Happy Tuesday and welcome to the four-day work week. It's well and truly the offseason doldrums here now, as with the end of baseball, softball and lacrosse seasons, there are no team sports left playing on the Heights and won't be until the soccer teams get going in mid-August. I think there are still some BC folks competing in track and field, sailing, and a few other sports. But things are pretty slow.
In the NHL playoffs, Ben Smith's Chicago Blackhawks have been pushed to the brink by the Los Angeles Kings following a loss in Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals on Monday night. Meanwhile, Chris Kreider, Brian Boyle and the New York Rangers look to flush Brian Gionta and the Habs down the toilet tonight up in Montreal in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals.
Leading the links today, a profile of incoming BC hockey freshman Sonny Milano from SB Nation's Columbus Blue Jackets blog:
2014 NHL Draft Prospect Profile #21 -- Sonny Milano - The Cannon
He's so dynamic, very good with the puck in traffic and in open ice and can make defensemen look silly. . . He'll allow the play to come to him, take a hit and chirp it up before heading on a 2-on-1 in the opposite direction, resulting in a goal. . . He certainly has the potential of becoming a complete player. -- David Gregory, NHL Central Scouting
Thatcher Demko is also a top prospect for the upcoming draft:
NHL Combine gives teams full scope of top prospects for 2014 NHL Draft - 2014 NHL Draft - NHL.com
There are 11 goalies invited to the Combine, including eight from North America. Topping that group is Boston College freshman Thatcher Demko, Central Scouting's No. 1-rated North American goaltender.
Chase Rettig is looking to latch on with the Packers:
Long odds don't discourage undrafted rookies | Press Gazette Media | greenbaypressgazette.com
Others like Boston College quarterback Chase Rettig and Tennessee running back Rajion Neal face much steeper odds to make an impression at two of the Packers' deepest positions.
And Nate Freese is getting ready to potentially seize the starting kicker role for the Detroit Lions:
O'HARA'S MONDAY COUNTDOWN: Lions' youth movement at kicker - DetroitLions.com
If Nate Freese performs to the level the Lions expect, he will be only the third rookie in 33 years to kick for the Lions on opening day. The Lions' youth movement at kicker has accelerated from shaving a few years of age off the position last year to lopping off a couple of decades this year.