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November 9, 2001
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.
Youth, inexperience taking their toll
When the Atlanta Thrashers won their season opener in Buffalo, they accomplished something they hadn’t in their first two seasons. What followed, however, merely resembled parts of the first two years. A six-game winless streak (03-1-2) did nothing to diminish projections of the team’s young players, particularly rookie forwards Dany Heatley and Ilya Kovalchuk and defenseman Brian Pothier. But the team’s overall youth and mix of players caused almost expected defensive problems, particularly in the area of poor neutral zone coverage. Atlanta held leads in five of the six games during the skid, but couldn’t maintain them. The Thrashers were outscored 19-9 in the final two periods. “A lot of what’s happened I believe is because of the youth,” said GM Don Waddell. “We’re learning on the job, We knew that coming into it.…
Hackett, Petrov first on the shelf
The Montreal Canadiens’ dreaded injury bug has struck again. Ravaged by injuries in each of the last two seasons, the Canadiens lost Oleg Petrov, the team’s first-line right winger, and goaltender Jeff Hackett to a pair of fluke injuries within a 24-hour period. Petrov suffered a severely bruised left shoulder when he slammed into the boards during a game at Washington, Oct. 19. He is expected to miss two to three weeks. The next night, only 13 seconds into a game against Buffalo, Hackett suffered a dislocated left shoulder when he dove after a puck and had Sabres winger J.P. Dumont run into him. Hackett, the Canadiens’ best player through the early portion of the season, could miss six to eight weeks. “It’s a huge loss for us because Jeff was playing really well,”…
End of Ranger days for skilled Grosek?
The New York Rangers may be closing the file on the unsolved mystery that is Michal Grosek. The highly skilled right winger, whom the Rangers obtained on waivers from Chicago last October, was sent to Hartford of the American League Oct. 20 to clear space on the NHL roster for returning defenseman Tomas Kloucek. “I think the guy should be a player,” said Rangers’ coach Ron Low. “I think he should be a really decent player and I don’t know why he isn’t better. Blame me. I didn’t push the right buttons. He has all the talent, all the tools. All of them.” Grosek, who averaged 8:48 of ice time in five games, doesn’t think he got a legitimate shot. “Fair chance?” he said. “I don’t think I got a fair chance. It’s only…
Ndur puts concussion scare to rest
Rumun Ndur is a big man, a strong man. His 6-foot-2 frame is a hulked-up 240 pounds, with muscle on top of muscle. On the ice with the Norfolk Admirals, it’s his job not only to play sound defense, but also to play with a mean streak. After eight American League games, he had one assist and 43 penalty minutes. Playing with toughness has been Ndur’s game since he turned pro in 1995-96 in the Buffalo Sabres’ organization. In 236 minor pro games, Ndur has 942 penalty minutes. He also has 137 PIMs in 69 NHL games with the Sabres, New York Rangers and Atlanta Thrashers. But last spring, he wasn’t feeling tough. The lingering effects of a concussion left him frightened. During a Jan. 4 fight with Rochester’s Sasha Lakovic, they inadvertently…
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