The Atlanta Thrashers are looking forward to a little attention.
Despite being one of the NHL's feel-good stories this season, the team doesn't always get recognized for its accomplishments. That should change temporarily during a week that sees the Thrashers face four Canadian opponents - three of them on the road.
"I think it's a stage for us," Atlanta coach John Anderson said in Toronto on Monday. "Obviously, you see all the media here. When I talk to media at home, there's maybe one or two people. ...
"I think that our guys feel like it's a centre stage and it's a platform ... to make the rest of the hockey world aware that we do play some good hockey down in Atlanta."
The trip didn't get off to a very good start, with the Thrashers dropping a 5-2 decision to the Maple Leafs at Air Canada Centre on Monday night. But the team is still one of the NHL's best road clubs with a 9-3-1 record.
Atlanta makes a stop in Calgary on Wednesday before visiting Vancouver on Thursday. It then returns home for a game against Montreal on Saturday night.
The stretch of games has been something Evander Kane has been looking forward to since cracking the team's lineup out of training camp. The 18-year-old grew up in Vancouver and has bought a bunch of tickets for Thursday's game at GM Place.
"It's something I've been thinking about for awhile," said Kane, who has eight goals and 13 points in 27 games. "I'm really looking forward to getting a chance to play in front of my friends and family and a team I watched quite a bit growing up.
"It's going to be a great experience I think."
A quick scan of the Thrashers lineup suggests the team's 15-9-3 start probably shouldn't be considered a surprise.
There are plenty players who probably don't get the credit they deserve. That includes Rich Peverley, a point-a-game player since being plucked off waivers from Nashville last season; Nik Antropov, the former Toronto Maple Leafs whipping boy who is having a career year; and promising young defencemen Tobias Enstrom and Zach Bogosian.
Antropov joined the Thrashers as a free agent over the summer and admits that it's a "little different" being in a city where hockey isn't the main focus. He spent 10 years with the Leafs before a brief spell with the Rangers at the end of last season.
Even still, the big centre likes his new surroundings.
"It's a good team out here," said Antropov. "Guys playing for each other and we're having fun so far."
Of course, Atlanta's star attraction remains captain Ilya Kovalchuk - an elite player who still manages to fly below the radar at times.
He's scored 16 goals in 21 games - a pace of 62 goals over an 82-game season - and contributes just as much off the ice for the upstart Thrashers.
"Since we made him captain, he's taken a huge role in running that dressing room," said Anderson. "He's even the type of guy, he's taking the whole team out to dinner on his own dime because he wants to win that badly.
"He's not really loud or boisterous, but the things he does, his actions, make him a true leader."
Just another hockey player in Atlanta who probably warrants more attention.
