NBC Sports executive producer Sam Flood said he and his group always are looking for innovations and ways to upgrade their presentation of the NHL, which he called the company's "No. 1 product."

Rather than bells and whistles, Flood and the NBC Sports Group team have kept firm to their commitment to honor the game and what Flood believes makes it special.

One of those innovations that will debut for the 2012-13 season is "Rivalry Wednesday," which will show traditional rivals facing off. It starts with the Boston Bruins playing at the New York Rangers on Jan. 23 and will include the renewal of rivalries Boston-Montreal and Philadelphia-Pittsburgh.

"Hatred in hockey is a good thing," Flood said. "So every Wednesday night we're going to have teams that don't love each playing. … It's an exciting new twist to it."

Flood said he's also proud of the building his hosting team of Liam McHugh, Mike Milbury and Keith Jones will be working out of at NBC's new international broadcasting center in Connecticut. The studio was supposed to open in February, but Flood said his group pushed hard to be ready to showcase it in time for Saturday's season-opening telecasts.

The American Hockey League's Board of Governors has voted to discontinue its current test of the hybrid icing rule, effective with Friday's games.

"We believe that 564 games has been a sufficient test period for 'hybrid icing,' and that the application of the rule has been positive for the most part," AHL president Dave Andrews said in a statement Tuesday. "But because we have more than 300 players recalled to the National Hockey League each season, it is our view that these players should have the benefit of a consistent application of the icing rule in both the AHL and NHL."

Davidson even emphasizes the "when," because with the Blue Jackets new president of hockey operations, there is no "if."

"I've seen the building full before and I've seen them with enthusiasm," Davidson told NHL.com. "I've gone around Columbus and talked to a lot of people -- it's a real good sports town, a real good sports town, and they're just waiting. They're hungry. They want it."

This edition features Columbus Blue Jackets president of hockey operations John Davidson:

After six years of helping build the St. Louis Blues into a Stanley Cup contender, John Davidson is starting the process all over again -- this time in Columbus, where patience has been preached and losing has been the norm for a dozen years.

Davidson, the Blue Jackets' new president of hockey operations, is being paid to change all of that.

He has referred to Columbus as the NHL's "best-kept secret" because of the fans in the community, the facilities that the Blue Jackets have and the stable ownership provided by the McConnell family since the franchise was born.

HALIFAX, Nova Scotia -- Halifax Mooseheads center Nathan MacKinnon admits he hasn't thought much about the ovation he and teammates Jonathan Drouin and Zachary Fucale might receive when they take the ice for pregame warmups in preparation for Wednesday's 2013 Home Hardware CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game at the Metro Centre.

Still, he did predict one thing.

"I guess it'll be a little louder than usual and we'll be excited to be a part of it," MacKinnon told NHL.com.

The majority of talent picked by teams at the annual NHL Draft comes from the Canadian Hockey League.

Of the three leagues that make up the CHL, the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League usually lags behind the Ontario Hockey League and Western Hockey League as far as developing first-round picks.

At the 2012 draft, only one player from the QMJHL was taken in the first round, and from 2008-2012, of the 150 first-round picks, only 11 were QMJHL alums. By contrast, 49 OHL players and 32 WHL players were taken in that timeframe.

And since 1980, only once, in 1988, has the QMJHL produced the most first-round picks. That year they had six, the same as the WHL and one more than the OHL.

What are the odds a defenseman is selected with the first pick at the NHL Draft for the first time in seven years?

With Portland Winterhawks defenseman Seth Jones in the cross-hairs of every NHL scout and general manager this season, the odds appear to be pretty good.

At least that's what NHL Central Scouting believes based on its mid-term rankings, released Tuesday, when the 6-foot-3.5, 208-pound blueliner from the Western Hockey League was listed as the No. 1 skater among North American players eligible for the 2013 Draft.

The effervescent Don Cherry predicts an atmosphere reminiscent of a seventh and deciding game in a championship series when the 18th annual Home Hardware CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game is held Jan. 16 at the Metro Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

The contest will showcase the Canadian Hockey League's top 40 NHL draft-eligible players, featuring talent from the Western Hockey League, Ontario Hockey League and Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. The OHL has 16 representatives, the QMJHL has 13 and the WHL will have 11 participants.

"Any time you can gather the top draft-eligible prospects to one venue to compete against one another, it's invaluable to NHL scouts and general managers," NHL Director of Central Scouting Dan Marr said.

The wait for the 2012-13 season is nearly over. What questions do each NHL team need to answer to be successful, and do they have the resources to provide said responses? Well, let's take a division-by-division look at some of the key quandaries for each NHL franchise as the campaign beckons. Next up is the Central Division, which is light two world-class defensemen but could still boast four playoff teams.

CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS

The Chicago Blackhawks put up 101 points last season, good enough to be one of 10 teams in the NHL to crack the century mark. It didn't matter because, for the second straight season since winning the Stanley Cup, they were knocked off in the first round of the playoffs. The good thing for the Blackhawks is unlike in 2010-11, the season after a summer of being crushed by salary-cap constraints, they feel they know exactly what went wrong last season.

1. Will the goaltending duo of Corey Crawford and Ray Emery be good enough?

Crawford won 30 games last season, but it was a struggle as he allowed three or more goals in 27 of his 57 appearances in the regular season and in five of his six appearances in the playoffs. Instead of building on a strong finish to the 2010-11 season, he went backward with a 2.72 goals-against average, .903 save percentage and zero shutouts in 57 appearances.

The Nashville Predators are still chasing that elusive Stanley Cup, but they continue to show they're willing to do whatever it takes to fulfill their dream.

Whether it's trading first-round draft picks for veteran players or matching a mammoth offer sheet for its franchise player and captain, Nashville brass will not rest until it's parading Lord Stanley around Music City.

That challenge grew bigger last summer when the Predators lost defenseman Ryan Suter to the Minnesota Wild via free agency. Suter, who along with Shea Weber formed one of the top defensive pairings in the NHL, signed a 13-year deal with the Wild on July 4.

Two weeks later, the Philadelphia Flyers tried to pry Weber away, signing the Predators' captain -- who was a restricted free agent -- to a 14-year offer sheet. Nashville had a week to match it but didn't need the full seven days to announce it wasn't about to allow Weber to leave town too.

Though it won't be easy to replace someone of Suter's caliber, Predators general manager David Poile said he believes it is an opportunity for another player within the organization to step up and help fill the void. And with Weber still in the mix, and Pekka Rinne between the pipes, the chance to win remains solid.