Hello hockey fans.
It's going to be a big weekend of hockey, beginning Friday night when we play the first of a home-and-home at rival Boston College. We then return home to play BC on Saturday night. I couldn't be more excited. It's a big weekend against a great team so it'll be a lot of fun, and I can't wait.
Playing for Canada at the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship was a lot of fun. I don't feel like it did much for my confidence; I’m a confident player. I feel like it was just an honor, though, and a privilege to represent my country. I'll take that opportunity any chance I get, and I really enjoyed it.
It was fun going up against Boston University teammates Lane Hutson (United States) and Tom Willander (Sweden) at World Juniors. Obviously, Canada lost to both but they were good games, it was good hockey and lots of fun.
Our goals for the second half of the college season haven't changed since the start of the year. We're just working towards getting better every day and there are things in our game that we want to clean up. So, we're just taking care of those and then, obviously, we are gearing up for the championship tournaments coming up.
I think if there's one area of my game that I've improved since the start of the season it's just my awareness, patience, and poise with the puck. I just feel more confident on the ice. I feel like those are all things that kind of tie together and feel I've improved since the start of the year.
Coach Jay Pandolfo and I watch video every week after the games and go over it. He gives me his thoughts which I appreciate and we kind of talk over some plays and maybe talk about things I could do in different situations. He and assistant coach Kim Brandvold have been so helpful to me. I can't thank them enough.
Finally, I was asked my thoughts on being No. 1 on NHL Central Scouting's midterm ranking of North American skaters. Honestly, I don't pay much attention to that stuff. To me, it doesn't really matter. I mean, we got a lot of big games upcoming over the second half the year. There's a lot that can change, so I'm just focused on this weekend and then down the final stretch.
Well, that's it for this month. Thanks for reading and I'll file my next entry in February.
