[MissTeeks]

http://www.csnne.com/boston-bruins/n...mong-nhl-stars

One wouldn’t blame Johnny Gaudreau for pinching himself at the fortunate way things have rolled out for him in a very charmed past calendar year.
At this time last season, Gaudreau was preparing for a couple of Monday night dates at TD Garden for Boston College to compete for the Beanpot as one of the best college hockey players in the country and was still grinning and bearing all the looming questions that remained about the pros: whether he was too small for the NHL, or if he was just a great NCAA player that wouldn’t be able to make the jump.
Well, one year later “Johnny Hockey” is in the middle of having his nickname trademarked, a move Gaudreau insists was pushed on him by his agent, and was hobnobbing last weekend with NHL superstars like Alex Ovechkin, Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Steven Stamkos as one of the league’s best and brightest at the NHL All-Star game in Columbus.
“Growing up I was watching them go through their rookie seasons, and watching their careers develop…so it was pretty exciting to be [in Columbus] with them,” said Gaudreau. “I know I’m always looked at as an underdog when I’m playing other teams because I’m so small, but just making sure I have keep up my speed and keeping my head on a swivel is going to help me in the long run.”

The bottom line in all of this: the 21-year-old Gaudreau has come a long way while on pace for 28 goals and 64 points as a rookie for the Calgary Flames, and has put himself as one of the favorites for the Calder Trophy along with fellow All-Stars in Filip Forsberg and Aaron Ekblad.
“I didn’t expect things to be moving this fast, but the guys I’ve been playing in Calgary and with the coaching staff it’s really hard not to have a good season,” said Gaudreau. “I’m surrounded by such good players and coaches that I’ve been really lucky in Calgary. The first five or 10 games were really difficult for me. The defensemen are just so good coming down on the wall, pinching and trying to keep the puck in their zone rather than in college where the defense tended to back off, and let us come out of the zone a little bit easier.
“It’s definitely one of those things that I had to get better at. But as each game went on I got a little more comfortable, and it became a little bit better of an experience for me. It’s been a great start to the season after those five or 10 games.”

So what’s left for Gaudreau to do this season after establishing himself in Calgary, getting named an All-Star the precocious age of 21 years old and inviting comparisons to undersized players like Marty St. Louis with the electric way that he plays the game? Clearly it’s about finishing his rookie season strongly while leading a bubble team like the Flames into the playoffs after some tough seasons in the recent past.
He’ll do that while continuing to apply the lessons he learned as the son of a hockey coach in New Jersey, and during his three years at the Heights learning from a living hockey legend in Jerry York still steering that great Boston College program.
“The quick speed down low and making little plays in the offensive zone, Jerry was pretty big on making plays and being smart in the defensive zone while always thinking offensively,” said Gaudreau. “That was one of the things [York] was really big on at BC.”