NHL, college hockey are back and bringing big names with them

— -- There was a time when Jan. 1 was a chance to reboot, resurface and renew one's soul. New Year's Day was the time to wipe the ice clean and focus on self-improvement and goal setting.

For some of us, that time is now October, when the new hockey year begins.

Early morning wake-up calls and trips to the rink are back.

The stench emanating from equipment bags in the trunk and eight half-filled Gatorade bottles rolling around the floor of the back seat are back.

The breathing of Zamboni fumes and high blood pressure from the kid who never passes are back.

The NHL and #CawlidgeHawkey are back.

Hockey is back. Happy new year.

The state of hockey is excellent. There is growth in numbers and skill, and USA Hockey had a record 533,172 players registered last year. In 1990, that number was 195,125.

College hockey welcomes its 60th Division I member in Arizona State, which has potential to be a trailblazer for a future Pac-12 hockey conference. College hockey administrators met with California NHL owners this summer to discuss being a part of that process. And, once again, the NHL welcomes another wave of elite talent to further deepen a rich roster of skill, much of it still under 30 years old.

The game is healthy, well-run and ready for more growth. It's a great time to be a hockey fan.

I do wish the net was bigger and more goals were scored, more payoff for the amazing athleticism on display every night that is sometimes suffocated by too few scoring chances. Wayne and Mario and Bobby and Bossy had better conditions for cashing in on their amazing skill and thus enriched the game with jaw-dropping goals that led to legend status. Legends mark the past like a great song or work of art. The NHL should keep pushing for legends. It's good for business. It needs a little more offense.

Fans getting out of their seats more often is a good thing, especially with fighting down across the league. A couple of fights a night got people to stand up in a chorus of primal screams. It was good, not-so-clean fun, regular-season entertainment. The acknowledgement of fighting's risks and inherent dangers will soon render it extinct.

We need more scoring to get people out of their seats from October through April. Paying a few hundred bucks for a family to see a regular-season game in which the final score is 2-1 and the kids stand up to scream just once is not a recipe for repeat customers. Sure, a 2-1 or 1-0 game can be awesome. Competition level and intensity is more important than score, but we need more offensive payoff, primarily in the regular season.

Improved goalies, skater equipment, coaching and skating all suppress scoring. Jamie Benn won the scoring title last season with 87 points. I want hard-hitting, tight-checking, max-effort hockey, not All-Star Game hockey. A bigger net is the only chance to improve scoring with the max-effort style fans demand. If goalies need bigger equipment to protect themselves from harder shots off high-tech sticks, fine. But also give the players an inch or so more room to score up top.

I know, I've been writing this for more than a decade. I just have to get it out once a year. What's wrong with a 7-5 game? OK, that's done.

Let's empty the bucket of brain pucks from an assortment of issues using your #TwitterBagSkate queries.

Let's face it, we knew he was good. I wrote as much in this space last year after  Jack Eichel's first college game at Boston University. I told you he could skate, shoot and had reach. I also told you the gap between him and Connor McDavid was smaller than most thought, including Buffalo Sabres general manager Tim Murray, who pouted some after the draft lottery put the Sabres at No. 2 overall. The biggest eye-opener for me is how much faster and more explosive Eichel is compared with his performance in April at the Frozen Four. His skating dominated the game against the  Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday. He's 18 and already the best player on the Sabres.

That being said, I love McDavid. He is a top-shelf talent who will have an excellent season. He and Eichel are unique and special NHL ornaments that you should purchase the NHL Center Ice package to watch.

For the record, my preason projections for Eichel and McDavid:

McDavid: 27 goals, 50 assists, 77 points

Eichel: 19 goals, 45 assists, 64 points

Soon, I hope. I think the NHL should have 40 teams. The best way to create NHL fans is through expansion. Whether it's California, Dallas, Columbus or Florida, teams create fans, young people and beer-leaguers who want to play. We have NHL players born in California, South Florida, Texas and so on. I think the talent pool is deep enough for another 250-300 players, especially with the international pool and more American talent like Eichel and Auston Matthews (from Scottsdale, Arizona, and likely the top pick next year) being developed by USA Hockey.

There is a great potential for growth in hockey, and the NHL should be very aggressive, especially with youth football numbers dropping. Hockey needs to seize the chance to get kids who are not signing up for football. Get kids playing hockey early on and you've got them for life. 

I had the Bruins as a playoff bubble team before the season, so I'm not shocked at their start, but I certainly expected at least a point from them by now. They have a lame-duck coach in Claude Julien who just doesn't fit the team's overall philosophy and who appears destined to become a scapegoat for what looks like a possible lost season. The Bruins are thin on defense still and trying to get everyone on the same page after plenty of new additions the past 12 months.

I'm sure they would love to deal Zdeno Chara, give the captain's "C" to Patrice Bergeron and possibly deal Brad Marchand to get blue-chip blue-line help and continue to rework. It's an organization in flux, and things could slip away if the Bruins are not careful. They have a lot of road games over the next 25 days, during which they need to come together as a team and figure out a way to win.

He should be a very productive forward for the Blue Jackets, getting 20 minutes a night and playing with a very good center in Ryan Johansen. I think 30 goals and 40 assists are good goals for  Brandon Saad to reach, and possibly exceed. He makes his return to Chicago on Saturday.

The defense is the question. Can they move and possess the puck? Can they help kill penalties? I thought Columbus was a 100-point team before the season. I still think they are a playoff team, but they have to get going.

A deep playoff run is possible. They have good depth to use as trade bait if needed, and with their talent and cap space, the  Detroit Red Wings are in a great position to continue their playoff streak for another decade. People talk about Steven Stamkos possibly signing with the Toronto Maple Leafs if he chooses not to re-sign with the Tampa Bay Lightning. If I'm Stamkos, though, and I'm looking from a pure hockey standpoint to play for an old, traditional brand, the Red Wings are potentially my landing spot. A new arena is coming in 2017, and there's lots of young talent to shoulder the load.

After watching a couple of games, my playoff teams:

Eastern Conference: New York Rangers, New York Islanders, Montreal Canadiens, Columbus Blue Jackets, Washington Capitals, Lightning, Red Wings,  Pittsburgh Penguins

Western Conference: Nashville Predators, Chicago Blackhawks, Minnesota Wild, Dallas Stars, Colorado Avalanche, San Jose Sharks, Anaheim Ducks, Los Angeles Kings