Edmonton Oilers Ryan Nugent-Hopkins could be playing with Team Canada -NHL Update
It is nearly that time of year again when the best youngsters from around the world of hockey, gather to make history and show the fans why they are number one and Edmonton Oilers top draft pick of 2011, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, is hoping he will get his big
break this time around.
Nugent-Hopkins is slowly and steadily proving to himself and the world, just why the Edmonton Oilers chose him first with their top pick of the National Hockey League (NHL) Entry Draft for the third straight time. He is currently playing in the American
Hockey League (AHL) with the Oklahoma City Barons, but is now looking for an opportunity to fly to Ufa, Russia, and participate with Team Canada in the world junior tournament, that is if the lockout persists.
"If it comes up, I'm definitely going to talk about it more," Nugent-Hopkins said Saturday, according to The Province. "Eberle had great success there and so did Taylor and they're two good guys to talk about that sort of thing. If I do get that opportunity,
it's something I would take because it's always an honour to play for Canada."
Teammates like Jordan Eberle have had the chance to participate in the past and term it to be an experience every youngster in the NHL should have.
"It was pretty much my coming-out party," recalled Eberle. "The biggest thing for me was confidence. You play with the best players in Canada against the best in the world and when you dominate the tournament, it gives you the confidence that you can move
up in hockey and really make the NHL."
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is a 19-year-old from Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada, and was picked first overall in 2011. At such a young age, Nugent-Hopkins performed extremely well in his first season in the major league with Edmonton, picking up 52 points, of
which 18 were goals and 34 assists, in 62 games played. He definitely could have achieved much more if it was not for a few minor injuries that took him off the squad, but he is looking forward to better times in the near future.
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