Blueland Blog

Hockey News From Around The Web

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 16:02:02 GMT

All's quiet on the Thrashers front, so here are some tidbits from around the hockey world.

James Mirtle has done some serious number crunching and taken a look at the current salary structure of the NHL. He split it into posts on youth and the NHL 'middle class'.
A hockey game was played at almost four kilometers (about 2.4 miles) above sea level in Switzerland, but even more amazing than the height is the fact that it was played inside a glacier. The IIHF site has all the details, including an unbelievable photo gallery.
If you're into hockey video games, specifically NHL'09, you might find this interesting. IGN has posted the player ratings for every player currently in the game. Take a look at the Thrashers and sound off on where they wrong. You can start with Ilya's slapshot rating of 92 ( a tad low if you ask me, or most NHL goalies).
Spector has the latest on the McCabe saga. He's reportedly willing to waive his no-trade clause but he has a limited list of teams he's interested in playing for. One of them is in the Southeast and it isn't us. I'm okay with that.
Matthieu Schneider is also rumored to be on the move, and he doesn't have a no-trade clause. Would you want him here? LA seems to be the most destination of choice for him according to people in the know.
Craig Custance says Kovy should be the captain of the Thrashers this year. John Anderson told him he'd name three alternates and then choose one of them as the captain when he sees how things pan out (presumably on the ice and in the locker room). Ilya is a lock to be one of them- who do you think the other two should be?

Bogosian and Friends Finished in Lake Placid

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 17:51:23 GMT

This might be the first time you've seen a picture of Zach Bogosian in a Team USA uniform but I doubt it will be the last. The hulking defensemen just finished up a US Jr. Evaluation Camp in Lake Placid in anticipation of this year's World Junior Championship. The third overall pick in this year's draft had two assists in the friendly tournament that featured two American squads and a team each from Sweden and Finland.

Bogosian wasn't the only Thrashers prospect in the tournament though. Native Georgian Vinny Saponari had a goal and two assists and Nicklas Lasu (taken 121 spots after Bogosian at this year's draft) had three goals and two assists in one game for the Swedes. This is the guy that said "I like to hit people" when asked to describe his game. Niklas Lucenius was also at the tournament, representing Finland, and while I don't have complete stats for him I can tell you that he had a roughing minor, a fighting major, and an OT assist to set up the game-winner in a 5-4 win over the American blue team. He fought again the next day, so it isn't exactly something he shies away from. Prospect John Albert attended the Team USA camp but he didn't participate in the games.

It's been a busy, busy summer for these guys. Bogosian and Lasu were drafted in June, then the two of them joined Lucenius and Albert at our prospect camp in mid July. Three weeks after that they were in Lake Placid for a full week of on-ice workouts, scrimmages and games and now they have less than a month until they either go to the Traverse City Prospect Tournament in Michigan or to their respective European and college training camps. It's a good thing these guys love hockey.

By the way, there's a Zach Bogosian feature on the front of the Thrashers site (or you could just click here). I can't wait for him to suit up for a couple games so we can get some new photography of the kid.

Worst Uniform Ever?

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 15:42:29 GMT

If I told you that an NHL team topped Maxim's list of all-time worst sports uniforms, which uniform do you think it would be?

Click here to find out (hat tip to Puck That Hit).

It's a shame that the Whalers were also on the list, since in my opinion they had one of the best kits ever, but at least it was only because they tried out the dreaded Cooperalls, as did the Flyers.

But that jersey and logo? Classic. The only questions is which version of their jersey was the best.

Speaking of uniforms, a few people have asked me for an update on our third jersey. Trust me- as soon as I have something to share, I'll share it. Right now I've got nothing.

99 Traded- Where Were You When You Heard?

Sat, 09 Aug 2008 16:38:33 GMT

Today marks the 20th anniversary of the biggest trade in hockey history and quite possibly the biggest trade in all of sports in terms of long-term impact. When Wayne Gretzky was traded from the Oilers to the Kings on August 9, 1988 the wheels were set in motion for the NHL to expand into more non-traditional markets such as San Jose, Anaheim, Florida and Tampa Bay and later Atlanta and Nashville.

It's said that every hockey fan remembers where they were when they heard the news of The Great One getting traded (or sold as some still maintain). I was somewhere on a country road on Prince Edward Island in the family station wagon listening to CBC radio. I wasn't a huge hockey fan at that point but I'd watched Gretzky and Lemieux take on the world the year before in the 1987 Canada Cup. I didn't follow an entire Stanley Cup playoff until the next season when Calgary beat Montreal and I became a full-fledged fan the following season when I gobbled up every word written about Ray Bourque, Cam Neely, Andy Moog and the Boston Bruins.

Were you a hockey fan in 1988, and if you were where were you when you heard the news that changed the game?

Links:

Little Hitting The Ice For Charity

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 15:06:08 GMT

If you happen to live in the Barrie, Ontario area you can watch Bryn Little play on August 14. If not you'll have to settle for reading this article about the charity game the Thrashers center will be playing in against members of the Canadian Parliament (I wonder if Ken Dryden is suiting up for them). The game pits current and former pros against politicians to raise money for the building of the Simcoe-Muskoka Regional Cancer Centre at Royal Victoria Hospital and Little will be taking to the ice in fine company. The former Barrie Colts captain will suit up with the likes of Rick Nash (Blue Jackets), Brad Boyes (Blues), Wojtek Wolski (Avalanche), Brent Tully (Canucks) as well as former NHL players Peter Zezel, Kris King and Mark Osborne and Hall of Famer Mike Gartner who scored 40 or more goals nine times in his NHL career.

- In other Thrashers-related news, rumor has it (via a Laval, QC resident on our message boards) that Eric Perrin has been skating and scrimmaging with Thrashers prospects Angelo Esposito and Danick Paquette. If the three have chemistry it might make sense to stick them together on a line in training camp and see what happens. Paquette isn't expected to go pro this year but Esposito has a chance if he has an outstanding camp. Would this be the most skilled trio of French-speaking players the Thrashers have ever had? I can't think of three that would be better. Belanger, Dupuis and Vigier might be the closest.

- In Pittsburgh mondesishouse.com is weighing Marian Hossa's legacy as a Penguin. I don't think he was there long enough for it even to be open for much of a debate, but feel free to check it out. I'd say the same of Keith Tkachuk's time as a Thrasher. The biggest impact of either player might be what their team's gave up to get them (and I think we gave up a lot less for Tkachuk than Pittsburgh did for Hossa).

- Stan Fischler has a wealth of news (some new, some old) in the latest edition of the Fischler Report.

Some Hockey Reading

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 19:52:31 GMT

Puck Daddy is on a roll. Here Greg has Craig Custance's five suggestions to make the NHL better (Puck Daddy is doing a series all through august) and here he has an interview with Chris Snow, the 26-year-old director of hockey operations for the Minnesota Wild.

August is easily the quietest month of the year when it comes to hockey new, so I'll do my best to find interesting stuff for you to read, even if it has nothing to do with the Thrashers.

Potential Trade Deadline Wackiness

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 14:44:12 GMT

The below post is for entertainment purposes only. It turns out my counting was off, thus everything I wrote below is pretty much irrelevant. I'm leaving it up so you can openly mock me. I can take it. the actual trade deadline will fall on (if I got the math right this time) March 3 which features an evening game at home against the Panthers. So we could still be short a guy or two, but the drama won't be at the last minute.

It's really, really early to be talking trade deadline, but it came up yesterday in some planning meetings for this season as we talked about key dates during the season.

Last year the deadline fell on a Tuesday (Feb. 26) and the Thrashers had been on the road for almost two weeks. Players left for a five-game road trip wondering if they'd be suiting up for the home team at Philips again. Marian Hossa pretty much knew at that point that he'd played his last home game as a Thrasher. When the Thrashers hit the ice in Montreal four and a half hours after the deadline they did so without Hossa and Pascal Dupuis and without the players they'd been traded for. Earlier in the day we had called up Bryan Little, Colin Stuart and Joel Kwiatkowski in case they were needed in such a scenario. All three of them suited up.

Well, if you thought that scenario was a little odd, just wait until this year. The CBA states that the deadline is at 3pm on "the fortieth day immediately preceding the final day of the Regular Season" (Section 13.12 (j)). By my calculations that puts it on March 8 this season at 3pm. guess what? We have a home game on March 8 at 3pm against Calgary. It's clearly too early to speculate over whether we'll be buyers or sellers at the deadline, but odds are we'll be active as usual. So imagine this scenario- the players could be on the ice warming up wondering if they're playing or not. A guy could get called over to the bench to be notified that he's just been dealt. Meanwhile there could be a handful of call-ups from Chicago waiting to see if they were going to suit up. If four or five guys are on the block there might not even be roster room to have enough call-ups on hand to replace them all should they all get dealt. What if we make a trade with Calgary? Could the equipment guys get new nameplates stitched on the jerseys fast enough for them to play in that game? Would they have matching gear?

With the trade deadline falling on a Sunday we won't be the only team in this scenario. There are at least four 3pm games on March 8 (a fifth is TBD) so we're sure to see some bizarre situations. Given that it takes time for the NHL to approve contracts it's entirely possible (and even likely) that a deal will be done a few minutes before 3pm but not approved or announced until the game is underway. The player would be scratched in that scenario, but can you imagine the anxiousness at Philips Arena as fans speculate about who the scratched player just got traded for?

It's still months and months away, but its a date to circle on your calendar.

Slow News Day

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 20:57:41 GMT

I've got nothing on the Thrashers front, so enjoy this fan-made video poking fun at Mats Sundin's indecision.

Thanks to Puck Daddy for the pointer.

Custance: Kovalchuk Not Interested In KHL

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 14:28:19 GMT

Thanks to my new morning habit I came across an interesting little nugget.

Did you know that the KHL (the upstart Russian league that lured Radulov away from the Predators) approached Ilya Kovalchuk this summer? And did you know that he told them (via his agent Jay Grossman) that he wasn't interested?

Craig Custance had the details in The Sporting News Today on Sunday. The Sporting News Today is a free daily email that delivers a wealth of sports information to your email inbox every morning. My only qualm is that you can't copy and paste the text, which makes it hard to quote, but I can see reasons for setting it up that way.

Anyway, according to Grossman Kovalchuk fully intends to honor his Thrashers contract, which isn't news in itself, but it's still good to know. Grossman also highlighted what drives Ilya, and it's not money (I could have told you that).

Grossman said the competitive Kovalchuk thoroughly enjoyed Russia's success in the World Championship and longs for the same success in Atlanta. Russia won the gold on Kovalchuk's overtime goal against Canada. "That was something that he's missed out on and clearly wants," Grossman said. "That's what he plays for."

Despite what some people might say (I'm looking at you John Kincade) I think Kovalchuk would prefer to stay here and help the Thrashers find success rather than jump ship and join a team that's already in the upper echelon. I think Ilya takes a lot of pride in being a difference-maker and there's more satisfaction to be gained in helping this team get to the next level than there is in going to the highest bidder in two years when his deal is up. If the Thrashers be in the mix this year I think there's a very good chance you'll see Kovy stick around for the long haul. I have no inside information there, but that's my gut feeling.

Reasoner Advocating Thermablades

Fri, 01 Aug 2008 17:18:31 GMT

You may have already seen this, but it turns out that new Thrasher Marty Reasoner is a firm believer in Thermablades. the heated blades are being tested by about 100 players over the next two months and it's probably safe to say that Reasoner will be happy to answer any questions about them that his new teammates have. If they deliver on the promise of "improved acceleration, smoother glide, tighter turns, increased speed out of turns and more precise stops" you'll probably being seeing more than a few Thrashers strapping them on.

Ducks Borrowing Our Ideas

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 14:08:15 GMT

Hey! Look what the Ducks are doing. I wonder where they got that idea? Actually, they openly admitted they got it from us, but they're having trouble getting fans to send in pictures from places other than Ducks games. Our fans, on the other hand, have been to all seven continents (including Antarctica) and have sent in pictures from the Great Wall of China to the Great Pyramid to Mach Picchu. At close to 300 pictures and counting our Fans on the Road photo collection is pretty impressive, but we're still looking for more. Going to Australia? We don't have any pictures from the Great Barrier Reef or Ayers Rock. We're short on Amazon pictures (the river and the rainforest), as well as shots from Greek ruins. Your pictures don't have to be exotic though- just send in a photo of you with your Thrashers gear that shows you on the road somewhere. Anywhere. Just try not to take it in a generic looking restaurant or store in some generic town. We like original. And does anyone know someone at NASA? I already think we have the most well-traveled fans in the league, but I'd be blown away if we got a legit picture of someone with Thrashers gear in space. Surely there's an astronaut or cosmonaut that's a Thrashers fan. Right?

Keep the pictures coming and if you sent one in and you haven't seen it on the site yet try again with a different subject line. Our spam filters get carried away sometimes.

Prospects Back On The Ice

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 21:07:02 GMT

There's no rest for the best.

It feels like prospect camp just wrapped but some of our top young players are about to hit the ice again. USA Hockey is hosting a camp and tournament in advance preparation for the World Junior Championships in December and January and it kicks off this Friday in Lake Placid. There will be two American squads (blue and white) as well as teams from Sweden and Finland. Nicklas Lasu will represent Sweden, Niclas Lucenius will be there with the Finnish squad, and Zach Bogosian, Vinny Saponari, and John Albert will all suit up for one of the two American teams. Roughly a month after that camp wraps up some of these guys (Bogosian at least) will likely be n the ice again in Traverse City.

There really is no such thing as an off-season for these guys.

Cunneyworth Hire Has Thorburn Excited

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 20:26:13 GMT

Chris Thorburn was over at Philips Arena this morning for the Children's Healthcare Of Atlanta Rehab Summer Games (more on that later this week) and while he was there I asked him about Randy Cunneyworth, our new assistant coach who just so happened to coach Thorburn for three years in Rochester. You can count Thorburn among his fans and just one of many people who thought Cunneyworth had a good shot at making the jump to the NHL this year. Here's what Thorburn had to say about his former coach:

"He taught me a lot. I was coming into pro hockey and I was pretty much blinded by the game. I needed to learn a lot about myself and the game and he was there for me giving me guidance. I think he's going to be great for our team. He knows the game, he's intense, and I think players are going to be able to relate to him. He's really easy to talk to. I'm excited about having him down here and I'm sure he'll bring the kind of success that he in had with the Rochester Americans with him. He just has a way of getting through to the players and getting them to perform for him. He'll probably do the same thing here. Guys will respect him. He's played at this level and he knows what it takes to win."

Eric Boulton actually played with and for Cunneyworth back in 1999-2000 in Rochester. Boulton was a young player and Cunneyworth was a player/assistant coach winding up his playing career. Boulton piled up 276 PIM that season- his second highest season total.

On a side note, I've come to acquire a small collection of Score hockey cards from the 1990 season (way back when there were 21 teams in the NHL- and 16 of them made the playoffs!). Every week or so I'm given a new pack by someone here in the office, and lo and behold, last Friday I got a Randy Cunneyworth Hartford Whalers card. Is it just me or did the Whalers have one of the best NHL uniforms of all time? Great colors, and the logo had everything- a 'W' for the team, an 'H' for the city, and a whale's tail. Awesome

In other news, I'm glad to see we signed Matt Siddall. Not many ninth round draft picks pan out but Siddall is in good company. Mark Streit went eight spots ahead of him in 2004 and if Siddall ends up suiting up for the Thrashers he'll be the fifth player from the ninth round of the 2004 draft to make it to the NHL. You may or may not recall that Siddall was one of my two workout partners (along with Myles Stoesz) went I went into the gym during prospect camp. He has decent size, loves to hit, and he's not a stranger to picking up some points. He's probably best suited to being an energy/checking line player and it's hard to project where those guys end up. When you're looking at an offensive player you can gauge whether he has the speed, vision and skill to do what he does at a higher level. Checkers, on the other hand, can go awfully far based on hard work and the ability to be coached. Siddall will likely be competing for a spot in Chicago this fall where his personality and work ethic should endear him to Wolves fans.

Burnside Hops On The Thrasher-Hating Bandwagon

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 22:10:01 GMT

Scott Burnside says we're going to finish last in the Eastern Conference. Good. I love being the underdog, and I love it when columnists are wrong.

I know Scott Burnside and I like Scott Burnside as a person. That will make it even easier for me to save a copy of this article and wave it in his face at the end of this season when the Thrashers steal a page from the Hawks and shock the world.

I can't promise you that the Thrashers are going to be n the playoffs, but I can promise you that this year's team will be more competitive night in and night out than the one you saw last year. They'll be better at both ends of the ice and they'll play for pride and with pride every game. No disrespect to Don Waddell who has never tried to argue that he's a great bench boss, but this team will be better coached and more cohesive than what you saw last season.

This team will have under John Anderson and his staff and they'll be fun to watch, even in losses. The goaltending will be better as Kari Lehtonen is reunited with the coach who has gotten the most out of him. The defense will be better as Enstrom gains experience, Hainsey runs the PP and Bogosian shows everyone why he is the most NHL-ready player from this year's draft. The forwards will be better as Christensen gets quality minutes, Kozlov proves the doubters that last season was an aberration, Williams works the PP, Reasoner works and PK, and Kovalchuk has yet another great season.

I don't know what the ceiling is for this team, but I'm excited about the prospect of watching a young group of players come together under the guidance of a great coaching staff that has a whole lot to prove.

Right now, without the roster being set, this team is going to have at least seven players 25 or younger compared to four who are 35 or older. You're going to see a young team that's growing together and I'll take that over an aging squad any day.

I will be shocked if this team finishes last in the East and I'll be thrilled when they prove the skeptics wrong.

Thrashers Hire Assistant Coaches

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 19:42:31 GMT

If you haven't been to the homepage in the last little while you may not have seen that we have hired two assistant coaches. Assistant coach Steve Weeks and Video coach Tony Borgford will remain in their current positions while former Rochester Americans Head Coach Randy Cunneyworth and former Chicago Wolves Assistant Coach Todd Nelson will join John Anderson's coaching staff.

I have never met Randy Cunneyworth but he is widely credited with developing Buffalo's top-notch group of young players that came up through their system over the last few seasons. While working as the head coach of the Sabres' AHL affiliate he coached (to name a few) Jason Pominville, Paul Gaustad, Derek Roy, Brian Campbell, Ales Kotalik, Ryan Miller and our own Chris Thorburn. There was speculation during the season that Cunneyworth would get some serious consideration for a head coaching job in the NHL this year so to land him as an assistant is a big deal.

I actually ran into Todd Nelson on my way back from Chicago yesterday. As I got to my gate at O'Hare there he was in a Thrashers polo, waiting to fly down here and sign the paperwork to make everything official. He was also coming down from Chicago to look for a house, but one of his biggest priorities as he makes the move is to find a local hockey program for his son. That tells you how much the guy loves the game. Here he is about to sign an NHL coaching contract and he's worried about where his boy is going to play. You have to love that kind of passion. In chatting with Nelson it was obvious that he has a great relationship with John Anderson and that he really wants to help change the culture in Atlanta. Chicago has been a prime destination for AHL free agents for years because it's such a fun place to play and both John Anderson and Todd Nelson want Atlanta to be viewed the same way.

While our coaching staff may not have a wealth of NHL coaching experience (Steve Weeks has 10 seasons under his belt and Tony Borgford has two) but they've combined for 1973 games on the ice at the NHL level and the new additions have a proven track record of developing young players.

Back In Action

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 20:28:50 GMT

That was fun. I'm back from Chicago and ready to get back into the swing of things after some good times in the windy city (although oddly enough is only the 42nd windiest city in the country).

Our web meetings were actually referred to as the NHL Digital Summer Camp and oddly enough it actually reminded me a little bit of camp. We were away from home, we had some fun sessions and some that were somewhat less interesting depending on your areas of expertise, and we met a lot of interesting people. There were cliques, snack breaks, and even someone to fill the role of completely over the top camp counselor. Perhaps most importantly, some really good friends were made, and those friendships are going to make it easier for all of us to do our jobs. Knowing the face and personality behind an email address makes all the difference in the world. There are a lot of talented people working for various teams and it was good to get a chance to finally get to meet many of them.

Do you know what summer camp doesn't have though? Buzz words like super-serve, engagement, mansion (did you know our website is a mansion? We want you to look in all the rooms), tent poles, web-ify. We had buzz words galore.

What actually came out of the meetings? Lots of plans for teams to use more and more video (it's going to take some time for us to put that one into action so be patient), strategies for sharing content, a sneak peek at the new NHL.com that's coming in September (it looks awesome) news that NHL Connect is going to be drastically improved and word that the league is very close to announcing a major new fantasy partner. I'm a fantasy hockey junkie so I'm excited about that one. I have no clue what the format is going to be, but would you folks be interested in going head-to-head with me in a fantasy hockey league? It's not unusual for people to leave comments telling me that I don't know what I'm talking about- this would be a chance for them to prove they know more than me.

In Thrashers news, you've probably heard by now that Brad McCrimmon is reportedly on his way to Detroit where he'll be an assistant coach. Beast (just Beast, not "the Beast") is a great guy and as much as I'll miss him being around I think the change will be good for everyone. I fully expect him to land a head coaching job in the NHL in the next few years, but I think John Anderson was the right hire here. He's the perfect combination of a fresh approach and a familiar face (as someone who has coached our prospects and players in Chicago).

Speaking of assistant coaches, I'm fairly confident you'll be hearing something about who ours are going to be very soon. That's all I can say about that for now.