TAMPA, Fla. — They always will be former Halifax Mooseheads linemates who got to raise the Memorial Cup overhead. On Friday in Tampa, the night before they met for the first time as NHL opponents, Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon and Tampa Bay’s Jonathan Drouin had dinner together.
“We went to a sushi place,” MacKinnon said. “I’m not sure what it was called, but it was good, though. … I knew he was paying since we were in Tampa. I got him in Denver (where the Avs and Lightning meet Feb. 22). I’m sure he’ll rack it up when we get to Denver.”
MacKinnon was the top overall choice in the 2013 draft, and Drouin was third. While MacKinnon was having a Calder Trophy season a year ago with Colorado, the Lightning left Drouin at Halifax for an additional year of major junior.
Gwoz. Former Denver Pioneers coach George Gwozdecky is in his second year at a Lightning assistant. His usual game-night role is to be at the press box level, communicating with the staff on the bench, but he was on the bench Saturday because assistant Steve Thomas was “on assignment.”
Asked about his DU departure, Gwozdecky said: “The only thing I want to say is that if it hadn’t been for my experience at DU, I wouldn’t be here right now.” He said that given his choice, “I might still be working at DU, but it wasn’t meant to be and that’s their prerogative. But I’ve enjoyed the heck out of this. I really have. My wife (Bonnie) and I still shake our heads and say it was a difficult period there for a little bit after they made their decision. But now we look back, and I don’t think I would want it any other way based on what has occurred to me here. This has been a great experience. I’ve loved it.”
The Gwozdeckys still live in Denver in the offseason.
