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February 8, 2010
The Hockey News has been providing the most comprehensive coverage of the world of hockey since 1947. In each issue, you'll find news, features and opinions about the NHL and leagues across North America and the world.
NY Rangers
NEW YORK’S top prospects in Hartford (AHL) are Evgeny Grachev, Chad Johnson and Bobby Sanguinetti. Grachev projects as a top-six power forward. The 6-foot-4 left winger, who turns 20 in February, struggled with his AHL transition and has been streaky after a solid camp. Johnson, a poised 23-year-old goalie, might back up Henrik Lundqvist next year. Since Steve Valiquette was demoted, Johnson has started his first two NHL games. He shuttles to Hartford to stay sharp when the Rangers are off. Sanguinetti, a 2006 first-rounder, played a couple NHL games when Wade Redden was injured. With a defense-minded partner, he has a future as a second-pair blueliner.…
NOT THIS TIME
Injuries are taking their toll on Belarus as Mikhail Grabovski and Andrei Kostitsyn, two of the nation’s four NHLers, are questionable for the tournament. Without those two offensive dynamos, the chances of Belarus pulling off another monumental upset dwindles from barely plausible to nearly impossible. Sergei Kostitsyn, who has struggled to produce at the NHL level, will carry the burden of a team stricken with stone hands. Seven Belarussians play with Dynamo Minsk of the KHL, but the highest scorer from that group is defenseman Vladimir Denisov. The loss of firepower will be put more pressure on the defense and goalie Andrei Mezin. For a country that joined the IIHF in 1992, Mezin is as close to legendary in the community as you can get. He tended the net for the upset…
San Jose
THE SHARKS’ pool of prospects at Worcester (AHL) is as deep as its ever been, according to GM Doug Wilson. Topping the list is center Logan Couture, drafted ninth overall in 2007. In his rookie pro season, he has averaged more than a point per game. Couture, 20, might not be a top-line candidate in San Jose, but he will fit in just about anywhere else. Couture hasn’t played as many NHL games as some of the Sharks’ other forward prospects, but there’s a reason. “We want players to establish themselves and ripen a little bit,” Wilson said. On defense, San Jose is high on Derek Joslin, 22, for his versatility and Mike Moore, 25, for his physicality and leadership.…
THE ULTIMATE FACEOFF in VANCOUVER
PITTSBURGH – Hockey is a team game and there’s no ‘I’ in team, blah, blah, blah. Yeah, we get all that. Of course it helps that we seem to get clobbered over the head with that concept every time someone in hockey has the audacity to step out of the confines and threatens to be an individual. Yeah, we understand that Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin will not be the only ones who decide which team wins the gold medal in Vancouver. In fact, depending upon how things unfold through the course of the tournament, the two of them might not ever be under the big top at the same time during the five ring circus. For my money, the greatest and most compelling hockey event ever was not the 1972 Summit…
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