08 July, 2008

Category Archives: College Hockey

Ten Top Storylines for Development Camp 2008

By pucksandbooks
Monday, July 7, 2008

This morning the Capitals welcome 21 skaters and 4 goaltenders to their 2008 Development Camp. Almost all of the campers are recent Caps’ draft picks, and first-rounders from each of the the team’s past four drafts are present (Alzner, Varlamov, Carlson, Pokulok).

Camp will culminate with a 10:00 scrimmage on Saturday. Hockey is back! Herewith, 10 top storylines to follow at this July’s camp:

(10) All Eyes on Alzner. 2007 first round pick Karl Alzner impressed observers of Development Camp last July, and then he went on to captain the gold medal winning Canadians at the World Junior Championships in December and earn WHL Defenseman of the Year and Player of the Year honors with the Calgary Hitmen. Not a bad season, huh? As soon as his season in Calgary was completed he was called up by Hershey, but the Bears didn’t advance out of the American League postseason’s first round, so he’s yet to get a taste of pro hockey. He’ll get a chance at training camp in September to crack the Caps’ opening night roster, but he can make a real strong impression on and off the ice this week.

(9) Souring on Sasha? No team got screwed more by Gary Bettman’s inane Entry Draft scheme during the summer lockout of 2005 than the Caps. The league all but came out and said that by virtue of having had the first pick in 2004, the Caps shouldn’t have a reasonable shot at it again. But outside the top 10? A pre-lockout cellar dwellar, the Caps drew the 14th pick in the first round in the ‘05 draft. A lot of quality was already off the table by then, including Sidney Crosby, Carey Price, Anze Kopitar, and Jack Johnson. The Caps took a gamble on Cornell defenseman Sasha Pokulok. He hasn’t impressed. This could be a make-or-break year for him. He’d do well to have a solid week.

(8) College Hockey’s Biggest Weekend Isn’t that Far Away. Washington will host its first-ever Frozen Four next spring, and the Frozen Four Organizing Committee will visit Kettler on Wednesday, conduct a meeting there, and take in that day’s scrimmage. I have plenty of questions I’d like to put to them.

(7) The Big Finn with the Big Game. Oskar Osala had a big year in 2007-08 with 18 goals and 35 points in 53 games with the Espoo Blues in Finland’s top pro league. The 6 ‘4, 217-lb. left wing was named the Finnish League’s Rookie of the Year. He also shined at the 2007 World Junior Championships, where he shared the lead in goal scoring with 5 goals in 6 games. A lot of folks from Hershey are excited to see him.

(6) Not that Carlson, but John’s Big and Physical Too. No relation to Jack, but John Carlson may well make a name for himself in pro hockey, too. The Caps may have landed another late first-round blueline gem last month with Carlson, who’s already blessed with a pro physique. His coach with the Indiana Ice of the USHL said of his defenseman, “without a doubt, he’s going to be a star in the NHL.”

(5) Media Matters. All of HockeyWashington was stunned by the breadth, depth, and overall quality of media coverage of the Caps this past spring. This week at Kettler — where there will be stories to tell — is an opportunity to see if that was anomalous. After all, the Redskins don’t report to training camp for another two weeks. Bloggers will be out at Kettler covering, and we hope to reprise our coalition from Entry Draft Friday and live blog this Saturday’s camp-concluding scrimmage.

(4) Where’s Big Joe? Joe Finley, Hurting Force, isn’t in town this week. The 2005 first-rounder showed a lot of promise at last summer’s Development Camp, and he also shook a lot of plexiglass with his corner work. The Capitals are going to great lengths to make this week appealing to Washington youths, and Finley’s instincts for violence may not have been a good fit for that agenda. He’ll be returning to North Dakota for his senior season with the Fighting Sioux this fall.

(3) They Harken from a Scorer’s League. The leading scorers from the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League each of the past two seasons, Francois Bouchard and Mathieu Perreault, will be present. Perreault in particular, with his dazzling stickwork-in-a-phone-booth and world-class agility and hockey sense, ought to be a fan favorite this week.

(2) Prior a Priority. Capitals’ Goaltender Coach Dave Prior has spent 11 seasons in Washington. He may not have a more important one than the one ahead. He will break in yet another no. 1 goalie in Jose Theodore — the team’s third in just the last six months — and perhaps just as importantly, in Simeon Varlamov and Michal Neuvirth tutor two of the organization’s finest goaltending prospects in 15 years. That work begins this week.

(1) Speaking of Goalies . . . It would be comforting for Capitals’ fans to see both Varlamov and Neuvirth stop every shot that each faces the entirety of this week.

Filed in American Hockey League, College Hockey, Development Camp, Francois Bouchard, Frozen Four, Hardcore Hockey Fans, Hershey Bears, Hockey Rituals, Joe Finley, John Carlson, Karl Alzner, Kettler Capitals Iceplex, Mathieu Perreault, Michal Neuvirth, Prospects, Sasha Pokulok, Simeon Varlamov, WJC, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (10)

In Phoenix, Wheel(er) of Misfortune

By pucksandbooks
Monday, May 19, 2008

Remember the 2004 NHL Entry Draft and the heads that turned — swiveled fully a la Linda Blair in ‘The Exorcist,’ actually — when Phoenix selected Minnesota high school junior Blake Wheeler with the 5th overall pick? Wheeler that spring was a riser of a prospect, but Phoenix — to wide and loud ridicule from the TSN commentators at the time — slotted the big wing about 20 places higher than on any other NHL team’s draft board. At least. His development over the four hockey seasons since can be said to have been steady if unspectacular. Meaning: about 29 NHL clubs probably got a pretty good read on Wheeler while the ‘Yotes, drafting at 5th overall . . . not so much.

First-rounders Phoenix passed on back in ’04 include Rostislav Olesz; Drew Stafford; Alexander Radulov; Andrej Meszaros; and Mike Green. 

Well what seemed a bizarre pick four summers back turned, this past weekend, into a superbly lousy one for the Desert Dogs.

In a first instance of exercising a provision brought about by the new CBA, Wheeler informed Phoenix of his intention to become a free agent this June 1, spurning Phoenix’ recent contract offer. Wheeler was able to pull this off because rather than return to the Breck Academy for his senior year of high school (he led all Minnesota high schoolers in scoring his junior year), he bolted for the Green Bay Gamblers of the USHL. The new CBA allows NHL clubs the rights to picks who go on to college a total of four years to sign them. Not four years of college, four years of rights. Blake left Minnesota this spring after his junior season to turn pro.

Wheeler’s case represents something fundamentally different from say R.J. Umberger, drafted 16th overall  by Vancouver in 2001. Umberger, beholden to the old CBA, completed all four years at Ohio State before coming to a negotiations impasse with the Canucks. He was first dealt by Vancouver to the Rangers, who fared no better in their negotations, and eventually he signed as a free agent with the Flyers.

Capitals’ Director of Media Relations Nate Ewell informed me today that the Caps have a set of comparable challenges, potentially, with 2007 draft picks Brett Bruneteau and Andrew Glass. Bruneteau has two seasons in the USHL under his belt, and he’ll join the North Dakota Fighting Sioux this fall. Glass, like his draft classmate, won’t enter college as a freshman until this fall, joining the BU Terriers. For drafted players who go on to college, years spent in the USHL or simply as a year or two off to gain maturity and strength count in the four-year window of rights eligibility. Wheeler is the first player to exercise this out clause, if you will, within the new CBA.   

As compensation for Wheeler Phoenix will receive the fifth pick in this year’s second round. The Coyotes can only hope that Wheeler doesn’t turn out to be anywhere near the player that Umberger is.  

Filed in College Hockey, DraftGeek, Entry Draft, NHL Rules, Phoenix Coyotes, Prospects, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (10)

U.S. Youth Not Yet Serving up Medals at the Worlds

By pucksandbooks
Saturday, May 17, 2008

Since the American entry in the 2004 World Hockey Championships finished with a bronze medal, the U.S. has finished 6th, 7th, 5th, and, most recently this past week, 5th in the tourney. Not so good.

“Young” seems to be the springtime flavor of excuse for middling showings by the Americans in this tournament. Yes the Americans are comparatively young in the tourney, but they are also highly skilled, annually one of the fastest teams, and always carefully assembled by a blue ribbon advisory group. And even with their youth most of the American roster each spring possesses notable international hockey experience, gained particularly from the World Juniors tourneys. They are losing games in elimination play in excruciating fashion: in overtime.

Beginning with 2009, it’s time to begin expecting better.

USA Hockey has made it abundantly clear that it wants to compete for championships in this event every bit as much as with the World Junior Championships and the Olympics. Of the three most prestigious international competitions, year in and year out this will always be the toughest for the Americans to contend in. The Americans with the National Development Team Program have a rigorous and committed program priming young hockey talent for the World Juniors. It’s a built-in advantage, I think. Additionally, the Junior team rarely has significant injuries to deal with, as that tournament is contested relatively early in the hockey season. The Olympic teams, too, also benefit from the calendar, and never have to worry about the best American players still competing in the NHL palyoffs.

To be fair, with very limited depth in terms of impact players, the U.S. cannot endure injuries like say Canada can and compete seriously at either the Olympics or the Worlds. This year’s American Worlds entry would have had a decidedly different look to it in terms of skill and experience had it been able to roster just say Eric Cole, Chris Clark, and Rick DiPietro and or Ryan Miller.

Indeed, if there’s anything particularly promising as American hockey fans look ahead to the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, it’s that that American team will not have Tim Thomas, Robert Esche, or Craig Anderson between the pipes but most likely rather the tandem of Miller and DiPietro. Esche actually had moments of surreal brilliance at this year’s World’s — most especially in games against the Finns — but neither he nor his 2008 netminder teammates are a trio with which a nation pins medal hopes on.

There were also huge American names absent from this Worlds’ rsoter because of the NHL playoffs: Drury and Gomez, Mike Komisarek and Chris Higgins in Montreal, perhaps Dallas’ Matt Niskanen, certainly Paul Stastny. You have to think Higgins is a prime candidate for the 2010 team. I was especially disappointed to see neither of Erik or Jack Johnson rostered for the Americans this spring — both competed for the Americans in Moscow last year. Those two, along with Komisarek and Niskanen, you have to think would play important roles on the Olympic team in two years. After goaltending, the biggest difference we may well see between this year’s Worlds team and the Olympic one in Vancouver likely will be on the blueline. An entirely different top 4, for instance.

Up front, there appears to be greater certainty. Peter Mueller, Patrick Kane, Zach Parise, Phil Kessel — the latter distinguishing himself now in consecutive World Championships — along with Stastny and perhaps Cole and Higgins, that’s a lot of skilled MoJo seriously on the move. And I began getting excited about David Booth’s game very early his past season with the Panthers. He’s likely to be a super quick skilled pest on the Americans’ third or fourth line in Vancouver. One very young American player I’m eager to watch next season with an eye on the 2010 Games is the Islander’s Kyle Okposo.

The Americans almost certainly won’t enter the 2010 Olympics on hockey folks’ list of medal contenders, but as with the Worlds, you need win only one game against a great team on a given night, and that’s where someone like Ryan Miller can elevate American hockey dreams. Next year’s American Worlds roster, to the extent that the NHL playoffs and injuries allow, ought to be assembled as a test run for 2010. This year’s simply couldn’t be.

But looming large as a challenge for USA Hockey is finding the right guy behind the American bench. It’s fair to say, I think, that a new name needs to be considered. The last three years American Worlds teams have been led by Mike Eaves, Mike Sullivan, and John Tortorella. Shouldn’t USA Hockey name a coach for next year’s Worlds with an eye on having that man guide the Americans in Vancouver as well? If so, I have an outside-the-box pick. A man with significant ties to USA Hockey, a man with an unrivaled record in winning with young hockey players and one who may just well be the best hockey coach outside of the NHL right now.

Jeff Jackson.

Filed in American Hockey, College Hockey, IIHF, Jeff Jackson, Olympic hockey, USA Hockey, WJC, Washington Capitals, World Championships| Permalink| Comments (0)

Swan Song for the Skilled Sioux?

By pucksandbooks
Wednesday, May 14, 2008

A number of the North Dakota Fighting Sioux’ top players made a pact after the 2006-07 season to remain on campus and pursue a national title in 2007-08. They did, and the Sioux advanced to this April’s Frozen Four in Denver, where eventual national champion Boston College smashed them in the semis.

Caps’ 2005 first-round draft pick Joe Finley, a junior this season, was a part of that impact core for North Dakota. Such a commitment by the team’s upper classmen will be a lot more difficult for next season, as on Tuesday the St. Louis Blues announced the signing of T.J. Oshie, North Dakota’s leading scorer last season. The Sioux also lose senior starting goaltender Jean-Philippe Lamoureux.

Is this the impetus for Joe Finley to begin his pro career in the Capitals’ organization? If you’re a Hershey Bears’ fan, you sure hope so.

Filed in American Hockey League, College Hockey, Frozen Four, Hershey Bears, Joe Finley, Prospects| Permalink| Comments (0)

2009 Frozen Four Ticket Application Window Open

By The OFB Team
Tuesday, April 1, 2008

While the puck hasn’t been dropped on the 2008 edition of the NCAA Frozen Four in Denver, the NCAA is now accepting applications for tickets for the 2009 Frozen Four in Washington, DC.


ARLINGTON, Va. – The NCAA is accepting ticket applications for the 2009 Frozen Four, which will be held at Verizon Center in Washington, D.C., April 9 and 11, 2009. Tickets for the event – which will be sold out for the ninth straight year when it faces off next week in Denver – are awarded through a lottery system, and applications are being accepted online at the NCAA website (https://ebill.securebills.com/FrozenFour/) from today through June 1, 2008.

The NCAA ticket application process includes a priority system rewarding those who have purchased tickets for previous Frozen Fours, but a number of tickets are set aside for first-time attendees as well. The ticket application process is the only method of purchasing tickets for the general public.

The U.S. Naval Academy, the Greater Washington Sports Alliance and the Washington Capitals will host the 2009 NCAA Frozen Four, which brings the country’s best college hockey players to the nation’s capital for the first time. The Frozen Four is the culmination of the 16-team NCAA tournament.

Here’s the rub, tickets are $177 per seat (2 semifinal games plus the final) and pre-payment is required at the time of the application submission.  Refunds will be issued in mid-August of this year if your application is not selected for tickets.

Filed in College Hockey, Frozen Four, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (2)

2008 Frozen Four

By Gustafsson
Monday, March 31, 2008

The 2008 Frozen Four is set.



The semifinals take place on April 10th with North Dakota defenseman and Washington Capitals’ draft pick Joe Finley skating against Boston College at 6pm EDT. The second game is at 9pm EDT with Michigan against Notre Dame, the only four seed ever to make it to the Frozen Four. Both semifinal games will be televised on ESPN2. The National Championship game is on the 12th at 9pm EDT on ESPN.

After this year in Denver, the Frozen Four moves East to the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C., for the 2009 edition of the Frozen Four.

Filed in College Hockey, Frozen Four, Joe Finley| Permalink| Comments (5)

Virginia Hockey Natives in NCAA Men’s Frozen Four

By OrderedChaos (Mike Rucki)
Tuesday, March 25, 2008

College hockey is about to begin its annual best-of-the-best tournament; two Virginia-born hockey players are gearing up for their respective schools during this weekend’s first round on the way to the NCAA 2008 Men’s Frozen Four.

Sophomore Matt Fairchild, of Ashburn, Va., is a forward for the Air Force Falcons. After 36 games he was fourth on the team in scoring (9-17-26). The Falcons face No. 1 seed Miami (Ohio) on Saturday, March 29, at 4:05 p.m. ET; the game will be televised on ESPN U. According to Fairchild’s bio, his favorite team is the Washington Capitals and favorite player is Alex Ovechkin—choices with which I think we can heartily agree.

Garrett Roe, a forward at St. Cloud State, is a native of Vienna, Va. Roe, a freshman, is already ranked fifth all-time in points-per-game at St. Cloud State, averaging 1.16 points each outing (18-26-44). He was also an invited attendee at the Capitals’ summer camp in 2004 at the age of 16. The Huskies take on Clarkson University on Friday, March 28, at 4:00 p.m. ET, also scheduled for broadcast on ESPN U.

It is heartening to see local-born hockey players playing in college hockey’s ultimate competition—we wish the best of luck to both Fairchild and Roe in the tournament.

[Tap of the stick to OFB reader Big Sexy for the tip]

Filed in College Hockey, Development Camp, Frozen Four, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (6)

The “Other” Bracket - Road to the Frozen Four

By Gustafsson
Monday, March 24, 2008

Here are the matchups for the 2008 NCAA Hockey Championship.


Albany (East)
No. 1 Michigan vs. No. 4 Niagara
No. 2 St. Cloud State vs. No. 3 Clarkson

Colorado Springs (West)
No. 1 New Hampshire vs. No. 4 Notre Dame
No. 2 Colorado College vs. No. 3 Michigan State

Madison (Midwest)
No. 1 North Dakota vs. No. 4 Princeton
No. 2 Denver vs. No. 3 Wisconsin

Worcester (Northeast)
No. 1 Miami vs. No. 4 Air Force
No. 2 Boston College vs. No. 3 Minnesota

This year’s Frozen Four will take place in Denver, Colorado on April 10th and 12th with the First Round on March 28th & 29th and the Quarterfinals on March 29th & 30th.

Filed in College Hockey, Frozen Four| Permalink| Comments (13)

Blame the Rapid Change in Weather for Your Friday “Illness”: Must-See Postseason Puck TV

By pucksandbooks
Friday, March 21, 2008

If you labor in an office setting, you’re no doubt familiar with the “creative” excuses some co-workers have used this week to excuse themselves from work to follow Thursday and Friday play in the NCAA hoops tourney. It’s a common pursuit by the common man.

The uncommon sport’s fan, however, appreciates alternative television viewing this weekend.

College hockey — far less exploitive of its student athletes insomuch as its postseason games, like its regular season ones, are contested on actual weekends — offers this afternoon semifinal play in all of the sport’s power conferences, and there’s ample cable television coverage of it. This year Hockey East (NESN), the CCHA (FSN/FoxCollegeSports), and the WCHA (FSN/FCS) are on TV and available in numerous cable markets and on satellite.

The Caps play only tonight this weekend, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty of great puck to view. If you’re late arriving to the great party that is college hockey, watch a few of these postseason games this weekend, replete with their multiple overtime, sudden-death drama, and you’ll be hooked.

Even if you aren’t feeling under the weather at the moment, it’s a good time of year to take precautionary measures, and extend your rest time this weekend with an early office depature this afternoon.

So start coughing around 2:00 and try this prescription:

(All times Eastern Daylight)

3:00 p.m.: Fox College Sports – WCHA semifinal game 1

4:30 p.m.: Fox College Sports — CCHA semifinal game 1

5:00 p.m.: NESN — Hockey East semifinal Game 1

7:00 p.m.: Fox College Sports — WCHA semifinal game 2

8:00 p.m.: Fox College Sports — CCHA semifinal game 2; NESN — Hockey East semifinal game 2

On Saturday, you can see re-broadcasts of many of Friday’s semifinal games in the afternoon before the finals in the evening. And one or two Saturday night finals’ games will be re-broadcast on Sunday.

Filed in Basketball, College Hockey, Media, Other Sports, TV| Permalink| Comments (5)

A Spiritual Streak Remains Intact, and Adherence to It Pays Off Large

By pucksandbooks
Friday, March 21, 2008

My boss gave me an unpleasant assignment at week’s start: take a reporter to the NCAA basketball opening round’s evening slate at Verizon Center Thursday, for a schmoozing session with the press. That’s unpleasant for me cause it isn’t just that basketball isn’t my bag, but to be in a multi-use venue like Verizon Center and not see the ice sheet saddens my hockey heart. Even if I’m in a big building like the Phone Booth for a rock concert in the dead of summer my thoughts always gravitate to the cement slab covered up for the offseason.

I find monogamy sexy.

Also adding to the inventory of my Thursday melancholy was this consideration: I’d yet to set foot in Verizon Center, since its opening, for a hoops game. This was partly a bias I’d maintained because I’m hardcore about my hockey, but as the middle ’90s of Abe Pollin puck poison yielded to tough times of mess cleaning up by the liberated and Leonsis-led Caps, I developed a deep and lasting resentment for the half-hearted attentions old ownership ever showed the hockey team. And when under false and ludicrous pretenses the old man took away the name of the title-winning basketball team, that was the deal-sealer.

Call it a sh*t list. He and his team ain’t the only one on it. (How sad a thought: there are scores like me around town that have such bans imposed on multiple teams in the region, often for the same reason. We seem to have two extremes of sports team ownership in this town — the really, really commendably, personably engaged and competent, fellas you’d like to have a beer with, and the you-know-whos.)

It was a spiritual, devotional ban-streak I maintained. Cal had his streak, I have mine.

I messaged the reporter, Jeff, intermittently throughout Thursday, setting up a meeting point and dinner arrangements and such. I learned that he hails from Vermont. Which led me to ask him the inevitable question.

“Oh I’d much rather attend a hockey game than basketball,” Jeff told me. “We can use the tickets for a few minutes then go grab some beers,” he added. Suddenly, my evening assignment seemed a lot more pleasant.

My boss, using a boss’ prerogative, attended Thursday afternoon’s session at Verizon Center. He’d forked over some pretty serious dough for the tickets ($600+) and was under the understandable impression that his investment was good for the entirety of Thursday’s games. I found out otherwise at Will Call near 6:00.

When I called my boss to explain the oversight, he was crestfallen with embarrassment. Six hundred dollars (admittedly in pretty premium seating) apparently doesn’t buy what it once did. He made all manner of apologies to me, none of which of course were necessary. I was smiling widely. I assured him that I’d get a hold of Jeff and extend his heartfelt apology.

Then I suggested that we make it up to our reporter friend, at a future date, which at the moment was an immensely easy sell to my boss.

“Jeff is from Vermont and a big nut about hockey like me,” I began. “We do have college hockey’s final four coming to Washington next April. I’m sure Jeff would get a kick out of that.”

“Make it happen,” my boss replied.

Loyalty has its rewards.

Filed in American Hockey League, Basketball, College Hockey, Morning cup-a-joe, Other Sports| Permalink| Comments (1)

INCH Podcast

By The OFB Team
Tuesday, March 11, 2008


No, we’re not referring to a podcast of the Pacino speech from Any Given Sunday, but a weekly podcast from the good folks at Inside College Hockey.

Here is a snippet from yesterday’s podcast where the guys discuss the Caps’ games from the weekend along with an invitation to join the Brooks Laich Fan Club via email.


If you enjoyed the snippet with the Caps talk, you can hear the whole podcast here:

Just make sure you email Gladdy to join the Brooks Laich Fan Club. Remember, he asked for it.

Thanks to resident INCH expert Nate Ewell for the tip.

Filed in Brooks Laich, College Hockey, Donald Brashear, Inside College Hockey, Nate Ewell, Nicklas Backstrom, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (0)

Son of Slap Shot

By The OFB Team
Monday, March 3, 2008

Son of a Hanson brother winning an award for sportsmanship? It’s true:

Filed in College Hockey, Fighting, Hockey, Hockey Movies, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (2)

“Outdoor Hockey Is Beautiful”

By The OFB Team
Monday, January 28, 2008

That’s the sentiment of a couple of Minnesotans behind the making of the documentary ‘Pond Hockey’, now in final editing and awaiting a distributor. The filmmakers believe it’s mere weeks from showing at a theater near you. Eighty minutes of cinema we can’t wait for; sure looks like we have another OFB night at the movies looming. The trailer suggests that the filmmakers have honed in on the heart of the matter:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfTLm6cjCJQ

As you might expect, Minnesota television stations are on this story like black on fresh lake ice. One treatment can be found here. Still another can be found here.   

But it isn’t just in Minnesota where outdoor puck is being pursued these days. Jeff Jackson’s Notre Dame Fighting Irish got swept by no. 1 Michigan last weekend, so on Monday of last week, with his charges’ spirits slumped, he took them outside for practice, where it was a not so balmy 12 degrees. That story is chronicled here. The Irish, incidentally, rebounded and swept Bowling Green this past weekend.    

Update: We heard this afternoon from Andrew Sherburne, ‘Pond Hockey’s’ Producer. The first closed screening for cast and crew will take place in a matter of weeks, while the actual release isn’t quite that close. We’ll keep you informed.

Filed in College Hockey, Hockey Art, Hockey Movies, Hockey Rinks, Hockey Weather, Old Time Hockey, Pond Hockey, Shinny| Permalink| Comments (2)

Prospect Progress on the Farm

By pucksandbooks
Wednesday, January 16, 2008

07-08-10-3-as.jpgVery quietly — though less so after this past weekend — Andrew Gordon is ascending in the hierarchy of Caps’ prospects in his first season of pro hockey. But it hasn’t been all smooth sailing for the smooth-skating rookie this season. Back in the fall, he was demoted to South Carolina.

But he didn’t sulk. He scored. Lots. He tallied 8 goals and 6 assists for the Stingrays in 11 games before being recalled to Hershey early in December. Then he scored lots more Saturday night — a hat trick in the Bears’ 6-4 win over Lake Erie. He ended up being named the AHL’s First Star of Saturday night. He also scored the Bears’ lone goal Sunday in a 3-1 loss to Hartford.

Gordon’s hat trick this past weekend was his first as a pro. His previous one was as a St. Cloud St. sophomore, in a blowout win over Michigan Tech. “I really pick my spots, I guess,” he said with a chuckle.

Gordon, a Caps’ 7th rounder in 2004, has been a prospect favorite of mine from the last few years of my watching him dominate college hockey’s best conference, the WCHA. Gordon’s Huskies were a broadcast favorite of the Fox College Sports package I had at home, and I saw fantastic progress in each of his three seasons at St. Cloud. Gordon scored more than 100 points in his career with the Huskies, and as a junior he was named First Team All-WCHA. Just days after the Caps inked him last April, I asked General Manager George McPhee about his newest asset.

“We think there’s a real chance he can help us as early as next season,” McPhee said.

In 21 games with the Bears, Gordon has 5 goals and 14 assists, meaning that combined with his production in the ECHL, Gordon’s averaging over a point per game in his first year of pro hockey. After Saturday’s breakout performance, he was asked by a reporter what accounted for his turnaround from a disappointing start in Hershey this season.

“Not being afraid to try things,” he said. “I’ll turn a few pucks over, but I try to make plays. It’s a confidence thing. I’m not afraid to go out there on the power play with a lot of minutes and try to make a play . . . and I know Woodie’s [head Coach Bob Woods] gonna have a lot of faith to put me back out there the next power play, the next shift.”

Gordon’s a favorite with the Pennsylvania hockey press corps that covers the Bears. A handful of them took turns assuring me how nice a kid he is and how much they enjoy working with him. One of them described Gordon as “the kind of kid you’d like to see your daughter marry.” He answers all post-game questions patiently and with deliberation and candor and even self-effacing humor. One reporter Saturday wanted to know if this turnaround in his season had caught Gordon blinking his eyes in disbelief.

“I tried to blink my eyes and think twice when I went down [to South Carolina], so there’s a lot of blinking going on,” he joked.

“It’s just another hockey game,” he added. I’ve been doing this since I was four years old.”

His Bears’ teammates passing the newcomer’s Hockey Night in Hershey media hubbub took turns poking fun at it all.

“Somebody’s going up to Washington,” Louis Robitaille needled as he passed. Chris Bourque offered a crack about the rookie getting a big head.

The post-game press pack that surrounded Gordon Saturday night might have been new to him, but I got the feeling his future was going to include more of them.

A sidebar to Saturday night’s breakout party for Gordon was Eric Fehr’s return to the team after being out nine months with a frustratingly slow-healing compressed nerve affecting his lower back and hip. He sat out the middle game of a three-game weekend, but he told me that his first two games had him feeling pretty good and strong.

“I didn’t want to rush back too quickly and play all three games this weekend. I gotta get back up to speed — when you’re tired, that’s when injuries happen,” he said.

Fehr’s injury was rare and laden with setbacks. I asked him if his physicians had said anything to him about a likelihood of recurrence, or if his treatment and rehab and the nature of the injury made it more likely that it was beaten back once and for all.

fehre1-w.jpg

“From what I know I think it’s the kind of injury that’s very rare, you don’t see a lot, and from what the doctors say they think it won’t be coming back. It’s such a freak thing it’d be tough to come by it twice, I think.”

I also wanted to know what kind of goals Fehr might have after missing so much hockey, missing training camp and attempting to join a surging team smack in the middle of a season.

“For the next couple of games I think it’s just get up to speed, get back in shape and try to produce offense for this team, and after I start feeling better I’ll maybe re-evaluate and maybe set a goal for the rest of the season.”

I asked him if hockey in Washington this season was in his thoughts at all these days.

“In the back of your mind you wanna get into Washington — that’s the goal of every player that plays in the AHL is to get called up, and I’m no different. Right now though I just gotta focus on competing and playing at a high level in Hershey.”

Filed in American Hockey League, Andrew Gordon, College Hockey, Eric Fehr, Hershey Bears, Prospects, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (2)

Woe Is US: A Rebuilding Team U.S.A at the World Juniors

By pucksandbooks
Friday, December 14, 2007

December offers a particularly terrific gift for hockey fans — the World Junior Championships, or what many in hockey regard as the greatest of hockey tournaments. This year’s Worlds will be contested in the Czech Republic, with the U.S. opening on December 26 against Kasakhstan. The Canadians this week conducted their determinative evaluation camp, and the results are in: Caps’ property Karl Alzner and Josh Godfrey will represent the three-time defending champions. In fact, Alzner is a candidate to captain the team. Mathieu Perreault, another invitee, was returned to Acadie Bathurst. The Canadians, as ever, will be strong and pre-tourney favorites. They will lack the elite starpower of championship years past, but they will have no rivals in roster depth.

The United States, however, is confronting a hard reality with this year’s tournament: they are victims of their own development success. Typically, even the highest of NHL draft picks rarely makes his drafting team’s roster in his draft year, but that’s precisely what’s happened with Patrick Kane (Chicago), whose dominant performance in last year’s WJC launched him toward elite status for this past June’s draft. Additionally, 2006 no. 1 overall pick Erik Johnson, eligible for this year’s Worlds, is busy patrolling the St. Louis Blues’ blueline. And another 2006 American draft gem and WJC eligible, Peter Mueller, is having a solid rookie season for Wayne Gretzky’s Phoenix Coyotes.

I had a chance this week to chat a bit with an NHL scout I interviewed here last year, one whose coverage is with the U.S. college ranks, and the impact of Johnson’s and Kane’s absenses to the Americans this month was, to him, crystal clear. The Americans are lunchpalers without them and gold medal gamers with them.

USA Hockey Logo
USA Hockey Logo
The Americans won’t be devoid of talent, but heavy burdens will fall principally on James Van Riemsdyk (New Hampshire; Philadelphia) and Kyle Okposo (Minnesota; NY Islanders). They have decent skill on the blueline, but then there’s perhaps the team’s biggest concern — in goal. That’s where things may get ugly for the U.S.

pucksandbooks: To the layman’s eye, this looks to be as weak a team as the U.S. has fielded at the World Jrs. in years. Fair impression?

NHL Scout: Team USA is severely hampered this year by guys like Johnson and Kane being in the NHL and unable to play. Add those two and you’ve got a completely different team. Overall, this is a team that lacks high end skill outside of Van Riemsdyk and possibly Okposo (who I see often here in Minnesota) and Schroeder. For some perspective, I don’t think anyone but Van Riemsdyk would crack Canada’s Top 6 forwards. Teams are going to be able to focus their best checking line exclusively on Van Riemsdyk. Add Kane, and you could break the two up and make teams pick their poison. If Okposo and Van Riemsdyk don’t play together, there will be a lot of pressure on Okposo to take the heat off of Van Riemsdyk.

pucksandbooks: A reasonably likely U.S. lineup would look like . . . ?

NHL Scout:

Jordan Schroeder-Colin Wilson-James Van Riemsdyk
Rhett Rakshani-Kyle Okposo-Max Pacioretty
Tyler Ruegsegger-Mike Carman-Bill Sweatt
Ryan Flynn-Matt Rust-Blake Geoffrion

Bobby Sanguinetti-Ian Cole
Jonathon Blum-Jamie McBain
Kevin Montgomery-Bill Strait

Jeremy Smith
Joe Palmer

Doing the power play and penalty kills would be difficult, because it depends on the coach’s thoughts. If they want a big guy in front to take up space, Flynn might be a PP guy. If they go all skill, Flynn might not see a minute of PP time the entire tournament. Watch for some combination of Sanguinetti, Blum, Montgomery, and Schroeder to run the point on the PP. Strait, Cole, and McBain will see a great deal of penalty kill time.

pucksandbooks: A followup — Looking at the team, are there any of the fringe players that you felt could have been replaced by other players?

NHL Scout: Team USA will probably be judged by how some of these fringe players play. They took Ryan Flynn over Eric Tangradi. Most scouts I’ve talked to were shocked by that, as Tangradi gives you the same size and same physical play, but with better skating and hands. Flynn is just a fourth liner, Tangradi could fit in on the second line.

They took Cade Fairchild, Chris Summers and Kevin Montgomery over Kevin Shattenkirk, Ryan McDonagh, Zach Bogosian, and Mike Ratchuk. Fairchild probably will not end up playing much. He’s a very good college defenseman and his inclusion is probably more about preparing him for next year, when he should make the team. But the other three college defensemen named are pretty good themselves. I’ve heard Shattenkirk has been up and down this year, but he was a high first round pick, comes from the [USNDTP] program, and possesses great offensive abilities. McDonagh is similar, although he’s a little more of a two-way guy than Fairchild, with a little less offense. Ratchuk and Fairchild are very similar, except for the fact that Ratchuk’s older, bigger, more developed, and won a National Championship this year. I haven’t seen much of Montgomery since he left Michigan, but I know he was a fringe pick that many Canadian scouts aren’t that high on.

Summers is Team USA getting a little cute. He spends some time at forward and some at defense, although I’ve been told that Phoenix will make him a full time forward when he gets out. I’m not sure I understand the pick — it’s not like you’re building for a long season and the versatility is nice. There are better defensemen than him, and better forwards than him . . . why not take one of them? Now they have 8 D and only 12 forwards . . . what are the odds of having to use 8 D?

They took a forward in Carman who hasn’t played a game this year. Now, I really like Carman as a player and I know he’s been there before. But he’s going to be rusty at first. Is there someone I would have taken over him? I don’t know for sure, but they better hope he’s in playing shape.

pucksandbooks: How bad in the goaltending situation?

NHL Scout: Smith is a very solid, if unspectacular goalie. I was surprised they took Palmer over Unice. Palmer has an .880 save percentage in the NCAA. One scout who does exclusively college hockey told me he thought Palmer was one of the worst goalies in the college game. I don’t see as much college as he does, but the game I saw Ohio State play Palmer cost him the game. Team USA pretty clearly went with a college goalie because they want to encourage kids to play college hockey instead of going to Canada. They took a college kid who came up through the NTDP, so they’re comfortable with him and his personality. I would say Team USA better hope Smith stays healthy.

pucksandbooks: Who if anyone lurks as a sleeper American prospect as we’ve seen with the likes of Kane and VanRiemsdyk and Kessel in years past?

NHL Scout: Colin Wilson is the only draft eligible player on the roster. He is a smart, developed, tough player, but he isn’t flashy like the guys you listed. Schroeder is available in 2009. Pacioretty was a high pick, but I think he’ll really come into his own in this tournament. I would keep an eye on him.

pucksandbooks: Is it Canada’s tournament to lose?

NHL Scout: Probably, yes. Canada is deep enough that they can afford to lose guys like Toews and Gagner. The U.S. is not as talented. That said, it’s an emotional, pressure-filled tournament. I think Team USA thinks they have hard working, character kids who will work hard and not concede anything. I don’t think this is a team that will get blown out much, but they won’t blow anyone out either. They’ll need second line scoring to emerge, and they’ll have to hope Smith can make big saves when it matters.

Filed in American Hockey, CHL, College Hockey, IIHF, Josh Godfrey, Karl Alzner, Mathieu Perreault, WJC, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (2)

Mean Joe Finley — Even Meaner?

By pucksandbooks
Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Joe Finley
Joe Finley
The Wisconsin State Journal this week has a detailed account of the mayhem the North Dakota Fighting Sioux directed at freshman phenom Kyle Turris of the Wisconsin Badgers this past weekend. Turris, the third overall pick of the 2007 draft by Phoenix, is an understandable target of old-time attention one month into the college hockey season: he’s been perhaps the most impressive and dominant first-year performer, piling up 14 points in 8 games thus far. He’s third in the nation in scoring, behind a pair of St. Cloud State teammates: Ryan Lasch and Vienna, Va.’s Garrett Roe, also a freshman. They have 17 points in 10 games.

The Fighting Sioux have their share of dominating forwards, including last year’s Hobey Baker winner Ryan Duncan. Nonetheless, they made like their namesakes last weekend, as the Journal notes:

“In the first period of the series opener Friday, won 4-0 by UW, Turris was walloped at the offensive blue line by Fighting Sioux junior defenseman Joe Finley, a fellow NHL first-rounder (Washington) who is listed at 6-foot-7 and 245 pounds . . .

“Things escalated in the second game . . . Finley literally tackled Turris along the right boards . . .”

Not content to make life miserable for skilled Badgers on the ice, Big Joe apparently got rough off it, too:

“. . . a UW official confirmed that Finley allegedly used his stick to smack Bucky Badger in the leg when the two passed one another on the runway to the dressing rooms Saturday night.”

He can’t get to D.C. fast enough for me.

Filed in College Hockey, Joe Finley, Old Time Hockey, Prospects| Permalink| Comments (4)

College Hockey Kicks Off a New Season

By pucksandbooks
Sunday, October 14, 2007

On the professional sheets of ice, there wasn’t much to get excited about this weekend for Caps’ fans — the Caps and Hershey Bears went a combined 0-for-three Friday and Saturday. However, college hockey kicked off its new season, and at this time of year on campus there are often some intriguing non-conference matchups (pre-season consensus no. 1 North Dakota vs. defending national champ Michigan State, for instance) and some tournaments rich in tradition.

A big winner this weekend was the Ohio State Buckeyes, who won the Lefty McFadden Tournament, which featured Wisconsin and Notre Dame. Wisconsin may boast the best incoming class of freshmen in the country, led by 2007 third-overall pick (Phoenix) Kyle Turris. Turris had two goals and two assists in two games for the Badgers this weekend. The marquee matchup of the weekend turned out to be a mismatch, as Joe Finley’s North Dakota Fighting Sioux walloped MSU 6-0 at the Ralph.

Vienna, Va.’s, Garrett Roe, a freshman at St. Cloud St., notched two goals in the Huskie’s 7-0 smashing of Canisius Friday night. And Union netminder Justin Mzarek, a senior and an eighth-round pick of the Caps in 2004, blanked Ferris State 2-0 this weekend.

Inside College Hockey Online offers readers a valuable and fun read in its season-opening assesment of “The Great 58 + 1″ D-I hockey teams. Here’s how ICHO’s top 15 breaks down:

  1. North Dakota
  2. Boston College
  3. Miami
  4. Michigan State
  5. Clarkson
  6. Notre Dame
  7. New Hampshire
  8. Minnesota
  9. Boston University
  10. Denver
  11. Colorado College
  12. Michigan
  13. Quinnipiac
  14. Maine
  15. Wisconsin
Filed in College Hockey| Permalink| Comments (1)

The Andrews in Action

By The OFB Team
Sunday, September 9, 2007

Thanks to Nate Ewell, Larry Radloff and everyone else at InsideCollegeHockey.com for this excellent photo of Washington Capitals prospects Andrew Joudrey (Wisconsin - #24) and Andrew Gordon (St. Cloud State - #17).

Captials Prospects - Andrew Joudrey (Wisconsin) and Andrew Gordon (St. Cloud State)
Captials Prospects - Andrew Joudrey (Wisconsin) and Andrew Gordon (St. Cloud State)

Photo by Larry Radloff / InsideCollogeHockey.com
Filed in College Hockey, Nate Ewell, Prospects, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (0)

Should Washington Have Major Junior Hockey? You Bet

By pucksandbooks
Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Cup'pa Joe
Cup'pa Joe
In 2007-08, the United States Hockey League will welcome its 13th franchise into league play: Fargo, North Dakota (as of this writing unmascoted) will join the buzz-generating development league, skating in a brand-new 5,000-seat rink. The team will be led by former Fighting Sioux bench boss legend Dean Blais, who’ll serve as coach and GM. Blais led UND to national championships in 1997 and 2000. Not a bad resume for a USHL coach.

The USHL was established in 1961 and briefly hosted professional hockey players. It returned to its present fully amateur status in 1979. By virtue of its amateur status it has a leg up on attracting prime young talent these days, as players can skate there a year or two and retain their NCAA eligibility. CHLers, of course, forfeit their NCAA eligibility.

The USHL languished in obscurity until about 2000, about which time American participation in hockey began extending well beyond its traditional geographical locales. Today the USHL isn’t quite a full-fledged rival as a development league for the CHL — but it isn’t as far behind as you might imagine. Dean Blais’ joining the party suggests as much. But don’t take my word for it; check out the league’s link to the lengthy list of players drafted by NHL clubs just this decade.

The league is concentrated compactly in small outposts of winter-sports-challenged regions of the upper Midwest: basically, Nebraska and Iowa, plus franchises in Chicago, Green Bay, Indianapolis, and Columbus. Its rosters are being fed increasingly by Sunbelt States who exposure to NHL hockey is leading to dramatic and unprecedented spikes in youth hockey participation. But don’t take my word for it; check out Inside College Hockey Online’s “State of the Game” breakdown from last season on the U.S. origins of D-I hockey players. Thirty two Californians skated on D-I teams last season. Increasingly the USHL is serving as a fruitful apprenticeship between Midget and top-level intercollegiate hockey in the States.

The pipeline for Major Junior hockey talent in the States is irrefutably promising and on the upswing. And at present, in its tiny geographical haven, the USHL is cluttering, virtually annually, the NHL Entry Draft’s top few rounds, leading a lot of folks in American hockey circles today to ask this question: what would happen if the USHL continued to expand . . . especially if it went to the unconquered, comparatively hockey-mad East?

Fargo, incidentally, boasts a population of 74,000. Washington of course isn’t anywhere near as hockey-crazed (except in its per capita tally of puck bloggers); it hasn’t, for instance, hosted a World Under-20 tourney. But soon it is hosting a Frozen Four, and with a GMA population exceeding 5 million, does D.C. really need to be puck crazy to support another hockey team? This is a region that has, with reasonable success, hosted an AHL franchise (in Baltimore) in the past. Worth noting, I think, that attendance was strong at both the Baltimore and Landover arenas during many of those years.

My theory-dream here is premised on far more than a selfish interest in expanding my access points to live hockey. I think it’s in the Capitals’ best interest to see more high-caliber hockey take root in the region. Just as hockey players need development leagues, so too do fans: millions of puck-uninitiated in these parts need an affordable access point to the fast-paced and poorly-covered-by-the-press game on ice. Too many families today simply cannot afford NHL hockey. I still want them in hockey rinks; get them there and they’ll get hooked, and hooked hockey fans will find their ways into Verizon Center eventually.

Philly spectacularly supports both the Flyers and the Phantoms, and my wager is that if the USHL placed a franchise there it’d thrive as well. A USHL team, with its unsalaried rosters, needn’t fill as many seats as CHL clubs to reap profits. And like the CHL, the USHL contests its games disproportionately on weekends. Try marketing quality live Friday and Saturday night hockey in an intimate setting in these parts and charge an admission of, say, $15 and $20, and see who comes out and salutes it.

This hypothesis becomes more intriguing when you consider greater Washington’s fast-rising status as a puck-talent-producing region. Vienna, Va.’s, Garrett Roe skated last season for the USHL’s Indiana Ice (63 points in 57 games). Marylander Phil Axtell, now entering his sophomore season at Michigan Tech, skated for Cedar Rapids. If he’d had the opportunity to remain at home and skate for a hometown team in the USHL, would Luke Lynes have migrated all the way up to the OHL’s Brampton Batallion?

Yes Washington is in its infancy as a hockey playing capital, but its achievements in a short period of time are nothing short of remarkable. One of the more intriguing stories I’ve heard at area rinks this summer relates to DeMatha’s emergence as a hockey recruiting force. There are high school teams way up north, the account goes, that today want nothing to do with the Stags.

Having a Junior team compete here, and bolster hockey’s general profile, is the logical evolution of our game that is fast growing among D.C.’s athletic families.

Filed in American Hockey, Area Youth Hockey, College Hockey, Entry Draft, Morning cup-a-joe, National Hockey League| Permalink| Comments (12)

Seeking a Frozen Fountain of Youth

By pucksandbooks
Thursday, August 16, 2007

Icy Hot
Icy Hot
Light a candle tonight for the welfare and recovery of an aged hockey player. I’ve had five days to prepare for my arrival on summer ice among and against a band of contemporary collegiate hockey players, as a beer leaguer who’s literally double their ages. The goal is simple: survive.

There is quality professional summer hockey taking place at Kettler Capitals this week, and across the Potomac, at the Cabin John Ice Rink in Montgomery County, there is quality amateur hockey also taking place, sullied a bit by my presence (a blogger double the age of the collegians). This misadventure is one part morbid curiosity (can I hang at all?) and one part fleeting vanity (do I possess still any moves that might elicit from my youthful ice mates age-dismissing praise?). I also thought it might be fun to chronicle.

Every summer at virtually every rink there are summer camps for hockey youths. This week at Cabin John, the Sport International Hockey Academy is guiding Montgomery youths through their puck paces. “40 hours of non-stop hockey” for ages 6-17 is how the camp advertises its week. The camp’s counselors are comprised of D-II and D-III flatbellies from Northeast colleges; I’ll be attempting to last a mere two hours in their company tonight.

Spending their mornings and afternoons with ankle-biters and many skating novices, the counselors are understandably starved for some serious ice time come evening. They also want to stay in shape. That’s where I come in. I take a Sunday shift at CJ on the Zamboni, and I am empowered with keys to the facility. Weekday evenings there in the summer are pretty much dead by 8:00. See where this is going?

Have I mentioned the advantage of youth these collegians will have on me?

Until this week I hadn’t been on the ice all summer. Worse, my off-ice summer training regimen has consisted largely of lifting draft Vogels. I’ve gone Tkachuk. Last weekend I made two trips to the gym to jumpstart my aerobic qualifications for tonight. But that’s like changing the oil on a ‘78 Chrysler Town&Country for a cross-country cruise to Cali.

Cup'pa Joe
Cup'pa Joe

On Monday night, I shared Cabin John’s minature studio rink with a beer league teammate, where we tossed the biscuit around a bit and got our feet used to being in skates again. A bit “winded” we were, early on, on that small surface.

Hit the gym again last night. There’s no small victory in these bursts of renewed fitness activity that haven’t already produced injury. I’ve also thrown down a bit of a nutritional gauntlet this week: no Dairy Queen, and wheat tortillas with my burritos. Last Friday night I tried Rolling Rock Light with my home movie viewing. The horror in the bottle was more terrifying than ShowtimeBeyond. (Under the category perhaps of wedding re-gifting, I still have five bottles to donate to any OFB reader.)

The odds are overwhelming, I think, that about 20 minutes into tonight’s skate I’ll be UpTkachuking.

But there’s no turning back. I’m treating tonight as a seminal moment in my hockey career. This autumn delivers one of those calamitous, ending-in-zero birthdays for me, a widely acknowledged crossroads between sun-setting athletic viability and out-to-pasture, well-past-prime leisure pursuits that quietly are lamented by the young in rinks. Tonight I will learn where Coach Life is slotting me on my shifts in 2007-’08: grinding on the fourth line with other grey-hair-eds or still hopping the boards for second power play unit potency.

Filed in Area Youth Hockey, College Hockey, Frivolous Summer File, Hockey Rinks, Kettler Capitals Iceplex, Morning cup-a-joe, Shinny| Permalink| Comments (3)

Seabrook leaves Pioneers, becomes a Hitman

By OFB
Monday, July 30, 2007

Keith Seabrook
Keith Seabrook
Defenseman Keith Seabrook, drafted by the Caps in 2006 (52nd overall), has decided to leave the Denver Pioneers to join Kelly Kisio’s Calgary Hitmen. The offensive blueliner will join Caps’ 2007 first round pick Karl Alzner in Calgary’s defensive corps.

Seabrook, the younger brother of the Chicago Blackhawks Brent Seabrook, had completed his freshman season for Denver, scoring 2 goals to go with 11 assists in 37 games for Denver. It’s expected that he will log big minutes for the Hitmen, and will be counted on to work significant time on the power play.

Filed in CHL, College Hockey, Karl Alzner, Keith Seabrook, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (7)
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