PUCK ALERT – by Saint Pako

Steven Stamkos has the third most goals amongst all Canadian NHL players before the break, Crosby (42) Marleau (38) Stamkos (35). In fact, since Dec 30th, Stamkos has more points than any players on the Team Canada’s roster. In this span of 21 games, he has 14 goals, and 19 assists for a total of 33 points.

Stamkos is currently riding a franchise record-tying 13-game point streak, and was also recognized by the NHL as the first star of the week just prior to the Olympic break.

A first-overall pick in 2008, Steven Stamkos is everything the Tampa Bay Lightning was hoping for when the slumping team won their first draft lottery in ten years, since drafting Vincent Lecavalier in 1998.

A player so young with so much offensive talent, Stamkos is on pace to doubling his point production from last year with somewhere close to 94 points in 82 games.

Yet, Stamkos wasn’t enlisted in Team Canada for the Olympics this year.

Nope, he wasn’t included when Team Canada Executive Director Steve Yzerman first announced the roster on Dec 30; but then Ryan Getzalf went down with injury, and Yzerman has another chance to call upon the best player available since Dec 30.

Instead of calling Stamkos, Yzerman asked Jeff Carter of the Philadelphia Flyers to prepare to fly to Vancouver. Carter only has 27 goals and 25 assists this season. So in terms of point-production, Carter is nowhere near Stamkos’ 35 goals and 35 assists. In terms of +/-, Stamkos is +4 and Carter is +8, so hardly a huge difference. As for physicality, in terms of penalty minutes, Carter has 32 and Stamkos has 28, so again not a big difference.

What about weight and size??

Jeff Carter is registered at 6’3″ 200 pounds, while Steven Stamkos is at 6’1″ 194 pounds. So yes, Carter is slightly bigger than Stamkos, but I honestly don’t think that the 6 pounds makes that big of a difference, there are plenty of size and grit on the team already, with players like Rick Nash, Jerome Iginla, Chris Pronger and Mike Richards…etc.

Maybe it’s the age factor? Carter is five years older than Stamkos, and in NHL years, it can mean a whole lot of difference.

Of couse, this is all “moo-point” since Getzlaf is healthy enough to play, and so far Team Canada is still undefeated (after the 8-0 win against Norway). But if we still recall what happened in Turin, how Sidney Crosby wasn’t enlisted due to his young age and under-size, and how team Canada ended up 7th place in a 12-team tournament!!! (Behind Switzerland!!!)

Sidney Crosby would eventually end up with a record-breaking 102 points that NHL season.

Let’s hope history doesn’t repeat itself, for Yzerman’s sake.

It’s good that the Olympics are closing in, or else Team Canada’s assistant coach Ken Hitchcock would be out of a job for quite a long time, after the Columbus Blue Jackets announced his firing today.

Ken Hitchcock is a good coach, not spectacular, but decent. He has a good resume to show for it. With the three NHL teams he’s coached, he’s got one cup, one cup-final appearance and two conference final appearance in his 13 years as head coach for an NHL team.

However, since the lock-out, Hitchcock’s performance have gradually worsened, missing the playoff twice and ousted in the first round twice, during which he was fired by the Flyers and switched to the Blue Jackets.

NHL Hotstove Senior Writer Anthony Curatolo wrote a good piece on Hitchcock, weeks before today’s announcement on how Hitchcock’s style doesn’t fit the “New NHL”. Hitchcock’s conservative playing style and mindset promotes work ethnics and experience. His game is boring, lacks scoring and he rarely puts his faith in young players to step up and lead the team offensively.

Under the Cap era, everyone knows it’s all about young talents and drafts. Money-issues aside, the rules of the game have been changed to encourage open-ice offensive battles and talent showcase. No longer do you see teams with more than three bona-fide superstar. Most GMs are forced to fill their line-ups with young players, sometimes fresh off the draft and coaches must adapt to best utilize their skill-set and talents.

Of course this is still a team-sport and all players must strictly follow the head’s game style if they want to be successful or actually if they want to play at all. However, a good coach should be able to put down his ego and appreciate each player’s individual talent and build the style around them. A great coach should be able to dig out the skills of players and magnify them, even if the players themselves don’t know they possess.

In this respect, Hitchcock is neither. Confidence is one thing, but stubborn is another. At times, when I watch the Blue Jackets play this season, it seems like Hitchcock is still living in the past, his glory days when the Stars claimed the Stanley Cup. Each and every game they lose, Hitchcock seems to be just waiting, waiting for the tides to change, and praying that his style of play will become successful again.

That of course didn’t happen. Now the teams sits 14th in the west, 11 points out of the playoff spot with 24 games remaining, and this is after their first appearance in the playoffs last season.

Just consider the Blue Jacket’s roster. A team basically the same as the one that got them 92 points and 4th in Central division last season. The team is full of young talent, including the leagues best power-forward in Rick Nash, and he is just 25, signed to 2017.

Rick Nash, the 1st overall in the 2002 draft, is believed by many as one of the best player in the world, and his maturation in the past two seasons support this. With 69 points in 07-08, 40 goals/79 points last season, Rick Nash continue to thrive early on this season but has slowed down significantly, as a result of a 11-game scoring drought. At his current pace, he should be able to finish with 73 points, which isn’t that bad. But many believes that at his current form, he could easily reach the 90-pts plateau if he was playing on a more offensive team.

Hitchcock has that effect on players. It’s all nice and good if the team wins, because with a lower stats, comes a cheaper contract. But I don’t think Hitchcock does it for money reasons. He truly believes in a learning curve for two-way hockey, and all of his players must master this before Hitchcock puts his faith in them. Sometimes this works, for top-ranked star players it works, because it keeps them in check, and they know they will eventually get the ice-time. But for young 1st-rounder with good potential, continuously playing them in a 3rd-line checking role affects their game and confidence.

Examples of this include, Lehtinen and Langebrunner were rarely used during Hitchcock’s time in Dallas, Patrick Sharp and Justin Williams were used as checkers during his time in Philly. Even a pure goal-scorer as Simon Gagne has just decent scoring performance under Hitchcock’s system.

Within the current Columbus roster, there are tons of good players, all under-performing. Derick Brassard, 6th overall in a deep draft in 2006, is a centerman with huge potential, who despite sitting out most of 50 games of last season, notched 25 points in 31 games. This year, Brassard only has 24 points in 57 games. Even for a player Hitchcock is willing to use, Jacub Voracek, 7th overall in another deep draft in 2007, has just 28 points in 57 games.

Then of course, there’s Nikita Filitov, 6th overall pick in 2008, voted by the Hockey News as the Best Prospect in the World last spring, was again used only as a checker. Eventually Filitov confronted Hitchcock, and of course was sent to the minors and ultimately “loaned” to the KHL. Could this simply be a more diplomatic version of Alexander Radulov of the Nashville Predators bolted back to Russia? Since Filitov has openly said that he will never play for Hitchcock again, does the firing of the coach means a likely return for the star prospect? According to Filitov, he is having a great time in KHL and his home in Moscow, Blue Jackets GM Scott Howson is worrying if they fired Hitchcock too late, and whether he can convince Nikita to return.

This season is definitely over for the Blue Jackets, hopefully they can get Filitov back and look towards next season.

Mike Gillis wasn’t lying when he said that things are going to change around here. We’ve all seen his wizardry in signing and trading players, his commitment to improving scouting and developing young players. And now, we have a chance to see how he selects the squad for this coming season.

I personally don’t recall the last time the Canucks have such a competitive training camp. In today’s NHL, where training camp has been significantly reduced to a few days of on-ice scrimmage before pre-seasons, the Canucks are taking it very seriously this year.

With the showcase of highly-publicized talents coming out of Prospect Camp, fans finally have a glimpse of Russian Sniper Sergei Shirokov, and First-Rounder Star Cody “Hod-Son” Hodgson in action. Aside from our prospects, the Canucks also invited a number of Veteran players like Dave Scatchard, Mark Parrish and Ron Petrovicky. Together with newly-acquired players and the existing regulars, the Canucks started this year’s camp with 56 players.

Number-wise, I don’t know if that’s considered a lot or just normal, but talent-wise, this is easily the most competitive try-outs in recent years, if not the entire Canucks history.

As suggested in my previous post, even without adding any new player, the Canucks current roster is all filled-up by proven regulars, with a few to spare. With the forward lines of Sedins-Burrows, Demitra/Hansen-Kesler-Samuelsson, Raymond-Wellwood-Bernier, Hordichuk-Johnson-Rypien, defensive lines of Bieska-Salo, Mitchell-Edler, Ehrhoff-O’Brien/M.Schneider/Lukowich, and goalies of Luongo/Raycroft, every single position is jamm-packed already.

How on earth, are Gillis and Vigneault going to fit Hodgson, Grabner, Shirokov, C.Schneider, Parrish, Scatchard, or Petrovicky into the holes which don’t exist?

It will be survival of the fittest to the extreme and is definitely good news for fans, but something has to give. It’s pretty easy to say “No, but thank you for coming” to Veteran Invitees, but are we really going to send Grabner back to Manitoba for the fourth consecutive year? At the time I am writing this, with his performance (or lack-of) in his first pre-season game this year, it is looking very likely to happen.

But what about Hodgson?? The highly-rated junior-sensation, who has been named as the best player not playing in the NHL today. Although, he has just recovered from a back-injury, are we really going to send the player voted by THN as likely-Calder-Trophy-winner of 2010 back to Manitoba?

What about Shirokov?? The Russian Young Gun who sacrificed so much to be here, a hard-working player with two-goals in his first NHL pre-season game, are we going to send him to the Moose?

If not, will players like Bernier and Wellwood, who both recently signed a new contract, and both worked so hard in the summer to improve their condition be on their way to demotion?

It’s not any easier for our defense either. We have eight NHL-worthy defensemen signed, each having their strengths and weaknesses. On the surface, it would appear that O’Brien is easily the odd-man out, but with reduced-weight and the great shape he is in right now, he can surely challenge the other seven for a job.

Yes, Mathieu Schneider is still recovering from injury, but you can bet that he will join the club around mid-season. You can probably count Salo as likely to suffer an injury as well, so it leaves the six spots filled. But if you have players like Salo and Schneider waiting around, how likely are players like Sauve, Oberg, Ellington, Funk, Rome, McIver or Ramsey to have a chance with the big clubs?

Perhaps the easiest position is in net. Luongo will undoubtedly start for about 70+ games, if he’s healthy. Former Calder Trophy Winner Raycroft will likely get his last chance to redeem himself as backup, and Schneider will be traded if he puts up a decent showcase in the upcoming few games.

With so many talented players to choose from, it’s really too bad that there can only be twenty spots available. Although the Canucks have reduced seven players in the past couple of days, still a lot of hearts will be broken before the season officially begins on 1st October.

Well, I know something for sure, and that is, the Moose will have a heck of a team next season.

So a new day in Hockey Land, what has happened?

Nothing much to report as it’s pretty quiet surrounding the Canucks. Well except what Eklund is saying about Tim Conolly and Nik Antropov being traded to Vancouver before the deadline. Doesn’t make too much sense to me, but it’s Eklund, so at least this will get some fans talking about it in CDC or the HFBoard.

A new coach for the Rangers, huh?? It’s about time. Apparently the hiring of John Tortorella faced some complications between the Rangers and the Lightning organizations. Honestly I don’t know what’s that about. Torts was fired and was given a written consent to seek another job last June, and now eight months later, he is seeking a job for the Rangers, so what’s the problem??!! It seems that everyone involves are being very cautious when discussing tempering charges against another personel within the Lightning organization, namely assistant coach Mike Sullivan. Even TSN Hockey Insider Bob McKenzie spoke little about the details except saying that Torts will likely be behind the Rangers bench before next game.

Glen Sather thinks Tortorella will bring a new style to his club, and re-ignite that “fire”, which his team lacks lately. Sitting 6th place in the East, with 21 games left, the Rangers still have a very good chance of making the playoffs this year. This change will probably get the star players started, and I won’t be surprised to see Drury, Gomez and Naslund to step up their offensive game in the next bit. It is, however, surprising to see the Rangers where they are now. Like the Canadiens, they started the season with very good momentum, and I think Sather did a good job assembling the current roster. It’s probably just a psychological thing, because the team have many good players, and they can turn things around quickly if everyone just step up their play a notch.

The Rangers will play the Leafs on Wednesday, and I predict that New York will win this one by a landslide.

Rangers 6 @ Maple Leafs 2 – goals coming from Naslund, Gomez and Zherdev.

I fell in love with hockey and the Canucks during their 1994 Stanley-cup run. I was 20 then, and I still remember vividly how all of my friends were trying to grow a playoff beard while watching the games at Red Robin’s on Broadway and Oak Street. I remember having to fly out of town for my summer vacation prior to the fifth game in the Leaf series. It was a long flight, and when the plane landed, the first thing the pilot said on the radio was the Canucks defeated the Maple Leafs and will be in the Stanley Cup Finals again after 12 long years.

Those were the days when hockey was such a big part of any Vancouverite’s life. Many years have passed, players came and went, but that 1994 Canucks team is special. I guess every hockey fan or sports fan for that matter, has their own version of that “immortalized” team in their heart, and for me, that’s the team.

I was a rookie hockey fan during that time, and I think looking back, I wasn’t really able to fully appreciate how big it was for the team to be in the finals. I just remember jumping out of my seat screaming everytime I saw Bure flying through the neutral zone and deking out everyone for one of his spectacular goal, the excitement and joy after the OT win against Calgary, and the heartbreaking sorrow for our exit in New York. I have never felt that way about sport, or maybe, about anything. That’s how I fell in love with hockey.

Yesterday, the Canucks celebrated the retiring of Linden’s jersey, and watching the Opening Video on the web really brought back a lot of memories. Trevor Linden was always my second all-time-favorite Canuck, I must admit, slightly after Bure. But he always have that leadership presence on the ice, and although he never put up excellent numbers, I was actually happier to see him score goals than seeing Bure scores. I remember hating Mike Keenan for trading away our captain, and then subsequently feeling sorry about the dark years Linden endure during his trips in New York, Montreal and Washington.

After six seasons away from home, it was heart-warming to see Linden returns home, and although his role or importance were no longer the same, he remained graceful and supportive standing beside Canuck’s new heroes in Naslund, Morrison and Bertuzzi. With the experience Linden brought to the team, I really thought that we were going somewhere during the West Coast Express era. I guess it’s just another regret that our team wasn’t able to seize the opportunity to bring home the cup during Linden’s return to the team.

Now Linden will never win a Stanely Cup as a player, but perhaps his attachment to the town, to the team and to the organization will bring further opportunities for him in the future in Vancouver. Who knows, maybe he can still win the Cup for our home town, as a GM or a coach, maybe?? But I hope we don’t have to wait that long to get our first Stanley Cup.

I know it’s already one month into this new season, and this is only my first blog. But, aside from the fact that I was extremely busy with work, there really wasn’t anything interesting for me to write about.

Since my last blog, Vermette signed back with the Sens for good, and other than the trade with Tampa which brought us Shane O’Brien and Michel Ouellet, nothing changed in the Canuck’s line-up.

The Canucks started the pre-season in top-form, but since then the team is back to mediocrity sitting at 4W 5L, and the bottom of the division. The team seems more interesting to watch, with decent scoring power. Kesler looks like a true leader, and at times, their line looks more like our top-line. Mason Raymond is truly a pleasure to watch, this kid is going somewhere, and can easily be named the best forward coming out of our development system. He can fly, deke and score. I surely hope he gets more ice-time in the near future, and prove to all Canuck fans that we are able to groom talent instead of trading for it. Another solid new-comer is Janik Hansen, finally earning a permanent (?) roster spot on Fric and Frac’s line.

Demitra, prior to being injured, has only been mediocre, and just when everyone thought that the Wellwood Project was a complete failure, Kyle played two decent games, scoring a goal in both. Bernier seems to have chemistry with the Sedins, but since the Sedins are producing themselves, Bernier’s contribution to the team is still limited, especially with his -2 right now.

The team’s superstar Luongo’s preformance is also just average, and can easily be judged as poor in his standards, 4W 4L SV% 0.9, and a 3.00 GAA.

So, looking up from the bottom of the pack, 23rd in 30 teams, is there any tricks up Gillis’ sleeves to improve this team? First off, I know it’s just 9 games, and there’s no need to blow the team up to rebuild or do anything drastic like that, but it’s also obvious that our team lacks certain elements for us to have any chance at making the playoff, let alone win the cup.

Thinking about this, maybe we can flashback to see what I’ve written in the past, and compare with the options we have now?

First off, Mats Sundin, yup, he’s still available, but equally un-decided. But now, with most of the initially interesed team moving on, quoting from The Hockey News’ article, his best bet right now is either the Canucks or the Maple Leafs. Maybe the best does go to those who wait?

Marian Gaborik. I also mentioned about his status and possibility in the past, and from recent news, it seems imminent that he will be traded sooner rather than later, but at least after he returns from his injury. If he’s to be traded today, most people will tell you that the Kings have the best chance, but the Canucks is still the underdog to bring him in, if the right package is assembled. However, with the way the Wild is playing lately, I don’t see what we can offer them in any deal for Gaborik.

Ilya Kovalchuk. Looks like Kovalchuk rumors are re-surfacing again, reported by the Ottawa Sun and The Fourth Period, in this article here, Kovalchuk at 25 with one-year remaining on his contract, is being shopped around. However, like the editor in TFP admits, the chance is slim for this to happen, and if it does happen, it will most likely be a superstar-swap, but unfortunately we don’t have those sitting around our dressing room.

So, it looks like nothing much has changed, Sundin, Gaborik and Kovalchuk are still being rumored to be signed or traded, the Canucks aren’t any better than they were last year and Jason Krog is still floating between AHL and NHL…etc

Well, maybe one thing has changed, remember that super-prospect we talked about many months ago…the fabulous one??? The web-created Super-hyped Prospect, The Next Alfredsson?? The one who we could have got, but lost out to the Dallas Stars?? Well, we are a bit more certain of his abilities now, and he’s looking very much like what his agent promised him to be, scoring a hat-trick in his first NHL game.

Sorry Canucks fans, we could’ve had him. I guess Aquilini and Gillis were wrong about the kid. Imagine if Nonis stayed on the team for one more month, Fabian Brunnstrom is wearing a Canucks uniform right now. With 5 goals, 1 assists in 8 games, and Stamkos just 1 point in 8 games, here’s to hoping Brunnstrom doesn’t capture the Calder this year.

Today we say goodbye to our longest serving captain (8 seasons) and franchise scoring leader (749Pts), Markus Naslund.

Given to us as a gift by the Hockey Gods via the most lopsided trade ever, Markus Naslund who was drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1991 16th Overall, was traded to Vancouver in 1995 for Alex Stojanov. The name Stojanov will forever be remembered due to this trade and perhaps nothing else, as he will play 45 more games with the Penguins in the span of the next two years to the point totals of 6pts. He hasn’t played a single game in the NHL since.

But for Naslund, he will go-on to have one of the most successful NHL career ever. Markus started his career playing on the right side, and although shadowed by two of the world’s best right-winger, Bure and Mogilny, played on the third line on most nights. During his first two full seasons with the Canucks, he gathered up decent points at 21G 20A 41PT and 14G 20A 34PT respectively. However, with the departure of Pavel Bure and the hold-out of Alexander Mogilny, we saw Markus Naslund dramatically stepping up his game.

Subsequent to his breakout year in 98-99 season, with 36G 30A 66PT, and capture the Cyclone Taylor Award as MVP for the Canucks, he was offered the team Captaincy in 2001, the first European captain in Canucks history. Ever since then, he has carried the entire team on his shoulder, and paved the way to his astonishing career in Vancouver, capturing many awards and break even more franchise records.

Naslund alongside his buddy Todd Bertuzzi and Home-town Favorite Brendan Morrison, would form the most formidable line in NHL, known as the West Coast Express. With Bertuzzi’s toughness and power, Morrison’s stability and play-making ability, paired with Naslund’s finesse and speed, the trio was virtually unstoppable on most nights.

Although with the eventual ugly exit of Bertuzzi, and the change of playing style from coach Alain Vigneualt, Naslund’s numbers have dropped drastically, he remains one of the most loved and popular player in Vancouver. Today, we see him moving on, away from the spot-light to perhaps a lesser-role in New York, I sincerely wish him all the success, and thank him for bringing all the fans memorable moments throughout all these years.

It is unfortunate that we didn’t have a chance to see Naslund bring us the ultimate glory here in Vancity, and perhaps he will never wear the Canucks jersey again, I hope he can capture the Stanley Cup in his future, to top-off the already properous career he has right now.

Good luck, Markus, and Thank you, you will always be our captain in our hearts.

P.S. No particular reason why I choose this photo, I am not suggesting Wellwood will be our next Naslund.

Police reported that Bourdon was killed when he lost control of his motorcycle on a road near his home in Shippagan in northern New Brunswick around 12:30 P.M. He reportedly struck a tractor-trailer and was killed instantly.

The young and talented defenseman was a key factor to Canada’s consecutive gold-medal finish at the World Junior Championship. Drafted by the Canucks 10th overall in the 2005 draft, Luc Bourdon showed many signs of potential stardom during his days with Vancouver, and he will be sorely missed by his family, friends, and hockey fans from across the world.

I wish to express my deepest sympathy to the Bourdon family, and hope they can find peace in this situation.

Rest in peace, dear Luc.

Signing out, Saint Pako.

Confirmed by TSN on their website, the Canucks have just fired assistant coaches Barry Smith and Mike Kelly. http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=238464&lid=headline&lpos=secStory_nhl

It has long been rumoured that coach changes are imminent ever since the replacement of GM Dave Nonis by Mike Gillis. General expectation was a complete change to the coaching line-up, but on Wednesday afternoon, it was Alain Vigneualt who delievered the news of firing two assistant coaches to the media.

Hard to imagine Vigneualt, the Jack Adams Award winner as top head-coach of the NHL for the 06-07 season, specifically for his efforts in bringing the Canucks to a club-record-breaking 49 wins per season, worrying about his job so soon. Vigneualt, a veteran coach who work as assistant coach for the Ottawa Senators in 92-93, spent four seasons with the Montreal Canadiens from 97-01 as their head-coach, during which he was first nominated for the Jack Adams Award in 2000.

Known for his defense-first playing style, which critics claim to be a “boring trapping” system, Vigneault was successful in making the Canucks a strong cup-contender in his first season with Vancouver. The Canucks won the Northwest division title, but was regretfully outsed in the second round to the eventual Stanley Cup Champions Anaheim Ducks. Fans were disappointed, but few pointed their fingers at the Jack Adams Award winner for his defensive style of play.

But coming into his second year this season, with expectations sky-high, the Canucks, plaqued with injuries throughout their line-up, failed to make the playoff again(twice in three years). Most were expecting Vigneault to follow Nonis’ footsteps out of Vancouver for good.

However, analysts suggest wednesday’s action by the Canucks’ management a clear sign of support for Vigneualt to remain as the head coach for at least the coming season. Since it doesn’t make sense to just announce firing of the assistant coaches, if management doesn’t intend to keep the head-coach. Why fire the coaches separately? Not to mention the announcement was made by the head-coach himself. So all signs do point to Vigneualt to spend his remaining year of his contract with the Canucks, although he will surely be on a tight leash.

With Vigneualt staying put, does this mean the end of the Markus Naslund era for the Canucks? Or does the firing of two assistant coaches who were responsible for the forward lines indicate a change of playing style to follow?

Signing out, this is

Saint Pako of the Hockey Digest.