7.Buffalo Sabres- This is understandably the ranking that will probably cause the most uproar as the Buffalo Sabres had the unwanted infamy of hoisting the league's worst record in 2014-2015. If it wasn't for the Edmonton Oilers and their unprecedented lottery benefit, winning the NHL draft lottery for the fourth time in six years the Sabres would of landed super prospect Connor McDavid which led to a comical moment where at the lottery, Sabres General Manager Tim Murray gave off a smirk of derision when his troops failed to secure the number one, but as he was and is well aware that the consolation prize of Jack Eichel is no slouch. The influx of talent the Sabres have hauled in over the spring and summer has been outstanding and I strongly believe that Buffalo Sabres are ready to make a gargantuan step forward and be forewarned, I'm implying that the Sabres have the recipe to make a long-standing classic dish.
The old saying "this isn't your grandma's...." applies to the 2015-2016 Sabre squad that isn't anywhere close to the 2014-2015 squad that made acquisitions just to improve their draft lottery position.As a disclaimer, I think the Buffalo Sabres have the forwards projected to make the 2015-2016 roster that one could argue, which I will do on their behalf that one through twelve, they possess the most depth bar none. One of the pressing questions I would ask new Head Coach Dan Byslma is what his plan of attack is for Jack Eichel pertaining to line combinations. Before the draft weekend we saw the deal that consummated which saw the Buffalo Sabres haul in Ryan O'Reilly from the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for the Russian who for whatever reason displayed a premadonna attitude which fed up Tim Murray in defenceman Nikita Zadorov and Michael Grigorenko. I find it re-assuring that for the first time in quite a long time, from the top down beginning with owner Terry Pegula a winning culture is being presented back to the city of Buffalo, something when lumping in the notoriously awful Buffalo Bills of the National Football League. The aforementioned American patriarch Eichel along with O'Reilly down the middle will create a sense of open season for one of the more underrated players in todays game, that being the former Medicine Hat Tiger Tyler Ennis. Poised to smash the one hundred career goal plateau as he currently sits at eighty nine, Tyler will use his top notch speed to continue to be elusive to NHL defenders and what doesn't get enough attention in his game is his hands around the net. When comparing fellow speedsters such as Mason Raymond, Detroit's Darren Helm(also a former Medicine Hat Tiger) and Carl Hagelin, what differentiates Ennis is that once he takes a couple strides he is gone and once a break occurs, he has the goal scorer penchant to lead what will most definitely be a high octane Buffalo parade this year.
Addition by subtraction is always a positive mantra. Unfortunately where the problem enlies for supporters of the Sabres this year is that their was a little too much subtraction, and not enough addition defensively. Saying good-bye to Zadorov was a necessary evil as the perceived attitude issues, which are shocking because unlike a lot of Russians who have had trouble adjusting to the National Hockey League before him, he sought further development by enlisting the services of the Hunter family with joining the London Knights. Whatever skills gained in Southern Ontario, didn't translate to Southern New York. Zadorov was not the only key cog shipped out of town in the last calendar year, as more alarming to me was the loss of Tyler Myers. No spat towards Zach Bogosian, as he's a quality defenceman and his advanced detail to the defensive game will serve a team that had trouble keeping the puck out of the back of the net well, but not viewing Myers as part of the long term endeavor is inexcusable. As a general statement, and I know it seems like all I'm doing is ragging on the lack of (ex) defensive depth, but when I see an injustice I will pounce on it. In another bold statement, Myers is a top fifteen talent and for a young and up and coming team, I have a hard team believing dealing away a twenty five year old can be justified, not withstanding the acquisition of Evander Kane which led to Myers dismissal. So what DO the Sabres possess on defence aside from Bogosian? When I analyze the pros and cons of Josh Gorges, and I generally like to plug the former WHL'ers, I see someone that is an excellent defensive stalwart but provides less than John Scott offensively. His skating stride has dipped in the last three to four years which could be related to some recent nagging hamstring issues but it's imperative that he works on that facet in his game because unlike through his time in Montreal, judging from a lack of effective power-play"specialists", he will be counted upon to provide offense which has otherwise eluded him during this quasi illustrious career.
I'll throw out props when they are due, and major props to General Manager Murray for the acquisition of Robin Lehner. Fans in Buffalo, who haven't had a capable goaltender since the days of Dominik Hasek, and yes this is me firing shade at Ryan Miller, understandably are questioning whether or not Lehner has what it takes to be an every day starter? I'll re-assure everybody right now by undeniably stating that he does! Lehner was victim to a goaltending circus in Ottawa, and since he is no longer a carnie, Lehner can now prove that he's not someone to laugh at, but someone that has the fortitude to not only carry the Sabres to the playoffs this year, but do some damage while dancing. I was extremely tempted to rank the Sabres higher as a trip to the Stanley Cup is within reach.
8.Montreal Canadiens- Too small? Not a true number one center? Lacking that killer instinct? All these concerns have been brought up, to quote a Nelly/Tim McGraw classic, "over and over again". The real question that needs to be addressed is whethaer the ever introverted General Manager Marc Bergevin has recuperated the pieces that the team was missing during last year's playoff run which saw them bow out to the Eastern Conference Champion Tampa Bay Lightning. The summarization of that particular series is that they had no viable shut down option against the "triplets" including Johnson/Palat/Kucherov. The cold, hard fact of the matter that in the eastern conference, frankly the entire National Hockey League, comparables of the triplets are all over, and if they can't stop one, they won't be able to stop any. I firmly believe this organization has the basic pieces to be a consistent contender, which stats show they have been the last four years but need some fine-tuning to be done to reach the ultimate pinnacle.
With these collections of previews, one of the more common themes is profiling the players who get a lot of the recognition. For the Canadiens, a player who doesn't get the deserved praise who I'm going to give an impromptu shout-out to is the former Swift Current Bronco, Dale Weise. Most coaches would view the skill-set of Weise who skates hard and hits even harder as a great third line commodity, but what Michel Therrien did at times, which I thought was brilliant, was pairing Weise alongside two more skilled players as during their playoff exploits he saw time with Thomas Plekanec. If I were involved in the coaching circles, which I should be because my hockey methods would equal guaranteed success, I'd employ this logic on a nightly basis as a player like Weise, basically anybody who's willing to sacrifice himself in the corners is the ideal complimentary fit to a first or second line because he provides what most top players don't, tenacity. Also, I don't feel as if Dale is inept when it comes to the offensive side so he may be a hidden treasure for the Habs as we approach the 2015/2016 season. There have been reports, and this ties in to what I discussed pertaining to Nikita Zadorov, now of Colorado having that fair on unfair "Russian" reputation, unfortunately Alex Galchenyuk is beginning to harness a similar fate. For a recap of events, Galchenyuk found himself in coach Therrien's dog house at times throughout the 2014-2015 campaign and showed poor body English particularly in the playoffs. This complicated coach/player relationship led to a stalemate in contract negotiations with at the time agent Igor Larionov. In an interesting turn of events, considering Larionov was the one that brought the Russian turned American to the Ontario Hockey League, Galchenyuk and Larionov parted ways which saw a hookup of sorts between Alex and super-agent Pat Brisson. Brisson has the penchant, as evidenced in his works with Sidney Crosby of bringing sides back to the table after clear dissention has the majority of Quebecois optimistic that a fair deal can be reached. Conversely, let's say a deal cannot be consummated, it would then beg the question whether Bergevin could parlay this conundrum into a blockbuster trade. I for one suffices that it's a strong possibility, and because I love me some predictions I will fearlessly predict that if Galchenyuk remains unsigned by say.....September 1st, will be traded to the Florida Panthers for Nick Bjugstad. Like I mentioned, not a rumour, just a hunch on my part.
The going gets good on the back-end led by perennial Norris candidate P.K Subban. He's popular amongst the Canadian media, as he's always one to give notable sound bites, but more importantly to fans of the Canadiens, he's becoming increasingly popular on the ice based off of his play. Coming into the league via the now extinct Belleville Bulls, Subban's repertoire included his river boat gambler mindset with Gord Miller coining his up ice rushes as the "Sooby-doo", but couldn't be relied upon in his own end. This has most certainly changed as in the 2014-2015 season, he posted a career best +21.Another blackjack in the defensive side of the game may translate into a heroic season for both him and team and maybe, just maybe he can corral in a second Norris trophy. Who's coming along for the ride on the "Sooby-doo"? Nathan Beaulieu perhaps? What I like about Beaulieu is that he's a proven winner as he assisted the 2011 version of the QMJHL's Saint John Sea Dogs to a Memorial Cup on a stacked team that included Zack Phillips and Jonathan Huberdeau. When his dad and himself aren't busy racking up assault charges at parties, I believe Beaulieu can be a serviceable top four defender because his foot speed is criminally overlooked. Some advice I would give assistant coach Clement Jodoin who is in charge of the defence is to start utilizing Andrei Markov better and stop treating him like the twenty four year old he no longer is and start realizing that at this stage of his career he is nothing more then a third pairing defender. Instantaneous results will follow as the more we see of Jeff Petry, the aforementioned Beaulieu and less of Markov we see on-ice will provide credibility to this franchise.
It's hard to fit in more positive adjectives for goaltender Carey Price then he already receives on a daily basis. The guy is great, the Wayne Gretzky of goaltending and nobody affiliated with the game of hockey would disagree when I opinionate, like always the Habs ship will sink or sail with the play of Carey Price.
Saturday, July 18, 2015
Saturday, July 11, 2015
2015-2016 National Hockey League Preview:Teams 5 and 6
5.Detroit Red Wings-This Motor City franchise, one of the original six teams, has accumulated six conference championships in the modern era and I expect this year could be lucky number seven as they will be in a dog fight with the Washington Capitals for the Eastern Conference trophy. Jeff Blaishill takes over the head coaching duties from incredibly successful internationally, but not necessarily incredibly successful in the NHL Mike Babcock. My take on Babcock is that he inherited a program that was put in place by Scotty Bowman and later followed through by Dave Lewis and the fact that he gets the reputation of being the league's best coach is unfounded because although he was the Head Coach during Detroit's victorious 2008 season that team had Bowman's prints all over it and anything he's put a stamp on, which I would argue was 2010 onwards has seen mediocre results. Mike is a coach that's probably best suited for taking over a team that is on the peripheral of winning, ala a Canadian Olympic team or the '08 Wings, not the 2015-2016 version of the Toronto Maple Leafs. That could be a train wreck. As it may play out, Jeff Blaishill may turn into an upgrade for a Red Wings team that absolutely has the talent in place to make a run at Lord Stanley. He's a journeyman in the hockey circles and because of this might give off the sentimental hard-working vibes and change the culture of the Red Wings, who historically have been a run and gun organization.
Because Gustav Nyquist calls Pistons country home, a lot of people situated in Detroit have no idea who he is, and in the average fan's defense, Gustav Nyquist rushed through the Red Wings farm system and reached superstardom before some some people could blink. The premise of Nyquist getting rushed through goes against built in stone Kenny Holland principle as the old joke pertaining to the Red Wings is that if you've made the jump before the age of thirty you're breaking multiple trends. The twenty five year from Halmstead, Sweden, brings a calm to the attack of Detroit because aside from an aging and declining fellow Swede Henrik Zetterberg, Gustav is the only pure shooter in the team, someone Blaishill can comfortably pair with Pavel Datsyuk. The key now is, with him being locked up an additional four more years, will there be a natural improvement with leadership and striving to be a more complete player because their are some gopher holes in the defensive side of his game, particularly last year. Being the premier player that he is, skating to a -11 is unacceptable and will need to show more accountability. The rookie race belongs to "McJesus"himself, Connor McDavid, but someone that because of the depth he's fallen into, may have a chance to be that Calder trophy sleeper, last year's team U.S.A World Junior star Dylan Larkin. If Larkin does crack the opening day lineup which I think he has the talent to do so, fits perfectly with the theme of the Red Wings breaking otherwise unbreakable principles. New coach, new rules so for Jeff Blaishill he may observe Dylan Larkin's game as someone who at the young age of eighteen can come in kill penalties right away. The penalty killing prowess is where Larkin specializes in and has even drawn comparisons to the game of New York Ranger Chris Kreider. Red Wing patrons can only dream that Larkin will some day meet the same offensive upside that Kreider currently possesses. The tangent I'm about to go on relates specifically to the Red Wings, but in a wider scheme of the entire National Hockey League. Purists will say if a player is eighteen, why is he being rushed into the league. I can certainly sympathize with this argument as these ARE teenagers after all, but at the same time we are in the business of winning and if Larkin, or any other eighteen year old can come in and help you win then why on earth would the club re-assign you to junior/NCAA. Seniority runs too prevalent in the league and it's the teams that stray away from the seniority factor succeed.
Mike Babcock has been far too critical of Jakub Kindl throughout the years. This twenty eight year old Czech Republican has spent more time in the dog house than out on the ice and this has been a gross display for a player that's a dyamo offensively, and unless you subscribe to Babcock's theory that he was better on the bench defensively than he was on the ice, you'll know that Kindl's shot blocking ability is actually above par and it's one of this more underappreciated skill sets. This big body was outcast during there brief playoff run and when this happens the first worry that comes to mind pertaining to a European is that he'll bolt back home. He didn't, he showed maturity and a willingness to prove the doubters wrong and I believe this resounding loyalty will lead to him excelling on the first pairing this season. Unlike Kindl, Niklas Kronwall gets much more recognition because he lays out those thundering body checks that you see nightly on your regional highlight packs but he really is more than just a heavy hitter. Detroit fans will not soon forget the NHL's controversial decision when head disciplinarian Stephane Quintal handed out a one game suspension for a high hit on Nikita Kucherov even though Kucherov returned that very game six. This was ultimately part of the demise that cost the Red Wings the pleasure of advancing but the Motor City knows that Kronwall is a marquee talent that will be again be counted upon to anchor a very underrated defence core. I share the same sentiment of Kronwall being a special player but from a technical point of view my one criticism is he's got to perfect the art of getting more pucks through on net. He possesses one of the league's better shots, and the Red Wings will ask that the shot accuracy portion is focused on because if that's accomplished, it's not out of the horizon for Kronwall to score twenty goals, full well realizing the Power-play time he's responsible with. Throughout this team's preview, we've discussed the change in philosophy in allowing the younger players to grow at the National Hockey League, and I'm wondering if the same can be applied with Xavier Ouellet. This French-Canadian was outstanding when he participated in the 2013 World Junior Hockey Championships for Team Canada and now with his former coach at Grand Rapids fully in charge, one would have to surmise that he'll be given every look necessary meriting a fair shake to make the club full time.
I compare the Red Wings goaltending to that of a R.A Dickey knuckle ball. One day, it has so much movement and productivity, other nights there's no movement whatsoever causing his earned run average to take a Brock Lesnar beating. Goaltender coach Jim Bedard must see enough in Jimmy Howard to continually instill the confidence in him because as of late, Howard's statistics have been anything but pleasant. So much so, that during the Red Wings first round series v Tampa, younger and at times more sure handed Petr Mrazek was given the important starts. Bedard, seventeen years into his goaltending coach tenure with the Wings mastered the art of working with unconventional goalies like Chris Osgood and Dominik Hasek that you begin to suffice if he hasn't quite got the hand of working with more of a traditional netminder. Howard for example, skated his way to a .910 save percentage which is nothing to cry home about but I think more of the issue with Howard is his penchant giving up that momentum changing goal, something that Mrazek didn't fall victim to as much. Just on a pure gut, my spidey sense that barring an unforeseen disastrous training camp by Mrazek, it's job to lose and he'll be the opening night starter.
6.Pittsburgh Penguins- Anytime one stable can boast the arsenal of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, a sports gambler would take their chances prognosticating a triple crown. After winning the Stanley Cup in 2009 against the aforementioned Pittsburgh Penguins, hockey writers aplenty predicted by the time 2015 rolled around, Crosby and company would have at least three Stanley cups in pocket, but as we currently dissect this team in July 2015, they are still only 1/3 to that elusive "Triple Crown". What's happened in Pittsburgh is complacency and General Manager Jim Rutherford thought he had ridded himself of what was the catalyst of this complacency when electing to go in the direction of bringing in head coach from the Portland Winterhawks Mike Johnston. The 2014-2015 season did little to dispel that notion that the Penguins are becoming notorious underachievers as they fell in the first round to the New York Rangers. Sid the kid Crosby will have to find a way to break that stigma of becoming a complainer to the referees and re discover that game that has so many calling him the best player in todays game.
The terminology of being "all in" is over- used these days and I'm as guilty as anybody. By saying that, when you make the organizational decision to finally make that bold transaction(Alex Anthopoulos are you listening?) you provide a sense of relief amongst the fan base that you're seriously committed to doing anything you can to bring the community a championship. Rutherford, who himself orchestrated a Stanley Cup back when he was employed by Carolina decided to throw all his poker chips in on one hand by acquiring the great on ice talent, yet non media friendly Phil Kessel Kessel is the complimentary piece that Sidney Crosby has been need of to play on his wing since he broke into the league. Now, I realize the vast majority would argue and say that the likes of John LeClair, Paschal Dupuis, and Chris Kunitz all held their own playing alongside which I would argue that although they did fine, the results of these particular experiments brought back moderate results. When perusing Kessel's statistics courtesy of Hockey DB, the kind of player that Crosby and Malkin are getting showcased his ability in a big way by accumulating one hundred and eighty one goals just with the Leafs...the leafs people, when at times he was playing on the line with David Steckel during a time when then coach Peter Horachek was seemingly experimenting with a million different combinations. Ultimately, it didn't matter what line Kessel found himself on because he re-defines the word sniper. Some talk through the Pittsburgh grape vine that you potentially may see coach Johnston utilize Kessel alongside Evgeni Malkin while playing Hornqvist beside Sid. I personally find this kind of talk silly, because training camp will be the sizeable determinator when judging who Kessel should play with. The other reason why this kind of trade will suit Phil just fine is because he's no longer the team spokesperson. In Toronto, particularly in his dealings with TSN's Steve Simmons there was a feud evident that no matter what Kessel would proclaim, would get misconstrued in a fashion that would upset "Phil the thrill". In Pittsburgh, the media responsibilities fall under the sword of one of the better spoken individuals in Crosby. Crosby's not one to supply the media with a lot of juicy banter but what he says always has the purpose, and that purpose is protecting more fragile personalites in Kessel. This oft talked about trade has created an unknown role for last year's trade deadline acquisition David Perron. From the get go with Pittsburgh my sense was that Perron was never truly comfortable with his role and eventually got passed over on the depth charts by Beau Bennett. Perron, to use a Brian Burke reference carries a great deal truculence but what happened last year, even going back to when he was still was employed by the Oilers, he lost his trademark physicality whether it was at request from the coaches we'll never know. To regain his effectiveness for the 2015-2016 campaign, he'll need to re-channel his inner Brad Marchand and become that agitator that will get under the oppositions skin thus bringing way more power play escapades for the new big three in Pitt, Kessel, Crosby and Malkin.
To maintain success in professional sports, the role of Free Agency and how a team goes about maneuvering throughout is paramount to success. In the Penguins, to consider them as a "success" the last three years would be an aberration as a better descriptor would be "modest" but the original point regarding free agency holds true because they did lose a significant piece on defence in Paul Martin and I'm severely questioning if they did enough to replace the loss notwithstanding the bang they made with the forwards. Kris Letang has been hampered with some health issues that truly put the game of hockey in perspective but nonetheless they will hope that he's healthy and raring to go because if he wasn't already, Paul Martin going to the Shark tank has re-solidified he is Pittsburgh's number one defensive commodity. When Letang is completely on his game, he's widely regarded as one of the league's best passers and can when I view his games, I can't get the visual of Sandis Ozolinsh out my head. Whether it's that renowned passing prowess that they both had or the way in which they skate, their is an uncanny resemblance. Letang posted fifty four points this past season and in order to keep defenders minds off the likes of the aforementioned big three, he'll have to continue to push the envelope and open space up which has the skill level to do. One of the staples of this blog is to plug players who are criminally underrated amongst the hockey public, and Ian Cole, now of the Penguins fits that mold to a T. A prospective fan of his home town Michigan Wolverines, I find it utterly ridiculous that the Blues felt he was the player to dump, and dump they did as in return the Blues received Robert Bortuzzo??? Doing these previews gives you a renewed appreciation for the general managers that build teams the right way, and a distain for GM's that are throwing their team down the toilet. With his pending appointment to oversee the 2016 World Cup of Hockey entry, Hockey Canada has a different outlook with that Armstrong has accomplished but when analyzing his recent trades and surveying his underwhelming recent playoff results, you'll understand why I don't think fond of Doug Armstrong and why the Blues are further down, much further down these rankings. Ian Cole as a member of the Penguins is a coup if you know what you're getting. His role essentially will be to shut down the eastern powers such as Stamkos, Tavares and Nash, not to provide consistent effort. I think where a player is drafted sways people's opinion on what they think a player is capable of, and in Cole's case, selected by the St.Louis Blues with the eighteenth overall selection in 2007, the presumption is that offense comes naturally, but maybe the 2015-2016 season will be Ian Cole's coming out party, and fans can stop mistaking him for what he isn't.
Marc-Andre Fleury gets about as much flack as Tony Romo does playing quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys. Under the same guidelines of Ian Cole, Fleury's draft status has created mightily unfair expectations and anything that he does that doesn't resemble a Glenn Hall-esque performance, who for an useless tidbit was a friend of my Grandpa, then people will give off the impression that's he not doing enough. The Penguins as one of the wildcard representatives in this years playoffs, were quite a bit more competitive then most gave them a chance for and one of the main reasons for this, if not the sole reason was the play of the Quebec native. The series could've very easily done a 180 and Pittsburgh would've had a second round date. This wasn't meant to be, and if Fleury adjusts himself in the regular season to how he was in the playoffs, that's one scary proposition for the rest of the National Hockey League.
Because Gustav Nyquist calls Pistons country home, a lot of people situated in Detroit have no idea who he is, and in the average fan's defense, Gustav Nyquist rushed through the Red Wings farm system and reached superstardom before some some people could blink. The premise of Nyquist getting rushed through goes against built in stone Kenny Holland principle as the old joke pertaining to the Red Wings is that if you've made the jump before the age of thirty you're breaking multiple trends. The twenty five year from Halmstead, Sweden, brings a calm to the attack of Detroit because aside from an aging and declining fellow Swede Henrik Zetterberg, Gustav is the only pure shooter in the team, someone Blaishill can comfortably pair with Pavel Datsyuk. The key now is, with him being locked up an additional four more years, will there be a natural improvement with leadership and striving to be a more complete player because their are some gopher holes in the defensive side of his game, particularly last year. Being the premier player that he is, skating to a -11 is unacceptable and will need to show more accountability. The rookie race belongs to "McJesus"himself, Connor McDavid, but someone that because of the depth he's fallen into, may have a chance to be that Calder trophy sleeper, last year's team U.S.A World Junior star Dylan Larkin. If Larkin does crack the opening day lineup which I think he has the talent to do so, fits perfectly with the theme of the Red Wings breaking otherwise unbreakable principles. New coach, new rules so for Jeff Blaishill he may observe Dylan Larkin's game as someone who at the young age of eighteen can come in kill penalties right away. The penalty killing prowess is where Larkin specializes in and has even drawn comparisons to the game of New York Ranger Chris Kreider. Red Wing patrons can only dream that Larkin will some day meet the same offensive upside that Kreider currently possesses. The tangent I'm about to go on relates specifically to the Red Wings, but in a wider scheme of the entire National Hockey League. Purists will say if a player is eighteen, why is he being rushed into the league. I can certainly sympathize with this argument as these ARE teenagers after all, but at the same time we are in the business of winning and if Larkin, or any other eighteen year old can come in and help you win then why on earth would the club re-assign you to junior/NCAA. Seniority runs too prevalent in the league and it's the teams that stray away from the seniority factor succeed.
Mike Babcock has been far too critical of Jakub Kindl throughout the years. This twenty eight year old Czech Republican has spent more time in the dog house than out on the ice and this has been a gross display for a player that's a dyamo offensively, and unless you subscribe to Babcock's theory that he was better on the bench defensively than he was on the ice, you'll know that Kindl's shot blocking ability is actually above par and it's one of this more underappreciated skill sets. This big body was outcast during there brief playoff run and when this happens the first worry that comes to mind pertaining to a European is that he'll bolt back home. He didn't, he showed maturity and a willingness to prove the doubters wrong and I believe this resounding loyalty will lead to him excelling on the first pairing this season. Unlike Kindl, Niklas Kronwall gets much more recognition because he lays out those thundering body checks that you see nightly on your regional highlight packs but he really is more than just a heavy hitter. Detroit fans will not soon forget the NHL's controversial decision when head disciplinarian Stephane Quintal handed out a one game suspension for a high hit on Nikita Kucherov even though Kucherov returned that very game six. This was ultimately part of the demise that cost the Red Wings the pleasure of advancing but the Motor City knows that Kronwall is a marquee talent that will be again be counted upon to anchor a very underrated defence core. I share the same sentiment of Kronwall being a special player but from a technical point of view my one criticism is he's got to perfect the art of getting more pucks through on net. He possesses one of the league's better shots, and the Red Wings will ask that the shot accuracy portion is focused on because if that's accomplished, it's not out of the horizon for Kronwall to score twenty goals, full well realizing the Power-play time he's responsible with. Throughout this team's preview, we've discussed the change in philosophy in allowing the younger players to grow at the National Hockey League, and I'm wondering if the same can be applied with Xavier Ouellet. This French-Canadian was outstanding when he participated in the 2013 World Junior Hockey Championships for Team Canada and now with his former coach at Grand Rapids fully in charge, one would have to surmise that he'll be given every look necessary meriting a fair shake to make the club full time.
I compare the Red Wings goaltending to that of a R.A Dickey knuckle ball. One day, it has so much movement and productivity, other nights there's no movement whatsoever causing his earned run average to take a Brock Lesnar beating. Goaltender coach Jim Bedard must see enough in Jimmy Howard to continually instill the confidence in him because as of late, Howard's statistics have been anything but pleasant. So much so, that during the Red Wings first round series v Tampa, younger and at times more sure handed Petr Mrazek was given the important starts. Bedard, seventeen years into his goaltending coach tenure with the Wings mastered the art of working with unconventional goalies like Chris Osgood and Dominik Hasek that you begin to suffice if he hasn't quite got the hand of working with more of a traditional netminder. Howard for example, skated his way to a .910 save percentage which is nothing to cry home about but I think more of the issue with Howard is his penchant giving up that momentum changing goal, something that Mrazek didn't fall victim to as much. Just on a pure gut, my spidey sense that barring an unforeseen disastrous training camp by Mrazek, it's job to lose and he'll be the opening night starter.
6.Pittsburgh Penguins- Anytime one stable can boast the arsenal of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, a sports gambler would take their chances prognosticating a triple crown. After winning the Stanley Cup in 2009 against the aforementioned Pittsburgh Penguins, hockey writers aplenty predicted by the time 2015 rolled around, Crosby and company would have at least three Stanley cups in pocket, but as we currently dissect this team in July 2015, they are still only 1/3 to that elusive "Triple Crown". What's happened in Pittsburgh is complacency and General Manager Jim Rutherford thought he had ridded himself of what was the catalyst of this complacency when electing to go in the direction of bringing in head coach from the Portland Winterhawks Mike Johnston. The 2014-2015 season did little to dispel that notion that the Penguins are becoming notorious underachievers as they fell in the first round to the New York Rangers. Sid the kid Crosby will have to find a way to break that stigma of becoming a complainer to the referees and re discover that game that has so many calling him the best player in todays game.
The terminology of being "all in" is over- used these days and I'm as guilty as anybody. By saying that, when you make the organizational decision to finally make that bold transaction(Alex Anthopoulos are you listening?) you provide a sense of relief amongst the fan base that you're seriously committed to doing anything you can to bring the community a championship. Rutherford, who himself orchestrated a Stanley Cup back when he was employed by Carolina decided to throw all his poker chips in on one hand by acquiring the great on ice talent, yet non media friendly Phil Kessel Kessel is the complimentary piece that Sidney Crosby has been need of to play on his wing since he broke into the league. Now, I realize the vast majority would argue and say that the likes of John LeClair, Paschal Dupuis, and Chris Kunitz all held their own playing alongside which I would argue that although they did fine, the results of these particular experiments brought back moderate results. When perusing Kessel's statistics courtesy of Hockey DB, the kind of player that Crosby and Malkin are getting showcased his ability in a big way by accumulating one hundred and eighty one goals just with the Leafs...the leafs people, when at times he was playing on the line with David Steckel during a time when then coach Peter Horachek was seemingly experimenting with a million different combinations. Ultimately, it didn't matter what line Kessel found himself on because he re-defines the word sniper. Some talk through the Pittsburgh grape vine that you potentially may see coach Johnston utilize Kessel alongside Evgeni Malkin while playing Hornqvist beside Sid. I personally find this kind of talk silly, because training camp will be the sizeable determinator when judging who Kessel should play with. The other reason why this kind of trade will suit Phil just fine is because he's no longer the team spokesperson. In Toronto, particularly in his dealings with TSN's Steve Simmons there was a feud evident that no matter what Kessel would proclaim, would get misconstrued in a fashion that would upset "Phil the thrill". In Pittsburgh, the media responsibilities fall under the sword of one of the better spoken individuals in Crosby. Crosby's not one to supply the media with a lot of juicy banter but what he says always has the purpose, and that purpose is protecting more fragile personalites in Kessel. This oft talked about trade has created an unknown role for last year's trade deadline acquisition David Perron. From the get go with Pittsburgh my sense was that Perron was never truly comfortable with his role and eventually got passed over on the depth charts by Beau Bennett. Perron, to use a Brian Burke reference carries a great deal truculence but what happened last year, even going back to when he was still was employed by the Oilers, he lost his trademark physicality whether it was at request from the coaches we'll never know. To regain his effectiveness for the 2015-2016 campaign, he'll need to re-channel his inner Brad Marchand and become that agitator that will get under the oppositions skin thus bringing way more power play escapades for the new big three in Pitt, Kessel, Crosby and Malkin.
To maintain success in professional sports, the role of Free Agency and how a team goes about maneuvering throughout is paramount to success. In the Penguins, to consider them as a "success" the last three years would be an aberration as a better descriptor would be "modest" but the original point regarding free agency holds true because they did lose a significant piece on defence in Paul Martin and I'm severely questioning if they did enough to replace the loss notwithstanding the bang they made with the forwards. Kris Letang has been hampered with some health issues that truly put the game of hockey in perspective but nonetheless they will hope that he's healthy and raring to go because if he wasn't already, Paul Martin going to the Shark tank has re-solidified he is Pittsburgh's number one defensive commodity. When Letang is completely on his game, he's widely regarded as one of the league's best passers and can when I view his games, I can't get the visual of Sandis Ozolinsh out my head. Whether it's that renowned passing prowess that they both had or the way in which they skate, their is an uncanny resemblance. Letang posted fifty four points this past season and in order to keep defenders minds off the likes of the aforementioned big three, he'll have to continue to push the envelope and open space up which has the skill level to do. One of the staples of this blog is to plug players who are criminally underrated amongst the hockey public, and Ian Cole, now of the Penguins fits that mold to a T. A prospective fan of his home town Michigan Wolverines, I find it utterly ridiculous that the Blues felt he was the player to dump, and dump they did as in return the Blues received Robert Bortuzzo??? Doing these previews gives you a renewed appreciation for the general managers that build teams the right way, and a distain for GM's that are throwing their team down the toilet. With his pending appointment to oversee the 2016 World Cup of Hockey entry, Hockey Canada has a different outlook with that Armstrong has accomplished but when analyzing his recent trades and surveying his underwhelming recent playoff results, you'll understand why I don't think fond of Doug Armstrong and why the Blues are further down, much further down these rankings. Ian Cole as a member of the Penguins is a coup if you know what you're getting. His role essentially will be to shut down the eastern powers such as Stamkos, Tavares and Nash, not to provide consistent effort. I think where a player is drafted sways people's opinion on what they think a player is capable of, and in Cole's case, selected by the St.Louis Blues with the eighteenth overall selection in 2007, the presumption is that offense comes naturally, but maybe the 2015-2016 season will be Ian Cole's coming out party, and fans can stop mistaking him for what he isn't.
Marc-Andre Fleury gets about as much flack as Tony Romo does playing quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys. Under the same guidelines of Ian Cole, Fleury's draft status has created mightily unfair expectations and anything that he does that doesn't resemble a Glenn Hall-esque performance, who for an useless tidbit was a friend of my Grandpa, then people will give off the impression that's he not doing enough. The Penguins as one of the wildcard representatives in this years playoffs, were quite a bit more competitive then most gave them a chance for and one of the main reasons for this, if not the sole reason was the play of the Quebec native. The series could've very easily done a 180 and Pittsburgh would've had a second round date. This wasn't meant to be, and if Fleury adjusts himself in the regular season to how he was in the playoffs, that's one scary proposition for the rest of the National Hockey League.
EE Effort
The Toronto Blue Jays muscled out a very important win this afternoon against the defending American League pennant winners the Kansas City Royals. Edwin Encarnacion delivered an important home run in the fourth inning which brought the Jays long scoreless streak to an abrupt end. Because of this, short sighted fans of the team will become enamored with Encarnacion and continually refer to say he's broken out of his tail spin and once again can be counted on to provide timely offence. What people, and even people within the Blue Jays hierarchy fail to realize is that Edwin's mantra is inconsistency and we have the same story play out time and time again. This is my opinion in large part, but clear cut statistics validate my beliefs. From 2012 to the present, his batting average has slipped going from.280 to .272 to .268 to him currently gracing a .236 average. For a team that is supposedly "all in", and I could've certainly targeted this entry towards a flawed business plan but I will primarily focus on my frustrations with Encarnacion, what has he shown that he has the mentality and the ability to be a fourth hitter for a team that has American League East title aspirations? To be Mike Wilner blunt, he hasn't. We can't use injuries as an excuse because he's been one of the few Jays who have got off scot free. It comes down to attitude and desire, a similar sentiment that could be applied to Jose Bautista, but once again this is all about EE. Nothing drives me more crazy in baseball then a batter not running out a ground ball and Encarnacion makes this common place. Jose Reyes does his little arm twirl when getting a base hit, and a lot of the Jays have since followed suit, which unlike Gregg Zaun I happen to like because it pushes forward team cohesion but once again Edwin chooses not to cosign on the celebration. It's painfully clear that Encarnacion wants to swing that bat elsewhere and if you're Anthopoulos you try and make this happen because although has seventeen knockers, the rest of his game is abysmal so if you can get that coveted pitcher in exchange for him, do it immediately!
I guarantee some(most) will read this and will ask themselves, "what's wrong with seventeen homers"? On the surface, nothing as hitting nearly twenty homers before the all-star break is commendable, but when you're hitting one home run in say roughly every sixty at bats, fifty nine to be exact and provide NOTHING in between, Gibbons isn't getting the money's worth from the four hole. I will say this to anybody that will listen but I'm come to the point of futility with Edwin that I'd rather see Gibbons trot out Kevin Pillar, Dioner Navarro or Justin Smoak in the clean-up position until Edwin cleans up his act and starts acting like he gives a damn. Pillar specifically the player I would prefer batting fourth gives you honest at-bats and plays the game the right way, a versatile fielder and has a decent speed dimension. Just imagine this scenario, you deal Edwin Encarnacion to the Chicago White Sox(who need offence) for pitcher Jeff Samardzija. It's a win win for the Blue Jays in this proposed acquisition as we finally receive the ace that we so desperately need while getting rid of a player that we don't require. As a prefix to my proposed trade, I'm doubting the White Sox will sign off on such a trade if for no other reason then they're heating up and channeling their inner 2006 team and also I don't think Edwin is quite the player that would match up with Samardzija's hefty trade stock. However, after saying all of that this is the kind of trade them from the North should be focusing on. If this premise of a deal consummated, just imagine the thought of not having to play the Manny Ramirez-esque pertaining to his outfielding efforts Chris Colabello in the outfield, instilling him as the permanent Designated hitter. Addition by subtraction at it's finest. I unfortunately disconnected my self when on hold to speak with the Fan 590's infamous Mike Wilner, but this right here voices my deepest concern with the Blue Jays and if this goes on much longer, Edwin will be one of two players solely responsible for Manager John Gibbons undoing.
Thanks,
Brett Murray
@bretzky26
brett_h_murray@hotmail.com
I guarantee some(most) will read this and will ask themselves, "what's wrong with seventeen homers"? On the surface, nothing as hitting nearly twenty homers before the all-star break is commendable, but when you're hitting one home run in say roughly every sixty at bats, fifty nine to be exact and provide NOTHING in between, Gibbons isn't getting the money's worth from the four hole. I will say this to anybody that will listen but I'm come to the point of futility with Edwin that I'd rather see Gibbons trot out Kevin Pillar, Dioner Navarro or Justin Smoak in the clean-up position until Edwin cleans up his act and starts acting like he gives a damn. Pillar specifically the player I would prefer batting fourth gives you honest at-bats and plays the game the right way, a versatile fielder and has a decent speed dimension. Just imagine this scenario, you deal Edwin Encarnacion to the Chicago White Sox(who need offence) for pitcher Jeff Samardzija. It's a win win for the Blue Jays in this proposed acquisition as we finally receive the ace that we so desperately need while getting rid of a player that we don't require. As a prefix to my proposed trade, I'm doubting the White Sox will sign off on such a trade if for no other reason then they're heating up and channeling their inner 2006 team and also I don't think Edwin is quite the player that would match up with Samardzija's hefty trade stock. However, after saying all of that this is the kind of trade them from the North should be focusing on. If this premise of a deal consummated, just imagine the thought of not having to play the Manny Ramirez-esque pertaining to his outfielding efforts Chris Colabello in the outfield, instilling him as the permanent Designated hitter. Addition by subtraction at it's finest. I unfortunately disconnected my self when on hold to speak with the Fan 590's infamous Mike Wilner, but this right here voices my deepest concern with the Blue Jays and if this goes on much longer, Edwin will be one of two players solely responsible for Manager John Gibbons undoing.
Thanks,
Brett Murray
@bretzky26
brett_h_murray@hotmail.com
2015-2016 National Hockey League Preview: Teams 3 and 4
3.Washington Capitals- At one juncture, you could make the compelling argument that Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin's claim to fame was his courtship with tennis babe Maria Kirilenko. During this infamous courtship you could make the case that you've never seen a more motivated Ovi because he was scoring goals on and off the ice. Since the point where the relationship flamed out, his statistics have kept on par and in some areas improved upon but relating this to competitiveness and aggression on the ice, that's been lacking noticeably in the playoffs and coach Barry Trotz is going to have to find innovative maneuvers to bring back that legendary compete level in order to bring the city of Washington a championship, something that you may see them achieve with their baseball team and definitely have made the necessary moves to re-ignite a serious run at the Stanley Cup.
General Manager Brian MacLellan has just completed his first season being the head honcho in the National Hockey League and in preparation for year two, he's been wheeling and dealing more then Craig Manning did on Degrassi:TNG. So let me get you up to speed, the Capitals and Blues immersed in trade talks involving T.J Oshie. Then, on July 2nd, 2015 the deal was put in motion but what did the Blues get in return you ask? They received the one and only, former Moose Jaw Warrior Troy Brouwer. The same Troy Brouwer who was nearly bought out by the Capitals and them somehow convinced Doug Armstrong that it would be worth his while to trade his most valuable forward trade chip for a player who's career high in points is forty. Did Oshie not tally forty in the 2014 Sochi games solely? Ridiculous trade but full props to MacLellan who for being a inexperienced General Manager that just robbed the local Burger King without anyone else noticing. Oshie is exactly the type of player the Capitals were needing. With players like Ovechkin, Evgeny Kuznetsov, the am I a Swede or a Russian Andre Burakovsky that already have the intricate skill down pact, but what lacks is that want and desire to be the guy in the last minute, and Oshie is that in spades. Nobody will ever forget the pressure he was under in those aforementioned Olympic games and his clutch fortitude in the shoot-out. On a side note, it should be noted that although most hockey purists hate the international shoot-our rules where after three shooters, a player can go as many time as he or she pleases, this possibly concussed blogger loves the differentiation of what this shoot-out brings compared to the bland National Hockey League version which is NO MORE!!!! If you didn't believe Oshie is clutch, which I can understand as a valid disagreement because his productivity in the NHL playoffs is rendered non existent, the same cannot be said about Mr.Playoffs himself, Justin Williams. His accolades speak for themselves as in an unprecedented stat, he has never lost a game seven playoff game toppled by the fact that the thirty three year old Cobourg product was the pinnacle of the 2014 Los Angeles Kings Stanley Cup Championship winning the Conn Smythe trophy. They're deep, they now have winners, does Ovechkin have the minions following him nowto take this all the way? Quite possibly.
As much as I admire the forwards, this blogger is very lukewarm about the defence. Electing to not re-sign Mike Green means they'll actually ice six defenceman a night, not the customary five we were used to in Washington won't hurt but I just don't know if they have that true number one anchor and by no mean is this a slight on John Carlson just because he broke Canadian's hearts back in the 2010 World Junior Hockey Championships. Carlson is a fine player, and his offensive instincts don't go unnoticed but similarly to Green, it's becoming an ever recurring trend that Carlson will cough up the puck at inopportune times and seem to take unnecessary risks when the game situation doesn't call for it. Another point of contention I have with the big #74 is that with his size listed at
6'3 212, he plays to soft. I can't believe I am condoning a player taking more penalties but by doing this maybe that'll increase the intimidation level and make Carlson a more petrifiable force on the ice and getting rid of the don't touch anybody Phil Housley approach. Conversely, Karl Alzner has to learn the offensive side of the biscuit because he emasculates his effectiveness every time then puck on his stick. With his junior affiliate, Alzer put up some numbers offensively but as is the case with a lot of players stepping into the show, they lose that confidence and aren't willing to take the chances with the puck that they did in junior. Maybe former head coach Kelly Kisio can sit him down and re-instill that confidence as he's already an elite defender, time to become complete.
Braden Holtby is a rock back there and funny enough, due to the changes the Capitals made on defence, in other words due to them getting rid of Mike Green, I would project he'll face less work this year. Holtby time and time again has that cockiness aura about him when he steps inside the net and that cockiness is in it's truest sense of the word, recollecting to an interview Holtby conducted with Pierre McGuire during his breakthrough 2012 playoff run Holtby stated after shutting out the New York Rangers that his team would win the series, and the Stanley Cup. Now, they didn't reach that ultimate prize but that trademark confidence is something to look out for as he once again will go head to head against the Eastern Conference sharpshooters.
4.Los Angeles Kings-If you subscribe to probability and trends then the Los Angeles Kings have won the 2015-2016 Stanley Cup. This whole preview will be a waste of time as the Kings have already won. Only if that was true........the Kings will be in for a year long Mayweather-Pacquiao boxing match, actually no because if they were involved in that particular match that would involve sitting on the bench and twiddling your thumbs the entire season. To stay within the fighting circles, the Western Conference will be a Royal Rumble this year with every team sans a couple become significantly better. Heck, as you can see I list the Calgary Flames as Western Conference co favourites and going back to a couple years ago, the Flames were easy fodder. As long as the Kings have enough players that haven't already experimented with Oxycodin to play each night, they'll be scrapping all year long.
The Kings have significantly re-furbished their forward group. Gone are Mike Richards and Jarrett Stoll as they have more life altering events to keep them busy with. In to the fold is big and bruising Milan Lucic who comes from Boston in another one of Don Sweeney's controversial deals although we will say that they made out like Bandits when comparing it to the Dougie Hamilton swap. Milan Lucic was your quintessential Bruin, plays hard, doesn't exactly have the finesse game but boy can he hit! Fittingly, the one team in the entire National Hockey League that possesses similar characteristics are the Los Angeles Kings. Sometimes when changing destinations, the player can find the new home daunting but pertaining to Lucic he'll fit right at home. A player who I'm going to plug is somebody that even though he has been an incredibly loyal L.A King has yet to really be given a modest chance to stand-out, and that's former first round pick Trevor Lewis. He was drafted seventeenth overall in 2006. Part of me understands why he's still waiting for that big break mainly because of the depth the Kings have been blessed with, but the other part of me is saying that every time Lewis does get contributable minutes, he shines but yet immediately afterwards he's stuck playing with Jordan"no hands"Nolan. Due to the mentioned losses, I think it's safe to speculate that his days bumming around in the fourth line hotel room are done may see time with the likes of Dustin Brown. My first bold of this National Hockey League has Trevor Lewis scoring twenty five goals well up from his previous career high of nine which he amounted last season. I'm a supporter of the Regina Pats, something that if you read my Western Hockey League preview was made abundantly clear. By saying that, I'll give some love to Jordan Weal. I thought, with the direction the Kings were headed in I didn't really see Weal having a chance to crack the top twelve in SoCal even though he was named the American Hockey League playoff M.V.P. Due to my gut of their not being a spot for him, I prescribed to the notion that he would've been a prime trade candidate, but with the way everything transpired the odds are in Weal's favour of making the squad.
In my humble opinion, P.K Subban is the league's best overall defenceman. However, given a strong enough case I could be swayed to pull in the favor of former Guelph Storm Drew Doughty.What he's able to do is some of the things you can't just teach young defenceman, not withstanding the high level of speed he can put these skills to use with. In the Kings situation, with the Slava Voynov court case up in air, Doughty is fully aware that in order for the Kings to bounce back from their miserable non playoff escapades, he'll probably have to log on average 30 minutes a night, something earlier in his career he couldn't do due to anemic conditioning but now as he's aged, he gets "it", whatever that it factor represents and is now one of the better conditioned athletes in the game. At the peak of his career what coach Darryl Sutter is trying to reign in is occasionally just because Drew knows he has all the tools in the tool-box he tries to do too much and what Sutter is trying to preach is it's OK to take a more methodical approach to playing defence. In lieu of defensive depth concerns, the Kings appreciate when Doughty pulls out his inner Batman and takes the team on his back but at times need a safety net and would encourage him to pull out his inner Robin, someone who is ok stepping back and allowing other players time in the "flashy" spotlight. I've been a back and forth Edmonton Oiler fan for years and probably will again with the arrival of Connor McDavid, but I remember thinking when the Oilers employed Matt Greene but decided to trade him to the Kings for an aging Lubomir Visnovsky, I cringed a little. Greene is such a calming influence with a great locker room presence as well and it's not as if he can't play. This "Giant from Grand Ledge" has get this, never finished the season as a minus player. Let's put this into context as while he played on the Oilers aside from their Stanley Cup finalist year of 2006, and even that year the Oilers squeaked in as the eight seed, the teams were sub par and yet he still was a plus comrade. Greene is a Darryl Sutter player if there ever was one and is the proverbial safety net picking Drew Doughty's mistakes off of the ground and allowing Doughty to take all these chances without any repercussions.
Jonathan Quick was the defining reason why the Los Angeles Kings missed the playoffs last the season. Jonathan Quick was the defining reason why the Los Angeles Kings won the Stanley Cup in 2014. Take the good with the bad. Which Jonathan Quick are we going to get in 15-16, the Quick who was unbeatable posting a 1.41 Goals Against Average during the Kings whitewash on route to the 2012 Stanley Cup or are we going to get a Quick who struggled admittedly last year making Patrick Lalime look like a good goaltender. Kings fans are praying for the former as when Quick showcases that uncanny side to side flexibility, he makes Dominik Hasek, who before Quick was known for said flexibility.......and King faithful very jealous. You have to permutate if Quick's game may falter with Martin Jones leaving because now with Jhonas Enroth coming in, that same feel of competition is not there and it's probably advise that unless Quick slides out to a Chris Sale type of start, bringing in a goalie such as James Reimer, Joni Ortio, or former King Ben Scrivens will keep Quick honest.
General Manager Brian MacLellan has just completed his first season being the head honcho in the National Hockey League and in preparation for year two, he's been wheeling and dealing more then Craig Manning did on Degrassi:TNG. So let me get you up to speed, the Capitals and Blues immersed in trade talks involving T.J Oshie. Then, on July 2nd, 2015 the deal was put in motion but what did the Blues get in return you ask? They received the one and only, former Moose Jaw Warrior Troy Brouwer. The same Troy Brouwer who was nearly bought out by the Capitals and them somehow convinced Doug Armstrong that it would be worth his while to trade his most valuable forward trade chip for a player who's career high in points is forty. Did Oshie not tally forty in the 2014 Sochi games solely? Ridiculous trade but full props to MacLellan who for being a inexperienced General Manager that just robbed the local Burger King without anyone else noticing. Oshie is exactly the type of player the Capitals were needing. With players like Ovechkin, Evgeny Kuznetsov, the am I a Swede or a Russian Andre Burakovsky that already have the intricate skill down pact, but what lacks is that want and desire to be the guy in the last minute, and Oshie is that in spades. Nobody will ever forget the pressure he was under in those aforementioned Olympic games and his clutch fortitude in the shoot-out. On a side note, it should be noted that although most hockey purists hate the international shoot-our rules where after three shooters, a player can go as many time as he or she pleases, this possibly concussed blogger loves the differentiation of what this shoot-out brings compared to the bland National Hockey League version which is NO MORE!!!! If you didn't believe Oshie is clutch, which I can understand as a valid disagreement because his productivity in the NHL playoffs is rendered non existent, the same cannot be said about Mr.Playoffs himself, Justin Williams. His accolades speak for themselves as in an unprecedented stat, he has never lost a game seven playoff game toppled by the fact that the thirty three year old Cobourg product was the pinnacle of the 2014 Los Angeles Kings Stanley Cup Championship winning the Conn Smythe trophy. They're deep, they now have winners, does Ovechkin have the minions following him nowto take this all the way? Quite possibly.
As much as I admire the forwards, this blogger is very lukewarm about the defence. Electing to not re-sign Mike Green means they'll actually ice six defenceman a night, not the customary five we were used to in Washington won't hurt but I just don't know if they have that true number one anchor and by no mean is this a slight on John Carlson just because he broke Canadian's hearts back in the 2010 World Junior Hockey Championships. Carlson is a fine player, and his offensive instincts don't go unnoticed but similarly to Green, it's becoming an ever recurring trend that Carlson will cough up the puck at inopportune times and seem to take unnecessary risks when the game situation doesn't call for it. Another point of contention I have with the big #74 is that with his size listed at
6'3 212, he plays to soft. I can't believe I am condoning a player taking more penalties but by doing this maybe that'll increase the intimidation level and make Carlson a more petrifiable force on the ice and getting rid of the don't touch anybody Phil Housley approach. Conversely, Karl Alzner has to learn the offensive side of the biscuit because he emasculates his effectiveness every time then puck on his stick. With his junior affiliate, Alzer put up some numbers offensively but as is the case with a lot of players stepping into the show, they lose that confidence and aren't willing to take the chances with the puck that they did in junior. Maybe former head coach Kelly Kisio can sit him down and re-instill that confidence as he's already an elite defender, time to become complete.
Braden Holtby is a rock back there and funny enough, due to the changes the Capitals made on defence, in other words due to them getting rid of Mike Green, I would project he'll face less work this year. Holtby time and time again has that cockiness aura about him when he steps inside the net and that cockiness is in it's truest sense of the word, recollecting to an interview Holtby conducted with Pierre McGuire during his breakthrough 2012 playoff run Holtby stated after shutting out the New York Rangers that his team would win the series, and the Stanley Cup. Now, they didn't reach that ultimate prize but that trademark confidence is something to look out for as he once again will go head to head against the Eastern Conference sharpshooters.
4.Los Angeles Kings-If you subscribe to probability and trends then the Los Angeles Kings have won the 2015-2016 Stanley Cup. This whole preview will be a waste of time as the Kings have already won. Only if that was true........the Kings will be in for a year long Mayweather-Pacquiao boxing match, actually no because if they were involved in that particular match that would involve sitting on the bench and twiddling your thumbs the entire season. To stay within the fighting circles, the Western Conference will be a Royal Rumble this year with every team sans a couple become significantly better. Heck, as you can see I list the Calgary Flames as Western Conference co favourites and going back to a couple years ago, the Flames were easy fodder. As long as the Kings have enough players that haven't already experimented with Oxycodin to play each night, they'll be scrapping all year long.
The Kings have significantly re-furbished their forward group. Gone are Mike Richards and Jarrett Stoll as they have more life altering events to keep them busy with. In to the fold is big and bruising Milan Lucic who comes from Boston in another one of Don Sweeney's controversial deals although we will say that they made out like Bandits when comparing it to the Dougie Hamilton swap. Milan Lucic was your quintessential Bruin, plays hard, doesn't exactly have the finesse game but boy can he hit! Fittingly, the one team in the entire National Hockey League that possesses similar characteristics are the Los Angeles Kings. Sometimes when changing destinations, the player can find the new home daunting but pertaining to Lucic he'll fit right at home. A player who I'm going to plug is somebody that even though he has been an incredibly loyal L.A King has yet to really be given a modest chance to stand-out, and that's former first round pick Trevor Lewis. He was drafted seventeenth overall in 2006. Part of me understands why he's still waiting for that big break mainly because of the depth the Kings have been blessed with, but the other part of me is saying that every time Lewis does get contributable minutes, he shines but yet immediately afterwards he's stuck playing with Jordan"no hands"Nolan. Due to the mentioned losses, I think it's safe to speculate that his days bumming around in the fourth line hotel room are done may see time with the likes of Dustin Brown. My first bold of this National Hockey League has Trevor Lewis scoring twenty five goals well up from his previous career high of nine which he amounted last season. I'm a supporter of the Regina Pats, something that if you read my Western Hockey League preview was made abundantly clear. By saying that, I'll give some love to Jordan Weal. I thought, with the direction the Kings were headed in I didn't really see Weal having a chance to crack the top twelve in SoCal even though he was named the American Hockey League playoff M.V.P. Due to my gut of their not being a spot for him, I prescribed to the notion that he would've been a prime trade candidate, but with the way everything transpired the odds are in Weal's favour of making the squad.
In my humble opinion, P.K Subban is the league's best overall defenceman. However, given a strong enough case I could be swayed to pull in the favor of former Guelph Storm Drew Doughty.What he's able to do is some of the things you can't just teach young defenceman, not withstanding the high level of speed he can put these skills to use with. In the Kings situation, with the Slava Voynov court case up in air, Doughty is fully aware that in order for the Kings to bounce back from their miserable non playoff escapades, he'll probably have to log on average 30 minutes a night, something earlier in his career he couldn't do due to anemic conditioning but now as he's aged, he gets "it", whatever that it factor represents and is now one of the better conditioned athletes in the game. At the peak of his career what coach Darryl Sutter is trying to reign in is occasionally just because Drew knows he has all the tools in the tool-box he tries to do too much and what Sutter is trying to preach is it's OK to take a more methodical approach to playing defence. In lieu of defensive depth concerns, the Kings appreciate when Doughty pulls out his inner Batman and takes the team on his back but at times need a safety net and would encourage him to pull out his inner Robin, someone who is ok stepping back and allowing other players time in the "flashy" spotlight. I've been a back and forth Edmonton Oiler fan for years and probably will again with the arrival of Connor McDavid, but I remember thinking when the Oilers employed Matt Greene but decided to trade him to the Kings for an aging Lubomir Visnovsky, I cringed a little. Greene is such a calming influence with a great locker room presence as well and it's not as if he can't play. This "Giant from Grand Ledge" has get this, never finished the season as a minus player. Let's put this into context as while he played on the Oilers aside from their Stanley Cup finalist year of 2006, and even that year the Oilers squeaked in as the eight seed, the teams were sub par and yet he still was a plus comrade. Greene is a Darryl Sutter player if there ever was one and is the proverbial safety net picking Drew Doughty's mistakes off of the ground and allowing Doughty to take all these chances without any repercussions.
Jonathan Quick was the defining reason why the Los Angeles Kings missed the playoffs last the season. Jonathan Quick was the defining reason why the Los Angeles Kings won the Stanley Cup in 2014. Take the good with the bad. Which Jonathan Quick are we going to get in 15-16, the Quick who was unbeatable posting a 1.41 Goals Against Average during the Kings whitewash on route to the 2012 Stanley Cup or are we going to get a Quick who struggled admittedly last year making Patrick Lalime look like a good goaltender. Kings fans are praying for the former as when Quick showcases that uncanny side to side flexibility, he makes Dominik Hasek, who before Quick was known for said flexibility.......and King faithful very jealous. You have to permutate if Quick's game may falter with Martin Jones leaving because now with Jhonas Enroth coming in, that same feel of competition is not there and it's probably advise that unless Quick slides out to a Chris Sale type of start, bringing in a goalie such as James Reimer, Joni Ortio, or former King Ben Scrivens will keep Quick honest.
Friday, July 10, 2015
2015-2016 National Hockey League Preview:Teams 1 and 2
Back again, this time I will put forth the extraordinary effort of ranking the National Hockey League teams based off of how I rank their chances of hoisting the Stanley Cup. I felt as if my Western Hockey League preview was fairly successful, although I suppose that's a matter of opinion but I will embark on it anyway and once again strongly encourage those reading this to follow me at twitter @bretzky26 so I can exponent the growth of the blog. The same format will be followed as last time thus attempting to profile two teams a day.
1.Chicago Blackhawks- The defending Stanley Cup champions are a fairly self explanatory choice for the number one slot. The team has lost a boatload of talent but General Manager Stan Bowman has made understated moves that will allow the city of Chicago to remain competitive. The boldest choice of all saw the Blackhawks unload former Saginaw Spirit Brandon Saad to the Columbus Blue Jackets for a package that included Artem Anismov, a player for which Bowman has internally coveted for a long time. Do the Blackhawks have the horses to race through another marathon? I would exclaim so but like most defending champions, success breeds new opportunity for players that will get elevated roles due to the inevitable salary cap crunch that a few Hawks fell victim to.
Upfront, this team will forever be dominant when Patrick Kane and "Captain Serious" himself, Jonathan Toews remain at the helm. When analyzing Toews game, with full well knowing that his statistics don't jump out at you, he brings particular intangibles that will never be found on a stat sheet. When Toews hits the ice, what's abundantly clear is that he rarely makes mistakes that lead to goals in the back of his own net. This speaks in spades when throwing out that throughout his entire career, he has never had a worse +/- then 11. For a league that forever has had the goal of being more offensive during the entire tenure of Toews career, the accomplishment of this feat is speaks volumes for why he gets the Mark Messier edit for his prudent leadership skills. In my own opinion, the simple role of "leadership" is over appreciated by the majority of media who cover hockey because if you can't play, you can't play, and I don't care how much of a stand up guy you are, you're not going to have a place on my hockey team. Getting back to Toews, and it's quite possible that my uncontrolled rambling is due to a car crash I was involved in earlier in the afternoon, the St.Vital Victorian, who played for that very team name in his Atom/Pee Wee years can play, and if he could ever break that thirty goal plateau, something the Hawks may require after trading Patrick Sharp to Dallas, Chicago will become an even more dangerous commodity. As mentioned in the opening, Artem Anisimov was acquired from the Columbus Blue Jackets in a trade that also the Hawks receive Marko Dano and saw them re-acquire twenty four year old Auburn, New York native Jeremy Morin. Anisimov is the key that will open the car doors for other Hawks that because all the movement may see minutes that they aren't accustomed to. Anisimov, and don't shoot the messenger as like I mentioned I've already been in a car wreck today has been incredibly underwhelming so far during his stints with New York and Columbus. That consistent lack of effort and willingness to compete night in and night out is the part that turns him away from being the top player Bowman and the two previous General Managers who worked with him believed, and believe he can be. He suffers from an illness that some players over the National Hockey League's existence have suffered through and that's a bout with Alex Kovalev-itis.
This defence core is essentially dependent on whether Brent Seabrook remains a Blackhawk. If management does come to the conclusion that they must move Seabrook for financial reasons, then this defensive tandem is already more of a abomination then it was during their playoff run. Joel Quenneville is a top two coach in this industry but his bench management, particularly with the defenceman was deplorable. I cannot fathom the logic interpreted when at times the now retired Kimmo Timonen and Kyle Cumiskey would glue their arses to the bench and then expect to give Quenneville a serviceable shift. Timonen, who came into the NHL with Nashville for the 1998-1999 season, is/was a player with beaming confidence but I don't know what can be expected when given so little time in the sun. Even the most confident player and become discouraged, and that's exactly what transpired with Timonen. The comparable that comes to mind is for example, if in the National Basketball Association, Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr had decided to staple Steph Curry to the bench the entire game and then out of the blue required him to come in for the final minute and make a game tying three. Well, a well adversed sports fan would know, he'd probably make the shot, but then again Kimmo would've given a high quality shift in that circumstance if the year was 2005, not 2015. Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook are widely recognized as the teams' two best defenceman but I could and will make the argument that indeed their second best defenceman is not Seabrook, but Niklas Hjalmarsson. Because Hjalmarsson possesses that non-chalant personality, a lot of the so called experts haven't quite cuddled up to his game Just a really well balanced d-man as he doesn't put a surplus of points, he lets Duncan Keith take that mantra as his career high happens to be twenty-six but when you combine his discipline and reliability he becomes a very important cog to what they're trying to maintain. Add Trevor Daley to the top four mix, and you're about to bake a pretty darn good cake, perhaps with the engraving of "2016 Stanley Cup Champions"?
Status quo in net with Corey Crawford. Crawford, as The has repeatedly shown will not necessarily steal you a game, but won't lose one either. In the midst of the 2014-2015 regular season and early in the playoffs, his game was filled with some may have perceived as unfixable inconsistencies but when the going got tough, this loud mouthed tender came to play in a big way. After Crawfords first Stanley Cup win as a starter back in 2013, there was some wondering eyes asto whether he would fall into the Anti Niemi trap and become a ECHL caliber goaltender the next season, but perseverance paved the way to posting Goals Against Average numbers of .917 and .924 the last two seasons respectively. If there's any liability that hinders the Blackhawks next season, it won't be between the pipes.
2.Calgary Flames-Prior to the NHL draft, there would be no way I would've even considered ever ranking the flames anywhere close to number two. Trades happen, and the trade involving with the Flames and Bruins, which saw Calgary fleece Boston whilst acquiring Dougie Hamilton was a gargantuan game changer and all of a sudden, the team in which second year General Manager Brad Treliving preached patience, but now the Flames are ready to win much sooner than expected. If the Flames were part of Dragon's den episode back in 2013 under Jay Feaster, it's possible they would've been considered for the blooper reel as we probably would have witnessed the dragons laugh hysterically at the prospect of investing in the lowly Flames. In 2015, and I use the Dragon's Den reference because Treliving's father Jim who founded Boston Pizza is a judge on the den would have all four judges desperately want to pitch fork cash to an enterprise that could very well take home the Stanley Cup.
In a recent survey, the Calgary Flames were voted as the fourth most respected franchise in Canada but when just observing forward groups amongst Canadian franchises, this team is nowhere near falling to the fourth spot. This young(very) forward crop is going to be led by a player who shares a nickname with Johnny Manziel, but unlike Manziel isn't known for substance abuse and partying antics, that being Johnny "Hockey" Gaudreau. This slick diminutive American Anomaly is known for his A + creativity followed by what I could consider a much improved ninety foot game which was restructured under the guidance of Bob Hartley. Due to Hartley's past reputation working with young, smaller players you wouldn't of expected him to mesh so well with Gaudreau as in the past mentoring the likes of Alex Tanguay and Jim Slater has been viewed with slightly below average results. I think what has ultimately changed is that Hartley finally realized that to succeed in the National Hockey League, adaptability is paramount and the minute he came to Calgary, there was a renewed, unforeseen passion of the game that the Hawkesbury, Ontario coach didn't show in his stop with the Atlanta Thrashers playing in front of twenty fans. Another reason why Gaudreau exceled last season was because he who his linemates were. Again, credit to Hartley when putting Johnny Hockey with Jiri Hudler and Sean Monahan as they each provide a different skill set which allowed the line to flourish, especially noticeable in their first round win against the Vancouver Canucks. Hudler provides more of a shoot first mentality where as Gaudreau is happy to be the Paul Kariya to his Teemu Selanne.Monahan, on the other hand plays in a similar fashion to how a pre-pylon Joe Thornton displayed as he is sometimes mindlessly patient with the puck and always knows when to get infront of the net to crash home a rebound. One of my favourite forwards in the league is Mason Raymond. The speedster who grew up in Cochrane, Alberta would literally make 90's star Pavel Bure look like a little kid learning to skate just needs to find a way to contribute and be a little more sure handed with the puck on stick. Mason, who inked a three year contract back in 2014 is the kind of player every championship club needs because a)he understands his role and doesn't requires top six minutes to remain happy and b) as much as he lacks puck skills, he more then makes up for by being a terrific penalty killer.
To inference a famous One Direction tune "Best Song Ever", do the Calgary Flames have the "Best Defence Ever"? Treliving caught Boston Bruins general manager Don Sweeney on a bad day, probably still treading tears with the rest of New England involving the Tom Brady saga and forgot that he in charge of a National Hockey League franchise. Let's hope when making this trade, he didn't sign off on the deal thinking he heard the name Freddie Hamilton and not Dougie. It's as good of an explanation as any because you just don't trade one first and two second round for a budgeoning twenty two year old defenceman. Who does he think he is, Brian Burke?....#leafproblems. Already clamoring to the Italian Stallion himself Mark Giordano, it's hard to assess how high the ceiling is for this group. Giordano who was a very late bloomer because in junior playing for the Owen Sound Attack he put up alright numbers but nothing that would make you say he was the next coming of Flames great Gary Suter. Giordano and Hamilton will receive the most media attention in Calgary but just like Niklas Hjalmarsson, T.J Brodie shouldn't be overlooked. For a player that puts forth the focus of being a prototypical defensive defenceman, accumulating forty one points in this last campaign was for the Flames as winning the lottery for the average civilian would be...a million dollar smile. If Brodie can maintain his sedulous play in the d-zone while putting up a similar point total, that'll be the greatest gift the city of Calgary would've received since the NDP government overruled the political power, apologize for the tongue in cheek comment. This defence will unquestionably lead the Red Mile to the promise land, it just remains to see if it's enough to surpass the Blackhawks dynasty.
Predicting the outcome of the training camp battle involving Karri Ramo and Jonas Hiller may be more difficulty then figuring out what the Toronto Maple Leafs ultimate end game is. The two goalies each have their merits for why they should be the exclusive goaltender in town. Ramo provides more of an electrifying presence, will steal the TSN top ten from time to time with some ridiculous saves including the one where he committed highway larceny at J.T Miller's doorstep. Hiller isn't known for the same flash and dash but has much more playoff experience relating back to his time with the Anaheim Ducks but also is known for throwing in a stinker in the middle of say three to four solid outing in a row. It's becoming the new trend in the National Hockey League that a lot of teams, including last year's champion the Chicago Blackhawks will implement a two goaltending system that rides the hot hand as Corey Crawford learned full well through their first round triumph versus the Nashville Predators. Ascertaining which goaltender may get the start on a night to night basis has more twists and turns then an entire season of the FOX classic "24". In 24, Jack Bauer played by talented Canadian actor Kiefer Sutherland always triumphs victorious, and if the goaltending battle and Flames season has a similar ending, this could spell the end of their twenty six year drought.
1.Chicago Blackhawks- The defending Stanley Cup champions are a fairly self explanatory choice for the number one slot. The team has lost a boatload of talent but General Manager Stan Bowman has made understated moves that will allow the city of Chicago to remain competitive. The boldest choice of all saw the Blackhawks unload former Saginaw Spirit Brandon Saad to the Columbus Blue Jackets for a package that included Artem Anismov, a player for which Bowman has internally coveted for a long time. Do the Blackhawks have the horses to race through another marathon? I would exclaim so but like most defending champions, success breeds new opportunity for players that will get elevated roles due to the inevitable salary cap crunch that a few Hawks fell victim to.
Upfront, this team will forever be dominant when Patrick Kane and "Captain Serious" himself, Jonathan Toews remain at the helm. When analyzing Toews game, with full well knowing that his statistics don't jump out at you, he brings particular intangibles that will never be found on a stat sheet. When Toews hits the ice, what's abundantly clear is that he rarely makes mistakes that lead to goals in the back of his own net. This speaks in spades when throwing out that throughout his entire career, he has never had a worse +/- then 11. For a league that forever has had the goal of being more offensive during the entire tenure of Toews career, the accomplishment of this feat is speaks volumes for why he gets the Mark Messier edit for his prudent leadership skills. In my own opinion, the simple role of "leadership" is over appreciated by the majority of media who cover hockey because if you can't play, you can't play, and I don't care how much of a stand up guy you are, you're not going to have a place on my hockey team. Getting back to Toews, and it's quite possible that my uncontrolled rambling is due to a car crash I was involved in earlier in the afternoon, the St.Vital Victorian, who played for that very team name in his Atom/Pee Wee years can play, and if he could ever break that thirty goal plateau, something the Hawks may require after trading Patrick Sharp to Dallas, Chicago will become an even more dangerous commodity. As mentioned in the opening, Artem Anisimov was acquired from the Columbus Blue Jackets in a trade that also the Hawks receive Marko Dano and saw them re-acquire twenty four year old Auburn, New York native Jeremy Morin. Anisimov is the key that will open the car doors for other Hawks that because all the movement may see minutes that they aren't accustomed to. Anisimov, and don't shoot the messenger as like I mentioned I've already been in a car wreck today has been incredibly underwhelming so far during his stints with New York and Columbus. That consistent lack of effort and willingness to compete night in and night out is the part that turns him away from being the top player Bowman and the two previous General Managers who worked with him believed, and believe he can be. He suffers from an illness that some players over the National Hockey League's existence have suffered through and that's a bout with Alex Kovalev-itis.
This defence core is essentially dependent on whether Brent Seabrook remains a Blackhawk. If management does come to the conclusion that they must move Seabrook for financial reasons, then this defensive tandem is already more of a abomination then it was during their playoff run. Joel Quenneville is a top two coach in this industry but his bench management, particularly with the defenceman was deplorable. I cannot fathom the logic interpreted when at times the now retired Kimmo Timonen and Kyle Cumiskey would glue their arses to the bench and then expect to give Quenneville a serviceable shift. Timonen, who came into the NHL with Nashville for the 1998-1999 season, is/was a player with beaming confidence but I don't know what can be expected when given so little time in the sun. Even the most confident player and become discouraged, and that's exactly what transpired with Timonen. The comparable that comes to mind is for example, if in the National Basketball Association, Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr had decided to staple Steph Curry to the bench the entire game and then out of the blue required him to come in for the final minute and make a game tying three. Well, a well adversed sports fan would know, he'd probably make the shot, but then again Kimmo would've given a high quality shift in that circumstance if the year was 2005, not 2015. Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook are widely recognized as the teams' two best defenceman but I could and will make the argument that indeed their second best defenceman is not Seabrook, but Niklas Hjalmarsson. Because Hjalmarsson possesses that non-chalant personality, a lot of the so called experts haven't quite cuddled up to his game Just a really well balanced d-man as he doesn't put a surplus of points, he lets Duncan Keith take that mantra as his career high happens to be twenty-six but when you combine his discipline and reliability he becomes a very important cog to what they're trying to maintain. Add Trevor Daley to the top four mix, and you're about to bake a pretty darn good cake, perhaps with the engraving of "2016 Stanley Cup Champions"?
Status quo in net with Corey Crawford. Crawford, as The has repeatedly shown will not necessarily steal you a game, but won't lose one either. In the midst of the 2014-2015 regular season and early in the playoffs, his game was filled with some may have perceived as unfixable inconsistencies but when the going got tough, this loud mouthed tender came to play in a big way. After Crawfords first Stanley Cup win as a starter back in 2013, there was some wondering eyes asto whether he would fall into the Anti Niemi trap and become a ECHL caliber goaltender the next season, but perseverance paved the way to posting Goals Against Average numbers of .917 and .924 the last two seasons respectively. If there's any liability that hinders the Blackhawks next season, it won't be between the pipes.
2.Calgary Flames-Prior to the NHL draft, there would be no way I would've even considered ever ranking the flames anywhere close to number two. Trades happen, and the trade involving with the Flames and Bruins, which saw Calgary fleece Boston whilst acquiring Dougie Hamilton was a gargantuan game changer and all of a sudden, the team in which second year General Manager Brad Treliving preached patience, but now the Flames are ready to win much sooner than expected. If the Flames were part of Dragon's den episode back in 2013 under Jay Feaster, it's possible they would've been considered for the blooper reel as we probably would have witnessed the dragons laugh hysterically at the prospect of investing in the lowly Flames. In 2015, and I use the Dragon's Den reference because Treliving's father Jim who founded Boston Pizza is a judge on the den would have all four judges desperately want to pitch fork cash to an enterprise that could very well take home the Stanley Cup.
In a recent survey, the Calgary Flames were voted as the fourth most respected franchise in Canada but when just observing forward groups amongst Canadian franchises, this team is nowhere near falling to the fourth spot. This young(very) forward crop is going to be led by a player who shares a nickname with Johnny Manziel, but unlike Manziel isn't known for substance abuse and partying antics, that being Johnny "Hockey" Gaudreau. This slick diminutive American Anomaly is known for his A + creativity followed by what I could consider a much improved ninety foot game which was restructured under the guidance of Bob Hartley. Due to Hartley's past reputation working with young, smaller players you wouldn't of expected him to mesh so well with Gaudreau as in the past mentoring the likes of Alex Tanguay and Jim Slater has been viewed with slightly below average results. I think what has ultimately changed is that Hartley finally realized that to succeed in the National Hockey League, adaptability is paramount and the minute he came to Calgary, there was a renewed, unforeseen passion of the game that the Hawkesbury, Ontario coach didn't show in his stop with the Atlanta Thrashers playing in front of twenty fans. Another reason why Gaudreau exceled last season was because he who his linemates were. Again, credit to Hartley when putting Johnny Hockey with Jiri Hudler and Sean Monahan as they each provide a different skill set which allowed the line to flourish, especially noticeable in their first round win against the Vancouver Canucks. Hudler provides more of a shoot first mentality where as Gaudreau is happy to be the Paul Kariya to his Teemu Selanne.Monahan, on the other hand plays in a similar fashion to how a pre-pylon Joe Thornton displayed as he is sometimes mindlessly patient with the puck and always knows when to get infront of the net to crash home a rebound. One of my favourite forwards in the league is Mason Raymond. The speedster who grew up in Cochrane, Alberta would literally make 90's star Pavel Bure look like a little kid learning to skate just needs to find a way to contribute and be a little more sure handed with the puck on stick. Mason, who inked a three year contract back in 2014 is the kind of player every championship club needs because a)he understands his role and doesn't requires top six minutes to remain happy and b) as much as he lacks puck skills, he more then makes up for by being a terrific penalty killer.
To inference a famous One Direction tune "Best Song Ever", do the Calgary Flames have the "Best Defence Ever"? Treliving caught Boston Bruins general manager Don Sweeney on a bad day, probably still treading tears with the rest of New England involving the Tom Brady saga and forgot that he in charge of a National Hockey League franchise. Let's hope when making this trade, he didn't sign off on the deal thinking he heard the name Freddie Hamilton and not Dougie. It's as good of an explanation as any because you just don't trade one first and two second round for a budgeoning twenty two year old defenceman. Who does he think he is, Brian Burke?....#leafproblems. Already clamoring to the Italian Stallion himself Mark Giordano, it's hard to assess how high the ceiling is for this group. Giordano who was a very late bloomer because in junior playing for the Owen Sound Attack he put up alright numbers but nothing that would make you say he was the next coming of Flames great Gary Suter. Giordano and Hamilton will receive the most media attention in Calgary but just like Niklas Hjalmarsson, T.J Brodie shouldn't be overlooked. For a player that puts forth the focus of being a prototypical defensive defenceman, accumulating forty one points in this last campaign was for the Flames as winning the lottery for the average civilian would be...a million dollar smile. If Brodie can maintain his sedulous play in the d-zone while putting up a similar point total, that'll be the greatest gift the city of Calgary would've received since the NDP government overruled the political power, apologize for the tongue in cheek comment. This defence will unquestionably lead the Red Mile to the promise land, it just remains to see if it's enough to surpass the Blackhawks dynasty.
Predicting the outcome of the training camp battle involving Karri Ramo and Jonas Hiller may be more difficulty then figuring out what the Toronto Maple Leafs ultimate end game is. The two goalies each have their merits for why they should be the exclusive goaltender in town. Ramo provides more of an electrifying presence, will steal the TSN top ten from time to time with some ridiculous saves including the one where he committed highway larceny at J.T Miller's doorstep. Hiller isn't known for the same flash and dash but has much more playoff experience relating back to his time with the Anaheim Ducks but also is known for throwing in a stinker in the middle of say three to four solid outing in a row. It's becoming the new trend in the National Hockey League that a lot of teams, including last year's champion the Chicago Blackhawks will implement a two goaltending system that rides the hot hand as Corey Crawford learned full well through their first round triumph versus the Nashville Predators. Ascertaining which goaltender may get the start on a night to night basis has more twists and turns then an entire season of the FOX classic "24". In 24, Jack Bauer played by talented Canadian actor Kiefer Sutherland always triumphs victorious, and if the goaltending battle and Flames season has a similar ending, this could spell the end of their twenty six year drought.
J.T Miller gets robbed by Kari Ramo
2015-2016 Western Hockey League Preview:Teams 21 and 22
21.Moose Jaw Warriors- I could spend the entire preview scathing the direction of the Moose Jaw Warriors but I will do my best to proceed with an more optimistic view and develop theories that could lead to a better future in the Jaw. The incoming players don't nearly outweigh the core players they are losing but on the same token like the old adage goes, "for every loss breeds new opportunity", and this is a quote that might be bulletin board material for this young group in 2015-2016 as the younger players will have to make leaps and bounds improvements to field a quasi-competitive team.
Anytime you lose players such as Tanner Eberle and Jack Rodewald you'll be in for growing pains, but the losses may not end there. Brayden Point will return to the Warriors in 2015-2016 with the goals to be a top ten scorer and be a much larger contributor for Team Canada at the 2016 World Junior Hockey Championship in Finland, much greater then the alternate forward he fell accustomed to in the 2015 championships. The question now though is does General Manager Alan Millar sooth his cuts and decide to trade Point to a contender? Smart answer would be a resounding yes, as from a pure managerial perspective he would return a brick load, but ethics and loyalty also enter into the equation when making a franchise altering decision. The fact is, like just mentioned trading Brayden is a logical look towards the future but the opposite angle is how will the fans of Moose Jaw react, full well knowing it'll be a trying year regardless with our without this Calgary cannon and at the same time the most loyal supporter has already been through hell and back since the masterful 2011-2012 season. Is the justification there for such a move, I certainly think so but not when including the human element. So what kind of player is Point exactly? For starters, he's a team leader being appointed captain at the tender age of eighteen and that leadership does not come without high octane skill. Coming in at 5'10, you would surmise that a player of that stature wouldn't have the grasp of a world class shot but that's exactly what he has. A player like Point who can already beat you off the rush but when you throw in the combination of that shot, it forces defenders to get all up in his business, freeing up lanes for his line mates. Judging the Warriors outlook, I have a tough time penciling two players that could compliment the sultry skill of #19, but two players who will probably get a long look will be Brett Howden, although balancing it out and employing him as the second line center is a wiser strategical endeavor, and veteran Torrin White. Both Howden and White bring substantially different positive attributes to the table with the only real similar comparison is their outstanding work ethic. Howden, just like his brother, former Warrior great Quenton is a north-south runner who won't fool you for a puck wizard but his ability to pick the pocket of defenders is uncanny, and I have a tough time recollecting a player in the dub who does a better job at that. Then you have White, whom quite honestly has never really met the Warriors expectations being how he was the twenty first overall selection of the 2010 WHL Bantam draft. That draft was memorable for the wrong reasons as having two picks in the first round saw them land White and a defenceman better suited for the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League in Carter Hansen. It's imperative that White exceeds his 2014-2015 point totals which saw him amass thirty eight points.
Paging Lane Manson, Lane Manson, please report to aisle 5!. I am an individual from Regina that is trained from an early age to hate the Warriors, but during the years of Manson it was impossible to because he undeniably was one of my favourite players from the league ever. Is there a Lane Manson in this group, well if there is it all, which I highly doubt, Taylor Green may give it the best shot simply due to his height of 6'7. Unfortunately for Warrior fans, he doesn't have the game even suited to be a third pairing stalwart, so when coming to the realization that he a twenty year old on a team not expected to be playoff bound, I give myself a better chance of winning tomorrow's lotto max then Green sticking around, Dustin Perillat got a lot love due to his efforts last year but in my opinion I need to see more, especially considering he is slated to be their number one defenceman. An offensive dynamo in junior circles but makes Luke Schenn look like an all-star when analyzing the defensive part of the game, which being a defenceman I would say is pretty important! I'm hoping that he'll spend this summer beefing up because physicality or a lack there of obstructed his chances to a be a professional prospect in my eyes. It's no secret if you read a few of my earlier previews on teams from the Western Hockey League, that I haven't exactly been enamored with this managerial group and how Millar has constructed this team but I will give credit where credit is due, and the acquisition of Spenser Jensen is a tremendous one. I think the decision makers in Medicine Hat couldn't differentiate potential level to how much playing time he was getting so he was viewed as expendable but Moose Jaw will reap the benefits this year. He'll be a leader on the defence, and Spenser provides a great level of reliability on the back end and I plead with the City of Moose Jaw to please understand what he actually is, he's not there to be the offensive catalyst on defence, people like Perillat will handle those responsibilities, he's a defensive defenceman and I hope the fans will see this and not rile on him for not producing.
If I'm coming across a little harsh on some of these team previews, I apologize but I will not apologize for what I'm about to proclaim and that is my opinion, goaltender Zach Sawchenko enters a category with Joe Hicketts and Haydn Fleury as the three most overrated players in the dub. Not exactly an affiliation a player should be proud of, I understand but I'll explain it how I see it. Sawchenko came to Moose Jaw drawing comparisons to Carey Price but now entering his third full season is drawing comparisons to a goaltender only dedicated Moose Jaw fans would remember, Scott Ironside. I made a statement in an earlier blog post that never should a goaltender be taken in the first round of the NHL draft, and maybe I have to start applying this rule to the bantam draft. Does he have potential? I'm sure he does but I'm not exactly sure what's holding him back, but is .896 save percentage from a year ago is deplorable. I hate to prognosticate trades pertaining to juniors, but maybe movement of Sawchenko would be best for player and organization especially when you have a tender like Brody Willms waiting in the wings. Out of the twenty two projected starting goaltenders clubs league, cue the boldness, Sawchenko is in the bottom five.
22.Kootenay Ice- The Winnipeg Ice, oh wait that's 2016-2017, getting a little ahead of myself, the KOOTENAY ICE are in for a very difficult job having lost a multitude of premier talent which led to the resignation of coach Ryan McGill. Sadly, there aren't a lot of nice things I can say about the Ice other then to say they have one of the better uniforms in the league, not quite Seattle Thunderbird nice, but quality. To get pointed for a second, this has the making of a disastrous season in Cranbrook with reaching the ten win mark perhaps being too lofty of a goal.
They've lost team captain Sam Reinhart, they've lost the courageous Tim Bozon, they've lost the versatlile Levi Cable who put up a commendable fifty one points, likely to lose Jaedon Descheneau who unless unforeseen circumstances arise will be spending the year with the American Hockey League's Chicago Wolves. This funeral of Ice is complete, it's now time to assess who the building blocks will be for a full-on re structuring for this organization. It's hard to fathom what newly acquired European Roman Dymacek must be feeling. On one hand, you would imagine that he'll get the opportunity to see time on the first line, a luxury he may not have had with an upper echelon team which could boost his draft prospects but conversely by playing on the this melting Ice squad, and leading to boot, he'll get in over his head and be a chicken with his head cut off. Credit to president and General Manager Jeff Chynoweth for landing Dymacek as being able to tally thirty one points in the Czech Junior League is something to write home about because the Czech Republic junior league has the notorious reputation of being difficult to score. Matt Alfaro excelled under the tutelage of Ryan McGill, and will be expected to be a strong asset for new coach Luke Pierce. Luke Pierce, who will be the youngest head coach in the Western Hockey League at 31 bring with him a plethora of junior A experience and it will be up to guys like the Calgarian Alfaro to show him the ropes and be a positive presence both on and off the ice. Just throwing it out there, but my captaincy pick for this season will be Alfaro. It's hard for me to consider somebody who amounted a measly one point last year as someone to watch out for, but I'm doing it anyways with Jared Legien. Legien lacks confidence because the superior skill is evident. He might as well be given an increased role because the Ice may be in danger of rivalling the 1995-1996 London Knights so giving meaningful minutes to Legien and other sixteen/seventeen will....as we say in the business no harm, no foul. The last point I'll make about the forward is I'm very interested in what a gentleman like Zak Zborosky can accomplish without playing alongside Descheneau. The question that will get vindication because if Zborosky slides, we know that he was getting pulled around in the back while Jaedon rode shot gun.
Two Saskatchewan products will lead the back-end charge for Kootenay. Troy Murray from White City and Tanner Faith from Wilcox will be Pierce's backbone when faced with the herculean task of shutting down the best forwards from the, aside from the Ice, very strong central division. I made reference to the fact that I felt that due to the last name of some players is the reason certain comrades get preferential treatment, such as Troy Murray. I don't know what's more disgraceful between Troy Murray having a guaranteed path to the league because he's Ryan's brother or that he'll be asked to anchor a first line in the Western Hockey League on average talent at best. I take back my opening remark when I said the Ice may be in tough to win ten, let's try five on for size. Faith, different from Murray is a player I'm high on. Decent size which is always a redeemable quality when scouting defenceman is working in Faith's favor but he needs refinement in his offensive game because you know for a fact he will get power play time, and lot's of it. When watching Faith, sometimes I got the impression that he would always resort to the super-safe play which on it's surface is not wrong but it's off putting when opts for this and ignores the higher reward play at all costs. An instance strikes out when in a game vs Prince Albert, Sam Reinhart had a clear lane between the two defenders and by firing a pass up would've done no harm for the Ice but chose to regroup and circle back the puck. More aggressiveness in his game would be much appreciated. No other player will benefit more from this perceived Ice youth movement then incoming seventeen year old Mark O'Shaugnessy. An undrafted list player which I could only predict was due to original commitment issues is an absolute stud and a player that because of a role he's expected to tackle could be in line for the Western Conference's rookie of the year. He might come, will come in to the league next year and the takeaway after he visits each barn will be his unprecedented skating ability.
The twenty year old dilemma is a complicated scenario for the Ice because like most teams, there are lots of moving parts. Does Descheneau get returned, unlikely in my books but if he does, he's a lock but then again probably an enticing trade chip. Secondarily to that, what do you do with the General Manager's son Ryan Chynoweth, who not many would argue is not WHL caliber but understandable nepotism may encroach. I view Luke Philp and Tanner Faith both locks to return, so the uneviable position the Ice will be left in is what you do with Wyatt Hoffin, Absolutely worthy of playing in this league, but I just don't see a spot available. If he's trades, or shockingly re-assigned to Junior A, next in line Keelan Williams. In order for Williams to survive the season, he will have to pull out a Julie "The Cat" Gaffney performances to work his way out of this season in one piece. If Williams doesn't show the propensity to be the every day goalie, then Connor Hobbs younger brother Declan will see the crease more then not. Pertaining to this blog, I can be ruthless at times but genuinely feel bad about the prospects of this team and feel particularly bad for whichever goaltender gets the nod.
So there you have it folks, my Western Hockey League pre-season preview is complete. I thoroughly hope you enjoyed as I had a blast putting this together. I will certainly provide more content to the Western Hockey League and other sports throughout the summer, but I plead that you please spread the word about this blog and please follow me at twitter @bretzky26.
Thanks so much!!! Until next time, take care.
Brett Murray
Anytime you lose players such as Tanner Eberle and Jack Rodewald you'll be in for growing pains, but the losses may not end there. Brayden Point will return to the Warriors in 2015-2016 with the goals to be a top ten scorer and be a much larger contributor for Team Canada at the 2016 World Junior Hockey Championship in Finland, much greater then the alternate forward he fell accustomed to in the 2015 championships. The question now though is does General Manager Alan Millar sooth his cuts and decide to trade Point to a contender? Smart answer would be a resounding yes, as from a pure managerial perspective he would return a brick load, but ethics and loyalty also enter into the equation when making a franchise altering decision. The fact is, like just mentioned trading Brayden is a logical look towards the future but the opposite angle is how will the fans of Moose Jaw react, full well knowing it'll be a trying year regardless with our without this Calgary cannon and at the same time the most loyal supporter has already been through hell and back since the masterful 2011-2012 season. Is the justification there for such a move, I certainly think so but not when including the human element. So what kind of player is Point exactly? For starters, he's a team leader being appointed captain at the tender age of eighteen and that leadership does not come without high octane skill. Coming in at 5'10, you would surmise that a player of that stature wouldn't have the grasp of a world class shot but that's exactly what he has. A player like Point who can already beat you off the rush but when you throw in the combination of that shot, it forces defenders to get all up in his business, freeing up lanes for his line mates. Judging the Warriors outlook, I have a tough time penciling two players that could compliment the sultry skill of #19, but two players who will probably get a long look will be Brett Howden, although balancing it out and employing him as the second line center is a wiser strategical endeavor, and veteran Torrin White. Both Howden and White bring substantially different positive attributes to the table with the only real similar comparison is their outstanding work ethic. Howden, just like his brother, former Warrior great Quenton is a north-south runner who won't fool you for a puck wizard but his ability to pick the pocket of defenders is uncanny, and I have a tough time recollecting a player in the dub who does a better job at that. Then you have White, whom quite honestly has never really met the Warriors expectations being how he was the twenty first overall selection of the 2010 WHL Bantam draft. That draft was memorable for the wrong reasons as having two picks in the first round saw them land White and a defenceman better suited for the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League in Carter Hansen. It's imperative that White exceeds his 2014-2015 point totals which saw him amass thirty eight points.
Paging Lane Manson, Lane Manson, please report to aisle 5!. I am an individual from Regina that is trained from an early age to hate the Warriors, but during the years of Manson it was impossible to because he undeniably was one of my favourite players from the league ever. Is there a Lane Manson in this group, well if there is it all, which I highly doubt, Taylor Green may give it the best shot simply due to his height of 6'7. Unfortunately for Warrior fans, he doesn't have the game even suited to be a third pairing stalwart, so when coming to the realization that he a twenty year old on a team not expected to be playoff bound, I give myself a better chance of winning tomorrow's lotto max then Green sticking around, Dustin Perillat got a lot love due to his efforts last year but in my opinion I need to see more, especially considering he is slated to be their number one defenceman. An offensive dynamo in junior circles but makes Luke Schenn look like an all-star when analyzing the defensive part of the game, which being a defenceman I would say is pretty important! I'm hoping that he'll spend this summer beefing up because physicality or a lack there of obstructed his chances to a be a professional prospect in my eyes. It's no secret if you read a few of my earlier previews on teams from the Western Hockey League, that I haven't exactly been enamored with this managerial group and how Millar has constructed this team but I will give credit where credit is due, and the acquisition of Spenser Jensen is a tremendous one. I think the decision makers in Medicine Hat couldn't differentiate potential level to how much playing time he was getting so he was viewed as expendable but Moose Jaw will reap the benefits this year. He'll be a leader on the defence, and Spenser provides a great level of reliability on the back end and I plead with the City of Moose Jaw to please understand what he actually is, he's not there to be the offensive catalyst on defence, people like Perillat will handle those responsibilities, he's a defensive defenceman and I hope the fans will see this and not rile on him for not producing.
If I'm coming across a little harsh on some of these team previews, I apologize but I will not apologize for what I'm about to proclaim and that is my opinion, goaltender Zach Sawchenko enters a category with Joe Hicketts and Haydn Fleury as the three most overrated players in the dub. Not exactly an affiliation a player should be proud of, I understand but I'll explain it how I see it. Sawchenko came to Moose Jaw drawing comparisons to Carey Price but now entering his third full season is drawing comparisons to a goaltender only dedicated Moose Jaw fans would remember, Scott Ironside. I made a statement in an earlier blog post that never should a goaltender be taken in the first round of the NHL draft, and maybe I have to start applying this rule to the bantam draft. Does he have potential? I'm sure he does but I'm not exactly sure what's holding him back, but is .896 save percentage from a year ago is deplorable. I hate to prognosticate trades pertaining to juniors, but maybe movement of Sawchenko would be best for player and organization especially when you have a tender like Brody Willms waiting in the wings. Out of the twenty two projected starting goaltenders clubs league, cue the boldness, Sawchenko is in the bottom five.
22.Kootenay Ice- The Winnipeg Ice, oh wait that's 2016-2017, getting a little ahead of myself, the KOOTENAY ICE are in for a very difficult job having lost a multitude of premier talent which led to the resignation of coach Ryan McGill. Sadly, there aren't a lot of nice things I can say about the Ice other then to say they have one of the better uniforms in the league, not quite Seattle Thunderbird nice, but quality. To get pointed for a second, this has the making of a disastrous season in Cranbrook with reaching the ten win mark perhaps being too lofty of a goal.
They've lost team captain Sam Reinhart, they've lost the courageous Tim Bozon, they've lost the versatlile Levi Cable who put up a commendable fifty one points, likely to lose Jaedon Descheneau who unless unforeseen circumstances arise will be spending the year with the American Hockey League's Chicago Wolves. This funeral of Ice is complete, it's now time to assess who the building blocks will be for a full-on re structuring for this organization. It's hard to fathom what newly acquired European Roman Dymacek must be feeling. On one hand, you would imagine that he'll get the opportunity to see time on the first line, a luxury he may not have had with an upper echelon team which could boost his draft prospects but conversely by playing on the this melting Ice squad, and leading to boot, he'll get in over his head and be a chicken with his head cut off. Credit to president and General Manager Jeff Chynoweth for landing Dymacek as being able to tally thirty one points in the Czech Junior League is something to write home about because the Czech Republic junior league has the notorious reputation of being difficult to score. Matt Alfaro excelled under the tutelage of Ryan McGill, and will be expected to be a strong asset for new coach Luke Pierce. Luke Pierce, who will be the youngest head coach in the Western Hockey League at 31 bring with him a plethora of junior A experience and it will be up to guys like the Calgarian Alfaro to show him the ropes and be a positive presence both on and off the ice. Just throwing it out there, but my captaincy pick for this season will be Alfaro. It's hard for me to consider somebody who amounted a measly one point last year as someone to watch out for, but I'm doing it anyways with Jared Legien. Legien lacks confidence because the superior skill is evident. He might as well be given an increased role because the Ice may be in danger of rivalling the 1995-1996 London Knights so giving meaningful minutes to Legien and other sixteen/seventeen will....as we say in the business no harm, no foul. The last point I'll make about the forward is I'm very interested in what a gentleman like Zak Zborosky can accomplish without playing alongside Descheneau. The question that will get vindication because if Zborosky slides, we know that he was getting pulled around in the back while Jaedon rode shot gun.
Two Saskatchewan products will lead the back-end charge for Kootenay. Troy Murray from White City and Tanner Faith from Wilcox will be Pierce's backbone when faced with the herculean task of shutting down the best forwards from the, aside from the Ice, very strong central division. I made reference to the fact that I felt that due to the last name of some players is the reason certain comrades get preferential treatment, such as Troy Murray. I don't know what's more disgraceful between Troy Murray having a guaranteed path to the league because he's Ryan's brother or that he'll be asked to anchor a first line in the Western Hockey League on average talent at best. I take back my opening remark when I said the Ice may be in tough to win ten, let's try five on for size. Faith, different from Murray is a player I'm high on. Decent size which is always a redeemable quality when scouting defenceman is working in Faith's favor but he needs refinement in his offensive game because you know for a fact he will get power play time, and lot's of it. When watching Faith, sometimes I got the impression that he would always resort to the super-safe play which on it's surface is not wrong but it's off putting when opts for this and ignores the higher reward play at all costs. An instance strikes out when in a game vs Prince Albert, Sam Reinhart had a clear lane between the two defenders and by firing a pass up would've done no harm for the Ice but chose to regroup and circle back the puck. More aggressiveness in his game would be much appreciated. No other player will benefit more from this perceived Ice youth movement then incoming seventeen year old Mark O'Shaugnessy. An undrafted list player which I could only predict was due to original commitment issues is an absolute stud and a player that because of a role he's expected to tackle could be in line for the Western Conference's rookie of the year. He might come, will come in to the league next year and the takeaway after he visits each barn will be his unprecedented skating ability.
The twenty year old dilemma is a complicated scenario for the Ice because like most teams, there are lots of moving parts. Does Descheneau get returned, unlikely in my books but if he does, he's a lock but then again probably an enticing trade chip. Secondarily to that, what do you do with the General Manager's son Ryan Chynoweth, who not many would argue is not WHL caliber but understandable nepotism may encroach. I view Luke Philp and Tanner Faith both locks to return, so the uneviable position the Ice will be left in is what you do with Wyatt Hoffin, Absolutely worthy of playing in this league, but I just don't see a spot available. If he's trades, or shockingly re-assigned to Junior A, next in line Keelan Williams. In order for Williams to survive the season, he will have to pull out a Julie "The Cat" Gaffney performances to work his way out of this season in one piece. If Williams doesn't show the propensity to be the every day goalie, then Connor Hobbs younger brother Declan will see the crease more then not. Pertaining to this blog, I can be ruthless at times but genuinely feel bad about the prospects of this team and feel particularly bad for whichever goaltender gets the nod.
So there you have it folks, my Western Hockey League pre-season preview is complete. I thoroughly hope you enjoyed as I had a blast putting this together. I will certainly provide more content to the Western Hockey League and other sports throughout the summer, but I plead that you please spread the word about this blog and please follow me at twitter @bretzky26.
Thanks so much!!! Until next time, take care.
Brett Murray
Thursday, July 9, 2015
2015-2016 Western Hockey League Preview: Teams 19 and 20
19. Tri-City Americans- Goaltender Eric Comrie was the Hollywood show-stopper for the last few years out west in Kennewick, Washington. The feature film didn't exactly produce a lot of high profit results, at least in substantiated playoff revenue, but Comrie left the fans wanting sequel after sequel. Since Comrie has decided(forced) to leave the project, it's time to figure out who will win the role of lead actor for the 2015-2016 season.
Being a lead actor for the Tri-City Americans right now would be compared to winning the lead role in the critically panned Adam Sandler produced, "Jack and Jill". A lot of exuberance of where the project will run off too, but soon there after realization that the hype does not mesh into positive fruition. There have been several flops of anticipated forward stardom in recent Ams history thinking back, well not so far back to Brian Williams, Connor Rankin pre-Calgary move, Jordan Messier and the list really goes on and on. To avoid leaving the theaters after one weekend, who can provide that excitement and produce sustainable offence? Maybe the brother of Eric Comrie, Ty can continue the outstanding lineage of the Comrie surname, and become a much needed valuable asset for Mike Williamson. After an incredibly poor individual season from Comrie this last go around, and to be fair this was a disappointing campaign across the board, the youngest Comrie accumulated twenty one points while skating to a titillating -34. Out of the mass failures that took place in Kennewick, a very bright surprise was from the home town leader and expected twenty year old Beau McCue. The common denominator when dissecting McCue's strengths and weaknesses that he has a Steven Stamkos-esque shot, yes I went there although struggles with his skating stride and if that could ever be rectified, he could be in line for an eighty point season and find himself being scouted by National Hockey League teams. Taylor Vickerman, who received deserving recognition at the Western Hockey League awards by winning the Humanitarian of the year award will have to better display these humanitarian diligences on the ice and round himself out to be a more complete player. The two times I've seen Vickerman play, I've noticed that he a A + skater, but a lot of the times, similarly to Dominic Turgeon on Portland doesn't involve himself when the going gets tough. His nineteen year old season is approaching and he needs to add more then just the Mr.Nice guy to his repertoire. A player that I felt wasn't given a fair shake and a lot of it was due to age, was Parker Aucoin. In my limited, very limited viewings I sense that Parker fits in admirably to the league with a re-tooling team, expect him to get more primo opportunities to fill the back of the net this season.
Within the top fifteen picks of the CHL Import draft it's come to my realization that outside of Dmitry Sokolov, who's now found himself in the Drake Berehowsky initiated Sudbury soap opera, the Tri-City Americans snagged the second best player by selecting Juuso Valimaki. Valimaki, who is already getting strong consideration for the finnish World Junior program is a gargantuan compliment to Brandon Carlo. He's conceivably a three player for the Americans and already standing at 6'1 194 at the age of sixteen, the sky is literally the limit for a player who fairly or unfairly has drawn comparisons to finnish counterpart Sami Salo. If so, the Americans won the power ball lottery on this one. The brother of once Tri-City rival Tyler Wotherspoon, Parker figures to compound his exploits of 2014-2015 to bigger and better things. The knock of Wotherspoon is his foot speed but more then makes up for in hockey awareness. Unarguably possessing the smartest hockey I.Q in the league, and I know I reference unarguably a lot but when I have an opinion it's always right so therefore unarguably is a perfect adjective when I enlist statements such as the one involving Wotherspoon, but carrying on with Parker, Parker even though he has high level hockey I.Q, there are limitations in his game that affected the reason he fell to the 112th overall pick by the New York Islanders. Mike Williamson has the reputation of being an offensive minded coach but for the sake of developing Wotherspoon to an aspiring professional, because at it's core, the WHL is a developmental league, it's only fair that Williamson work real hard with Parker and refine the obvious deficiencies in his game.
Remember that time when John Grahame took over for Nikolai Khabibulin after the Tampa Bay Lightning bolted their way to the cup? I hope Evan Sarthou doesn't. Remember that time when Tuuka Rask took over the Bruins reigns replacing Tim Thomas? This is a much more positive comparable that Sarthou should have in the memory bank and he delves into the herculean task of replacing Eric Comrie. Sarthou is an overlooked but quality goaltender and the stigma over the loss of Comrie won't be as overwhelming as some Ams fan envision. This will be a non-playoff year in Kennewick so Sarthou will have plenty of leeway when it comes to committing a plethora of expected errors that will hopefully for the American organization lead to more sustainable results in the future years to come.
20. Swift Current Broncos-Earlier I chronicled how the Indiana Pacers had a miserable off-season in a blog post fittingly titled "Indiana Pacers freefall", please check it out by the way but the word freefall isn't a powerful enough adjective when assessing the Bronco's torcherous spring. Losing Jay Merkley to the Canadian University ranks is a devastating blow to a team that is going to be in tough this year, not to mention the losses of Zack Mackay and Tanner Lesann, Lesann a player in particular who I thought for whatever reason didn't get the appropriate ice time to cherish was a player who as a Regina Pat supporter I always wish we would've got our hands on. And then earlier today, assistant coach Josh Dixon offered up his resignation which has led me to this query, are locker room issues prevalent in Swift Current's locker room and if so, does coach Mark Lamb have the resilience to turn around the culture and provide these loyal fans a winning product? A long year in Speedy Creek ahead.
Jake DeBrusk is a special player. Unarguably, and I only used the word unarguably again to create some laughter to this enterprise, DeBrusk is the best forward in the Eastern Division bar none as his combination of aggressiveness and a knack around the net are unparalleled. As insinuated in the opening, will DeBrusk have enough horses in the stable to allow Swift Current to be competitive? Can I add, and I doubt any response I'm going to find satisfactory, but in a year where Swift Current will be so desperate for goals did they go in the defensive direction at the Import draft when they could've brought over a European with the skill set to play alongside Jake? This will play out to be one of the more regrettable gaffes of the WHL off-season. Scott Feser is a cagey veteran who's a very good penalty killer who has that defensive ensemble, a trait that when under the tutelage of former Head Coach Brent Sutter comes naturally as that's been a Rebel hockey staple. I like the pick-up but it still lingers from where the offence will come from as Scott Feser is no Tyler Redenbach. A player that intrigues me for both good and bad is Glenn Gawdin. His surprise selection for Team Canada at the Ivan Hlinka tournament allowed me to really analyze his game on TSN. Gawdin trucks up and down the ice consistently as his work ethic is his greatest weapon. That's the good, but the bad enlies in the natural scoring ability. When the Broncos got paired against the Regina Pats in round one of the Western Hockey League playoffs, Gawdin and DeBrusk were expected to carry the load for the Broncs, and although DeBrusk was serviceable, it was Gawdin particularly in game one and three that literally a million chances but on the stat sheet only accounted for one goal. He's all around the net but it may be advisable that he takes a page out've Blake Wheeler's game as the two play in a similar fashion with the difference that the current Winnipeg Jet Wheeler can slow it down and show the patience needed to read the play in the offensive zone, something that Gawdin lacks in but could improve upon.
Brett Lernout, the 6'4 Winnipegian who I'm questioning whether he even will make his way back to the dub as I deem his chances strong of remaining with the Montreal Canadiens American Hockey affiliate will be asked to shoulder the load if the Swift Current Broncos are fortunate enough to be again graced by his presence. His blocking shot ability is second to none, and his shot has got a lot of stronger from two seasons ago. Lernout had the reputation of acting clumsy on the ice with the perpetuate for taking ill-advised chances in the offensive game but now with a more complete player which can be credited to the constant advising from Jamie Heward and now former associate Josh Dixon. Lernout, based on the realistic expectations of Swift Current I would imagine will be a trade chip Mark Lamb can use because on a rebuilding club there is no sense hanging onto a very above average twenty year old. Twenty-one other clubs will covet his services. So who's next in line if or when Lernout departs town? That's the easiest question I've asked myself all day as if I was playing Jeopardy I would respond with " Who is Max Lajoie". Alex-"Correct Brett, that's $500". If Lajoie continues upward on the developmental curve, $500 will soon be pocket change for the Calgary native. Lajoie is so calm with the puck and at times playing with Brett Lernout, who when alongside Lernout has the presence of Mugsy Bogues plays bigger with what scouts would consider "an untapped offensive game". If scouts are considering a forty one point season as untapped offensive potential, I'd hate to see, once again only because I'm from Regina what his game will look like when all the kinks are hammered out. Mark Lamb will have decision to make when narrowing down the twenty year olds, especially if Lernout is returned but if the card align right and Griffin Foulk can return, that will be a welcome re-addition. Foulk played alongside Ayrton Nikkel last year and I just felt like Nikkel, who probably won't have his "contract" renewed if Foulk is back in the fold struggled severely and brought down the game of Griffin. If Griffin can be slated with a more competent partner he'll show that using one of the twenty year old positions on himself was a smart decision by Lamb that he won't regret.
Because the Bronco's have such an interesting and confusing twenty year old dilemma, I have no idea what you do with Landon Bow. Do you sacrifice a Lernout or a Foulk to accommodate keeping Bow or do you try to deal Bow to a contender full well knowing it is near impossible to get fair value for a twenty year old netminder, unless of course you are the Kamloops Blazers dealing then 20 Cole Cheveldave. This decision will drastically effect the circumstances for the 2015-2016 campaign. My gut says they will deal Bow, with wink wink nudge nudge a possible trade to Western conference powerhouse Seattle in order. Travis Child may well have to step in sooner than expected and it's unknown if he'll have the propensity to work his way through the gamut. Child hails from the town that produced Olympic gold medal curler Kevin Martin and if indeed Child is required to step in, one can only hope he can find the golden touch for Speedy Creek.
Being a lead actor for the Tri-City Americans right now would be compared to winning the lead role in the critically panned Adam Sandler produced, "Jack and Jill". A lot of exuberance of where the project will run off too, but soon there after realization that the hype does not mesh into positive fruition. There have been several flops of anticipated forward stardom in recent Ams history thinking back, well not so far back to Brian Williams, Connor Rankin pre-Calgary move, Jordan Messier and the list really goes on and on. To avoid leaving the theaters after one weekend, who can provide that excitement and produce sustainable offence? Maybe the brother of Eric Comrie, Ty can continue the outstanding lineage of the Comrie surname, and become a much needed valuable asset for Mike Williamson. After an incredibly poor individual season from Comrie this last go around, and to be fair this was a disappointing campaign across the board, the youngest Comrie accumulated twenty one points while skating to a titillating -34. Out of the mass failures that took place in Kennewick, a very bright surprise was from the home town leader and expected twenty year old Beau McCue. The common denominator when dissecting McCue's strengths and weaknesses that he has a Steven Stamkos-esque shot, yes I went there although struggles with his skating stride and if that could ever be rectified, he could be in line for an eighty point season and find himself being scouted by National Hockey League teams. Taylor Vickerman, who received deserving recognition at the Western Hockey League awards by winning the Humanitarian of the year award will have to better display these humanitarian diligences on the ice and round himself out to be a more complete player. The two times I've seen Vickerman play, I've noticed that he a A + skater, but a lot of the times, similarly to Dominic Turgeon on Portland doesn't involve himself when the going gets tough. His nineteen year old season is approaching and he needs to add more then just the Mr.Nice guy to his repertoire. A player that I felt wasn't given a fair shake and a lot of it was due to age, was Parker Aucoin. In my limited, very limited viewings I sense that Parker fits in admirably to the league with a re-tooling team, expect him to get more primo opportunities to fill the back of the net this season.
Within the top fifteen picks of the CHL Import draft it's come to my realization that outside of Dmitry Sokolov, who's now found himself in the Drake Berehowsky initiated Sudbury soap opera, the Tri-City Americans snagged the second best player by selecting Juuso Valimaki. Valimaki, who is already getting strong consideration for the finnish World Junior program is a gargantuan compliment to Brandon Carlo. He's conceivably a three player for the Americans and already standing at 6'1 194 at the age of sixteen, the sky is literally the limit for a player who fairly or unfairly has drawn comparisons to finnish counterpart Sami Salo. If so, the Americans won the power ball lottery on this one. The brother of once Tri-City rival Tyler Wotherspoon, Parker figures to compound his exploits of 2014-2015 to bigger and better things. The knock of Wotherspoon is his foot speed but more then makes up for in hockey awareness. Unarguably possessing the smartest hockey I.Q in the league, and I know I reference unarguably a lot but when I have an opinion it's always right so therefore unarguably is a perfect adjective when I enlist statements such as the one involving Wotherspoon, but carrying on with Parker, Parker even though he has high level hockey I.Q, there are limitations in his game that affected the reason he fell to the 112th overall pick by the New York Islanders. Mike Williamson has the reputation of being an offensive minded coach but for the sake of developing Wotherspoon to an aspiring professional, because at it's core, the WHL is a developmental league, it's only fair that Williamson work real hard with Parker and refine the obvious deficiencies in his game.
Remember that time when John Grahame took over for Nikolai Khabibulin after the Tampa Bay Lightning bolted their way to the cup? I hope Evan Sarthou doesn't. Remember that time when Tuuka Rask took over the Bruins reigns replacing Tim Thomas? This is a much more positive comparable that Sarthou should have in the memory bank and he delves into the herculean task of replacing Eric Comrie. Sarthou is an overlooked but quality goaltender and the stigma over the loss of Comrie won't be as overwhelming as some Ams fan envision. This will be a non-playoff year in Kennewick so Sarthou will have plenty of leeway when it comes to committing a plethora of expected errors that will hopefully for the American organization lead to more sustainable results in the future years to come.
20. Swift Current Broncos-Earlier I chronicled how the Indiana Pacers had a miserable off-season in a blog post fittingly titled "Indiana Pacers freefall", please check it out by the way but the word freefall isn't a powerful enough adjective when assessing the Bronco's torcherous spring. Losing Jay Merkley to the Canadian University ranks is a devastating blow to a team that is going to be in tough this year, not to mention the losses of Zack Mackay and Tanner Lesann, Lesann a player in particular who I thought for whatever reason didn't get the appropriate ice time to cherish was a player who as a Regina Pat supporter I always wish we would've got our hands on. And then earlier today, assistant coach Josh Dixon offered up his resignation which has led me to this query, are locker room issues prevalent in Swift Current's locker room and if so, does coach Mark Lamb have the resilience to turn around the culture and provide these loyal fans a winning product? A long year in Speedy Creek ahead.
Jake DeBrusk is a special player. Unarguably, and I only used the word unarguably again to create some laughter to this enterprise, DeBrusk is the best forward in the Eastern Division bar none as his combination of aggressiveness and a knack around the net are unparalleled. As insinuated in the opening, will DeBrusk have enough horses in the stable to allow Swift Current to be competitive? Can I add, and I doubt any response I'm going to find satisfactory, but in a year where Swift Current will be so desperate for goals did they go in the defensive direction at the Import draft when they could've brought over a European with the skill set to play alongside Jake? This will play out to be one of the more regrettable gaffes of the WHL off-season. Scott Feser is a cagey veteran who's a very good penalty killer who has that defensive ensemble, a trait that when under the tutelage of former Head Coach Brent Sutter comes naturally as that's been a Rebel hockey staple. I like the pick-up but it still lingers from where the offence will come from as Scott Feser is no Tyler Redenbach. A player that intrigues me for both good and bad is Glenn Gawdin. His surprise selection for Team Canada at the Ivan Hlinka tournament allowed me to really analyze his game on TSN. Gawdin trucks up and down the ice consistently as his work ethic is his greatest weapon. That's the good, but the bad enlies in the natural scoring ability. When the Broncos got paired against the Regina Pats in round one of the Western Hockey League playoffs, Gawdin and DeBrusk were expected to carry the load for the Broncs, and although DeBrusk was serviceable, it was Gawdin particularly in game one and three that literally a million chances but on the stat sheet only accounted for one goal. He's all around the net but it may be advisable that he takes a page out've Blake Wheeler's game as the two play in a similar fashion with the difference that the current Winnipeg Jet Wheeler can slow it down and show the patience needed to read the play in the offensive zone, something that Gawdin lacks in but could improve upon.
Brett Lernout, the 6'4 Winnipegian who I'm questioning whether he even will make his way back to the dub as I deem his chances strong of remaining with the Montreal Canadiens American Hockey affiliate will be asked to shoulder the load if the Swift Current Broncos are fortunate enough to be again graced by his presence. His blocking shot ability is second to none, and his shot has got a lot of stronger from two seasons ago. Lernout had the reputation of acting clumsy on the ice with the perpetuate for taking ill-advised chances in the offensive game but now with a more complete player which can be credited to the constant advising from Jamie Heward and now former associate Josh Dixon. Lernout, based on the realistic expectations of Swift Current I would imagine will be a trade chip Mark Lamb can use because on a rebuilding club there is no sense hanging onto a very above average twenty year old. Twenty-one other clubs will covet his services. So who's next in line if or when Lernout departs town? That's the easiest question I've asked myself all day as if I was playing Jeopardy I would respond with " Who is Max Lajoie". Alex-"Correct Brett, that's $500". If Lajoie continues upward on the developmental curve, $500 will soon be pocket change for the Calgary native. Lajoie is so calm with the puck and at times playing with Brett Lernout, who when alongside Lernout has the presence of Mugsy Bogues plays bigger with what scouts would consider "an untapped offensive game". If scouts are considering a forty one point season as untapped offensive potential, I'd hate to see, once again only because I'm from Regina what his game will look like when all the kinks are hammered out. Mark Lamb will have decision to make when narrowing down the twenty year olds, especially if Lernout is returned but if the card align right and Griffin Foulk can return, that will be a welcome re-addition. Foulk played alongside Ayrton Nikkel last year and I just felt like Nikkel, who probably won't have his "contract" renewed if Foulk is back in the fold struggled severely and brought down the game of Griffin. If Griffin can be slated with a more competent partner he'll show that using one of the twenty year old positions on himself was a smart decision by Lamb that he won't regret.
Because the Bronco's have such an interesting and confusing twenty year old dilemma, I have no idea what you do with Landon Bow. Do you sacrifice a Lernout or a Foulk to accommodate keeping Bow or do you try to deal Bow to a contender full well knowing it is near impossible to get fair value for a twenty year old netminder, unless of course you are the Kamloops Blazers dealing then 20 Cole Cheveldave. This decision will drastically effect the circumstances for the 2015-2016 campaign. My gut says they will deal Bow, with wink wink nudge nudge a possible trade to Western conference powerhouse Seattle in order. Travis Child may well have to step in sooner than expected and it's unknown if he'll have the propensity to work his way through the gamut. Child hails from the town that produced Olympic gold medal curler Kevin Martin and if indeed Child is required to step in, one can only hope he can find the golden touch for Speedy Creek.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)