It's the second round of the Stanley Cup play-offs, and after a couple of upsets in the opening series we are quite well represented with Thunder Bay players.
Matt Murray stepped into the breach in Pittsburgh with Marc-Andre Fleury out, and was solid as the Penguins knocked out the Rangers advancing to play the President's Trophy winning Washington Capitals.
The Caps have Thunder Bay-born Taylor Chorney in their blue line corps.
Goaltender Carter Hutton is the Nashville back-up as it downed the Anaheim Ducks in seven.
Defenceman Robert Bortuzzo and the Blues ended Chicago's championship reign, and after hoisting his third cup last spring with the Blackhawks, Patrick Sharp was a key in the win by Dallas Stars over Minnesota.
Our local NHL'ers are products of the minor hockey system, and the elite Triple-A Kings programme is stepping itself up to another level now.
It has appointed Malcolm Sutherland as its video and development coach. In the role, he will work with all four Kings teams, pee wee, bantam, and minor and major midgets.
His resume is lengthy and includes two stints as an assistant with the Thunderwolves, as well as a Masters in Kinesiology through Lakehead University.
This type of expertise will undoubtedly continue to develop more players out of Thunder Bay to advance to higher levels, possibly including the NHL.
