Canucks-Flames series proves the NHL is now a kid's game

Let’s talk about something—anything—other than the ending of Game 1 between the Vancouver Canucks and the Calgary Flames last night. A string of obscenities won’t help anyone.

Instead, let’s take a second to wonder at the contribution now being made to the NHL by its youngest players. We’re talking teenagers and near-teenagers—players who, until relatively recently in the game’s history, would have been considered far too green, far too easily rattled, to do anything more in an NHL playoff series than some fourth-line spot duty, all the while keeping their mouths respectfully shut.

At the peak of the Montreal Canadiens' glory in the 1960s and ’70s, the club was famous for making prospects do several seasons down on the farm before they even thought about the big team. For decades, basic hockey wisdom dictated that it took years to build the patience, intelligence, and emotional stability needed for the playoff pressure-cooker, especially on the defensive side of the puck. Young rookies could occasionally make a splash, but they were almost never a team’s focal point. They would rattle around the edges of a veteran core, awaiting their turn.

And then you watch a game like the one last night. Bo Horvat, who turned 20 just a week and a half ago, scored the Canucks lone goal and earned other chances with quickness, grit, and smart positional play. Emerging Flames phenom Johnny Gaudreau, 21, took a period or two to find his feet, but as the game wore on began to show the subtlety and fearlessness that has powered his partnership with Sean Monahan, who has followed up a stellar year at the age of 19 with another at the age of 20.

Most impressive was the Flames’ 18-year-old forward Sam Bennett—not just a rookie but a rookie playing his second professional game ever. He was fast, tenacious, clever, and physical, and put an exclamation point on his performance by crashing the net on the Flames’ winning goal with just half a minute left in regulation. Hardly a sheepish debut.

We’re not talking about youthful flashes of brilliance here, but about courageous, character-fuelled effort that has traditionally been associated with players boasting five or 10 years of NHL experience. Not a single year—not two games.

Just how crucial is this barely-of-drinking-age generation to their respective clubs? Ask the Ottawa Senators, who lost forward Mark Stone when Montreal’s P.K. Subban landed an idiotic slash on his forearm in Game 1 of their matchup last night. It’s hard to think of another era when a series could pivot on the loss of one 22-year-old player who’s wrapping up his first season in the league. But that series very well could.