There is no “best and worst of 2020.” Every “worst” doesn’t quite do justice to how challenging this year was, in every way imaginable and previously unimaginable. Every “best” has a caveat anchored to it.
What does that even look like? “Best: No one tested positive for COVID-19 while the NHL was forced to complete a season it had to pause for a global pandemic and then restarted in two Canadians bubbles where players were separated from their families for months on end.”
See? Impossible.
But there are some people and some moments from this otherwise cursed year that we’ll choose to remember in a positive light. Some folks who navigated the unique terrain of 2020, or simply rose to the occasion when given the chance to shine.
Here are 10 hockey people who leveled up in 2020, on and off the ice: