Articles

[hockeygod]

THN at the WJC: Sweden subdues Russia for gold

Ryan Kennedy, The Hockey News, 2012-01-06

If Canada needed a blueprint to beat Russia, it came a game too late, as Sweden showed how it’s done in the final game of the World Junior Championship in Calgary.

The Canucks instead settled for bronze, beating a Finnish team that improved vastly after losing to Canada 8-1 in the round robin, but the result was still a 4-0 shutout. And just as the Swedes could teach Canada a lesson, the Canadians took Finland to school by showing Suomi just how to play a gritty game to perfection.

The Finns appeared to be dark horses for gold in the tourney after their upset of Team USA in the round robin and the mixture of skill (Mikael Granlund, Joel Armia) and grit (Miikka Salomaki, Jani Hakanpaa) bode well for them. They looked to have the elements of many great Canadian junior teams, in fact. But you can’t out-Canuck the Canucks and a couple goals from Canada’s Barrie Colts connection of Tanner Pearson and Mark Scheifele put the game largely out of reach. At times, the Finns looked as if they would let their tempers get the best of them as several skirmishes came as near to fights as the medal round would see.

Though the Canadians will have remorse over the slow start and lack of physicality that doomed them against Russia in the semifinal, closing out the tournament with a win was admirable to see from a group accustomed to playing for gold.

“We wanted to go home with something,” said Brandon Gormley, a tournament all-star. “I thought we did a good job of coming out with the emotion that we needed to play with. We had the right battle level.”

The Swedes bested Russia by hemming in tournament MVP Evgeny Kuznetsov, outskating their opponent and pressuring at every juncture.

“It’s difficult to say anything,” Kuznetsov said. “The shots after two periods were something like 37-5. It would have been unfair for us to win.”

The fact Sweden had come back from three goals down to beat Russia at the end of the round robin stage of the tourney laid the foundation for Thursday’s 1-0 OT victory. A very specific strategy was drawn up and executed.

“We tried to forecheck hard and cover the boards with the two other guys,” said 2012 draft prospect Filip Forsberg. “And I think we had a lot of success with that during the game.”

And when necessary, the Swedes got great goaltending from Minnesota Wild prospect Johan Gustafsson, who had been only so-so in the tournament before the final. While his counterpart, Andrei Makarov, was peppered with shots all evening, Gustafsson had to bide his time and stay sharp despite the fact the first flurry of pucks he faced all night came in the third period. And with less than a minute remaining in regulation, he made a huge move to his left to repel a Russian tip-in on his doorstep by Nikita Gusev.

That stop enabled Sweden to take the game to overtime, where Ottawa Senators first-rounder Mika Zibanejad scooped up the puck off Nikita Kucherov at the Russian blueline and popped a backhander past Makarov just before defender Artem Sergeev could arrive at the scene. It earned Sweden just its second world junior gold and the first since 1981. More importantly for the kids involved, it proved a point.

“It means that we can win as well,” said Anaheim prospect and tournament all-star Max Friberg. “It’s not just Russia and Canada and the U.S. Sweden can win this tournament.”

And with Forsberg, Sebastian Collberg and several other marquee names eligible to return next year, a proper defense of the crown is assured when the tourney moves on to Ufa, Russia for 2013.

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

[hockeygod]

FRASER: WHAT HAPPENS WHEN AN OFFICIAL IS INJURED?

Kerry Fraser, TSN, Jan 6 2012

Hello Kerry,

Big time Leaf fan so I've hated you since 1993, but I love your column and I'm willing to reconsider!

In the other night's Canucks-Wild game, linesmen Thor Nelson was injured with a cut hand and received some medical attention from the Canucks' bench.
Minutes later, there was a possible offside as Vancouver entered the Minnesota zone. I looked to the linesman for the call but noticed he was behind the play and out of position. I was very surprised! NHL linesmen are always right on the line!

That's when I realized someone was missing. Only three officials remained on the ice. With eight minutes to go and Vancouver up 2-0 the game carried on and I doubt many fans in the building noticed.

The remaining linesman Vaughn Rody was a champ as he skated end to end several times chasing icing calls and nearly had to step into an altercation involving Boom Boom Bieksa and one of the Wild players. Kudos to him for keeping the game rolling!

What is the policy when an official is injured?

Thanks Stripes,
Chris Marshall,
Vancouver, BC

—–

Hey Chris:

Thanks for at least reconsidering. I appreciate the second chance – my family says I can be very lovable.

During the Stanley Cup Playoffs there is always a backup referee in attendance. His responsibility is to watch the game on television in the officials' room, dressed in all his gear minus skates and ready to spring into action in the event of an injury. In series deciding games there is both a referee and linesman backup assigned.

In regular season games, unless an official has a night off in that city and decides to take a busman's holiday by attending the game, when an official is injured and has to leave the ice the crew works one man short. There's no time and a half pay for what Vaughn Rody did; the remaining guys really have to step it up.

I have been involved in several situations such as this throughout my career; both in one referee-two linesman system as well as the two and two. My good friend Thor Nelson had to leave the ice another time; this one in Denver after being struck by a wicked slap shot right in the middle of his back after an end zone faceoff he had just conducted. The impact of the puck fractured the vertebrae in his back. The poor guy was in such horrible pain that I got his room key and checked on him throughout the night. The next day he had to be helped onto the plane get home to his doctor. Thor's line partner filled the void and we assisted him with icing signals and line coverage wherever possible.

If a referee is injured and forced to leave the game the other ref goes back to the old system of chasing the play from goal line to goal line. With the red line now removed odds are that the lead linesman will be on the goal line covering for the referee and awaiting his arrival. When a linesman is injured the remaining linesman must cover both blue lines which is an incredibly difficult task given the speed through the neutral zone and the quick transition game that practically every team employs.

In the one referee-two linesmen system we also had to concern ourselves with an offside pass at the red line. At least Vaughn didn't have worry about that aspect of coverage with the red line being a non factor other than for icing the puck.

I have a funny story for you Chris on a 'serious injury' that never fortunately didn't occur. I was assigned to work a game in old Buffalo Aud with linesmen Ron 'The Bear' Asselstine and Dan McCourt. A fight broke out and as the guys were rolling around on the ice 'The Bear' stood up, grabbed his leg with both hands in a tight grip and showed me a skate slash clean through his outer pant and inner thigh pad.

With a look of shock on his face and bright red colour visible through the tear in his pants he said, "Kerry, I think I cut an artery". I told him to rush off the ice which he promptly did.

I went to Scotty Bowman, behind the Sabres bench and the visiting team coach and told them that Ron appeared to be seriously injured and that we would continue with just two officials. I solicited their players' cooperation and I dropped the puck in the end zone. (In this system the referee would conduct all end zone face offs so the linesman could remain on the blue line.)

With play underway I noticed 'The Bear' standing behind the glass at the door leading to the Sabres dressing room. When play stopped the door opened and Ron Asselstine stepped back onto the ice.

I said, "Bear, what are you doing back so soon if your artery was cut?" Bear, looking somewhat embarrassed bemoaned, "It was just my red underwear that was exposed!" Chief McCourt and I never let him forget it.

Ron Asselstine was one tough guy though. He charged a fan that came onto the ice during a stoppage and was about to do some damage to referee Bill McCreary when 'The Bear' headed him off at the goal line, driving his helmet into the guys back and slamming him into the boards. Bear rag-dolled the B's fan and tossed him off the open door where security dragged the guy away. Google it and you'll see it was the hardest anyone has ever been hit from behind on NHL ice.
Officials are tougher than you might think and work through a lot of injuries. All the guys have worked hurt or sick on many occasions and refuse to leave the ice unless the bone is poking through the skin.

With fifteen seconds remaining in the first period in a game in Atlanta I fractured a cheek bone after being struck by a deflected puck off the goalie stick of Stephane Fiset. I immediately grabbed my face and my finger sunk into the wound and I felt bone.

I was on the goal line near the Zamboni door so as play continued I banged on the glass, they opened the door and I stepped off the ice as the horn sounded and was escorted directly to the Thrashers medical room.

After an X-ray the Thrashers doc told me I had a 'non-displaced' fracture of the cheek bone and that I was done for the night. Eric 'Big Train' Vail stopped by the medical room to say hi as I was being stitched up and supported me in my argument with the doctor that I was going back on the ice.

I finally won the argument by saying to the doctor, "Non-displaced means it's not going anywhere right doc? So if I was a player and had to play what would you do?" The team doctor said, "If our player had to play, we would put a visor on him and send him back out."

That was just the answer I was looking for. I said, "Doc since I don't wear a helmet please have the equipment guy get me one with a visor because I have to go back out."

By the end of the third period my left eye was closed but I was able to complete the game and assist my partner Rob Martell. Marty told me it was my bad eye anyway so nothing changed!

Whenever the officiating crew loses a man through injury the players do cooperate and generally cut the guys some slack. They know it's a tough job at the best of time, let alone when you are down a man.

When an official goes down all of his teammates dig deep and attempt to support one another to maintain coverage. You could almost liken it to a team having to kill a penalty or worse yet more like a five on three. Compounding the difficulty of being down a man for the officials is that they are short handed for the remainder of the game.

Great job, 'Road Kill' – and excellent question Chris.

NBC Sports Update: In addition to my continuing regular duties with TSN I will appear this evening on NBC Sports as an intermission analyst with my friend Pierre McGuire on the NCAA College Hockey Broadcast immediately followed by NHL Overtime from NBC studio in Stamford, CT.

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

[hockeygod]

Swedes end 30-year drought at world juniors with win over Russians

Allan Maki, Globe and Mail, Jan. 06, 2012

They had stared at the photograph in their dressing room for most of the tournament. It was a picture taken 31 years ago, one full of Swedish heroes. Hakan Nordin. Patrik Sundstrom. Jan Erixon. All-star goalie Lars Eriksson. All members of the only team to have won a gold medal for Sweden at the world junior hockey championships.

And now there are two.

Sweden’s newest hockey heroes were born Thursday night at the Scotiabank Saddledome. They didn’t just win the gold medal; they defeated the defending champions from Russia 1-0 in overtime to win a gold medal for the ages. It was, the record books showed, the first time the two countries had met in a world junior gold medal game.

The game-winning goal came courtesy of Mika Zibanejad, who stole the puck off the boards and Russian forward Nikita Gusev. In a flash, Zibanejad cut to the net, made his move and slipped the puck past Russian goaltender Andrei Makarov at 10:09 of overtime.

Promising a better celebration than teammate Max Friberg, who had ridden his stick after a four-goal outing earlier in the tournament, Zibanejad tossed his gloves and embraced his on-rushing teammates. Better than his happy bedlam was his prediction.

Before the game and again before overtime, Zibanejad told his teammates he was going to score and end their waiting.

“You have to decide if you want to win this,” said Zibanejad. “And when I said it in the morning it was a joke. But obviously it’s not a joke any more.”

“We were determined we were going to win this tournament and we did,” said winger Max Friberg, who had mentioned the photograph of the 1981 Swedish team days before. “It’s big for hockey in Sweden that we win. It’s been 31 years now so I hope everybody cheered for us in Sweden.”

The game was closer than it should have been thanks, in part, to how Russian head coach Valeri Bragin juggled his goaltenders. First, he pulled starter Andrei Vasilevski at a critical moment in Tuesday’s semi-final against Team Canada. So steady for 40 minutes, Vasilevski surrendered four goals in the third period and was scrubbed in favour of Makarov, who had been sitting on the bench for three games.

Makarov got the starting assignment against Sweden. Thanks to his often spectacular work, the Russians were able to reach overtime despite being badly outshot.

“It was a very hard game,” Bragin said. “A lot of emotions were spent of the Czech and Canada [games prior to the gold medal finale].”

Makarov told reporters after facing 58 shots he wasn’t that tired and had already shrugged off the loss.

“I feel all right. I’m probably playing tomorrow night,” he said of his netminding duties with the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades.

Born to an Iranian father and a Finnish mother, Zibanejad had spent nine games in the NHL this season with the Ottawa Senators before returning to Sweden to polish his game. The overtime winner was his fourth goal of the tournament. He added to his celebration by staying on the ice after medal presentation and carrying a sign that read, “He shoots, he scores.”

“[Zibanejad] came in on the breakaway and I knew he was going to score,” said teammate Jeremy Boyce Rotevall. “He told me this morning he was going to finish this game off.”

Swedish goalie Johan Gustafsson faced just nine shots on net through 26 minutes of playing time. With 32 seconds left in the third period, he made the stop of his night, robbing Gusev off a spin-a-rama pass from the always dangerous Evgeni Kuznetsov.

“I hope they make a stamp of this,” said forward Rickard Rakell, referring to how the Swedish government memorialized Peter Forsberg’s gold medal-winning goal from the 1994 Winter Olympics.

The Swedes had two players named to the tournament all-star team – defenceman Oscar Klefbom and Friberg. Brandon Gormley was the lone Canadian selected and was also named the tournament’s best defenceman.

Kuznetsov, a Washington Capitals’ draft pick, was voted the tournament MVP with Petr Mrazek from the Czech Republic the top goaltender.

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

[hockeygod]

Mark Visentin earns his near-Hollywood ending

Roy MacGregor, Globe and Mail, Jan. 05, 2012

Turn it in as a Hollywood script and they’d laugh you out of the studios.

There’s this kid, see, a clean-cut, nicely spoken young Canadian hockey player – loves his dog Sheeba, loves his parents and grandparents – and the hockey gods decide that one year to the very day that he was accused of choking, with a medal once again on the line, this tall, skinny goalie takes a 3-0 lead into the third period of his country’s final game of the world junior hockey championship.

Can’t you just see it? A year ago in Buffalo he has this same lead in the gold-medal game against Russia and is standing, shell-shocked, in net as the greatest meltdown in tournament history takes place around him – five consecutive Russian goals that stab this insecure hockey country straight to its puck-black heart.

The only sure thing this year in Calgary is that there’s no border for his parents and grandparents to have to drive back across to get home, no Canadian border guard waiting to flick through their passports, dip down into the open window of the family car and say: “Oh crap, you’re a Visentin!” as if it were some sort of curse.

One year later, same day, same score with 20 minutes to go, and what happens? There’s your plot and it’s a winner.

In this case, it was: final score 4-0 Canada, with goaltender Mark Visentin granted a standing ovation as the player of the game. Mark Visentin with the shutout to give Canada the bronze medal over Finland. It may not have been for the gold medal and it wasn’t Russia, but it was personal redemption for a young man finally coming through the “toughest” year of his life. At only 19.

Visentin had played a small part in this year’s loss to the Russians, but the game was already 4-1 for the other side when he came in to replace Scott Wedgewood. The final 6-5 loss that ended Canada’s gold-medal dreams could no more be blamed on him than on Wedgewood. It had, rather, been a full-squad failure to come together as a team until it was too late.

Against Finland for the bronze, there was no chance for a team championship but still a chance for individual triumphs. The young goaltender who had been criticized so viciously a year ago made his statement that this time it would be different in the opening period, stopping a clear breakaway by Markus Granlund, one of the most feared players in this tournament.

But Visentin was not alone in seeking personal redemption. The Canadians went up 1-0 on a lovely tip by Tanner Pearson on a perfect pass from Mark Scheifele. Scheifele, the Winnipeg Jets’ top draft pick in 2011, and Pearson, a top prospect for the NHL entry draft in June, are best friends and linemates with the Barrie Colts of the Ontario Hockey League and had been considered pivotal scoring threats coming into the tournament. But it had not happened. The two had, until Thursday, been major disappointments.

But all that was forgotten early. In the second period, following a strong save by Visentin, the puck flew down into the Finnish end, where it wound up on Pearson’s stick behind the Finnish net. Pearson saw his linemate, fed him a perfect pass, and Scheifele ripped a wrist shot high past the blocker of Finnish goaltender Sami Aittokallio to make it 2-0. Quinton Howden finished off the Canadian scoring with two goals.

The sensational story, however, was Visentin. He saved a penalty shot awarded to Teemu Pulkkinen. Then he made The Save, a phenomenal catch in which the puck went off his shoulder, off the crossbar and was headed into the net when, somehow, Visentin swung around backward, catching it blind.

“Nice save,” Aittokallio said.

“Wow!” Canada’s Freddie Hamilton said.

“Flexible!” Pearson added, in awe.

“Amazing!” Canada’s Brendan Gallagher said.

The final word, however, must go to Mark Visentin, the kid who a year ago drove back in the dark to the family home in little Waterdown, Ont., who had bravely taken full responsibility for the third-period meltdown – though it was far from his alone – and had realized that one day everything would be all right again when he saw old Sheeba, the golden retriever he had played street hockey with since the dog was a puppy and he a child, coming across the floor in a flurry of wiggles and wags.

One year later, to the very day, there was instead a standing ovation, a medal proudly around his neck and, instead of everyone talking about him, everyone wanting to talk to him about that save.

“Pretty sweet,” he said.

End of story.

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

[hockeygod]

Edmonton, Calgary big world junior winners

TERRY JONES, QMI Agency, Jan 6 2012

CALGARY – As Alberta closed the book on the 2012 world junior, there was one suggestion for the title of the book.

"It was a Tale of Two Cities. It was the best of times, the worst of times," said Lyle Best, the Edmonton co-chairman of the first-ever world junior tournament to be shared by two NHL cities, with all 31 games played in NHL arenas.

He kept up the friendly jabbing in the make-each-other-better rivalry he had with Calgary co-chairman Jim Peplinski until the end.

Edmonton got the best of it with four Canada games, all wins complete with scenes similar to the 2006 Stanley Cup finals, he suggested. Calgary fans paid for 21 games in anticipation of having Canada in the gold-medal game, and it was a bit of a bummer that it didn't work out that way.

But as this circus leaves town, there is the realization that both cities were winners — big winners, no matter how it worked out in the end.

An hour before the gold-medal game featuring Sweden and Russia — the next two tournament hosts — IIHF president Rene Fasel, vice-president and tournament chairman Murray Costello and Hockey Canada president and CEO Bob Nicholson suggested it might take a little while for the host province to really realize the extent of what was accomplished in the hosting of the most ballistic world junior ever.

Fasel said the success of this tournament, and the string of successes in Canada leading up to it, has been incredible.

"You can play these games in some places (outside Canada) and shake hands with every person in the crowd," said Fasel.

"Canadian hockey fans are just amazing. I wish we could have Canadian hockey fans all over the world," he added.

It took a while for Calgarians to get dialled into the Canada-Finland afternoon bronze-medal game. But once the gold-medal game was done, the capacity crowd watching Russia-Sweden was able to leave the Saddledome and say "I was there" as the tournament slogan suggested — even if Canada wasn't there.

"A lot of people saw high-level European hockey live for the first time, and loved it," said Costello.

"The Russia-Czech game was probably the epitome of it. You saw great goaltending here this week and spectacular games played here this week."

And there was no question of the big-picture success dating back to a year ago, when all the tickets were sold in three days.

"This tournament was taken to another level," said Nicholson, who announced a record-shattering attendance of 571,000, with 440,000 going through the turnstiles.

"That was the biggest delight," he said of the latter, which is the most record-shattering number of all.

Never before have such crowds — which NHL teams like Phoenix, Columbus, Florida and the Islanders would have been happy to have — watched games with Denmark, Latvia and the like.

"They didn't just show up for the Canadian games. There were 14,000 or 15,000 for every game," said Nicholson, who said he believed the event pumped $90 million into the Alberta economy.

Nicholson said it was too soon to come up with an exact figure in terms of how much money it made.

"It looks like it will be around the $20-million mark."

The previous record was $13.4 million, from Saskatoon two years ago.

"For the first time the IIHF will receive a share to fund programs in developing countries," said Nicholson. "Canada will now touch every part of the world, which is special."

So where do you go to top this?

"The tournament has never been held in Toronto or Montreal," said Nicholson, telegraphing two locations Hockey Canada would like to take the tournament in one of the the four years — 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2021 — that they have already won the hosting rights for.

It is expected it'll be back in Edmonton and Calgary — in reverse, with the Canada round-robin games in Calgary and the medal-round games in a new downtown arena in Edmonton — in either 2017 or 2019.

After what the world experienced in the two Alberta NHL cities in 2012, they can't help but come back sooner rather than later.

"It's quite remarkable how Alberta responded," said Costello. "I don't know how it can be better than this."

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

[hockeygod]

Finns disappointed with fourth

By STEVE MACFARLANE, QMI Agency, Jan 6 2012

CALGARY – His English might not be considered fluent just yet, but Team Finland captain Mikael Granlund summed up his side's tournament perfectly.

"I'm satisfied how we played but I'm not satisfied," said the 19-year-old Minnesota Wild prospect in the minutes following a 4-0 loss to Team Canada in the bronze-medal game Thursday afternoon.

"We wanted to do something special and win something and we didn't."

The underdog Finns definitely were on the brink of it.

After an opening day loss to Canada in embarrassing fashion — an 8-1 defeat on Boxing Day in Edmonton — Finland ripped off wins over the U.S., Denmark, the Czech Republic and Slovakia before getting off to a 2-0 start in the semifinal over the Swedes.

Sweden tied things up in the third period won in a shootout to bump the Finns to the bronze game, but Finland proved it is a contender on the world junior stage despite the fact their string of years without a medal at the tournament was extended to seven.

"The semifinal was so close," Granlund said. "That was a big loss for us."

So was Thursday's clash against Canada — although not nearly as close as the hosts peppered netminder Sami Aittokallio with 44 shots and shut down a dangerous Finnish offence led by Granlund.

"This is hockey. Everything is so close every time. You need to do everything right and as good as you can," Granlund said. "Today we just weren't good enough."

Aittokallio, who replaced fellow backstop Chris Gibson between the pipes following that first loss to Canada, put it more bluntly.

"I think they wanted it more than us," he offered. "I think Canada wanted this more. They were a lot stronger than us.

"I think that we were a bit tired for this game."

Emotionally, that oh-so-close loss to Sweden might have drained them a bit. Fellow Finn and future Wild teammate Mikko Koivu even called Granlund to offer his support after that contest.

"He just said it's just hockey," Granlund said of the call. "Sometimes something like that happens. You can't go to the final every time. He was just trying to cheer us up.

"Every guy thinks it was a big loss (against Sweden). I think we did all we could in that game and it wasn't enough," said Granlund.

"We tried to do everything for this game to get the bronze medal but we couldn't do that.

"The right team won this game and the bronze medal."

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

[hockeygod]

Sweden chokes out Russia for gold: Zibanejad plays hero in overtime victory

WES GILBERTSON, QMI Agency, Jan 6 2012

CALGARY – Mika Zibanejad didn't just guarantee the golden goal.

He called his shot twice.

The Swedish sniper scored the overtime winner in a 1-0 triumph over Russia in Thursday's gold-medal thriller at the world junior hockey championship, keeping a promise he'd made to teammates a few hours before the tournament finale at the Saddledome.

"I knew he was going to score," said Swedish forward Jeremy Boyce Rotevall. "He told me in the morning he was going to finish this game off."

That, apparently, is just the half of it.

"I told him before the overtime, too," Zibanejad said with a grin. "So it was good to get that goal — You have to decide if you want to win this. In the morning, it was a joke. But now, it's not a joke anymore."

With the victory, the Swedes claim their first gold at the world junior tournament since 1981, a hard-to-believe drought for a country that's won five men's world championships and two Olympic titles during that span.

They fired 57 shots at Russian goaltender Andrei Makarov before Zibanejad finally solved the Saskatoon Blades puck-stopper 10:09 into the overtime session, grabbing a loose puck in front of his team bench and finishing a nifty deke with a backhander on a partial breakaway.

The most surprising part of this game might've been the lack of offensive opportunities — or even shots on goal — generated at the other end by the Russians, the same squad that scored six times to spoil Canada's party in the semifinal two nights earlier.

When the Russians fired their first shot at Sweden's Johan Gustafsson, there was only 7:26 remaining before the first intermission. All told, they were outshot 17-3 in the first period.

If you think that's bad, wait till you hear what happened after the break.

At the midway mark of the middle frame, around the same time they scored their fourth goal against Canada in the semifinals, Valeri Bragin's high-flying squad had managed just four total shots on goal.

When the Russians were awarded their first powerplay with 3:27 remaining in the second stanza, the Swedes had a 37-4 edge on the shot-clock.

And when Boyce Rotevall was freed from the sin bin two minutes later? Sweden 39, Russia 4.

In the meantime, a guy nobody expected to see the ice — backup goalie Makarov, who relieved Andrei Vasilevski after Canada's fifth goal in the semifinal — was keeping his country in the game.

His long list of saves included several stops on Zibanejad, who fired a game-high seven shots on goal.

The Russians, who were outshot 58-17 as they tried for a second straight gold medal, finally generated some scoring opportunities in the final frame, perhaps responding to 'Let's go Sweden!' chants from the Saddledome crowd.

Russian captain Evgeni Kuznetsov, voted an all-star by the media, tournament MVP by the IIHF directorate and Public Enemy No. 1 by fans, rang one off the post on the powerplay.

Then with 33 ticks left on the clock, Kuznetsov threaded a spin-o-rama pass to speedster Nikita Gusev on the door-step, but Gustafsson stood his ground to send it to overtime.

It was Sweden's fourth extra-time game of the tournament — including two against Russia — and they won all four.

This one was, without a doubt, the most important.

"It's big for hockey in Sweden that we win," said forward Max Friberg. "It's been 31 years now. I hope everybody cheered for us in Sweden.

"I hope they party like hell."

The Russians settle for silver, while Team Canada claimed bronze with a 4-0 victory over Finland earlier in the day.

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

[hockeygod]

Christmas brings heartbreak to Turgeon

MARC DE FOY, QMI Agency, Jan 6 2012

Pierre Turgeon with his family. (Courtesy Turgeon family)

The death of a child is a parent's worst nightmare.

Like any parents, Pierre and Elisabeth Turgeon would feel a twinge of sympathy whenever they saw news reports about children who had died.

But life went on, and four beautiful children helped Turgeon enjoy retirement following a stellar 19-year NHL career.

Everything changed a little over a year ago when one of his daughters was taken from him.

Just before Christmas, on Dec. 23, 2010, 18-year-old Elizabeth, twin sister of Alexandra, died on a foggy road in New Mexico.

The pickup truck she was driving collided with a semi-trailer at an intersection. She died instantly.

Brittany Kraemer, her best friend and hockey teammate, was critically injured but survived.

It was the first time Elizabeth had been away from the family for the holidays.

The rest of the clan was in Calgary where Turgeon was preparing to celebrate Christmas with his brother, Sylvain.

Elizabeth was a sociable young woman who had many friends and played spirited hockey. Turgeon, in an interview with QMI Agency from his home in suburban Denver, Colo., recalled how his daughter would throw herself into the corners like a bowling ball to dig out the puck.

A member of the U.S. world champion under-16 team, Long Island-born Elizabeth was on the verge of earning a spot on the under-18 squad before she died.

The University of Minnesota had offered her a scholarship. Elizabeth had her whole life ahead of her and she spoke often of the future.

Then in an instant, her life ended.

Now, those tragic news reports of parents who lose their children hit close to home for Pierre and Elisabeth Turgeon.

"We are always sad when we learn about another (death)," the former Montreal Canadiens captain said.

"When it happens, you realize the pain it causes family and friends.

"It changes your life."

The Turgeons and their three remaining children are trying cope with the loss of Elizabeth.

"You learn to appreciate every moment," Turgeon, a 42-year-old native of Rouyn-Noranda, Que., said.

"Very often, we … tend to think about what will happen in 10 days, in two weeks or in a year. But we must realize that we might not be there when that time comes."

Turgeon's wife decided the family needed a change of location this Christmas, so they went to Cancun, Mexico with son Dominic, 15, and daughters Alexandra, 19, and Valerie, 13. The couple's parents joined them.

It was a welcome diversion for Alexandra, a University of Denver volleyball player who was having difficulty coping with the loss of her twin.

"She found it hard the first three or four months," Turgeon said. "She stopped volleyball for a while, but she didn't stop her studies.

"She got better, but doctors we know said she went through another difficult period in the 10th or 11th month following the loss of her sister."

Turgeon said Elizabeth's memory would never leave them.

"Elizabeth is always with us," he said. "After a year, sometimes I get emotional. When I hear songs that remind me of her, I might start crying. I think it will still be like that in 10 years.

But Turgeon says his faith gives him some solace.

"At some point, we'll see her again."

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

[hockeygod]

Time for Flames to start dealing stars

Allan Maki, Globe and Mail, January 6, 2012

Nine to nothing, with heavy emphasis on the nothing.

No goals. No effort. No grit. No spirit. Nothing.

You can say a lot of things about where the Calgary Flames after Thursday night’s 9-0 loss to the Boston Bruins and none of them would be good. Even the players were among their harshest critics Thursday night, with forward Curtis Glencross saying the debacle was like “an NHL team playing against midget players. Brutal.”

But now the question looms larger than ever: what can general manager Jay Feaster do to fix a hockey team that looks void of interest? Fire the coach, Brent Sutter? And then what – promote assistant Craig Hartsburg, a former NHL head man himself? Fat lot of good that will do. Hartsburg would still have the same inconsistent talent base to work with, and really, Scotty Bowman could be in charge of this bunch and still come off looking like Bill LaForge.

The best thing Feaster can do is go to the Flames’ owners and tell them, “Guys, this group of players isn’t going to cut it. We have to trade one of our stars for younger talent or draft picks. We have to sell hope instead of hopelessness.”

That means either Jarome Iginla or Miikka Kiprusoff have to go. Perhaps both, if the deals are good.

The Flames’ owners have been loathe to trade Iginla for fear of public backlash. They love the guy, love the way he generates brand recognition and moves merchandise. That said, they’d allow Feaster to shop Iginla if he came to them and requested a change of scenery. That would enable the owners to say they were doing a long-serving employee a favour by giving him a chance to pursue a Stanley Cup elsewhere – because we all know it’s not going to happen here any time soon.

Even with Iginla’s $7-million salary, there are teams interested in acquiring him for a playoff push. One team official, who attended the world junior tournament in Calgary, was asked if he’d be interested in Iginla and replied yes, given the right deal, extremely interested.

Trading Iginla wouldn’t hurt the Flames much more than they’re hurting now coming off their 9-0 embarrassment in Boston. Trading Kiprusoff would because there’s really no backup ready to replace him, not Leland Irving, at least not yet. A veteran goalie would have to be secured one way or another if Kiprusoff were to leave. But unless Feaster begins dangling Kiprusoff as trade bait, there’s no way of knowing what the Flames could garner as compensation.

Would trading Iginla or Kiprusoff be akin to running up a white flag and saying the season’s over? Undoubtedly. Then again, the season’s next to over already. This was supposed to be a team that learned from last year’s mistakes and was going to avoid a bad start; was going to put itself in the playoff hunt early and stay there for as long as it could, come injuries or slumps. Yet here they are after 42 games, riding a five-game losing streak and sitting 12th overall in the Western Conference. Not much to build on.

For the record: the Flames did make a trade Friday, sending defenceman Brendan Mikkelson to the Tampa Bay Lightning for centre Blair Jones. It was a deal that had been in the works prior to Calgary’s beat down in Boston.

If they’re smart, the Flames will begin making calls and letting it be known among their peers that the time has come; the captain and the goalie are on the table and all offers are encouraged.

To refute that and do nothing … well, we’ve already seen what that’s doing for the Flames.

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

[hockeygod]

Capitals, Kings among the big stories so far

ERIC DUHATSCHEK, Globe and Mail, Jan. 06, 2012

Officially, the NHL’s 2011-12 season will reach the midpoint point Monday with Game 615 between the Los Angeles Kings and the Washington Capitals, and it’s an inadvertent, if appropriate bit of scheduling, considering how both teams were involved in the major stories of the first half.

The Kings and Capitals both joined the ranks of teams purging their coaches. Six in all joined the hired-to-be-fired brigade, including Terry Murray in L.A., where he was replaced by Darryl Sutter and Bruce Boudreau, replaced in Washington by Dale Hunter.

Rarely has a year seen so many highly paid, high-end talents sputter off to singularly mediocre starts – Anze Kopitar in L.A., and Alex Ovechkin in Washington were just two players not providing very much bang for their bucks. How can you rationally explain why Eric Staal (Carolina), Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry and Bobby Ryan (Anaheim), Paul Stastny (Colorado), Joe Thornton (San Jose), Daniel Briere (Philadelphia), Jeff Carter (Columbus), Henrik Zetterberg (Detroit) and many others are all massively underperforming?

Ovechkin’s struggles to match his scoring totals of two years ago and Sidney Crosby’s inability to stay healthy after returning to the Pittsburgh Penguins’ lineup at the end of November also meant that the Sid And Ovie show – the NHL’s favoured story line ever since both entered the league – has been pre-empted again.

It was a season when concussions reached epidemic proportions (in everybody’s minds but the NHL’s powers-that-be) and overshadowed a second, quieter injury epidemic at the other end of the body – so many players on IR with broken feet, ankles and such, because everybody is asked to block shots now – not just Craig Ludwig – and every team plays the same way defensively now, collapsing backward towards the net to create 401-at-rush-hour style congestion in front of the goaltender.

It was a half year that saw Winnipeg return to the NHL after a 15-year absence and reward its fans with a 14-6-1 start a home. In short order, the MTS Centre became one of the most difficult buildings in the league to play in – and everyone gets booed like they’re Evgeny Kuznetsov.

The Edmonton Oilers’ early successes gave way to the sober reality facing many rebuilding-from-scratch teams, and they’ve slipped behind even their provincial rivals, the Calgary Flames in the Western Conference playoff race. Calgary’s playoff hopes were undermined by the world junior road trip, which they finished Thursday by being on the wrong side of a 9-0 shellacking by the Boston Bruins.

The Bruins started October nursing a bad Stanley Cup hangover, but ran the table in November. Their opponent in the final last year, the Vancouver Canucks, took even longer to get started, but they caught fire in December and, at the moment, they may be the NHL’s two best teams with a much anticipated meeting Saturday in Boston. There is a chance they could make it a Stanley Cup final rematch, the first since Detroit and Pittsburgh went head-to-head consecutively in 2008 and 2009. Good news for Canucks fans: Last time out, the Pens turned the tables on the Wings and won when given a second chance.

Concussions continue to waylay players, not just Crosby, and there is a chance that the Philadelphia Flyers’ Chris Pronger – already ruled out for the regular season and playoffs – may never play again.

Among Canadian teams, the Ottawa Senators were the biggest surprise, nestled in the top eight after finishing 13th in the Eastern Conference last season. New coach Paul MacLean will be in the conversation for the NHL’s coach of the year award, but the first-half favourite is Kevin Dineen, who was the Florida Panthers, a team that hasn’t made the playoffs since 2000, atop the Southeast Division.

And if there was such a thing as the NHL’s executive of the year award, it would go to the Panthers’ Dale Tallon, who rebuilt the Panthers on the fly and helped a handful of ex-Blackhawks, Kris Versteeg, Brian Campbell, Tomas Kopecky and Jack Skille, prosper in south Florida. And speaking of the Panthers, who is Jason Garrison again, and why is he leading NHL defenceman in goal scoring, with 11?

The sophomore jinx appears to have gobbled up Panther-for-a-day Michael Grabner, third in rookie scoring last season. Or is that just the New York Islander effect, a perplexing condition that seems to kill young talent in its tracks (see Kyle Okposo, first 20 games, for further proof).

The Maple Leafs Joffrey Lupul and Phil Kessel, two of Brian Burke’s key acquisitions, have prospered as a duo this year, no matter who happens to play centre on the line. No one is prospering in Montreal, where the Canadiens rank right down with the Flames among the most disappointing contributors to the NHL’s Canadian content.

Prominent goaltenders on the slippery slope include the rhyming pair of Jonas Hiller (Anaheim) and Ryan Miller (Buffalo), two teams of great promise underachieving greatly. No one can explain why Hiller, an all-star last year, has been so bad for so long, unless it is the vertigo that kept him out of the Ducks’ lineup for the last part of last season. The Ducks’ struggles mean that their roster will be scouted fiercely in the second half, as the trade market heats up. Could Getzlaf find a new home? Ales Hemsky? Alexander Semin? Jonathan Bernier? Jarome Iginla? And lesser names – Tim Gleason, Bryan Allen, pick any pending unrestricted free agent on a non-playoff team – could all be auctioned off to the highest bidder.

On the ownership front, Matt Hulsizer did not land the Phoenix Coyotes last spring and now apparently, Hulsizer is not going to get the St. Louis Blues either. There is a new sheriff in the NHL’s front office, Brendan Shanahan, and he is providing great transparency to the NHL discipline system, but making nobody happy either. Colin Campbell looks 10 years younger, Shanahan 10 years older. It really is a thankless job.

And just one final note of caution as we hand out the first-half hardware: A year ago, Crosby was the runaway Hart Trophy choice, and at the 41-game mark, was day-to-day with a concussion. He didn’t play another game. So lots can change in the second half. With that disclaimer, however, here is our first-half choices for the major NHL awards:

Hart (MVP): Jonathan Toews, Chicago. Runners-up: Henrik Lundqvist, New York Rangers, Claude Giroux, Philadelphia. Toews, aka Captain Serious, is challenging for the NHL scoring lead and has the Blackhawks back on track, after winning the Cup in 2010 and then faltering for much of the regular season last year. Giroux, given the opportunity to play as the No. 1 centre following the trades of Jeff Carter and Mike Richards, has flourished. Lundqvist has the Rangers in the running for top spot in the Eastern Conference, on a team that features a no-name defence and not much up front beyond Brad Richards and Marian Gaborik.

Norris (top defenceman): Zdeno Chara, Boston. Runners-up: Nicklas Lidstrom, Detroit, Erik Karlsson, Ottawa. If it were just about scoring, Karlsson would be the runaway winner, but he needs to improve his defensive play to be considered a legitimate contender. Chara continues to suffocate opponents’ top forwards defensively and Lidstrom remains uncommonly effective at the age of 41.

Vezina (top goalie): Lundqvist, Rangers. Runners-up: Jonathan Quick, Los Angeles, Jimmy Howard, Detroit. The two top defensive teams, Boston and St. Louis, have both adopted a goalie rotation of late, which will make it harder for Tim Thomas/Tuukka Rask and/or Brian Elliott/Jaro Halak to get consideration for the award. Lundqvist has been phenomenal, as noted above. Quick, meanwhile, has taken on the Miikka Kiprusoff role for Darryl Sutter in L.A. and kept the offensively challenged Kings in the playoff mix; while all Howard does for Detroit is win.

Jack Adams (coach of the year): Kevin Dineen, Florida. Runners-up: Paul MacLean, Ottawa; Ken Hitchcock, St. Louis. Dineen inherited a completely revamped Florida squad which was millions under the cap until Tallon started shopping in July and quickly molded it into a real team; he has the Panthers in the playoff race for the first time in forever. Ottawa is early in its rebuilding program, but MacLean has gotten the most out of Craig Anderson, Daniel Alfredsson, Jason Spezza, and Karlsson, making the Sens an unlikely playoff contender. Hitchcock took over from Davis Payne in St. Louis and executed a neat-about face in St. Louis, a team that promptly went from the ranks of the also-rans to a spot in the playoff mix. Among the new coaches working in the NHL since early October, only Hitchcock and Sutter in L.A. have had the desired effect – of getting a stalled team started again. And weirdly, neither of them is bilingual either.

Calder (rookie of the year): Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Edmonton. Runners-up: Adam Henrique, New Jersey; Craig Smith, Nashville. Nugent-Hopkins was running away with the award until a shoulder injury knocked him out of the lineup until probably February. That’ll give Henrique, who has made the most of his opportunity to play a top-six role with the Devils, a chance to catch him. Nashville is always looking for more scoring and Smith appears to be the answer to David Poile’s prayers.

AND FINALLY: The Ducks will have a decision to make on Devante Smith-Pelly, who will miss four-to-six weeks because of a broken ankle, suffered while blocking a shot in the world junior tournament. Smith-Pelly said, in a pre-tournament interview, that he was going back to Anaheim. But with the season lost, Anaheim may decide to send him back to junior and save a year on his contract. While Smith-Pelly was away in Calgary, the Ducks landed Rod Pelley, a defensive centre from New Jersey. Now if they can only coax Craig Smith out of Nashville, or Zach Smith out of Ottawa, they will be able to ice one of the great tongue-twisting lines of all time – Smith, Pelley and Smith-Pelley. I’m sure Brian Hayward is in GM Bob Murray’s ear every day, trying to make it happen.

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

[hockeygod]

World Junior hockey tourney 'over the top' success, says even co-chair

Renato Gandia ,Calgary Sun, January 05, 2012

With the exception of a berth in the coveted gold medal game at the World Juniors, there’s no other way to describe the tourney than “over the top,” says the event’s co-chair

Former Flame Jim Peplinski, who helped lead the successful drive to bring the tournament to Alberta along with Edmonton’s Lyle Best, said the 2012 IIHF World Junior Championship has been a resounding success from many angles.

“It’s been over the top in terms of volunteer participation and experience,” he said.

“It’s been over the top in terms of individual players and team experience.

“It’s been over the top in terms of tickets sold and fans who actually attended the games.”

The 10-day tournament co-hosted by Edmonton and Calgary was a culmination of a four-year plan that attracted fans, family and media from across Canada and nine other countries.

The round-robin games were held in Rexall Place finishing off with the playoff showdowns at Calgary’s Saddledome.

Peplinski said the legacy of the tournament is “a clear demonstration of the power of sport.”

“The requirements for commitment, discipline, integrity, transparency, work ethic — all of the characteristics that are important to be a success in life — have been displayed in this tournament,” he said.

“We’ve had the chance to have hundreds of thousands of people across our province see this in the purest form.

“Getting up when you fall down, working as a team, learning how to win and learning how to lose, we’ve seen that in each and every game that these young men have competed in.”

If the lasting memory of the tournament is the incomparable sportsmanship or the athletic prowess of the players, then the legacy of this event has found a way to make a difference in people’s lives, Peplinski said.

Peplinski said the economic spinoff of the event is important for the entire province, but what he’s most proud of is the spirit of volunteers, about 450 in Edmonton and 600 in Calgary.

With the successful staging of this year’s tournament, Peplinski said there’s no doubt he’d like to see it come back to Alberta.

“I’d like to see more events come back to Calgary and Alberta, the facilities and volunteers we have are simply stellar.”

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

[hockeygod]

Be proud of our world juniors bronze

By STEVE MACFARLANE, QMI Agency, Jan 7 2012

As the autopsy of the 2012 world junior hockey championship takes place over the coming days, weeks and months, Canadians can choose to look at the results in one of two ways.

Either with concern over the fact their country hasn’t won a gold medal in three years — or with pride over the way the kids thrown together as a team for a matter of weeks managed to overcome one crushing semifinal loss and claim the bronze medal Thursday in Calgary.

If you share that second view, you’re also likely one of those who can accept the fact Canada is no longer alone at the top of the world when it comes to the playing a game we indisputably cherish more than any other nation.

That’s not to say Canada’s program is weakening and that setting their sights on a gold medal every year is unrealistic. Two silvers and a bronze over the last three holiday seasons is a bigger haul than any of the gold winners have achieved over the same stretch — the U.S. (2010 champs) were blanked this year, Russia (2011 gold) failed to medal two years ago and new champ Sweden missed the podium a year ago.

Depending on the crop of kids eligible from winter to winter, any one of the mainstream hockey countries — Canada, Russia, Sweden, U.S. or Finland — could come out on top of a tournament like this.

It’s healthy for Canada to aim for gold every year.

It’s outrageous to expect or demand it any more.

“The tournament is very competitive,” Canadian head coach Don Hay said during his final news conference Thursday afternoon. “There are very good teams here.”

Fans saw the two best clash for gold later that night.

Sweden earned that right with a shootout win over Finland. Russia did it for beating Canada by a single goal in the other semifinal.

And after Sweden came away with an exciting overtime victory over Russia to snap a 31-year gold drought at the tournament, nobody watching in the crowd or on TV could sanely argue it was a disappointing or anti-climactic finish.

Of course, it would’ve been better for the hosts to be involved in that pivotal game. But to suggest the world juniors stop being relevant when the Canadians are eliminated from gold contention is ignorant and egomaniacal — an attitude our country has adopted too often over the years when it comes to hockey.

How is it this one sport turns one of the most polite and passive nations in the world into such unbearable beasts come Boxing Day?

Teaching kids to aim high in whatever they do — whether it’s hockey or hotel management — is an important life lesson.

But there are plenty of positives to take away from a tournament like this — even when their ultimate goal hasn’t been attained. Every player walks away better for the experience, more capable of handing adversity at other levels of hockey, or maybe in other walks of life.

“It’s been one of the best experiences of my lifetime,” said Canadian blueliner Dougie Hamilton of the OHL’s Niagara IceDogs, a Boston Bruins first-round pick last year.

“Obviously, it wasn’t the result we wanted, but I think moving on in my career with the pressure and the circumstances that we went through … I think is something you’ve got to learn from.”

Brett Connolly, who quickly re-joined the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning after the tournament, believes the event will make those able to take part again next year even stronger.

“We’ll move on as players, and the guys that are fortunate enough to come back and play in the tournament next year — the younger guys — I think it’ll be a good experience for them moving forward, to be leaders on next year’s team,” Connolly said.

“We’re all proud of our bronze medal.”

The rest of the country should be proud of them for that.

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

[hockeygod]

Iggy pops goal No. 500

RANDY SPORTAK, QMI Agency, Jan 7 2012

Jarome Iginla is now a member of the prestigious 500-goal club.

The Calgary Flames captain and face of the franchise netted the milestone goal midway through the third period of Saturday night’s against the Minnesota Wild to become just the 42nd player in NHL history to hit that mark.

As a pure goal, it’s not going to go down in history as the prettiest, but that won’t matter to Iginla or anyone else who’s cheered on the Flames face of the franchise.

With the Flames leading 1-0 thanks to Lance Bouma’s first NHL tally, Iginla went down the right wing and simply fired a shot toward the net.

The puck ricocheted off the skates of both Wild defenceman Marek Zidlicky and forward Mikko Koivu before going past netminder Niklas Backstrom.

The Flames bench, when everyone finally realized it was indeed Iginla’s tally, cleared in celebration, and the standing ovation began with the chants of “Iggy! Iggy! Iggy!.”

Iginla, who started his career in 1996-97, is only the 15th player to score all those goals with the same organization, joining an incredibly exclusive club which includes Jean Beliveau, Mike Bossy, Wayne Gretzky, Bobby Hull, Gordie Howe, Guy Lafleur, Mario Lemieux, Stan Makita, Mike Modano, Gilbert Perreault, Maurice Richard, Joe Sakic, Brian Trottier and Steve Yzerman.

Teammates past and present will be celebrating Iginla’s achievement.

“Forty-one, all time. And guys (chasing) aren’t even close,” said Craig Conroy, Iginla’s close friend and long-time linemate. “It’s a very elite club. It’s like 3,000 hits in baseball. When Derek Jeter did it, I was watching that game and it was awesome.

“For some reason, we haven’t made that big of a deal about it.

“He’s a good friend and one of the best teammates I’ve ever had. There’s no more deserving person,” said Andrew Ference, who now plays for the Boston Bruins.

“I think you’d be hard-pressed to find anybody in the league that doesn’t have the utmost respect for him and the way he plays the game and carries himself. Guys don’t just say that lightly around the league, even guys that have never played with him.

“To have that kind of praise from people you compete with on a night-in, night-out basis speaks volumes. He’s earned it. Despite all the goals and all that, the way he plays the game is the right way.”

Iginla, 34, scored the goal in his 1,149th game, which is tied for 123rd most in NHL history.

Of his goals, 253 have come on home ice, a testament to how much of an impact he’s been as a player on the road as well as at the Saddledome.

Iginla’s chase for 500 may have taken longer than expected — being just one of 10 players in NHL history to have scored 30 goals in 10 consecutive seasons — but based on the reaction by the Saddledome crowd, the wait was worth it.

“I told him before the (seven-game road) trip to save it because I wouldn’t see him until this game, but I was kidding,” Conroy said. “I know he’s wanted to get it as quick as he can.

“Now he can go for 600.”

For Conroy, it’s the second time he’s been witness to a player hitting the prestigious mark. He was a teammate of Brett Hull in St. Louis when the Golden Brett hit the mark.

This one was more special since Conroy set up 85 of Iginla’s tallies.

“With Brett, I was on the team and was there, but I didn’t help contribute. With Jarome, I was out there,” Conroy said. “It’s special.”

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

[hockeygod]

Daniel Tkaczuk: Growth and memories of Canadian world junior hockey

Daniel Tkaczuk< The Hockey News, 2012-01-07

Like many Canadians, as a youngster I rushed to my TV set during the holidays to watch our team in the World Junior Hockey Championship. Luckily, my dream was realized in ’98 and ’99 when I was chosen to represent my country. This year, being part of the Hockey Canada Alumni group that traveled to Calgary to mark the 30th anniversary of the Program of Excellence made me think of where it all began, the truly significant history of Hockey Canada and how the tournament has evolved.

Some key moments over the past 30 years:

1982 Inception, Discipline & Success

The obstacles that Murray Costello, past president of Hockey Canada, and company had to climb were tremendous. They had a shoestring budget and had to convince the major junior teams to release their best players, forcing them to play through the busiest part of the schedule without their most talented skaters.

The tournament was just not as big in the early-80’s.

Lo and behold, a rag-tag group that included Mike Moller, Marc Habscheid, Gary Nyland and Garth Butcher came away with the gold in Rochester, Minnesota by playing a hard-nosed, team-orientated, disciplined game that would brand the Canadian game for decades to come.

The 1995 Dream Team

Due to the ’94 NHL lockout, Canada had the fortune of icing their most talented team in Red Deer. High picks Alexandre Daigle, Ed Jovanovski and Wade Redden were complemented with Jason Allison, Marty Murray and Darcy Tucker to give Canada the gold. This was instrumental, as the team was highly entertaining and became a big-ticket draw. This was evident when they played their final games before sold-out crowds at the Calgary Saddledome. The business juggernaut, backed by the team’s success, was now well under way. Upcoming events in Winnipeg, Halifax and Ottawa would now have legitimate resources to build upon.

The Change in Format

Between 1996 and 1997 the IIHF finally came to its senses and reformatted the tournament. The previous format consisted of only a balanced round-robin schedule where the team with the best overall record after the seven games would be declared the champion. This resulted in a lot of scoreboard watching and what-if scenarios. Some notable examples include the Turku, Finland event in 1990 when news of Canada’s golden opportunity came from a phone call during a match versus Czechoslovakia and the playing of some meaningless games in 1995 after the team had already clinched the gold.

Media

It’s hard not to think of the TSN broadcast team alongside the tournament over the years. Paul Romanuk, Bob McKenzie and Gord Miller, Pierre McGuire and now Ray Ferraro have been tournament staples and are the Foster Hewitt-like audio support that run alongside the memories. Increased media presence and updates throughout the year builds up the anticipation for great moments on the ice.

Timeless Moments from the ice

The intense winner-take-all format has provided fans, players, coaches and media with great entertainment and memories. It’s the reason we always look forward to the tournament.

As a kid, player and, now, fan, I can’t help but remember these goals.

My Top 5

2009 – Jordan Eberle – Ottawa

Ryan Ellis kept the puck in at the blueline and put it towards the net where Eberle made a slick move to the back hand to put it in with seconds remaining, tying the game and allowing Canada to win it over the Russians in OT.

2008 – Matt Halischuk – Pardubice, Czech Republic

Halischuk slid the ‘Golden Goal’ under the Swedish netminder in overtime to give Canada the title.

2007 – Jonathan Toews – Leksand, Sweden

Like many tightly played international events, Canada’s semifinal game came down to the shootout. After the initial three shooters, teams can choose any skater as many times as they like, regardless if they had taken a previous shot. This set the stage for Toews to score three consecutive sudden death goals and move Canada on to the gold medal game.

1991 – John Slaney – Saskatoon

The Newfoundlander took advantage of a Russian miscue with about five minutes left in the third period in what would be the deciding game for the gold medal.

1997 – Boyd Devereaux – Geneva, Switzerland

Scored late in the semifinal game versus the Russians to move Canada into the gold medal game. Canada would go on to win their fifth consecutive gold.

Summary

A lot has changed. The program and tournament will continue to grow and evolve as the Americans, Swedes and Russians continue to adapt and pour money into their programs. As a fan, I always look forward to watching these talented kids that play the game with emotional spirit and try to bring a gold medal back to Canada.

Daniel Tkaczuk was Calgary's first round pick in 1997 (sixth overall) and has been playing professionally in North America and Europe for the past 12 seasons. He is currently president of iHockeyTrainer.com, an online hockey school for skill development.

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

[hockeygod]

Oh, say can you see? Americans on the rise in NHL

JAMES MIRTLE, Globe and Mail, Jan. 06, 2012

They are the kind of numbers that are sure to make Gary Bettman smile.

Even as several of the NHL’s U.S.-based franchises continue to struggle financially, the reality is that commissioner’s league is becoming more and more American with every passing season.

At least in terms of who’s on the ice.

In a league in which roughly 700 players suit up for a regular shift each year, the number of NHLers from the United States has jumped considerably in the past seven or eight seasons alone.

Last season, for example, 156 American players played in 25 or more games – an historic high for the NHL – which is up from only 101 as recently as the 2002-03 season.

That dramatic increase means the NHL has gone from drawing less than 15 per cent of its players from the United States to nearly 23 per cent.

General managers and players said this week they’ve noticed the trend, and they credit the development to two key shifts for hockey in the United States.

1. More regions in the country are producing talent, with players from Alaska, California, Wisconsin and other locales now making an impact in the NHL

“Years ago, we talked about the three Ms in terms of Massachusetts, Minnesota and Michigan as the only places where there was hockey played,” said Nashville Predators GM David Poile, whose team has 10 American players this season, second only to the Buffalo Sabres (15).

“We’ve now drafted a player like Jonathan Blum from California in the first round. There are players in the NHL or Division I colleges from Florida and Texas. I think the exposure of hockey has increased so much more in the last 10 to 15 years.”

2. The creation of the U.S. national team development program in 1997 has helped top players improve by getting them to play and train together at a young age

“I think that helps a lot,” said Toronto Maple Leafs forward Joey Crabb, one of the first Alaskans in the program back in 1999. “That helps development and in getting players to the NHL. It was a great step for me.”

“You’re playing basically a pro schedule,” teammate Mike Komisarek, a Long Island, N.Y., native, added. “You’re going overseas five or six times a year. You’d never get those opportunities elsewhere.”

“That’s been really a strong point of developing elite players,” Poile said. “It’s probably not a lot different than what we used to hear about the Russian system where they’d bring all the top players from around the country to play on a national team.”

While the number of Canadians in the NHL has decreased only slightly of late – with 52 per cent of players still coming from the country – several European countries have dropped off dramatically.

Between 2005-06 and 2010-11, the number of Russians, Czechs and Slovaks who played 25 games in a season fell by 35 per cent, down to just 74 players.

And all of those spots have essentially been taken by Americans.

The trend has been especially significant on NHL bluelines, as there are now more defencemen from the United States (26 per cent) than all of the European countries combined (25 per cent).

While the U.S. entry stumbled badly to a seventh-place finish at the world juniors this year, USA Hockey executive Jim Johansson said the NHL numbers clearly show their development strategy is paying off over the long haul.

“We’re not judging our program on three games,” he said. “We like the rise that we’ve had in our players, but we like more that the rise has been kind of a small and steady rise.”

Johansson points to the impressive growth among USA Hockey’s youngest players as recent evidence the trend will continue.

Over the past five seasons, the number of children aged 8 and under playing hockey in the United States has risen by more than 15,000, cresting over the 100,000 mark for the first time last season.

“Even as participation is down in so many sports, we’re a sport that seems to find a way to grow,” Johansson said.

And that kind of growth has shown up in a big way in the NHL.

“This feels like a system that’s going to produce players for a lot of years,” Poile said. “It doesn’t feel like we’re in a cycle. It seems like this is going to be normal. I certainly believe that.”

A marketing boon

There are likely even financial benefits to having more U.S.-born players in the NHL.

Poile, for one, feels that the influx of players from more diverse backgrounds only helps the NHL from a promotional perspective, using the Predators’ own homegrown player, Blake Geoffrion, as an example.

“It’s a great marketing tool,” Poile said. “It’s a great tie-in to our youth hockey. Just imagine when Blake is playing and a family comes to a game and a young hockey player sees him.

“That’s going to be huge for us.”

Komisarek agrees with that perspective, saying he has seen how those type of trailblazers encourage young players to take their game to the next level.

“Once they see someone else make it from their neighbourhood or that program, kids start believing a little bit more,” Komisarek said. “They think, ‘If he can make it, why can’t I?’”

The league itself deserves some credit for that growth in new regions, where beyond simply adding NHL teams, it has also built rinks and encouraged youngsters to play.

As part of the goal to increase hockey’s profile in the United States, the NHL works with USA Hockey in order to help boost enrolment, something Johansson said has been to the benefit of both sides.

“It’s a great partnership,” he said. “They want the game to be strong. And for the game to be strong, we need more and more kids playing, we need our facilities to be okay and we need a wide range of programs focused on those areas.

“That helps the game as a whole. And hopefully with that it’s helping the NHL and the game in the U.S.”

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

[Author]

Posts