Welcome to the PHT Morning Skate, a collection of links from around the hockey world. Have a link you want to submit? Email us at phtblog@nbcsports.com.
• Auston Matthews tells GQ Magazine that his fashion idols are Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook and actor Leonardo Di Caprio. The full Q&A is pretty interesting. (GQ)
• Who are the most prominent NHL players that are in new places to start the 2018-19 season? NHL.com has to covered. (NHL.com)
• Is Bo Horvat ready to be the next captain of the Vancouver Canucks? (Canucks Army)
• The Arizona Coyotes have a lot of young talent, but injuries to their centers might put them behind the eight ball heading into the regular season. (AZ Central)
• Brandon Davidson, who was attending Blackhawks training camp on a PTO, signed a one-year deal with the club on Thursday. (Chicago Sun-Times)
• It might be awkward, but the Sens and Zack Smith have to move on from the “waivers incident” that occurred at the beginning of the week. (Ottawa Citizen)
• Red Wings forward Andreas Athanasiou was a hold out case during training camp last year, but he’s using this year’s preseason to set the tone for his upcoming season. (Detroit News)
• Mitch Marner looks like he’s about to have a huge 2018-19 season, which is both good news and bad news for the Toronto Maple Leafs. (The Hockey News)
• The Rangers need Pavel Buchnevich to have a huge season. So far he’s delivered in the preseason. (Blue Seat Blogs)
• Danick Martel is hoping to stick with the Bolts after he was claimed off waivers from the Flyers last week. (Tampa Bay Times)
• After reports surfaced about Devante Smith-Pelly’s absence from training camp, the Caps forward denied that it had anything to do with being out of shape. (NBC Sports Washington)
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Joey Alfieri is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @joeyalfieri.