Johnny Gaudreau hit a career high this year with 84 points in his fourth full season with the Calgary Flames. Now the diminutive, flashy winger is poised to soar to new heights in Denmark.

It's the third time at the IIHF World Championship for Gaudreau, a 23-year-old from New Jersey, and he's one of those elite talents who consistently scores over a point per game in IIHF play.

That's no small feat in modern defense-first hockey.

"Johnny Hockey" first made a name for himself globally when he led the 2013 World Juniors in goals (7-2-9) en route to American gold in Ufa, Russia. In his
Hobey Baker Award year with Boston

College, he shone again at the 2014 Worlds in Minsk, Belarus (2-8-10). Last season, Gaudreau led the U.S. in scoring in Cologne, Germany (6-5-11) before capturing the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy as

the NHL's most gentlemanly player.

He's the closest thing to a young Sergei Makarov that Flames fans are likely to
ever see. He is easily one of the most entertaining players in today's game, and thankfully for hockey fans in

Herning, he's back in Europe for a second go-round under U.S. head coach Jeff Blashill. Could he be the key to ending a U.S. World Championship drought that dates back to 1933?

We chatted with Gaudreau after the final U.S. tuneup, a 3-2 exhibition win over
Denmark on Tuesday at Herning's Kvik Hockey Arena.

What do you like about starting the tournament off against Canada instead of a weaker opponent?

I think it's important to get off on the right track in these types of tournaments. So a win to start the tournament would obviously be pretty crucial
for us. We're gearing up for them on Friday

and we're looking forward to it.

Your reaction to the Flames hiring of Bill Peters?

Obviously it's a little bit of a change there. I haven't met him yet. I know he's out here as the coach for Canada, so I'll meet him here, I'm sure. I'm looking forward to getting back to Calgary

and getting the season started. I know it's a long summer - I know the season isn't over yet. But I'm already itching to get back there and get back to my teammates and start the season with our

new coach.

How do you like your line with Derek Ryan and Cam Atkinson?

Cam's a great player. Growing up, I went to Boston College, and the reason I wanted to go to BC was to watch a player like that. Obviously you've seen him be successful in the NHL, so it's fun to

play with him tonight. Special player, skilled player. He played really well tonight.

You grew up as a Philadelphia Flyers fan. When you were 16 years old, Patrick Kane scored the overtime goal that killed the Flyers in the 2010 Stanley Cup final. How ticked off were you at him?

[laughs] Oh, it was a fun series to watch. I remember it like it was yesterday.
That goal, we didn't know if it went in or not, and he knew exactly when it went in, right away. So growing up as a

big Flyers fan, he crushed the Flyers fans' dreams that day. But it's fun getting to play with him here. It's pretty special. I think it's one of the reasons I came here, to get a chance to play

with him and be around him. It's going to be a fun tournament.

What have you borrowed from Kane's game for your own game?

Growing up, he's a guy I always watched. I just tried to learn from him. I think a lot of my game emulates his game, from watching him over the years.

What are your thoughts on U.S. teammate Alex DeBrincat of the Chicago Blackhawks? You scored 24 goals as an NHL rookie, and he got 28 this year. How impressive is that?

He's a good player. I haven't seen him too much on the rink, but you can obviously see he's a great, skilled player. He's going to have a long career. It's going to be fun getting a chance to know

him and play with him.

The last time the U.S. hosted this tournament was 1962 in Colorado Springs. Would you like to see it come back to the States someday?

It'd be a lot easier travel for us, that's for sure! But you know, I enjoy coming over to Europe and seeing different countries, getting a different cultural experience, and playing for USA here.

Some people would argue this team has as much high-end skill as any US team in recent memory. How do you like your gold medal chances?

We've got good offensive players, some good goaltending, and some highly skilled D. So I think we have a good chance to win it.

LUCAS AYKROYD Johnny Gaudreau celebrates after scoring a goal at the 2017 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship. Photo: Andre Ringuette / HHOF-IIHF Images https://www.new-iihf.com/en/events/2018/wm/news/2251/johnny-hockey-rides-again

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