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.
• Alex Ovechkin on the Russia Olympic ban: “It’s always disappointing to hear something like that. I hope everything’s going to be well. We still have a long time ‘til the Olympics to figure out what to do. What’s better to do. Hope everything’s going to be fine.” [Washington Post]
• USA Hockey named on Monday 28 players to the preliminary roster of its entry for the 2020 World Junior Championship. [USA Hockey]
• As the Senators continue their rebuild, Brady Tkachuk is front and center. [Ottawa Sun]
• Does Taylor Hall fit with the Islanders’ needs? [Gotham Sports Network]
• Things are going not so good in Hockeytown. [TSN]
• The proposed reshaping of the NBA schedule is something the NHL should be thinking about as well. [Featurd]
• Jordan Kyrou, who’s been nearly a point-per-game player in the AHL this season, has been called up by the St. Louis Blues. [Post-Dispatch]
• How a small dip in production for Claude Giroux means good things for the Flyers. [Broad Street Hockey]
• Neal Henderson, head of the Fort Dupont Ice Hockey Club, North America’s oldest minority-oriented youth hockey program, will become the first African-American to be enshrined in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame this week. [NHL.com]
• Can the Lightning’s issues this season be placed at the feet of Jon Cooper? [Raw Charge]
• Finally, meet Evan Yasser, a Devils fan on the autism spectrum who you might hear calling games some day:
————
Sean Leahy is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @Sean_Leahy.