Browsing: Year

Hockey

Penguins Win Prospects Challenge For Third Straight Year

The Pittsburgh Penguins capped off the 2025 Prospects Challenge in style on Monday with a 6-3 win over the Buffalo Sabres. They finished the challenge with a 2-0-1 record, which is good enough to win the event for a third year in a row.

They started a bit slow by giving up the first goal, but were able to rally and beat the Sabres 6-3. Avery Hayes and Tristan Broz were once again the two big standouts from this game and are riding a lot of momentum into training camp.

Hayes tied the game at one, giving him four goals in three games. He was living in the offensive zone again and getting chances each shift he was on the ice. He was toying with the Sabres, and it clearly looked like he was too good for this competition. Hayes still has a lot of work to do to make the opening-night roster, but he’s showing that he could at least be a call-up option during the 2025-26 season. His defensive work and skating were also noticeable throughout this tournament.

As for Broz, he scored two power-play goals during Monday’s win, and both goals came from in tight. The second one featured Broz stuffing the puck home even though it was potentially about to go in before. Still, he made sure of it when he scored. He continues to ooze in confidence and will be an underrated young player to watch over the next few weeks and during the 2025-26 season.

Outside of Broz and Hayes doing their thing, let’s look at a couple of other players who had good performances to round out this tournament.

Benjamin Kindel

Kindel was a little quiet to start the Prospects Challenge, but that changed in a big way on Monday. It was a classic Kindel game, where he used his great hockey IQ to his advantage and out-thought the other team while on the ice. His first of two goals was the perfect example of that when he scored from in the crease, and nobody knew where the puck was except him.

It took the officials a couple of seconds to confirm that Kindel scored before dropping the puck at center ice. His first goal made it a 4-1 game before scoring his second goal to make it 6-3.

Outside of his two goals, he added two assists and almost had a third when he made a nasty no-look pass to spring a 2-on-1 for a good goal-scoring opportunity, but the puck didn’t go in. His development this upcoming season will be one to watch because he already has a lot of NHL traits in his game.

blank
‘This Is Where I Want To Be’: Sidney Crosby Reaffirms Commitment To Penguins
Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby made it clear on Monday that he is sick and tired of the trade rumors surrounding him.

Quinn Beauchesne

Beauchesne unleashed a rocket of a slap shot from the point for a goal to essentially clinch the challenge for the Penguins’ prospects. The goal made it 5-3 after goaltender Sergei Murashov made a massive save on a breakaway.

The skating was once again flawless, and he was doing a great job of going from defense to offense from his own zone. He’s set to play for the OHL’s Guelph Storm again this year after he likely spends some time at the Penguins’ training camp over the next week or two.

Next up for the Penguins is their 2025 training camp. It’s set to get underway at 8:45 a.m. ET on Thursday, September 18, and will run through October 1.

Bookmark THN – Pittsburgh Penguins on your Google News tab  to follow the latest Penguins news, roster moves, player features, and more!

Source link

Basketball

2025 WNBA Awards: Jackie Powell’s picks for MVP, Rookie of the Year, Most Improved, and more

A common refrain about the 2025 WNBA season has been how much more parity exists across the league than in recent years. Thereâ€s an argument to be made that potentially five out of the eight teams currently in the playoffs have a fair shot to contend for the WNBA championship due to how rosters are constructed and the coaches for those teams.

Because of that parity and due to some unfortunate injuries to key players around the league throughout the season, determining season-ending awards has been more difficult than in recent memory. This was the fourth season that I cast my vote across the variety of awards that the league gives out to those who performed exceptionally during the 2025 regular season.

Advertisement

Ballots were officially due from voters by noon ET on Friday, September 12. The league will roll out the winners of these awards as the WNBA playoffs continue. Who probably will win and who should win? In this article, I’ll reveal my ballot as well as who I expect will actually take home the various awards.

WNBA Most Valuable Player Award

Who should win: Napheesa Collier — F, Minnesota Lynx

My vote went to Collier simply because she was incredibly consistent throughout the entire season. She was the best player on the most consistent team all season long. But also Collier made league history in a really meaningful way and became the first player in WNBA history to record a 50-40-90 (overall field goal percentage, three-point field goal percentage and free throw percentage) while averaging over 20 points per game. A 50-40-90 has only been accomplished one other time in league history when Elena Delle Donne did the same in 2019 while averaging 19.5 points per game. She won her second MVP award that very season.

Advertisement

Who will win: Aâ€ja Wilson — C, Las Vegas Aces

Wilson will win because of how recency bias has often swayed WNBA voters. Wilsonâ€s ability alongside her head coach Becky Hammon to rally the troops to start performing at their potential after the Aces fell 111-58 to Collierâ€s Minnesota Lynx has made a significant impression on voters. The Aces havenâ€t lost a game since that August 2 blowout game.

Also, Collier missed a bit over three weeks following that blowout. She sprained her right ankle in the third quarter of that game and for a while the Lynx kept their head above water and didnâ€t endure a huge amount of drop off. Since the Aces†entire way of playing is based upon Wilson and her strengths, her team is much less capable and performs a lot worse without her. The on-off numbers donâ€t lie here.

WNBA Defensive Player of the Year

Who should win: Alanna Smith — F, Minnesota Lynx

Being a great defender isnâ€t incumbent on just how many blocks and steals a player has or if they lead the league in defensive rebounding. Those are worthwhile numbers to consider, but those arenâ€t the be-all and end-all to determine who has been the most impactful defender in the league. I voted for Smith because of how much she anchors the Lynxâ€s defense and style of play even while Napheesa Collier was out with an ankle injury.

“I think [Smith] does more for us that doesnâ€t show up on the stat sheet than probably any other player in the league,†Kayla McBride said on August 10 during the three weeks Collier was out with her ankle sprain. “Her ability to put her body on the line and just the awareness and the competition level that she has on a nightly basis for us is priceless. We can put her on anybody.â€

Advertisement

Smith has been the anchor of the team that was the top defense all season long. Sheâ€s an undersized center that often takes a lot of contact and uses her competitive nature in addition to her high basketball instincts to make some of the most dominant players in the league feel uncomfortable.

Who will win: Aâ€ja Wilson — C, Las Vegas Aces

Defensive player of the year is one of the most difficult awards to assess simply because defensive aptitude is really difficult to determine just by box score stats like blocks, steals and defensive rebounds. Wilson averaged the most blocks this season with 2.3 and she averaged the second most defensive rebounds (7.9) to just Angel Reese with 8.5. Without her on the floor, the Aces†defensive rating drops around 10 points.

The case for Wilson as DPOY is really quite similar to hers for MVP. While the Aces†defense finished the regular season ranked eighth overall, along the last 15 games of the season it was ranked second led by Wilson. If recency bias prevails, I wouldnâ€t be shocked if Wilson wins her third DPOY.

WNBA Most Improved Player

Who should win: Veronica Burton — G, Golden State Valkyries

Who will win: Veronica Burton

Note: Burton was announced as the winner in overwhelming fashion on Monday afternoon, taking 68 out of the 74 votes.

Advertisement

Burton took such a huge jump as a player who got waived by the Wings a season ago, to a backup point guard on a veteran heavy Connecticut Sun team during the second half of the 2024 season to now the starting point guard on a playoff team in the Golden State Valkyries.

Burton has not only the narrative on her side but also the numbers. Her minutes have gone up year over year by over 131%, her scoring increased year or year by over 283% and her average assists also went up year over year by over 215%

While candidates like Azura Stevens, Allisha Gray, and Aliyah Boston all made fair cases when it came to their improved ceilings as players, there wasnâ€t a more dramatic year over year jump that overcame Burtonâ€s. She earned my vote for that very reason and it is fair to assume that she earned the majority of the voting poolâ€s votes for that reason as well.

WNBA Sixth Player of the Year

Who should win: Natisha Hiedeman — G, Minnesota Lynx

The only rule the WNBA has to qualify for this award is that the player must come off the bench in more games than she has started. While Naz Hillmon only started in 17 games out of the 44 games she played, Hiedeman has only come off the bench this season. Hidemanâ€s role all season long has been about providing a lot of energy off the bench when Courtney Williams isnâ€t playing her best. To me thatâ€s a textbook definition of a sixth player of the year.

Advertisement

Although, Hiedeman definitely had some recency bias on her side when it came to getting my vote. In her last ten games of the season including the Lynxâ€s first playoff win against the Valkyries, Hiedeman has averaged12.8 points, 52.3% shooting and 48.6% shooting from three-point range.

Who will win: Naz Hillmon — F, Atlanta Dream

The sixth player of the year and most improved awards can sometimes overlap. Is this an award about who is the best player coming off the bench or is this about which player has stood out the most in their role coming off the bench? Hillmonâ€s case as sixth player of the year is confusing to me simply because she was elevated off the bench with over a month left of the season. Once Brittney Griner injured her neck, Dream head coach Karl Smesko moved Hillmon to the starting lineup and didnâ€t really look back. Hillmon is starting in the playoffs.

Hillmon is such an important connector for the Dream and her development starting off as a back-to-the-basket post in college and then completely transforming her game so that sheâ€s a tweener who can do a little bit of everything is incredibly impressive. There might be a desire to award a player on the Dream especially with Smesko most likely losing out on coach of the year and Allisha Gray not being in top contention for MVP.

WNBA Rookie of the Year

Who should win: Paige Bueckers — G, Dallas Wings

Who will win: Paige Bueckers

Bueckers proved to be exactly who many thought she would be while a star in college at Uconn. Sheâ€s a generational talent who plays on both sides of the ball who can create at a high level for herself and others. Sheâ€s someone who coaches and GMs build a team around and thatâ€s exactly what I expect to be in the future of the Wings all things being equal.

Advertisement

Bueckers†ability to take over a game was put on display on August 20 against the Sparks when she set a WNBA rookie record for points scored in a game with 44. She recorded the most points by player during the 2025 regular season in addition to becoming the first player in WNBA history to score over 40 points while shooting at least 80% from the field.

While Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen had impressive rookie seasons, they didnâ€t have to carry the load that Bueckers did when it came to scoring and distributing the basketball. Bueckers still managed a super high level of play all the while her team had 28 total injuries and 121 games lost to injury, some of the highest margins in the league.

WNBA Coach of the Year

Who should win: Natalie Nakase — Golden State Valkyries

Who will win: Natalie Nakase

While I voted for Nakase and believe sheâ€s the front runner, Karl Smekso achieved a huge feat. Not only did he transform one of the most inconsistent offenses in 2024 into a powerhouse in 2025, but he did so with players that didnâ€t fit his vision for how he likes to play. General Manager Dan Padover signed two back-to-the-basket centers for a team that was expected to play at a high pace and get up a ton of three-pointers. Smesko made lemonade out of lemons.

Advertisement

But the reason I voted for Nakase and why this is a relatively simple pick to make is because she took an expansion team without any top end talent to the postseason and coached that team to have the third-best defense in the league. No other expansion in league history has ever reached the playoffs. Thatâ€s a story in itself that reflects the buy-in that Nakase got from her players. Also, the Valkyries had some of the most injuries this season in the WNBA and the team still performed well enough to make the playoffs.

2025 All-WNBA Teams

I truly believe that Collier, Wilson, Thomas, Mitchell and Gray were the most consistently great players this season and thatâ€s what All-WNBA ought to be about. The second team, however, is so difficult to judge just because Stewart and Ionescu both had moments where they were brilliant and had to uplift their heavily injured stricken team. Boston took a massive leap this year as a scorer and facilitator but also struggled when the Fever were absolutely decimated by injuries.

Nneka Ogwumikeâ€s efficiency and consistency and the fact that she shot 51.9% from the field this season on a team that really struggled to create open looks on offense in the Storm is part of why she earned my second team vote here. While Young started out less efficient and potent than sheâ€s expected to be just like the majority of that Las Vegas Aces team to start the season, she embraced her new role as the Aces†primary ball handler and facilitator. Her pick-and-roll chemistry with Aâ€ja Wilson has been untenable at points during the regular season.

Advertisement

My votes

First Team:

Napheesa Collier, Aâ€ja Wilson, Alyssa Thomas, Kelsey Mitchell, Allisha Gray

Second Team:

Nneka Ogwumike, Jackie Young, Aliyah Boston, Breanna Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu

Projected honorees

First Team:

Aâ€ja Wilison, Napheesa Collier, Alyssa Thomas, Kelsey Mitchell, Allisha Gray

Second Team:

Nneka Ogwumike, Jackie Young, Aliyah Boston, Sabrina Ionescu, Kelsey Plum

WNBA All-Defensive Teams

The Lynx, the Dream, and the Valkyries all had the top three defenses in the league during the regular season. And as a result, my ballot reflected that. My first team included two Lynx players in Smith and Collier, two of the best defenders on the best defensive team in the league.

Advertisement

My second team was littered with players from the Dream and the Valkyries for that very reason. Brionna Jones anchored the Dreamâ€s paint defense while Rhyne Howard took a step forward defensively proving she could competently defend forwards and guards. Burton was an excellent point of attack defender this year and Fágbénlé made it so difficult for centers like Aliyah Boston, Brionna Jones and Jonquel Jones to play well. Gabby Williams made my ballot because of how she averaged 2.3 steals a game while the Stormâ€s defensive rating drops 7 points without her on the floor.

Breanna Stewart earned my vote simply because of how much the Libertyâ€s defense suffered without her on the floor. Her ability to roam everywhere, help her teammates and then recover to hold her assignment which can be any player type of the floor, was something that stood out in particular this year.

Also, I expect that players like Ezi Magbegor and rookie Saniya Rivers are going to get votes simply because of their defensive reputation. Magbegor is known for her defensive excellence while Rivers also had a ton of stocks (steals and blocks combined) and became the second rookie in league history to have 100 steals and 100 blocks in a season.

My votes

First Team

Alanna Smith, Aâ€ja Wilson, Napheesa Collier, Gabby Williams, Breanna Stewart

Advertisement

Second Team

Alyssa Thomas, Brionna Jones, Temi Fágbénlé, Veronica Burton, Rhyne Howard

Projected honorees

First Team:

Aâ€ja Wilson, Alanna Smith, Alyssa Thomas, Gabby Williams, Veronica Burton

Second Team:

Rhyne Howard, Breanna Stewart, Allisha Gray, Ezi Magbegor, Saniya Rivers

2025 WNBA All-Rookie Team

The 2025 rookie class will be one remembered for how deep it truly was. There are some years when itâ€s difficult to fill out an All-Rookie team just because so few rookies registered meaningful impacts, see 2021 and 2022. But 2025â€s rookie class was not only highlighted by college draftees, but it also was highlighted by some international players who came over as a result of smart front office scouting.

Advertisement

The first three in Bueckers, Citron, and Iriafen are a given, but the final two spots were much more difficult. My decision came down to how Monique Akoa Makani and Te-Hina Paopao impacted their teams during critical moments rather than the rookies that scored the most points. Ako Makani has burst onto the scene as a really solid two-way presence able to lock-down an opponentâ€s best offensive threat. Paopao filled in at backup point guard multiple times when Dream starting point guard Jordin Canada dealt with multiple injuries during the regular season.

My votes

Paige Bueckers, Sonia Citron, Kiki Iriafen, Monique Akoa Makani, Te-Hina Paopao

Projected honorees

Paige Bueckers, Sonia Citron, Kiki Iriafen, Janelle Salaün, Dominique Malonga

Source link

Oilers training camp preview: New guys battling for spots in pressure-packed year

EDMONTON — A year ago, the Edmonton Oilers were returning to work after bitter disappointment, having clawed back from an 3-0 Stanley Cup Final deficit the previous spring, only to lose Game 7.

Today, the latest defeat at the hands of the Florida Panthers is still very much a reality. But as strange as it might sound, having gone through a second summer of discontent, getting back on the horse gets a little bit easier this time around.

“Two years ago, it was heartbreaking. And you’re a little bit broken, a little bit beaten down emotionally,†Connor McDavid told Sportsnet earlier this month. “Last year was less emotional, less of a roller coaster. It was less draining, I would say.

“Everybody feels a little bit fresher, if that makes sense. It was easier to dust yourself off and get back to work.â€

And so the journey begins once again. Back at base camp, fresh off a summer of rest and training, another run up Everest with a vow to plant their flag at the peak this time.

  • 32 Thoughts: The Podcast
  • 32 Thoughts: The Podcast

    Hockey fans already know the name, but this is not the blog. From Sportsnet, 32 Thoughts: The Podcast with NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman and Kyle Bukauskas is a weekly deep dive into the biggest news and interviews from the hockey world.

    Latest episode

Two of the this seasonâ€s new faces arrived at the trade deadline last season, as a healthy Trent Frederic, on a new eight-year deal, becomes a part of Oilers†core, while defenceman Jake Walman enters the final year of his deal, and by all accounts would like to re-sign in Edmonton.

Matt Savoie will make a run at holding down a right wing spot, and has shown ahead of Ike Howard in rookie camp. Czech David Tomasek — who led the Swedish league in scoring — attempts to take his career to North America at age 29, while veteran Curtis Lazar is here to man a spot on the fourth line.

Andrew Mangiapane, signed as a UFA, inherits the right-wing sing spot next to Leon Draisaitl, the only 50-goal, 100-point man in the NHL last season.

But itâ€s not the new guys who drive the bus in Edmonton, as we all know. So letâ€s dig on a training camp that they hope will lead to a better summer next year.

Salary cap space: $225,834

Head coach: Kris Knoblauch

Assistant coaches: Paul McFarland, Mark Stuart, Peter Aubry

Key additions: Andrew Mangiapane, Ike Howard, David Tomasek, Curtis Lazar

WHAT WEâ€LL LEARN DURING PRE-SEASON

• Can Tomasek help an NHL team at age 29?

Tomasek led the Swedish Hockey League in goals (25) two seasons ago, and assists (33) and points (57) in 2024-25. He arrives in North America at age 29, having proven he has European hockey mastered, yet it’s a complete unknown when it comes to how his game will translate to the National Hockey League.

Tomasek has decent size (six-foot-one), an above-average one-timer, and the experience of a World Junior and two World Championships to help him assimilate. He shoots right, and slots in as a third-line winger who will battle Savoie for prime ice time in Edmontonâ€s top nine.

But, what is David Tomasek, really?

Is he Jiri Dopita, a Czech star whose game did not translate to the NHL in the early 2000s? Or is he some lesser version of Igor Larionov, who came over at age 28 and was an NHL superstar?

• Will Howard and Savoie both make the team?

Savoie and Howard are the two young, inexpensive wingers every good team needs to balance its books. But they have to be able to keep their heads above water in the NHL for their entry-level salaries to matter.

In two games between the Oilers rookies and the Calgary Flames rookies, Savoie stood out, while Howard did not. The fact that Savoie has a year of AHL hockey with Bakersfield under his belt — not to mention four games with the Oilers last season — gives him a clear advantage.

Howard has a training camp to show that there is top-nine left-wing spot with his name on it. In Edmonton, not Bakersfield.

• Is Zach Hyman fit?

Hyman exited the Western Conference Final last spring with a dislocated wrist and serious ligament damage, an injury he rehabbed all summer. Weâ€ll learn shortly if the Oilers expect him to be ready for Game 1 of the season, but right now the suspicion is that he will not be.

That will leave a training camp/early season spot next to McDavid open for the likes of Tomasek, Savoie and (theoretically) Howard to exploit for some early gains.

• What about Alec Regula?

GM Stan Bowman had Regula in Chicago, where the six-foot-four, right-shot defenceman played his 22 NHL games between 2021-23. Since then, heâ€s been largely injured, missing the entire 2024-25 campaign.

Bowman signed Regula to a two-year deal with an AAV of $775,000 because his Oilers are light on the right side. Can Regula find his way past one of Troy Stecher or Ty Emberson to stick in the Oilers†top-seven D-corps? Heâ€s a long shot.

• What can a new goalie coach mean?

Dustin Schwartz is out, Peter Aubry is in as goalie coach. So what does that mean for the Oilers†No. 1, Stuart Skinner?

Two years ago, Skinner was a top-10 NHL goalie, ranking T-3 among NHL starters in wins (36), 14th in save percentage (.905) and eighth in goals-against average (2.62). Last season, those stats fell to 26 wins, .896 and a 2.81 GAA.

At 26, Skinner enters the prime of his career, and in the final year of his contract, one really gets the feeling that this is a crucial campaign. Either he establishes himself as a top-10 goalie — one that the Oilers can win Cups with — or heâ€s not, and he becomes part of a trade.

Can Aubry help Skinnerâ€s east-west game? Can further maturity help Skinner find consistency? Weâ€re not sure that training camp will bear all of that out, but it is where the process is going to begin.

Skinner has the best season of his NHL career.

With two Stanley Cup trips under his belt and 26 playoff victories over the past three springs, itâ€s time for Skinner to prove his many detractors wrong. I believe he will this season, which could be an expensive exercise for the Oilers come contract time.

Nugent-Hopkins—McDavid—Hyman    Â

Podkolzin—Draisaitl—Mangiapane

Henrique—Frederic—Kapanen

Tomasek—Janmark—Lazar

Source link