World junior championship: Montreal Canadiens pick Alex Galchenyuk left for Team USA on a bit of roll

No one has quoted Sportscenter in a decade, but Kenny Mayne's home run call "I am amused by the simplicity of this game, bring me your finest meats and cheeses" pops to mind after seeing the latest Alex Galchenyuk highlight reel.

Dated reference, sure, but the "this just in: (insert awesome player's name) is good at hockey" has got old. Better to go with something decidedly uncool. The Montreal Canadiens No. 3 overall pick whether he lines up at centre or left wing, will be the most intriguing player to watch on Team USA when the world junior championship begins on Dec. 26. The Sarnia Sting star and his ex-Ontario Hockey League teammate, Edmonton Oilers No. 1 pick Nail Yakupov go head-to-head on in the U.S.-Russia match on Dec. 28.

Galchenyuk has been lighting it up all season with the Sting. Fortunately, his hat trick plus two apples last weekend for the Sting has been compressed into highlight form.

Teammate Charlie Sarault putting a feed between two Kingston Frontenacs' sticks to set up Galchenyuk for a move to the backhand and a goal is the best of the lot. (Kingston was short-staffed in that game, missing one of its top defence pairings in injured Roland McKeown and Team Finland blueline candidate Mikko Vainonen, but nevertheless, this was dominant.) Galchenyuk also showed great speed to blaze a path to the goal, collect a puck on edge and deposit a backhand in the net.

Two other random OHL-centric thoughts.... USA Hockey has valid reasons for why it did not invite Galchenyuk's linemate, left wing Reid Boucher, to its selection camp, but why not see if the two could replicate the chemistry that helped the New Jersey Devils fourth-rounder score 25 goals in the first half? Also, the undrafted 20-year-old Sarault has averaged more than assist per game since the start of 2011-12 while trying to read off of Galchenyuk and Yakupov. Sure, the company he's kept up with has boosted his overage-year stats which people should not make too much of anyway, but some organization has to see what he can do in the AHL next season, correct?

(Stick tap: United States of Hockey.)

Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Contact him at neatesager@yahoo.ca and follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet (video: TV Cogeco Ontario).