Kamis, 31 Mei 2012

Anthony Stolarz ' The Next Ones: 2012 NHL Draft Prospect Profile ' The Dark Horse Goalie

Anthony Stolarz THW Close-Up:

Date of Birth: January 20, 1994

Place of Birth: Jackson, New Jersey

Height: 6’5″         Weight: 200 lbs.

Shoots: Left

Position: G

NHL Draft Eligibility: 2012

For complete coverage and analysis of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft and its prospects, click here for Chris Ralph's 2012 NHL Entry Draft Guide.

Former NAHL goalie Ben Bishop enjoyed much success with the Ottawa Senators recently, but will Anthony Stolarz follow en suite? (Icon SMI)

Anthony Stolarz has had a tremendous increase in draft stock over the past several months, but it should come as no surprise as the NAHL goalie has been on his game for the Corpus Christi IceRays during the 2011-2012 season. While many might not have heard of Stolarz before the 2011-2012 NAHL season, the goalie launched himself into exposure by putting forth a strong effort in the NAHL Showcase at the beginning of the most recent hockey season. As the NAHL hockey season progressed, Stolarz got more and more comfortable with the IceRays and his fantastic play through late-December indicated that the goalie was getting into quite a groove with his new team. Stolarz also managed to earn “NAHL Player of The Week” honors twice during the 2011-2012 season, but his biggest accomplishment that convinced scouts of his abilities was illustrated back in February.

After being selected to the NAHL 18U Selects team, Stolarz did everything in his power to convince everyone that they made the correct decision. Stolarz finished the NAHL Top Prospect tournament (2 GP) having played a shade above 90 minutes while only surrendering two goals and saving 55 of 57 shots (.965 Save Percentage) thrown his way. With the performance at the tournament, Stolarz improved his prospects of getting drafted and vaulted into the top 5 ranking for North American goalies. While the Top Prospects tournament helped Stolarz’s draft ranking and increased his exposure, the goalie did not relent as he finished the 2011-2012 NAHL season with a .920 Save Percentage, 2.84 GAA, and a 23-22-4 record. Stolarz had to face quite a few shots (1741) for the IceRays throughout the season, but it was well worth the effort as the American netminder found himself ranked above other North American goalies such as Jon Gillies, Chris Driedger, Andrey Makarov, Michael Houser, and Francois Tremblay.

While Stolarz’s unexpected rise has surprised many scouts and hockey fans, the goalie still has some work to do at the collegiate level as he committed to the University of Nebraska Omaha’s Division-I hockey program. At 6’5″, Stolarz definitely has the frame to be a successful NHL goalie and his experience in Nebraska Omaha’s collegiate program will only help the netminder refine his skills. Playing under the tutelage of Dean Blais will help Stolarz in his development and the team could use a confident goalie to help out a team that finished the 2011-2012 season with a 14-18-6 record. Not only will NCAA hockey provide Stolarz with a chance to play alongside youth his own age, but it should provide him with some much needed experience that could help him make the transition to professional hockey.

Another part of the big netminder’s upside is the development of his mental toughness as the goalie has illustrated a high level of mental acuity when describing his play and duties as a goaltender. Even though Stolarz could use some work on his technique, the goalie has admitted that he wants to face as many shots as possible as he continues to play hockey. The American netminder fashions himself as a Butterfly-style goal, but the goalie’s size will undoubtedly be one of his biggest assets come draft day.

Stolarz’s enthusiasm for the game and desire to get better will only make him more attractive to teams when draft day rolls around. Since he is a bit raw in terms of talent, some consider drafting Stolarz to be more of a project at this point rather than a sure-fire bet for success. However, if the goalie’s sample size has suggested anything, it is that he relishes playing when given an opportunity and strives to help his team in any way that he can. Stolarz might find himself drafted in the later rounds of the NHL Entry Draft, but any team that selects the big American goalie will be receiving a prospect that has the ability to become a strong starting goalie in the NHL and the mindset to make those around him better.

Scout’s Honour:

“In recent years the North American Hockey League has expanded to nearly 30 teams, which has forced teams to shed the dinosaur mentality and bring in some younger players. This past month the league held its annual showcase in Blaine, Minn., and while most NHL scouts in attendance were only being thorough, Corpus Christi IceRays goaltender Anthony Stolarz had scouts abuzz and is the NAHL’s first legitimate pro prospect since Pat Maroon. At 6-5, 200, Stolarz is a huge and confident butterfly goaltender in the Pekka Rinne mold with lively and long octopus-like limbs and remarkably fast feet for a goaltender his size. Despite wearing leg pads that are barely knee-high, he has a lot of layers to him as he battles hard, does well in traffic, and is a skillful and intelligent puckhandler. Stolarz was an unknown entering the showcase, but with his tools and after posting a .939 save percentage and allowing three goals in two games, he is now firmly on the map and will have NHL scouts making the trek out to see him this season.”

- Kyle Woodlief of The Red Line Report

“Stolarz has the size that NHL teams covet in a net minder as he is 6’5 and covers the net well. Despite playing in a ‘weaker’ league; the NAHL, he posted solid numbers and single-handedly put the team on his back, falling just short of a playoff spot. He received a fair bit of notoriety in February for the NAHL Top Prospects game as he had a solid showing, a game that was heavily scouted by NHL teams. Stolarz has great athleticism and quickness. He can spring up and down in the butterfly with ease and plays a strong game in traffic. Stolarz needs to work on his overall technique and address his rebound control but he should receive proper guidance working with a full-time goal tending coach at Nebraska-Omaha next season.”

- David Burstyn of McKeensHockey.com

“Anthony is a real intriguing prospect in this year’s draft. Playing in the NAHL rarely offers a goaltender to earn a lot of exposure, but word travels fast, and as the season progressed, his reputation soared. He has the size and athleticism that all teams covet, and works hard on a daily basis. A New Jersey native and a product of the Empire Junior Hockey League, he has grown up without any true high-level goalie coaching, and because of this, he’s considered to be extremely raw-skilled. This makes him quite valuable heading into the draft, and a big reason why he likely soared in the CSS final rankings, then attended the NHL combine.”

- Justin Goldman of The Goalie Guild

Statistics:

Bio/Interview(s)/Link(s):

  • Profile: The Sudden Rise of Anthony Stolarz by Justin Goldman of The Goalie Guild (Interview and Prospect Breakdown)
  • Sallows’ Draft Tracks: Anthony Stolarz by Dan Sallows of Future Considerations (Interview)

International Tournaments:

  • Stolarz has not participated in any International Tournaments at this point and time.

ETA:

3-4 Years

Risk-Reward Analysis:

Risk: 3/5          Reward: 5/5

NHL Potential:

Number 1 Starting Goalie

Strengths:

* See 'THW Close-Up' section above.

  • Utilizes his size very well.
  • Very competitive and does not give up on plays.
  • Good athleticism and lateral movements.
  • Good hockey IQ.
  • Wants to see the puck as often as possible.

Flaws/Aspects He Needs To Work On:

  • Needs to work on his technique a bit.
  • Could use some work on his rebound control.

Fantasy Hockey Potential:

Goaltending: 8.5-9/10

NHL Player(s) Comparison:

  • Stolarz has said that he styles his game after Pekka Rinne of the Nashville Predators.

Video(s):

Off The Iron (Interesting Notes):

  • Stolarz is a New Jersey Devils fan and has even played some of his minor hockey with Martin Brodeur’s oldest son.
  • Had a growth spurt during the summer of 2011 and played a bit of the 2011-2012 season for the Corpus Christi IceRays with smaller pads.

THW's The Next Ones prospect profile template design architect: Chris Ralph

This article was originally published at: The Hockey Writers.

Carolina Hurricanes may deal first round pick

The Carolina Hurricanes currently own the eighth overall pick in the 2012 Entry Draft, but it’s being speculated that they may be willing to part with that selection in return for NHL-ready talent. John Forslund, the team’s television play-by-play announcer, spoke on the subject Wednesday afternoon on The David Glenn Show:

 

Eric Staal

Eric Staal (James Guillory-US PRESSWIRE)

Carolina GM Jim Rutherford has stated that finding someone to skate with Eric Staal is the franchise’s top priority this summer, and that would almost certainly be the motivation behind a trade of this nature. Acquiring an established offensive threat would go a long ways toward returning the Hurricanes to playoff contention, as their current depth up front isn’t exactly ideal. 

The Hurricanes have been in need of a skilled forward since Erik Cole departed for Montreal last offseason, where he signed a four-year, $18 million contract with the Canadiens. Without Cole by his side, Staal struggled mightily in the first half of the 2011-12 campaign, as Carolina tanked to the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings. Jiri Tlusty proved to be an adequate replacement for Cole down the stretch, but the Canes firmly believe that Staal deserves better.

While there have been whispers that Rutherford may target high profile free agents such as Zach Parise or Dustin Penner to round out his top-six, acquiring the player Carolina needs via free agency may not be the best course of action. With the continuing increase of the salary cap, free agents will be commanding more expensive contracts than ever this summer, and it is likely that the Canes would be out-bidded for the top prizes by more financially affluent organizations.

“In free agency, you don’t have control over where a player decides to go,” Rutherford told the News & Observer. “If you trade for a player and he’s under contract, you know he’s coming to the Hurricanes.”

And while Staal is currently listed at center and has played at the pivot position for the majority of his career, the Canes aren’t opposed to sliding him over to wing, which would open the door for more trade possibilities.

“What we’re working on now is whatever it takes to get a top player, whether it’s a center or a wing,” Rutherford added. “Eric can play the wing. He has played the wing before and played there in the (2010) Olympics (for Team Canada). He has played very well on the wing.”

If the Canes do in fact pull the trigger on a deal that would send the eighth overall pick elsewhere, expect them to receive a young forward in return who would become a long-term solution on their first or second line. As a team that finished with a 33-33-16 record last season and just 82 points in the standings, the Canes aren’t in search of any quick fixes; rather, they are attempting to building a core that can remain intact well into the future.

Of course, a high draft pick would fit right into that core Rutherford is assembling, but the prospects available at eighth overall would likely take several years to develop. Following a successful end to the 2011-12 season under newly-hired head coach Kirk Muller, Carolina appears on the cusp of prominence once more, and adding that extra piece that can jump in right away could be the difference in whether or not the Hurricanes make the playoffs next spring.

 

Andrew Hirsh is a credentialed NHL writer based in North Carolina.
Twitter: @andrewhirsh | Email: ahirsh3@gmail.com 

This article was originally published at: The Hockey Writers.

Kovalchuk is What Ovechkin Needs To Be

Alexander Ovechkin and Ilya Kovalchuk have something in common. They are both left wingers from Russia who were drafted first overall and signed to over decade-long contracts. Strangely enough they are even the exact same height (6'3'') and weight (230 lbs.).  These two also play a similar style by scoring barrels of goals every year, but now Kovalchuk has become everything Ovechkin was promised to be.

Ilya Kovalchuk Devils hockey

Ilya Kovalchuk gets ready for his first Stanley Cup Final (Icon SMI)

Before this season Kovalchuk had not got past the first round of the playoffs in his 10-year career. Now, he's on the Conn Smythe shortlist for playoff MVP and leads all players for points in the playoffs. Meanwhile Ovechkin is in the swing of the off-season spending time in Paris at the French Open with Russian tennis-star girlfriend Mari Kirilenko. Well it's not hard to feel bad for either of these young men; Ovechkin will surely be watching the finals with a lot on his mind after the season he had.

Ovechkin is coming off a season in which he produced a career low 65 points and was a minus eight, which is a far cry from the three-straight seasons of 100 plus points and back-to-back Rocket Richard and Hart Trophies. However since the 2008-2009 season Ovechkin has consistently shaved 20 points from the previous year's point total. Not great #8.

The questions are:

  1. What's wrong with you?
  2. How do we fix you?

You would think with a coaching change coming in the fall Ovechkin's future only looks brighter since he didn't exactly flourish under Dale Hunter's defense-first system. However in essence what Hunter was trying to get out of Ovechkin was what the Devils have received from Kovalchuk ' a player who buys into a defensive/team game.

Now this is Kovalchuk 2.0 we're talking about. The first-generation Kovy 1.0 model played for the now defunct Atlanta Thrashers and tried to carry the whole thing on his back at the peril of those around him. Early on in Kovalchuk's career he was labelled as a one-way player who tried to do too much with the puck and wasn't exactly a 'Team Guy'. Sound familiar?  Kovalchuk was guilty of the exact same things that are plaguing Ovi's game today.

The Devils' GM Lou Lamoriello believes Kovalchuk's former identity was based around the Atlanta Thrashers' culture. “He came in at 18 years old, expected to carry a franchise. He had tremendous talent and he was just allowed to use his talent, and you get into habits over a period of time,' said Lamoriello. 'He wants to win. He cares. It just took some time to adjust, and right now he’s just gotten better and better.”

Ovechkin doesn't have the offensive flare he once had (Anthony S. Fiore/Inside Hockey)

The notion is that Kovalchuk's always wanted to play the brand of hockey he is now, he was simply type cast into that role in Atlanta. This idea is something Kovalchuk's teammate Dainus Zubrus can get behind. 'If he didn't score two goals, they (Thrashers) might not win. He had to basically carry the team and win games for them,' said Zubrus. “Our team is different. Even without him scoring we can win games. I think he’s become obviously more complete as a player because he’s way better in his own zone, way more responsible both ways. I’m sure he’ll tell you the same thing himself. He’s doing way better than before.”

There are some obvious parallels between Kovalchuk's time in Atlanta and Ovechkin’s flop. After the lockout the Washington Capitals built an entire team identity around Ovechkin. They became known as an offensive deity that goalies feared, defensemen trembled and gave goal judges callouses,  but this identity is'well was, hinged almost entirely on Ovechkin.

Could it be that Ovechkin has formed those same bad habits that pestered Kovalchuk in Atlanta?

If so there's one quick tip Ovechkin can garner from Kovalchuk ' play the PK.

'That's when you really learn how to play in your own zone and communicate with the guys,' said Kovalchuk. 'That was very helpful. In Atlanta there was always pressure to score and create, but here it is bigger pressure because the market is bigger and the price is higher.'

Fact: Ovechkin doesn’t know what the penalty kill is. He spent 1 second on the PK in the 2012 playoffs, no joke. 1 second. Over the course of the entire regular season Ovechkin played two minutes of shorthanded play. Average that throughout the 78 games he played and he played an average of 1 second per game on the PK.

Ovechkin is three years Kovalchuk's junior and you can't discount the fact that there will still be years of production out of Ovi, it's just a matter of when Ovechkin will blossom into the next stage of his career and learn to become a player that adds to the team, not one that the team is built around.

 

This article was originally published at: The Hockey Writers.

Desert or No Desert, A Bright Future for the Phoenix Coyotes

It might seem counter-intuitive to write about the Western Conference final loser Phoenix Coyotes when Game 1 of the Stanley Cup final is starting after a long layover. But for the obsessed, strategy never sleeps. In the sports team assembly business, thinking about the possibilities about what might have been is useless, but thinking about the possibilities for the future is irresistible. And a note of optimism has been struck in Phoenix, from official sources, anyway.

Brandon Gormley

Brandon Gormley is on the radar after being front and centre in the Cataractes' victory (Aaron Bell/CHL Images)

Lots goes on even during the fight for hockey’s biggest prize. The junior talent showcase that is the Memorial Cup took place last weekend, and the Coyotes have Brandon Gormley, one of the top D-men on the 2012 Champion Shawinigan Cataractes, in their prospect stable. So there’s that. And the 2012 draft is coming up in a couple of weeks in Pittsburgh. As always, plenty to think about there. The Coyotes will be drafting in the bottom 20 but really, when has that stopped them from picking quality players?

The playoffs put rearguards Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Keith Yandle on display as two glorious d-men with their best years in front of them. Yandle is signed for two more years; Ekman-Larsson is still on a rookie contract from 2010 whose terms were not disclosed. With Gormley now not far off, former top-5 pick Rotislav Klesla locked up through 2014, and highly touted Swede D-man David Rundblad coming up (Traded over from Ottawa for Kyle Turris, who was one of the ‘Yotes top-flight forward prospects), the back end looks to only get stronger in the years ahead. The Defensive Battleship that went 16 games in this year’s playoffs is only going to get better skating legs and playmaking skills. Veteran Derek Morris, who really came alive in the 2012 playoffs, is also locked up for two more years, which will provide continuity and stability on the blue line. UFAs Michal Roszival and Adrian Aucoin’s futures with the club are both uncertain, but at least that’s not a huge worry in either case given the rest of these developments.

Phoenix Coyote Oliver Ekman-Larsson - Photo by Andy Martin Jr

Goal competes with defence in the “least concern” department. Mike Smith will provide one more year of 2 million dollar bargain basement, quality starting goal-tending. Even though one lights out season does not mean he is guaranteed to perform as well, or even reliably, next year, the Coyotes have little to fear. They have the Niagara IceDogs’ Mark Visentin, who is one of the most visible goaltenders in North American junior of recent years. Unfortunately many Canadian fans know his name from that awful 5 goal third period at the world juniors last year. But all of his other stats are excellent, and he is projected to be a top starter in pro.

At 19, he might still be a little young for the big time. But one can’t help but think it would be great to start grooming him by giving him some backup time behind Smith. He would leapfrog over Jason LaBarbera on the goalie depth chart, but I’m thinking that he could be a good bargaining chip in a deal for a forward. Nobody said he’s a bad goaltender although, not having achieved a starting role at 32, we shouldn’t be naive either. Then again, if Mike Smith became a starter at 30, and LaBarbera has the same goaltending coach, who knows…

Whatever happens, the deal for a forward is not a joke, because this is where the Coyotes are the weakest. Only two key scorers – Radim Vrbata and Martin Hanzal – are signed past 2013. Other than these two creative Czech gentlemen, only Boyd, Torres, Gordon, Korpikoski, Bissonnette, Brule, and Boedker will be back next year, but their statuses are all uncertain beyond that. The two go-to offensive and leadership guys, Whitney and Doan, are a respective 39 and 35, and both UFAs. Mikkel Boedker has emerged as an offensive star and probably the best NHL player to come out of his native Denmark. Signing him should be a top priority. It could be difficult for a club whose ability to pay players is limited. Moving Phoenix’s salary cap pieces around is akin to trying to solve a rubik’s cube.

An overly bleak picture of the future forward corps shouldn’t be painted. It sure doesn’t hurt having 2012 CHL Forward of the Year Brendan Shinnimin in the pipeline. And Don Maloney just signed 2010 second-rounder Phil Lane to an entry level contract, which will see him departing from the Brampton Battalion, where he posted a respectable 41 points in 53 games this year. Still, these “green shoots” are highly unlikely to provide the immediate reliable and robust impact a Division Champion and Conference Finalist would normally be looking for to build on its success.

However, “Normally” is not a word that applies to this club, as we’ve seen. And you can expect more shrewd management from Maloney in the desert on a shoestring budget, which is the budget he’ll have no matter who owns the team as long as it is in Phoenix. As for the relocation/uncertainty cloud hanging over the ‘Yotes, you can be sure this team will contend the minute it’s in the hands of someone in another city with deeper pockets. Which would make it furthest possible thing from an expansion team. But we’ve got the Cup, more legislative and legal hurdles in Glendale, and the new CBA to sort out before any of that can be talked about. What’s undisputable for the Phoenix Coyotes is that there’s a pretty solid foundation there today, and many of its important pieces aren’t going anywhere for 2012/2013.

This article was originally published at: The Hockey Writers.

Five Awful Hockey Card Photos

Hockey cards immortalize our heroes onto small pieces of cardboard that we can keep forever. But sometimes, a card can make our favorite player look really bad. Here are 5 hockey card photographs that should have their negatives burned.

1981-82 Topps #130E - Denis Potvin

OOOF!

5. Denis Potvin / 1981-82 Topps #130E
The card says “Super Action” at the bottom, but the only action we see is Denis Potvin of the New York Islanders falling backwards and squashing his own goaltender. Sadly, this photo does not properly encapsulate his remarkable playoff run in 1981, when he scored 8 goals and 17 assists en route to the team’s second Stanley Cup championship. Instead, Potvin looks like a clumsy oaf. Topps did a great job of making him appear incompetent on his own trading card.

1994 World Cup Soccer #C8 ' Wayne Gretzky

"When is my flight home?"

4. Wayne Gretzky / 1994 World Cup Soccer #C8
Gretzky was a spokesman for the Upper Deck trading card company. Sometimes, this entailed doing things he might not have wanted to do, like appear on a soccer card. Upper Deck included cards of popular athletes from other sports in their 1994 World Cup Soccer set, designating each one as an “Honorary Captain.” Here, Gretzky is the Honorary Captain for the city of Los Angeles, but his forced half-smile lead us to believe that right now he’d rather be in Edmonton.

1987-88 O-Pee-Chee Leaders #14 ' Glen Hanlon

A man's gotta do...

3. Glen Hanlon / 1987-88 O-Pee-Chee Leaders #14
Is Glen Hanlon making an, ahem, equipment adjustment? Or does he just have an itch?  You really can’t fault the Detroit Red Wings goaltender here, so you have to wonder why (a) the photographer felt the need to sell this picture to the card company, and (b) why the card company thought this would be a great photo for their “League Leaders” set? Hanlon appeared in 36 games the previous season, so it’s not like a better photo was lacking, which brings us to our next card…

2010-11 Score #545 ' Bryan Pitton

"Hey buddy, the camera is THIS way!"

2. Bryan Pitton  / 2010-11 Score #545
If the absolute best photo a card company can muster up shows the back – not the front – of the player’s head, then why bother making a card? Nonetheless, Panini America felt the need to include Edmonton Oilers prospect Bryan Pitton in their Score “Hot Rookies” subset. When your own rookie card shows you from the back, that can’t be a good sign.  Coincidentally, Pitton’s rookie card in that year’s Donruss set – also made by Panini – shows him from the back too. (Click here for a 2-minute video further detailing why this card sucks.)

1983-84 O-Pee-Chee #226 ' Mel Bridgman

"Hey you kids! Get off mah lawn!"

1. Mel Bridgeman / 1983-84 O-Pee-Chee #226
Absolutely nothing about this card makes Mel Bridgeman look good. When he was traded from the Calgary Flames to the New Jersey Devils in the off season, the O-Pee-Chee card did what they always did back then – have someone paint the player’s new uniform colors on the photograph. The results were usually laughable, and this card is no exception. Bridgeman’s gray lunchbox-of-a-helmet would be enough to merit inclusion on this list, but what really ices it is his angry, toothless scowl. Instead of painting over his jersey, O-Pee-Chee should have had the touch-up artist give Bridgman a few more teeth.

This article was originally published at: The Hockey Writers.

Rock Star Kopitar: Anze Wins It In OT

Capitalizing on opportunities ended up being crucial in Game One.  Especially when those opportunities come so few and far between.  With both clubs feeling each other out in the early going and shaking off the rust in an attempt to click, the Los Angeles Kings and New Jersey Devils fittingly concluded a tight, hard hitting contest in overtime.

(Ed Mulholland-US PRESSWIRE)

In a game that saw neither team crack 30 shots, there were only ten shots in total during the first period.

Los Angeles, much like New Jersey, which has consistently rolled out four solid fore-checking lines in these playoffs, gave the Devils a taste of their own medicine in the first frame.  Digging along the boards, Jordan Nolan was able to lodge the puck away from Andy Greene.  Nolan fed Colin Fraser in the slot and Fraser was able to best Martin Brodeur for a 1-0 Kings lead.  For Fraser, the marker was his first of this post-season and the road warrior Kings felt right at home.

Not that New Jersey didn’t have some golden opportunities in the first.  David Clarkson had some golden chances in front, that sailed too high on Jonathan Quick.  Hence it was 1-0 L.A. after one.

During the second, L.A. held N.J. to just four shots, but couldn’t get out of the way of one late in the period.  A drive by Anton Volchenkov, appeared to go off of Patrik Elias and Slava Voynov and in.  Yet it was ultimately Volchenkov, credited for his first goal of these playoffs and it was all squared at one.

As both squads got more in the groove, the hitting continued to escalate in the third.  Of course that didn’t translate into any scoring, but it did serve each team in finding its bearings for Game Two and getting back to what worked in the first three rounds of the tournament.  Appropriately though, this one would escalate to an extra session.

There it was the ever sneaky and sage Anze Kopitar, capitalizing with the Devils defence caught back.  Justin Williams was able to chip the puck up into the open ice, to hit the streaking Kopitar.  Kopitar cruised in on Brodeur, faked and waited him out, sliding the puck under and in for the 2-1 winner and a 1-0 series lead for Los Angeles.  For Kopitar, who led all shooters with four on the night, it was his seventh tally of the playoffs and the ninth straight road victory for the Kings in the 2012 playoffs.

So hence it was another clutch win for L.A., which has still yet to trail in a series or lose on the road in this post-season.

To summarize, Game One had its share of hard hits and superb netminding and an overtime winner.  Hopefully a prelude for what is yet to come, especially if guys continue to shake the rust off and start finishing on the offensive side of the puck.

This article was originally published at: The Hockey Writers.

Rabu, 30 Mei 2012

The NHL Missed Out on a Dream Stanley Cup Finals Matchup

Gary Bettman

Gary Bettman (Kellen/Icon SMI)

Somewhere, Gary Bettman is banging his head against a wall.

Like most hockey fans not based in New Jersey, it’s unlikely that Mr. Bettman is thrilled with the NHL’s Stanley Cup Final.

While no one from the league offices would ever admit to this, it had to be a huge disappointment that the New Jersey Devils prevailed over the New York Rangers. Had the Rangers been able to join the Kings in the Finals, the NHL would’ve had a dream matchup to end their season.

Instead, they are left with a mediocre one.

After saying this, let me be clear this isn’t a knock on the Devils. Obviously, New Jersey deserves to be there after ousting the Florida Panthers, Philadelphia Flyers, and Rangers. There’s simply no disputing that.

However, in terms of what would’ve been best for the NHL, there’s no doubt that it would have been a Kings-Rangers series.

A series between Los Angeles and New York would have involved two of the biggest markets in the U.S. Anytime markets as big as New York and Los Angeles are involved it is simply more likely to attract the common fan and thus generate higher ratings and more revenue for the NHL in the long run. The NHL is no different from any other sport in their desire to showcase their big market teams.

Just think about it for a second. Would a casual fan rather watch a Super Bowl between the New York Giants and Miami Dolphins or a Super Bowl between the Kansas City Chiefs and Jacksonville Jaguars? Would a casual fan rather watch a NBA Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and New York Knicks or between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors? Again, this isn’t to knock small markets, but the answers are pretty obvious aren’t they?

Just look at the teams the NHL has chosen for its Winter Classic. Aside from the Buffalo Sabres, there isn’t a small market team among them.

In fact, the NHL has chosen to put three of its marquee franchises in the game twice (Detroit, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia) as opposed to allowing a smaller market team a chance to play in the game. The league has yet to throw teams like the San Jose Sharks, Tampa Bay Lightning, or Phoenix Coyotes a bone and let them play on the big stage. It wouldn’t be a smart business decision because it wouldn’t generate the same interest in the game that the more well known teams are able to.

So, if it was up to the NHL, you can bet that they would’ve chosen the Rangers over the Devils without thinking twice about it. Besides being located in Newark and lacking the intrigue of the Big Apple, New Jersey is just not an exciting team for the casual fan to watch.

Zach Parise Devils

Zach Parise (Icon SMI)

Sure, Ilya Kovalchuk and Zach Parise are both talented players, but that’s all the Devils have up front with regards to star power. Martin Brodeur is long past his prime and isn’t the player he once was. The Devils defensemen are solid as a group, but no one player stands out. Compare that group with the Rangers and it’s clear that New York would’ve been a bigger draw due to players like Brad Richards, Ryan Callahan, Marian Gaborik, and Henrik Lundqvist.

Again, the Devils were clearly the best team in the Eastern Conference and should give the Kings a run for their money. New Jersey plays a strong team game, forechecks relentlessly, and has more offensive firepower than Devils’ teams of the past.

For the serious NHL fan, a Kings-Devils matchup should prove to be an interesting one.

Unfortunately for the NHL, just not the one they were hoping for.

At least, for the sake of the walls in Mr. Bettman’s office, they avoided a Devils-Coyotes final.

This article was originally published at: The Hockey Writers.

New Jersey Devils Power Play Questionable

Much was made during the regular season of the New Jersey Devils potent penalty kill unit. The group logged a record 89.6 percentage, shutting down opponents with a smothering, suffocating style of play. Overlooked in the shadow of the penalty kill unit's excellence was their power play. Registering a slightly above-average 17.2%, the power play unit, stocked with offensive firepower, was capable of breaking a game open with a key goal, despite being somewhat inconsistent.

In the playoffs, the special teams equation was reversed, with the p kill sliding to the bottom quarter of the league (74.2%) and the power play good for fourth best of all playoff teams (18.2%). New Jersey's poor power play showing in the Eastern Conference Finals vs. the Rangers is concerning though, as the unit went 3-for-23 in the six-game series win, despite showing occasional flashes of brilliance, such as Ilya Kovalchuk's beautiful goal in Game 6.

Lundqvist beats Devils

Ilya Kovalchuk is the Devils leading scorer in the 2012 playoffs (Ed Mulholland-US PRESSWIRE)

When the Stanley Cup Finals begin on Wednesday night in Newark, the Devils will have to contend with a Los Angeles Kings team that has been airtight on the penalty kill, notching an incredible 91.2% while also scoring five shorthanders. The Los Angeles penalty kill unit, combined with the goaltending of Jonathan Quick, is perhaps the biggest reason they have stormed through the Western Conference in just 14 games on the way to a date with the Devils.

Head coach Peter DeBoer, addressing the media on Monday, stressed that the power play is just one of the things his team must do well to beat Los Angeles.
'They've got multiple things we're going to have to deal with. Obviously, the goaltender (Jonathan Quick) had been if not the best then one of the top two or three guys all year, the size and skill of their forwards, Drew Doughty ' it's a three or four-headed monster.'

This is not to say that New Jersey's power play is definitely going to be ineffective against the Kings. The personnel the Devils put on the ice with the man advantage, including Kovalchuk, Zach Parise, Patrik Elias, Adam Henrique and Travis Zajac, to name a few, is impressive to say the least. But if the Devils expect to hoist the franchise's first Stanley Cup in almost ten years, the unit will have to be better than it was against the Rangers.

This article was originally published at: The Hockey Writers.

Dallas Stars Regroup in Offseason

After coming up short for a fourth-straight season, the Dallas Stars look to find their bearings during this offseason and gear-up for a playoff run in 2012-2013. This season appears to be one of the most promising for the Stars franchise in the past few years. Building around their foundation of young talent and veteran experience, the Stars finally have an owner who is willing (and able) to lead the team back to a Western Conference contender.

New Faces in the Front Office

The organization has already added a few key names to the front office and management. Most notably was the recent addition of Bob Gainey, who served with the organization a decade ago during the Stars pinnacle. Gainey will be the Stars Senior Advisor to the Hockey Department. He will assist General Manager Jim Nieuwendyk, President Jim Lites, and Owner Tom Gagliardi. Gagliardi and Lites are also relatively new faces for the organization, although Lites, like Gainey, served with the franchise years ago. The fact that the Stars franchise is able to bring aboard names such as Lites and Gainey shows determination and understanding of pursuing a Stanley Cup. Lites and Gainey both have ample experience and wisdom concerning the NHL. Shoring up a strong front office and management is key to building the foundation of a strong organization.

Roster Needs

Kari Lehtonen Stars

Kari Lehtonen has been a workhorse for the Dallas Stars. (Ric Tapia/Icon SMI)

Bringing strong leadership to the front office helps the Stars in two ways: It helps steer the franchise in the right direction, and it also helps convince prospective free agents that the Stars are going in a promising direction. What the past two years have shown is that the Dallas Stars roster is on the cusp of something special but lacks in key areas, most notably, depth. Although management tried to makeup for the loss of Richards during last offseason with multiple free agent signings, the Stars showed a streaky inability to score timely goals during this season, particularly coming down the stretch. The Stars need to add one top playmaker to complement and catalyze the other talent up front. The Stars have size and physicality up front but lack a reliable speedster to create a more well-balanced attack. Dallas also drastically needs strength and depth on their third and fourth lines. Although players such as Radek Dvorak and Eric Nystrom showed promise at times, their play was often streaky, and injuries to any player on the top lines created noticeable vacancies on the second or third lines.

Perhaps even more important than adding to the offense is filling holes on the spotty defensive corp. The addition of Sheldon Souray was a surprising addition, and the Stars would be well-suited to keep Souray in a black and green uniform. However, the Stars would still need to add at least one and probably two quality defensemen to suffice their defense. These defensemen do not need to be goal scorers or playmakers, as Alex Goligoski, Trevor Daley, and Souray already fit this mold. The Stars need defensemen who, more than anything, can confidently handle the puck in their own zone as well as be physical to oncoming and forechecking forwards. Opposing teams were given too much room in the Dallas zone last season. Dallas got in the habit of running around and tiring themselves out trying to quell an attack. Bringing aboard more experienced defensemen is vital  to the Stars playoff hopes. The Stars should also make a point to give extensions to the better defensemen on the team, such as Goligoski.

One area of the roster that needs no changes is goaltending. Kari Lehtonen has shown himself to be the most reliable player on the team over the past two years and one of the hardest workers. Richard Bachman is a dependable backup to Lehtonen, and Bachman certainly held his own when he got the nod to man the net.

Head Coach Glen Gulutzan proved himself to be a worthy NHL coach last year. If I had to grade his rookie performance, I would give him a B or B+; even though the Stars missed the playoffs, considering the resources and tools Gulutzan was given to lead an NHL team, he did a surprising job in his first season. Gulutzan should continue to be a strong leader for the roster.

Although the past few seasons have ended in disappointment for the Dallas Stars, this offseason has more excitement and optimism than any recent year for the organization.

 

This article was originally published at: The Hockey Writers.

New York Rangers: Losing Will Teach You to Win

Lack of scoring. Not enough depth. Too tired.

Those are three of the reasons why the New York Rangers were unable to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 1994. After winning the Atlantic Division and finishing as the top seed in the Eastern Conference, The Rangers had to battle through two seven-game series to reach the Eastern Conference Finals before losing to the New Jersey Devils in a six game series where the Rangers were outplayed for most of the time.

But despite not reaching the ultimate goal of winning a Stanley Cup, the Rangers’ loss was a necessary step in building a championship-caliber team. As history shows, all championship teams (with the exception of the Montreal Canadiens dynasties) have gone through the “mandatory suffering rule”, which in essence means that before any team can be ready to win, they have to experience losing in the playoffs first.

The mandatory suffering rule holds true for the last three Stanley Cup Champions. Before winning the Stanley Cup in 2011, the Bruins suffered heartbreaking losses in the previous three seasons, which included losing a 3-0 series lead and a 3-0 lead in Game 7 to the Philadelphia Flyers in 2010. The Blackhawks’ Stanley Cup win in 2010 was preceded by a long postseason run in 2009 that ended in the Western Conference Finals against the Detroit Red Wings. And before Sidney Crosby and the Penguins won the Stanley Cup in 2009 against the Red Wings, they had lost to Detroit in the Finals the season before.

Henrik Lundqvist 2012

(Geoff Burke-US PRESSWIRE)

The 2012 playoff run for the Rangers was invaluable to many players because although players such as Henrik Lundqvist, Brad Richards, and Ryan Callahan have been to the playoffs on multiple occasions, many players on the Rangers were getting their first taste of the playoffs. This held true the most for Chris Kreider, who made his NHL debut in the playoffs and contributed to the Rangers’ success. Also, although players like Lundqvist and Callahan had made the playoffs before, 2012 was the first time that those players made it beyond the 2nd round, and twenty playoff games (plus two Game 7 victories) can go a long way to help a club down the road.

Around the time of the trade deadline, I talked about how the Rangers organization should let the roster that was intact for the majority of the season have a chance at winning the Cup without making any changes. One reason was because although the Rangers weren’t the most talented team in the Eastern Conference, they were finding ways to win night after night throughout the regular season. Looking back, another reason why it was beneficial for the Rangers to make a Cup run without making any changes was because they now have a chance to evaluate what went wrong and what needs to be done to fix it.

Based on this year’s run, the Rangers roster was good enough to get to the 3rd round of the playoffs. Now, as the calendar turns to June, and then ultimately July, the Rangers will look to make the tweaks to their roster to elevate from a team that was good enough to have regular season success and knock on the door of the Stanley Cup Finals, to a team that will be playing in June of 2013.

And they will do it while carrying the lessons learned in the 2011-12 season with them.

This article was originally published at: The Hockey Writers.

Shawinigan Cataractes Win 2012 Memorial Cup

Underdogs and longshots.

Those are what the Shawinigan Cataractes were considered at the 2012 Memorial Cup, despite the fact that they were the host team.  The Cataractes had a month-long layoff after their premature exit from the QMJHL playoffs, losing in Game 7 of a second-round series against the upstart Chicoutimi Saguenéens, an early departure that seemed to eliminate them from contention before the Memorial Cup tournament even began.

The Cataractes watched from Shawinigan as the Saint John Sea Dogs eventually won their second straight President’s Cup as QMJHL champions.   After the London Knights won the OHL championship and the Edmonton Oil Kings won the WHL championship, the stage was set for all four teams to begin to contend for the biggest prize in Canadian junior hockey.  All four teams were worthy candidates, each with a considerably deep and talented roster, but only one could be crowned champions of the Canadian Hockey League.

Memorial Cup

Keegan Lowe of the Edmonton Oil Kings and Anton Zlobin of the Shawinigan Cataractes battle in front of the net during the 2012 Memorial Cup tournament opener. A goal by Henrik Samuelsson at 13:42 of the third gave the Oil Kings a 4-3 win. (Aaron Bell/CHL Images)

Before 2012, the Cataractes had hosted the Memorial Cup tournament once before. That was in 1985 and they lost in the finals 6-1 to the WHL champion Prince Albert Raiders, who had future NHL players Ken Baumgartner and Pat Elynuik on their roster.  The 2011-12 roster did not want that piece of history to repeat itself, especially since they did not win the QMJHL championship in 1985 either.  Additionally, the Cataractes sought to be the first team since the 2006-07 Vancouver Giants to win the Memorial Cup on home ice; in the four years since, the Memorial Cup hosts had lost in the final three times and once in a tiebreaker.

The Cataractes were put to work right away, playing in the tournament opener against the Edmonton Oil Kings, on May 18th. Keeping with recent Memorial Cup tradition, the home team wore a special jersey for the opening game of the tournament, one that pays tribute to the armed forces based out of Shawinigan.  They hoped that it would bring them good luck and, for most of the game, it did.  The Cataractes were down 1-0 early, though, after Kristi'ns Pel's scored only 2:41 into the first period.  Less than six minutes later, Shawinigan drew even on a powerplay goal by Michael Chaput.  The score remained tied throughout two periods.  61 seconds into the third period, Griffin Reinhart gave the Oil Kings a 2-1 advantage. At 5:40, Martin Gernát scored to give Edmonton a 3-1 lead.  57 seconds later, the Cataractes cut the lead to 3-2 after a goal by Anton Zlobin.  Eventually, Shawinigan tied the game on Chaput’s second goal of the game at 13:19.  The tie was short-lived as Henrik Samuelsson scored 23 seconds later to give Edmonton a 4-3 lead, one that they would never relinquish.

Brandon Gormley

Brandon Gormley celebrates one of his two goals that helped Shawinigan win 6-2 over London in their second game of the Memorial Cup, their first win at the tournament. (Aaron Bell/CHL Images)

On May 20th, the Cataractes faced their next Memorial Cup opponent, the London Knights.  Shawinigan head coach Éric Veilleux decided, however, to make one small change.  He took out 17-year-old goaltender Alex Dubeau, who made only 21 saves in the opener against Edmonton, and replaced him with overage netminder Gabriel Girard.  Despite the change, yet again the Cataractes allowed the first goal of the game; Josh Anderson gave London a 1-0 lead 10:47 into the first period.  At 16:23 of the opening frame, Cataractes captain and Shawinigan native Michaël Bournival tied the game 1-1.  Only 57 seconds into the second, Brandon Gormley gave the Cataractes a 2-1 lead; at 10:37, Loïk Poudrier continued his penalty-killing prowess, scoring an unassisted shorthanded goal to give the host team a 3-1 advantage.  22 seconds later, on the same powerplay, Andreas Athanasiou scored for London to make the game 3-2.  That was as close as the Knights would get.  Overage forward Pierre-Olivier Morin scored an unassisted goal of his own at 3:20 of the third period, followed by Gormley’s second goal of the game, a powerplay marker at 9:44. Michael Chaput capped off the victory with an empty-net goal at 18:15 to seal a 6-2 Cataractes victory.

Memorial Cup

Officials tried to restore order after the game between Shawinigan and Saint John turned ugly. Jonathan Narbonne tangled with Pierre Durepos (left); Justin Haché disagreed with Jason Cameron (centre); and Brandon Gormley and Nathan Beaulieu mixed it up (right). 72 penalty minutes were called between the two teams in the game, which the Sea Dogs won 4-1. (Terry Wilson/CHL Images)

Three days later, on May 23rd, the Cataractes faced their last opponent during the Memorial Cup round robin, the Saint John Sea Dogs.  It was going to be a hard-fought battle since the Sea Dogs were the defending champions.  At 4:19 of the first period, Jonathan Huberdeau scored to give Saint John a 1-0 lead.  Not even three minutes later, things started to get chippy. Penalties started to get called for high sticking and slashing.  After Pierre-Olivier Morin took a slashing penalty at 19:05 of the opening frame, the fifth minor between the two teams in the first period, Stanislav Galiev scored only 24 seconds into the powerplay to give the Sea Dogs a 2-0 advantage going into the second.  The hostilities did not cease in the middle stanza either.  Eight penalties were called in the sandwich session between the two teams. Two goals did manage to be scored in the second period, though.  Ryan Tesink gave the defending champs a 3-0 lead at 16:05. Two minutes and 50 seconds later, Anton Zlobin scored the Cataractes’ only goal of the game, cutting the deficit to 3-1.  By the time the third period came around, it was evident that the two clubs did not like each other.  Six penalties were called in the first 16 minutes, including roughing minors to 2012 Canadian World Junior teammates Brandon Gormley and Nathan Beaulieu, which occurred during a scrum in which almost everyone on the ice was paired off. The dust settled long enough for Huberdeau to score his second goal of the game, an empty-netter to seal a 4-1 Sea Dogs victory.  After Huberdeau’s goal, all hell broke loose on the Centre Bionest ice surface.  Saint John’s Grant West and Shawinigan’s Vincent Arseneau decided to get into a fight, while Colorado Avalanche prospect Dillon Donnelly — an agitator for the Cataractes — was given a ten-minute misconduct and premature ejection with 42 seconds left in the game. The home faithful became restless and peeved at the officiating, throwing debris onto the ice. Six more roughing minors were handed out, as well as a double minor to Sea Dogs forward Aidan Kelly.  Between the two teams, they combined for 72 minutes in penalties.  More than anything, it meant that the Cataractes had to play in the tiebreaker to keep their Memorial Cup dreams alive.

Gabriel Girard

Gabriel Girard stops Rhett Rachinski's shot from in close during the Memorial Cup tiebreaker between Shawinigan and Edmonton. Girard stopped 29 of 30 shots while his teammates put six goals past Oil Kings netminder Laurent Brossoit on 31 shots. (Terry Wilson/CHL Images)

It also meant that, if they were to win the Memorial Cup, they had to defeat every league champion to do so.

The Memorial Cup tiebreaker came quickly for Shawinigan.  In fact, it was played on May 24th, the very next day.  By virtue of the Sea Dogs’ win the day before, that meant that the Knights had a bye to the finals.  The tiebreaker was against the Oil Kings and the stunning 4-3 victory by Edmonton in the tournament opener still left a bitter taste in the Cataractes’ mouths.  This time, it was going to be different.  At 7:30 of the opening period, Yannick Veilleux scored to give Shawinigan a 1-0 lead.  With Tyler Maxwell of the Oil Kings in the penalty box for high sticking, the Cataractes got a 2-0 lead at 17:01 after Morgan Ellis fired a bomb from the point.  Only 1:54 into the second period, Anton Zlobin scored to put Edmonton in a 3-0 hole.  62 seconds later, another Russian, Kirill Kabanov, scored an unassisted marker to give the host team a 4-0 advantage.  Hometown hero Michaël Bournival scored a powerplay goal at 8:11 of the middle frame for a 5-0 lead and the Cataractes were not done there.  Pierre-Olivier Morin scored his second unassisted goal, a shorthanded marker, at 13:59 to make it 6-0 for Shawinigan.  Gabriel Girard was solid all game long despite losing his bid for a shutout when Henrik Samuelsson scored at 16:50 to make the score 6-1, which is how the game ended; the overager made 29 saves in the win.

Pierre-Olivier Morin

Pierre-Olivier Morin celebrates his goal with ten seconds left in regulation in the Memorial Cup semifinal against Saint John. A seesaw affair that saw the game tied going into the third, the Cataractes scored three unanswered goals in the final frame to win 7-4 en route to the finals. (Terry Wilson/CHL Images)

The next night, May 25th, the Cataractes faced Saint John once again.  They wanted nothing more than to defeat the defending Memorial Cup champions. Shawinigan fell behind early after Zack Phillips gave the Sea Dogs a 1-0 lead only 4:29 into the first period. Unlike the round-robin game between the two teams, the host team did not sit back on their laurels.  The Cataractes scored two goals in three minutes, 37 seconds, to give themselves a 2-1 lead; Michaël Bournival scored at 6:51 and Brandon Gormley scored at 9:24 to give Shawinigan a 2-1 advantage. Saint John’s explosive powerplay, however, tied the game before the first period was over; Tomá' Jur'o scored at 12:35 to tie the game before the first period ended. Shawinigan showed that they were not going to be taken lightly again, scoring two goals of their own in the middle frame. Loïk Poudrier scored at 9:14 of the second period and, only 85 seconds later, Michael Chaput scored to make the score 4-2.  The Sea Dogs, however, would not go away.  Jonathan Huberdeau scored an unassisted shorthanded goal at 16:39 of the second period to cut the lead to 4-3. Jur'o scored his second goal of the contest at 9:16 of the final frame to tie it at 4-4.  That was as close as Saint John would get.  At 13:14 of the final frame, Yannick Veilleux scored to give Shawinigan a 5-4 advantage.  With Sea Dogs goaltender Mathieu Corbeil on the bench for an extra attacker, Saint John fired everything they could at Gabriel Girard to try to tie it up; that was until Chaput scored his second goal of the night into an empty net with 52 seconds left in regulation.  To put the nail further into the Sea Dogs’ coffin, Pierre-Olivier Morin took a pass from Mitchell Maynard and shot the puck high over Corbeil’s shoulder with only ten seconds remaining to seal a 7-4 victory.

With that, the defending Memorial Cup champions were eliminated.

Two league playoff champions were out and only one more remained.  The London Knights, the only team that the Cataractes managed to defeat during the round robin, were the only barrier between Shawinigan and their first Memorial Cup championship in franchise history.  The Knights were hoping that they could win their second Memorial Cup in seven years but the Cataractes did not want that to happen, especially after the recent calamities of host teams in the finals in recent memory.

Happily, both teams had the day off on May 26th.  The Canadian Hockey League had its annual awards ceremony that Saturday night so it was a well-deserved break before the finals.  Knights goaltender Michael Houser was riding high after being named the CHL’s top goaltender.  He was hoping to add a Memorial Cup to what had been an impressive 2011-12 season for the native of Wexford, Pennsylvania.

As for the Shawinigan Cataractes, they had a different frame of mind.  They knew that they could beat London; they had already done so.  Additionally, the coming Thursday, May 31st, would be the 20th birthday of their captain so why not get him a Memorial Cup in front of his hometown faithful as a present?

A sellout crowd of 5250 piled into Centre Bionest to watch the Memorial Cup final, hoping to see history.  As in the majority of the Cataractes’ games at the tournament, they gave up the first goal.  Ryan Rupert scored at 5:42 of the first period to give the London Knights a 1-0 lead, a goal that seemed to fool Gabriel Girard.  After that, Girard was solid, making highlight reel saves to keep his team in it.  At the other end of the ice, Michael Houser was no slouch either.  He was matching Girard save for save, making sure that London had a fighting chance.  Early in the second period, the Cataractes got to him.  A shot by Kirill Kabanov went off Knights defenceman Olli Määttä, as well as off Anton Zlobin, handcuffing Houser, tying the game at 1-1.  Zlobin was eventually given credit for the goal.  Both goaltenders shone during the third period but London came very close to winning the game in the last seconds.  Knights forward Austin Watson shot the puck from the end boards and it ricocheted onto Girard, who kicked it out at the last possible moment.  With that save preserving the score at 1-1, the game remained tied after regulation. There were only three penalties throughout 60 minutes and both teams readied for overtime.

Both teams got good chances, especially in the last five minutes of the extra frame, when they went back and forth.  Each goaltender was giving his team ample opportunities to win.  With time winding down in the first overtime period, at 17:51 of the extra session, Michael Chaput passed the puck from behind the net to an open Zlobin, who beat Houser low stick side for his second goal of the game and the championship-winning goal.  The Russian sniperimmediately threw his gloves and stick into the air, doing a dive at the blueline; hilariously, he took out the referee in the process.  The Knights gathered around their teary-eyed netminder in complete shock over what had just happened. The Cataractes celebrated on the ice, hugging and crying tears of joy.  Zlobin draped himself in a Russian flag that said ‘AZ 79′ on it, later draping it around his teammates, especially Kabanov, who had begun to be rumoured to be going back to Russia for the 2012-13 season.

They were no longer underdogs or longshots.  They were… champions.

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Gabriel Girard

Memorial Cup top goaltender Gabriel Girard cuts the net after the Shawinigan Cataractes' 2-1 overtime win against the London Knights. (Terry Wilson/CHL Images)

Gabriel Girard wept tears of happiness as he cut the netting, winning himself a Memorial Cup in his final year of junior hockey.  He was later recognized with the Hap Emms Memorial Trophy as the tournament’s best goaltender, an incredible accomplishment since he started the tournament as the backup.

Michael Chaput

Michael Chaput was named the winner of the Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy as the Memorial Cup's most valuable player. He led the tournament in scoring with 12 points in six games. (Terry Wilson/CHL Images)

With 12 points (five goals, seven assists) in six games, Michael Chaput was awarded the Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy as the Memorial Cup tournament’s most valuable player.  He was further rewarded with being named to the tournament’s all-star team; he was joined by teammate Brandon Gormley; Michael Houser, Jarred Tinordi and Austin Watson of the Knights; and Henrik Samuelsson of the Edmonton Oil Kings.  Zack Phillips of the Saint John Sea Dogs was awarded the George Parsons Trophy as the Memorial Cup tournament’s most sportsmanlike player.

Above everything, the Shawinigan Cataractes did something that no other team before them was able to do.  As a team who had a month-long rest after being shockingly defeated in the second round of the QMJHL playoffs, they vanquished every league champion en route to winning their first Memorial Cup in franchise history.  To make it even more impressive, they outscored their opposition by a combined score of 15-6.

Michael Bournival

Cataractes captain and Shawinigan native Michaël Bournival accepts the Memorial Cup from CHL commissioner David Branch after his team's 2-1 overtime win over London. (Terry Wilson/CHL Images)

Cataractes captain Michaël Bournival, the Shawinigan native who adorned a multitude of posters around the city in preparation for the tournament, and whose birthday was four days away, was presented the Memorial Cup by CHL commissioner David Branch, the smile ever present on his face.

For Gabriel Girard and Pierre-Olivier Morin, who were both overagers, it was a wonderful end to their major junior careers.  It was incredibly sweet for Morin, who had seen the dissolution of the Lewiston MAINEiacs during his QMJHL career, the team he had started his OHL career with.  In fact, Kirill Kabanov also spent time with the MAINEiacs so the collapse of that organization affected him, as well.  For Brandon Gormley, who was finally able to win a Memorial Cup of his own after losing the opportunity in 2010 with the Moncton Wildcats, the victory was a welcome relief, especially after a potentially serious neck injury kept him out of the majority of the QMJHL playoffs.  For Michael Chaput, who graduates to the professional ranks, it was one last time to show how dominant of a major junior player he was; did he ever deliver.  For Morgan Ellis, who was traded from a team he was captaining, it showed why he was one of the more underrated offensive defencemen in the QMJHL.  For Anton Zlobin, the overtime hero, it showed that it was foolish to think he was overlooked in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft; maybe 2012 will be his year.  For Loïk Poudrier, who showed that he is one of the best penalty killers in the QMJHL without the fanfare he deserves.  For all the other young men who found themselves winning this beautiful trophy, they all contributed in so many ways.  And especially for Michaël Bournival, who truly showed that home is where the heart is; this is one hell of an early birthday present.

This Memorial Cup championship brought out the best of a lot of young men who will never forget this moment, the moment they helped make franchise history.

Félicitations à tous!

Memorial Cup

On behalf of all of us here at The Hockey Writers, we would like to congratulate the Shawinigan Cataractes on being named the 2012 Memorial Cup champions! (Terry Wilson/CHL Images)

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If you would like to read more stories like this, please feel free to follow me on Twitter: @MargannLaurissa.

This article was originally published at: The Hockey Writers.

Ten Storylines for the 2012 Stanley Cup Finals

Martin Brodeur

Would a 4th Cup be the perfect finish to a storied career? (Brad Barr-US PRESSWIRE)

1. Brodeur's Potential Swan Song

New Jersey Devils' goaltender Martin Brodeur will make his 200th career playoff start in Game 1 on Wednesday night.  As an unrestricted free agent after this season, the 40 year old future hall of famer has the opportunity to go out in a way many athletes dream of ' on top of the league with a championship win.  However, according to Shawn Roarke of NHL.com, Brodeur might not be quite ready to hang it up just yet if he can continue to play at this level.

 

2. Cinderella Kings Looking for First Cup

The Los Angeles Kings are looking to make history for their franchise and for the NHL.  The Kings are making just their 2nd Stanley Cup Finals appearance, losing their previous one to Montreal in 1993.  They are also only the second #8 seed to make it to the Finals since the NHL switched to the current playoff system in 1994.  The only other team to do so was the 2006 Edmonton Oilers, who lost to the Carolina Hurricanes in the Finals.  With one more series win, the Kings can earn their first Stanley Cup and become the first 8th seed to ever win the Cup in the NHL.

 

3. Carter and Richards Return to the Finals

Just two years ago, Jeff Carter and Mike Richards were teammates in Philadelphia and suffered defeat in the Stanley Cup Finals to the Chicago Blackhawks.  Though they took different paths, the two forwards have been reunited in Los Angeles and find themselves together again in the Finals.  Their experience from 2010, along with the pure desire from coming so close to winning the Cup and not getting it, could put the Kings over the top in this series.

 

Zach Parise Devils

Parise is on the verge of a big payday (Icon SMI)

4. Parise's Last Games as a Devil?

While Brodeur may not have a contract for next year yet, he will not be the one getting attention for it.  Devils captain Zach Parise will become an unrestricted free agent on July 1st and might have the whole NHL knocking at his door.  Parise finished 24th in the regular season scoring race with 69 points in 82 games and is currently 6th in the playoffs with 14 points in 18 games.  He is a rare first-line talent and all of New Jersey will hope this run may persuade him to stay.  Meanwhile, the rest of the NHL already has their checkbooks out and ready to go.

 

5. Kovalchuk's First Finals Appearance

Ilya Kovalchuk has had a rollercoaster ride to this point, at least according to popular opinion.  When he originally signed with New Jersey, many mocked his lack of playoff success after playing in Atlanta through most of his career.  Now Kovalchuk finally has a long playoff run under his belt, and though he seems to be described as 'enigmatic' every other day, his 18 points in 17 games to lead the playoff scoring race seems to tell a different story.  One more strong series and Kovalchuk may be able to shake the stereotypes for good.

 

6. Quick's Ascent

While New Jersey puts a battle tested veteran in their net, Los Angeles relies on a goalie entering his prime and taking the world by storm.  Jonathan Quick put up a Vezina worthy regular season, and has continued his outstanding play into the playoffs.  He leads goaltenders in the playoffs in GAA (1.54) and Save Percentage (.946) as a very strong Conn Smythe candidate if the Kings win the Cup (and maybe even if they lose).  Quick may not have gotten the public recognition he deserved during the regular season, but he is surely turning heads around the NHL now.

 

7.  New Coaches

devil's bench

DeBoer has his own Cindarella story in the works. (Ed Mulholland-US PRESSWIRE)

 

This year's Cup Finals feature two coaches who are in their first seasons with their current teams.  For that matter, the Kings' Darryl Sutter did not even spend the whole season in LA as he was hired in December after a coaching change.  Meanwhile, the Devils' Peter DeBoer joined New Jersey in the offseason after being fired by the Florida Panthers (who the Devils knocked out in the first round).  Sutter brings a great deal of experience to the Kings, having lost in the 2004 Finals with the Calgary Flames.  On the other side, DeBoer is enjoying his first NHL playoffs experience as a head coach.  As the 2012 playoffs have taught us, all of this probably means nothing.

 

8.  American Captains

Aside from the ascent of US goalie Jonathan Quick, Americans are excited to see that one of their own will raise the Stanley Cup in the next couple weeks, whether it is Dustin Brown or Zach Parise.  Per ESPN, this is the first time that two American captains will face off in the Stanley Cup Finals.  Only one other American born captain has ever lifted the Cup first ' Derian Hatcher for the 1999 Dallas Stars.

 

9. Upcoming Free Agents

Deep Stanley Cup runs often take a big toll on franchises as they try to keep their teams intact in the Salary Cap era.  Many teams that make it to the Finals or win the Cup often see a large exodus as their players seem to earn an extra million dollars or so from their strong playoff performances.  Here are some names to keep an eye on over the next two weeks as players look to both win and cash in at the same time:  Dustin Penner, Jarret Stoll, Dwight King (RFA), Colin Fraser, Bryce Salvador, Zach Parise, Martin Brodeur, Alexei Ponikarovsky, Ryan Carter, Stephen Gionta, Petr Sykora, Cam Janssen, Mark Fayne, Peter Harrold, Johan Hedberg.

 

10. What Happens Afterwards?

I would be remiss to not mention this potentially depressing topic as we enjoy the 2012 Stanley Cup Finals.  I advise everyone to watch the 2012 Finals to their heart's delight and to get excited for the draft in June and Free Agency in July.  But there is one large and looming dark figure in the horizon.  The CBA agreement between the players and the NHL expires in September.  There is still far too much uncertainty to predict how negotiations will proceed or what may occur, but here's a word of advice: do not begin the countdowns to October as soon as the Finals are over; they may count down to nothing.

 

There are certainly more storylines than the ten I just presented, so what are you watching for in this year’s finals??  And for the record, I have the Kings in 6!

This article was originally published at: The Hockey Writers.

Selasa, 29 Mei 2012

2012 Stanley Cup Final Preview: Who Wins The Cup?

Zach Parise scores on Lundqvist ((Ed Mulholland-US PRESSWIRE))

Zach Parise & Travis Zajac (Ed Mulholland-US PRESSWIRE)

The 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs have been nothing short of unpredictable.

If you made a bet prior to the start of the playoffs that had the Los Angeles Kings meeting the New Jersey Devils in the final, we all salute you. Congratulations, you’ve earned your winnings.

But for the rest of us who are sitting here stunned by what we’ve just witnessed over the last month, this is where things really get interesting.

Technically, the Devils are the favourite to take home the most prized possession in hockey, but are they really? Yes, New Jersey was the sixth seed at the start of the playoffs, and Los Angeles was the eighth. The Devils also swept the season-series between the two. However, the Kings have really proved the world wrong recently.

To start their run to the Cup final, Los Angeles took out the number one seed in the Western Conference, the Vancouver Canucks. They were a common favourite to win it all, as they were the winners of the President’s Trophy, and were widely considered to be the team to beat. After shocking the world by taking out Vancouver in five games, Los Angeles has gone on a tear, and it appears they won’t be letting anyone stand in their way.

The Devils have taken a slightly different path to the final. New Jersey eliminated Florida in the first round, and though it was close, it wasn’t too much of a surprise. Indeed, Florida was the third seed in the Eastern Conference, but the Devils were still viewed as the better all-around team. The real surprises came when New Jersey knocked off the Philadelphia Flyers and the New York Rangers in the second and third rounds, respectively.

Anze Kopitar

Jonathan Quick & Anze Kopitar (Matt Kartozian-US PRESSWIRE)

Now, a battle of unlikely contenders is about to get underway, and chances are, this one could end up going the distance.

Los Angeles Kings

Throughout the playoffs, Los Angeles has succeeded due to clutch scoring, and ultimately, wearing down their opponents with a combination of physical play and pure talent.

Without Jonathan Quick, this Kings squad would just not be the same. Quick has been an absolute beast in the postseason, and has a ridiculous .946 save percentage. To fully understand what that means, think about how Los Angeles faced the league’s best regular season team in the first round, the second best Western team in the second round, and the third best Western team in the third round. That’s the hardest path there can be, and Quick has led the Kings through all of it.

Up front, Los Angeles has been fittingly led by their leader, Dustin Brown. The Kings’ captain has been a force since day one of the playoffs, and doesn’t look like he’ll be slowing down anytime soon. He’s averaging over a point-per-game right now, and alongside Quick, has been a key reason for the King’s success. As expected, Anze Kopitar and Mike Richards have both contributed well offensively.

After a regular season that was by no means outstanding, Drew Doughty has really stepped up his game. The defenseman has produced points on a regular basis, and leads all Los Angeles rearguards in postseason scoring. Matt Greene has shown he’s one of the best blueliners in the West, and Willie Mitchell has been solid for head coach Darryl Sutter as well.

If Los Angeles doesn’t come out flat in Game One, this series could be over awfully “Quick.”

 

Lundqvist beats Devils

Ilya Kovalchuk (Ed Mulholland-US PRESSWIRE)

New Jersey Devils

It’s more than fair to say that if Ilya Kovalchuk and Zach Parise haven’t been playing as well as they have been, New Jersey more than likely would not be in this situation. Far from it in fact. Kovalchuk has been outstanding for the Devils. He has 18 points in 17 games, and has been arguably the most feared sniper of the postseason. Upcoming unrestricted free-agent Parise has been great too, and will be expected to continue his stellar play.

One of the leading feel-good stories of the 2012 playoffs has to be the performance of Martin Brodeur. He hasn’t shown his age one bit, and it’s hard not to like a goalie who plays with such excitement and passion. Brodeur has played in 18 playoff games, and if he’s thinking about retiring following the end of the Devils’ season, there will be a lot of support for him to come back for one more.

Bryce Salvador has been another nice surprise. The defenseman is fourth in team scoring at the moment, and has really surprised viewers who weren’t very familiar with the name prior to his playoff performance.

Marek Zidlicky has provided exactly what New Jersey was looking for when they acquired him mid-season, and Mark Fayne, Andy Green, and Anton Volchenkov have all been more than reliable on the back-end.

A player to keep an eye on in the final is forward Adam Henrique. The former Windsor Spitfires (OHL) star has been clutch for New Jersey, as was shown when he scored the series-winning goal for the Devils in the conference final. He’s been in championship series’ before, and though he’s an NHL rookie, he has the experience of playing in high-pressure situations.

Drew Doughty (Matt Kartozian-US PRESSWIRE)

If New Jersey can stick to their system, and not fall to the Kings’ tricks and gimmicks, the Devils could very well end up taking home the championship.

All things considered, this is bound to be an entertaining final. The exciting style of Los Angeles combined with the more heart-warming New Jersey Devils should make for an interesting series.

Personally, I see the Los Angeles Kings winning the Stanley Cup. They’re just such a strong team, and will be looking for their first Cup in franchise history. As a result, my prediction is that the Los Angeles Kings will defeat the New Jersey Devils in six terrific games.

This one’s your call, hockey fans. Who do you want to win the Stanley Cup?

 

 

 

This article was originally published at: The Hockey Writers.

Bob Hartley- Montreal Canadiens To Hire The Zürich Miracle Man

Bob Hartley

Bob Hartley will be remembered in Zürich, Switzerland for a long time to come. The former Colorado Avalanche and Atlanta Thrashers coach performed a miracle in the Swiss NLA championship, taking a decent ZSC Lions team, who were still in a rebuilding stage and turned them into Swiss Champions in a dramatic 7th game final after only one year in charge.

Hartley was named ZSC Lions coach on March 14, 2011 taking over the reigns from former Team Sweden coach Bengt-Ake Gustafsson. Despite having the experience of ex-NHL players such as Jeff Tambellini, Cory Murphy, Steve McCarthy and Domenico Pittis, the Lions did not have a dominating season by any means, playing sporadically good hockey and at one stage even looking like they may miss the playoffs completely.

After ending the season with a 19 win/19 loss record (minus extra-time and penalty wins and losses), the Lions secured 7th spot in a 8 team playoff race and were dismissed as contenders after drawing last year's Swiss Champion HC Davos in the first round of the NLA playoffs. Enter Bob Hartley.

ZSC defeated the 2nd placed HC Davos in an empathic 4-0 sweep, winning games 1 and 3 at the difficult-to-play-in Valliant Arena, high in the mountains of Switzerland and then continuing that winning run for home games 2 and 4 to demolish the Swiss Championship record holders.

The reward for fine play? … A date with 1st placed overall, regular season champions EV Zug. With Zürich's win over Davos seen as pure luck by the Swiss media, Hartley worked his magic again, not only winning the second round matchup but again sweeping Zug in 4 unbelievable games.

Surely this run could not continue for a team that finished the regular season with a .500 win/loss average! After 8 games undefeated in the playoffs, the Lions had achieved the seemingly impossible, a Swiss championship finals appearance against the heavily-favoured SC Bern, a team from the Swiss capital that averages around 17,000 fans in a very intimidating Post Finance Arena.

ZSC lost their winning streak in game one of the final series with a 4-2 loss, followed by 2 more losses in the next 3 games, setting up a 3-1 Bern series lead. Enter Bob Hartley again. Two wins later, the Lions found themselves in game 7 with one hand on the trophy. Naturally to add some more drama to their season, Zürich won the game with 3 seconds left in the 3rd period through a Steve McCarthy goal to hand them their first Swiss Championship since 2008.

Hartley has a record of 49 NHL playoff wins with 35 losses and has already won the Stanley Cup while the head coach of the Avalanche in 2001. With a coach like Miracle Bob at the helm, the Canadiens need only to find a way to make the playoffs and the rest should take care of itself. Vegas odds anyone?

This article was originally published at: The Hockey Writers.

The Top Ten Washinton Capitals Centers

The Washington Capitals have had excellent talent at center since their inception in 1974. Some were drafted, some came in trades and one was truly home-grown. In compiling and ranking this list I took into consideration each player’s tenure, their offensive prowess, their defensive prowess and intangibles such as leadership and the amount of love and support showed by fans. With no further ado, let us begin.

Joe Juneau

Joe Juneau (via caps.nhl.com)

#10- Joe Juneau

Joe (pronounced jho-A) was a talented French-Canadian player who lined up at center for the Caps during the mid-nineties. He stormed into the league with the Boston Bruins in the 92-93 season, scoring 32 goals and tallying 70 assists in 84 games. In the midst of the 93-94 season the Caps traded Al Iafrate for the promising prospect. The deal turned out was one of the most lopsided in Washington history. Iafrate only played in twelve games for Boston due to ongoing injury problems. Juneau in turn became a key member of the Caps offense.

Always known as a playmaker, Joe sought to pass before considering a shot. And he was an excellent passer and puck handler. I recall a moment where he and Adam Oates were on a two-on-none breakaway. They deftly passed the puck so many times that the unfortunate goalie was comically faked out of position. Juneau looked almost ashamed to net the thing. When he did decide to shoot he chose well. Perhaps his best moment was scoring the series winning OT goal against Buffalo that sent the Caps to their only Cup Final appearance. Although he went on to play for a few more teams before his career was over, his best years came as a Cap. In Washington he played 312 games, scored 62 goals and compiled 172 assists.

 

#9- Jeff Halpern

Jeff’s tale is an example of boyhood aspirations coming true.  He grew up in Potomac, MD. His parents were avid Caps fans and he played for the Little Caps, a major youth hockey organization in the D.C. area. As a child he watched and admired the play of Dale Hunter and Rod

center Jeff Halpern Capitals

Jeff Halpern (Tom Turk/THW)

Langway. This was during the bad old days when the team played in Landover, MD and they achieved little positive press. To be a Caps fan then was much more difficult than today, with the arena in a hip section of China Town and hot young stars to watch on the ice. Jeff matriculated to Princeton and played Ivy League hockey. There he led the ECAC in goals during both his Junior and Senior campaigns. He turned pro to little fanfare: he was an undrafted free agent. But he didn’t let that get him down.

Halpern signed a contract with the Caps based on his success in the Ivy League and muscled his way onto the playing roster by busting his butt during the 99 camp. He scored 18 goals as a rookie, tying the team record. Jeff most notably played on a secondary line with Steve Konowalchuck and Ulf Dahlen, a line that seemingly mastered the cycle game. Their transcendence in that aspect of play appeared to be the product of voodoo at times, weaving in and out of the defense on extra long shifts. Halpern was named team captain for the 05-06 season. In his first go-round as a Cap he scored 87 goals, tallied 127 assists and earned 351 PIMs in 438 games. I was terribly happy to see him return to D.C. this year. He is one of my favorites. I don’t know how you can be from the area and not love Halpern’s story.

best washington capitals centers

Brooks Laich. (Tom Turk/THW)

#8 Brooks Laich

This hard-nosed Saskatchewan native came to the Caps via the trade that sent Peter Bondra to the Ottawa Senators. Washington supporters take great solace in the fact that losing Banzai meant bringing in this fan favorite. Still in the peak of his career, Laich makes the list based on past performance and hopes for the future. He is an every situation center that plays both ways with the same comfort and ease. Laich will take a cross check in the back while screening just as well as he will take the shot. Fans and players alike respect his style of play and passion. So far, he has scored 116 goals and stacked up 162 assists in 556 games. I predict he will wear the C before his time in Washington is over.

 

Nicklas Backstrom Capitals

Nicklas Backstrom (Tom Turk / THW)

#7- Nicklas Backstrom

Nic Backstrom is another entry who is in the midst of his playing career. But if he went away tomorrow he’d still be in the top ten. He’s just that good. And he has a lot more to do. A Swedish import, Backstrom began play in the 07-08 season and finished just behind Patrick Kane for the Calder Trophy. He scored 69 points as a rookie and would have been a lock if not for the stellar seasons of Kane and Toews in Chicago. Nic is as physically formidable as his contemporaries, however, he uses his strength to shield the puck and create opportunities as opposed to delivering crushing hits. He has vision and playmaking skills that seem almost extra sensory. Soft spoken and calm of demeanor, he delivers perfect saucer passes to his teammates on a consistent basis. Oh, and he pots the odd goal now and again. In his career so far he has scored 101 goals and tallied 266 assists in 365 games. I look forward to watching him continue to develop and score, as he is only 24. Think about that. He may well be number one on this list before it is all said and done.

adam oates

Adam Oates (Photo by Steve of thehockeynews.com)

#6- Adam Oates

Washington had Oates during the last third of his career. He had already established himself as one of the leagues premiere playmakers before being traded to D.C. by the Bruins. His initial years came in the Red Wings organization, yet his most productive were in St. Louis. For three consecutive seasons in the early nineties, Brett Hull scored seventy or more goals. Oates delivered him passes on silver platters and piled up points. In Boston he scored more goals than before, but after a few years, became disgruntled. He came to the Caps as part of a six player deal. His presence and offensive acumen were instrumental in the Cup run of 98. He was team captain for the 99-00 and 00-01 seasons.

As a Cap he scored 73 goals and tallied 290 assists in 387 games.

 

Guy Charron (via caps.nhl.com)

#5- Guy Charron

Guy has a story similar to many other journeyman NHL forwards. Undrafted, he fought his way into the Canadian junior system where he was noticed by Montreal. He eventually signed with Detroit and played his first full season as a defensive forward. After a few seasons he was taken in an expansion draft by the Kansas City Scouts. When that two-year commitment was done, he signed with the fledgling Caps. He played in D.C. from the 76-77 season until the 80-81 campaign. For whatever reason, his best offensive years came last. He was a self admitted late bloomer. He was team captain for the 78-79 season. Guy scored 118 goals and racked up 156 assists in 320 games as a Capital.

Bobby Carpenter (via caps.nhl.com)

#4- Bobby Carpenter

What can you say about a guy with a nickname like “the Can’t Miss Kid?” Bobby Carpenter was a player of firsts. He was the first American born NHL player to go directly into the league from high school. He was also the first American born player to ever be selected in the first round of the NHL draft. He had a lot of expectations to live up to. He didn’t disappoint. He scored 32 goals and tallied 35 assists his rookie year. His best season was 84-85 when he netted 53 goals. Friction with then coach Bryan Murray saw him shipped off to the Rangers in a deal that brought Cap mainstays Mike Ridley and Kelly Miller into the fold. Like many of the Capitals stars of the 80s (Gartner, Stevens, Murphy), Carpenter left under less than ideal circumstances. It has made it difficult for the Washington organization to present a unified legacy. In his tenure wearing the red, white and blue, Bobby scored 188 goals and tallied 207 assists in 490 games.

Mike Ridley (via caps.nhl.com)

#3- Mike Ridley

Mike was a quiet star for the Caps. The Winnipeg native was an undrafted free agent like others on this list. He managed to work his way onto the Rangers roster before coming to D.C. in a trade, as mentioned in the previous section. For some years he was the Caps number one center and best offensive weapon. In the late 80s and early 90s the storied defensive core made up a disproportionate amount of the offensive output. Players such as Kevin Hatcher, Al Iafrate and Sylvain Cote were firing away from the blue line and scoring in record numbers for D men. Ridley made up much of the rest. But he was more than that. He was an excellent two-way player. Ridley and Kelly Miller teamed up on the penalty kill and made opponents look foolish with their game of keep away. Once Peter Bondra came into his own Ridley left town, but never had the same touch. I remember him as the first Caps star that I knew, the number one forward on a dismal team. He scored 218 goals and racked up an impressive 329 assists in 588 games in Washington.

Michal Pivonka (via caps.nhl.com)

#2- Michal Pivonka

When I think of Michal Pivonka I think of a massive ship’s rudder: firmly mounted in the center and guiding a behemoth with gentle nudges. Michal played his entire 13 year career with the Washington Capitals. He was born in the Czech Republic, but not exactly. It was called Czechoslovakia and was behind the Iron Curtain. Pivonka defected to the West, unlike most of the Eastern European players of his generation who waited another five years for the whole show to melt down. What is important to understand is that the crumbling of the Communist Bloc was not seen as inevitable when Pivonka left. His actions were very brave and should be lauded. In D.C. Michal found a kindred spirit in a young Slovak named Peter Bondra. They formed a keen alliance on the ice. At this time a talented Russian by the name of Dmitri Kristich was on the team as well. With these comrades on hand he became a key member of the offense, dishing passes to men eager to snipe. Over the course of his career he adapted and changed as was needed. His solid, stabilizing presence and responsible play was not lauded by the national press, but fans knew and loved him. When he finally retired he held the all time Capitals lead in assists. Pivonka scored 181 goals and tallied an incredible 417 assists in 825 games in a Caps sweater.

 

 

Dale Hunter (hockeymedia/Flickr)

#1- Dale Hunter

Mr. Cap, Dale Hunter. His number was retired and his face hangs on a banner in the rafters. Was there any question he would be number one? The greatest thing about Dale’s story is that he played the second half of his career in D.C. Hardly anyone mentions his years with the Quebec Nordiques, where he earned a chunk of his penalty minutes and the nickname “the Nuisance.” I can only compare it to a hypothetical situation wherein the Red Wings trade Steve Yzerman to the Rangers in 1992 and he goes on to lead the Blue Shirts in career categories. You’ll notice the Nordiques are no longer a team.

As was normal for the better players of his era, he regularly scored twice as many assists as goals. In Quebec he averaged about fifty points per season. Dale arrived in D.C. in 1987 and went on to have the best seasons of his career. I’d feel bad for the Nordiques, except they eventually took Joe Sakic with a draft pick that was part of the deal. Dale took over the captaincy in 94 and did not relinquish the role until he departed in 99. While many remember him for his penalties, his rough housing, his cheap shots and the like, I will remember him for his important goals and spot on passes. He made the big plays in the big moments. As the Washington Capitals all-time greatest center, Dale scored 181 goals, racked up a healthy 375 assists and sat for an astounding 2003 PIM. He is the only player in NHL history to have scored 1,000 points in his career and also 1,000 PIM. Of course, he tripled that last number, but who’s counting.

This article was originally published at: The Hockey Writers.