Broken Wings » Fuhr wore his 1988 Cup ring on his right hand. Hall

Bob and Tina Hanifins first-born child arrived on Jan. 25, 1997, but it took Dad and Mom another few days before they decided on a name for their baby boy. Noah. Noah Hanifin. My wife loved it, Bob Hanifin said. After we named him that, she told me, Hes going to go on to do great things with this name. If youre not familiar with Noah Hanifin, you soon will be. And, yes, it would appear hes on course to do great things, certainly in the hockey arena. This years NHL draft is billed as the Connor McDavid draft. Or Connor McDavid vs. Jack Eichel. McDavid and Eichel have been labeled generational talents, potential NHL franchise centres, the undisputed top two in the Class of 2015. Hanifin, a defenceman, will be hard pressed to displace either of the star centres, but the Boston College freshman goes into this season as a potential elite offensive blueliner who could yet transform the high end of this draft from a dynamic duo to a tremendous trio. Theres not a huge gap between McDavid or Eichel and Hanifin but there is, to start the season anyway, a gap between those top three and everyone else, said one head scout of an NHL team. (Hanifin) is at a disadvantage simply because hes a defenceman and the other two guys are centres. But (Hanifin) could be Scott Niedermayer. He skates like him. Hanifin is a shade under 6-foot-3 and weighs 205 pounds. The scouting report says he has world-class wheels, elite offensive skills, can run a power play and use his size effectively to play physically when its required. Hes not quite as big as Nashville Predator Seth Jones, the last prospect, before Hanifin, who went into his NHL draft year billed as the next great American defenceman. Some scouts like Hanifin better than Jones at the same stage of development. Others think the jury is still out on that. Regardless, Hanifin is certainly viewed as being in the same universe as the top defenceman from the 2013 NHL draft, who was ranked No. 1 much of his draft year before going fourth overall to Nashville. TSNs pre-season 2015 NHL draft rankings will be unveiled in a half-hour special (and on www.tsn.ca) Thursday at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt – at precisely the same time as Hanifin, Eichel and others will be playing in the USA Hockey All-American Prospects Game at Buffalos First Niagara Center. There is considerable discussion amongst NHL scouts who should start this season as No. 1 – McDavid or Eichel – but (spoiler alert) theres little doubt whos ranked No. 3 – eight of 10 NHL scouts surveyed by TSN have Hanifin right behind the two star centres. Hanifin played last season for USA Hockeys Under-17 program based out of Ann Arbor, Mich., but in late March was added to the Under-18 national team, where he excelled at the Under-18 World Championships last April, helping to lead Team USA to the gold medal. With one goal and five points, Hanifin was highest-scoring American defenceman. He took over the tournament as an underage defenceman, said another NHL head scout. Hanifin was a teammate of Eichels at that tournament; Hanifin hasnt played with or against McDavid, though Hanifin did skate this summer with McDavid -- as well as Sam Gagner, John Tavares and other NHLers -- at a skating and skills session in the Toronto area. Hanifin first met McDavid last year at a Boston Bruin game when they were both there as guests of the agent – Bobby Orr – they share. Hanifin is uniquely qualified to size up the Mac (McDavid) or Jack (Eichel) battle, but as one might expect, hes playing it safe, with a fellow American/former teammate who is now a college rival at Boston University and a young Canadian whom he got to know as a friend/training partner this summer. Well, theyre both tremendous players, Hanifin said. But I just try to focus on my own game and what I can control. This was supposed to be Hanifins senior year at high school, the season in which he moved up fulltime to the U.S. Under-18 program. But he instead opted to fast track his high school graduation – he took internet courses all summer – so he could go directly to Boston College, where hes been billed as the youngest player in BC history. (For the record, Boston College has no definitive word on who is the youngest player to play for the Eagles, but a 17-year old freshman is highly unusual.) Its always been my goal to play college hockey and Ive always wanted to go to Boston College, Hanifin said. Its a big jump but Im looking forward to the challenge. Im feeling confident in practice but I know Ill be playing against guys who are a lot older, a lot more mature. So its going to be a challenge but I like challenges. Im looking forward to getting started. Hanifin began his minor hockey career as a forward. But Neil Shea, an NHL scout (now with the Colorado Avalanche) who was Hanifins coach through much of his minor hockey career in the Boston area with the South Shore Kings, moved him to the blueline, and theres been no looking back. Hanifin also excelled at St. Sebastians prep school before going to the U.S. program in Ann Arbor. As a 13-year-old eighth grader, Hanifin made the St. Sebastians varsity high school team, playing against competition as much as five years older. Hanifin grew up in Norwood, Mass., southwest of Boston. He has a younger brother Cole, 12, and younger sister, Lily, 11. His parents – Bob, a Boston court officer, and Tina, who works in human resources with a law firm – both grew up in the city (Boston). Not surprisingly, Noah was raised to be a Bruin fan. Oh, yeah, my Dad was always a huge Bruin fan, Hanifin said. But the defenceman he most admired growing up was Detroit Red Wing star Nick Lidstrom. Hanifin wore no. 5 in minor hockey and at St. Sebastians as a tribute to Lidstrom. No. 5 wasnt available with the U-17 team so he wore 55. No. 5 is taken at Boston College, so hell wear No. 7, which isnt a coincidence. Hanifin is too young to recall Ray Bourques time with the Bruins but his Dad most certainly imparted some wisdom. Ive watched a lot of Ray Bourque video because my Dad told me all about him, Hanifin said. Nick Lidstrom and Ray Bourque, those would be the two defencemen Ive tried to model my game after. Disappointments have been few and far between in Hanifins young hockey career, but he was not happy to not be invited to USA Hockeys national junior team summer evaluation camp in Lake Placid, N.Y., though he wasnt alone on that count. U-17 teammate Zach Werenski, who often was paired on the blueline with Hanifin, was also overlooked. Like Hanifin, Werenski fast-tracked through high school to leave the U.S. program a year early for the University of Michigan. There was speculation the Lake Placid snub was a USA Hockey reaction to the pair bolting early. Players are generally expected to play two seasons - U-17 and U-18 - in the system. Nevertheless, USA Hockey still considers Hanifin, Werenski and, for that matter, Tampa first-rounder draft pick Anthony DeAngelo of the OHLs Sarnia Sting (a third high profile absentee from the Lake Placid camp) as candidates for the U.S. world junior team. I wasnt that surprised (at not being invited to the summer camp), Hanifin said. Im a young guy but Im a competitive kid and I feel like I can contribute. (Not getting invited) motivated me even more. In the meantime, he intends to do whatever he can to work on the areas of the game that need improvement. Im really focusing on my shot, he said. Im working on that a lot. Im trying to shoot it harder, be better at the one-timers, get more shots through. Hes also taking advantage of having Bobby Orr as a sounding board and confidante. The biggest thing Bobby tells me is to not get caught up in everything -- the draft, the attention, the pressure, all that stuff, Hanifin said. He tells me to embrace it, just enjoy playing, just try to have fun playing the game and focusing on that. So that is what he will do, and it all starts in earnest this week: McDavids third OHL season with the Erie Otters begins on Wednesday; Eichel, Hanifin and the best young American talent playing in the U.S. prospects game in Buffalo on Thursday. 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Now, it is instead a suspended game that will resume at 4:05 p.TORONTO - Grant Fuhr partied like a rock star, or a Stanley Cup-winning NHL superstar during the prime of his career.His drug use led to a suspension and plenty of unwanted attention. Yet almost 30 years later the former Edmonton Oilers goaltender has no regrets and expressed that sentiment in his new book, Grant Fuhr: The Story of a Hockey Legend.Im 100 per cent comfortable with my life now, Fuhr told The Canadian Press on Thursday. Thats probably one of the best things about it is to have to sit back and go through it, you understand if youre comfortable with life or not.And Im OK with everything thats happened. Yeah, some of its bad, but at the same time it makes you a better person.The Spruce Grove, Alta., native wrote this book along with former Calgary neighbour Bruce Dowbiggin. Its structured as a series of 10 key games from the Hall of Famers career, with Dowbiggin essentially narrating and Fuhr dropping in his reflections now and then.Along with the on-ice success, which there was plenty of, the book touches on Fuhrs substance abuse and racial tensions that arose when he started playing in the United States. Dowbiggin didnt shy away from mentioning Fuhrs cocaine use, and thats fine with the 52-year-old who wants readers to realize life is about making mistakes and still being successful.You dont have to be perfect, Fuhr said. I would look great in a halo, but its never going to happen.The book unearthed a quote from Wayne Gretzky: To be able to play at the level he played at for all those years (while on drugs) is a surprise.Looking back on it, Fuhr doesnt believe drugs hurt his performance.The hardest part of goaltending is to stay focused, Fuhr said. So the fact that you get a mental break away from the game is almost refreshing.For me at that time, the most comfortable place to be was on the ice. Thats where I was happiest. It probably made me a little more focused than most.The summer of 1986 is one of the turning points in Fuhrs life. It followed Steve Smiths own goal against the Flames but of more importance to Fuhr, thats also when he lost his father, making for a terrible off-season.Hockey and life had changed, but at the same time I found a way to get away from it, Fuhr said. Probably not the right way, but at the same time it made life (bearable).I was never a good student but I learned everything through life. So had I did it a different way, could things have turned out a little different? Yeah they probably couldve. But at the same time I wouldnt have the same life experiences.Fuhr said there was nothing in the book that was difficult to re-live. Now, 23-plus years after his suspension, 21 years after being refused admission into a Buffalo-area country club because of his race and 11 years being inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, he has a better grasp on life and his career accomplishments.While Fuhr doesnt see race as something people should be defined by, he also better understands tthe historical significance he had on the NHL.ddddddddddddWhen youre playing you never really think of it, youre just playing and enjoying the game and you never really have to worry or think about it, whereas now I get a chance to look back at it, Fuhr said. You can see different kids at different times and such, and you realize that it has more prevalence now than it ever did.Fuhr also may have had an impact on the way the league and Players Association deal with drug use. In 1990, then-president John Ziegler suspended Fuhr for a full season for conduct dishonourable and against the welfare of the league.In the book, Fuhr writes, The biggest misconception about that period of time is that the substance problem was still ongoing — but by the time it finally hit the paper it had been two years over and long stopped, over and done.His suspension was eventually reduced, but nowadays the league handles similar situations with more of an eye toward helping players. Fuhr said that was the best part of his punishment in retrospect, that current players dont have to deal with the same heavy hand.Its like night and day now because the NHL now will help players, where when I got suspended it was about punishment, Fuhr said. It wasnt about rehabilitating players or helping them get better in life, it was about punishing them. I think the NHL has gone leaps and bounds in getting better at that where theyve got programs in place now and they actually will help players, and theyll help players before they get themselves in trouble.Fuhr got himself in and out of trouble and along the way managed to win 403 career regular-season games for the Oilers, Toronto Maple Leafs, Buffalo Sabres, Los Angeles Kings, St. Louis Blues and Flames. He was in net for four Cups and has five championship rings because he was part of the 1989-90 Oilers team that Bill Ranford led to the title.As he signed books that filled the table in front of him, Fuhr wore his 1988 Cup ring on his right hand. He rotates them but has one on all the time.The only one that stays is the Hall of Fame ring and I actually wear it on a chain around my neck, Fuhr said. I think its the pinnacle of what you accomplish as a player, to get into the Hall of Fame.So its the one constant that I keep. Yeah you could wear all five, but that might be just a little gaudy. I always wear one.Those rings — and now the book — help remind Fuhr of what he has done in hockey but hadnt really thought about much.When you hit 50 you get to a certain point where you get to reflect on life a little bit, Fuhr said. Im gaining on the top of the hill, I dont think Im there yet because I plan on living to 100.The best part of it is I realize how comfortable I am in life, more than anything. Thats what the book gave me, the opportunity to figure out is that lifes pretty good. Actually I didnt think it was that bad before, but I know now its pretty good.---Follow @SWhyno on Twitter ' ' '