Here are your Puck Headlines: a glorious collection of news and views collected from the greatest blogosphere in sports and the few, the proud, the mainstream hockey media.
• Today's hockey sensation on the interwebz: What NHL players looked like as kids. Without cheating, can you identify these two recent Stanley Cup champions? (Hint: Both like booze, Swedish twins not so much.) [NHL Players As Kids]
• The 10 players to watch in the 2011 NHL entry draft. And as if it needed to be said, please read Yahoo! Sports' junior hockey blog Buzzing The Net for the best draft coverage. [Buzzing The Net]
• The Hockey News mock draft has Adam Larsson going first overall, Nugent-Hopkins dropping to No. 3. [THN]
• The Pro Sports Blogging mock draft has Larsson second and Jonathan Huberdeau going to the Devils. [PSB]
• Chris Johnston's NHL Awards picks. He's thinking Roberto Luongo for the Vezina, and we're thinking that is going to be the most awkward moment in the long, squirmy history of awkward moments. [CP]
• Reminder — Puck Daddy/Japers' Rink NHL Awards viewing party on Wednesday night at Iron Horse Tap Room in D.C. With appearances by Leahy and Dmitry! [RSVP, details]
• George Malik talks Jagr to the Detroit Red Wings and, at the bottom of the post, believes our own Justin Bourne is being a "phallus head." [Malik Report]
• Interesting look at the sweater options for the New York Rangers in the 2012 Winter Classic. Eric doesn't dig that 1976 jersey with the logo on the front … considering the Rangers are the road team, it might actually look pretty sharp. [5 Hole]
• Lone Star State Winter Classic test run? Houston market litmus test? Mike Heika: "The Stars are still working on their pre-season schedule, but the Phoenix Coyotes are expected to release their schedule today, and on it will be a Sept. 23 game between the Stars and Coyotes at Reliant Stadium in Houston." [Dallas Stars Blog]
• The top 120 players in the NHL draft. [Hockey Spy]
• Ryan Kennedy says that Mika Zibanejad is a hot commodity in the draft so learn how to say his name, OK? [THN]
• Say, here's a reason why Winnipeg might not have a name at the draft — the Thrashers scouts will be running their draft day. (Actually, it's a heck of an audition for the new owners, too.) [QMI]
• The head scout for the Colorado Avalanche says their decision has been made for the No. 2 overall pick. [NHL]
• Luke DeCock of the News and Observer reports that Jussi Jokinen is apparently out of the Carolina Hurricanes' price range and that Joni Pitkanen and Chad LaRose and Erik Cole might leave as well because of money. [N&O]
• From an Edmonton Oilers fan: "Ryan Smyth is not that player that we remember. He is a little older, a little more worn and weary, even his hair is shorter and not the hockey Jesus hair we remember. Even so, the core of the man is the same." [Copper and Blue]
• The latest in NHL 12, including cover rumors. [Houses of the Hockey]
• Well that explains it. [Failblog]
• Alex Tanguay and the Calgary Flames are reportedly far apart in negotiations. [Calgary Sun]
• The Buffalo Sabres announce their NHL preseason schedule, including a game in Germany. [Sabres]
• Meet the new Toronto Maple Leafs assistant coaches! [MLHS]
• Does Alex Semin need an elite center to succeed in the NHL? [Japers' Rink]
• Via the Montreal Gazette, Andrei Markov's agent, Don Meehan, said he and GM Pierre Gauthier are working on a deal for Markov and they will meet this week at the NHL entry draft in Minnesota. The 32-year-old Markov is coming off a long-term deal that paid him an average of $5.75 million. [Gazette]
• Down Goes Brown with offseason to-do lists for the NHL. [DGB]
• Westgate, the Glendale entertainment complex for whom the Phoenix Coyotes' survival was mandatory, is facing foreclosure. [Phoenix Business Journal]
• Gary Bettman, in a long interview on the demise of the Atlanta Thrashers, talks Coyotes: "The reason the situation in Phoenix didn't go forward (in relocation to Winnipeg) was that the city of Glendale stepped up and absorbed the team's losses. They wanted to try it for another year. I don't think it will go much beyond that. When the city of Glendale was willing to step up and pay $25 million we thought that was the appropriate thing to do under the circumstances." [AJC]
• Checking out Barry Trotz's chances in the Jack Adams race. [On The Forecheck]
• Having Paul Bissonnette at your golf classic pretty much guarantees a good time. If only he hadn't been toned down on Twitter … Homeless Caddies, FTW. [Kings]
• "Live blogging" the 2011 Free-Agent Frenzy show on TSN, a week before it happens. "9:11: Bob Mckenzie reports that Brad Richards camp is claiming that they will only sign for a team in a city that can guarantee them ''that there won't be **** all to do.'" [Cloutier to Manchester]
• Why your team didn't win the Stanley Cup. [Sports Caddy]
• Finally, we pity the fool that didn't see this man at the Boston Bruins parade: