earlier this month and was stunned to see Jessica Campbell standing behind the Kraken bench as an assistant coach. She had no idea. But seeing a woman there, in a space where previously only men had stood, mattered to her. It impacted her. Campbell -- and any woman who breaks barriers -- wants to be known for her coaching, for her skill at knowing the game and teaching it, and not for her sex, but also, it matters. It matters for girls who see who they can be and what they can do. It matters for boys who hadn’t previously seen a woman in the game at that level. It matters for everyone who wasn’t sure that hockey was for them, for whatever reason. So, I’m grateful to Campbell and the Kraken for taking this step, for showing everyone what is possible. -- Amalie Benjamin, senior writer

New places to see

I’m thankful the NHL keeps going to new places. I’m old enough to remember when the idea of hockey in Las Vegas seemed ludicrous. Well, the Vegas Golden Knights have excelled on and off the ice since joining the League in 2017, going to the Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural season, winning the Stanley Cup in 2023 and putting on a show worthy of the Strip at T-Mobile Arena. The Seattle Kraken followed in 2021, turning the old KeyArena into the state-of-the-art Climate Pledge Arena, making the Stanley Cup Playoffs in their second season and filling T-Mobile Park for the 2024 NHL Winter Classic. Now we have the Utah Hockey Club, which has been in the NHL only a matter of months but feels like it’s been in the League longer based on the enthusiasm in Salt Lake City. The League, and the game, is better for having each of them. -- Nicholas J. Cotsonika, columnist

A bumper crop of rookies

I’m thankful for being able to see a rookie stellar class this season. From Macklin Celebrini, the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, scoring his first goal on a spin-o-rama in his debut with the San Jose Sharks in a 5-4 overtime loss to the St. Louis Blues on Oct. 10, to Philadelphia Flyers forward Matvei Michkov, the No. 7 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, firing home an overtime goal in a 3-2 win against the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday, the Class of 2024 has announced its arrival in skilled and entertaining fashion. And it’s more than Celebrini and Michkov. Being a goalie, it’s been fun to watch Calgary Flames goalie Dustin Wolf win and prove that size (6-foot, 166 pounds) doesn’t matter when stopping pucks. It’s going to be a tough decision on who to award the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s top rookie, a sign that the League’s future is in good hands. -- William Douglas, staff writer

Celebrating hockey in Prague

Every so often I get the chance to travel to special places, gaining a greater appreciation of different cultures across the globe. Starting the 2024-25 NHL season in Prague in October to witness the New Jersey Devils and Buffalo Sabres play two games in the 2024 NHL Global Series Czechia was one of those times. The city was fantastic, with its cobblestone streets and historic landmarks, including the Astronomical Clock, Prague Castle and Charles Bridge, the fantastic eateries, pubs and cold-brewed pilsners. Additionally, touring the National Gallery Prague with Devils forward Ondrej Palat, who was born in Czechia, and then sitting among the fans at O2 Arena to chat with former Devils legend and Czechia-born Patrik Elias were very cool moments. New Jersey won both games, and celebrating the game of hockey with the fans in attendance was great. -- Mike G. Morreale, senior draft writer

Home for Thanksgiving

When I first started covering the Blackhawks, Thanksgiving was synonymous with the Circus Trip, their longstanding traditional road trip that usually lasted six or seven games. That meant celebrating a few Thanksgivings in Anaheim and Los Angeles, having turkey dinners with my fellow scribes. And believe me, that was a lot of fun. That said, I appreciate the Blackhawks being home for Thanksgiving in recent seasons. Sure, I’m being selfish on this one: it means I get to spend time with my parents, who now come to Chicago for Turkey Day. But since it’s what I’m thankful for in hockey, there you go. Traditions are fun. I’ve enjoyed forming a new tradition of my own as part of the Blackhawks’ revamped Thanksgiving schedule. -- Tracey Myers, staff writer

International intrigue

Let’s be honest, for an adult there is no greater holiday than Thanksgiving. We get to eat all day, possibly have a few drinks and sit around watching and talking sports. It’s like Christmas in November. Well, I’m thankful for what will feel like Christmas in February when the 4 Nations Face-Off takes place. In my nine years at NHL.com, the only time I’ve seen best-on-best play was the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, and that was incredible. I can’t imagine how great the 4 Nations is going to be, and I’m thankful for the NHL and NHLPA for putting it together and for the incredible collection of players who will make it a special event. We are still three months away and the debates about the rosters -- which will be revealed Dec. 4 -- should make for lively dinner conversation Thursday. -- Bill Price, Editor-in-Chief

New faces atop the scoring race

Look at the top scorers in the League today. There are some familiar names, from Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning to Leon Draisaitl of the Edmonton Oilers to Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen of the Colorado Avalanche. Oh yeah, here comes Connor McDavid of the Oilers, shedding a slow start for the second straight season. But they are joined by a bevy of fresh faces who possess compelling origin stories. Martin Necas of the Carolina Hurricanes and Kirill Kaprizov of the Minnesota Wild are battling for the League scoring lead. Jack Eichel of the Vegas Golden Knights is playing the best hockey of his career and is on pace for 100-plus points. Sam Reinhart of the Florida Panthers made a reputation for himself last season and he is enhancing it this season, chasing the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy, given to the League’s top goal-scorer. And there is Washington Capitals center Dylan Strome bulldozing his way into the top 10. I’m grateful for the new blood joining the NHL’s established elite. -- Shawn P. Roarke, senior director of editorial

Ovechkin, Crosby still going strong

I remember 2005. I remember a 20-year-old Alex Ovechkin and an 18-year-old Sidney Crosby smashing down the door and beginning to run roughshod through the NHL, generational talents coming in at the same time and beginning to live up to a level of hype that we all thought might be too much. I covered their 2009 series in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the spectacular dueling hat tricks game. I remember thinking how lucky we were as hockey fans to get a chance to watch these two rivals go at it. It's 2024 now. Ovechkin is 39. Crosby is 37. Twenty seasons in, they're still great. I'm thankful that we still get to watch Ovechkin and Crosby -- even with their gray hairs -- dominate the NHL. I'm thankful that fans who were kids when they came up have gotten to experience their entire hockey fandom with Nos. 8 and 87. I'm thankful that there are kids now who weren't born in 2005, or 2009, that get to see them still in full flight. Soak this in, NHL fans. Soak in every second that we have left of "Sid the Kid" and "The Great Eight." They're still must-watch TV. -- Dan Rosen, senior writer

Watching Connor McDavid

Growing up in Edmonton, I had the privilege of watching Wayne Gretzky play for the Oilers. Never did I imagine another player would be able to generate the same level of excitement in the city that Gretzky did, but then along came McDavid. I’m grateful to get another opportunity to watch a generational talent on a nightly basis and am more appreciative of it the second time around. I see how excited my 9-year-old nephew gets when he watches McDavid play and it reminds me a lot of when I was watching Gretzky when I was his age. Winning the 2015 NHL Draft Lottery and getting an opportunity to select McDavid No. 1 pulled the Oilers out of some dark times. I did not believe McDavid could live up to the hype heading into the NHL, but he has surpassed expectations, and much like Gretzky, seems to come up with new and innovative ways to generate offense. McDavid scoring a goal to register 1,000 career points on Nov. 14 was a special night in Edmonton, similar to the night of Dec. 30, 1981, when Gretzky scored his 50th goal in his 39th game. -- Derek Van Diest, staff writer

The real NHL All-Stars

On the morning of Dec. 17, 2023, 12 hours after the Maple Leafs defeated the Penguins 7-0, I was rushed to the hospital for heart and kidney issues that would mark the beginning of the scariest period of my life -- a five-month span that included three hospital stints and a kidney procedure. I had to learn how to breathe properly again, how to eat and how to walk again. Through it all, the dozens upon dozens of supportive messages from players, coaches, GMs were truly overwhelming and humbling. The hockey community is a family. On my return to work for Game 4 of the Bruins-Maple Leafs playoff series in April, then-Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe started his postgame presser by welcoming me back. Cue the waterworks. But the true all-stars of the hockey world were my NHL.com teammates who were in my corner every step of the way and made the dark days brighter. As I got that raw adrenaline rush I still so cherish while in Florida listening to the national anthems prior to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final between the Oilers and Panthers in June, I felt truly blessed to still be around to enjoy moments like this. And I could not have clawed my way back without the best teammates in hockey having my back. Eternally grateful. So, on this Thanksgiving, I again say a heartfelt (no pun intented) thank you to you all. I will never forget how you were there for me. Never. -- Mike Zeisberger, staff writer