Sportsrageous

The NHL’s present may be dismal. But on Thursday, fans got a sneak peak at just how bright its future might be.

Eight different players, several of whom have already been drafted by NHL clubs, scored as the U.S. U20 squad opened the 2013 World Junior Hockey Championship with an 8-0 trouncing over Germany, notes USA Today.

Sean Kuraly, whose rights are owned by the San Jose Sharks, got the scoring started just 19 seconds into the first period off a feed from Riley Barber, who did his teammate one better at the start of the next period when he scored with a mere 15 seconds elapsed.

By that time, the score was already 4-0 and the American offense was clicking on all cylinders. Goals from Shayne Gostisbehere and Ryan Hartman made it 6-0 before the game’s halfway point, turning this contest into a certified laugher for the Americans and an outright nightmare for the Germans, who were similarly throttled by Team Canada in their tournament opener yesterday, reports the Canadian Press.

While the Americans did have some trouble staying out of the penalty box and conceded multiple long two-man advantages to their opponents, some nice saves from goalies John Gibson and Jon Gillies (who relieved Gibson to start the third) helped the U.S. keep a clean sheet.

Up next for the U.S. is Russia, which figures to pose a much stiffer challenge for Team USA. Puck drop is scheduled for 9:00 a.m. ET on Friday.