New Utah Mammoth forward Brandon Tanev’s Elite Prospects profile shows a gap in playing experience from age 15 to 17 — some of the most crucial years in any player’s development.

His LinkedIn profile fills in the details: He wasn’t battling a long-term injury. He was working at Golf Town.

“My freshman year in high school, I might have been, like, 4-foot-10,” Tanev said in a 2021 episode of Spittin’ Chiclets . “(When) my backpack was filled with all my books, it was probably half the size of me.”

He resumed playing in 2010 after a significant growth spurt, potting 42 points in 46 Junior-A games for the Ontario Junior Hockey League’s Markham Waxers. That sample was good enough to earn him a spot the next season on the Surrey Eagles of the British Columbia Junior Hockey League — an e

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