Scotty Bowman remains one of the biggest rink rats out there. At 82 years young, the legendary former NHL coach was right there with all the other coffee-swilling amateur scouts in Buffalo recently, looking at prospects at a U.S. National Development Team camp.
A man once almost as famous for his sparse praise for players as his many Stanley Cups, Bowman came away raving about a 5'10", 163-pound 15-year-old from the hockey hotbed of...Bettendorf, Iowa.
Luke Toporowski is the name, and if it isn't recognizable now, just wait until he becomes eligible for the NHL draft in about three years. It's a name that Bowman, a 14-time Stanley Cup-winner, had no trouble remembering after watching him skate.
"He's one of the best prospects I've ever seen," Bowman said. "He's got a terrific stride, skates like [Sidney] Crosby. Hard to knock off his feet, just cutting around the defense and accelerating."
In May, the Spokane Chiefs of the Western Hockey League selected Toporowski with the eighth pick in the first round of the bantam draft, which marked the first time since 2009 that an American-born pla ...
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Article written by Adrian Dater