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.

May 24, 2010

The Hockey News - May-24-10

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IN THIS ISSUE

the DIRTY DOZEN

<div class="byline">&#x2013; RYAN KENNEDY</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0012-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-021725/9492931-1-eng-US/f0012-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Having Hal Gill on the ice means fewer shots make it through to the Montreal net.</b> <span class="photo-credit">(RICHARD WOLOWICZ/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-012199/9492938-1-eng-US/f0012-012.jpg" title="f0012-01" width="133" height="133"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>N</span>OT THAT THE</b> regular season is completely meaningless, but when the playoffs begin and the Stanley Cup is within sniffing distance, everyone goes the extra mile to get the chance at hoisting the grail.</p><p>As Dallas Stars defenseman Stephane Robidas so succinctly puts it: &ldquo;You gotta suck it up and play with the pain.&rdquo;</p><p>Barely halfway through this year&rsquo;s Cup tourney, we&rsquo;ve already seen Chicago&rsquo;s Brian Campbell come back early from a broken collar-bone and Boston&rsquo;s Marc Savard take to the ice immediately after being medically cleared from a serious concussion.</p><p>&ldquo;I broke my nose against Detroit (in 2008),&rdquo; Robidas recalled. &ldquo;My breathing wasn&rsquo;t the same, but the rest was fine.&rdquo;</p><p>And that&rsquo;s the name of the game in the playoffs: sacrifice.</p><p>Players grit through injuries by any means necessary, knowing there&rsquo;s a long summer ahead if they fall short. But behind every good Stanley Cup team, there&rsquo;s also a great training staff.</p><p>Tim Clark is the head trainer for the Anaheim Ducks and was an integral part of that team&rsquo;s 2007 title, keeping guys on the ice &ndash; or at least getting them back as soon as possible.</p><p>&ldquo;Chris Kunitz broke his hand in the first game against Detroit (in the conference final),&rdquo; Clark said. &ldquo;We got him to where he was functional by Game 4 of the final. He had to be tough to do that.&rdquo;</p><p>Kunitz was a key member of the top line in Anaheim, while on the back end, the Ducks couldn&rsquo;t have done it without Chris Pronger. But they almost had to.</p><p>&ldquo;Pronger sprained his shoulder in Game 1 of the final,&rdquo; Clark noted. &ldquo;He was pretty sore after (Anaheim won the Cup). He couldn&rsquo;t even hold a beer up.&rdquo;</p><p>Clark and his training compatriots have a lot of tricks of the trade they use to keep guys on the ice as much as possible. Hemostats, such as SURGICEL, are blood-clotting products that allow trainers to mend wounds from high sticks much quicker than normal, while Steri-Strip bandages can be used instead of stitches, meaning players may only miss one shift after getting gashed.</p><p>&ldquo;There&rsquo;s all sorts of powders and gels that can stop the bleeding,&rdquo; Clark said. &ldquo;If we can suture at the end of the period or end of the game, we&rsquo;ll do that.&rdquo;</p><p>According to Clark, a lot of his job involves mind over matter; if players feel comfortable, they&rsquo;ll play better, so he tries to give them as much of a mental edge as possible. To that end, he&rsquo;ll sometimes employ individual handheld oxygen tanks, like the ones found at spas, to give players a boost on the bench.</p><p>But players are going to get hurt during Cup runs and sometimes there isn&rsquo;t much a trainer can do. One of the bigger sacrifices seen in the post-season is the practice of shot-blocking, which goes from a specialty amongst rugged blueliners and third-liners to anyone with a functional pair of shin pads and some gumption.</p><p>&ldquo;I think that&rsquo;s something that changes in the playoffs,&rdquo; Robidas said. &ldquo;That desperation level rises. To me, that&rsquo;s something that could be the difference between winning and losing. It could have been a game-changer, it could have changed the series.&rdquo;</p><p>Robidas cites a couple of fellow tough-as-nails French Canadians as top moving targets.</p><p>&ldquo;Guy Carbonneau was one of the best,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Stephane Yelle, too. They had that two-pad stack. You don&rsquo;t see many of those anymore. It&rsquo;s more about getting in shooting lanes.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-011940/9492924-1-eng-US/f0013-012.jpg" title="f0013-01" width="1530" height="1497"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Philadelphia&rsquo;s Ian Laperriere fought the puck and the puck won.</b> <span class="photo-credit">(JIM MCISAAC/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>A good example of that is for the shot-blocker to hedge to one side, allowing the goalie to do his job unabated.</p><p>&ldquo;If the shooter has the puck on the half-wall, for example, you take the far side away,&rdquo; Robidas revealed. &ldquo;The goalie then hugs the post and takes the inside. If the (shooter) is smart, he won&rsquo;t even bother taking a shot, he&rsquo;ll look for other options.&rdquo;</p><p>But it is a dangerous practice. Philadelphia&rsquo;s Ian Laperriere was lost for the remainder of the post-season after taking a puck in the face while blocking a shot; not even the first time it had happened to the grizzled vet. Robidas says taking one in the mug is the worst-case scenario.</p><p>&ldquo;I got lucky,&rdquo; he said of his rubber-on-flesh run-in, &ldquo;I just got a deep cut in my chin.&rdquo;</p><p>Even if it looks like a clumsy art, shot-blocking certainly has a form that needs to be followed in order to be at least somewhat pain-free.</p><p>&ldquo;I have a bad habit,&rdquo; Robidas admitted. &ldquo;I open up my skate to block it and that&rsquo;s the worst (when you get hit).&rdquo;</p><p>The Dallas veteran also warned of what can happen when a shot-blocker doesn&rsquo;t have his technique down.</p><p>&ldquo;If the puck gets between your legs,&rdquo; he cautioned, &ldquo;then you&rsquo;re screening your goalie.&rdquo;</p><p>And the only thing more terrifying than a slapshot coming at you is a goalie who just gave up a goal on a shot he couldn&rsquo;t see.</p><h2><b>OVERALL</b></h2><h3><b>SHOTS BLOCKED PER GAME</b></h3><p><b>REGULAR SEASON</b></p><p><b>13.6</b></p><p><b>LEADERS SB/PG</b></p><p>ANDY SUTTON 2.8</p><p>ANTON VOLCHENKOV 2.7</p><p>DENNIS SEIDENBERG 2.7</p><p>KEITH BALLARD 2.5</p><p>BRETT CLARK 2.5</p><p><b>2010 PLAYOFFS</b></p><p><b>15.7</b></p><p><b>LEADERS SB/PG</b></p><p>ANTON VOLCHENKOV 5.3</p><p>HAL GILL 4.1</p><p>CHRIS PRONGER 3.4</p><p>BRENT SOPEL 3.4</p><p>ALEX EDLER 3<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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IN EVERY ISSUE

CUP GLORY AIN’T FREE

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0051-03" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0051-03153/9494523-1-eng-US/f0051-032.jpg"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0051-02219/9494530-1-eng-US/f0051-022.jpg" title="f0051-02" width="119" height="118"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p><i>1 year</i>&nbsp;of The Hockey News including the Yearbook and Future Watch</p><p>Daily email newsletter FREE Full digital edition FREE</p><p>NHL<sup>&reg;</sup> team swivel key chain of your choice FREE</p><p><a href="http://THN.com">THN.com</a> in now available as a FREE download on mobile devices</p><p>Download the application today at <a href="http://thn.mobi">thn.mobi</a></p><p>Visit <a href="http://TheHockeyNews.com">thehockeynews.com</a> to subscribe now!<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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Your Inside Edge

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0014-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-021631/9492990-1-eng-US/f0014-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Once revered, Montreal fans now seem very similar to everyone else.</b></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-012172/9492997-1-eng-US/f0014-012.jpg" title="f0014-01" width="207" height="245"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>M</span>ONTREAL &ndash;</b> Just like Texas, everything is bigger in the playoffs. How else can you explain the hero worship Brooks Laich received when he played auto mechanic for two stranded fans after his Washington Capitals were ousted in the first round?</p><p>If you didn&rsquo;t know any better, you&rsquo;d swear Laich had just taken time off from tending to orphans in Calcutta long enough to dive into the Potomac River to save two drowning women. Are athletes really such overpaid, pompous jerks that when they perform a simple act of human kindness they&rsquo;re seemingly nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize?</p><p>He changed a tire, people. A frickin&rsquo; tire. (This, by the way, is not an indictment of Laich, a genuinely good person who did a good deed and never asked for it to be blown wildly out of proportion.)</p><p>Which brings up the point about everything being magnified during the NHL&rsquo;s post-season. Nowhere is that more apparent than in Montreal in the springtime when the Canadiens are showing signs of life.</p><p>To walk about the Bell Centre during the playoffs is nothing short of an assault on the senses. Hate to be the Grinch here, but the noise, noise, noise, noise is deafening. The music blares outside the rink and people dance and drink and carry on and throw up near the statue of Maurice Richard. Women wearing clothes that couldn&rsquo;t possibly be tighter walk around with stop signs that say &lsquo;Halak.&rsquo; They wear big foam fingers. They are a sea of red sweaters and they respond on command when the scoreboard tells them FAITES DU BRUIT! (Translation: MAKE SOME NOISE!) The same city that watched the likes of Howie Morenz, Rocket Richard, Jean Beliveau and Guy Lafleur in their primes now chants P.K. Subban&rsquo;s name when he spins off a check from Alexei Ponikarovsky. They chant <i>Ole&hellip;Ole, Ole, Ole</i> in the second period of a scoreless game.</p><p>Which begs the question, when exactly did the good people of Montreal begin losing their minds over a team that just squeaked into the playoffs and engineered one monumental upset? (Of course, Montreal is not alone here. The city of Vancouver declared April 27 to be Canucks Day in response to the team winning one playoff round.)</p><p>But then a thought occurred. Most of the revelers in Montreal are young people in their 20s and 30s. So let&rsquo;s suppose the average zealot is 25 years old. That means that unless his/her memory goes back to the age of one, he/she has a recollection of exactly one Stanley Cup parade down Rue Ste-Catherine and that was when he/she was eight years old.</p><p>The Canadiens have always used their illustrious history as currency, as well as any organization in professional sports. The only problem is that history is becoming less and less relevant to the people who pledge their allegiance now.</p><p>Take Philippe Thibeault, for example. He&rsquo;s a 19-year-old nursing assistant who has absolutely no recollection of a Stanley Cup parade. The closest he can get to the glory years these days is to pay five bucks to get into the Canadiens Hall of Fame, conveniently located near Section 102.</p><p>&ldquo;All my friends are the same,&rdquo; said Thibeault, who was wearing a T-shirt that said &lsquo;Tomas Jagr&rsquo; with a picture of Tomas Plekanec with the famous Jagr mullet.</p><p>Not far away is Dean Kalaidjian, who was occupying the standing room section of The Forum when the Canadiens last won the Stanley Cup. He waited in line overnight and paid $17 for his ticket. Now thousands of fans go online to snap up the remaining ducats for six or seven times that amount, at least.</p><blockquote class="pullQuote"><b>&lsquo;I HATE TO SAY THIS, BUT IT&rsquo;S GETTING MORE LIKE TORONTO&rsquo;</b></blockquote><p>&ldquo;The big thing I notice is that fans are a lot less respectful,&rdquo; Kalaidjian said. &ldquo;It used to be (ex-Nordique) Richard Brodeur would come in here and stop 45 shots for a shutout and people would be cheering him at the end of the game. Now it&rsquo;s &lsquo;Ovechkin sucks&rsquo; and &lsquo;Crosby sucks.&rsquo; All they do is boo now.&rdquo;</p><p>Now what these kids need to do is go see their parents and grandparents and immediately have their ears boxed &ndash; or at least get slapped upside the head. This is not how fans of the Habs act. At least, not how they used to.</p><p>Jack Todd, a longtime columnist with the Montreal <i>Gazette</i>, also notices the difference in culture. At the end of one game, a fan up in the cheap sets hurled a twoonie at him so hard it hit his laptop and broke it.</p><p>&ldquo;I hate to say this, but it&rsquo;s getting more like Toronto,&rdquo; Todd said. &ldquo;In 1974 and &rsquo;75, you would look at the Philadelphia Flyers fans and the Canadiens fans and there was a very clear demarcation between them. Now they&rsquo;re pretty much the same as everyone else. They like to say Montreal is a hockey town, but it&rsquo;s becoming more and more a Canadiens town.&rdquo;</p><p>To be sure, you have to mourn the passing of what was a city so used to winning that the team would employ &ldquo;the usual parade route&rdquo; and their fans seemed above it all.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-021351/9492983-1-eng-US/f0015-022.jpg" title="f0015-02" width="1530" height="1101"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Many young Habs fans have yet to experience a once-common Cup parade.</b> <span class="photo-credit">(RICHARD WOLOWICZ/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>But the Canadiens being relevant and successful in the post-lockout era is good for the game in a lot of ways, the same way a strong Chicago Blackhawks franchise helps. It certainly is good for the league and its players, who reap about $3 million in hockey-related revenues for every home game. It&rsquo;s great for the Canadian TV networks that capitalize on the range of emotions the Habs evoke. Heck, it&rsquo;s even great for the homeless guy near the rink, who gets a number of donations with two signs. The first says, &lsquo;Broke and homeless, but good in bed,&rsquo; and the other, &lsquo;Go Habs Go!&rsquo;</p><p>Back in 2002 when the Toronto Maple Leafs were regular participants in the post-season &ndash; speaking of times of yore &ndash; they had just knocked off Ottawa (again) in the second round and were on their way to the Eastern Conference final. A confused Alexander Mogilny, fresh off a trip to the Stanley Cup final the season before and a Cup championship the year before that with New Jersey, examined the bedlam around him and sincerely asked, &ldquo;Why is everybody so excited? We only made it half-way through the playoffs.&rdquo;</p><p>The same thing has happened in Montreal. To be sure, Canadiens fans are no longer following the Vince Lombardi philosophy when it comes to touchdown celebrations. The former coaching great counseled his players to &ldquo;act like you&rsquo;ve been there before,&rdquo; when they scored. Much of Montreal hasn&rsquo;t been there before and they have the post-game parties and the aluminum Stanley Cups to show for it.</p><p>And that&rsquo;s just a little bit sad.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-03941/9492976-1-eng-US/f0015-032.jpg" title="f0015-03" width="2597" height="1062"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(ANDRE RINGUETTE/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-011909/9492969-1-eng-US/f0015-012.jpg" title="f0015-01" width="52" height="53"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p>For Ken&rsquo;s web-exclusive <b>Campbell&rsquo;s Cuts</b> column, visit <a href="http://THN.com">thn.com</a><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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BLEU, BLANCET ROGUE

<div class="byline">PHOTOGRAPH BY DAVE REGINEK</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0003-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-012139/9492406-1-eng-US/f0003-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><h2><b>Homer run</b></h2><p>Detroit&rsquo;s Tomas Holmstrom gets intimate with the twine courtesy of San Jose&rsquo;s Kent Huskins in Round 2.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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THEBIGPICTURE

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-012164/9492451-1-eng-US/f0004-012.jpg" title="f0004-01" width="578" height="489"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>W</span>HEN OILERS GM STEVE TAMBELLINI</b> approaches the podium at the draft to announce the first overall pick, the drama will be rich. Taylor or Tyler? We can&rsquo;t yet say with any degree of certainty. What we can confidently predict is Tambellini won&rsquo;t use the selection on a goaltender&hellip;and the vast majority of his colleagues will similarly abstain. A scan of Draft Preview, on newsstands in mid-May, shows just four goalies cracking our top 90 rated prospects.</p><p>Recent history reveals the great goalie dodge is becoming a trend. Just two stoppers have been taken in Round 1 the past three years, both in 2008.</p><p>Watching this year&rsquo;s playoffs &ndash; or any year&rsquo;s &ndash; you&rsquo;d think there&rsquo;s a disconnect. Attention and pressure is squarely focused on the dudes with the armor; goalies are their teams&rsquo; most important player in the post-season, almost without exception.</p><p>So why the reticence to grab a potential fortune-changer as soon as possible in the draft? Simply put, it&rsquo;s risk management.</p><p>An 18-year-old draft that is a tricky proposition at all positions becomes significantly more acute when it comes to goalie projection. Of the eight stoppers who guided their team to the second round, just one, Marc-Andre Fleury, is a high pick still playing for the franchise that selected him. Guys such as Brian Boucher, who we feature on pg. 30, Antti Niemi, Jimmy Howard and Evgeni Nabokov took far more circuitous routes to the spotlight.</p><p>The Montreal Canadiens make a fascinating case study. Jaroslav Halak, who we&rsquo;ve identified as one of this summer&rsquo;s most intriguing free agents in our cover story (pg. 22) has usurped Carey Price, despite being selected 266 spots lower.</p><p>For a GM, missing on an early pick is not only embarrassing, it&rsquo;s also hazardous to job security. Forwards and defensemen who don&rsquo;t quite pan out can be more easily hidden than a goalie; they can play on the third line or be the No. 5 blueliner and not be considered a total bust. They can also be given more time to grow.</p><p>A netminder who doesn&rsquo;t show progress quickly is on a shorter leash. There are only 30 NHL creases to occupy and because goalie mistakes usually end up in the back of the net, the tolerance for errors is relatively puny.</p><p>As for this draft, we are expecting stopper Jack Campbell to go in Round 1, maybe in the top 15. He is indeed a terrific prospect. Just don&rsquo;t be surprised if one day Kent Simpson (No. 82 on our list) or Louis Domingue (No. 100) is a bigger deal.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-021837/9492444-1-eng-US/f0004-022.jpg" title="f0004-02" width="476" height="254"></div><h2><b>LISTEN UP!</b></h2><p><b>THE HOCKEY NEWS RADIO SHOW</b></p><p><b>FRIDAYS 3-4 EST XM 204</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-031478/9492437-1-eng-US/f0004-032.jpg" title="f0004-03" width="187" height="72"></div><h2><b>NEXT ISSUE JUNE 7, 2010</b></h2><p>Customer service and to subscribe: <b><a href="http://THN.com">thn.com</a></b> contact us: <b><a href="mailto:editorial@thehockeynews.com">editorial@thehockeynews.com</a></b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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THE GREAT DRAFT DODGE

<div class="byline">Corey Kendall, St. John&#x2019;s, Nfld.</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-012139/9492544-1-eng-US/f0005-012.jpg" title="f0005-01" width="241" height="199"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-031015/9492551-1-eng-US/f0005-032.jpg" title="f0005-03" width="228" height="227"></div><h2><b>FREE SWAG!</b></h2><p>Each issue, we&rsquo;ll give a cool THN hat to the top letter.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-021559/9492537-1-eng-US/f0005-022.jpg" title="f0005-02" width="888" height="941"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(BILL SMITH/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>The playoffs are proving again just how great the game of hockey is. But the NHL also has arguably the most disgruntled fans in sports.</p><p>What won&rsquo;t fans complain about these days? Officiating, shootouts, the schedule, Gary Bettman&rsquo;s tenure as commissioner, etc.</p><p>Fans always seem to have a beef and I hear people talking about how great the NHL &ldquo;used to be.&rdquo; What about now? It&rsquo;s still a great game to watch. Sure, there are plenty of issues, but the league is in very good shape; much better than things looked before the lockout.</p><p>Relax, the NHL is in tip-top shape whether some people believe that or not.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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JOY OF HOCKEY

<blockquote class="pullQuote"><b>&ldquo;Is this the type of example the NHL wishes to set for the young fans?</b></blockquote><h2><b>UNION DUES</b></h2><p>I love the sentiment behind renaming the Lester B. Pearson Award after Ted Lindsay, but it only goes halfway.</p><p>I would like to say that no one did as much for players past and present as &lsquo;Terrible Ted,&rsquo; but that is simple not the case.</p><p>If we&rsquo;re going to rename it, it should be the Lindsay-Harvey Award. Doug Harvey was as integral to the improved treatment of NHL players as Ted Lindsay was. And I believe Lindsay would be the first to suggest this.</p><p><b>Hart Stoffman, Lake Echo, N.S.</b></p><h2><b>ERA MUST END</b></h2><p>Time to say goodbye; goodbye to coach Lindy Ruff and GM Darcy Regier. It&rsquo;s time for new voices to be heard in Buffalo.</p><p>Year after year fans watch as nothing gets done from the GM to improve this team, whether through the draft, free agency or trades. And sometimes, through no fault of his own, the coach must go as well. I think the players have tuned Ruff out and a new voice needs to be heard.</p><p><b>Thomas Fox, Buffalo</b></p><h2><b>GLASS HOUSES</b></h2><p>I got a good laugh when Duncan Keith sprayed an obnoxious fan with water while sitting in the penalty box, but it seems as though the league should implement a rule that requires all arenas to fully enclose the sin bin to prevent fans&rsquo; lack of respect towards players from continuing.</p><p><b>Steven Penman, Winnipeg, Man.</b></p><h2><b>POTTY MOUTH</b></h2><p>Bruce Boudreau may be a good hockey coach, but does almost every word that comes out of his mouth during a game have to be a four-letter word?</p><p>It never fails that when I am watching a Capitals game on TV with my nine-year-old daughter, the camera shows Boudreau shouting expletives at the players or officials. And you can read his lips as plain as day.</p><p>I understand the game of hockey is emotional, but is this the type of example the NHL wishes to set for the young fans? Can he not express himself without the foul language?</p><p><b>Michael Mezzapelle, Fairmont, W.Va.</b></p><h2><b>BEACHED WHALE?</b></h2><p>It is extremely hard to watch Roberto Luongo represent the Canucks sometimes.</p><p>He is a tremendous talent and Vancouver fans owe him greatly for the big saves he usually comes up with, but I find it difficult to stomach the theatrics he often displays; if he is even grazed by an opposing player, he dives or flops in an attempt to draw a penalty.</p><p>I understand goalies can be prone to being eccentric, but I worry that Luongo is too inside his own head sometimes and needs to just play the game.</p><p>We are forever indebted to him for helping bring Olympic gold back to Canada, but I don&rsquo;t believe it is the Canadian way to exhibit diving or dramatics in the hockey rink.</p><p><b>Andrew Marett, Vancouver</b></p><h2><b>HART-LESS VOTE</b></h2><p>Voters should be embarrassed for not only overlooking Ryan Miller for the Hart Trophy, but for also nominating Alex Ovechkin.</p><p>Without Miller, the Buffalo Sabres wouldn&rsquo;t have even come close to making the playoffs. Ovechkin&rsquo;s Washington Capitals would have easily made it without him.</p><p>Not only that, but Ovechkin also hurt his team multiple times this season with his reckless play that led to a pair of two-game suspensions.</p><p>How is that being the most valuable?</p><p>This is pathetic and a slap to the face of the Sabres goalie.</p><p><b>Josh Barr, Flin Flon, Man.</b></p><h2><b>SPIT IT OUT!</b></h2><p>GET IT OFF YOUR CHEST</p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-05396/9492506-1-eng-US/f0005-052.jpg" title="f0005-05" width="66" height="65"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p>SUBMIT YOUR LETTER AT: <b><a href="http://THN.COM/LETTERS">THN.com/letters</a></b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

Crowd Shots

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-03958/9492596-1-eng-US/f0006-032.jpg" title="f0006-03" width="519" height="532"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-012391/9492603-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg" title="f0006-01" width="188" height="188"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-021618/9492589-1-eng-US/f0006-022.jpg" title="f0006-02" width="138" height="138"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><h2><b>TYLER ENNIS</b></h2><p><b>BUFFALO SABRES, LW</b></p><p><b>DEBUT</b> Nov. 14, 2009</p><p>&nbsp;<b>VS.</b> Philadelphia (3-2 win)</p><p>&nbsp;<b>ICE TIME</b> 14:13, 19 shifts</p><p><b>KEY STAT</b> 1 goal, plus-1</p><p><b>&ldquo;MY FIRST GAME,</b> we played the Flyers in Philadelphia. I had just been called up that day and got to the arena late. I pretty much just got there, quickly dressed and made it just in time for warmups. I had to walk through the Flyers doing their (pre-game) soccer; it was a little intimidating seeing Pronger and those guys playing soccer.</p><p>In warmups, the guys took my helmet and hid it on me, so I had to fly around there with no helmet on. But I was lucky enough to score, so that was an added bonus.</p><p>The puck was down in the corner and Timmy Kennedy was doing a great job down low; he took it behind the net and then threw it back to me and I kind of just walked it out. I saw that (Philadelphia goalie, Ray) Emery was sliding across and I just quickly tried to throw it there.</p><p>I remember when it went in Patty Kaleta picked me up and almost threw me through the glass he was so excited.</p><p>During the next couple of shifts, the puck was going around the wall and me and Pronger met. I tried to hit him, but he just kind of tossed me away.&rdquo;</p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-06347/9492582-1-eng-US/f0006-062.jpg" title="f0006-06" width="66" height="65"></div><p><b>Visit <a href="http://TheHockeyNews.com">thehockeynews.com</a> for exclusive Q+A&rsquo;s in our &lsquo;Getting to Know&rsquo; feature</b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p></div>

f0006-03

FRESH LEGS

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-04614/9492641-1-eng-US/f0006-042.jpg" title="f0006-04" width="692" height="596"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(SCOTT AUDETTE/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGEs)</span></figcaption></div><p>Adam,</p><p class="dropcap"><span>I</span> noticed Edmonton is rebuilding their team and Martin St-Louis was amenable to a trade out of Tampa Bay. What are the chances that Edmonton will get him?</p><p><b><i>Damian Ingram, Quill Lake, Sask.</i></b></p><p>Damian,</p><p>The chances of St-Louis waiving his no-trade clause to go to Edmonton are slightly better than Wayne Gretzky returning to play for the Oilers. If the reason St-Louis may want out of Tampa has to do with that team&rsquo;s lack of competitiveness in recent years, why would he want to go to an organization that&rsquo;s more or less in the same situation?</p><p>Adam,</p><p>With some goalies available this off-season (Marty Turco, maybe Tim Thomas), do you think the Islanders should take the cap hit, cut their ties with Rick DiPietro and get a goal-tender who is not hurt all the time?</p><p><b><i>Mark Trepanier, Temiscaming, Que.</i></b></p><p>Mark,</p><p>Do you mean someone like Dwayne Roloson, the veteran goalie the Isles already have under contract through next season? He played 50 games for that organization last year, so I can&rsquo;t imagine Islanders GM Garth Snow would want to buy out DiPietro and take the cap hit of $1.5 million a season for the next 22 years. If anything, Snow will wait until the next CBA and pray there&rsquo;s another amnesty option for abominable contracts before moving DiPietro.</p><p><b>SUBMIT YOUR BURNING QUESTIONS AT <a href="http://TheHockeyNews.com">thehockeynews.com</a></b></p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-08137/9492634-1-eng-US/f0006-082.jpg" title="f0006-08" width="66" height="65"></div><p>Need more of your questions answered?</p><p>Read Proteau&rsquo;s <b>&lsquo;Ask Adam&rsquo;</b> column every</p><p>Friday at <b><a href="http://TheHockeyNews.com">thehockeynews.com</a></b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p></div>

f0006-04

ASK Adam

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0006-07" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-07226/9492672-1-eng-US/f0006-072.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(BILL WIPPERT/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>Should Ryan Miller have been nominated for the Hart Trophy?</p><p><b>Yes, over Ovechkin 41%</b></p><p>No 24%</p><p>Yes, over Crosby 20%</p><p>Yes, over Sedin 15%<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0006-07

POLL RESULTS

<div class="byline">&#x2013; KEN CAMPBELL</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0007-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-012132/9492710-1-eng-US/f0007-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Marc-Andre Fleury has done about as much as possible in his young career.</b> <span class="photo-credit">(GREGORY SHAMUS/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-021444/9492717-1-eng-US/f0007-022.jpg" title="f0007-02" width="119" height="119"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>M</span>ONTREAL &ndash;</b> After being informed that his shutout in Game 3 was the first against the Montreal Canadiens at home in the playoffs since 1983, Marc-Andre Fleury gave his typical response.</p><p>&ldquo;Really?&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Oh, cool. That&rsquo;s pretty cool, I guess.&rdquo;</p><p>Ten games into this year&rsquo;s playoff tournament, Fleury&rsquo;s save percentage was .896. His performance against the Canadiens in Game 4 of the second round was, well, not good. The numbers don&rsquo;t reflect Fleury&rsquo;s value to the Penguins, but they never really have.</p><p>Fleury is a little like Grant Fuhr and maybe Billy Smith that way. At this stage of his career, he&rsquo;s certainly not going to be confused with Dominik Hasek and his mantle might never be cluttered with Vezina Trophies, but he almost always has the innate ability to lock things down when he needs to the most. He&rsquo;s certainly the most athletic goalie in the NHL and there isn&rsquo;t one who can go post-to-post quicker.</p><p>&ldquo;Not great stats, no,&rdquo; Fleury acknowledged, &ldquo;but the thing I worry about is wins. I keep an eye on the numbers and I know they&rsquo;re not where I want them to be, but I focus on the wins. I think that&rsquo;s what matters most in the playoffs.&rdquo;</p><p>Midway through the second round of the playoffs, Fleury had 37 post-season wins to his credit. That left the gap between him and all-time playoff winner Patrick Roy at exactly 114, but Roy had just 40 post-season wins at Fleury&rsquo;s age of 25. There&rsquo;s no reason to believe the Penguins won&rsquo;t be serious contenders for an extended period of time, so it&rsquo;s not out of the realm of possibility that Fleury could approach Roy&rsquo;s record by the time his career ends.</p><p>Not that he and Roy, at least at the moment, have a ton in common. Roy almost single-handedly won two Stanley Cups for the Canadiens, while Fleury will likely never be required to perform miracles in order for the Penguins to win. By contrast, he simply has to play well enough to keep Pittsburgh in games and make the occasional spectacular save, the way he did on Nicklas Lidstrom in the dying seconds of Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final last spring.</p></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p>&ldquo;Every time you talk to him about stats, he&rsquo;s like, &lsquo;Ahh, I don&rsquo;t care,&rsquo;&rdquo; said Penguins teammate Maxime Talbot. &ldquo;Even for us, as long as you rack up the wins, that&rsquo;s what matters and that&rsquo;s what matters for him. When he plays like he played (in Game 3) he gives us a pretty good chance to win. Last couple of years, nobody has doubted him at any time, ever. The guys trust him.&rdquo;</p><p>Fleury is something of a hybrid goaltender, combining the best attributes of a butterfly goalie with the ability to move around the crease. There is certainly an athleticism to his game that causes him to sometimes overplay the puck, but the tendencies are not easy to predict.</p><p>&ldquo;I always like to change it up to not be too predictable and always going down on every shot,&rdquo; Fleury said. &ldquo;On my base, I&rsquo;m mostly butterfly, I think.&rdquo;</p><p>When Don Larsen made history by pitching a perfect game in the 1956 World Series, it was described as the imperfect man pitching the perfect game. Fleury is an imperfect goal-tender to be sure, but he knows how to win.</p><p>&ldquo;We all wished we had a goalie who stopped every puck in every playoff game, but it hasn&rsquo;t happened yet,&rdquo; said Pittsburgh coach Dan Bylsma. &ldquo;Marc-Andre Fleury is a guy who, not just in the playoffs, has always stepped up and been there for his team, been that big-time goaltender. He&rsquo;s had amazing numbers in the past and at the ends of seasons when the team has needed him to go on a run, he has been there. Saying this guy is a winner is about the best compliment you could give him. Sometimes he does it with a big game, sometimes he does it with a big save at the right time against the right player, but he&rsquo;s won a lot of hockey games for this team and he&rsquo;s the guy you really believe and want between the pipes for your team.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-012281/9492703-1-eng-US/f0008-012.jpg" title="f0008-01" width="951" height="955"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(GREGORY SHAMUS/NHL I VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0007-01

RIGHT GUY, RIGHT TIME

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0008-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-021736/9492748-1-eng-US/f0008-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>TUUKKA RASK</b> <span class="photo-credit">(SPORTS ACTION PHOTOGRAPHY)</span></figcaption></div><h2><b>+ GOOD SPOT TO B</b></h2><p>An unexpected playoff run is nice, but best news in Boston is Tuukka Rask&rsquo;s emergence and holding the No. 2 overall pick.</p><h2><b>&ndash; For</b>&nbsp;<b>Ryan out loud</b></h2><p>When you think of where the Sabres would be without Ryan Miller, it&rsquo;s stunning he&rsquo;s not a candidate for the league MVP.</p><h2><b>+ NO TROUBLE, MA&rsquo;AM</b></h2><p>Driving home after a devastating Game 7 loss to the Habs, Brooks Laich pulls over to help a Caps fan stranded by a flat tire.</p><h2><b>&ndash;</b>&nbsp;<b>LEARN</b>&nbsp;<b>TO COUNT</b></h2><p>A huge amount of too-many-men penalties have been called in these playoffs, maybe because of matchup-happy coaches.</p><h2><b>+ ALL HAIL HAL</b></h2><p>The butt of a few pylon jokes in his career, big Hal Gill shows how useful he can be for the second straight spring.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0008-02

Plus/Minus

<h2><b>5FIVE</b></h2><p>$73-million was enough dough to keep <b>Henrik Zetterberg</b> locked down in Hockeytown for 12 seasons.</p><h2><b>4FOUR</b></h2><p><b>Jaromir Jagr&rsquo;s</b> $77-million contract earned him more money per game than Bobby Orr made in three seasons.</p><h2><b>3THREE</b></h2><p>Tampa anchored <b>Vincent Lecavalier</b> to an $85-million contract, keeping him in the Sunshine State until he&rsquo;s 39.</p><h2><b>2TWO</b></h2><p><b>Alexei Yashin</b> plays in Russia and had his $87.5-million contract bought out, but he&rsquo;s still the highest-paid Islander.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-031222/9492779-1-eng-US/f0008-032.jpg" title="f0008-03" width="740" height="599"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(JENNIFER POTTHEISER/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><h2><b>1ONE</b></h2><p><b>Alex Ovechkin</b> signed a colossal $124-million contract, which spans parts of three decades (2008-21).<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0008-03

Starting from 5

<div class="byline">&#x2013; RORY BOYLEN</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0009-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-012049/9492810-1-eng-US/f0009-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Roman Cervenka, right, has Jaromir Jagr&rsquo;s stamp of approval, but is he NHL ready?</b> <span class="photo-credit">(ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP/Getty Images)</span></figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-021427/9492817-1-eng-US/f0009-022.jpg" title="f0009-02" width="119" height="119"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>T</span>HERE&rsquo;S A POINT-PRODUCING</b> Czech star who will be garnering some attention from NHL teams this summer, but it&rsquo;s not exactly who you&rsquo;d expect it to be.</p><p>With 30 goals and 73 points in 50 Czech League games this season, Roman Cervenka is being viewed as a hot, though cautious, commodity. At 5-foot-11, 187 pounds, the free agent is smaller than other recent pulls from Europe, such as Ville Leino (6-foot, 182 pounds) and Fabian Brunnstrom (6-foot-2, 203 pounds), and he plays in a league that isn&rsquo;t as demanding on skill as the Finnish and Swedish Leagues those two came from are.</p><p>Playing on a line with the legendary Jaromir Jagr at the Olympics, Cervenka managed only two points in his North America showcase, but had the support of the Future Hall of Famer. Jagr had hinted he would like to bring Cervenka, 24, to an NHL team with him, but now that No. 68 has signed a one-year contract extension with his Kontinental League team, Avangard Omsk, Cervenka will be making the trip alone if an NHL team comes calling.</p><p>As Brunnstrom and Leino have shown, these pickups don&rsquo;t always come as NHL-ready products and still need seasoning, so a team may be better served to place Cervenka in the American League for a year or two, should he make the trip across the ocean.</p><p>While his stats in Europe are flashy and Jagr was among his supporters, Cervenka hasn&rsquo;t been playing against anything remotely comparable to NHL competition.</p><p>&ldquo;I talked to two Czech (scouts) who say he is a good player, but in the Czech Elite League,&rdquo; said an NHL scout working in Europe. &ldquo;That league isn&rsquo;t very good. They say he is quite skilled and can score, but they are skeptical he would be a contributor in the NHL.&rdquo;</p><p>Aside from the big step up in competition, Cervenka also has some strength issues that could be worked on in the AHL.</p><p>&ldquo;The only notes I have on him are his lack of size, which would be a problem,&rdquo; the scout said.</p><p>And the fact Jagr was his chief supporter doesn&rsquo;t make Cervenka a lock.</p><p>&ldquo;You can always refer back to Jagr&rsquo;s judge of talent,&rdquo; the scout cautioned. &ldquo;He once said that after Mario Lemieux, the best player he ever played with was Maxim Sushinsky.&rdquo;</p><p>Cervenka will get one last opportunity to stand out on the international stage against high-end competition while playing for the Czech Republic in Germany at the World Championship. In the 2009 event, where the Czechs finished sixth, Cervenka scored two goals in seven games.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0009-01

UNCERTAIN CERVENKA

<div class="byline">&#x2013; RYAN DIXON</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-012253/9492848-1-eng-US/f0010-012.jpg" title="f0010-01" width="884" height="1193"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Ted Lindsay was always fighting for the rights of his fellow NHLers.</b> <span class="photo-credit">(STEVE POIRIER/HHOF)</span></figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-04727/9492855-1-eng-US/f0010-042.jpg" title="f0010-04" width="133" height="133"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p><b>SOMETHING TERRIBLE</b> has happened to one of the NHL&rsquo;s most sought-after awards, and the players couldn&rsquo;t be happier.</p><p>Neither could Ted Lindsay.</p><p>Since its inception in 1971, the Lester B. Pearson Award went to the player adjudged to be the league&rsquo;s best that season in a vote of his peers. Now, the winner of that prestigious peer evaluation will be given the Ted Lindsay Award, as the Pearson is reintroduced to honor the legacy of a man who &ndash; sharp elbows aside &ndash; cared as much about the plight of his fellow players as anyone in NHL history.</p><p>An eight-time first-team all-star and the 1950 Art Ross Trophy winner with his beloved Detroit Red Wings, Lindsay is perhaps best known for spearheading the movement that eventually led to the creation of the National Hockey League Players&rsquo; Association in 1967.</p><p>The idea to reintroduce the Pearson as a way to recognize Lindsay&rsquo;s efforts originated about six years ago within the NHLPA&rsquo;s communications department. It was enthusiastically received by former executive director Bob Goodenow, but got shelved when the organization&rsquo;s top priority became the 2004-05 lockout. The notion was revisited a couple years ago when Paul Kelly was union head and he mentioned it to Lindsay, who was very clear about his thoughts on the subject.</p><p>&ldquo;It was like offering a kid some ice cream,&rdquo; said Lindsay, noting he&rsquo;s especially proud to be associated with the award that, more than any other, honors the bond shared by NHLers. &ldquo;You&rsquo;d be crazy to say anything other than I&rsquo;m flabbergasted and I&rsquo;m really pleased it worked out this way.&rdquo;</p><p>Lindsay, now 84, along with his wife, Joanne, offered insight to artist Myros Trutiak with regard to how they believed the award should look. The final design includes a bronze sculpture of Lindsay atop a 34-inch trophy that includes several engravings linked to Lindsay&rsquo;s career, including his nickname, &lsquo;Terrible Ted.&rsquo;</p><p>Alex Ovechkin won the final two Pearson Awards and either he or fellow candidates Henrik Sedin and Sidney Crosby will win the inaugural Lindsay Award.</p><p>Veteran NHLer Jamal Mayers was on hand for the trophy&rsquo;s introduction at the Hockey Hall of Fame. He praised Lindsay for his bold contributions to the game and laying the groundwork for the current landscape enjoyed by Mayers&rsquo; contemporaries.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s easy not to say anything,&rdquo; Mayers said. &ldquo;But he had conviction and stood up for what he believed in and you can only admire that.&rdquo;</p><p>Given the turnover and apparent turmoil within the NHLPA ranks the past few years, including the surprise ousting last summer of Kelly &ndash; a man Lindsay wholeheartedly backed &ndash; some wondered if attaching Lindsay&rsquo;s name to a trophy served as a good reminder to the players that a strong, unified association is in their best interest.</p><p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think we&rsquo;ve ever lost sight of that,&rdquo; said Mayers, a trustee on the NHLPA pension plan and a former executive board member who was a player representative for nine seasons with St. Louis. &ldquo;I think what you might term as turmoil is players caring and wanting things to go in the right direction.</p><p>&ldquo;As dysfunctional as things might seem from the outside, everything is still running as smoothly as possible (with) the process of looking for a new leader and righting the ship, and we&rsquo;ve got a lot of great people working there.&rdquo;</p><p>Lindsay was tight-lipped when asked for his feelings on the state of the organization.</p><p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want to get into the politics of it,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re still looking for a new leader and I&rsquo;ll leave it right there. Paul Kelly, I thought, did a great job.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0010-01

MOVE OVER LESTER B.

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-021642/9492893-1-eng-US/f0010-022.jpg" title="f0010-02" width="653" height="1009"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(BRUCE BENNETT STUDIOS/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>E</span>VIDENCE</b>&nbsp;<b>OF</b>&nbsp;Bobby Orr&rsquo;s greatness is everywhere these days; even outer space. Orr&rsquo;s famous Cup-clinching leap from the 1970 final was slated to be immortalized with a statue unveiling outside Boston&rsquo;s TD Garden in mid-May. The Cup ring Orr received for that overtime winner made its way into space with Canadian astronaut Dr. Robert Thirsk in 1996, as it&rsquo;s common for space travelers to take special mementoes on their journey away from earth to make the artifacts even more unique. Orr&rsquo;s Cup ring from the Bruins&rsquo; 1972 triumph accompanied Thirsk on his most recent voyage to space in 2009.</p><p><b>IS SOMETHING</b> wrong with Canadian puckstoppers? Of the 30 slots represented by the top 10 goalies in the save percentage, goals-against average and wins categories in the regular season, only four spots were filled by Canuck creasemen. And of the eight goalies who advanced to the second round of the playoffs, just two had Canadian passports.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-031048/9492886-1-eng-US/f0010-032.jpg" title="f0010-03" width="287" height="362"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(LEN REDKOLES/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>CALLING NHL</b> games is a pretty sweet gig, except for the part where you have to guess whether a goal under review for being kicked in will or won&rsquo;t count. We get the distinct feeling the league needs to clarify this rule in the off-season.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0010-02

Snapshots

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0016-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-011941/9493056-1-eng-US/f0016-012.jpg"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-021301/9493049-1-eng-US/f0017-022.jpg" title="f0017-02" width="207" height="245"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>L</span>EGEND HAS IT THAT,</b> dozens of years before Chris Chelios was fitted for his first pair of skates, a Type A personality named Noah built a massive ark to protect all the earth&rsquo;s animals from a massive flood. Two by two, creatures of every sort were delivered to his ship &ndash; and once everybody was screened by security and every hatch was battened, all the passengers rode out the risen seas and emerged to see brighter days.</p><p>I say this, dear THN reader, not to impose a particular religious paradigm on you. I say it because I deeply enjoy the multiple similarities between the species-saving, highly productive carpenter and the 2009-10 Vancouver Canucks.</p><p>Both Noah and the Nucks (cool rock band name alert) understood the severity of the devastating weather that was headed their way.</p><blockquote class="pullQuote"><b>THE HYPE AROUND THE FRANCHISE HAS BUILT TO A FEVER PITCH</b></blockquote><p>Knowing they only had a brief window in which to get the job done, both went about their work fastidiously. Both also battled through long periods of discomfort (Noah dealt with 40 days and 40 nights of rain; the Canucks withstood a 44-day stretch between home games to accommodate the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics).</p><p>And both leaned on some interesting groups of twos to push them toward their goal.</p><p>More on those dynamic duos in approximately 10 paragraphs. But first, a few words about the Van City equivalent of Noah&rsquo;s Great Flood.</p><p>The chief threat to the Canucks &ndash; outside of their 2010 playoff competition &ndash; was the cresting, curling wave of expectations for the team. The talent is clearly there &ndash; as is the balance between youthful exuberance and veteran pick-your-spot-iness (hey, if the world can live with a word like &lsquo;stick-to-it-ive-ness&rsquo;&hellip;) &ndash; so anxious fans became restless.</p><p>It would be wrong to deny that some degree of those expectations have been there since Vancouver became part of the NHL community four decades ago. However, since GM-president Mike Gillis signed Henrik and Daniel Sedin and Roberto Luongo to long-term contract extensions last summer, the hype surrounding the franchise has built to a fever pitch &ndash; as has the presumption that the Stanley Cup should be theirs to lose.</p><p>And as in any time of general hysteria, there exists passion so charged &ndash; yet so impotent in its inability to affect the outcome it seeks &ndash; that it morphs into ugly conspiracy theory. To have watched certain Canucks fans this year confirms it.</p><p>Early in the &rsquo;09-10 season, many Vancouverites went bonkers over the controversy between NHL referee Stephane Auger and Canucks winger Alex Burrows; the player accused the official of exacting on-ice retribution (in the form of phantom calls) for a previous embellishment &ndash; and although a league investigation showed no wrongdoing by Auger, Gillis and the organization stood behind Burrows.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-03929/9493042-1-eng-US/f0017-032.jpg" title="f0017-03" width="1477" height="1667"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>The Ryans, Johnson and Kesler, are West Coast penalty-killing wizards.</b> <span class="photo-credit">(JEFF VINNICK/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>The &lsquo;Us. vs. Them&rsquo; theme among Canucks fans continued in the 2010 playoffs, when a Vancouver goal by Daniel Sedin was disallowed in Game 4 of the team&rsquo;s first round series against Los Angeles.</p><p>The ruling from the NHL&rsquo;s headquarters in Toronto was that Sedin had kicked the puck into the net. But for some Vancouver fans, that wasn&rsquo;t good enough. Some had the nerve to question the integrity of the man behind the ruling on Sedin&rsquo;s disallowed goal &ndash; highly regarded league official Mike Murphy &ndash; by noting his past employment history included a stint with the Kings.</p><p>Now, the Canucks may have legitimately been wronged in some of these instances. But when many of their fans keep returning to a theme of deliberate wrongdoing at the hands of outsiders, they&rsquo;re clearly jonesing for the Cup so badly, they&rsquo;ll believe any rank theory put under their nose passes the smell test.</p><p>But that&rsquo;s a difference between this year&rsquo;s Canucks team and the 2008-09 edition that lost to Chicago in the conference semifinal last spring: Last year&rsquo;s Canucks might have bought into the whispers and chatter, but through three games of the 2010 conference against those same Hawks, this year&rsquo;s Canucks were considerably more focused.</p><p>As noted earlier, Vancouver&rsquo;s game plan and blueprint featured loads of twos.</p><p>First and foremost, a pair of Swedes doing their best to take the &lsquo;t&rsquo; out of &lsquo;twin brothers&rsquo;: Henrik Sedin is up for the Hart Trophy, while his identical sibling Daniel put up a career season in points (85) in just 63 games.</p><p>In addition, two Canadian goaltenders &ndash; the only team in the final eight to employ such a setup &ndash; functioning well together despite being at different stages of their careers. At times, the petard that is his $6.75 million-a-season contract has hoisted starter and team captain Roberto Luongo. But though his save percentage in the first round was below .900, Luongo was good enough to be victorious.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-011821/9493035-1-eng-US/f0018-012.jpg" title="f0018-01" width="1530" height="1293"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Edler and Burrows have been a pair of dynamic Alexes in Vancouver.</b> <span class="photo-credit">(KIM STALLKNECHT/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>Raycroft, meanwhile, did not perform ideally when playing for the Maple Leafs under the intense Toronto spotlight. Giving him a shot as Luongo&rsquo;s backup, especially in another Canadian city, was a Gillis gamble that could&rsquo;ve fizzled, yet didn&rsquo;t (as evidenced by his 9-5-1 record, 2.42 goals-against average and .911 save percentage).</p><p>Two other Gillis gambles last summer &ndash; free agent signing Mikael Samuelsson and trade acquisition Christian Ehrhoff &ndash; proved to be lucrative in their payoff. And like Luongo and Raycroft, both newbies came to Vancouver with different NHL pedigrees.</p><p>Signed away from the storied Red Wings franchise, Samuelsson won a Cup with Detroit in 2008 and in the process joined the exclusive &lsquo;Triple Gold Club&rsquo; by winning gold medals with Sweden at the 2006 Turin Olympics and 2006 World Championship.</p><p>If the 33-year-old didn&rsquo;t have winning in his blood before his NHL days, Samuelsson had a few good transfusions by the time he arrived in Vancouver. And he showed what that could do: first, in the regular season, where he had a career-high 30 goals and 53 points in 74 games; and then in the playoffs, when he had eight goals through Vancouver&rsquo;s first nine games.</p><p>Ehrhoff, on the other hand, was an integral part of the many San Jose Sharks teams that disappointed fans the past four years. Therefore, when Gillis traded for him last summer in exchange for a pair of prospects, few headlines were made.</p><p>In reality, it was a marquee acquisition.</p><p>Ehrhoff led all Canucks players in regular season ice time (22:47). He set career highs in goals (14) and points (44) while playing 80 games. His previous best plus-minus mark was a plus-10 with the Sharks in 2005-06; in Vancouver, he finished with a plus-35 mark, second-best on the team behind only Daniel Sedin.</p><p>There are more Vancouver pairings I could tell you about &ndash; the two Ryans (Kesler and Johnson), or the two Alexes (Burrows and Edler) &ndash; but a sense of urgency and purpose is the important thing to remember about the 2009-10 version of the Canucks.</p><p>The Sedins and Luongo are under contract for a good while, but they&rsquo;re only in their prime for so long.</p><p>The players also know if the team doesn&rsquo;t manage to steer through the whitecaps of expectation, Gillis will alter their Ark sooner than later and start nailing down planks for the next month-long monsoon.</p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-011697/9493028-1-eng-US/f0017-012.jpg" title="f0017-01" width="52" height="53"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p>For Adam&rsquo;s web-exclusive <b>Screen Shots</b> column, visit <a href="http://THN.com">thn.com</a><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0016-01

VANCOUVER’S EPIC STORY

<div class="byline">BY MIKE LOFTUS</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0020-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-011575/9493094-1-eng-US/f0020-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>In two seasons, Mark Recchi has become Boston&rsquo;s de facto heart and soul.</b> <span class="photo-credit">(SPORTS ACTION PHOTOGRAPHY)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>EVEN HIS OPPONENTS</b> can&rsquo;t help being impressed by Mark Recchi.</p><p>&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a good person, an honest person and he plays the game the right way,&rdquo; said Philadelphia coach Peter Laviolette, as Recchi helped the Bruins take a 3-0 series lead over the Flyers in the Eastern Conference semifinal. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a professional.&rdquo;</p><p>Laviolette&rsquo;s praise for Boston&rsquo;s time-cheating, 42-year-old winger came in the midst of yet another playoff series in which Recchi (the 13th-highest point scorer in NHL history) showed players 10, 15, even 20 years younger how it&rsquo;s done in the post-season. There was the back-breaking power play goal in Game 3, which gave Boston a 3-1 lead at the start of the third period in a 4-1 victory. And earlier in the series, a bone-rattling moment that inspired his teammates and all but awed the sellout crowd at TD Garden.</p><p>Driving to the front of Philadelphia&rsquo;s net during a power play, Recchi used everything at his disposal &ndash; stick, gloves, forearms, shoulders, elbows &ndash; in a fierce battle with notoriously physical 6-foot-6, 220-pound, 35-year-old Flyers defenseman Chris Pronger. Recchi, 5-foot-10 and 195 pounds, continued the skirmish even after his helmet came off and the whistle blew.</p><p>That&rsquo;s what one can expect when lining up across from Recchi in the post-season &ndash; and it&rsquo;s part of why Boston obtained him at the 2009 trade deadline, then re-signed him for this season.</p><p>&ldquo;We talk about him being a good example,&rdquo; said coach Claude Julien. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s another one.&rdquo;</p><p>Following a remarkable regular season &ndash; Recchi was fourth on Boston&rsquo;s scoring list with 43 points, tied for third with 18 goals, No. 1 with eight power play goals and didn&rsquo;t miss a single game until Julien rested him for the season finale &ndash; Recchi made a point of speaking about what it would take to win in the playoffs.</p><p>&ldquo;You do the things that made you successful,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;and in the playoffs&hellip;you&rsquo;ve got to get out of that comfort zone. You&rsquo;ve got to get uncomfortable, do things that maybe aren&rsquo;t your best attributes.&rdquo;</p><p>The battle against Pronger was one example; a critical moment in Round 1 against Buffalo offered another: With the series against the favored Sabres knotted at a game apiece and Game 3 tied 1-1 in the third period, Recchi raced rookie left winger Tim Kennedy for a puck to the left of Buffalo goalie Ryan Miller. Both players arrived at about the same time, but Kennedy never got to play the puck because Recchi drove his shoulder into the 5-foot-9, 176-pounder, then turned and fed a pass to uncovered linemate Patrice Bergeron for the winning goal with 7:03 left in regulation.</p><p>&ldquo;He&rsquo;s had that much of an impact for us,&rdquo; Julien said. &ldquo;You see him out there on the ice and there&rsquo;s never a soft shift or an off shift. Everything is always full throttle with him; and all our young guys can do is watch him and learn and grow from that.&rdquo;</p><p>Recchi is highly influential in Boston&rsquo;s dressing room. A two-time Stanley Cup winner (1991 with Pittsburgh; 2006 with Carolina, when Laviolette&rsquo;s Hurricanes added him at the trade deadline) and potential Hall of Famer, it&rsquo;s acknowledged that after 21 NHL seasons, the man knows what he&rsquo;s talking about.</p><blockquote class="pullQuote"><b>&lsquo;I STILL HAVE A LOT OF FUN. THIS IS WHAT YOU PLAY FOR&rsquo;</b></blockquote><p>A firm, pointed, public post-game discussion with the media following a 1-0 home loss to Florida April 1 is credited as being an important, final wake-up call the offensively challenged Bruins (still missing No. 1 center Marc Savard at the time) needed to make a true playoff push.</p><p>Professing the belief that, &ldquo;I still don&rsquo;t think we had 20 guys going tonight,&rdquo; Boston had all 20 after that: The B&rsquo;s went 4-0-1 over their final five games to finish sixth in the East, setting up what proved to be a favorable first round match against Buffalo.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-021137/9493087-1-eng-US/f0020-022.jpg" title="f0020-02" width="1127" height="1291"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(SPORTS ACTION PHOTOGRAPHY)</span></figcaption></div><p>Julien finds the veteran just as indispensable on the ice. Recchi plays most often on a line with Bergeron, a unit with two-way capability that Julien often matches against an opponent&rsquo;s No. 1 line. And when injuries began to mount in the post-season, Julien tapped Recchi to take up some of the penalty-killing assignments left behind by Marco Sturm (knee) and David Krejci (wrist).</p><p>After averaging 17:03 worth of ice time during 81 regular season contests, the third-oldest man to ever score a playoff goal averaged 19:21 per game during Boston&rsquo;s first nine playoff dates.</p><p>This all leaves Recchi wondering why he should stop now. He expected this to be his final season, but now sounds pretty sure that won&rsquo;t be the case. Like last off-season, he wants to speak to the Bruins first when it comes time to discuss the possibility of a contract. Another 81 games played next season will move him into fourth all-time.</p><p>&ldquo;I still feel great,&rdquo; said Recchi, the local Professional Hockey Writers Association chapter&rsquo;s nominee for the Bill Masterton Award. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m definitely leaning more towards the other way than retirement.</p><p>&ldquo;I still enjoy it, still have a lot of fun. And this time of year&hellip;this is what you play for.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0020-01

TIME WAITS FOR ONE MAN

<div class="byline">By Wayne Fish</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0030-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-011411/9493310-1-eng-US/f0030-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(ANDY MARLIN/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>IT&rsquo;S SAFE TO SAY THE NAMES</b> Brian Boucher and Odysseus probably have never been mentioned in the same sentence.</p><p>But maybe now they can.</p><p>The origin of the word odyssey stems from the 10-year journey home of the Greek warrior Odysseus, whose epic voyage after the Trojan War is chronicled in Homer&rsquo;s famous literary work.</p><p>While his own decade-long travels through the NHL won&rsquo;t have quite the same historical impact, Boucher can relate to the storyline of finding his way back to familiar shores.</p><p>The goaltender, who started his pro career in Philadelphia during a previous century, navigated his way through ports such as Phoenix, Jonkoping (Sweden), San Antonio, Calgary, Chicago, Columbus and San Jose before returning to the place where it all began on the banks of the Delaware River.</p><p>Those intervening years weren&rsquo;t all aimless nomadic wanderings. Boucher set pro hockey&rsquo;s streak for longest consecutive shutout minutes, 332, while with the Coyotes. And he opened his second season with the Sharks in 2008 with back-to-back shutouts.</p><p>But ultimately, when he aimed his sextant at the stars, they all pointed to Philadelphia, where he had enjoyed his greatest success in a spectacular 1999-2000 rookie season that saw him record the league&rsquo;s best goals-against average (1.91).</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-011292/9493303-1-eng-US/f0031-012.jpg" title="f0031-01" width="881" height="1012"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Brian Boucher set the NHL&rsquo;s modern shutout mark while with Phoenix (332:01).</b> <span class="photo-credit">(BARRY GOSSAGE VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>Injuries in the Flyers crease to Ray Emery and Michael Leighton this season gave the 33-year-old Woonsocket, R.I., native an opportunity to prove 2000 wasn&rsquo;t an aberration. By getting the Flyers into the conference semifinals, he demonstrated he has starting goaltender ability.</p><p>He says his real comeback began just recently in 2007 and it took a moment of reckless behavior to help him see the light.</p><p>No doubt the turning point of his career came that year when, after splitting a season between Chicago and Columbus, he was sent into free agent limbo with no NHL contracts on the horizon.</p><p>Compounding his woes was impending shoulder surgery, but not from an injury one might expect. No one ran into him, no one hit him with a shot, nothing sent him sprawling to the ice in an awkward position. &ldquo;I played the Chicago-Columbus year and it was tough,&rdquo; Boucher recalled. &ldquo;I ended up having to have shoulder surgery at the end of the year in Columbus, you know, because I get mad at times and I hurt my shoulder trying to break my stick (over the crossbar after a goal).&rdquo;</p><p>At that point, Boucher had to take stock. For years he had been a fiery competitor, perhaps not quite as zealous as Ron Hextall, but still out there.</p><p>Now he realized it was time to make a change in his approach to hockey and, perhaps, his life. From that decision, he accepted an offer from Flyers GM Paul Holmgren to play for the AHL Phantoms and that&rsquo;s where his renaissance started.</p><p>&ldquo;I had a lot of time to reflect, and said, &lsquo;OK, you need to calm down a little bit here, &rsquo;&rdquo; Boucher said. &ldquo;So I went through that whole summer knowing I wasn&rsquo;t going to get an NHL contract.</p><p>&ldquo;When Paul offered a job with the Phantoms, I was very grateful, very thankful. Yeah, I wasn&rsquo;t thrilled about going to the minors, but I was coming back to Philadelphia, a place I was comfortable with. My wife was going to be happy coming back to Philadelphia, we still have friends here.&rdquo;</p><p>This was the time for a reality check. Boucher eventually signed as a free agent in San Jose, played well there, and was ready to return to the Flyers as a free agent to play on their big roster at the start of the 2009-2010 season.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-02866/9493296-1-eng-US/f0031-022.jpg" title="f0031-02" width="171" height="170"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-03662/9493289-1-eng-US/f0031-032.jpg" title="f0031-03" width="171" height="140"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-04514/9493282-1-eng-US/f0031-042.jpg" title="f0031-04" width="160" height="154"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-05409/9493275-1-eng-US/f0031-052.jpg" title="f0031-05" width="171" height="124"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-06345/9493268-1-eng-US/f0031-062.jpg" title="f0031-06" width="170" height="155"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-07284/9493261-1-eng-US/f0031-072.jpg" title="f0031-07" width="162" height="155"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-08228/9493254-1-eng-US/f0031-082.jpg" title="f0031-08" width="154" height="170"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-09190/9493247-1-eng-US/f0031-092.jpg" title="f0031-09" width="171" height="160"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-10151/9493240-1-eng-US/f0031-102.jpg" title="f0031-10" width="170" height="168"></div><p>&ldquo;It was a good situation for me,&rdquo; he said of his resurrection in 2007. &ldquo;It was a chance for me to get my feet back on the ground. I got my confidence back. It was just a chance to kind of take a brief breath. From there, good things started to happen.</p><p>&ldquo;I had been having my ego checked for quite some time. But to me, this was like hitting rock bottom. This was like, &lsquo;OK, if you&rsquo;re really serious about this, you need to calm down and start to enjoy it a little bit more.&rsquo;&rdquo;</p><p>That wasn&rsquo;t the case between his sensational rookie season and 2002, when he played himself out of Philly. He says he put too much pressure on himself due to a new contract and the addition of European veteran Roman Cechmanek provided the final push.</p><p>Michael Leighton, a journeyman netminder himself, says he can relate to what his current Flyer teammate has gone through and what it takes to turn things around.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve had that (low points) a few times in my career,&rdquo; Leighton said, &ldquo;where you kind of look at it and say what is next year going to hold? I just have to finish this year strong and then we&rsquo;ll worry about next year.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s just kind of staying positive, looking at that situation and saying, &lsquo;What can I do to make myself better? What can I do to make the situation next year better?&rsquo; A lot of it is hard work, staying positive and just believing in your head that you can do it.&rdquo;</p><p>Boucher agrees with that assessment.</p><p>&ldquo;You have to believe in yourself, that&rsquo;s one of the main things,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;You have to have passion for the game. If you don&rsquo;t have that, it doesn&rsquo;t matter. I think both those things are important. And you have to have people around you who are a good support staff. Whether it be family, wife, friends. You need those kinds of people that if you are down, they pick you up.</p><p>&ldquo;I have all those things. Like I&rsquo;ve said before, it&rsquo;s not all peaches and cream. Sometimes there are tough days, tough months, tough years. If you&rsquo;re truly serious about playing this game, you have to pick your head up and keep going. That&rsquo;s pretty much what I&rsquo;ve tried to do.&rdquo;</p><p>The newer, mellower Boucher is appreciating the game a little more than he did 10 years ago and has learned to control his emotions for the right time and place.</p><p>&ldquo;So now I realize I&rsquo;m going to have good days, I&rsquo;m going to have bad days,&rdquo; he said.</p><p>&ldquo;Since then (2007) I&rsquo;ve been really grateful for every opportunity I&rsquo;ve gotten. Not just saying it, but meaning it. I think that comes with getting older and experience. It was a heck of an experience to go through that summer &ndash; it was a bad one, but a learning one. Since then, good things have happened.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0030-01

The many TRAVELS of Brain BOUNCHER

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-02932/9493376-1-eng-US/f0032-022.jpg" title="f0032-02" width="309" height="185"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-011386/9493383-1-eng-US/f0032-012.jpg" title="f0032-01" width="133" height="133"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><h2><b>NY Islanders</b></h2><p class="dropcap"><b><span>T</span>HERE&rsquo;S A</b> fair chance teen-age defensemen Calvin de Haan and Travis Hamonic will start the 2010-11 season in the American League. If that&rsquo;s the case, a pair of developing forwards may lead the way among New York Islanders youngsters.</p><p>Playing behind the likes of Blake Comeau and Matt Moulson, left wingers Jesse Joensuu and Matt Martin will have to earn their minutes. However, Islanders management gave them brief looks this season &ndash; Joensuu had one goal in 11 NHL games, while Martin posted two assists in five Isles contests &ndash; and will be open to their persuasion come training camp.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-07281/9493369-1-eng-US/f0032-072.jpg" title="f0032-07" width="1143" height="918"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Jesse Joensuu has plenty of height, but could use some meat on his bones.</b> <span class="photo-credit">(MIKE STOBE/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>The Islanders&rsquo; second round pick (60th overall) in 2006, Joensuu, 22, also had a short stint in the NHL at the end of the 2008-09 campaign, but failed to impress at training camp this year and went back to Bridgeport of the American League. In 18 career games with the Isles, the Finn has a pair of goals and four points; he also amassed 14 goals and 48 points in 70 games with Bridgeport this season.</p><p>Standing 6-foot-4, Joensuu has size on his side. But because he weighs just 207 pounds, he&rsquo;ll need to become more of a conditioning disciple and fill out his frame if he hopes to bang with the NHL&rsquo;s big boys.</p><p>&ldquo;(Joensuu) has enough skill to contribute,&rdquo; Islanders assistant GM Ryan Jankowski said in THN&rsquo;s 2010 Future Watch. &ldquo;The more he develops with his physical game, the more versatile he&rsquo;s going to be.&rdquo;</p><p>Martin, meanwhile, chipped in two pre-season goals for the Isles in September before returning to Bridgeport, where the 20-year-old scored 12 goals and 31 points in 76 games with the Sound Tigers.</p><p>The Isles&rsquo; fifth pick (148th overall) in 2008, Martin has improved his skating &ndash; which isn&rsquo;t to say there still isn&rsquo;t room for further improvement &ndash; but the 6-foot-2 left winger&rsquo;s willingness to mix it up with opposing players is the chief quality that has endeared him to the team&rsquo;s fanbase and management.</p><p><b>&ndash; ADAM PROTEAU</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-03683/9493362-1-eng-US/f0032-032.jpg" title="f0032-03" width="316" height="185"></div><h2><b>New Jersey</b></h2><p><b>TWO YOUNG</b> prospects, Mattias Tedenby, 20, and Jacob Josefson, 19, went head-to-head in the Swedish Elite League final. Tedenby&rsquo;s HV71 squad won, but both draft picks will battle for a spot with the Devils in September.</p><p>&ldquo;I wouldn&rsquo;t be surprised,&rdquo; said GM Lou Lamoriello. &ldquo;They both had outstanding years.&rdquo;</p><p>If UFA Ilya Kovalchuk signs elsewhere, that will give Tedenby (24th overall in &rsquo;08), the edge, as the Devils also are considering buying out Jay Pandolfo&rsquo;s contract. Those moves will open up room at left wing for the smooth skater.</p><p>Of course, the Devils often move young centers to the wing and Josefson (20th overall in &rsquo;09) has more size.</p><p><b>&ndash; RICH CHERE</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-04517/9493355-1-eng-US/f0032-042.jpg" title="f0032-04" width="298" height="185"></div><h2><b>NY Rangers</b></h2><p><b>HARD-NOSED</b> right winger Dale Weise scored 28 goals and 50 points in 73 AHL games with Hartford before being summoned at the end of the season to replace the injured Ryan Callahan.</p><p>Coach John Tortorella was anxious to see what Weise (111th overall in &rsquo;08) could bring to the mix, but Callahan recovered.</p><p>That said, Weise, 22 in August, has the attributes that Tortorella craves: youth, size (6-foot-2, 209 pounds), a motor and a north-south game. He also has a reasonable $620,000 salary.</p><p>Brandon Dubinsky is essentially the team&rsquo;s sole power forward, so with a solid camp, Weise has a shot at the roster.</p><p><b>&ndash; STEVE ZIPAY</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-05405/9493348-1-eng-US/f0032-052.jpg" title="f0032-05" width="315" height="185"></div><h2><b>Philadelphia</b></h2><p><b>HE SURVIVED</b> a potentially life-threatening leg injury in 2009, but needed only 18 games to get back into action.</p><p>The Flyers like what they&rsquo;ve seen of Jon Kalinski&rsquo;s grit and still consider him near the top of their prospect list.</p><p>GM Paul Holmgren called up the 22-year-old from AHL Adirondack for the Flyers&rsquo; playoff run and just getting a taste of the NHL atmosphere should help his maturity process.</p><p>&ldquo;He understands his role at the NHL level,&rdquo; Holmgren said. &ldquo;His recovery was miraculous. For him to come back in that time frame tells you something about the person.&rdquo;</p><p>Kalinski (152nd overall in &lsquo;07) has shown good two-way skills in his two pro seasons.</p><p><b>&ndash; WAYNE FISH</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-06344/9493341-1-eng-US/f0032-062.jpg" title="f0032-06" width="352" height="185"></div><h2><b>Pittsburgh</b></h2><p><b>LEFT WINGER</b> Eric Tangradi became the Penguins&rsquo; top prospect the minute he was acquired from Anaheim along with left winger Chris Kunitz for defenseman Ryan Whitney in February, 2009.</p><p>In 2010-11, Tangradi will get his chance to fill a void in Pittsburgh &ndash; a from-the-system scoring-line winger to play with either Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin.</p><p>Tangradi is 6-foot-3, 220 pounds, with a grit-and-sand-paper game that has invited comparisons to the franchise&rsquo;s legendary power forward, left winger Kevin Stevens.</p><p>Tangradi, 22, had 17 goals and 39 points in 65 games in his rookie pro season with Wilkes-Barre this season.</p><p><b>&ndash; WAYNE FISH</b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0032-02

ATLANTIC DIVISION

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-011235/9493449-1-eng-US/f0033-012.jpg" title="f0033-01" width="352" height="185"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-07335/9493456-1-eng-US/f0033-072.jpg" title="f0033-07" width="133" height="133"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><h2><b>Columbus</b></h2><p><b>THE MORE</b> Columbus sees of John Moore, the more excited the Blue Jackets get about him.</p><p>And that potential soon could be on display in the NHL.</p><p>Though he&rsquo;ll only be 19 at the start of next season, the Blue Jackets believe the Kitchener Rangers defenseman, their top pick in the 2009 draft (21st overall), could be ready to make the quantum leap from the Ontario League to the big circuit.</p><p>&ldquo;He certainly has a chance,&rdquo; said Columbus assistant GM Chris MacFarland. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s an outstanding skater. His game steadily got better after he adjusted to (junior); a tough adjustment for any player.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-02848/9493442-1-eng-US/f0033-022.jpg" title="f0033-02" width="1143" height="918"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>The Jackets believe John Moore has a chance to crack the lineup in the fall.</b> <span class="photo-credit">(DAVE REGINEK/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>Moore finished the regular season with 47 points in 61 games.</p><p>&ldquo;He played important minutes all year for Kitchener,&rdquo; MacFarland added, &ldquo;and they had a great run in the playoffs.</p><p>&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a guy that we&rsquo;re banking on that at some point, whether it&rsquo;s next year or the year after, to become a top-four, 20-minute-a-night defenseman. Training camp will be very exciting to gauge if he&rsquo;s ready to be prepared to be an NHL player.&rdquo;</p><p>Last fall, the Blue Jackets actually wanted Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL) left winger Matt Calvert to stay with the club, but Calvert (127th overall in &rsquo;08) felt he&rsquo;d be better to play one more year of junior.</p><p>&ldquo;He had a tremendous training camp for us last year,&rdquo; MacFarland said. &ldquo;We tried to sign him, but he wanted to go back and have the Memorial Cup experience in his home-town with Brandon.</p><p>&ldquo;He&rsquo;s one of these 5-foot-10-and-a-half, 5-foot-11 guys that&rsquo;s shifty and incredibly strong over the puck for his size, and very competitive on the puck. It&rsquo;s hard to knock him off the puck. Even at his size, it&rsquo;s uncanny.&rdquo;</p><p>It&rsquo;s feasible both Moore and Calvert will begin next season as Blue Jackets.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s certainly possible,&rdquo; MacFarland said. &ldquo;(Columbus GM) Scott Howson has always said the players themselves will tell us in training camp when they&rsquo;re ready to play.&rdquo;</p><p><b>&ndash; BOB DUFF</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-03667/9493435-1-eng-US/f0033-032.jpg" title="f0033-03" width="353" height="185"></div><h2><b>Chicago</b></h2><p><b>WITH SERIOUS</b> salary cap problems facing the Black-hawks, don&rsquo;t expect a much different look come the fall.</p><p>Most of the job openings figure to be on the third and fourth lines, where the Hawks are expected to go younger and cheaper.</p><p>Left winger Kyle Beach will get a long look at training camp to see if the 11th overall pick in &rsquo;08 is ready to make the jump from junior.</p><p>The 20-year-old is coming off a big year in the WHL, where he scored 52 goals to go with 186 penalty minutes.</p><p>The rambunctious Beach is a good fit since the grit, size and muscle of the flash-and-dash Hawks has been brought into question this season.</p><p><b>&ndash; TIM SASSONE</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-04542/9493428-1-eng-US/f0033-042.jpg" title="f0033-04" width="350" height="185"></div><h2><b>Detroit</b></h2><p><b>WITH NICKLAS</b> Lidstrom, 40, and Brian Rafalski, 37 in September, approaching the end of their careers, the Red Wings will need a talented, puck-moving defenseman to help fill the void.</p><p>They believe Jakub Kindl, 23, has the skills to be a top-four NHL defenseman.</p><p>&ldquo;Since he turned pro, he&rsquo;s continued to get stronger, learned to be better in his own zone,&rdquo; said Red Wings GM Ken Holland. &ldquo;We believe he&rsquo;s an NHL defenseman, but there&rsquo;s growing pains&hellip;He&rsquo;s a part of our future.&rdquo;</p><p>The club&rsquo;s highest draft pick since 1991 (19th overall in 2005), Kindl will get an opportunity next season, after three years developing in AHL.</p><p><b>&ndash; ANSAR KHAN</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-05458/9493421-1-eng-US/f0033-052.jpg" title="f0033-05" width="347" height="185"></div><h2><b>Nashville</b></h2><p><b>THE PREDS&rsquo;</b> first pick in 2007 (23rd overall), Jonathon Blum appears to be the next top prospect ready to make the jump to Nashville.</p><p>There are questions surrounding the return of three of the team&rsquo;s top seven blue-liners: Dan Hamhuis and Francis Bouillon are UFAs; Denis Grebeshkov is an RFA.</p><p>Nashville&rsquo;s top priority is Hamhuis and there&rsquo;s virtually no chance all three will return.</p><p>As a rookie pro with Milwaukee of the American League, Blum, 21, posted 11 goals, 41 points and was plus-17. A puck-mover, he can help replace Hamhuis. The only question is if he&rsquo;ll be physically ready for the NHL.</p><p><b>&ndash; JOHN GLENNON</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-06400/9493414-1-eng-US/f0033-062.jpg" title="f0033-06" width="331" height="185"></div><h2><b>St. Louis</b></h2><p><b>THE BLUES</b> had three picks in the first round of the 2007 draft. The first one, Danish center Lars Eller (13th overall), is a good bet to play full-time with St. Louis in 2010-11.</p><p>With Keith Tkachuk&rsquo;s retirement and Paul Kariya&rsquo;s future uncertain, the Blues could have a couple of holes up front.</p><p>Eller, 21, registered 18 goals and 57 points in 70 games with AHL Peoria this season, his first in North America. He also had two brief NHL stints, scoring twice in seven games.</p><p>He can&rsquo;t fill the skates of Tkachuk or Kariya, but Eller offers skill and grit. And while the Blues try to keep prospects in the minors for as much seasoning as possible, Eller may be ready to come off the grill.</p><p><b>&ndash; JEREMY RUTHERFORD</b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0033-01

CENTRAL DIVISION

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-011402/9493522-1-eng-US/f0034-012.jpg" title="f0034-01" width="319" height="185"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-07397/9493529-1-eng-US/f0034-072.jpg" title="f0034-07" width="133" height="133"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><h2><b>Boston</b></h2><p><b>THE TOP</b> prospect to make the Boston Bruins next season could be waiting for them in La-La Land.</p><p>Thanks to the Phil Kessel trade with Toronto in September, the Bruins will have the No. 2 pick in the annual crap-shoot, which means they&rsquo;ll either get Taylor Hall or Tyler Seguin.</p><p>Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli has already said he&rsquo;ll take whichever player the Edmonton Oilers decide to pass on with the No. 1 pick. Sure, Boston has prospects in its organization, but scouts say Hall or Seguin are ready for the big time.</p><p>&ldquo;They&rsquo;ve got what it takes to play next year,&rdquo; one NHL scout said. &ldquo;These two are definitely going to push for a spot.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-02970/9493515-1-eng-US/f0034-022.jpg" title="f0034-02" width="1144" height="918"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>At 6-foot-4, Adam McQuaid gives the Bruins more size on the blueline.</b> <span class="photo-credit">(BRIAN BABINEAU/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>Chiarelli said he believes they&rsquo;ll have a chance and that&rsquo;s nothing but good news for the Bruins. The GM has worked hard to put his stamp on the organization. He has beefed up the scouting staff by reshaping the department and adding to both the amateur and college ranks.</p><p>Defenseman Adam McQuaid, earning valuable playoff experience because of injuries, will push for a full-time spot next year after spending most of this season in Providence.</p><p>McQuaid, 23, has shown tremendous poise.</p><p>&ldquo;For a rookie, in sort of the high stakes poker at the end of the season and in the playoffs, he&rsquo;s been just fine,&rdquo; Chiarelli said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a stay-at-home defenseman and he&rsquo;s taken advantage of the opportunity he&rsquo;s been given.&rdquo;</p><p>The possibilities don&rsquo;t stop there for Boston, not with winger Brad Marchand, center Joe Colborne and winger Jordan Caron waiting in the wings.</p><p>Marchand was with Providence last season while Colborne and Caron are the club&rsquo;s past two first round picks. All three are strong prospects and if they don&rsquo;t make the team coming out of camp, they may get games during the season.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s incumbent on any team to have prospects that are going to fill in, especially with the salary level of those second contracts,&rdquo; Chiarelli said.</p><p><b>&ndash; BRUCE GARRIOCH</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-03771/9493508-1-eng-US/f0034-032.jpg" title="f0034-03" width="346" height="185"></div><h2><b>Buffalo</b></h2><p><b>TYLER</b>&nbsp;<b>ENNIS</b>, all of 5-foot-9 and 163 pounds, got tossed halfway into the Bruins&rsquo; bench by 6-foot-9, 255-pound behemoth Zdeno Chara during his second NHL playoff game. Ennis&rsquo; response? He laughed.</p><p>&ldquo;He has no fear in his game,&rdquo; said GM Darcy Regier.</p><p>Ennis, 20, certainly has game, though. He was the AHL rookie of the year and was called up for the final nine games of Buffalo&rsquo;s season as an injury fill-in. He turned out to be irreplaceable. Ennis was the Sabres&rsquo; most creative forward in their playoff loss to Boston. He led the team with three assists and scored once on his team-high 20 shots.</p><p>It will be shocking if he fails to make the team out of camp.</p><p><b>&ndash; JOHN VOGL</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-04622/9493501-1-eng-US/f0034-042.jpg" title="f0034-04" width="348" height="185"></div><h2><b>Montreal</b></h2><p><b>THE RECALL</b> of defenseman P.K. Subban for Game 6 didn&rsquo;t change the Canadiens&rsquo; fortunes in their playoff upset of Washington; that honor belonged to Jaroslav Halak.</p><p>But it spoke volumes of Subban, 20, that he was summoned after Jaroslav Spacek developed a virus. With Paul Mara and Marc-Andre Bergeron potential UFAs, next year will be big for Subban.</p><p>The 6-foot, 207-pounder opened eyes during his first pro season. He&rsquo;s an offensive diamond who will impact the Habs&rsquo; power play, but also brings energy and enthusiasm.</p><p>In 77 AHL contests with Hamilton, he produced 18 goals and 53 points, and was a mind-boggling plus-46.</p><p><b>&ndash; HERB ZURKOWSKY</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-05513/9493494-1-eng-US/f0034-052.jpg" title="f0034-05" width="285" height="185"></div><h2><b>Ottawa</b></h2><p><b>KEEP AN</b> eye on goaltender Robin Lehner.</p><p>The Sens liked what they saw when they selected the Swede with the 46th overall pick in 2009, but they couldn&rsquo;t have expected the rise he&rsquo;s made up the depth chart.</p><p>The 6-foot-4, 225-pound Lehner will only be 19 next season, but sent notice to the organization that he was serious about playing in the NHL when he came over last summer to play in North America.</p><p>After a solid rookie season with Sault Ste. Marie of the OHL, he finished the year with AHL affiliate Binghamton.</p><p>It might be early, but there&rsquo;s no question Lehner will push Pascal Leclaire and Brian Elliott for playing time next year.</p><p><b>&ndash; BRUCE GARRIOCH</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-06462/9493487-1-eng-US/f0034-062.jpg" title="f0034-06" width="330" height="185"></div><h2><b>Toronto</b></h2><p><b>IF HE</b> lives up to the huge expectations plopped on his young shoulders, it will be an impressive feat.</p><p>From the moment he first wowed the crowd during the pre-season, Nazem Kadri mania engulfed Leafs Nation.</p><p>The subsequent decision to send Kadri (seventh overall in &lsquo;09) back to junior was not popular with Kadri nor the fan base, but it was the right one.</p><p>After registering 93 points in 56 games with OHL London, the young center is being penciled in as a top-six forward next season. And he welcomes the challenge.</p><p>&ldquo;Pressure? Hey, no one puts more pressure on themselves than I do,&rdquo; Kadri said.</p><p>We&rsquo;ll see.</p><p><b>&ndash; MIKE ZEISBERGER</b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0034-01

NORTHEAST DIVISION

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-011306/9493595-1-eng-US/f0035-012.jpg" title="f0035-01" width="332" height="185"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-07411/9493602-1-eng-US/f0035-072.jpg" title="f0035-07" width="133" height="133"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><h2><b>Calgary</b></h2><p><b>IT&rsquo;S COMING</b> on five years since Matt Pelech was drafted in the first round (26th in 2005) by the Calgary Flames.</p><p>The clock is ticking for the defenseman to make the jump to the NHL.</p><p>As much as his career needs it to happen next season, so do the Flames.</p><p>Calgary currently has seven blueliners inked to one-way contracts and pending restricted free agent Ian White to sign, but when the curtain rises on the 2010-11 season, it will be in the best interest for all if Pelech has become a full-time NHLer.</p><p>Pelech had a serious crimp in his season due to blood clot issues in his shoulder, which cost him nearly 40 regular season games. But other than top prospect Mikael Backlund, he is the player seemingly most ready to make the jump after spending almost all of the past three seasons in the AHL, save for a five-game stint late in 2008-09.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-02923/9493588-1-eng-US/f0035-022.jpg" title="f0035-02" width="1143" height="918"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Matt Pelech will be counted on to make the leap to the NHL in Calgary next year.</b> <span class="photo-credit">(BRUCE KLUCKHOHN/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>The 6-foot-3, 220-pound defenseman won&rsquo;t become an offensive dynamo for the Flames, even though he collected three assists in those five NHL games with Calgary. He&rsquo;s averaged fewer than 10 points per AHL season.</p><p>His game is more along the lines of Robyn Regehr; a shut-down defender who moves well for his size and knows how to use the body. In fact, Regehr is the perfect player for Pelech to spend time with, learning to emulate while taking his game to another level.</p><p>Calgary has very little salary cap space heading into the season. There are a couple of defensemen who are candidates to trade for relief against the cap as well as allowing a prospect &ndash; or even two &ndash; to graduate. With its existing set of players, Calgary won&rsquo;t have enough flexibility to add any scorers, which the Flames truly need. They&rsquo;ll barely be able to fill out a legitimate NHL roster.</p><p>Pelech would appear to be the front-runner to make the jump, but the Flames have a few others in the likes of John Negrin, whose season was ruined by injuries, Brad Cole and Keith Seabrook.</p><p><b>&ndash; RANDY SPORTAK</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-03764/9493581-1-eng-US/f0035-032.jpg" title="f0035-03" width="335" height="185"></div><h2><b>Colorado</b></h2><p><b>IT WILL</b> be fairly disappointing if Kevin Shattenkirk fails to make the Avalanche out of training camp this fall.</p><p>The conditions are just right for the 2007 first-rounder (14th overall) to start his NHL career as the Avs are expected to cut loose a few older D-men, creating room for the former Boston University captain.</p><p>Shattenkirk, 21, got some late-season experience with AHL Lake Erie after leaving BU following his junior year.</p><p>He is listed at 5-foot-11, 193 pounds and the Avs already have two puck-moving defensemen who aren&rsquo;t big or overly physical (J-M Liles and Kyle Cumiskey). But scouts like Shattenkirk&rsquo;s leadership skills and head for the game.</p><p><b>&ndash; ADRIAN DATER</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-04626/9493574-1-eng-US/f0035-042.jpg" title="f0035-04" width="243" height="138"></div><h2><b>Edmonton</b></h2><p><b>THERE ARE</b> no sure things when you&rsquo;re talking about rookie pros, but Jordan Eberle is definitely in Edmonton&rsquo;s NHL plans for next season.</p><p>&ldquo;I think Jordan is going to have a good chance to play,&rdquo; said GM Steve Tambellini. &ldquo;He just seems to find ways to figure it out and have success. He&rsquo;s not the biggest guy, he&rsquo;s not the fastest guy, but the package, the intelligence and the hockey sense are elite.&rdquo;</p><p>It was a great April for the 22nd overall pick in 2008. He had 14 points in 11 games after joining the AHL Spring-field Falcons, was named one of Team Canada&rsquo;s red shirts at the World Championship and was crowned Western League player of the year.</p><p><b>&ndash; ROB TYCHKOWSKI</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-05533/9493567-1-eng-US/f0035-052.jpg" title="f0035-05" width="352" height="185"></div><h2><b>Minnesota</b></h2><p><b>NO ROOKIES</b> made the Wild out of camp this season. Next year, several will vie for spots.</p><p>The biggest excitement centers around pivot Casey Well-man, who signed out of UMass in March and scored a goal and four points in 12 games. A sniper in college, Wellman showed impressive speed and offensive instincts. If he&rsquo;s able to pack muscle onto his 6-foot, 173-pound frame, the Wild will have a real find.</p><p>Some fans are clamoring for the Wild to give Wellman AHL seasoning, something James Sheppard was never afforded.</p><p>&ldquo;He&rsquo;ll be 23 years old next October,&rdquo; said GM Chuck Fletcher. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s a lot different than an 18-or 19-year-old kid coming out of junior.&rdquo;</p><p><b>&ndash; MICHAEL RUSSO</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-06481/9493560-1-eng-US/f0035-062.jpg" title="f0035-06" width="343" height="185"></div><h2><b>Vancouver</b></h2><p><b>AFTER A</b> three-year stint with AHL Manitoba, goalie Cory Schneider is NHL-ready and will almost certainly be on the roster next season.</p><p>GM Mike Gillis basically said as much in March, though he&rsquo;ll have to sign the RFA to a new deal. Schneider would replace Andrew Raycroft as the No. 2.</p><p>The wait has been a long one for both the Canucks and Schneider, 24. He was Vancouver&rsquo;s first pick (26th overall) in 2004, spent three seasons with Boston College and then went to Manitoba. Schneider will have no problem serving as Roberto Luongo&rsquo;s backup.</p><p>&ldquo;You have to break into the league first before you can think about becoming No. 1,&rdquo; Schneider said.</p><p><b>&ndash; ELLIOTT PAP</b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0035-01

NORTHWEST DIVISION

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-011302/9493668-1-eng-US/f0036-012.jpg" title="f0036-01" width="350" height="185"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-07361/9493675-1-eng-US/f0036-072.jpg" title="f0036-07" width="133" height="133"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><h2><b>Dallas</b></h2><p><b>STARS FANS</b> glimpsed the future in the final two games of the season when Philip Larsen and Aaron Gagnon made their NHL debuts.</p><p>Though the games were meaningless in terms of playoff implications, the experience of playing in Mike Modano&rsquo;s final home game and last game in a Stars uniform brought about a different kind of pressure.</p><p>&ldquo;To be a part of two special nights like that, knowing how bad the team wanted to win for Mike, was as close to a playoff game that you could find yourself in,&rdquo; said Stars broadcaster Ralph Strangis.</p><p>Larsen played in the Swedish Elite League the past two seasons under the watchful eye of former Dallas player and assistant coach Ulf Dahlen. At 5-foot-11, 185 pounds, Larsen doesn&rsquo;t bring a lot of size, but his puck-moving skills fit perfectly into coach Marc Crawford&rsquo;s up-tempo system that encourages the defensemen to join the attack.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-02873/9493661-1-eng-US/f0036-022.jpg" title="f0036-02" width="1143" height="918"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Danish blueliner Philip Larsen is a Star shooting up the Dallas depth chart.</b> <span class="photo-credit">(BRUCE KLUCKHOHN/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>&ldquo;The kid can skate, he showed in those two games he&rsquo;s good puck mover, strong first pass, he skates well but doesn&rsquo;t add a lot of size to the blueline,&rdquo; Strangis said.</p><p>The original plan was for Larsen to spend next year with the AHL affiliate Texas Stars to get a year of North American hockey exposure under his belt. But with Ivan Vishnevskiy sent to Atlanta in the Kari Lehtonen deal, Larsen&rsquo;s path to the big club should be accelerated.</p><p>With Modano and Jere Lehtinen no longer in the picture, and the possibility Dallas will move a top-nine forward to acquire additional blueline depth, expect the Stars to look within for help to fill the void up front. GM Joe Nieuwendyk has stated in the past the team has a responsibility to improve internally and with the ownership situation still in flux the Stars may not have the money to spend in the free agent market to fill the spots left by the two veterans.</p><p>That opens the door for top prospect Scott Glennie or Gagnon, who led Texas in scoring with 27 goals and 58 points and could fill the spot of third line center.</p><p><b>&ndash; JONATHAN DAVIS</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-03719/9493654-1-eng-US/f0036-032.jpg" title="f0036-03" width="340" height="185"></div><h2><b>Anaheim</b></h2><p><b>NICK BONINO</b> got a taste of what the NHL is like when the Boston University product and former NCAA title-game hero had a nine-game tryout at the end of the regular season.</p><p>The jury is still out on the center grabbing a roster spot when the Ducks break camp in October, but Bonino, 22, figures to be in the mix, especially if the club is unable to re-sign veteran Saku Koivu or find a proven replacement.</p><p>A stronger bet to make the roster is defenseman Luca Sbisa, 20, who was sent back to junior this season, then played in the world juniors and the Olympics for Switzerland. With 47 games of NHL experience he&rsquo;s no rookie, but is an option on the Anaheim blueline.</p><p><b>&ndash; ERIC STEPHENS</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-04574/9493647-1-eng-US/f0036-042.jpg" title="f0036-04" width="344" height="185"></div><h2><b>Los Angeles</b></h2><p><b>THE FUTURE</b> continues to look bright for the Kings. Their first post-lockout playoff appearance coupled with a solid core &ndash; Norris Trophy candidate Drew Doughty, Anze Kopitar and captain Dustin Brown &ndash; means plenty of optimism and high expectations.</p><p>After years of revolving door goaltenders, Jonathan Quick finally brought stability to the position with 39 wins. And goalie of the future Jonathan Bernier (11th overall, 2006) had a stellar season with AHL Manchester. Bernier played three NHL games this season, going a perfect 3-0-0 with a shutout, a 1.30 goals-against average and .957 save percentage. He will challenge Quick for the top job next year.</p><p><b>&ndash; JONATHAN DAVIS</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-05487/9493640-1-eng-US/f0036-052.jpg" title="f0036-05" width="302" height="185"></div><h2><b>Phoenix</b></h2><p><b>BARRING AN</b> unexpected influx of funds that would allow the Coyotes to sign free agents and/or bring back most of their own, a &ldquo;build from within&rdquo; mindset will be the priority.</p><p>The Coyotes need an offensive punch, that&rsquo;s why left winger Brett MacLean is moving front and center. He finished his second AHL season with 30 goals and 65 points.</p><p>&ldquo;Brett has an ingredient we lack &ndash; the ability to score goals,&rdquo; said GM Don Maloney. &ldquo;It will be up to him to prove he is ready to play in the NHL.&rdquo;</p><p>With four UFA defensemen, Maxim Goncharov also could slide in. He played 51 games for CSKA Moscow of the KHL this season with four goals, 17 points and 52 penalty minutes.</p><p><b>&ndash; JIM GINTONIO</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-06430/9493633-1-eng-US/f0036-062.jpg" title="f0036-06" width="336" height="185"></div><h2><b>San Jose</b></h2><p><b>WITH THE</b> April signing of power forward Cam MacIntyre as a college free agent, the Sharks think they have someone capable of leaping from the NCAA to the NHL.</p><p>MacIntyre is 24, having played two seasons in the British Columbia League before going to Princeton. About 20 NHL teams were in contact with him before the Sooke, B.C., native made his decision.</p><p>A point-a-game player in his sophomore year at Princeton, the 6-foot-1, 225-pound MacIntyre was limited by injuries to 24 games over the past two seasons. But he already has been working with the Sharks training staff and says confidently that a back problem is behind him.</p><p><b>&ndash; DAVID POLLAK</b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0036-01

PACIFIC DIVISION

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-011162/9493741-1-eng-US/f0037-012.jpg" title="f0037-01" width="342" height="185"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-07377/9493748-1-eng-US/f0037-072.jpg" title="f0037-07" width="133" height="133"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><h2><b>Atlanta</b></h2><p><b>WITH JUST</b> 12 players under contract as of early May, big changes look to be on the horizon in Atlanta. But don&rsquo;t expect a slew of rookies.</p><p>&ldquo;They&rsquo;re going to have to be pretty good,&rdquo; said new GM Rick Dudley of any potential freshmen. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re a pretty good roster right now.&rdquo;</p><p>If UFA defenseman Pavel Kubina isn&rsquo;t re-signed, look for Arturs Kulda, 21, to make the jump from affiliate Chicago. He&rsquo;s no offensive dynamo (six goals, 25 points), but led the American League in plus-minus this season with a plus-47 in 66 games.</p><p>&ldquo;The reason he has an inside track is simple, he came up and played well,&rdquo; Dudley said of Kulda&rsquo;s four-game audition at season&rsquo;s end.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-02809/9493734-1-eng-US/f0037-022.jpg" title="f0037-02" width="1143" height="918"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>D-man Arturs Kulda hopes to build on a late-season audition with Atlanta.</b> <span class="photo-credit">(FREDERICK BREEDON/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>For appearance&rsquo;s sake alone, the Thrashers hope blueliner Ivan Vishnevskiy impresses management and fans.</p><p>The 22-year-old, acquired from Dallas for goalie Kari Lehtonen, already would have made his debut if not for a late-season injury.</p><p>&ldquo;He&rsquo;s got to make sure he&rsquo;s responsible,&rdquo; Dudley said of Vishnevskiy&rsquo;s game. &ldquo;The skating is obviously off the charts, he&rsquo;s fine in the grit department, his first pass is very good.&rdquo;</p><p>Things are decidedly more muddled at forward.</p><p>Atlanta was tied for 11th in NHL scoring with 230 goals this year. But 122 came from free agent or traded forwards.</p><p>So change is afoot, with the most likely first-year forward being Patrice Cormier.</p><p>&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a pretty complete athlete,&rdquo; Dudley said. &ldquo;I would say, as is the case with many junior players, they&rsquo;re going to have to get used to a different tempo. So he&rsquo;s probably going to have to really come in and enhance his foot speed.&rdquo;</p><p>If not Cormier, Dudley mentioned Ontario League sniper Jeremy Morin, Swede Carl Klingberg and AHLer Spencer Machacek as possibilities. And there&rsquo;s always the former wunderkind and now oft-injured Angelo Esposito.</p><p>&ldquo;He&rsquo;s had a tough time,&rsquo; Dudley noted, &ldquo;but if he can ever get himself healthy he will challenge for a job.&rdquo;</p><p><b>&ndash; JOHN GRIGG</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-03648/9493727-1-eng-US/f0037-032.jpg" title="f0037-03" width="352" height="185"></div><h2><b>Carolina</b></h2><p><b>THE CANES</b> auditioned a half-dozen future NHL regulars during in 2009-10, setting the stage for a new generation to move into the lineup next fall. At Ohio State, Zac Dalpe watched &ndash; and waited.</p><p>After netting 70 points in two seasons with the Buckeyes, the &rsquo;08 second-rounder (45th overall) signed this spring and will have every chance to fill one of as many as eight roster spots open to prospects making the jump.</p><p>The center scored six goals in nine AHL games to close out the season, then added three more in eight playoff games.</p><p>&ldquo;It definitely has picked up,&rdquo; Dalpe said of his pro prospects, &ldquo;but with no shortage of hard work at it.&rdquo;</p><p><b>&ndash; LUKE DECOCK</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-04554/9493720-1-eng-US/f0037-042.jpg" title="f0037-04" width="352" height="185"></div><h2><b>Florida</b></h2><p><b>THE PANTHERS</b> don&rsquo;t have many traditions, but since coming into the league in 1993 &ndash; with few exceptions &ndash; Florida has been strong in net. And since the Cats picked Swedish goalie Jacob Markstrom 31st overall in 2008, he has been billed as Florida&rsquo;s future netminder.</p><p>Markstrom is expected to join the Panthers at training camp. If Florida was to trade Tomas Vokoun this summer, Markstrom&rsquo;s ascent will be expedited.</p><p>The Panthers have said they would like him to spend the 2010-11 season in AHL Rochester, but based on his play in Sweden, there&rsquo;s thought the 20-year-old is good enough to be a backup in the NHL now.</p><p><b>&ndash; GEORGE RICHARDS</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-05500/9493713-1-eng-US/f0037-052.jpg" title="f0037-05" width="312" height="185"></div><h2><b>Tampa Bay</b></h2><p><b>IF BRIAN</b> Lawton was still GM and Rick Tocchet was still coach, Carter Ashton would have a very good chance to be with the Lightning next season. That is how much they liked the 6-foot-3, 205-pound power forward, drafted 29th overall in 2009.</p><p>But Ashton still has a shot. His A-to-B skating style and willingness to go to the net would make him valuable on a team that last season had trouble with both aspects.</p><p>Ashton had a legitimate chance of making the Bolts this season. He impressed in training camp and the team experimented with him on a line with Vinny Lecavalier.</p><p>Expect an even more serious look this fall.</p><p><b>&ndash; DAMIAN CRISTODERO</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-06442/9493706-1-eng-US/f0037-062.jpg" title="f0037-06" width="352" height="185"></div><h2><b>Washington</b></h2><p><b>WITH GOALIE</b> Jose Theodore a free agent and Semyon Varlamov the odds-on favorite to replace him, who will be the No. 2 netminder for the Caps? Two AHL Hershey backstops have the inside track.</p><p>Michal Neuvirth, 22, doesn&rsquo;t possess Varlamov&rsquo;s flare, but his quick hands and stellar reflexes sometimes give him an acrobatic appearance. Neuvirth&rsquo;s all-around game, however, still must be refined.</p><p>Braden Holtby, 20, broke through with a 25-8-2 mark in Hershey. He&rsquo;s got a sneaky-quick glove and is adept at flattening his 6-foot-1 frame along the goal line. Most of his deficiencies are technical and can be corrected with increased playing time.</p><p><b>&ndash; PETER KERZEL</b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0037-01

SOUTHEAST DIVISION

<div class="byline">BY RYAN KENNEDY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-011157/9493786-1-eng-US/f0039-012.jpg" title="f0039-01" width="422" height="456"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>H</span>OSTING THE MEMORIAL CUP</b> has many privileges. There&rsquo;s the prestige of the tournament itself, the reward of a marquee event for a passionate junior fan base and the extra revenue the derby brings into the local economy.</p><p>But the fact the host team is guaranteed a spot in the final four is perhaps the sweetest plum.</p><p>This season, the Western League&rsquo;s Brandon Wheat Kings play host to the tournament. And the pride of Manitoba couldn&rsquo;t be happier.</p><p>&ldquo;There&rsquo;s a lot of buzz in the city right now,&rdquo; said center Brayden Schenn. &ldquo;We can&rsquo;t wait for it to get started.&rdquo;</p><p>The current trend in major junior is for teams to load up for a run at the Memorial Cup and as hosts, the Wheat Kings are no different. Along with Schenn, a Los Angeles Kings prospect who was the fifth overall pick in 2009, the Wheat Kings began the summer with a core that also featured right winger Scott Glennie (eighth overall to Dallas in &rsquo;09), defenseman Colby Robak (46th overall to Florida in &rsquo;08) and left winger Matt Calvert (127th overall to Columbus in &rsquo;08), who almost made the Blue Jackets out of camp and had a chance to turn pro, but decided a shot at the Memorial Cup would be best for his overall development.</p><blockquote class="pullQuote"><b>&lsquo;I COULDN&rsquo;T COME BACK IN MAY AND SEE THE BOYS WIN IT WITHOUT ME&rsquo;</b></blockquote><p>&ldquo;It was a real big part of my decision,&rdquo; Calvert revealed. &ldquo;I couldn&rsquo;t come back here in May and see the boys win it without me.&rdquo;</p><p>So Calvert stayed, while the caliber of the boys around him continued to improve. Flashy Finnish teen Toni Rajala (101st overall to Edmonton in &rsquo;09) was brought over from Europe in the summer and immediately paid dividends: the right winger tallied 63 points in 60 games during the regular season.</p><p>At the trade deadline, the Wheat Kings landed New York Islanders prospect Travis Hamonic, a D-man taken 53rd overall in &rsquo;08.</p><p>&ldquo;It gives us a lot of depth and a lot of confidence in all our lines,&rdquo; Calvert noted. &ldquo;We have the talent, we have the team on paper.&rdquo;</p><p>Now the mission is to translate paper into hardware. Brandon was bounced from the WHL playoffs in the third round by the Calgary Hitmen. The fact the Wheat Kings will likely get another shot at the Hitmen sets up a nice bit of theater.</p><p>&ldquo;You never want to take the back door in (to the Memorial Cup),&rdquo; Calvert said. &ldquo;But now we have a chance for redemption.&rdquo;</p><p>If the Wheat Kings do find their revenge, it will be as much about keeping pucks out of the net as it is depositing them into it.</p><p>&ldquo;Defense is the key,&rdquo; Schenn said. &ldquo;The goals will come, we just have to work hard out there. Working hard will beat talent if talent doesn&rsquo;t work hard.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-02759/9493779-1-eng-US/f0039-022.jpg" title="f0039-02" width="1088" height="1389"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Brayden Schenn is just one of the highly rated prospects on the Wheat Kings.</b> <span class="photo-credit">(BRANDON WHEAT KINGS)</span></figcaption></div><p>And there will be a lot of talent in the tournament once again.</p><p>Thanks to a sweep of the Barrie Colts in the Ontario League final, the Windsor Spitfires return to the Memorial Cup with visions of a repeat of last year&rsquo;s victory in Rimouski, Que.</p><p>Much like the Wheat Kings, the Spitfires are loaded with high-powered offensive players with NHL pedigrees.</p><p>Four members of Windsor played for Canada at this year&rsquo;s World Junior Championship, while defenseman Cam Fowler made sure his Canuck buddies only walked away with a silver medal thanks to his work with Team USA.</p><p>Fowler is a top-five prospect for this summer&rsquo;s draft, while teammate Taylor Hall will vie for the No. 1 selection overall.</p><p>&ldquo;I played in two under-18s and a the world juniors with those guys,&rdquo; Schenn said of the Canadian contingent, which included Hall, Ryan Ellis, Greg Nemisz and Adam Henrique. &ldquo;I kind of have a feel for them, but not the team overall.&rdquo;</p><p>Which is one of the reasons the Memorial Cup is so intriguing; it pits the winners of all three leagues against each other, meaning familiarity is at a minimum.</p><p>As for Brandon itself, the town of 42,000 is ready for its Memorial Cup close-up.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a bit of a smaller city,&rdquo; Calvert noted. &ldquo;The town&rsquo;s really pumped up for it.&rdquo;</p><p>Imagine if the home team takes the title.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0039-01

PROSPECTS UNLIMITED

CUP HOSTS READY TO GO

<div class="byline">BY DUSTIN POLLACK</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-01855/9493824-1-eng-US/f0040-012.jpg" title="f0040-01" width="422" height="456"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-02535/9493817-1-eng-US/f0040-022.jpg" title="f0040-02" width="1518" height="1824"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Former Wheat King Ray Ferraro holds the WHL record for goals in a season.</b> <span class="photo-credit">(BRUCE BENNETT STUDIOS/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>T</span>HE SMALL CITY</b> of Brandon (pop. 42,000) has a deep hockey history; the Western League&rsquo;s Wheat Kings have been part of the community for more than 70 years.</p><p>Beginning in the Manitoba Junior League in 1937, the Brandon Wheat Kings eventually moved to the Western Canada League in 1967 (before its transformation into the Western League in 1978) and have been a member of major junior&rsquo;s western circuit for the past 43 years, winning the league title twice and competing for the Memorial Cup now four times since 1971, when it was first awarded to Canada&rsquo;s major junior national champion.</p><p>The &lsquo;Wheaties&rsquo; have had nearly 700 young men play for the organization during those 43 years. Brandon hosting the 2010 Mastercard Memorial Cup tournament offers a chance to look back at those players, some of whom have gone on to excel at the NHL level.</p><p>Wade Redden of the New York Rangers, Jordin Tootoo of the Nashville Predators and Eric Fehr of the Washington Capitals are part of a short list of current NHLers who played for the Wheat Kings. Redden competed in two Memorial Cups (1995, 1996) while playing for Brandon, but came up short both times. The Wheat Kings have never claimed the Cup.</p><p>Brandon was also home to the junior careers of former NHLers Ray Ferraro, Ron Hextall, Brian Propp and Dave Semenko. Ferraro still holds the WHL record for most goals scored in a single season with 108, a feat he achieved during the 1983-84 season. Bill Derlago, another Wheatie, and Propp are Nos. 2 and 3 on the WHL&rsquo;s single-season goal list with 96 and 94.</p><p>Now the Wheat Kings are hoping to add to Brandon&rsquo;s rich hockey tradition with its first Memorial Cup triumph.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0040-01

MEET YOUR WHEATIES

<h2><b>TOP PROSPECT</b></h2><p><b>WHL</b> - Brett Connolly, PG</p><p><b>OHL</b> - Tyler Seguin, Ply</p><p><b>QMJHL</b> - Brandon Gormley, Mct</p><h2><b>PLAYER OF THE YEAR</b></h2><p><b>WHL</b> - Jordan Eberle, Reg</p><p><b>OHL</b> - Tyler Seguin, Ply</p><p><b>QMJHL</b> - Mike Hoffman, SJ</p><h2><b>HUMANITARIAN OF THE YEAR</b></h2><p><b>WHL</b> - Matt Fraser, Kty</p><p><b>OHL</b> - Ryan Hayes, Ply</p><p><b>QMJHL</b> - Nick MacNeil, CB</p><h2><b>SCHOLASTIC PLAYER OF THE YEAR</b></h2><p>&nbsp;<b>WHL</b> - Adam Lowry, SC</p><p><b>OHL</b> - Erik Gudbranson, Kin</p><p><b>QMJHL</b> - Dominic Jalbert, Chi</p><h2><b>COACH OF THE YEAR</b></h2><p><b>WHL</b> - Mark Holick, Kty</p><p><b>OHL</b> - Dale Hunter, Lon</p><p><b>QMJHL</b> - Gerard Gallant, SJ</p><h2><b>ROOKIE OF THE YEAR</b></h2><p><b>WHL</b> - Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, RD</p><p><b>OHL</b> - Matt Puempel, Ptb</p><p><b>QMJHL</b> - Petr Straka, Rim</p><h2><b>GOALTENDER OF THE YEAR</b></h2><p><b>WHL</b> - Martin Jones, Cgy</p><p><b>OHL</b> - Chris Carrozzi, Mis</p><p><b>QMJHL</b> - Jake Allen, Dru</p><h2><b>DEFENSEMAN OF THE YEAR</b></h2><p>&nbsp;<b>WHL</b> - Tyson Barrie, Kel</p><p><b>OHL</b> - Jacob Muzzin, SSM</p><p><b>QMJHL</b> - David Savard, Mct</p><h2><b>SPORTSMAN OF THE YEAR</b></h2><p>&nbsp;<b>WHL</b> - Jason Bast, MJ</p><p><b>OHL</b> - Ryan Spooner, Ptb</p><p><b>QMJHL</b> - Mike Hoffman, SJ</p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-03411/9493855-1-eng-US/f0040-032.jpg" title="f0040-03" width="66" height="65"></div><p>FOR SCHEDULES, SCORES AND TEAM ROSTERS</p><p><b>GO TO</b> <a href="http://THN.com/memcup">THN.com/memcup</a><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p></div>

CHL awards nominees

<div class="byline">BY TIM CAMPBELL</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-01741/9493900-1-eng-US/f0041-012.jpg" title="f0041-01" width="970" height="1193"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(ROSS DETTMAN PHOTOGRAPHY)</span></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-02473/9493893-1-eng-US/f0041-022.jpg" title="f0041-02" width="213" height="214"></div><h2><b>Ivan Vishnevskiy</b></h2><p>Chicago Wolves</p><p><b>Ht.</b> 6-0</p><p><b>Wt.</b> 193</p><p><b>Pos.</b> D</p><p><b>Age</b> 22</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-03385/9493886-1-eng-US/f0041-032.jpg" title="f0041-03" width="198" height="103"></div><p><b>AND COUNTING</b></p><p><b>7</b>&nbsp;Points in 15 career playoff games with Peoria and Chicago.</p><p><b>WHEN HE WAS</b> traded by the Dallas Stars to the Atlanta Thrashers in February for goalie Kari Lehtonen, Ivan Vishnevskiy&rsquo;s switch of teams sent him from the AHL&rsquo;s Texas Stars to the Chicago Wolves.</p><p>In that particular week, the trip was all of about 50 feet, from one end of Cedar Park Center to the other.</p><p>&ldquo;It was kind of hard because my first game (after the trade) was against Texas,&rdquo; said the fleet-footed, soft-handed defenseman. &ldquo;I just changed my locker room.&rdquo;</p><p>Hard, the 22-year-old Russian said, because teammates, even former ones, are friends.</p><p>&ldquo;They are nice guys, I know them for a while,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I changed teams, but I&rsquo;m still their friend.&rdquo;</p><p>That bond likely suspended during these AHL playoffs, as Vishnevskiy&rsquo;s Wolves ran up against the Stars in the West Division final.</p><p>The teams were a contrast in styles. The Stars were a tough nut to crack all season long, thriving on defensive excellence. The Wolves, meanwhile, feature offensive stars like Jason Krog and Brett Sterling. Enough said.</p><p>Vishnevskiy didn&rsquo;t hesitate to choose a preference.</p><p>&ldquo;I kind of like the offensive play,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I like to join the rush and be the fourth guy.&rdquo;</p><p>With 10 goals and 36 points in 79 games between the Stars and Wolves during the regular season, Vishnevskiy frequently displayed the assets that made him Dallas&rsquo; first round pick (27th) in 2006.</p><p>But the mid-season deal disrupted his second pro season.</p><p>&ldquo;Well, it&rsquo;s their decision, it&rsquo;s what they want and Dallas needed a goalie, and things happen,&rdquo; the six-foot, 193-pounder said.</p><p>Though he prefers offense, Vishnevskiy knows his key to an NHL ticket is his play without the puck.</p><p>&ldquo;I was working in Texas on (defense) every practice, staying extra with the coaches,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I think I improved my defensive play a lot, but nobody&rsquo;s said much here so far. Just be better overall.</p><p>&ldquo;Last year, they said, for sure, I&rsquo;ve got to be better in our zone.&rdquo;</p><p>According Vishnevskiy, the trade&rsquo;s big bonus &ndash; other than more pucks to play with &ndash; is playing in Chicago.</p><p>&ldquo;Friday, Saturday, they have good crowds; like 13,000, 15,000 people,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I like playing in front of so many people.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0041-01

NEW WOLF STILL STARS

<div class="byline">&#x2013; TIM CAMPBELL</div><p>For decades the NHL has limited teams to four recalls after the trade deadline to protect AHL teams from roster raiding.</p><p>But during this season&rsquo;s North Division playoffs, that&rsquo;s exactly what happened. The Manitoba Moose played their first round series with key performers Nolan Baumgartner, Lawrence Nycholat, Matt Pettinger and Michael Grabner mostly relegated to the press box in Vancouver. And the Hamilton Bulldogs went into Round 2 without top defenseman P.K. Subban, who was recalled to Montreal.</p><p>Vancouver and Montreal had used their four recalls, which effectively meant none of the call-ups were available to their AHL teams while the NHL parent was still alive.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s meant to protect the AHL teams, but, in essence, it probably hurts us,&rdquo; said Manitoba GM Craig Heisinger.</p><p>Stars sold The league&rsquo;s board of governors approved the sale of the dormant Iowa franchise to Hicks Cedar Park, LLC, owners of the Texas Stars. With that sale, the Stars fulfilled their commitment to purchase a franchise before their second AHL season.</p><p>The team began play in the AHL last fall without owning a franchise under a special, one-year-only exemption.</p><h2><b>ON</b>&nbsp;<b>TOP</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-04334/9493938-1-eng-US/f0041-042.jpg" title="f0041-04" width="201" height="281"></div><h3><b>SUPER STOPPERS</b></h3><p><b>Jonathan Bernier</b></p><p>Manchester Monarchs</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-05302/9493931-1-eng-US/f0041-052.jpg" title="f0041-05" width="199" height="103"></div><p><b>.944</b>&nbsp;<b>PLAYOFF SAVE PERCENTAGE</b></p><p>Cedrick Tyler Plante, Rch .935</p><p>Brent Krahn, Tex .930</p><p>Alex Stalock, Wor .914</p><p>Mark Dekanich, Mil .909</p><p>John Curry, WBs .908</p><p>Desjardins, Ham .907<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0041-04

KEY CALL-UPS COST TEAMS

<div class="byline">BY KEVIN OKLOBZIJA</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-01781/9493983-1-eng-US/f0042-012.jpg" title="f0042-01" width="970" height="1193"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(JUSTSPORTS PHOTOGRAPHY)</span></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-02499/9493976-1-eng-US/f0042-022.jpg" title="f0042-02" width="213" height="214"></div><h2><b>Andrew Gordon</b></h2><p>Hershey Bears</p><p><b>Ht.</b> 5-11</p><p><b>Wt.</b> 180</p><p><b>Pos.</b> RW</p><p><b>Age</b> 24</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-03390/9493969-1-eng-US/f0042-032.jpg" title="f0042-03" width="202" height="104"></div><p><b>AND COUNTING</b></p><p><b>29</b>&nbsp;Points in 36 career post-season games with Hershey</p><p><b>ANDREW GORDON ADMITS</b> he&rsquo;s very much a hockey junkie.</p><p>Ask him how many goals Matt Hendricks scored for the Colorado Avalanche or who&rsquo;s playing left wing on the Manchester Monarchs third line &ndash; he can rattle off the answers.</p><p>&ldquo;You can tell how much he respects the game because he knows almost every stat about every player,&rdquo; said his coach, Mark French of the Hershey Bears. &ldquo;He knows the depth chart for every organization.&rdquo;</p><p>Simply put, Gordon can&rsquo;t get enough hockey.</p><p>Maybe it&rsquo;s heredity. His father, John, will stop by the rink in Porters Lake, N.S., to watch whoever&rsquo;s playing.</p><p>&ldquo;He watches more hockey now than when I was at home,&rdquo; said 197th overall pick in 2004. &ldquo;He went to parents&rsquo; weekend at St. Cloud State last year and I wasn&rsquo;t even there anymore.</p><p>&ldquo;But just because I know the depth charts,&rdquo; Gordon said, &ldquo;doesn&rsquo;t mean I believe them.&rdquo;</p><p>He&rsquo;s hoping others may want to disregard the player lists, too. Now in his third season in the Washington Capitals system, Gordon, 24, has shown he&rsquo;s deserving of an NHL opportunity.</p><p>Through two rounds of the Calder Cup playoffs, he&rsquo;d scored nine goals and 14 points in nine games. During the year he had 37 goals &ndash; second-most in the league to the 50 of linemate Alexandre Giroux &ndash; and 71 points in 79 games.</p><p>The critics will say he improved his output &ndash; from 21 goals and 45 points in &rsquo;08-09 &ndash; because he played with Giroux and AHL MVP Keith Aucoin for the first time.</p><p>But the critics are off base, French says.</p><p>&ldquo;He has been aided by playing with them,&rdquo; the coach said, &ldquo;but I certainly think he has aided Alex and Keith. He battles and competes hard for pucks. He&rsquo;ll do a lot of the grunt work in the corners and he has shown he has good hands.</p><p>&ldquo;He also brings a lot of intangibles, like professionalism and an unbelievable dedication to his conditioning.&rdquo;</p><p>The 5-foot-11, 180-pound Gordon knew he could have a chance to play on the Bears&rsquo; big line after Graham Mink left via free agency.</p><p>&ldquo;If you read depth charts all summer, you&rsquo;re going to go insane,&rdquo; Gordon said. &ldquo;Line combinations don&rsquo;t always work out in real life as they do on paper.&rdquo;</p><p>Gordon is more than willing to prove that&rsquo;s true to whoever will give him the chance.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0042-01

GORDON GEEKS OUT

<div class="byline">&#x2013; KEVIN OKLOBZIJA</div><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span>he Albany River Rats have called downtown Albany, N.Y., home since 1993-94. The franchise is being moved by the parent Carolina Hurricanes to Charlotte, N.C. In its place arrives New Jersey&rsquo;s affiliate.</p><p>It&rsquo;s a homecoming for the Devils&rsquo; development operation.</p><p>New Jersey stocked the River Rats roster from 1993-94 through 2005-06, winning three division titles and the 1995 Calder Cup with Steve Sullivan, Scott Pellerin, Pascal Rheaume and Brad Bombardir.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a great city, the fans are great and it&rsquo;s good they&rsquo;ll still have a team,&rdquo; said goalie Justin Peters, who will be in Charlotte if he doesn&rsquo;t earn an NHL job with the Hurricanes.</p><p>New Jersey has operated the Lowell Devils the past four seasons, but the AHL was never able to become a viable entertainment fixture in that Massachusetts community.</p><p>MR. CLUTCH When the Manchester Monarchs have needed a goal in the post season, second-year left winger Bud Holloway has provided it.</p><p>Through five victories in the first two series, Holloway had scored every game-winning goal for Manchester.</p><p>The 6-foot-1, 200-pounder (86th overall, &rsquo;06) scored 19 goals and 47 points in 75 games this year.</p><h2><b>ON</b>&nbsp;<b>TOP</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-04316/9494021-1-eng-US/f0042-042.jpg" title="f0042-04" width="201" height="281"></div><h3><b>BIG SCORERS</b></h3><p><b>Alexandre Giroux</b></p><p>Hershey Bears</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-05272/9494014-1-eng-US/f0042-052.jpg" title="f0042-05" width="197" height="103"></div><p><b>17</b>&nbsp;<b>PLAYOFF POINTS</b></p><p>Chris Bourque, Her 15</p><p>Andrew Gordon, Her 14</p><p>Keith Aucoin, Her 13</p><p>Mike York, Rch 12</p><p>Jerome Samson, Alb 9</p><p>Bud Holloway, Mch 9<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0042-04

FAMILIAR TERRITORY

<div class="byline">&#x2013; DENIS GIBBONS</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0043-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-01765/9494059-1-eng-US/f0043-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Olympian Ilya Nikulin of Ak Bars Kazan was the Gagarin Cup MVP.</b> <span class="photo-credit">(IGOR KRITSKIY/JANSONS MEDIA)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>AFTER ONLY TWO</b> seasons, winds of change are blowing through the Kontinental League.</p><p>About the only constant, in fact, was the league champion &ndash; Ak Bars Kazan defended the Gagarin Cup, defeating MVD Balashikha in a hotly contested, seven-game final.</p><p>The news item that attracted the most attention was the surprising buyout of historic Moscow Dynamo by Balashikha; after some post-season Dynamo roster parings, the two teams have been merged for 2010-11.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-02528/9494052-1-eng-US/f0043-022.jpg" title="f0043-02" width="251" height="273"></div><p>Dynamo&rsquo;s owners were tired of paying the bills, while Balashikha&rsquo;s owners had fattened their bank accounts this season with gate receipts from several home playoff dates, helping the purchase along.</p><p>The new club is OHK Dynamo Moscow; OHK meaning &lsquo;Obyedinyoni Hokkeyni Klub&rsquo; or &lsquo;Joint Hockey Club.&rsquo; Its president is Mikhail Tyurkin, formerly the Balashikha boss.</p><p>&ldquo;MVD will be the basis of&hellip;a new club,&rdquo; Tyurkin told <i>Sovietsky Sport</i>. &ldquo;The coaches will be ours, the management will be ours, the players will be ours, the city will be ours, the fans will be ours. We plan to play in Balashikha.&rdquo;</p><p>Tyurkin hardly got the words out of his mouth before KHL president Alexander Medvedev said the new club will play 25 regular-season games and the playoffs at the Ice Palace Megasport in Moscow, rather than at the 5,000-seat arena in Balashikha, a small city east of Moscow.</p><p>The Megasport seats 12,000 and was constructed for the 2007 World Championship, but has yet to be used for KHL hockey. Rental rates were exorbitant and with the three Moscow clubs &ndash; Dynamo, Spartak and CSKA &ndash; averaging just 4,689, 3,621 and 3,559 fans, Megasport was oversized.</p><p>The KHL ranked just fourth in Europe in average attendance at 5,474 fans per game. Russia&rsquo;s highest-drawing team, SKA St. Petersburg, averaged 9,400 fans, still just 76.1 percent of its arena capacity. The European club leader was Bern of the Swiss A League with an average attendance of 15,709.</p><p>Medvedev also revealed the KHL has accepted applications for two new franchises to begin play in 2010-11. Yugra Khanty-Mansiysk, champion of the Russian High League &ndash; a level below the KHL &ndash; and Budivelnik Kiev from Ukraine were selected from a list of six applicants that also included Russian clubs Wings of the Soviet and Gazovik Tyumen; the Czech Republic&rsquo;s Hradec Kralove and Vetra Vilnius of Lithuania also applied. Khanty-Mansiysk is an oilboom town in western Siberia.</p><p>At the same time, the Lada Togliatti franchise is in danger of being ousted from the league. Fifteen players, who asked to be released from their contracts after not getting paid, have been given free agent status by the KHL.</p><p>The league has increased the salary cap for 2010-11 to $23.8 million from $19.8 million. Players under 21 must be paid at least $26,400. The salary floor for other players is set at $99,000.</p><p>Russian national team defenseman Ilya Nikulin of Ak Bars was named Gagarin Cup playoff MVP, after recording five goals and 11 points in 22 contests, posting a plus-8 rating and averaging nearly 26 minutes of ice time per game.</p><p>Ak Bars repeated without the services of injured national team members Alexei Morozov and Danis Zaripov.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0043-01

CHANGE IS COMING

<div class="byline">&#x2013; RISTO PAKARINEN</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-03441/9494090-1-eng-US/f0043-032.jpg" title="f0043-03" width="543" height="543"></div><p>With all the champions crowned, it&rsquo;s time to look forward to next season, which, unbelievably, is just a few short months away.</p><p>Finnish and Swedish teams hit the ice in early August &ndash; in Finland, Aug. 1 was recently added to the collective bargaining agreement as the first date teams are allowed to practise &ndash; and play their first exhibition games shortly after that.</p><p>On Aug. 11, the <b>European Trophy</b> kicks off its inaugural season. The self-proclaimed &ldquo;most prestigious ice hockey pre-season tournament&rdquo; features 18 European club teams and includes entries from Austria, Finland, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the Czech Republic. And, as luck would have it, the reigning Austrian, Finnish, Swedish and Swiss champions and the runners-up from Norway and Sweden: Salzburg, Turku TPS, HV71, SC Bern, and Valerenga and Djurgarden are entered.</p><p>The Swedish Elite League already announced its schedule for next season. Stockholm fans have circled Sept. 28 in their calendars. That&rsquo;s when Djurgarden takes on Stockholm AIK at the 14,000-plus seat Stockholm Globe Arena in that city&rsquo;s first derby since Jan. 8, 2002 when Djurgarden beat AIK 6-4 at a half-full Globe.</p><p>In September, there will be more than the 6,978 spectators who witnessed the 2008 derby.</p><p>And that&rsquo;s only three months from now.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0043-03

PAN-EURO TOURNEY SET TO RUN

<p><b>COLBY ROBAK</b> was driven to succeed &ndash; in a literal sense.</p><p>The Brandon Wheat Kings blue-liner was without a team as his first year of bantam hockey loomed.</p><p>The Manitoba-based Grand Plains/Roblin North Stars, who drew players from three communities, were unable to ice a bantam squad for the 2004-05 season.</p><p>So much for being a stay-at-home defenseman. Without an option near his Gilbert Plains, Man., home, Robak (then 14) joined the Russell Rams.</p><p>Most of his practices were with the midget North Stars, but he joined the Rams for games in Russell, Man., a 90-minute drive away.</p><p>&ldquo;My dad drove me to every game,&rdquo; said Robak, now 20. &ldquo;Sometimes I would get changed for the games in the backseat of the car. It was certainly a different route.&rdquo;</p><p>But it led to the &lsquo;Dub.&rsquo; Brandon selected Robak 77th overall in the 2005 bantam draft. He has since been drafted again, 46th overall by Florida in the &rsquo;08 NHL draft.</p><p>Robak is completing his fourth major junior season with the Wheat Kings. This season he had 16 goals and 66 points in 71 regular season games. He registered just nine penalty minutes &ndash; an uncommonly low number for a defenseman.</p><p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know if it&rsquo;s something to be proud of, being my size,&rdquo; the 6-foot-4, 207-pounder said with a chuckle. &ldquo;I try to use my skating more to my advantage to take care of the defensive zone and get out of trouble.&rdquo;</p><p>That skating ability also comes in handy offensively, as does his tendency to deliver accurate passes. Those skills will be on display during the 2010 Memorial Cup, which Brandon is hosting.</p><p>The Wheat Kings finished second overall in the WHL with a 50-18-4 record and 104 points &ndash; three fewer than the Calgary Hitmen (52-17-3), who eliminated Brandon in the Eastern Conference final before facing the Tri-City Americans for league honors.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-01669/9494163-1-eng-US/f0044-012.jpg" title="f0044-01" width="743" height="1009"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-02418/9494156-1-eng-US/f0044-022.jpg" title="f0044-02" width="354" height="191"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(BRANDON WHEAT KINGS)</span></figcaption></div><h2><b>Colby Robak</b></h2><p>Brandon Wheat Kings</p><p><b>Ht.</b> 6-4</p><p><b>Wt.</b> 207</p><p><b>Pos.</b> D</p><p><b>Age</b> 20</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-03314/9494149-1-eng-US/f0044-032.jpg" title="f0044-03" width="356" height="70"></div><h3><b>Draft Status</b></h3><p>Drafted 46th overall by Florida in 2008</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-04253/9494142-1-eng-US/f0044-042.jpg" title="f0044-04" width="199" height="104"></div><p><b>AND COUNTING</b></p><p><b>28</b>&nbsp;Points in 34 career playoff games with Brandon, a 0.82 average per game</p><p>While awaiting the Memorial Cup, Robak motored around Brandon and area in his 2001 Pontiac Aztec &ndash; the very same vehicle in which he travelled to and from Russell.</p><p>&ldquo;My parents gave me the car,&rdquo; said Robak, whose odometer is closing in on 300,000 kilometers. &ldquo;It might last forever.&rdquo;</p><p><b>&ndash; ROB VANSTONE</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-05215/9494135-1-eng-US/f0044-052.jpg" title="f0044-05" width="276" height="155"></div><h2><b>POST-SEASON TWICE AS NICE</b></h2><p>Playoff time is payoff time for Kris Foucault. The Calgary Hitmen left winger is especially adept in the post-season, scoring twice as often he does during the regular schedule. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve played average hockey in the regular season a lot of the time, but going into the playoffs it&rsquo;s the best time of the year to play hockey and it&rsquo;s the funnest time,&rdquo; Foucault said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s when big players like to step up, and I like to think of myself as a big player who can step up in key situations.&rdquo; Foucault, 19, helped his hometown Hitmen reach the 2010 league final against Tri-City. Entering the championship series, he had 21 goals in 44 career playoff games (one goal every 2.1 games), compared to 31 goals in 130 regular-season contests (one goal every 4.2 games).</p><p><b>&ndash; ROB VANSTONE</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-06189/9494128-1-eng-US/f0044-062.jpg" title="f0044-06" width="332" height="103"></div><h2><b>DRAFT-DAY GAMESMANSHIP?</b></h2><p>Games in the Windsor-Barrie final weren&rsquo;t confined to the ice. The Colts played a big head game at the OHL draft when, with the final pick of the first round, they took left winger Kerby Rychel, son of Spitfires GM and co-owner Warren Rychel. Windsor had just selected defenseman Grant Webermin from Detroit Honeybaked, Barrie then chose Rychel from Detroit Belle Tire, saying he was the best player available. Many scouts believed he was a third round talent. While teams usually interview potential first-rounders, the Colts had never contacted the player. Rychel had told teams he&rsquo;d pick his son in the second round; such requests from Mark and Dale Hunter in London and Mike Foligno in Sudbury were honored in the past. Rychel&rsquo;s revenge? A sweep.</p><p><b>&ndash; JIM CRESSMAN</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-07163/9494121-1-eng-US/f0044-072.jpg" title="f0044-07" width="262" height="155"></div><h2><b>TIGRES GETTING UPDATED DIGS</b></h2><p>The Victoriaville Tigres are getting a home makeover. The city is investing $1.5 million over five years to renovate Gilbert Perreault Arena. &ldquo;We plan&hellip;to add some 500 new seats and corporate suites, replace the sound and lighting systems and buy new rink boards,&rdquo; said Tigres director of marketing Yves Bonneau. The 30-year-old arena currently has 2,318 seats and a total capacity of 2,933. That will be over 3,500 when the new look is unveiled in 2011-12. &ldquo;We expect the renovations to be completed in time for the beginning of the city&rsquo;s 150th anniversary, which coincides with the Tigres&rsquo; 25th anniversary in Victoriaville,&rdquo; Bonneau said. &ldquo;The announcement could not have come at a better time for our organization and our fans.&rdquo;</p><p><b>&ndash; NEIL HODGE</b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0044-01

A ROAD LESS TAKEN

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-02372/9494222-1-eng-US/f0045-022.jpg" title="f0045-02" width="359" height="126"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-01572/9494229-1-eng-US/f0045-012.jpg" title="f0045-01" width="218" height="156"></div><h3><b>ECHL</b></h3><h2><b>MOVING ON TO MOVE UP</b></h2><p>Malcolm Cameron is one of the most successful coaches in ECHL history, which is why he&rsquo;s leaving the league.</p><p>Cameron resigned as Florida&rsquo;s coach after the Everblades were swept by Reading in Round 2 of the Kelly Cup playoffs with four one-goal losses.</p><p>&ldquo;I never really put my name out there as far as Europe or the American Hockey League,&rdquo; said Cameron, whose teams averaged 42 wins and never missed the playoffs in seven ECHL seasons. &ldquo;I&rsquo;d really like to try to do that this year. At some point you have to try something different. It&rsquo;s not fair to your employer if you pursue other jobs while you still have a job.&rdquo;</p><p>Cameron was 87-42-14 in two seasons with the Everblades, who advanced to the second round of the post-season each year. His first Florida team won 49 games and was the Brabham Cup champion with the ECHL&rsquo;s best regular season point total.</p><p>Cameron, 40, also had success in Texas (he once led the Wildcatters to 52 wins), Long Beach and Cincinnati.</p><p>Cameron is about more than statistics, though. Many of his top players showed a loyalty to their coach by following him from Texas to Florida two seasons ago.</p><p>&ldquo;The number of players who followed me from city to city is probably the thing I&rsquo;m most proud of,&rdquo; said Cameron, who had 11 of his former Texas players on the Florida roster in 2008-09.</p><p>Overall, Cameron has led four ECHL teams to 295 victories.</p><p>&ldquo;I think my work ethic was probably the strongest thing for me,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I love to win, but I also love to develop players. I think the measure of success is to give yourself a chance every single year to compete for a Cup. With the number of callups we&rsquo;ve had every year and to have the chance to compete for a Cup every year, despite those lineup changes, that&rsquo;s something I&rsquo;m proud of.&rdquo;</p><p><b>&ndash; MIKE MASTOVICH</b></p><h3><b>UNITED STATES LEAGUE</b></h3><h2><b>SAMUELSSON PUSHES STOCK</b></h2><p>Does the name Henrik Samuelsson sound familiar? It should. The son of longtime NHL irritant (and current Phoenix Coyotes assistant coach) Ulf Samuelsson, 16-year-old Henrik&rsquo;s potential is immense. A 6-foot-1, 200-pound right winger, Samuelsson put up 12 goals and 35 points in 37 games for AAA PF Changs (Phoenix) this season and in so doing earned himself a USHL slot next year with the U.S. NTDP. &ldquo;He has pro size and skill for such a young age,&rdquo; said one scout of Samuelsson, eligible for the 2012 draft. &ldquo;His hands are so good, he can make a play at every chance.&rdquo;</p><p><b>&ndash; PAUL SHAHEEN</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-03312/9494215-1-eng-US/f0045-032.jpg" title="f0045-03" width="297" height="148"></div><h3><b>INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE</b></h3><h2><b>GAME 7S FOR EVERYONE</b></h2><p>Two-time defending Turner Cup-champion Fort Wayne recovered from a 3-1 deficit in the best-of-seven Turner Cup semifinal, downing the Port Huron Icehawks 4-0 in Game 7. It was the third time in six years the Komets overcame a 3-1 deficit in the playoffs. They did it to the Rockford IceHogs in the United League semis in 2005 and to the Icehawks in the &rsquo;08 IHL final. &ldquo;When our backs are against the wall, it seems like we come out with our best game,&rdquo; said captain Guy Dupuis. In the other semi, the Flint Generals also rallied from a 3-1 hole to top the Muskegon Lumberjacks in seven.</p><p><b>&ndash; JUSTIN COHN</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-05247/9494208-1-eng-US/f0045-052.jpg" title="f0045-05" width="265" height="155"></div><h3><b>CENTRAL LEAGUE</b></h3><h2><b>RUSH BRING TITLE HOME</b></h2><p>Up 3-2 on home ice in the Ray Miron President&rsquo;s Cup final, Rapid City desperately wanted to avoid any Game 7 drama against the Allen Americans. Game 6 had plenty anyway. The Rush, down 3-0 after the first period, won 4-3 with 32 seconds left in the second overtime. &ldquo;To do it in the dramatic fashion we did, the guys will remember this for the rest of their lives,&rdquo; Rush forward Brendan Cook told the Rapid City (S.D.) <i>Journal</i>. The Rush&rsquo;s Les Reaney was named MVP with nine goals (four game-winners) and 26 points. It was Rapid City&rsquo;s first pro title in nearly 25 years.</p><p><b>&ndash; DAVID HENRY</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-06214/9494201-1-eng-US/f0045-062.jpg" title="f0045-06" width="256" height="155"></div><h3><b>SOUTHERN PRO LEAGUE</b></h3><h2><b>GET OUT THE BROOMS</b></h2><p>The Huntsville Havoc claimed its first President&rsquo;s Cup with a sweep of the top-ranked Mississippi Surge in the final. &ldquo;The fans supported us for six years,&rdquo; said Havoc owner Keith Jeffries, a founding member of the SPHL. &ldquo;This is just as big for (them) as it is for us.&rdquo; Jeffries credited coach Randy Murphy for recruiting character players, helping the Havoc rally from a mid-season slump. &ldquo;I know how good it feels as an owner, but I can&rsquo;t imagine how good it feels to (the players),&rdquo; Jeffries said. Havoc goalie Dan McWhinney finished 7-1-0 in the playoffs with a 1.96 GAA and .929 save percentage.</p><p><b>&ndash;</b>&nbsp;<b>BRETT FRIEDLANDER</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-07187/9494194-1-eng-US/f0045-072.jpg" title="f0045-07" width="239" height="155"></div><h3><b>CANADIAN JR. A</b></h3><h2><b>SCOUTS LIKE PENTICTON</b></h2><p>NHL Central Scouting ranked four of the British Columbia League&rsquo;s Penticton Vees among the top North Americans for the 2010 draft: right winger Beau Bennett (No. 32), defensemen Luke Curadi (No. 125) and Isaac Macleod (No. 133), and Sean Bonar (No. 21 among goalies). &ldquo;It was pretty impressive for our guys,&rdquo; said Penticton coach-GM Fred Harbinson. In all, 18 Vees committed to NCAA colleges this year. Penticton will also host the 2010 World Jr. A Challenge in November. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s incredible excitement,&rdquo; said mayor Dan Ashton. &ldquo;Penticton has long been a real outstanding hockey town.&rdquo;</p><p><b>&ndash; NATHAN WHITE</b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0045-02

BEST OF THE REST

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-05160/9494309-1-eng-US/f0047-052.jpg" title="f0047-05" width="523" height="519"></div><h2><b>ANAHEIM</b></h2><p><b>RFA:</b> Bobby Bolt, Kyle Chipchura, Jean-Philippe Levasseur, Brendan Mikkelson, Bobby Ryan, Shawn Weller, James Wisniewski.</p><p><b>UFA:</b> Sheldon Brookbank, Kyle Calder, Ryan Donally, Brennan Evans, Saku Koivu, Joey MacDonald, Scott Niedermayer, Brian Salcido, Teemu Selanne, Aaron Ward.</p><h2><b>ATLANTA</b></h2><p><b>RFA:</b> Niclas Bergfors, Chad Denny, Rylan Kaip, Scott Lehman, Bryan Little, Clarke MacArthur, Peter Mannino, Ondrej Pavelec, Tomas Pospisil, Matt Siddall, Anthony Stewart, Michael Vernace.</p><p><b>UFA:</b> Maxim Afinogenov, Colby Armstrong, Evgeny Artyukhin, Eric Boulton, Chris Chelios, Joey Crabb, Johan Hedberg, Vyacheslav Kozlov, Pavel Kubina, Steve McCarthy, Mark Popovic, Christoph Schubert, Jim Slater, Tim Stapleton, Brett Sterling, Noah Welch.</p><h2><b>BOSTON</b></h2><p><b>RFA:</b> Andrew Bodnarchuk, Mikko Lehtonen, Jeff Lovecchio, Zach McKelvie, Adam McQuaid, Daniel Paille, Kevin Regan, Vladimir Sobotka, Mark Stuart, Blake Wheeler.</p><p><b>UFA:</b> Steve Begin, Johnny Boychuk, Drew Fata, Drew Larman, Guillaume Lefebvre, Mark Recchi, Dany Sabourin, Miroslav Satan, Dennis Seidenberg, Shawn Thornton, Andy Wozniewski.</p><h2><b>BUFFALO</b></h2><p><b>RFA:</b> Matt Generous, Philip Gogulla, Marc-Andre Gragnani, Patrick Kaleta, Tim Kennedy, Michael Kostka, Jean-Philippe Lamoureux, Mark Mancari, Mike Weber, Derek Whitmore.</p><p><b>UFA:</b> Jeff Cowan, Joe DiPenta, Matt Ellis, Mike Grier, Patrick Lalime, Toni Lydman, Adam Mair, Cody McCormick, Henrik Tallinder, Raffi Torres.</p><h2><b>CALGARY</b></h2><p><b>RFA:</b> Gord Baldwin, Kris Chucko, Brad Cole, Matt Keetley, Matt Pelech, Brett Sutter, J.D. Watt, Ian White.</p><p><b>UFA:</b> Craig Conroy, Cam Cunning, Andy Delmore, Carsen Germyn, Christopher Higgins, Jamal Mayers, Brian McGrattan, Garth Murray, Eric Nystrom, Brett Palin, Colin Stuart, Vesa Toskala, David Van Der Gulik.</p><h2><b>CAROLINA</b></h2><p><b>RFA:</b> Nicolas Blanchard, Casey Borer, Brett Carson, Nick Dodge, Justin Peters, Alexandre R. Picard, Justin Pogge, Jerome Samson, Jiri Tlusty.</p><p><b>UFA:</b> Mike Angelidis, Tim Conboy, Zack Fitzgerald, Steven Goertzen, Jay Harrison, Rob Hennigar, Manny Legace, Brian Pothier, Bryan Rodney, Michael Ryan, Ray Whitney.</p><h2><b>CHICAGO</b></h2><p><b>RFA:</b> Bryan Bickell, Mike Brennan, Evan Brophey, Nathan Davis, Ben Eager, Colin Fraser, Jordan Hendry, Niklas Hjalmarsson, Adam Hobson, Andrew Ladd, Peter MacArthur, Antti Niemi, Jean-Claude Sawyer, Jack Skille, Hannu Toivonen.</p><p><b>UFA:</b> Danny Bois, Nick Boynton, Adam Burish, Mark Cullen, Kyle Greentree, Kim Johnsson, John Madden, Richard Petiot, Danny Richmond.</p><h2><b>COLORADO</b></h2><p><b>RFA:</b> Codey Burki, T.J. Hensick, Raymond Macias, Peter Mueller, Wes O&rsquo;Neill, Derek Peltier, Kevin Porter, Kyle Quincey, Chris Stewart, Brandon Yip.</p><p><b>UFA:</b> Peter Budaj, Brett Clark, Philippe Dupuis, Chris Durno, Brian Fahey, Adam Foote, Darren Haydar, Matt Hendricks, David Koci, Ruslan Salei, Marty Sertich, Brett Skinner, Marek Svatos, Darcy Tucker, Tyler Weiman, Brian Willsie, Stephane Yelle.</p><h2><b>COLUMBUS</b></h2><p><b>RFA:</b> Michael Blunden, Jared Boll, Grant Clitsome, Tomas Kana, Chad Kolarik, Daniel LaCosta, Kevin Lalande, Jordan LaVallee-Smotherman, Andrei Plekhanov, Tommy Sestito, Anton Stralman.</p><p><b>UFA:</b> Brendan Bell, Trevor Frischmon, David Liffiton, Derek MacKenzie, Greg Moore, Nathan Paetsch.</p><h2><b>DALLAS</b></h2><p><b>RFA:</b> Fabian Brunnstrom, Maxime Fortunus, Aaron Gagnon, Niklas Grossman, Kari Lehtonen, Perttu Lindgren, Trevor Ludwig, James Neal, Matt Niskanen, Raymond Sawada, Tyler Shelast.</p><p><b>UFA:</b> Krys Barch, Matt Climie, Andrew Hutchinson, Dan Jancevski, Brent Krahn, Jere Lehtinen, Mike Modano, Warren Peters, Garrett Stafford, Marty Turco, Francis Wathier.</p><h2><b>DETROIT</b></h2><p><b>RFA:</b> Justin Abdelkader, Patrick Eaves, Darren Helm, Sergei Kolosov, Daniel Larsson, Evan McGrath, Derek Meech, Drew Miller, Mattias Ritola, Johan Ryno, Jamie Tardif, Ole-Kristian Tollefsen.</p><p><b>UFA:</b> Riley Armstrong, Todd Bertuzzi, Tomas Holmstrom, Doug Janik, Brett Lebda, Nicklas Lidstrom, Andreas Lilja, Kirk Maltby, Brad May, Ryan Oulahen, Jason Williams, Jeremy Williams.</p><h2><b>EDMONTON</b></h2><p><b>RFA:</b> Gilbert Brule, Andrew Cogliano, Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers, Devan Dubnyk, Sam Gagner, Josef Hrabal, Jean-Francois Jacques, Bryan Lerg, Ryan O&rsquo;Marra, Geoff Paukovich, Theo Peckham, Ryan Potulny, Marc Pouliot, Liam Reddox, Viatcheslav Trukhno.</p><p><b>UFA:</b> Dean Arsene, Mike Comrie, Aaron Johnson, Colin McDonald, Chris Minard, Matt Nickerson, Fernando Pisani, Ryan Stone, Jason Strudwick.</p><h2><b>FLORIDA</b></h2><p><b>RFA:</b> Peter Aston, Luke Beaverson, Gregory Campbell, Dan Collins, Mike Duco, Jason Garrison, Jordan Henry, Kamil Kreps, Kenndal McArdle, Tyler Plante, Andrew Sweetland, Nick Tarnasky.</p><p><b>UFA:</b> Chris Beckford-Tseu, David Brine, Rory Fitzpatrick, Jamie Johnson, Steve MacIntyre, Mathieu Roy, Craig Weller.</p><h2><b>LOS ANGELES</b></h2><p><b>RFA:</b> Marc-Andre Cliche, Richard Clune, Corey Elkins, Trevor Lewis, Brad Richardson.</p><p><b>UFA:</b> Drew Bagnall, Alexander Frolov, Gabe Gauthier, Jeff Halpern, Raitis Ivanans, Randy Jones, Fredrik Modin, Sean O&rsquo;Donnell, Scott Parse, Joe Piskula.</p><h2><b>MINNESOTA</b></h2><p><b>RFA:</b> Jamie Fraser, Josh Harding, Matt Kassian, Anton Khudobin, Guillaume Latendresse, Morten Madsen, James Sheppard, Roman Voloshenko.</p><p><b>UFA:</b> Derek Boogaard, Barry Brust, Jon DiSalvatore, Wade Dubielewicz, Robbie Earl, Andrew Ebbett, Andy Hilbert, Shane Hnidy, Danny Irmen, Ryan Lannon, Duncan Milroy, Owen Nolan, Brandon Rogers, John Scott, Jaime Sifers, Nathan Smith.</p><h2><b>MONTREAL</b></h2><p><b>RFA:</b> Michael Busto, Mathieu Carle, David Desharnais, Cedrick Desjardins, Jaroslav Halak, Mikael Johansson, Sergei Kostitsyn, Maxim Lapierre, Benoit Pouliot, Carey Price, Tom Pyatt, Ryan Russell, Gregory Stewart, Brock Trotter, J.T. Wyman. <b>UFA:</b> Shawn Belle, Andre Benoit, Marc-Andre Bergeron, Mathieu Darche, Mike Glumac, Alex Henry, Paul Mara, Glen Metropolit, Dominic Moore, Tomas Plekanec, Curtis Sanford.</p><h2><b>NASHVILLE</b></h2><p><b>RFA:</b> Dustin Boyd, Mark Dekanich, Robert Dietrich, Cody Franson, Denis Grebeshkov, Patrik Hersley, Patric Hornqvist, Teemu Laakso, Peter Olvecky, Alexander Radulov, Michael Santorelli, Andreas Thuresson.</p><p><b>UFA:</b> Francis Bouillon, Dan Ellis, Triston Grant, Ben Guite, Dan Hamhuis, Hugh Jessiman, Ryan Maki, Dave Scatchard, Nolan Yonkman.</p><h2><b>NEW JERSEY</b></h2><p><b>RFA:</b> David Clarkson, Patrick Davis, Tyler Eckford, Mark Fraser, Olivier Magnan-Grenier, Rod Pelley, Brad Snetsinger, Myles Stoesz.</p><p><b>UFA:</b> Yann Danis, Ilya Kovalchuk, Paul Martin, Dean McAmmond, Mike Mottau, Cory Murphy, Rob Niedermayer, Ilkka Pikkarainen, Tim Sestito, Martin Skoula, Ben Walter.</p><h2><b>NY ISLANDERS</b></h2><p><b>RFA:</b> Sean Bentivoglio, Sean Bergenheim, Bobby Hughes, Dustin Kohn, Nathan Lawson, Matt Moulson, Dylan Reese, Rob Schremp, Jeff Tambellini.</p><p><b>UFA:</b> Martin Biron, Mark Flood, Tim Jackman, Greg Mauldin, Freddy Meyer, Scott Munroe, Richard Park, Jeremy Reich, Jon Sim, Trevor Smith, Doug Weight.</p><h2><b>NY RANGERS</b></h2><p><b>RFA:</b> Andres Ambuhl, Dane Byers, Erik Christensen, Paul Crowder, Brodie Dupont, Dan Girardi, Ilkka Heikkinen, Enver Lisin, Brandon Prust, Michael Sauer, Marc Staal.</p><p><b>UFA:</b> Tyler Arnason, Alex Auld, Anders Eriksson, Olli Jokinen, Corey Locke, Kris Newbury, P.A. Parenteau, Corey Potter, Vaclav Prospal, Jody Shelley, Stephen Valiquette, Matt Zaba.</p><h2><b>OTTAWA</b></h2><p><b>RFA:</b> Cody Bass, Chris Campoli, Nick Foligno, Ryan Keller, Geoff Kinrade, Tomas Kudelka, Peter Regin, Jesse Winchester, Ilya Zubov.</p><p><b>UFA:</b> Drew Bannister, Mike Brodeur, Andy Chiodo, Matt Cullen, Shean Donovan, Josh Hennessy, Derek Smith, Martin St. Pierre, Andy Sutton, Anton Volchenkov, Jeremy Yablonski.</p><h2><b>PHILADELPHIA</b></h2><p><b>RFA:</b> Josh Beaulieu, Rob Bellamy, Daniel Carcillo, Matt Clackson, Braydon Coburn, Jeremy Duchesne, David Laliberte, Jonathan Matsumoto, Ryan Parent, Darroll Powe, Michael-Lee Teslak.</p><p><b>UFA:</b> Arron Asham, Johan Backlund, Sebastien Caron, Sean Curry, Ryan Dingle, Ray Emery, Krys Kolanos, Lukas Krajicek, Michael Leighton, Joey Mormina, Mika Pyorala, Mike Rathje, Jared Ross, Danny Syvret, Jason Ward.</p><h2><b>PHOENIX</b></h2><p><b>RFA:</b> Martin Hanzal, Shaun Heshka, Sami Lepisto, Stefan Meyer, Alexandre Picard, David Schlemko, Scottie Upshall, Miika Wiikman, Daniel Winnik, Wojtek Wolski.</p><p><b>UFA:</b> Adrian Aucoin, Jeff Hoggan, Ryan Hollweg, Robert Lang, Francis Lessard, Matthew Lombardi, Zbynek Michalek, Al Montoya, Derek Morris, Joel Perrault, Taylor Pyatt, Mathieu Schneider, David Spina, Lee Stempniak, Sean Sullivan, Josh Tordjman.</p><h2><b>PITTSBURGH</b></h2><p><b>RFA:</b> Aaron Boogaard, Chris Conner, Jonathan D&rsquo;Aversa, Nick Johnson.</p><p><b>UFA:</b> Ryan Bayda, Wade Brookbank, Matt Cooke, Mark Eaton, Deryk Engelland, Ruslan Fedotenko, Sergei Gonchar, Bill Guerin, Chris Lee, Jordan Leopold, Ben Lovejoy, Jay McKee, Alexei Ponikarovsky, Wyatt Smith, Steve Wagner.</p><h2><b>SAN JOSE</b></h2><p><b>RFA:</b> Matthew Jones, Derek Joslin, Henrik Karlsson, Joe Pavelski, Daniel Rahimi, Devin Setoguchi, Brad Staubitz, Steven Zalewski.</p><p><b>UFA:</b> Rob Blake, Joe Callahan, Danny Groulx, Dwight Helminen, Jay Leach, Manny Malhotra, Patrick Marleau, Evgeni Nabokov, Scott Nichol, Jed Ortmeyer, Ryan Vesce, Niclas Wallin, Brett Westgarth.</p><h2><b>ST. LOUIS</b></h2><p><b>RFA:</b> Adam Cracknell, Matt D&rsquo;Agostini, Nicholas Drazenovic, Joe Fallon, Alexander Hellstrom, Cam Janssen, Erik Johnson, Jonas Junland, D.J. King, Pierre-Cedric Labrie, Nikolai Lemtyugov, David Perron, Ryan Reaves, Alexander Steen, Julian Talbot.</p><p><b>UFA:</b> Derek Armstrong, Carlo Colaiacovo, Justin Fletcher, Nate Guenin, Paul Kariya, Bryce Lampman, Chris Mason, Cam Paddock, Pascal Pelletier, Tyson Strachan, Darryl Sydor, Barry Tallackson, Mike Weaver, Brad Winchester.</p><h2><b>TAMPA BAY</b></h2><p><b>RFA:</b> Steve Downie, Blair Jones, Martins Karsums, Chris Lawrence, Mike Lundin, Vladimir Mihalik, Teddy Purcell, Paul Ranger, Juraj Simek, Radek Smolenak, Paul Szczechura, Nate Thompson, Lauri Tukonen.</p><p><b>UFA:</b> Brandon Bochenski, Ryan Craig, Kurtis Foster, Mitch Fritz, David Hale, Zenon Konopka, Antero Niittymaki, Mark Parrish, Alex Tanguay, Stephane Veilleux.</p><h2><b>TORONTO</b></h2><p><b>RFA:</b> Christian Hanson, Matt Jones, Nikolai Kulemin, John Mitchell, Phil Oreskovic, Kyle Rogers.</p><p><b>UFA:</b> Tim Brent, Andre Deveaux, Garnet Exelby, Alex Foster, Jonas Frogren, Ryan Hamilton, Jamie Lundmark, Ben Ondrus, Wayne Primeau, Mike Van Ryn, Rickard Wallin.</p><h2><b>VANCOUVER</b></h2><p><b>RFA:</b> Mario Bliznak, Michael Funk, Tanner Glass, Jannik Hansen, Shane O&rsquo;Brien, Matt Pope, Mason Raymond, Cory Schneider, Eric Walsky, Sean Zimmerman.</p><p><b>UFA:</b> Alexandre Bolduc, Pavol Demitra, Ryan Johnson, Brad Lukowich, Nathan McIver, Willie Mitchell, Lawrence Nycholat, Matt Pettinger, Andrew Raycroft, Aaron Rome, Yan Stastny, Kyle Wellwood.</p><h2><b>WASHINGTON</b></h2><p><b>RFA:</b> Nicklas Backstrom, Jay Beagle, Chris Bourque, Viktor Dovgan, Eric Fehr, Tomas Fleischmann, Andrew Gordon, Boyd Gordon, Patrick McNeill, Zach Miskovic, Jeff Schultz.</p><p><b>UFA:</b> Eric Belanger, Joe Corvo, Alexandre Giroux, Milan Jurcina, Boyd Kane, Quintin Laing, Brendan Morrison, Shaone Morrisonn, Jose Theodore, Scott Walker, Kyle Wilson.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-01526/9494316-1-eng-US/f0047-012.jpg" title="f0047-01" width="170" height="229"></div><p>1.12</p><h2><b>Top 2010 UFA forwards</b></h2><p>Potential UFA forwards (ranked by points per game)</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-02344/9494302-1-eng-US/f0047-022.jpg" title="f0047-02" width="170" height="223"></div><p>0.81</p><h2><b>Top 2010 UFA d-men</b></h2><p>Potential UFA defensemen (ranked by points per game)</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-06130/9494295-1-eng-US/f0047-062.jpg" title="f0047-06" width="523" height="519"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-03275/9494288-1-eng-US/f0047-032.jpg" title="f0047-03" width="170" height="226"></div><p>.922</p><h2><b>Top 2010 UFA goalies</b></h2><p>Potential UFA goaltenders (ranked by save percentage)</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-07101/9494281-1-eng-US/f0047-072.jpg" title="f0047-07" width="523" height="519"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-04210/9494274-1-eng-US/f0047-042.jpg" title="f0047-04" width="170" height="229"></div><p>1.23</p><h2><b>Top 2010 RFA forwards</b></h2><p>Potential RFAs (ranked by points per game)</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-0873/9494267-1-eng-US/f0047-082.jpg" title="f0047-08" width="523" height="522"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0046-01574/9494260-1-eng-US/f0046-012.jpg" title="f0046-01" width="76" height="77"></div><p>Can&rsquo;t get enough numbers? Visit our online &lsquo;Stats&rsquo; section every day at <a href="http://TheHockeyNews.com">thehockeynews.com</a><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p></div>

f0047-05

2010 potential free agents

<div class="byline">BY NATHAN WHITE</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0048-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0048-01407/9494347-1-eng-US/f0048-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Stanislav Galiev had an extra helping of homecooked food and support this year.</b> <span class="photo-credit">(DAVID CONNELL)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>IT</b>&nbsp;<b>TAKES MORE THAN JUST</b> talent to make it to the NHL.</p><p>Any player who ascends to hockey&rsquo;s highest level owes thanks to a list of supporters that usually has parents at the top.</p><p>That support network can be fragile for a player from a single-parent home or for a Russian teen who travels thousands of miles to play junior hockey in North America.</p><p>Stanislav Galiev, a center with the Quebec League&rsquo;s Saint John Sea Dogs ranked 37th overall for this year&rsquo;s draft in THN&rsquo;s Draft Preview, has had to work against both of those obstacles. His father died when he was five, leaving his mother, Svetlana, to support a hockey-mad boy growing up in a hockey-mad country.</p><p>With no other children and a small extended family, her son is pretty much all Svetlana has. In the same way, she&rsquo;s pretty much all he has, too. That&rsquo;s why it was so important for Svetlana to move to Canada as her son began his major junior career last fall.</p><p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t have my father, I just have her,&rdquo; Galiev said when asked about his mother&rsquo;s importance in his life. &ldquo;Every morning (growing up) I&rsquo;d wake up around 7 a.m., mom would drive me to the rink and pick me up later. She would go to work, it was pretty hard for her at first.&rdquo;</p><blockquote class="pullQuote"><b>&lsquo;IF IT WERE YOUR OWN KID, YOU&rsquo;D PROBABLY FEEL THE SAME WAY&rsquo;</b></blockquote><p>The 37-year-old, who worked as an interior designer in Russia, looks like she could be Galiev&rsquo;s older sister. She smiles proudly when she talks about him and, although her English is limited, her sense of humor and outgoing personality are evident.</p><p>She has fond memories of &lsquo;Stas&rsquo; unwrapping a new pair of skates at age six, which he proceeded to wear around the house for two days. She laughs recalling him playing mini-stick hockey in their apartment, breaking just about every coffee table they ever owned and sparking angry calls from neighbors. Once, she sat down on a chair in the living room and felt a chill. She reached behind her to close the window and realized it was broken, with a couch cushion stuffed over the hole by a guilty Stas.</p><p>As his love for hockey grew, so did Galiev&rsquo;s skill at the game. He entered the Dynamo Moscow program at age nine and got to travel to Europe for tournaments, where he continued to stand out.</p><p>&ldquo;(When I was) 12, 14, she started thinking about (how a hockey career could be) my life,&rdquo; said the 18-year-old Galiev. &ldquo;Now my dream is to play in the NHL.&rdquo;</p><p>That dream got closer when the Sea Dogs made him the No. 1 pick in the 2009 CHL import draft. Galiev was unsure about moving to Canada after getting settled in with the Indiana Ice of the United States League the previous season. Sea Dogs director of hockey operations Mike Kelly, a former assistant coach with the Vancouver Canucks, made the trip to</p><p>Moscow to convince him. He learned how close Galiev is to his mother and realized the player was concerned about more than just how to best position himself for the draft.</p><p>&ldquo;It was easy to see how they interacted with an awful lot of respect,&rdquo; Kelly said. &ldquo;She wanted to come over, they&rsquo;re very, very close and we respected that. If it were your own kid, you&rsquo;d probably feel the same way. And we thought it was a benefit and would probably help him dealing with some of the pressures that come with playing, not only in the CHL, but it being his draft year.&rdquo;</p><p>The team made arrangements to move Svetlana over six weeks into the season and move the player from a billet home into a two-bedroom apartment with his mother and their yappy three-year-old chihuahua, Richi. While the Galievs appreciate billet Mary Thompson &ndash; Svetlana calls her &ldquo;Stas&rsquo; Canadian mother&rdquo; &ndash; there&rsquo;s no substitute for home-cooked favorites such as borscht and perogies.</p><p>Svetlana says she worried every day with her son in North America last year. Now the only worrying she does is when she watches his games.</p><p>She sits one section to the left of the Sea Dogs bench, following every play with anticipation, smiling when her son makes a nice pass and grimacing when he takes a hit. As the tension builds, Svetlana can be found screaming in Russian and grabbing her head with both hands. She crosses both her fingers and legs hoping for him to score and screams and high-fives other fans when the Dogs put the puck in the net.</p><p>Despite her intensity as a spectator, she&rsquo;s laid back when it comes to the topic of Galiev&rsquo;s NHL dream. She says she&rsquo;d support her son in whatever he decides to do, even if he were to quit hockey. Asked about her son&rsquo;s future, she looks across the room at him, smiles and says, &ldquo;Everything for you.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0048-01

LOVE FROM MOTHERLAND

<div class="byline">By Larry Humber</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0049-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-02275/9494378-1-eng-US/f0049-022.jpg"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-01372/9494385-1-eng-US/f0049-012.jpg" title="f0049-01" width="124" height="124"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p><b>Answers available in the next issue and at <a href="http://THN.com/XWORD">THN.com/xword</a></b></p><h2><b>ACROSS</b></h2><p>1 Eric, Jordan and Marc ___</p><p>8 Blanks: two words</p><p>9 Colorado&rsquo;s ___ Hejduk, pictured</p><p>10 ___ Botterill is with Canada&rsquo;s women&rsquo;s team</p><p>11 Spears</p><p>14 First appearance</p><p>15 Corey Perry&rsquo;s wing</p><p>20 Brenden Morrow&rsquo;s team</p><p>21 He&rsquo;s known as &lsquo;Ovie&rsquo;</p><p>22 One of the Hulls</p><p>23 He was coach when the Habs won five straight Cups</p><p>24 Deke</p><h2><b>DOWN</b></h2><p>2 Unlucky number? Not for Mats Sundin</p><p>3 He steered the Isles to four straight Cups</p><p>4 Ogre voiced by hockey nut Mike Myers</p><p>5 Sarnia&rsquo;s Ontario League team</p><p>6 Goes top shelf, ___ it</p><p>7 Guelph&rsquo;s junior team</p><p>12 Evgeni Malkin stands ___-foot-___</p><p>13 San Jose Shark and member of Canada&rsquo;s Vancouver 2010 Olympic team</p><p>16 A goalie&rsquo;s best friends</p><p>17 Peterborough team where &lsquo;Stevie Y&rsquo; played</p><p>18 Fire many shots at a goalie</p><p>19 Tom ___ is Dallas&rsquo; owner</p><p><b>LAST WEEK&rsquo;S CROSSWORD SOLUTION</b>&nbsp;<b>ACROSS</b> 1. ADAMS, 8. THRASHER, 9. MAJOR, 10. HARTFORD, 11. FLEER, 14. SCRAP, 15. GLOVE, 20. STERN, 21. ONE-SIDED, 22. SMAIL, 23. SALT LAKE, 24. GREEN <b>DOWN</b> 2. DEADLOCK, 3. MOOSE JAW, 4. WHEAT, 5. MARTY, 6. SHOOT, 7. TRADE, 12. OLD-TIMER, 13. OVERTIME, 16. BOSSY, 17. KELLY, 18. BILLY, 19. PEAKS<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0049-02

CROSSWORD

<div class="byline">bycharlieteljeur</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0049-03" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-03211/9494416-1-eng-US/f0049-032.jpg"></div><p>Want to own an onginal cartoon? Visit <a href="http://charlieteljeur.com/journal">charlieteljeur.com/journal</a> for details.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0049-03

hockeysockpuppettheatre

<div class="byline">RYAN KENNEDY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-05153/9494447-1-eng-US/f0049-052.jpg" title="f0049-05" width="742" height="711"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>SALT LAKE GOLDEN EAGLES 1969-70</b></figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-04193/9494454-1-eng-US/f0049-042.jpg" title="f0049-04" width="124" height="124"></div><p>On the heels of last issue&rsquo;s Cincinnati Tigers find is another gem, this time from the Salt Lake Golden Eagles of the old Western League.</p><p>While the eagle mascot itself is impressive, the best aspect of this jersey by far is the creative striping on the shoulders. The blue and gold is sharp, but the real innovation comes from the stripes that extend all the way down the arms and ribs, through the pants and socks, all the way to the skates. Plus, the number on the arm has kind of a NASCAR feel to it.</p></div><div style="clear: both;"><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></div>

f0049-05

JERSEY Hound

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0050-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0050-02257/9494485-1-eng-US/f0050-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Clutch goals have become Joe Pavelski&rsquo;s 2010 post-season calling card.</b> <span class="photo-credit">(MARC PISCOTTY/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0050-01356/9494492-1-eng-US/f0050-012.jpg" title="f0050-01" width="206" height="245"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>T</span>HE STORY OF JOE PAVELSKI&rsquo;S</b> emergence as the NHL&rsquo;s latest overnight sensation actually begins much earlier &ndash; last year, around this time, during a more troubling period for the San Jose Sharks.</p><p>By mid-May, the Sharks&rsquo; management team was already conducting a series of painful exit interviews after their squad, the Western Conference&rsquo;s top seed for the &rsquo;09 playoffs, fell with a thump in the opening round to the No. 8-seeded Ducks.</p><p>Pavelski, in his post-season discussions, did something refreshing and relatively uncommon. Even as the team&rsquo;s stars, most notably Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau and goaltender Evgeni Nabokov, were publicly taking the heat for the loss, Pavelski issued a mea culpa of his own; that he and the rest of the team&rsquo;s second line needed to be more productive as well. Before leaving town for the summer, Pavelski outlined the different ways he could make that a difference in a meeting GM Doug Wilson remembers well.</p><blockquote class="pullQuote"><b>&lsquo;CONTRIBUTIONS HAVE TO COME FROM UP AND DOWN THE LINEUP&rsquo;</b></blockquote><p>&ldquo;What&rsquo;s said in those situations remains private, but I can tell you, he took responsibility,&rdquo; Wilson said. &ldquo;He started off by saying the things he could have done better and then how he would address them. That&rsquo;s the type of guy Pav is.&rdquo;</p><p>Wilson is a big booster of Pavelski&rsquo;s and had been even before the University of Wisconsin product scored most of the big goals in the Sharks&rsquo; opening round for victory over the Colorado Avalanche. Pavelski&rsquo;s strong play also spilled over into the second series, where he was an offensive force against the Detroit Red Wings.</p><p>For a time there, Pavelski and the Pittsburgh Penguins&rsquo; Sidney Crosby were running 1-2 in playoff scoring, creating a temptation to compare and contrast the two, if only because both are just 5-foot-11, a number that generally makes hockey scouts wince with dread.</p><p>Pavelski&rsquo;s size was one of the reasons he was available in the seventh round of that glorious 2003 draft, where he was playing the first of his two years with the Waterloo Black Hawks of the United States League.</p><p>Wilson was only a month into his tenure as the Sharks&rsquo; full-time GM back then, a seminal moment for the organization, given that they had two first-rounders and four picks in the top 47 overall. But while Milan Michalek (sixth overall) and Steve Bernier (16th overall) have moved on, Pavelski looks as if he&rsquo;s with the Sharks to stay.</p><p>Wilson said he remembers well what it was his scouting staff, particularly Tim Burke and Pat Funk, liked about Pavelski &ndash; and why they pressed him so hard to take a flyer on him.</p><p>&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a hockey player, it&rsquo;s that simple,&rdquo; Wilson recalled. &ldquo;He was a guy, while not big or physically dominant, who just had the hockey sense. That was very attractive. Watching tapes of him &ndash; and certainly, after we drafted him and watched him play at Wisconsin &ndash; he was a guy that our guys felt very strongly about adding to our mix.&rdquo;</p><p>Pavelski spent two years at Wisconsin, won a national championship and at that point, began to think that a pro career was a reasonable possibility.</p><p>&ldquo;But then you go to that first NHL training camp and you&rsquo;re skating around with these big bodies, guys that have been playing in the league for 10 years, and it&rsquo;s a whole different story &ndash; and a whole different way of training,&rdquo; Pavelski noted. &ldquo;Guys here have a completely different understanding of the game, so there was a lot to be learned. I played three exhibition games and then got sent down and you realize, there&rsquo;s a lot of work to do before getting called back up &ndash; and there are no guarantees even then, so you&rsquo;ve got to stay on top of your game.&rdquo;</p><p>Pavelski&rsquo;s minor league apprenticeship lasted just 16 games, a time in which he produced 26 points for the Worcester Sharks.</p><p>&ldquo;He was a guy that just had high-end hockey IQ,&rdquo; Wilson said. &ldquo;And those are the players that can normally play at the next level.&rdquo;</p><p>Already an integral part of the team&rsquo;s leadership group, Pavelski may ultimately be captain material, once the incumbent, 40-year-old defenseman Rob Blake, decides to hang up his skates.</p><p>As for last year&rsquo;s playoff disappointment and the way things have turned around, Pavelski simply states the facts in the no-muss, no-fuss manner he has. The numbers, he says, generally don&rsquo;t lie.</p><p>&ldquo;I had one assist, our line probably only had three or four points combined; and you&rsquo;re not going to win many games like that,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;If you look at any team, the contributions have to come from up and down the lineup. And so far, we&rsquo;ve gotten that this year.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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May 24, 2010

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