Articles

[hockeygod]

Son of Rod Stewart and Rachel Hunter making name for self with Spokane Chiefs:
Rookie hockey forward plays down famous roots

Dave Trimmer, The Spokesman-Review, Oct 20 2011

Of all the opportunities Liam Stewart has had, the one he grabbed and held on to with an unmistakable passion is hockey.

“The atmosphere around the room, stepping on the ice every day, I just love it,” the Spokane Chiefs’ rookie forward said. “I love scoring. I love the aggressiveness of it. It’s just a lot of fun. And it’s different from what both my parents did.”

According to Stewart, his dad is a soccer guy and his mom is a rugby fan.

That would be rock music icon Rod Stewart, who is from England, and supermodel Rachel Hunter, who is from New Zealand. They divorced in 2006.

“I’m privileged to have parents like that,” their son said. “I’ve traveled the world, (but) I never thought of myself different than anyone in the room. I’ve never been too cocky about it, or talked about it.”

At a very young age he strived to be an individual.

“I’ve always wanted to carve my own path,” said Stewart, who was born in London. “I didn’t want to be Rod Stewart’s son who really does nothing. … I wanted to do my own thing, get out of California, meet new people, like the boys.”

“In the room” and “the boys” are so connected to hockey, it’s hard to imagine that Stewart grew up in Southern California, or that he considers himself “a New Zealand kind of guy.” Laid-back is in sharp contrast to his presence on the ice.

“He’s got upside,” Chiefs coach Don Nachbaur said. “He’s got good size, skates real well, he’s an intelligent player. He’s a committed athlete. That’s a key word, he’s an athlete.”

The attitude of the 6-foot-1, 180-pounder, who just turned 17 last month, also impressed the demanding coach.

“He’s a great teammate, he’s a good friend. He’s just another one of the guys,” Nachbaur said. “That speaks volumes of who he is. He’s a down-to-earth young man. You look at his background, who his mum and dad are, he’s obviously very proud of that, but he’s here to be his own man, his own person.”

Despite the California roots, Stewart’s hockey flame was lit on the other side of the country.

“When I was like 3 or 4, I was in New York for one of my dad’s shows and I went to a Rangers game,” he said. “From then on I told my mom I wanted to do that. The next day I was skating, not playing hockey, just free skating. That’s how it started.”

That isn’t quite the same scenario his mother recounted, but older sister Renee was into skating.

“Virtually from 5 until now, he’s been playing hockey,” Hunter said. “I think it’s an incredible sport. It’s an amazing family environment for a child to grow up in.”

She altered her schedule for all the demands on a hockey parent and has seen her son flourish.

“As a parent, if your kid has a smile on their face and they’re happy, that’s all I want for my kid,” she said.

Stewart played his way up the ladder and earned an invitation to a WHL identification camp.

Although he wasn’t selected in the Bantam draft, he was asked to attend the Chiefs’ camp, where he promptly turned heads by winning the 1½-mile run.

“That was very impressive,” general manager Tim Speltz said. “His fitness test was unbelievable, which tells you there’s an athlete there or a guy who’s worked very hard.”

With a strong camp as a 15-year-old, he was put on Spokane’s 50-player list. When he returned last fall, however, he had a minor injury, so he was sent back to Junior Kings, where he had an outstanding season.

“When they said I was a year away, I put a lot of work in, hoping to make the team,” said Stewart, who was recently cleared to play for the Great Britain National Program. “Luckily, I did. … The WHL just sounded a lot better, a better route for me to go, more games played than the college game.”

Stewart considers himself a defense-first forward like his confidant, Los Angeles Kings forward Jarrett Stoll, who dated his mom. In Stewart’s first game, he was on the penalty kill unit and got plenty of ice time as the third-line center. He was injured by illegal hit in the second game and missed the next four.

Still, that was enough to know he was in the right place.

“I love it,” he said. “I didn’t think I was going to make it this far. You get what you put in, all the hard work.”

“No question he can be a good junior,” Speltz said. “The question is, can he keep taking the steps and be a pro. The commitment he’s shown so far, everything he’s done, he wants to be a player.”

His mother, who was on the cover of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue twice and more recently on “Dancing with the Stars,” just wants to be a hockey mom.

“Like any hockey mom from western Canada … very committed,” Speltz said. “A very classy lady in all the dealings we’ve had.”

“She’s a great hockey mom, yeah, but I don’t think she really knows the game,” Liam said. “She knows a few rules, that’s about it.”

Hunter didn’t hesitate to follow her son to Spokane and has rented with an open-end lease.

“I love it up there,” she said. “I want to be a part of it as much as I can. … to see him reaching his goal and his dream. Seeing all the kids, because it’s such a team sport … is what’s really impressive and cool. You do what you can with your kids. Liam’s as happy as anything up there.”

Though he has tunnel vision for hockey, Stewart is going to be in the shadow of his famous parents for a long time. He’s prepared.

“I’ve had it for pretty much my whole life,” he said. “I just kind of blank that stuff out. When I was younger it bothered me. … I just say I’m not different than you are.

“They gave me advice, but there’s nothing they can really do about it. It’s on me.”

Dean
M.Ed (Coaching)
Ch.P.C. (Chartered Professional Coach)
Game Intelligence Training
"Great education depends on great teaching."

[hockeygod]

Campbell: Hockey Canada residency rules must change

Ken Campbell, The Hockey News, 2011-10-21

While researching a book I’m currently working on, I recently had Sunday morning coffee with a fellow by the name of Carlo Cimetta. He’s one of these Type A guys who knows what he wants and is prepared to do everything within acceptable boundaries to get it.

Six years ago, when his son Matthew was just 10 years old, Cimetta wanted to give him the opportunity to play for the Toronto Red Wings of the Greater Toronto Hockey League. The fact he lived in Sarnia, which is 253 kilometres (or 157 miles) from Toronto, did nothing to deter him. But in order to make it work, Cimetta had to secure releases from his home association and every one of the 13 that stand between Sarnia and Toronto.

Cimetta made it work, but if one of those minor hockey associations had refused, his son would have either been forced to play there or his plan to play in Toronto would have been scuttled. So, Cimetta would drive to Toronto every weekend and stay two nights in a hotel so his son could play with the Red Wings. Every Wednesday, Cimetta would put his son and Bo Horvat, who lived about 100 kilometres away and was also playing for the Red Wings, through their paces at an arena in Sarnia at $125 an hour.

Two years later, Cimetta rented a house across the border in Port Huron, Mich., and lived there with Matthew while his wife and two daughters stayed in Sarnia so his son could be eligible to play for the renowned Detroit Honeybaked program. And things have worked out all right. Matthew was taken in the eighth round of the Ontario League draft by the Sarnia Sting, but intends to play at Cornell University in two years. Horvat, meanwhile, was the London Knights’ first round pick in the draft last spring.

Now, feel free to question the sanity of a guy who would go to such lengths to have his son play for one program when there was already a perfectly fine Triple-A organization right in his backyard. But in almost any other realm aside from minor hockey, Cimetta would have had every right to do what he did without having to answer to anyone.

But because of Hockey Canada’s arcane residency rules, Cimetta was subject to the whims of 14 minor hockey associations, any one of which would have been completely within its rights to refuse to release his son Matthew. Imagine what would happen if post-secondary institutions operated the same way. A kid who is bright enough for Harvard would be stuck at the Podunk Community College simply because he lives in Podunk. Talented dancers who wanted to join Canada’s National Ballet School in Toronto would be forced to continue to go down the street to take lessons from the retired lady who rents out the church basement every Saturday morning.

Those days of socialist rule should be coming to an end. At its annual meeting in Montreal, Hockey Canada’s board of directors committed to six priorities, one of which was, “To spirit the attitude and create mechanisms in player movement to facilitate flexibility within the game reflecting the needs of the modern player and family.”

That won’t trigger Hockey Canada to tear down its borders immediately, but it’s a very positive first step.

The residency rules have been supported by the courts on several occasions, including a novel attempt to have them removed in 2004 based on the idea that minor hockey is a business and to not allow a player to play where he or she wishes is discriminatory and in violation of the United Nations’ Convention on the Rights of the Child. Apparently, in the eyes of the courts, the Chicken Little notion that tearing down boundaries will somehow kill minor hockey in small towns trumps basic rights of the individual.

But it’s wrong. It gives too much power to the minor hockey associations that are sometimes looking out for their own interests instead of the players’. You’d be surprised how many of them won’t grant releases to players who think they can develop better elsewhere. It’s petty, discriminatory and unreasonable. And if saner heads prevail, it will stop some day.

Hockey Canada is also taking steps toward offering parents and players more options. One idea is to parse the season up into four segments and allow players to play anywhere from one to four of them, leaving them time to pursue other interests while keeping them under Hockey Canada’s umbrella.

Last season, THN sounded the alarm that numbers of kids playing hockey in Canada are going down and there could be 30,000 fewer playing the game within five years. Making the season shorter and more affordable is one good way to get those numbers back up. So is offering players and parents more freedom to choose non-contact hockey if they wish, which is another one of Hockey Canada’s priorities in 2011-12. Those will help attract players and keep them in the game.

And dismantling the archaic residency rules will make it more equitable for the ones who do decide to keep playing.

Dean
M.Ed (Coaching)
Ch.P.C. (Chartered Professional Coach)
Game Intelligence Training
"Great education depends on great teaching."

[hockeygod]

Before I made it: Deryk Engelland

With Kevin Kennedy, The Hockey News, 2011-10-22

The first time I skated was in my backyard in Leduc, Alta. My dad was a welder and even though he transferred around a lot with work, he still found the time to build a rink for us in the backyard wherever we lived. We moved to Mayerthorpe, Alta., when I was in Grade 3 and stayed to Grade 6 when we moved to Chetwynd, B.C., where we settled down.

I’d say both my mom and dad are responsible for getting me into hockey. My mom was a big hockey fan and my dad was a big soccer player and I think he got into hockey because of my mom. I played a little soccer as a kid, but I wasn’t very good – too much running for me.

My first year playing hockey in Chetwynd was peewee and I remember we played all our games in Alberta because it was a lot closer than any towns with teams in B.C. We won the Alberta League, but we couldn’t go to the Provincial Championships because it was at the same time as the Alberta final.

When I wasn’t playing hockey we used to camp a lot in the summers. We’d ride four-wheelers, go fishing and hunting, that kind of stuff. I snowboarded a little bit in the winter, but not so much anymore. Actually, I probably haven’t snowboarded since I was in junior. If I didn’t make it playing hockey, I would probably be doing some kind of trade apprenticeship somewhere. I love working with my hands and I’d probably still be in Chetwynd – a big manufacturing town.

The day I first got called up from the minors, we’d just finished a game at home in Wilkes-Barre, Penn., and we were leaving that night to go on a road trip. The coach called me in after the game and told me the good news. Within 45 minutes I was in a car on my way to Philadelphia. I stayed the night there and probably got three hours of sleep before getting up at 4:00 a.m. to catch a flight to San Jose. Alex Goligoski wasn’t feeling well, but he ended up playing that game, so I watched from the press box. I got into the next game in Boston and was able to get a few friends to fly in from Las Vegas to watch. Unfortunately, my dad was going overseas on a job the next week and also had a big moose hunt planned so he couldn’t make it.

My first shift was with Brooks Orpik and on the second shift he got hurt, so we had to go with five defensemen for the rest of that game. I ended up making my rounds through the rotation, partnering with everyone. I think it was better to just get thrown right into it and not have too much time to think.

Now, I live in Las Vegas where I met my wife when I played for the "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Las_Vegas_Wranglers"Las Vegas Wranglers of the ECHL. She was out there studying for her masters and it’s a great place to live because the weather is always nice. Even though I’m not living in Chetwynd anymore I still spend time there and am very close with my family. My dad doesn’t really give me advice anymore, but when I call home after games they always have 10-15 people at the house watching.

Dean
M.Ed (Coaching)
Ch.P.C. (Chartered Professional Coach)
Game Intelligence Training
"Great education depends on great teaching."

[hockeygod]

Rosati and Tkaczuk: Player perspectives

By Daniel Tkaczuk and Mike Rosati, The Hockey NEws, 2011-10-23

The game of hockey is quick. Players and goaltenders need to have the skills to correctly read the play, identify their options and execute. Many situations arise on the ice and the following is a view into the thought process that goes into a play by both the player and the goaltender.

Game Situation: There is a breakdown in the corner as the defenseman falls down and the puck carrier has enough time to take it towards the net.

PLAYER’S PERSPECTIVE – DANIEL TKACZUK
"Once the player has beaten his man in coverage it is important that his first instinct is to get his feet moving and take the puck to the net for a scoring chance. Defenders also tend to take penalties when they have to reach to recover from poor positioning or a teammate’s lost battle.”

GOALIE’S PERSPECTIVE – MIKE ROSATI
“At this moment the goalie will simply identify a breakdown has occurred.”

TKACZUK
"Once the player is moving towards the net he should make a quick note of the secondary situation. How much space does he have to take the puck to the net? Where are his teammates? Is the goalie going to be able to make an aggressive challenge? The player has to be able to read the situation quickly and act. Every situation differs slightly and a player must be able to make a quick judgment call based on the options presented.”

ROSATI
“Before positioning himself on the puck carrier, the goalie must quickly recognize which way the player shoots in order to position himself accordingly. Also, he needs to determine if a pass option is available in front of the net.”

TKACZUK
"The player now has two options – drive to the net or pass. If he decides to drive to and possibly across the net, he must read the goalie. Is the goalie small? Is he right or left handed? Can the player jam it short side? Can he pull it around to the far side? Five hole? Can he use his ‘go to’ move?”

ROSATI
“If the player is taking it to the net alone and his stick is to the middle of the ice, the goalie needs to step off his post line, front the shooter and protect the long corner. He must also defend and deny that player as much space as possible cutting across the top of the crease.

If the shooter’s stick-blade position is closer to the goal line, the goalie needs to be a little more patient on his post and not allow the shooter to pull him away too early. The natural shot for this player is short side. As long as the goalie remains patient, the player will have no shot.

If the shooter attempts to pull to the backhand, the goalie must be aggressive either with an active stick or strong slide to deny the attacker ice.”

TKACZUK
“If the player sees an open teammate he must decide: is it worth a try for a back-door or one-timer pass? Does the teammate shoot left or right? How far away from the net is he? How much weight can the player put on the pass? What fake can the player use to make the goalie think he is shooting? A player must be able to take advantage and use teammates where necessary. Sometimes they can even be used solely as a decoy to bait the goalie into staying deeper inside the net and giving the shooter more options.”

ROSATI
“Knowing there is a pass option, the goalie needs to first communicate with his defenseman. In this situation the goalie must respect the pass. We have to remember the puck carrier coming out of the corner does not have a great shooting angle, so there is no need for the goalie to overplay him with positioning.

By playing a little shallower here, the goalie maintains good position against the shot and a higher percentage for success against the pass as well.

He must load his foot against the post in order to get a strong push into his butterfly slide directly towards the stick of the player receiving the pass.”

TKACZUK
“ Now the player must execute. He has analyzed the situation, made a choice in a split second and needs his skills to take over to stick the puck into the back of the net!”

ROSATI
“The goalie has identified and analyzed every scenario. He needs to be able to do this at the speed of the game. If he is late in his decision-making, he will be beaten on the play. If he is confident with his analysis, remains patient and allows the play to come to him, he is destined for success.”

SUMMARY
The game of hockey is complex – a lot happens in a split second. Skaters and goalies must be able to quickly react, make decisions and execute as the play constantly changes. Through training a skater and goaltender can improve their thought process, skill and overall hockey sense to succeed in the various situations that come up in a game.

Dean
M.Ed (Coaching)
Ch.P.C. (Chartered Professional Coach)
Game Intelligence Training
"Great education depends on great teaching."

[hockeygod]

Daum enjoys Austrian adventure

By Jim Matheson, edmontonjournal.com, October 22, 2011

EDMONTON – Rob Daum is coaching in Austria, in a league with no borders.

“Six Austrian teams, two in Slovenia and one (each) in Hungary, Croatia and the Czech Republic,” said the former University of Alberta Golden Bears/Edmonton Oilers farm-team coach, who is located in “eishockey”-mad Linz, a beautiful Austrian city of 190,000. People know who he is when he’s walking the streets looking for a knoedel (dumpling), even if his command of German — the official language — is somewhat spotty if he wants to talk about the Black Wings of the Erste Bank Eishockey Liga.

Daum was also recently named an assistant coach of the Austrian national team, assisting St. Albert native and 1984 Oilers draft pick Emanuel Viveiros, who coaches in Klagenfurt. Daum wasn’t quite sure what he was getting into when he accepted the post in Linz after being out of work for a year, but it’s been an eye-opener. His club has dropped only two of 12 league games, both to the Czech team from Znojmo, and was unbeaten in five exhibitions. It’s the best team in the league, on paper, although you would have to be a hockey junkie to know who former American Hockey League players Rob Hisey (Springfield Falcons), Danny Irmen and Curtis Murphy (both Houston Aeros) are. Those are three of Daum’s best players in a league where the average take-home salary for imports is between 45,000 and 65,000 euros. Plus the free car, apartment, insurance and health expenses.

Pierre Page coaches in Salzburg, the signature Austrian league franchise with the big payroll (there’s no salary cap). One-time Oilers farmhand/draft pick defenceman Doug Lynch plays there. They’re owned by the folks who make Red Bull. Viveiros is in Klagenfurt, which, along with Salzburg, has the top Austrian players and Jared Spurgeon’s brother Tyler. Former Oilers player and assistant coach Kevin Primeau coaches a team in Hungary, where, incidentally, Daum’s Golden Bears’ successor Eric Thurston is living these days. Thurston is running Hungary’s under-20 national program after taking a leave from the Bears.

“The offer (from the Austrian national team) caught me off-guard. It’s a great opportunity for a different experience. Manny Viveiros has been in Europe for 20 years and because he’s from Edmonton (he was traded to the Minnesota North Stars along with Marc Habscheid for Gord Sherven and Don Biggs in 1985), he’s familiar with my background a little bit, I guess,” said Daum. “They’re not in the A (international) pool now, but what they want to do is get back to that pool for the Olympics in Russia (2014). We have a tournament in November in Hungary, one in Klagenfurt in December and the B pool championship in Slovenia in mid April.”

Slovenia keeps looking for another Anze Kopitar, but they don’t grow on trees.

“I, uh, haven’t seen one,” laughed Daum.

Same with Thomas Vanek. Not many of those in Austria, either.

“I would say the Austrian league is a higher calibre than the East Coast Hockey League but not as good as the American league. We also played a lot of games against the DEL (Germany’s Deutsche Eishockey Liga) teams in pre-season and fared well,” said Daum, who coached Minnesota’s AHL farm squad in Houston before joining the Oilers organization. He coached their affiliate in Springfield and was also Craig MacTavish’s NHL assistant for a year. He was also a pro scout for the NHL team.

He signed a two-year deal with Linz (club option on the second season and a window to return to North America if he gets a job by the middle of next July). It doesn’t have to be a pro offer to leave. He could, for instance, take a Western Hockey League coach-GM job if one came up, but that’s then. Now is Linz.

They play on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays in the Austrian League, a 40-game schedule. It’s a bus league. There are only two nights where the team will stay in a hotel on the road. It’s bus in, bus out, home by midnight after games.

“Our farthest trip is to Zagreb in Croatia, five hours.”

Linz is in the foothills, but there’s lots of travel through the mountains. “The drive from Klagenfurt to Salzburg, that’s impressive. Really impressive,” he said.

What’s hockey night in Linz like?

“It’s insane. It’s like a soccer crowd, from the time they get into the building to the time they leave they’re chanting, singing. It’s electric the whole game, it’s an event for them,” said Daum. “Nothing that compares to North America (pro hockey). The building seats about 4,000 and there aren’t many empty seats on game nights. Every inch of the arena, you can put a person into it.”

Who’s Hot: James Neal has seven goals in the Penguins’ first nine games. He only had one in 20 games for Pittsburgh last year after being traded from the Dallas Stars.

Who’s Not: R.J. Umberger, the Columbus Blue Jackets assistant captain, has one assist in seven games and is minus 3.

Marquee Matchups:

Tuesday and Thursday: Double dip of the Pens and New York Islanders after all the ugly fights and nasty words last year,

Thursday: Alex Ovechkin is here with the Washington Capitals. It’s a rare visit from one of the hottest NHL clubs.

Western Conference:

Nashville coach Barry Trotz swears the Predators are set up to re-sign their Big Three — Shea Weber, Ryan Suter and Pekka Rinne — not just one or two of them. They only have $21 million committed for 10 players for next year. “We’re lean and mean now. We’re young (the youngest team in the league),” said Trotz. The question is whether they will try and sign their Group 2 free-agent captain Weber first, who’ll command more money, or do they go with Weber’s hugely underrated defence partner Suter and the goalie Rinne, a Vezina finalist last year (both unrestricted July 1), before him? “It’s a catch-22. If you want to sign a big-time forward, the first thing they say is, ‘Is Weber staying? Is Suter staying?’ Is Rinne?’ It’s the old chicken and the egg scenario. I know this summer we were looking at some players but the first thing they said was, ‘Are those guys staying? If so, I’ll sign.” They moved centre Matthew Lombardi to the Toronto Maple Leafs last summer to clear up his $3.5-million contract to have the dough when Weber went to arbitration. “Part of it was Matthew’s money (this year and next) but we were doubting if he’d make it back this year (concussion), or, say, by Christmas. It was easier to replace Lombardi. I mean, we don’t get (Mike) Fisher last year if Lombardi isn’t hurt.” The Leafs wanted defenceman Cody Franson if Lombardi couldn’t play. As it turns out, Lombardi is playing, while Franson is a No. 6-7 guy.

This ’n’ that:

• The Blue Jackets are getting nary a drop from R.J. Umberger and Antoine Vermette to support Rick Nash, Jeff Carter (now out with a broken foot) and Vinny Prospal. Vermette is most likely to be traded if things don’t turn around soon with young Derick Brassard (two goals) No. 2.

• Phoenix Coyotes’ Kyle Turris is the highest profile (OK, highest draft pick — third overall in 2007) to hold out in the last while, but people keep wondering where his head is. “He’s playing for a team that’s owned by the league. You think they care if he’s not playing and not being paid? There’s 29 other teams looking for a competitive edge, too,” said one former NHL general manager.

• It looks like Dallas GM Joe Nieuwendyk pulled off a huge heist getting goalie Kari Lehtonen from the former Atlanta Thrashers for defenceman Ivan Vishnevskiy, who’s playing in Moscow for Oblast Atlant, and Barrie Colts centre Ivan Telgin. The Finn Lehtonen finally got in shape, got healthy and he’s the hottest goaltender in the league (6-0, .957 save percentage). He looks like the No. 2 pick in the 2002 draft now.

• Global TV’s Kevin Karius, who’s obviously a hockey junkie, fired off an email to say four current NHL coaches — Mike Yeo (Minnesota Wild), Dave Tippett (Phoenix Coyotes), Scott Arniel (Columbus) and Kevin Dineen (Florida Panthers) — all played on the 1994-95 Houston (AHL) Aeros. What are the odds of that?.

• Hard-luck Colorado Avalanche forward Peter Mueller is out again indefinitely with concussion symptoms. He’s a top-six forward when healthy.

• Slow start for Matt Duchene in Avs land. They’re a little concerned that he’s not working hard enough when he doesn’t have the puck.

• Jeff Carter’s broken foot is the same one he had repaired with a plate inserted in 2010 when he was in Philadelphia, in case you’re wondering. Is he out a week? Three? Who knows?.

• The Wings have been very happy with their third defence pairing of young Jakub Kindl and Jonathan Ericsson, which means free-agent signee Mike Commodore will be their seventh guy when he gets back shortly from his sprained knee.

• The St. Louis Blues would rather play Brian Elliott — who didn’t pan out for the Ottawa Senators or the Avalanche — than Jaroslav Halak. That’s not a good sign for Halak, who had an .835 save percentage at last look.

Eastern Conference

Pulling for Sid

Edmonton Oilers defenceman Ryan Whitney badly wants to see Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby back where he belongs on the ice, but he wonders how opponents will play him. “There will be guys who don’t want to hit him at the start, believe me. Who wants to be the guy who buries Sid again?” said Whitney, his former Penguins teammate. “Nobody wants to be the guy, because they’ll be ripped apart. There are some idiots out there, guys who’d love to crush him, I’m sure, but everybody’s pretty much a fan of Sid. Guys on other teams are always saying, ‘Did you see what he did last night?’ ”

A long wait

Here we’re worrying whether 18-year-old Ryan Nugent-Hopkins will stick on the Oilers roster past the nine-game trial period, but not everybody is the Chosen One. Take Bracken Kearns, who is 30 and played his first NHL game Thursday for the Florida Panthers. His dad Dennis was 26 when he got to the bigs with the Vancouver Canucks, as a teammate of Panthers GM Dale Tallon, so he knows all about waiting your turn. Kearns, who once represented Canada in the world junior golf championship in San Diego when he was 16 and living in Vancouver, is a nice story. The forward was captain of the University of Calgary Dinos when Rob Daum was coaching the University of Alberta Golden Bears, graduating with a degree in economics in 2005. What did he do with that economics degree?

“I jumped at $450 a week to play in Toledo in the East Coast League. No cellphone, no car, not a single bill. Felt like a fortune,” said Bracken.

There have been 10 players who have made their NHL debut 30 or older since the lockout, so it’s pretty rare stuff. Bracken has played for the farm teams of the Nashville Predators, Chicago Blackhawks and Phoenix Coyotes in the American Hockey League and also in the East Coast Hockey League. That’s a lot of bus rides. “I never thought it was terribly realistic I’d play in the NHL, although it was certainly my dream,” said Bracken, who played 6- minutes against Buffalo Thursday, getting in the last six minutes of pre-game warm-up after rushing to the rink. When the call came that he was coming up to the Panthers, he barely had time to catch his breath.

“I was making my pre-game meal … chicken noodle soup, pasta and salad in San Antonio and they said I had 45 minutes to get the flight,” he said.

He almost forgot to turn off the stove as he was running out the door. “I was panicking. Didn’t want to miss the plane,” he said.

He played 428 games in the minors before one in the NHL. No wonder he was excited. He says he never did eat.

How long is he staying? “They don’t tell you much. I’m taking this day-by-day and hoping for the best,” he said.

This ’n’ that:

• Montreal Canadiens’ Andrei Markov, when he isn’t on crutches or in a walking boot, is one of the NHL’s top 20 defencemen, but can somebody tell me what possessed the Habs to give him another $5.75 million for three years when he had only played 60 of 190 games (including playoffs) over the preceding two season because he had a tendon sliced in his foot, then tore his anterior cruciate ligament in his knee. I know they badly miss his smarts, but he’s 33 in December and at what point do they say, “You know, medically, this might not be such a good idea?”’ He has played seven of the Habs’ last 96 games.

• Scott Hartnell has been playing on the third line making $4.2 million in Philadelphia, not good time or fiscal management, and he was the only one of Flyers forwards against the Washington Capitals on Thursday who wasn’t on either the power play or penalty kill. They wouldn’t be adverse to moving him, but he makes too much and has a no-trade clause.

• Everybody’s damning goalie Tomas Vokoun for only taking $1.5 million to play for the Caps, but it’s not like teams were lining up to sign him this summer. He turned down the Panthers’ $8-million, three-year offer, in part because he was tired of losing and Colorado and Phoenix were lukewarm.

• Why is everybody decrying the Winnipeg Jets’ slow start? It’s basically the same team that was in Atlanta, where two of their top three scorers were defencemen (Dustin Byfuglien and Tobias Enstrom) last year and their leading point-producer was captain Andrew Ladd with 59 points. Billionaire owner David Thomson didn’t give GM Kevin Cheveldayoff a blank cheque to spend $10 million on Christian Ehrhoff or go after Ville Leino as they did in Buffalo. Their big off-season deal was trading for Eric Fehr, the former Capitals forward who’s from Winkler, Man.

• The Ottawa Senators aren’t getting much out of their veteran back-end guys Chris Phillips, Filip Kuba and especially Sergei Gonchar, he of the $16.5-million (three years, two left) contract. Gonchar is untraceable. Phillips, a heart-and-soul Sen is just struggling. They’ve been trying to move Kuba’s $3.7-million contract for some time, but he’s hurt too much. Their youngsters David Rundblad, Jared Cowan and Erik Karlsson have been fine.

• Oops dept.: In a Corey Potter story this week, I said Marc Staal had made the New York Rangers out of junior, but he went back to Sudbury after being drafted in Round 1 in 2005, for a couple of years.

By the numbers:

513 Consecutive games for Jay Bouwmeester. That’s over six years, folks.

430 Nick Lidstrom’s plus rating through his NHL career.

6 Sheldon Souray’s plus rating this year in Dallas

He Said It:

“He was horrible, just horrible.”

Preds’ coach Barry Trotz when asked about high-risk Swedish rookie D-man Mattias Ekholm against Vancouver, a couple of days before he was sent back to Sweden.

Matty’s Short Shifts:

• OK, I know there was some bad blood between Glen Sather and the Edmonton Investors Group before he left for the New York Rangers, but it makes absolutely no sense that he doesn’t have a banner hanging from the rafters along with Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Paul Coffey and the rest by now. What are they waiting for? So what if he’s working for another team?

• Daryl Katz made a pitch to Gretzky to come and work with the Oilers in some capacity (adviser, training camp consultant?) when Gretzky was here for the Kinsmen Legends dinner a few weeks back. Gretzky keeps saying he’s happy being a fan and not working for an NHL team or the league. As I wrote before, GM Dean Lombardi in Los Angeles was also sounding out people last year about whether Gretzky would like to do something with the Kings. Nothing came of it. The problem with being Wayne Gretzky is you can’t walk into an NHL rink and sit there anonymously. People always want a piece of his time.

• Goalie Steve Mason looks a lot closer to Jim Carey than Carey Price these days in depths-of-despair Columbus after winning the Calder Trophy with 10 shutouts in 2009. Jim Carey was here today and gone tomorrow after his Vezina Trophy with the Washington Capitals in 1996. “Mason gives up three a game, hardly ever two, and there’s often one bad goal,” said one NHL executive. He should have spent last year in the minors.

• Adam Larsson, who was No. 2 on the Oilers’ draft list last June behind Ryan-Nugent Hopkins, has been rock-solid for the New Jersey Devils at 18. “He’s their best defenceman. Twenty-four minutes a game. People were looking for things wrong with him before the draft after two years in the Swedish Elite League,” said one Western Conference executive.

• Brad MacGregor, the Oilers head of corporate sales and once an Oilers farmhand after graduating from Boston University, was caught completely off-guard when told Monday afternoon they were eliminating his position. “I’ve spent about half my life with this organization, and before that with my dad (Bruce) working for them. The Oilers are a big part of my world. My kids (daughter Kennedy, 12 and son Bruce, 10), too. They took it harder than I thought they would,” said MacGregor, 48, who started in sales in 1989. His dad Bruce, the former NHL winger, used to be the Oilers assistant GM.

• It is too early to say the Senators have the best shot in the first pick in the draft lottery next June (the Sarnia Sting’s speedy Russian-born winger Nail Yakupov?) I feel bad for a good man, rookie head coach Paul MacLean, who’s at the wheel of this leaky ship in choppy seas. Hopefully, the same fate doesn’t befall him as another MacLean, John, last year in Jersey, when he finally got his first chance at a head job.

• Who does Jordan Eberle play like? “Reminds me a lot of Joey Mullen. Same size, same great release,” said Coates, of the Hall of Famer Mullen, who scored 502 goals. Can’t argue with that comparison.

• Former Oilers assistant coach Wayne Fleming, who had surgery on a brain tumour last season while working for the Tampa Bay Lightning, is back at his home in Calgary, recuperating with his family there. “He’s battling hard and making progress every day, with great support from Tampa. He’s staying really positive,” said his good friend Ken Hitchcock, who spent three days with the vastly underappreciated Fleming a short time ago. “He’s one of those special coaches with a good feel. Some guys know the Xs and Os but they don’t have a feel for what happened,” said Hitchcock.

• I agree with TSN’s Darren Dreger that Rene Bourque would fetch something attractive because he’s a top six forward if the Calgary Flames wanted to move him, likely for a defenceman. Bourque has a very affordable cap hit of $3.33 million for five more years, but he’s only 29. Bourque is a bit streaky, but the Dallas Stars were able to swap James Neal, who isn’t as good, for Pittsburgh Penguins defenceman Alex Goligoski last year. Bourque would bring back at least that.

• The Oilers are saying all the right things about Gilbert Brule being in their plans — he is a good kid with a solid work ethic when he can stay healthy — but his chances of playing again here are slim. To bring him back from the Oklahoma City Barons of the American Hockey League, he’d be going on re-entry waivers where another team can get him for half price. Somebody’s going to grab him at $700,000 or $800,000 as a fourth-line guy. The Canucks have shown interest. The Rangers, too.

• Former Oilers farmhand Martin Gerber is the backup goalie in Vaxjo in the Swedish Elite League, probably not what he had in mind. He has played two of 12 games. Per Hallberg is the No. 1 ’tender. Liam Reddox has six points in 12 games, same as former Oklahoma City farmhand Brad Moran in Vaxjo. If you’re a Rob Schremp fan, he’s 15th in league scoring with nine points in 12 games for the Markus Naslund/Peter Forsberg MoDo team.

• One of the reasons local boy Jared Spurgeon is so good at about 170 pounds and five-foot-nine: he uses a long stick. He used it to sweep the puck to safety on a dandy toe-drag move by Eberle Thursday in the Minnesota Wild game. He’s not going to win any physical battles with, say, Ryan Getzlaf down low, but he uses his stick to poke a lot of pucks away. “You get Getzlaf down low, it doesn’t matter who you are, he’s tough. But if you’ve got a big heart and you’re smart enough, you find a way,” said Wild GM Chuck Fletcher, who feels luck smiled on his club when they got the free-agent Spurgeon. “We only brought him in last year (on a tryout) to try to win the prospects tournament at Traverse City (Mich.).”

• When told he was on pace for 90 points, Edmonton Oil Kings Slovak-born defenceman Martin Gernat blanched. “Maybe I can get 50,” said the Oilers fifth-round draft pick last June. Fifty is a lot for a D-man in junior these days, but it pales to the times of Hawgie Hockey in Kamloops. The St. Albert native Greg Hawgood had 119 and 138-point seasons playing for Hitchcock in Kamloops.

• Best draft prospect in the Alberta Junior Hockey League might be Sherwood Park Crusaders forward Peter Quenneville, who is related to Chicago Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville and leads the AJHL in scoring. He’s committed to Quinnipiac University in Connecticut, where Oilers draft pick Kellen Jones and former AJHL star Reese Rolheiser play.

Dean
M.Ed (Coaching)
Ch.P.C. (Chartered Professional Coach)
Game Intelligence Training
"Great education depends on great teaching."

[hockeygod]

Canucks look to rekindle transition game

MATTHEW SEKERES, Globe and Mail, Oct. 23, 2011

The way Kevin Bieksa sees it, the Vancouver Canucks should be attacking with four skaters every time they skate toward the opponent’s end.

Bieksa and Dan Hamhuis formed one of the NHL’s best defensive pairings last season, but they were quickly split when the Canucks got off to a slow start in 2011-12. Bieksa now teams with the like-minded Keith Ballard, who similarly shines at skating into the rush and joining forwards deep in the offensive zone.

Christian Ehrhoff, a free-agent loss to the Buffalo Sabres, brought 50 points last season by doing likewise, and leading Vancouver’s power play. This year, the team needs to replace Ehrhoff’s production from the blueline, and for Bieksa, that means he and Ballard have green lights.

“It seems like one of us is always up in the play and it’s been a lot of fun,” Bieksa said. “Between the two of us, at least one of us should be in the rush every single time. That’s the way we feel.

“We both like to skate, we both like to get up there. So, one guy has been going every shift, and it has worked out well for us. It has generated a lot of chances.”

While Bieksa highlights the upside, there remains a downside involving too many odd-man rushes against because one of them is caught in enemy territory. He and Ballard are a combined minus-12 on the season, although that has more to do with defensive zone coverage.

“Sometimes it’s easier to play together when you think the same,” Ballard said. “Both of us are good enough skaters to get back, and when you can do that, you can get up in the play.”

Should these pairings pay off, than Bieksa and Ballard would likely be the No. 2 unit, with Hamhuis and Alexander Edler commanding the heaviest minutes.

In one respect, their partnership is one of the steady-eddie Hamhuis and the would-be steady Eddy. Hamhuis is the team’s best defensive defenceman, while Edler has the most all-round upside. At times, he is the full package. Other times, he seems out of sorts.

He has been moved to the right side of the ice, which may seem subtle, but comes with adjustments. The Canucks are challenging Edler, while giving him a security-blanket partner in Hamhuis, the team’s best stay-at-home type.

“I think [Edler] is more comfortable on that left side, but I’m liking the balance with those defensive pairs right now,” coach Alain Vigneault said. “Hopefully, as he gets more experience on the right side, he might get better.”

Edler has dabbled on the right side, but he played almost exclusively on the left flank last year. Last Thursday, in a 5-1 victory over the Nashville Predators, the 25-year-old Swede looked tentative and unsure of his position, even in a two-point night.

“When they’re coming down on the rush, on the left side, you have the stick out to shut off the middle a little easier,” Edler said. “There are a lot of things to get used to on the right side … [but] a lot of times, when you get the puck in the offensive zone, you have your stick on the ice and are pretty much ready to shoot every time.”

Edler said Hamhuis’s reliability should allow him to explore more offence, and if it all gels, then a big beneficiary will be 37-year-old Sami Salo. The Canucks talked about managing his ice time this season, but he has five points in eight games and his booming point shot, which scored the game-winning goal Saturday in a 3-2 victory over the Minnesota Wild, is still a big weapon to a power play that must replace Mikael Samuelsson on the right point.

Serving on the third pair limits Salo’s even-strength shifts, and allows him to log more minutes on special teams. The Canucks traded Samuelsson, who played on the first power-play unit, and winger Marco Sturm to the Florida Panthers for left wing David Booth Saturday, so Salo will be counted on to fill Samuelsson’s power-play role.

Dean
M.Ed (Coaching)
Ch.P.C. (Chartered Professional Coach)
Game Intelligence Training
"Great education depends on great teaching."

[hockeygod]

Paul Kelly on the state of junior hockey

Sportsnet Staff, October 25, 2011

Paul Kelly, executive director of College Hockey Inc., says that he and many others support Hockey Canada president Bob Nicholson’s proposed rule change that has the hockey world buzzing.

Nicholson recently suggested that the NHL should change the age of draft eligibility from 18 to 19 (excluding players chosen in the first round).

Kelly and those in favour of the rule change argue that the NHL and NHLPA need to examine what's best for young players and the game of hockey.

"From the standpoint of helping the sport as a whole, across the globe and at all levels of hockey — junior, college, pro — I think it makes a lot of sense," Kelly said.

"Take last year's draft, how many 18-year olds from last spring's draft are still on NHL rosters today? The answer is six."

Kelly said that the change wouldn't affect a blue chip prospect's chances of making the NHL at 18, and that it could be beneficial to the league's veteran players.

"You're always going to have a handful of guys that are so exceptional that they can play at the age of 18. But for the most part it's a rare kid that can crack into the National Hockey League until he's 19, 20, 21, perhaps 22," Kelly said.

"On the other end, the NHLPA has a responsibility to represent all players, prospective future players and existing players. By raising the draft age one year, you're in fact helping a segment of your membership. You're giving some of the more senior guys in the league an opportunity to extend their career at least another year."

The issue will ultimately be decided by the NHL and NHLPA, but Kelly insists it's the right move.

"On behalf of the colleges in the United States, the 58 programs that I represent, they strongly favour the proposal advanced by Bob Nicholson," Kelly added.

Another issue Kelly addressed is the accusation that some Canadian CHL players reneged on agreements they had to play for U.S. college programs after certain CHL franchises allegedly paid them to play in the CHL instead.

Kelly said that he recently spoke with CHL commissioner David Branch to discuss this issue. According to Kelly, both he and Branch agreed that it is not a widespread problem and they believe it can be resolved and eradicated.

"I do think there (are) a few teams that are doing something which is off the books and not in compliance with their league rules. I don't think any of the other owners approve of that," Kelly said.

In addition to being against CHL rules, Kelly said that it is unfair to the college programs that lose out on these players, who have already committed.

"From our perspective in NCAA hockey, if a kid commits and then he breaks that commitment for, among other reasons, the fact that somebody's giving him a big bag of cash, that just shouldn't happen," Kelly added.

Kelly and Branch will meet in person in Toronto two weeks from now to further discuss this and other issues.

Dean
M.Ed (Coaching)
Ch.P.C. (Chartered Professional Coach)
Game Intelligence Training
"Great education depends on great teaching."

[hockeygod]

HODGEMAIL: SHOULD VISOR USE BE DECIDED ONLY BY THE PLAYERS?

TSN.CA Staff, 10/25/2011

It's a debate in hockey that's older than head shots and no-touch icing.

The issue is the use of visors – and it came up again after Monday's game between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Philadelphia Flyers.

In the first period, Flyers defenceman Chris Pronger and Toronto's Mikhail Grabovski sprinted for a loose puck. Grabovski slapped at the puck and his stick connected with Pronger's stick and the blade went straight up into Pronger's face.

Screaming in pain, Pronger quickly clutched his face and went straight to the dressing room. The Flyers hope their captain – who complained of blurred vision after the incident – will get back in two to three weeks depending on how the injury heals and said that he will need to wear a visor to be cleared to play.

"I think he was very scared and rightly so," GM Paul Holmgren told the Associated Press. "When something like that happens to your eye, you're worried about what's going on."

Which begs the age-old question – should Pronger (like any of his fellow NHLers who still skate on the ice with just a helmet) have worn a visor in the first place?

A lot of players feel the use of visors restrict their vision on the ice and affect their play. The league and players' association have done their best to educate them on health and equipment-related decisions, but wearing a visor is still a choice that a player makes on his own.

Is it time to take that stance a step or two further?

So here's Dave's question to you – "Should the use of visors be decided solely by the players themselves?"

Dean
M.Ed (Coaching)
Ch.P.C. (Chartered Professional Coach)
Game Intelligence Training
"Great education depends on great teaching."

[hockeygod]

Goalie mask changes needed, plus 30 Thoughts

By Elliotte Friedman, CBC Sports, October 24, 2011

It's been almost a decade since a shot off Mike Richter's head ended his NHL career and teams are still fighting with their goalies over mask safety.

"Someone could go out there wearing Jacques Plante's mask from 1960, and there's nothing we can do about it," one GM said last week. That's true. The league and its netminders built consensus on pads, chest protectors and gloves but there is no agreement on masks.

That is going to change. And, this is one situation where the GMs are correct. In the last 10 months, $118 million worth of goalies (Rick DiPietro, Ryan Miller and Jonas Hiller) were injured by shots off the mask. (And Pekka Rinne was very lucky to escape serious damage when his was smashed in the preseason.) I understand that these goalies want to be comfortable in their equipment, but there has to be a sensible solution.

It's the most important position on the ice. And, they fought equipment changes for years, saying that the new one-piece sticks made their existence more dangerous. It defies logic, then, to allow below-standard protection around the head.

DiPietro wore one of the newer-style masks until his ill-advised decision to fight Brent Johnson last February. DiPietro's face was so damaged by the punch that he had to switch to one of the old-school Osgood/Healy masks. (The newer-style ones sit on the cheekbones and, with the plates installed into his face, it was too uncomfortable for him.)

The Islanders deny this, but word is that they tried everything to dissuade DiPietro from wearing it. Ironically, a new one with thicker interior padding was ordered, but hadn't arrived by the time Brian Rolston's shot hit him in the helmet. (Rolston's pretty dangerous. He also hit Miller.)

The NHL and its GMs want three things: an inability for sticks/pucks to get through holes in the cage; proof that the forehead/jaw of a mask can withstand the force of a Zdeno Chara blast; and a minimum of 1/2-inch foam inside the shell.

None of those things is guaranteed now. For example, it's believed goalies are shaving the foam down to as little as 1/4-inch so their eyes can be closer to the puck.

The league could also suggest approving several prototypes that goalies would be allowed to choose from. Much of the dispute surrounds the makers themselves. For example, the masks we showed on Hotstove came from Eddy Schulz, the Toronto-based maker of "Eddymasks." His product is very well-respected. Hiller's mask is made by a Swiss friend of his, and that's a real concern, because no one really has an idea of the quality control.

"This should not be about comfort," the above GM said. "This should be about safety first, and then comfort."

The GMs are determined to get this into the new CBA. but it shouldn't get to that point. The goalies have resisted change over the past several years. That attitude, however, no longer makes sense.

Their position is too important to allow improper protection.

30 THOUGHTS

1. It's not only masks that will be an issue. The GMs also want players wearing gloves with lengthier wrist protection and Kevlar-protected socks. Reason: skate-blade cuts, like the one to Mike Cammalleri in Winnipeg.

2. Plenty of rumours that Columbus ownership is considering forcing a change behind the bench — bringing back Ken Hitchcock. The team is paying him $1.3 million on a deal ending after this season. Don't see how this would be anything but a lose-lose for everyone involved — the players, Hitchcock, GM Scott Howson, everybody. They didn't mesh before and it's hard to see that improving in a difficult time. Good ownership would not make this kind of decision. If you're going to make a change, find a fresh voice.

3. Tough spot for James Wisniewski. Guaranteed to come under scrutiny because of the big contract, now he's coming back with the team at rock bottom. Fans will be praying for a saviour. I've written this before, but the best thing about him is that he's supremely confident in his own ability. It's clear Columbus needs that right now.

4. Anaheim/Phoenix played Sunday night with only one referee, as Steve Kozari's eyes swelled up due to an allergic reaction. (Ugh, sounds gross. Get well, Steve.) As a result, Brad Watson did the game alone. Apparently, the players loved it.

5. Take a look at David Booth's goals. You'll notice he's a catch-and-shoot player (and he's got a great shot). He rarely carries the puck, unless he's doing so to drive the net. There was a feeling in Florida that he was overthinking — trying to do other things instead of getting it and firing. The key for the Canucks will be getting him back to that.

6. As for Booth breaking down and crying, that's not uncommon. Patrick Kane teared up when Denis Savard was fired; didn't stop him from winning a Cup with Joel Quenneville. Aaron Hill cried when traded from the Blue Jays, then hit 90 points higher in Arizona. It'll be fine.

7. Florida is trying to spin this as a trade for now, but one thing this does allow is one of their high-level prospects to play in a top-six position next year. Jonathan Huberdeau is tearing up the Quebec League and Nick Bjugstad has five goals in six games at the University of Minnesota. (Quinton Howden is another possibility, although he is battling a concussion now.)

8. Believe there was one other team sniffing around Booth. That's got Toronto written all over it, but the Maple Leafs say, "No sir."

9. October is consistently one of Roberto Luongo's worst months of the year, statistically. (Exception: his first season in Vancouver. That October was pretty good.) That's the main reason the Canucks aren't getting caught up in this early season anti-Luongo firestorm.

10. If Mike Gillis really wants to get back at The Vancouver Province, maybe the Canucks website should start running classifieds.

11. Highest phone bill in Canada? Got to be Jay Feaster's. Here's the problem: the guy who everyone would love is not available. Even if Mark Giordano didn't have a no-move clause, the Flames wouldn't trade him.

12. Remember one thing about first-year players as the 10-game mark approaches: It's about the player's 10th game, not the team's. Senators GM Bryan Murray may sit Mika Zibanejad to delay a decision. That's why it's not the end of the world if Edmonton sits Ryan Nugent-Hopkins for a night or two (and I'd be shocked if he went back to junior). If the player benefits by watching a little while being able to practice with pros, why not?

13. Only Flyers with more penalty-kill time than Sean Couturier? Kimmo Timonen, Max Talbot and Chris Pronger. He's earned trust.

14. Here's the deal with Oren Koules: Koules was involved in Matt Hulsizer's attempt to buy the Phoenix Coyotes before that deal fell apart. There are some serious questions as to whether or not the St. Louis deal will happen. "No guarantee," two different sources said. But, if it does, Koules will be a partner.

15. Koules really wants back into the NHL, but there were two concerns in Tampa. First was that he couldn't support the losses on his own. That won't be addressed until more about the partnership is understood. Second was his choice of GM. If he does take over here, he'd be smart to leave the current group in place.

16. Once in a while, Jacques Martin drops the comatose act and let's you know what he really thinks about a player. Saturday night, be snapped at a reporter who asked why Mathieu Darche was on the power-play instead of Erik Cole. "If you look at your stats last year, how many goals did Erik Cole score on the power play?" he said. (Answer: 3) Darche had two, in 23 fewer games.

17. Cole said a few weeks ago that Montreal's forecheck was an adjustment for him. The second forechecker in Carolina's system is supposed to be aggressive. Not so much in Montreal. Don't know if that's still problematic, but it's clear Cole is not having the hoped impact.

18. Two years ago, Martin had the Canadiens in the Stanley Cup semifinal. Last year, they went seven games in the first round with the eventual champion. Firing him is way too premature. But, he does have to calm down PK Subban and Josh Gorges. Their hearts are in the right place, but with the injuries on defence those guys are trying to do everything.

19. That is Montreal's biggest issue — the beaten-up blueline. Problem is, there are so many teams looking for defensive help and, after what happened last year in Vancouver, teams want to keep their depth. St. Louis is looking and Tampa was too, especially when there was doubt about Eric Brewer's health. And, when you're drowning, other GMs are happy to throw you an anvil.

20. Totally agreed with Shea Weber being fined without a suspension. He came up with two boarding penalties in two nights before his hearing. Now, he's been warned. When you're as physical a player as he is and have no prior history, you deserve slack.

21. A member of the Avalanche organization sat down with Paul Stastny after last season and advised him to improve his foot speed. "He told me I'd be a more dangerous player," Stastny said, being better prepared to do things like charge in behind the play to create scoring chances. Stastny listened, spending the summer doing plyometrics.

22. Who was this advisor? He smiled and wouldn't say. But I'd bet his name rhymes with Moe Trakic.

23. More Gabriel Landeskog love: "You'd think he's been in the league five years," said one teammate.

24. The Red Wings showed a really interesting five-on-three power-play look last Friday against Columbus. As Niklas Kronwall held the puck at the left point, both Henrik Zetterberg and Nicklas Lidstrom lined up to his right along the blueline. Kronwall passed once and Zetterberg shot it. They tried it again, and Zetterberg let it go to Lidstrom, who shot it. Didn't score there, but it's creative and going to cause a lot of problems. Jeff Blashill, one of the new assistants, used that setup at Western Michigan.

25. Last weekend, Detroit followed the Toronto model of putting your starter against the team you should beat. The Red Wings used Jimmy Howard against Columbus and Ty Conklin in Washington. The Maple Leafs had James Reimer against Winnipeg and Jonas Gustavsson in Boston. Both won at home and lost by a combined 13-3 on the road.

26. There's some real debate about that strategy — the biggest complaint being that you put your backup in a situation where he can't succeed. Carolina did this last year with Cam Ward. The eight games he didn't start featured six playoff teams (Kings, Flyers, Penguins, Lightning, Blackhawks and Capitals.) Of course, they rest him in Winnipeg on Saturday and blow a 2-0 lead.

27. Tomas Vokoun really showed his value in that win over Detroit. Two huge saves: one on Pavel Datysuk with the game still scoreless, one on Daniel Cleary during a Red Wings 5-on-3. It was 3-1 Washington at that time, and a Cleary goal changes the complexion of the game.

28. Capitals fans were annoyed that Detroit being on the rear end of a back-to-back was used as an excuse. Remember this: the rematch is March 19. Washington plays in Chicago the day before. Detroit plays no one.

29. Hard not to be impressed with Tim Erixon in Calgary. Played 18:12, his most this season. Booed every time he touched the puck. Didn't get rattled. If I was a Calgary fan, I'd boo him too, because I'd wish he stayed.

30. Read Steve Simmons' book on David Frost and Mike Danton (The Lost Dream) in one day. Every minor-hockey parent should, too.

Dean
M.Ed (Coaching)
Ch.P.C. (Chartered Professional Coach)
Game Intelligence Training
"Great education depends on great teaching."

[hockeygod]

Confusion surrounds Habs' firing

By CHRIS STEVENSON, QMI Agency, Oct 26 2011

MONTREAL – Well, Perry Pearn has got some time on his hands now.

Fired as an assistant coach with the Montreal Canadiens 90 minutes before the Habs got their first home win of the season, maybe Pearn could head to one of those Occupy Wall Street protests. He could help protesters organize their power play or show them how to break out of their tented village.

Canadiens general manager Pierre Gauthier made it sound like Pearn was a victim of some kind corporate downsizing, a victim of the unjust world economy.

It had nothing to do with the Habs’ power play, ranked 29th in the league going into Wednesday's game, for which Pearn had at least shared responsibility.

It had little to do with the Canadiens’ poor start, which included an unprecedented five games at home without a win.

Gauthier sounded more like an executive at General Motors in charge of transmissions than a guy entrusted with an iconic sports and cultural institution whose performance right now has fans here running around the city like their red, white and blue hair is on fire.

“It’s more the result of a change from a global perspective, a big picture perspective. We need to be better at what we do. We need to be more efficient. In order to do that, that is one of the changes we decided to make,” said Gauthier.

OK.

The Habs were in the throes of their worst home start in history until Wednesday night’s win. Winger Max Pacioretty went from game-time decision with a sore wrist to scoring two goals and adding an assist while goaltender Carey Price played like last season's Carey Price in the 5-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers.

Price switched back to his white pads after going 0-2-2 while playing with pads that had pink accents on them. He wore them to promote cancer awareness month. He said after the game it was strongly suggested he make the switch.

“I don’t want to say who, but it came from pretty high up,” he said.

Which, after I tweeted that quote Wednesday night, several fans insisted the call came from The Big Guy himself.

If He actually cared, even He would be shaking his head over what is going on with la Sainte Flanelle.

Firing an assistant coach — especially one as respected as Pearn — hardly seems like the appropriate measure given the team had actually played decently lately.

Either do nothing or go all the way. Say, "look, we haven’t had some of our best players and we’re going to stay the course. We believe in this group." Or fire head coach Jacques Martin.

Maybe it was just as simple as Pearn’s vision, his philosophy, whatever, didn’t mesh with the rest of the group.

All of it Wednesday night — the timing, the victim, the explanation — was a touch on the bizarre side, no?

“We’re going to function out of the box a little more than we have. This is one thing that is part of that change,” said Gauthier.

This was out of the box and out of left field.

Randy Ladouceur, promoted along with Randy Cunneyworth to assistant jobs after Kirk Muller left in the off-season, was in Pearn’s place running the defence behind the Montreal bench Wednesday night.

Gauthier backed up Martin as his coach, said his players are still on board and said top defenceman Andrei Markov will return from Florida, where he has been rehabbing his knee for the last three weeks, Friday. Gauthier said Markov could be skating with the team as early as next week.

So, Pearn — whose teams never once failed to make the playoffs in his 14 years as an assistant (eight in Ottawa, four with the New York Rangers and two with the Habs) — takes the tumble and all those Habs fans who wanted somebody to pay a price for their team’s horrific start got thrown a bone.

Just guessing, but for most of them, that bone had the wrong name on it.

Dean
M.Ed (Coaching)
Ch.P.C. (Chartered Professional Coach)
Game Intelligence Training
"Great education depends on great teaching."

[hockeygod]

Should the NHL make visors mandatory?
Players on both sides of the fence

By RANDY SPORTAK, QMI Agency, Oct 26 2011

CALGARY – Niklas Hagman knows his decision to not wear a visor is nonsensical.

Yet, the Calgary Flames winger keeps playing without the protection.

"I have no good reason not to. When I wear one, it doesn't bother me at all, but for some reason, I take it off," Hagman said Wednesday. "To be honest, I should have one. I've got two eyes and have two kids and want to see them. It would be the smart thing to do, so I don't know why I don't."

The visor discussion becomes hot and heavy every year when a NHL player is injured by an errant high stick or puck to the face.

It's already happened this season, when Philadelphia Flyers captain Chris Pronger was injured Monday night when Mikhail Grabovski's stick caught him in the face.

Fortunately, Pronger is expected to make a full recovery without vision loss and return in a few weeks.

Only 10 of the 21 forwards on the current Flames roster wear visors, below the league average of 68%, according to figures released by the NHLPA.

"To me, it's really a no-brainer," said Flames centre Brendan Morrison, who wears a visor. "You're talking about your vision. Nobody ever intends to high-stick a guy, but there's a chance, so why not take away some risk if you can and protect yourself?

"If guys are saying it's to prove your tough, why not go and play without a cup on? That's tough. But why doesn't anyone play without a jock? Because it's stupid.

"I think the old-school mentality was that soft guys played with visors or European guys played with visors, but that's old-school thinking. I think we're much more aware and much more cognisant of safety in the game these days, especially with concussions at the forefront, but over the course of my career, there have been three, four, five, six guys who have had pretty serious eye injuries. My reasoning is to mitigate risk."

Still, there are those who don't plan to wear a visor as long as it's their call.

David Moss has gone back and forth with a visor, taking it off for good a couple of seasons ago.

"I feel more comfortable without one. I feel I can see better. It's my decision," Moss said.

And the Pronger incident can't sway him.

"I think it makes your family more worried than you are," he said. "Knock on wood those accidents are rare, and you don't want it to happen, and I know visors may prevent it, but we're grown men and can make a decision."

Defenceman Mark Giordano is in the same camp, although he acknowledges there may be a time players will be forced to wear visors.

"I think it's just an individual choice. As far as I go, my biggest issue with visors is in the middle of shifts when you get snow or water or spray on it, and having to adjust to it in the middle of a shift," he said. "In saying that, I have played with one before, in Russia, the world championships, and I know you can get used to it."

It was easy for Lee Stempniak, who wore a cage in university and was encouraged to wear a visor as a rookie with the St. Louis Blues.

"Sure enough, in my first day of practice — first intra-squad game — I took a stick right between the eyes. It would have cut me open, but it caught me in the visor. I've never thought about it since."

Dean
M.Ed (Coaching)
Ch.P.C. (Chartered Professional Coach)
Game Intelligence Training
"Great education depends on great teaching."

[hockeygod]

Kennedy: Mandatory visor rule is overdue

Ryan Kennedy, The Hockey News, 2011-10-26

So I’m about as hawkish as anyone in the THN office when it comes to fighting, violence and all those good things, but the visor debate doesn’t really seem like a debate anymore, does it?

The gruesome eye injury to Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Chris Pronger earlier this week provided a terrible yet perfect example of why visors should be mandatory and why the arguments against wearing one simply don’t fly.

I recognize toughness is sometimes questioned when players wear visors and peer pressure on the same topic makes a lot of young NHLers question whether or not they should wear a shield, but here’s the thing: The randomness of flying projectiles in hockey wipes out any correlation with toughness. The world’s strongest man is no match for a sniper rifle and even the biggest, nastiest hockey player – someone such as, say, Chris Pronger – can’t do anything about a puck getting deflected up the shaft of his stick or getting caught by a blade when an opponent follows through on a shot.

But clearly there is still resistance out there. As Montreal’s Travis Moen told the Globe and Mail this week, his enforcing duties with the undersized Canadiens make him pause about the visor issue: “With my role,” Moen said, “it can get in the way.”

But if visors were mandatory, every player who drops the gloves on occasion would be in the same boat. And why should only those who stick up for their teammates be exposed to the cruel physics of random puck deflections, high sticks or even skate blades when a player is upended dramatically by a collision? If you get punched in the face, it’s usually your own fault. A puck to the eye is a much different story.

Yeah, it’s tougher to fight with visors on but heck, since we’re on the subject, let’s get Bauer or Reebok on the job and figure out a solution. Maybe a visor that flips up like Dwayne Wayne’s sunglasses with the push of a button. Tearaway options are out there ­ maybe NHLers would wear those if properly educated on the product – I’m just spitballing here, I’m no design expert.

The other gripe about visors that never washed with me is how players claim they are uncomfortable wearing them. Particularly for youngsters coming into the league, they all wore visors in junior and if the players came from an NCAA background, they wore full cages or face shields. Now, a lot of NHLers put up huge points when they were teens, which is why they graduated to the Big Show in the first place. If they can do it at that level with a visor or cage on, why can’t they do it in the NHL?

And if you don’t care a lick about the well-being of players these days, be selfish and think about your own enjoyment. Losing the services of a star player because of something totally preventable would be incredibly frustrating for any fanbase, would it not?

As a matter of fact, owners and GMs should be leading the charge for visors, since it’s their fortunes that rest the most on player health. Injuries play havoc on a depth chart, so why blow the chance at a Stanley Cup because of something that can’t be accurately predicted? Because the stakes run from blindness and an end to a player’s career to a missed opportunity for playoff glory, it really doesn’t make sense to hold off on a visor mandate any longer.

Dean
M.Ed (Coaching)
Ch.P.C. (Chartered Professional Coach)
Game Intelligence Training
"Great education depends on great teaching."

[hockeygod]

FRASER: THE REQUIREMENTS OF BEING AN NHL REFEREE

Kerry Fraser, TSN.CA, Oct 26 2011

Mr. Fraser,

What physical criteria is involved in becoming (and maintaining) an NHL on-ice official – in terms of height, weight, age, etc.? They're not exactly the overweight umpires in baseball who keep a box of donuts in the dugouts to snack on between innings (LOL).

Anxiously awaiting your reply.

Uncle Greg DiLorenzo,
Holbrook, NY

Hey 'Uncle' Greg:

I don't know if you are looking to apply for the job but here are some of the attributes that the NHL Officiating Department looks for in their recruiting efforts throughout North America and around the world as recent as last season with the hiring of 39-year-old Marcus Vinnorborg from Lijungby, Sweden.

In each of the 2,165 NHL games that I refereed, I could always count on receiving "help" from the patrons on the other side of the glass (sometimes 20,000+ strong) that fashioned themselves as experts in the art of officiating. Anyone that thinks they can fill the job requirements please forward your applications to the NHL Officiating Department in Toronto.

Every sport is very demanding to officiate; each with its own unique challenges. If you don't believe me step into our world and umpire a Little League Baseball game or if you really want to challenge your aptitude (and patience) lace up your skates and blow a whistle in a youth hockey game. The coaches and fans that attend those games can be the most biased and difficult to deal with from all levels of sport – they are called 'parents!' Sarah Palin had it right when she described the only difference between a "Hockey Mom" and a pit-bull was lipstick!

With all due respect to my colleagues in the other major sports the game of hockey is the most difficult to officiate in of all sport. Movement in an athletic shoe on firm turf, field or hardwood is much more natural than skating on a thin skate blade on ice. The very first physical requirement of the job, Greg, is that of superior skating ability. This encompasses balance, agility, mobility, foot speed forward and backwards to place yourself in the very best possible position on the ice to see play and make the best possible judgment. This skill set is a must to also avoid player and puck contact in the confined 200 x 85 foot ice surface so as to not interfere with the game flow and to provide for personal safety.

Another physical requirement beyond athleticism is what you alluded to (LOL) relative to "donuts in the dugout" which implies that a high level of physical conditioning is a must. The NHL Officiating Department, under the direction of David T. Smith, Director of Medical and Fitness sets high personal standards that each official must maintain. Specific programs are created for either rehabilitation of injury or strength and conditioning no differently than the NHL teams provide for their players. Dave Smith performed in this capacity with the New York Rangers (Stanley Cup 1994) and Florida Panthers prior to joining League management.

At the annual training camp for officials, held in September each official, under Smith's direction, completes medicals followed by a rigorous fitness test before they hit the ice. The fitness test includes a VO2 Max test on the bike, Wingate test on the bike (a leg killer), flexibility (stretch and reach), shuttle run drill, sit-ups and push-ups.

Those of us that have existing medical conditions were checked over thoroughly and completed specific tests. As an example I have no ACL in my left knee and am bone on bone following five surgeries. My right knee also has minimal cartilage remaining following three surgeries. (I am attempting to avoid a fourth surgery following a slight tear suffered in Prague, where I opened my final season (2009-10) with the Rangers and Lightning.) As a result of these medical conditions I was required to complete a computer generated leg strength/speed evaluation test on the cybex machine each training camp.

In terms of physical size it is quite obvious that hiring practices have changed considerably since Ray Scapinello, Willie Norris and I were hired in the 1970's. At 5'7" I was the tallest of all three of us! If all abilities are relatively equal, size does matter; especially with regard to the linesmen. The "twin towers" of Mike Cvik and Shane Heyer top out at 6'9" without skates and helmets. Combined with their physical strength they have a commanding view from their vantage point on the ice. While few of the linesmen possess this height all of them are very strong physically and hit the gym on a regular basis throughout the season.

To give you an idea of range in age of the elder statesman of the NHL Officials Association is linesman Dan Schachte who is 53 years old and will hit the 2,000 game plateau this season. Dan played hockey at Wisconsin for the late Bob Johnson. The only other Centurion in the linesmen's ranks is Andy McElman. The youngest linesman is newly hired, 27-year-old Matt MacPherson from Antiginish, Nova Scotia.

A total of four referees have celebrated their 50th birthday or beyond. That list includes in order of age, Paul Devorski, Denis LaRue, Don Van Massenhoven and Brad Watson. The young pup in his first year under contract is 26-year-old Graham Skilliter from La Ronge, Saskatchewan.

As Father Time marches forward it is imperative that older officials work even harder to maintain their conditioning and foot speed if they are to continue in their current capacity.

Last but not least of all I think every hockey official must know the game and understand their specific roll within it. We recognize that no one pays to watch the referee call penalties or for the linesmen to drop pucks and break up fights. That being said the officials perform a vital service by upholding and maintaining the integrity of the game and keeping the environment safe and fair by enforcing the playing rules as are handed to them by the NHL Rules Committee and Board of Governors. This involves applying a broad authority in judgment that is handed to them. As we know it can be a thankless job given the subjective scrutiny that each call can be reviewed and measure by. Most often the task is performed very well if not to perfection; albeit in the imperfect world called hockey officiating.

As each referee works hard to give the game his very best each night out I am reminded of a couple of cliches that I heard when I signed my first contract with the NHL as a 21-year-old in 1973.

The first was from Hockey Hall of Fame Referee Frank Udvari who discovered me at a referee school after playing my final season of Jr. A hockey when he said:

"You are now a referee. This is the only job where you are expected to start your first game by being perfect and to get better each game after that!"

The other was from my friend Bill Beagan, who as Commissioner of the IHL watched me work my first game in his league in Dayton, Ohio that erupted into a bench clearing brawl.

Tommy McVie was the playing coach for the Dayton Gems and I had no idea what to do in this first time situation for me. The brawl last over 20 minutes and due to my lack of experience all I assessed was two roughing minors and two fighting majors when both benches emptied and everyone on the ice was fighting including the goalkeepers.

At the conclusion of the game, commissioner Bill Beagan kindly guided me in a teaching way as to what I should do when (not if) this situation was to present itself. Before he departed the officials' room he left me with this final thought that has stuck throughout all these years when he said:

"Kerry remember this, from experience you will acquire judgment; from poor judgment you will acquire experience!"

Some just might say I was the most experienced referee in the history of the game…

Dean
M.Ed (Coaching)
Ch.P.C. (Chartered Professional Coach)
Game Intelligence Training
"Great education depends on great teaching."

[hockeygod]

Ovie touts Oiler young guns

By ROBERT TYCHKOWSKI, QMI Agency, Oct 27 2011

EDMONTON – Alex Ovechkin knew the trio of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle had some moves, but even the most electrifying player in the league was caught off guard when he emerged from a film session Thursday morning.

“I watched the video for the first time and it’s pretty sick,” said the Capitals winger, as the Caps prepared for tonight’s marquee showdown at Rexall Place. “We’ll have to watch them pretty closely.”

Caps coach Bruce Boudreau, having a little fun with foregone conclusion that is Nugent-Hopkins staying with the Oilers this season, offered some advice to GM Steve Tambellini.

“They should send him down before tonight’s game,” he cracked. “This kid is great, what are you going to do? I’ve only seen him play live one game but he’s going to be really good.”

Boudreau, whose team can score a little bit, too, is expecting a thriller when a pair of teams with all this much offensive potential square off.

“We know they’re going to be ready to play, coming off a big win over Vancouver,” he said. “We can’t take them lightly.”

“It might be a case of who blinks,” offered Oilers coach Tom Renney, who’s looking forward to seeing how his team stacks up againt the 7-0 Caps. “We have a lot to learn still as a team, there’s no doubt about that, and we will learn a lot through tonight’s game.”

LATE HITS … Nugent-Hopkins will accompany the team to Colorado to play his 10th game Friday.

“We’ll play the game tonight,” said Renney. “And do the right thing,”… Theo Peckham will draw in for injured defenceman Ryan Whitney and Nikolai Khabibulin will start his fourth game in a row.

Dean
M.Ed (Coaching)
Ch.P.C. (Chartered Professional Coach)
Game Intelligence Training
"Great education depends on great teaching."

[hockeygod]

A veteran's advice:
Bill Guerin looks back at the NHL lockout with regret and realization

Michael Grange, Sportsnet.ca, October 27 2011

It seems that sooner rather than later the NBA will reach a deal with its players and lift their four-month lockout.

Watching from a distance Bill Guerin, a veteran of the NHL lockout and former NHLPA hardliner can only say it should be sooner: A season — even a single payday — is a terrible thing to waste.

Presuming an NBA deal gets done, the NHL will remain the only professional sports league to sit out an entire season.

Looking back Guerin, 41, is adamant that they should remain the only one.

When it comes to battles between millionaire players and their billionaire owners the players are in a fight they can't win.

"You have to fight for every percentage point, but you also have to know when to cut your losses," the 18-year NHL veteran told me over the phone. "My point is that it's not worth burning a year fighting over two per cent. Go ahead; burn the year on two per cent. That's great, but you're never going to make up that two per cent. You would be better off taking two-per cent less and making your money."

Are NBA players listening? Maybe. There are a number of issues at work in their dispute with ownership, but primarily it's about how much of the NBA's roughly $4-billion in basketball-related revenue will be shared and what means will be used to share it.

The players were getting 57 per cent of BRI (basketball related income) in their old deal and owners want them to lower their cut to 50 per cent. The players for the longest time have made 53 per cent their line in the sand until recently walking off in a huff when owners rejected their offer of 52.5 per cent (each percentage point is about $40-million annually).

Until the two sides began talking again on Wednesday with encouraging noises being made by each side, it seemed the entire season was hanging on that relatively small gap.

The thought of it makes Guerin shudder as he relives the bitter NHL lockout that sent the 2004-05 season up in smoke. He was front-and-centre as a union vice president and loyal lieutenant to then NHLPA executive director Bob Goodenow.

He was as dug in as anyone else, but now looks back with regret and realization.

"There's a partnership in the sense that we share the revenue; we're trying to grow the game, that kind of thing," Guerin says over the phone from Long Island. "But it's their league. I'm retired. It's not my league, but they're still there. They own the teams. They control what's going on, that's the bottom line."

His message to NBA players and to NHL players who may well be in a similar fight when their current deal expires after this season?

Get a deal done. Like it or not you're in a minority partnership. Focus on growing the business rather than dictating the terms, and if that means giving up more than you would like in a deal, so be it.

"If you get too stubborn and you don't want to be open minded about it, you're only hurting yourself," he says. "Better to take a little bit of a haircut than get your whole head shaved."

It's a reversal won of experience. The NHLPA splintered under the weight of a full year out of work and the looming prospect of a second season lost. At the time Guerin admits he looked down at players who split from the hard-line the union had taken against the implementation of a salary cap. No longer.

He lost a full year's salary at $6.7-million and after a season off the ice and in the boardroom he never got completely back into top playing shape the following year. His contract was bought out and that cost him another $2.3-million.

Hockey players are bred to think team first and fight for every inch of ice; get stitched up and keep playing. Pick up those teeth, give them to the trainer, and keep playing.

That mentality helped the NHLPA stay unified for longer and under greater duress than any other sports union has in recent times, but it may ultimately have cost them, as much as it pains Guerin to admit it now.

"When you're right in the middle of it, it's emotional, it's hard," he said. "Hockey players are the ultimate team players and we'll buy in and go to war, but you know what? Individual guys have to do what's right for their families and do what's right for them. To me it's playing."

The NHL's fight was over the change from a free market for player salaries to a hard salary cap in one fell swoop. In the end, they seemed to have lost everything as the owners got their hard cap and got a 24 per cent wage roll back right off the top.

But a funny thing happened: League revenues have grown and all of a sudden a journeyman like James Wisneiwski can command a $33-million over six years from the small market Columbus Blue Jackets. Budding superstars like Drew Doughty can sign a $56-million contract at age 21.

"They say think of the next generation," says Geurin. "The next generation seems to be doing okay."

Geurin is as well. He's a player development coach with the Pittsburgh Penguins. He's got time at home with his four young kids. He looked after the money he earned when he played.

He just wishes he had his lost year back. He doesn't know any NBA players personally, but he knows what they're going through and doesn't want another athlete to go through what he and his peers did.

"It's a year without the game," he says. "You think about stuff like that when you get older."

Dean
M.Ed (Coaching)
Ch.P.C. (Chartered Professional Coach)
Game Intelligence Training
"Great education depends on great teaching."

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