Hockey heroes: NHL rookie hopefuls name their first favorite player
Who did the kids look up to when they were kids? At a photo shoot for Upper Deck this week, we asked a handful of NHL rookie hopefuls to recall their first hockey hero.
(Warning: Reading this might make you feel old.)
Pierre-Luc Dubois, C (drafted third overall by the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2016): “Growing up, I liked Henrik Zetterberg. The first Stanley Cup I remember was 2008 when the Red Wings won so he was kind of my player.”
Matthew Tkachuk, LW(drafted sixth overall by the Calgary Flames in 2016): “Sidney Crosby. What he did at such a young age, I remember he won a Stanley Cup at 19 or 20. I love watching him and (Evgeni) Malkin play together…and I watch (Patrick) Kane and (Jonathan) Toews. I guess David Backes, too, he lived at my house for a year-and-a-half.”
Ivan Provorov, D (drafted seventh overall by the Philadelphia Flyers in 2015): “I always liked Nick Lidstrom when he played. I thought he was the best two-way defenseman and I always tried to pattern my game after him.”
Lawson Crouse, RW (drafted 11th overall by the Florida Panthers in 2015, traded to the Arizona Coyotes in August 2016): “Growing up I loved Jarome Iginla. And I always wanted the Sidney Crosby rookie card. I love to watch Crosby play, he brings a lot of great things to the game, the way he performs on and off the ice, he’s a great leader and I like to think of myself as a great leader, so just watching how he handles himself on and off the ice is pretty cool.”
Mathew Barzal, C (drafted 16th overall by the New York Islanders in 2015): “I remember I got a signed jersey card, a card with the little jersey thing in the corner that you get, it was a Marc-Andre Fleury rookie card. … Will I score on him one day? I mean, hopefully, but he’s pretty good.”
Thomas Chabot, D(drafted 18th overall by the Ottawa Senators in 2015): “When I was really young I always enjoyed watching Al MacInnis. Since then I enjoy watching Drew Doughty, Duncan Keith, guys like that.”
Alex Tuch, RW(drafted 18th overall by the Minnesota Wild in 2014): “A mix of couple different guys, I try to go between Rick Nash and David Backes, bigger guys. Corey Perry, too, gritty, highly skilled power forwards. My next-door neighbor growing up was Tim Connolly, our parents lived next door to each other. I’m not really that kind of player, but he was a fun guy to watch and grow up next to.”
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