Tuesday Morning Fly By: What a confident bunch

*Add Steve Yzerman to the list of Hockey Men that are absolutely sure we’re going to be kicking off a season January 1. You have to admire the optimism. [TSN]

*Anyhoo, the BSH Prospect Report returns, now that there are prospects playing hockey to report on! Lead, of course, by our brand new goal boy up in Halifax. [BSH]

*The news of Alex Trebek’s passing seemed to hit everyone pretty hard — the man was an icon! — but it hit the hockey world just a little bit harder. He was one of us. [ProHockeyTalk]

*We know now that he was very, very sick when he made his surprise appearance at this year’s entry draft. One more time bringing joy into people’s lives. What a gem. [Sportsnet]

*Next up on the BSH World Cup docket: zee Russians. [BSH]

*Let’s see what some Hockey People have to say about which teams are the most improved. [ProHockeyTalk]

*Speaking of Hockey People ranking things, they’ve declared Artemi Panarin to be the best winger in the league. What say you?! [Blueshirt Banter]

*Okay let’s just keep ranking things. Power rankings. [ProHockeyTalk]

*DGB takes a look at every single player that has ever played for each team to see which franchise can construct the best lineup. Seems like the Flyers should do well in this exercise, no? [The Athletic]

*And finally, not sure if you noticed but uh... Gritty is a star. Our shining orange star. [BSH]