SIMMONS SAYS: Non-traditional markets giving birth to some of the NHL's biggest stars

Auston Matthews and Tage Thompson are the most dangerous shooters in the NHL this season. They are from different places and they play different hockey. They all play differently but naturally know how to score. It's possible that this NHL season will end with Matthews, Thompson and Jason Robertson among the top goal scorers in hockey, as they are exceptional to watch. The way the greatest of players always seem to be. iReport.com. For more information, visit the Hockey Canada website. for more details on the league and its teams. and for details about the players from Canada and the United States, see the website:

Mitch Marner has scored 21 points in the last 21 games. Marie-Philip Poulin was a good choice for Canada's athlete of the year. Cale Makar had the most complete year of all the nominees. Mark Giordano has been a bargain for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Erik Karlsson leads the NHL in points for a defenceman. He also has the fewest goals against at even strength. The team-hockey the Leafs play is the best in many years. They need to find a winger before March 3.

SIMMONS says non-traditional markets are giving birth to some of the NHL's biggest stars.

Fred McGriff was elected to the baseball's Hall of Fame last Sunday. Curt Schilling got 43% of the vote from his colleagues. The Toronto Raptors are the 26th-best shooting team in the NBA at home and on the road. They're 25th in three-point shooting. The top three shooting teams have a combined record of 52-25. Their bottom three teams are 30-47. Fred VanVleet is shooting 21% from three in his last six games.

Auston Matthews, Patrick Kane, Jason Robertson, Jack Eichel, Matthew Tkachuk, Johnny Gaudreau, Joe Pavelski, Matty Beniers, Kyle Connor, Chris Kreider, Dylan Larkin, Cole Caufield would not play for Team USA. McDavid leads the NHL in goals, assists, points, time on ice for a forward and is scoring 1.93 points per game. Linus Ullmark is 15-1 this season with a league-leading 1-82 goals against average and a .939 save percentage.

SIMMONS says that non-traditional markets are giving birth to some of the NHL's biggest stars.

Grant Wahl passed away. He was a great soccer player. Paul Simon wrote about high school. Blue Jays are moving in the wrong direction. It's birthday to Joe Burrow, Rey Mysterio Jr., Daniel Alfredsson, Matthew Tkachuk, Rob Blake, Dalton Pompey, Steve Renko, Carlos Rodon, Dave Gagner and Shareef Abdur-Rahim. Dany Heatley is no longer with Montreal. It is hard to be discouraged if you care about the direction the Blue Jay's are going. They are playing a busy and expensive MLB off-season.

Fred McGriff was recently elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Carlos Delgado has yet to get any consideration for the appointment. Delgado hit 473 home runs, McGriffs hit 493. McGrif had 1,474 more at-bats, Delgiad had more career RBIs, but his career on-base percentage was better than McGriffin's. He was a top-six candidate for MVP three times and never finished higher than fourth. In his three best home run-hitting seasons, he hit 44, 42 and 41.

There are non-traditional markets giving birth to some of the NHL's biggest stars.