My Newspaper
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Christensen Takes An All Business Approach
Posted by:
Ben Wright on
May 9, 2008 at
5:20PM EST
It's not easy getting traded, and it's not easy getting hurt. It's really not
easy when you get hurt after you get traded, but that's exactly what happened to
Erik Christensen who joined the team at the trade deadline at the end of
February but then suffered what turned out to be a season-ending knee injury in
Florida on March 16.
While there's no good time for an injury, the timing of Christensen's couldn't
have been much worse for him. The Alberta-born center is a lot quieter and more
solitary than his former Pittsburgh teammate Colby Armstrong who had no trouble
fitting right in with his new teammates. Christensen, on the other hand, had to
take some time away from the team just when he was getting to know the other
players and starting to feel like part of the group.
"It was tough" he told me at the end of the season. "Real tough. I think me and
Army both came over here and he didn't get hurt, so he got to know the guys
better and be more a part of the team. It was tough watching the team go on,
even though we weren't making the playoffs it's hard not being around the guys.
You're trying to make friends and fit in, so it was tough. It was just sort of
the way my year went."
Now that the off-season is well underway Christensen is back in the Edmonton
area where he is buying a new off-season home while also trying to sell houses
in Pittsburgh and Kamloops (where he played junior hockey). As his knee
strengthens he'll shift gears from healing to getting ready for next year.
"It'll be six days a week, a couple hours a day training with my guy. That's my
life. Being a hockey player is not an eight month job. You have to look at it as
a year-round thing. Your body is your life so you try to take care of it as best
as possible."
And while Christensen is looking forward to rejoining his teammates for training
camp, don't expect him to be hanging out with other players while he prepares
for next season. He loves the camaraderie of being a member of a team, but when
it it comes to training he prefers to go solo, which is not surprising for
someone who says his favorite hockey memory is skating alone as a child on his
backyard rink for hours at a time.
"I really don't like training with other players. I feel like it gets kind of
social rather than being work," he said to me, showing just how seriously he
takes his career. "My dad has a real good hockey mind so he helps me with that
stuff. Otherwise I train on my own."
When Christensen returns to Atlanta for training camp he'll be trying to
showcase the offensive potential that made him so desirable to GM Don Waddell at
the trade deadline. Christensen would have been playing on one of the top two
lines on many NHL teams last season but he was buried on a center-rich
Pittsburgh squad behind Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal. Meanwhile
the Thrashers have been looking for a scoring center and Christensen could be
just the player to fill that role next season.
For his part Christensen is staying grounded heading into next season while
remaining optimistic about the pieces the team has in place.
"I'm just looking forward to playing a longer season (without getting hurt)
and becoming a part of this team.... I think we'll have the ability to make the
playoffs. I think there's no question the talent is here."
If that's going to be happen you can be sure Christensen will play a
significant role. At 6'1" and 210 lbs he's the combination of size, speed and
skill that the Thrashers are looking for. With his work ethic and
"nothing-comes-easy" attitude he's also sure to be a positive influence on the
rest of the roster, even though his easy-going friend and teammate Colby
Armstrong thinks he needs to relax a bit more once in a while.
(18) Comments
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Posted by: Sam on May 10, 2008 10:46AM EST
Excellent article. Really seems to capture a player we really have yet to meet in Atlanta. I think he and Colby will be...have been...great additions to the Thrashers. Obviously, they bring different gifts and talents. All the better for us. Gotta love a guy who's serious about training. That's almost...if not more...as important as the work on the ice. I think he's got a real shot at the 2nd line spot. That's where I've got him penciled in on my line-up for next season.
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Posted by: Chris on May 10, 2008 12:16PM EST
http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=3389117
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Posted by: Chad 47 on May 10, 2008 1:27PM EST
Wow we can only hope some one has desided it is time to wake up and hire some one who is qualified to be a GM and let him hire a coach. DW's record should speak for it's self the guy is a born looser and this team is in big trouble with no way out as long as he is here.
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Posted by: PUKHED on May 10, 2008 2:01PM EST
Thank our lucky stars Don Waddell is the GM and not some of the idiots that post regularly here. Just a tiny bit of intelligent research easily proves that DW is a talent Atlanta is lucky to have. Football and Basketball mentality simply doesn't work in hockey.
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Posted by: Steve on May 10, 2008 5:06PM EST
Well, Pukhed, if that were true, then you should go on to ESPN.com and look at Scott Burnside's article. DW is going to be offered a non-GM management job, and that the owners, Levenson and Gearon, have rethought what has happened with the team. In fact, the GM for the Hawks has also been asked to step down or has been fired too. If Don Waddell were so good, we would
have been in the playoffs and at least have gone to the 2nd round and we would still have Marian Hossa. But since the Thrashers progress has been uncertain or not committed to winning, as evidenced by our 28th place standing, ownership has to do something to get fans to renew their season tickets.
Obviously, the fans have spoken, and enough of the season ticket holders are not renewing right now, and maybe ownership is panicking. Finally, they are listening to the fans!!! It is about time! If ownership and management don't want to lose Ilya Kovalchuk and Kari Lehtonen and other quality players, then they need to get quality players at center and on defense, get a new coach, and a new GM that is goint to be more aggressive about getting good trades, good prospects that actually become great NHL players and don't trade quality players like Braydon Coburn for crap players like Zhitnik. Obviously, in 9 seasons, the ownership is seeing the writing on the wall. It will cost them more in the future if they don't do something now. So, please rethink your comments. If you don't believe me, a commentator again brought up how stupid the Thrashers were for trading Coburn for Zhitnik. Coburn is in the Eastern Conference Finals and Zhitnik is being paid $3.5 million and is in the offseason. You figure out what I am saying.
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Posted by: lordstan57 on May 10, 2008 5:23PM EST
"intelligent research"????
Hmmmmmm. Maybe I should respond w/ an insult
in kind. Nahhh, just don't have it in me today.
On a personal note, please remember to say a prayer today for Cancer patients, survivors, and their families. Most especially for those lost.
Thank You.
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Posted by: Steve on May 11, 2008 11:45AM EST
Lord Stan 57,
Give me a break. There are a lot of fans who feel the same way I do. I may not be a season ticket holder, but I have gone to more games than I have in past years. Waddell did make a good trade to get Christensen and Armstrong, but it cost us Hossa, who made an immediate impact in the playoffs for Pittsburgh. He has scored 5 goals and put up 5 assists. Granted he is on the 2nd line, but his goals and assists have led to wins. The Zhitnik-Coburn trade last year was one of THE WORST TRADES EVER MADE IN NHL HISTORY!!! If you deny that, well then your thoughts speak for you! Waddell played players that have turned up to be busts, and not gone after players we should have. For instance, Chris Pronger was available before going to Anaheim, and we had a chance at him. We traded Andrew Brunette, and he has been in Colorado making an impact. He traded for some 2nd or 3rd line centers when we really needed a 1st line center for Kovalchuk. Waddell has not traded for more quality defenders to add to the other lines besides Havelid and Enstrom. The best acquisitions asided from Armstrong and Christensen that have stayed around were Eric Perrin, Kari Lehtonen, Hedberg, Enstrom. The rest have either been ok or terrible. Giving contract extensions to Holik and Kozlov who give not as good efforts as last year when they are past 35 when we need some younger players would have been better. Lastly, not giving enough ice time to Coburn and other prospects from Chicago and using your AHL players enough is another key criticism. That is what the Capitals did and look at what Boudreau and the Capitals organization did. Now, that is real progress and that is using your minor league teams appropriately. A good GM should be doing that!!!
I do agree with you about cancer patients, survivors and victims. My grandmother and aunt both died of cancer and I took part in the Relay for Life last weekend.
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Posted by: Sam on May 11, 2008 6:54PM EST
Season ticket holder or not, Steve, check the dates on your articles, man. The latest ajc.com story that says Don has NOT be asked to step down or away or whatever, came out AFTER the espn.com article.
Yes, Don went from fired or demoted to staying GM or even being promoted all in about 48 hours.
Your rantings are more credible if your dates and info is accurate.
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Posted by: lordstan57 on May 12, 2008 2:02AM EST
"Waaht wee haave heah, iz, fay-yure-tooh.................................................
cuhm-munni-cate.
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Posted by: h on May 12, 2008 8:21AM EST
OK......I agree that Coburn trade didn't work out as well as planned, HOWEVER, it was a pretty good trade at the time, and any other analysis is complete crap and pure hindsight. At the time of the trade, this team desperately needed a puck moving defensemen who could help on the power play and put points on the board. Everyone knew that "eventually" Coburn would help, but he was a real liability out there at the time and was not commanding serious minutes. This team needed a veteran with those skills. Zhitnick was out there, and at the time, this guy was the puck moving defensemen this team was dying for.......he happened to play pretty well after he came over (not great, but he was a huge improvement over Coburn).....now no one can deny that Zhitnik has crapped it up this year, and Coburn had a pretty good year with the Flyers, but at the time, it was a trade that HAD to be made to make the playoffs. Zhitnik's play this year was one of the major disappointments, along with Kozlov going into the crapper as well. As you may recall, just about everyone said last year that no matter what Waddell did, he HAD to re-sign Kozlov......and of course that really hurt us this year too.......all I'm saying is unless you slammed those decisions BEFORE they happened or right when they happened, you have to cut Waddell a little slack on those moves even if they didn't pan out as well as we all thought they might......not playing some of the young guys more certainly was a bad move.....at the time and in hindsight....
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Posted by: lordstan57 on May 12, 2008 1:08PM EST
Hell, the Coburn trade was NEVER a "good trade" precisely for the reasons you've mentioned.
Just where the hell exactly did this notion of "having to make the playoffs" come from? The idea that it HAD TO BE DONE or the future of hockey in Atlanta would be ruined, NOW or NEVER!!!
It was BS then and it still is! He's made critical decisions based on all the wrong reasons, fundamentally unsound , and kneejerk!
AND, I said so at the time. Anytime you make a decision founded in irrationality it's WRONG whether it works out or not! Sooner or later that type of process will bite you on your arse. Whats more, if you were paying attention you'd know that good Ol' Uncle Bob never gave Cobie much of a chance, benching him at the slightest mistake, and playing vets who loafed or made mistakes CONSTANTLY!
ME and many others SAID SO AT THE TIME!!!!
In regards to Kozzy: it's no mystery that guys in the final year of their contract tend to be more motivated to have banner years. The decision to re-sign Slava in and of itself was OK. However, the terms are what should be at question here. Once again, you don't offer the Sun and Moon "just to get him signed", because God forbid he should take his puck and play elsewhere!
Geez, no special insight here, just lessons learned.
Now, what to do about Zhit coming to camp OVERWEIGHT AND OUT OF SHAPE?????!!!!!
Bench his azz!!! what kind of message did it send to other guys??? That's on DW ALL THE WAY!!!
On,and On, and, On...........................................
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Posted by: TrueBlue on May 12, 2008 3:18PM EST
What does any of this have to do with an article about Christensen???
Go to the message boards if you want to have incoherent ramblings about trades that were done years ago. Anyone ever stop to think that, though these players are excelling somewhere else, they would not have excelled here?
Its all about the setting and the players around you. Some teams make a better player, while some players just get lost in the rubble.
Good article about EC. I see a lot of good in that kid. At times, I also see a little bit of Stefan. I think he will excell here though. Just has to stay healthy, please.
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Posted by: Steve on May 12, 2008 6:54PM EST
First of all, h, it was on ESPN.com. Scott Burnside is quoting it Levenson and Gearon! Maybe we should wait and see after the IIHF Championships. They said that he won't make a major decision on what he will do until after the tournament. Maybe the AJC didn't address it. I trust ESPN.com a lot more than the AJC. Nothing against Craig Custance, but just has been my experience.
As a side, I agree Christensen is a great addition. Hopefully, they will utilize him as a 1st line center with Kovy or start on 2nd line with Recchi, let him develop, and then move him to 1st line with Kovy.
As far as Coburn, come on. It speaks for itself!!! All they did in Philly is put him on the ice, and let him learn. He would have been better than Exelby or Zhitnik. Even during the season in which we got Zhitnik, they say that Zhitnik is too slow to develop. And he was worse this year. If we were going to do this poorly, then we should have just played our young players and let them develop more. At least if we lost, our youngsters would have even more ice time and experience. We did that some, but kind of too late.
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Posted by: Scott on May 12, 2008 11:39PM EST
Bringing up Stefan...
Does anyone need anymore proof about Waddell.
And before someone says "it wasn't a deep draft" ... give me a break. They're were plenty of players picked in that year that turned out to be very very good players.
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Posted by: Sam on May 13, 2008 10:34AM EST
Stefan was ranked #1 internationally, so you're going to have to bash alot of other NHL types when you swing that particular bat at Waddell.
Don's not blameless, but that's not really a valid argument.
Don drafted Kovy and Heater, too. Heater just couldn't stay, otherwise, we'd have a killer PP right now.
And think...where do you think Scott Burnside and espn.com got the Gearon story?... from Craig, of course. And Craig's latest info says no firing, no demotion.
Of course, with this ASG, anything is possible.
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Posted by: Scott on May 13, 2008 10:48AM EST
That is true. But still I don't know I never saw anything good out of stefan and unless he just gave up when he got to the nhl, I still think it was a terrible move.
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Posted by: Sam on May 13, 2008 12:22PM EST
Stefan sucked. On that we do agree.
Does that take us back to it not being a deep draft? LOL
More likely, I think Stefan wasn't built mentally (remember he'd had a couple of concussions) or physically to make the transition from Euro hockey to the NHL. That was also the "old" NHL where play was much more physical on goalscorers. No "interference" calls back then.
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Posted by: Steve on May 13, 2008 11:00PM EST
In response to my previous comments, Burnside was not totally wrong; Waddell may be moving up to the President's job in place of Bernie Mullin, who was the former CEO of Delta. Why he was the President of the Thrashers, I don't know. If this happens, then Waddell will not be the GM anymore. Custance's article on May 10th after Burnside's May 9th article do not contradict each other. So, it is true that they are looking for a coach and probably a GM too. But, according to Custance, Waddell is looking to work with the new GM to improve the Thrashers in the draft and during free agency talks this summer. So, the info is not totally wrong, h, Lord Stan, and Sam!!
Anyhow, look at list of possible coaches- Ron Wilson from SJ, if the Stars lose, Tippett from Dallas, as well as Quennville from Colorado, and minor league coaches as well as McCrimmon. McCrimmon may be considered for the Philly job if Philly loses too.
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