Your savory breakfast links:
- It’s the day before the day before Rookie Camp opens!
- Five burning questions, asked and answered. [CSNW]
- One scrimmage and one preseason game into his OHL career, one rookie in p’ticular is already raising expectations. Welcome to the ConnorDome, Andre Burakovsky… [RMNB, GoErie.com, and again, @neatebuzzthenet]
- …and another would-be rookie will be applying Real Soon Now for his US visa. In January for sure, probably. Yep, pretty much exactly then, give or take. [RMNB]
- Raise your glass to the return to, and continuing good health of, Nicklas Backstrom, Brooks Laich, and Mike Green. It’s almost like they are key players or something. [RMNB]
- Related: Crystal ballin’ Backstrom’s 2013-2014 projections. Take a moment to appreciate his previous seasons. And then go hug your NickyGnome, because Bäckis. [Peerless]
- Also related: Fantasy owners face a difficult decision. When Healthy might not be. But then again he might. And lookit John Carlson lurking down there at the bottom of the list, poised to begin his ascent. [Puck Daddy]
- Speaking of ascending, Braden Holtby begins the year as a solid Tier Two goaltender for your fantasy consideration. [Puck Daddy]
- With his exhaustive season preview of the Caps’ Periodic Table, he is the very model of a modern keyboard alchemist. [Peerless]
- No. Next question. [CSNW]
- Finally, so many candles: Happy birthdays all around as Dany Sabourin turns 33, Ivan Majesky turns 37, Kevin Miller turns 48, Bobby Gould (perhaps best-known for this) turns 56 and Michel Belhumeur (he of the 0-29-4 record with a 5.32 GAA as a Cap, as well as this awesome card) is 64.
- Oops, almost forgot. Wishing all our readers a safe and happy hockeyday. Cheers!