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.

October 5, 2004

The Hockey News October 5, 2004

<div class="byline">BY KEVIN OKLOBZIJA</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-02902/8315400-1-eng-US/f0022-022.jpg" title="f0022-02" width="310" height="482"><figcaption class="caption-body">DEREK ROY</figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-011227/8315407-1-eng-US/f0022-012.jpg" title="f0022-01" width="111" height="112"></div>A year ago at this time, Derek Roy wasn&rsquo;t quite sure how he ended up in the American League.He had lit it up in training camp with the Buffalo Sabres, but still found himself in Rochester after the final cuts were made. He didn&rsquo;t skate in the NHL until December.This time around, Roy, 21, was assigned to Rochester in mid-September and he&rsquo;s happy about it. With NHL players locked out, the sophomore center is thankful to be on the ice.&ldquo;For me as a young guy, I need to be skating every day,&rdquo; said Roy, who was Buffalo&rsquo;s second round pick (32nd overall) in 2001. &ldquo;At the start of the summer I was kind of bummed out there wasn&rsquo;t going to be a season. You work hard your whole life to make it to the NHL and you finally make it and then there isn&rsquo;t a season.</div><div style="clear: both;"></div>&ldquo;But this will be good. I can build up some confidence like I did last year.&rdquo;Roy scored 10 goals and 26 points in 26 AHL games last season. He earned AHL rookie-of-the-month honors for October and by December he was playing quite well for the Sabres.Roy scored nine goals and 19 points in 49 NHL games, playing behind veteran pivots Chris Drury and Daniel Briere while learning his way around the league.This season he&rsquo;ll be back in a familiar role: team leader. With Domenic Pittis gone to Europe, the 5-foot-9,186-pound Roy will be expected to spark the offense in Rochester.&ldquo;1 like that role,&rdquo; said Roy, who led the Ontario League&rsquo;s Kitchener Rangers to the Memorial Cup in 2003. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s one I played in junior and I loved that, the guy that gets all the heat if nothing goes your way and some of the glory when you win.&rdquo; &#9632;

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DEPARTMENTS

Amerks looking to Roy for offense

<div class="byline">BY WILLY PALOV</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-02840/8315704-1-eng-US/f0024-022.jpg" title="f0024-02" width="266" height="289"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-011181/8315711-1-eng-US/f0024-012.jpg" title="f0024-01" width="230" height="125"></div>The Quebec League will reach more fans than ever after three television stations unveiled expanded schedules for the 2004-05 season.French networks Vox (Ottawa region) and Cogeco (Rimouski) will team up to show 21 QMJHL games. Of the 45 games, 10 will spotlight Sidney Crosby and the Rimouski Oceanic. The EastLink games will feature at least one Maritime team in a weekly special called &ldquo;QMJHL Friday Night Hockey.&rdquo;EastLink is a community cable station that has expanded its sports coverage in recent years and could pave the way for a push for full broadcast privileges down the road. The Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission has different classifications for broadcast privileges and EastLink remains a partial carrier for now.&ldquo;The new format of regular Friday night games is tremendous progression and could become a staple for Maritime hockey fans,&rdquo; said Michael Smith, director of EastLink television. &ldquo;At EastLink, we&rsquo;re very proud of our association with these teams. This is a major commitment for all partners.&rdquo;TITAN ADD VETERANS Looking to add leadership, the Acadie-Bathurst Titan acquired two players in separate trades.The Titan picked up center Eric Beaudin from the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies for a fourth round draft pick and then added the rights to defenseman Martin Vagner from the Gatineau Olympiques for a conditional third round pick. Vagner was drafted by Carolina in the ninth round of the 2004 NHL draft. He was originally drafted 26th overall by Dallas in 2002, but was not signed.If Vagner does not return to the QMJHL this season, the draft pick will be downgraded.The Titan needed to add some veterans after captain Nicolas Laplante unexpectedly signed a 25-game tryout contract with the American League&rsquo;s Bridgeport Sound Tigers. He could still return later in the season, but that won&rsquo;t be determined for at least a few more months.WELCOME ABOARD The Drummondville Vbltigeurs acquired right winger Chaz Johnson from the Val-d&rsquo;Or Foreurs for a third round pick and then shipped defenseman Michel Charette to the P.E.I. Rocket in exchange for an eighth round selection.<h2>SPOTLIGHT</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-03594/8315697-1-eng-US/f0024-032.jpg" title="f0024-03" width="347" height="907"></div> &#9632;

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New deal puts ‘Q’ on prime time TV

<div class="byline">-TIM SASSONE</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-05551/8314446-1-eng-US/f0016-052.jpg" title="f0016-05" width="361" height="752"></div>The Chicago Blackhawks weren&rsquo;t sure where they wanted Tuomo Ruutu to play during the lockout.Ruutu was assigned to Norfolk with 21 others the day after the lockout began, but there was a chance the Hawks&rsquo; prized second-year winger would wind up playing in his native Finland with the club&rsquo;s blessing.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-04758/8314453-1-eng-US/f0016-042.jpg" title="f0016-04" width="230" height="302"></div>&ldquo;We want to do what&rsquo;s best for him as far as his development,&rdquo; said assistant GM Dale Tallon.Ruutu established himself as an NHL player last season and showed again with a strong performance for Finland in the World Cup that he might not benefit by playing in the AHL.&ldquo;Is it best for him to go down and play with guys he&rsquo;s going to be playing with for the next 15 years, or is it best for him to go play in Europe?&rdquo; Tallon said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s what we need to decide. Is it going to be a waste of time for him to go to Norfolk?&rdquo;AHL PROSPECTS Here are the Hawks&rsquo; five top prospects playing in the American League this season:Anton Babchuk, D Another season in the minors learning how to play defense more effectively isn&rsquo;t such a bad thing for the 2002 first round pick (21st overall).Mikhail Yakubov, C A breakout season offensively at Norfolk might show the Hawks he is ready to live up to his potential.Michael Leighton, G His battle with Craig Anderson for the backup job to Jocelyn Thibault will take place in AHL instead of at Chicago&rsquo;s training camp.Craig Anderson, G See above.Pavel Vorobiev, RW He needs to prove he can score or his days in the organization could be numbered.NOTEBOOK With baseball&rsquo;s Cubs fighting for a playoff spot and the Bears&rsquo; NFL season under way, newspapers in Chicago were pretty much ignoring the NHL shutdown.<h2>SPOTLIGHT &#9632;</h2>

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IN THIS ISSUE

Hawks mull options to get Ruutu on ice

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0033-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-011049/8316185-1-eng-US/f0033-012.jpg"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-02804/8316178-1-eng-US/f0034-022.jpg" title="f0034-02" width="2858" height="2658"></div> &#9632;

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QUEBEC LEAGUE STANDINGS AND STATISTICS

<div class="byline">Jason Kay Editor</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-021596/8313554-1-eng-US/f0004-022.jpg" title="f0004-02" width="324" height="575"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-011899/8313561-1-eng-US/f0004-012.jpg" title="f0004-01" width="93" height="94"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-031299/8313547-1-eng-US/f0004-032.jpg" title="f0004-03" width="2143" height="2883"><figcaption class="caption-body">MARTY MURRAY: CAROLINA HURRICANESNO CHECKING&nbsp;Here are the gross amounts players at various contract levels will be forfeiting on each check, based on 13 pay periods. (JIM MCISAAC/BBS/GETTY)</figcaption></div>If you&rsquo;re already suffering from lockout fatigue, don&rsquo;t despair. You&rsquo;re not alone. Millions like you are fed up with references to caps, taxes, revenue links and marketplaces. Over the coming months, The Hockey News promises to provide relief in the form of real hockey stories. This week, for example, we get the low-down on Peter Forsberg&rsquo;s return to Sweden and we take an in-depth, eight-page look at the upcoming U.S. college season.That said, a few nagging questions persist about the NHL shutdown. Like, exactly how will Gary Bettman fill his days if there are no talks between now and December? Cleaning the empty offices at NHL headquarters? Video game competitions with Bill Daly? Here are some of our other noodlings through Week 1 of the impasse.Q: The NHL and union maintain they&rsquo;re not on the same philosophical page, yet they&rsquo;re both talking about ways to curb player salaries. Couldn&rsquo;t luxury taxes and salary caps be considered common ground from which to start?A: In theory, you&rsquo;d think so. The two leagues that operate with salary caps, the NFL and NBA, have penalties for exceeding a limit.The one league that operates with a luxury tax, Major League Baseball, has penalties for exceeding the threshold. So far, the principles seem identical.Where the NFL and NBA differ from baseball is the guaranteed tie to overall league revenue. In football, the hard cap pretty much assures salaries will stay at the agreed upon 64 per-cent of defined revenue mark. In basketball, if the agreed | upon level (about 58 per cent right now) is exceeded, players must pay back the overage.Believe it or not, it is that distinction claim the two sides, that is preventing NHL hockey from being played.But we&rsquo;re suspicious. Our instincts tell u: this is more about a financial divide than a philosophical one. Are we to believe that if the owners established an $80-million per team cap the players wouldn t biter or it tne players ordered a 50 per-cent pay cut with no guaranteed revenue tie-in, the owners would say no? Common ground will be found when the dollar proposals from the two sides more closely align.Q: Last season, six of 30 teams had payrolls less than the proposed $3I-million ceiling. Doesn&rsquo;t that prove caps aren&rsquo;t necessary?No. There may be ways other than a cap for the NHL to achieve its economic ends, but this argument is flawed. Teams with such low payrolls have a tough time competing for top players. Under a hard cap system, wealthy teams won&rsquo;t be able to keep all their high-priced talent, so there should be a glut of these players available at cut costs. At the very least, there will be downward market pressure. Under a soft cap where teams exceed a threshold, money collected from overspenders is re-distributed to the other clubs. In addition, the new reality should involve significantly more revenue sharing than currently exists, so the poorer clubs may be able to boost their spending.Q: Why isn&rsquo;t the NHL using contraction as a scare tactic? Wouldn&rsquo;t the prospect of job losses give them added leverage?A: No. While the union won&rsquo;t publicly admit it, it&rsquo;s believed the PA would accept job losses if it guaranteed the maintenance of a higher average salary. The NHL, meantime, would have egg on its face if it proposed folding franchises it recently granted. The league envisioned growing the game and its revenues by going into non-traditional markets and is stubbornly sticking to its game plan.Q: With the average salary at more than $1.8 million, can&rsquo;t the players afford to sit out for many, many months?Certainly, some will be fine for a long haul. They&rsquo;ve been warned for a couple years to squirrel away and, at some point, lockout pay could be made available to those who need it. Meantime, the players could have other funds at their disposal. A few years back, the union stopped refunding player dues, something it had been doing on an annual basis because the coffers were apparently full enough. It&rsquo;s unclear whether the dues that have been collected in recent years have been banked or whether they&rsquo;re simply going towards operational costs, but it&rsquo;s something to bear in mind.Still, foregoing hefty paychecks, no matter how much you earn, must be tough to swallow. Think about a player such as Carolina&rsquo;s Marty Murray. He&rsquo;s scheduled to earn $700,000 in 2004-05 and is unsigned for 2005-06. If this season gets canceled, that money is history and he has to hope somebody will re-sign him in the new NHL, one that will almost certainly be more restrictive than the current one.Look at it another way. We&rsquo;ve been told the average NHL career is roughly four years. Miss one of those four seasons and a player says goodbye to 25 per cent of his NHL career earnings. That would be a sobering thought for anybody.Q: If the players stand to lose so much, why are they so unified?A: Hockey&rsquo;s culture breeds loyalty and players have good reason to be loyal in this case. Over the past 10 years, under Bob Goodenow&rsquo;s watch, salaries have increased 147 per cent.What&rsquo;s not to trust?<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-041055/8313540-1-eng-US/f0004-042.jpg" title="f0004-04" width="446" height="234"></div> &#9632;

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How long can they sit?

<div class="byline">-KEVIN OKLOBZIJA</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0005-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-021353/8313623-1-eng-US/f0005-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">STICK IT&nbsp;The AHL is limiting goalie puckhandling.</figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-011903/8313630-1-eng-US/f0005-012.jpg" title="f0005-01" width="93" height="94"></div>To those goalies who had a cow over the summer about new American League restrictions limiting their ability to play the puck: you can all relax.The AHL will indeed make playing the puck by a goaltender an illegal act, but only in areas far from the crease. It&rsquo;s one of five major rule changes implemented by the AHL for this season.Here&rsquo;s how the changes impact goalies: six feet from each goalpost will be a line extending from the end line to the end boards. The lines will con-CU nect to points on the end boards y that will be 28 feet apart.A goalie will be allowed to J M stop dump-ins behind the /r net, but he can&rsquo;t wander. Playing the puck in the &ldquo;no-play zone&rdquo; will result i in a penalty for delay of, game.The hope is that teams will be able establish a more consistent forecheck, as the goalie won&rsquo;t always be getting to a dumpin first and firing it back out of the zone.</div><div style="clear: both;"></div>The worry and fret isn&rsquo;t necessary, according to Utah&rsquo;s Jean-Marc Pelletier.&ldquo;Who does this limit? The goalie who likes to come out all the time and play the puck,&rdquo; Pelletier said. &ldquo;It won&rsquo;t affect the average Joe Goalie.&rdquo;&rsquo; The rule will be tested for the first seven weeks of the regular season, through Nov. 28. The AHL&rsquo;s board of governors will review the results and decide whether to extend it for the remainder of the season.&ldquo;Quite honestly, I don&rsquo;t think it will change that much,&rdquo; said Pelletier, who took part in the JAL AHL&rsquo;s on-ice trial when the no-play zone was determined. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s still a pretty big zone behind the net where the goalie can play the puck. Besides, coaches don&rsquo;t want their goalies wandering out to the corner anyway.&ldquo;My big concern was making sure my defensemen didn&rsquo;t get run. We can still play the puck and leave it for them.&rdquo;There are other major changes too-all of which have offense and excitement in mind and all of which could be adopted by the NHL, depending on the results:&bull; Ties are history. If teams are tied after a five-minute, 4-on-4 overtime, a shootout will determine the winner.&bull; The tag-up offside is back. If there is a delayed offside, players on the attacking team can simply clear the zone, then reenter, even if the puck never leaves the zone.&bull; No-touch icing is back. The AHL believes the risk of injury in races for the puck is much greater than the reward for negating an icing.&bull; The bluelines and center red line will double in width to 24 inches, stretching the neutral zone. Also, the end lines will be 11 feet from the end boards instead of 13. The bluelines still will be 60 feet from the goal lines; the additional four feet will instead be added in the neutral zone.<h2>NCAA CHAMPS</h2>Michigan has won nine NCAA titles, two more than North Dakota. Defending champ Denver has won six. See pgs. 25-32 for NCAA preview.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-05350/8313616-1-eng-US/f0005-052.jpg" title="f0005-05" width="1233" height="1089"></div> &#9632;

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AHL playing by new rules

<h2>Best of the Hockey World</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-03877/8313668-1-eng-US/f0005-032.jpg" title="f0005-03" width="351" height="554"><figcaption class="caption-body">SIDNEY CROSBY</figcaption></div>FANS SPEAK Three cheers for fans who stay away from the expensive and lame Original Stars League, forcing the cancellation of games.SIDNEY&rsquo;S BACK Sidney Crosby picks up where he left off last season by scoring three goals and nine points in three Quebec League games.SAFER PLACE TO PLAY The American League will clearly define what it considers excess violence and will come down hard on offenders.<h2>Worst of the Hockey World</h2>BUSINESS AS (UN)USUAL It&rsquo;s infuriating the way both sides are treating the lockout as a game with no consideration of collateral damage.SO WHICH IS IT? John Madden of the Devils says he can live with a salary cap&hellip;then changes his story after his words are made public.HERE WE GO AGAIN Once again the Islanders have an owner, Sanjay Kumar, up to his neck in legal troubles.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-04553/8313661-1-eng-US/f0005-042.jpg" title="f0005-04" width="353" height="552"><figcaption class="caption-body">JOHN MADDEN</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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PLUS MINUS

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-07131/8313706-1-eng-US/f0005-072.jpg" title="f0005-07" width="387" height="621"><figcaption class="caption-body">BRAD PASCALL</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-06218/8313713-1-eng-US/f0005-062.jpg" title="f0005-06" width="232" height="194"></div>&bull; On back-to-back nights, Gary Bettman and then Bob Goodenow appeared on CBC&rsquo;s Newsworld with anchor Peter Mansbridge, fielding questions from a studio audience and fans across Canada. The forum gave both men yet another opportunity to repeat what they have said so often since well before the lockout took effect on Sept. 15. Bettman: &ldquo;We want a salary cap.&rdquo; Goodenow: &ldquo;We won&rsquo;t accept one.&rdquo;&bull; You had to see this coming: the Swedish Hockey Federation fired coach Hardy Nilsson after the team&rsquo;s poor showing at the World Cup.&bull; The Maple Leafs made a nice hire in naming Craig Button as one of their pro scouts. Keep this in mind about Button: though his tenure as GM of Calgary was not what he hoped it would be, another failed Flames boss, Doug Risebrough, rose from the ashes and is doing a fine job in Minnesota.&bull; A real hockey wedding: Brad Pascal, director of communications for Hockey Canada, and Cassie Campbell, star of Canada&rsquo;s national women&rsquo;s team, are engaged to be married<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-0869/8313699-1-eng-US/f0005-082.jpg" title="f0005-08" width="390" height="619"><figcaption class="caption-body">CASSIE CAMPBELL</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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SNAPSHOTS

The Hockey News: FROM THE EDITORS<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-012116/8313744-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg" title="f0006-01" width="204" height="106"></div>Senior writer Mark Brender does a terrific job in his opinion column on the facing page of advising the NHL and NHL Players&rsquo; Association of things they shouldn&rsquo;t say during the lockout. We&rsquo;d like to add one more phrase to his list: &ldquo;We&rsquo;re doing this for the fans.&rdquo;This intelligence-insulting untruth, more than any other inane comment we hear, makes us want to get a buzz cut, buy a pair of dark-rimmed glasses and do our best impression of Michael Douglas in Falling Down. (You know, the movie where he goes postal over a series of injustices he suffers at the hands of &ldquo;the man.&rdquo;)Their motivation behind this impasse is more transparent than the visors too many players won&rsquo;t wear: this is all about the money and how much each side can snatch. Their only real concern is No. 1 and we don&rsquo;t mean Jacques Plante.Additional proof of where fans rank in the hearts and minds of the lockout principals was delivered during Gary Bettman&rsquo;s Sept. 15 &ldquo;we had no choice&rdquo; news conference. It was overshadowed by CBA rhetoric, but shouldn&rsquo;t be overlooked. The commissioner all but said the NHL wouldn&rsquo;t participate at the 2006 Olympics.The rationale? Because, whether there&rsquo;s hockey this season or not, the league wouldn&rsquo;t want to shut down in the middle of 2005-06 to accommodate the Games.Why? Because it could be bad for business and, at the very least, it&rsquo;s a pain in the assets.<blockquote class="pullQuote">If NHLers don&rsquo;t play in Turin, the next best-on-best competition could be the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver.</blockquote>Throw us a freakin&rsquo; bone, Gare. How about abiding by another one of your favorite phrases, the one that goes something like, &ldquo;we hear from our fans all the time and this is what they&rsquo;re telling us?&rdquo; Because in this case, hockey fans overwhelmingly want NHLers to participate in the Olympics.We heard it in a poll conducted by The Hockey News last February, when percent of more than 12,000 respondents said they favor NHL participation in Turin, Italy. That number was mirrored by fans who took part in our soon-to-be-released special publication, Hockey&rsquo;s Great Debates.The reason behind the Olympic support is evident: it&rsquo;s an incredible spectacle. The Salt Lake Games were an artistic success, the best and most pure hockey we&rsquo;ve witnessed in years. The gold medal game was riveting for millions of viewers across North America (and likely the hockey world), pitting Canada and the United States against one another, creating enduring memories.It reached a zenith the recently completed World Cup simply couldn&rsquo;t match. (Oh, in case we forgot, thanks for killing the mood of that event with your CBA deadline shenanigans.) It&rsquo;s unclear when the next World Cup will be held, but serious doubts have been raised about staging it anytime soon because of insurance issues.So, if NHLers don&rsquo;t play in Turin, the next best-on-best international competition could be the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, a mere six years away. Nothing like doing what&rsquo;s in the best interests of the fans. &#9632;

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Fans get shafted again if NHL doesn’t go to Italy

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0006-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-021407/8313775-1-eng-US/f0006-022.jpg"></div> &#9632;

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ELSTON

<h2>COMPETITIVE BALANCE A MUST</h2>Is it just a coincidence the NHL&rsquo;s clutch-and-grab style of play came about shortly after the last labor deal? I think not. How can teams with limited payrolls compete with large market teams? By implementing a system that limits the skill of the opposition, that&rsquo;s how.Until the players and owners reach a deal that levels the NHL&rsquo;s competitive imbalance, clutch-and-grab hockey will be here to stay.Steve James, Windsor, Ont.*See pg. 8 for more reaction to NHL lockout<h2>MORE HOCKEY, LESS LABOR TALK</h2>I just renewed my subscription to The Hockey News for the next two years. But I am already weary of the he-said/she-said public relations spin from both sides.I know you guys have to cover the labor situation, but is it possible to ignore the pinheads involved in the NHL&rsquo;s suicide?As a subscriber, I would like to read more about hockey and less about the soap opera that is becoming Bob, Gary, Ted & Alice.Mel Wolski, Calgary<h2>RUUTU A KEEPER</h2>If any player deserved to be the MVP of the World Cup, it was Tuomo Ruutu, whose feisty style led to many scoring chances for the Finns. Ruutu also scored the prettiest goal of the tourney against Canada in the final.I really hope the labor war ends quickly, so that Ruutu can help raise the Hawks back to respectability.Jason McKenty, Bradford, Ont.<h2>WAYNE&rsquo;S WORLD&hellip;NOT!</h2>Is it too late to airbrush Wayne Gretzky out of the front of TeamCanada&rsquo;s victory photograph at the World Cup?The spotlight belongs on the players, not the GM. I don&rsquo;t recall seeing Jay Feaster or Lou Lamoriello front and center with the Stanley Cup in their respective team photographs.When Canada wins gold again in 2006,1 hope Wayne will do the right thing when the players assemble for the team photograph.Shael Glesby, Winnipeg<h2>A TEACHER&rsquo;S LESSON</h2>I&rsquo;m a teacher who is part of a union.I recently got a 1.5 per-cent raise on $40,000.1 work 180 days a year. My position has a top salary-yes, a salary cap-of $75,000.Gentlemen, let&rsquo;s play hockey.Vicki Banas, Pickerington, Ohio<h2>FIX THE PRODUCT FIRST</h2>No matter how long the lockout continues, I will still be a fan. But there is only one thing I ask of players and owners: fix the the on-ice product!I&rsquo;m sick of the garbage we&rsquo;ve been forced to watch for the past decade. Take your time to resolve your differences, guys, but give us something special to watch when you return.Rob McCoy, Orangeville, Ont.<h2>NO FAITH IN BETTMAN</h2>NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has made a mess of this once-great game.He expanded to areas where there is no interest in the sport. The style of play has regressed. The NHL&rsquo;s TV contract in the U.S. is a joke.Now fans are supposed to support Bettman in his efforts to accomplish something for the owners? Not me!Mike Castor, Parkesbug, Pa.<h2>LETTER OF THE WEEK</h2>After reading the columns by NHL vice-president Bill Daly and NHLPA president Trevor Linden, I have a hard time sympathizing with either side. (THN, Sept. 21)Daly writes about &ldquo;keeping ticket prices affordable.&rdquo; What a joke! This implies NHL owners believe ticket prices are affordable right now. I&rsquo;m lucky if I can attend one Senators game with my family every two years. Owners want &ldquo;cost certainty", but don&rsquo;t expect them to drop their ticket prices and pass the savings on to you once they achieve it.That brings us to the players&rsquo; union, an organization obviously out of touch with those of us who pay their salaries. How can these guys possibly relate to the kind of financial sacrifice my family must make to attend a game?I can only conclude both parties are equally consumed with greed and couldn&rsquo;t care less about the fans.Kerry Vaillancourt, Pembroke, Ont.<h2>Got something to say?</h2>U.S.A.: Letters, The Hockey News P.O. Box 904, Buffalo, N.Y., 14240-9947.Canada: Letters, The Hockey News, 25 Sheppard Ave.W., Suite 100, Toronto, Ont., M2N 6S7E-mail: <a href="mailto:aproteau@thehockeynews.com">aproteau@thehockeynews.com</a> or visit <a href="http://www.thehockeynews.com">www.thehockeynews.com</a> Include name, hometown, province/state and phone number.Submissions will be edited. &#9632;

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

<div class="byline">Mark Brender: Senior Writer</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-021273/8313865-1-eng-US/f0007-022.jpg" title="f0007-02" width="410" height="678"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-011916/8313872-1-eng-US/f0007-012.jpg" title="f0007-01" width="204" height="106"></div>How do they all keep a straight face when they&rsquo;re sounding so ridiculous?When they say Georges Laraque&rsquo;s fighting numbers are down because Laraque can&rsquo;t find a dance partner, that we understand.When they say the NHL season is down because &ldquo;we don&rsquo;t have a negotiating partner,&rdquo; that makes us want to heave.Gentlemen, you&rsquo;ve already spoken the words that break our hearts. Please try to stay away from the ones that make us want to break your necks.No negotiating partner? Of all the stupid lockout phrases, this one is the tip-top stupidest. What they need is a clear-language Grade 1 teacher. Bob and Gary, you two are going to be negotiating buddies at Idiot Elementary this year. Isn&rsquo;t it grand? Who do they want to negotiate with, Carol Burnett?Okay, so that&rsquo;s unfair. We understand what they really mean is &ldquo;we don&rsquo;t have a negotiating partner drunk enough to do exactly what we want them to do.&rdquo; Personally, I want a full-size court with nine-foot rims and college three-point line and dancing girls serving pina coladas on a beachfront villa in Thailand.Stupid phrase II: &ldquo;Players only want to get paid what they&rsquo;re worth, not a penny more and not a penny less.&rdquo; Fellas, you&rsquo;re not alone. It&rsquo;s a struggle for anybody to get paid what they&rsquo;re worth these days. A factory worker in China gets $4 a day. A coffee bean worker in Guatemala is lucky to bring home $3 a day. Whatever the people doing AIDS vork in Botswana or Zimbabwe are earning, will probably agree it&rsquo;s lot enough. Seriously, felas, here&rsquo;s the problem: we mow when you think-ou&rsquo;d be getting paid a enny less; either you don&rsquo;t ace &rsquo;em up or you learn to pell R-E-N-E-G-O-T-I-A-P-E. But what about the enny more? How do we mow when you&rsquo;re making a penny more?Oh. That must be when the poor play takes hold. The injustice breaks you up inside. Now we understand.Stupid phrase III: &ldquo;Nobody feels worse about this than I do.&rdquo; Gary, best to head down to the nearest 7-11 and get yourself a new speechwriter. Here are a few of the people who might feel worse about this than you do: the 100-plus NHL employees you laid off; the dozens of people stick companies and equipment manufacturers have laid off; the legions of goal judges, concession people, parking attendants, restaurant staff, TV announcers, cameramen and sweater stitchers who will or have been laid off. And their families.Stupid phrase IV: &ldquo;Players sacrificed for us in the past and we&rsquo;re sacrificing for the next generation.&rdquo; No, you&rsquo;re not. The next generation is the 13-year-old kid who, when asked about the lockout, replies: &ldquo;They want more money. I think it&rsquo;s stupid.&rdquo;Stupid phrase V: &ldquo;The fact of the matter is&hellip;&rdquo; The fact of the matter is people who use &ldquo;the fact of the matter is&rdquo; are invariably attempting to change the subject so they can express biased opinions masquerading as facts. Best just to ignore these people altogether.Stupid phrase VI: &ldquo;Players have short careers and a limited time to earn an income?&rsquo; This is true. A below-average player&rsquo;s salary of, say, $1.2 million for four years in the NHL means a lifetime wage of $4.8 million, assuming he never works another day in his life. Compare that to a middle manager making $70,000 for 40 years of work, grossing $2.8 million. Not a particularly effective argument to win public sentiment, but true.Stupid phrase VII: &ldquo;The League has our support as we take this difficult, but necessary step toward creating a new economic system that allows all teams to be competitive.&rdquo; Of the many teams that released lockout statements to their fans, the vast majority incorporated the above template-sent out by the NHL, perhaps? The more cynical among us might be led to believe individual clubs are being, how you say, spun like a top?From the league&rsquo;s perspective, there&rsquo;s another concern: minor wording differences can reveal cracks in ownership solidarity. Buffalo, Calgary and Nashville offered &ldquo;full support,&rdquo; but Minnesota only &ldquo;support.&rdquo; Are the Wild willing to bend? The Rangers, notably, offered no statement at all. As for the Detroit Red Wings, they should be applauded for their candor. &ldquo;The League has our full support as we take this difficult, but necessary step toward creating a new economic system that will help insure the future of our Club and the game of hockey,&rdquo; the Wings said.So they&rsquo;re going to &ldquo;insure&rdquo; franchise values into the new CBA or perhaps take out a league-wide policy against bankruptcies! What a fine idea. Wonder how much Lloyd&rsquo;s of London is charging.Stupid phrase VIII: &ldquo;They can&rsquo;t be dumb enough to wipe out the whole season.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-03789/8313858-1-eng-US/f0007-032.jpg" title="f0007-03" width="1354" height="2869"><figcaption class="caption-body">MIND BENDER&nbsp;If Darius Kasparaitus earned a penny more than his worth, would anyone know?</figcaption></div><h2>NEGOTIATING BUDDIES&nbsp;if Bob and Gary can&rsquo;t negotiate with each other, there are other options:</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-04509/8313851-1-eng-US/f0007-042.jpg" title="f0007-04" width="241" height="341"></div>Homer SIMPSONWill give up salary cap for donuts<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-05349/8313844-1-eng-US/f0007-052.jpg" title="f0007-05" width="241" height="340"></div>Carol BURNETTPlays dumb, but drives hard bargain<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-06272/8313837-1-eng-US/f0007-062.jpg" title="f0007-06" width="243" height="342"></div>Richard SIMMONSEnergetic and always an optimist<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-07211/8313830-1-eng-US/f0007-072.jpg" title="f0007-07" width="241" height="340"></div>Harry POTTERAlways finds way out of tough spots &#9632;

f0007-02

Words need a lockout

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-021498/8313910-1-eng-US/f0008-022.jpg" title="f0008-02" width="350" height="361"><figcaption class="caption-body">GARRY BETTMAN</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-012003/8313917-1-eng-US/f0008-012.jpg" title="f0008-01" width="211" height="217"></div>Hockey fans may not have a say as to when the NHL lockout ends, but that hasn&rsquo;t stopped them from making their voices heard loud and clear.Since Gary Bettman announced the cancellation of training camp Sept. 15, The Hockey News has been swamped with letters. And while the grand majority of them voice their support of the owners&rsquo; plea for a relationship between revenues and player salaries, none hide their anger over the current stalemate between the two sides. Here are some examples of how THN readers are feeling:<h2>FUN WITH NUMBERS</h2>Here are some rudimentary calculations to let Gary Bettman and Bob Goodenow know just how much they need me and other NHL fans:For the price of just one of my NHL season tickets, I can see 260 movies at the local cinema; bowl two games-and rent shoes-143 times; see 159 shows at my community theater; and, see 57 shows at the Westbury Music Fair.If the NHL and NHLPA want to be stubborn, kiss me and my money goodbye.Dee Karl, Sayville, N.Y.<h2>JUST SAY NO</h2>I hope the NHL dies a miserable death and, from its ashes, a new league forms that cares only about the fans and the game.Are the players and their union partly to blame for the lockout? You bet. However, the NHL&rsquo;s biggest problem is Gary Bettman and 85 per cent of the money-grubbing owners!Every hockey fan needs to stand up and say, &lsquo;No more!&rsquo; Say &lsquo;No!&rsquo; to the union, &lsquo;No!&rsquo; to Bettman and &lsquo;No!&rsquo; to the owners. Enough is enough!Brian Stonebumer, Colorado Springs, Colo.<h2>FANS DON&rsquo;T MATTER TO PLAYERS</h2>The NHLPA doesn&rsquo;t care about fans. Rather, it&rsquo;s all about the union&rsquo;s ability to justify its existence. With a new CBA that works, the union would lose power and Bob Goodenow&rsquo;s fat paycheck would be in jeopardy. The average NFL salary is $1.3 million; the average NHL salary is $1.8 million. Does that make sense?Goodenow has done well getting NHLers paid as well as other pro athletes, but it is time to work together and check egos at the door.Owners want a fair return on their investment. What&rsquo;s wrong with that?Shaun Phelan, Buffalo<h2>DISBAND THE LEAGUE!</h2>Clearly, the many head injuries in hockey are having an effect. Since the last CBA in 1994-95, the average NHL salary has more than doubled. How many fans&rsquo; salaries have kept pace?As far as I&rsquo;m concerned, you can disband the NHL. Send these overpaid brats back to their daddies and let them earn a real living. Then, perhaps, they&rsquo;ll appreciate what they had.Tim Johnson, Portland, Me.<h2>NOT GOOD ENOUGH, GOODENOW</h2>How does Bob Goodenow get away with suggesting that a salary cap is unacceptable on the premise player salaries should be determined by a fair market system?The current system lacks the competitiveness to be a true fair market system. Under the present CBA, only a few teams in large markets have the money to retain star players or to sign elite free agents. Most teams struggle just to keep their teams together and, in the long run, lose key players to big market teams.The true market in the NHL today should be what all teams collectively can afford to pay players in a fair and competitive system. New York, Toronto and Detroit do not constitute the market.So, Bob, it&rsquo;s time to lose the blinders and accept reality before the NHL-and your job-does a disappearing act.Don H. DeGagne, Revelstoke, B.C.<h2>COST CERTAINTY A MUST</h2>As an avid reader of The Hockey News for more than 25 years, I have never felt the need to submit comments until now.Add my name to a list of those in favor of &ldquo;cost certainty&rdquo; to help hockey survive. I don&rsquo;t understand how players justify not having some measure of a fixed relationship between revenues and expenses when every other sport is doing it in one form or another.Trevor Linden&rsquo;s column (THN, Sept. 21) doesn&rsquo;t acknowledge that, in every other major sport, there is a plausible connection between revenues and the cost of labor. I think the players are smart enough to see how labor deals in pro sports have changed.The time has come for hockey to change.Ron Lemarquand, Thunder Bay, Ont.<h2>SAVE GAME IN ALL NHL CITIES</h2>I find myself torn: do I hope for a continuation of the status quo in the NHL and know that my beloved Red Wings will continue to be a playoff team every year, or do I root for a hard cap like the owners want and save NHL hockey in small market towns?In the end I count myself on the side of the owners. I would rather have the parity and financial security of the NFL than the current situation in baseball, where everyone chases the big-money Yankees.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-031051/8313903-1-eng-US/f0008-032.jpg" title="f0008-03" width="2072" height="3174"><figcaption class="caption-body">HARD SELL&nbsp;NHLPA president Trevor Linden is having a hard time winning fans&rsquo;favor. (BRUCE BENNETT/BBS/GETTY)</figcaption></div>As much as I would like to see more Stanley Cup banners in Detroit, I would rather see hockey continue in other cities. I would also like to be able to take my two young sons to a game without needing a co-signer for the loan that would be required to buy tickets.If the players&rsquo; union doesn&rsquo;t like my approach, then let them all find real jobs. I just want to watch hockey again!Ron Howrigon, Angier, N.C.<h2>FANS ARE AN AFTERTHOUGHT</h2>I&rsquo;d appreciate if those on both sides of the CBA battle stopped invoking the collective name of &ldquo;the fans". Although they hope to garner support and capture the moral high ground by doing so, it is insulting to our intelligence.If anything is apparent in all this, it is that the fans are an afterthought.Debra Wells, St. Clair Beach, Ont.<h2>U.S. APATHY A BIGGER PROBLEM</h2>For the past few months, NHL players and owners have been playing the blame game with the labor dispute. But the one point both sides are ignoring is the main problem with the NHL: nobody in the U.S. is watching.Listen to U.S. sports talk radio or watch ESPN. There is hardly a mention of the NHL. Do you think they might be talking about it if it were baseball or football?Even if a new CBA can be worked out, you still have to confront the problem of fan interest. Not playing won&rsquo;t help things.Matthew Carter, Warwick, R.I.<h2>TIME FOR BOYCOTT</h2>I&rsquo;m shocked by the number of fans who support owners in the NHL lockout.How can so many of you accept the league&rsquo;s assertion that owning a team is a losing proposition? Teams that have made poor business choices shouldn&rsquo;t be supported by the rest of the NHL.Fans continue to say they are powerless in this struggle; perhaps they should consider withholding their money from the owners&rsquo; other businesses until a deal is done.Allison Novak, Detroit<h2>TRAGIC SELF-DESTRUCTION</h2>What a mistake the NHL is making. We were really getting into hockey.We have been season-ticket holders for our minor league team (the San Diego Gulls) for the past two years. We traveled to see the Anaheim Mighty Ducks and watched NHL games on TV last season. And we have recently pur chased several NHL-licensed items online.But now the NHL is selfdestructing! It&rsquo;s too bad, because if my kids lose interest, my family will move on and watch football and baseball again.I hope your magazine will dedicate more pages to the minor leagues instead of wasting space on a league that forgot who has been paying the bills.Donald Patton, San Diego, Calif. &#9632;

f0008-02

Fan fury flourishing

<div class="byline">Tyler Stewart&nbsp;Guest Columnist</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-021260/8313955-1-eng-US/f0009-022.jpg" title="f0009-02" width="411" height="680"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-011837/8313962-1-eng-US/f0009-012.jpg" title="f0009-01" width="211" height="217"></div>Well, fellow readers of The Hockey News, since we&rsquo;re being deprived of our Godgiven right to the NHL, our puck-starved minds have time to wander. Perhaps you&rsquo;ve replaced Forsberg with Family, or Mogilny with Mozart. Better still, maybe you&rsquo;re actually getting out to play hockey. I&rsquo;ve turned to rumination of my own labor situation to fill my Leafless void. So get ready, dear reader, for the first installment of &ldquo;Drummer Dishes on Deadlock.&rdquo;First of all, let me say it&rsquo;s tough to choose sides in this labor war, because the music business shares many parallels with what the NHL is going through and I understand where both sides are coming from.In a way, Barenaked Ladies are like the Vinny Lecavalier of music: Vinny was a superstar in the Quebec League, but took a while to prove himself at the NHL level and really arrived this past season and at the World Cup. Likewise, Barenaked Ladies did very well in Canada at the start of our career, but it took six years of hard touring for us to sell four million albums and have a No. 1 single in the United States.In both Vinny&rsquo;s case and ours, it&rsquo;s OK to expect to be compensated with a decent salary for the hard work that has been put in. Among other sacrifices, we spend a lot of time away from our families plying our trade and we&rsquo;re public figures expected to deliver high-level entertainment every night. So, on one level, I understand and agree with the players&rsquo; side of the issue.But I can also understand the owners&rsquo; position. And I point to our latest summer tour, where we paired up with Alanis Morissette, as an example.First, a quickie tutorial on music tours: most outdoor concert venues are owned by Clear Channel, a huge U.S. conglomerate that also owns advertising firms, more than 1,200 radio stations and concert-promotion companies that organize the tours. When we play these Clear Channel venues, there is a huge amount of money that has to be made just to cover the costs of running shows. Parking revenues, facility fees, a sizeable percentage of merchandise sales and all food and drink sales at our concerts go into Clear Channel&rsquo;s pockets. All these costs drive up ticket prices and make people hesitant to see rock shows.<h2>SELL-OUTS RARE</h2>So, while Barenaked Ladies and Alanis generated pretty good business this summer, we only sold out one of 25 shows. Clear Channel needs more than that and both artists&rsquo; value has been lowered in the free market system.As scary as it seems, Clear Channel is the commercial reality of the concert business today. They capitalize on concentration of ownership, something my main man Lenin-Vladimir Ilyich, not John-predicted would happen in an unchecked free market system. For us, it isn&rsquo;t the best of arrangements. And it sure isn&rsquo;t ideal for music fans-who, like NHL fans, always wind up bearing the brunt of these big-money games. But that&rsquo;s the reality we face as a big league band, so we&rsquo;ve had to adapt.<blockquote class="pullQuote">A sport that brings so much joy&hellip; is eating itself alive overproblems that can be fixed</blockquote>That&rsquo;s what I think the owners are asking of NHLers-the willingness to bend to new realities. Their financial picture has changed since the boom economy of the early &rsquo;90s and they&rsquo;re asking players to recognize that through a different way of doing business.I don&rsquo;t think the players or the owners can afford to be inflexible in trying to find a way out of the mess they&rsquo;re in. And the players&rsquo; union would be wise to heed the lesson the Ladies have had to learn.For example, the band knows the economy isn&rsquo;t what it once was and the average person&rsquo;s entertainment budget is stretched tighter than ever. We know it might not be easy for fans to commit to as many concerts as they used to, so we adapt by sharing touring costs with another artist. Likewise, record companies no longer put out giant advances anymore, since many people steal music electronically (there, I said it!) and they don&rsquo;t recoup the money. So the Ladies started our own company and now we only liaise with a big record label to manufacture and distribute our music. We keep our costs down to make more from less.<h2>GROWING FAN BASE</h2>These changes put us more in charge of our destiny and less beholden to Big Money. Yes, things would be fine if we could sell out large scale tours a la The Dave Matthews Band or Jimmy freakin&rsquo; Buffett, or charge $375 a ticket like Madonna, but the fickle realities of the business mean we have to find new ways to grow our fan base and ensure we&rsquo;re making records for them for as long as we can.Deep down, I think NHLers feel the same way. They want a prosperous business arrangement that assures their long-term financial health. I know I sound like Gary Bettman, but that sure wasn&rsquo;t happening under the expired CBA. The heyday of NHL expansion and sold-out buildings everywhere has passed. We all know hockey isn&rsquo;t really on the radar in many U.S. cities, so it&rsquo;s time for the industry to adapt.Bottom line? The NHL is in the entertainment business, just like Barenaked Ladies. In the entertainment business, you need to have fans. You need to have people who live, breathe, eat and sleep what you do for a living. When you alienate those people-as I think everybody understands is happening the longer the lockout drags on-you&rsquo;re killing off the lifeblood of your industry.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-03764/8313948-1-eng-US/f0009-032.jpg" title="f0009-03" width="2482" height="1720"><figcaption class="caption-body">VINNY&rsquo;S RISE Like most rock bands, it took time before World Cup MVP Vinny Lecavalier hit stardom</figcaption></div>It doesn&rsquo;t matter if you&rsquo;re a bald, kick-ass drummer or a bald, ass-kicking defenseman-it&rsquo;s an honor and privilege to do what you love for a living, in front of thousands of screaming fans, and be well-paid for it. That&rsquo;s what&rsquo;s really tragic about what&rsquo;s going on now. A sport that brings so much joy to so many people is eating itself alive over problems that can be fixed.I really believe this lockout could be the death of pro hockey-and if there&rsquo;s no NHL, I won&rsquo;t know what to do with myself. I guess there&rsquo;s always music, but sometimes that&rsquo;s like bringing the office home. I need the speed and thrill of the greatest game on earth. I want to watch real Canadian idols like Joe Sakic, Jarome Iginla and Gary Roberts.I don&rsquo;t want my MTV. What I want is my NHL.-TYLER STEWART IS THE DRUMMER FOR BARENAKED LADIES AND A DIEHARD FAN OF THE TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS &#9632;

f0009-02

Give me my NHL back!

<div class="byline">Mike Brophy: Senior Writer</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-021426/8314035-1-eng-US/f0010-022.jpg" title="f0010-02" width="331" height="544"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-011972/8314042-1-eng-US/f0010-012.jpg" title="f0010-01" width="211" height="217"></div>Turns out not everybody is happy to have Peter Forsberg back home playing hockey in Sweden.In Forsberg&rsquo;s long-awaited debut with MoDo, he was given a double-major penalty for hitting from behind in the third period and left the ice to a chorus of boos from the locals supporting Brynas.Forsberg also managed to score once in helping Modo to a 3-3 road tie in Swedish league play. It was his first game in the league since 1994 when his NHL debut was delayed by, of all things, a lockout.&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t think (the hit) was that bad,&rdquo; said Forsberg following the game. &ldquo;He was skating to the bench. I didn&rsquo;t cross-check him. It was more like a push in the back. I didn&rsquo;t see the replay, but I thought he took a dive.&rdquo;Forsberg&rsquo;s first game home didn&rsquo;t have a Hollywood ending, not like, say, the way the 1994 Olympics concluded with him scoring an eye-popping shootout goal against Canada&rsquo;s Corey Hirsch to give Sweden the gold medal. But the 31-year-old center is living out a dream he has had for a long, long time.<h2>HAPPY PLAYING IN MODO</h2>Considered by many to be the most complete player in the game, Forsberg has long expressed the desire to play at least one more season with MoDo, an organization based in his hometown of Ornskoldsvik, a small seaport city of 31,000.Because Forsberg is shy and reserved-and because he has never really let his long-term intentions be known-there are those who assumed if he left the Colorado Avalanche and the NHL, he wouldn&rsquo;t return. That&rsquo;s not necessarily the case. The NHL lockout provided him with the perfect opportunity to return home for the year.&ldquo;I grew up here,&rdquo; Forsberg told The Hockey News the day after his first game. &ldquo;I loved playing here&hellip;1 wanted to play one more year before I retired and kind of give something back. And I wanted to come back when I wasn&rsquo;t brutal. I wanted to show I was still a decent player.&rdquo; No problem there.Forsberg had a goal and an assist in his second game, a 6-2 win over Lulea in MoDo&rsquo;s home opener.Colorado, for its part, supports Forsberg. &ldquo;Peter always told us he&rsquo;d love the chance to play one more year in Sweden,&rdquo; said Avs spokesman Jean Martineau. &ldquo;He said if there was a work stoppage it would be the perfect time to do so. We respect his decision.&rdquo;Added teammate Adam Foote: &ldquo;It doesn&rsquo;t surprise me at all. We&rsquo;re in a situation where we don&rsquo;t know if we&rsquo;ll be back playing by Christmas or even at all this year. We knew he&rsquo;d probably play in Sweden this year.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-03888/8314028-1-eng-US/f0010-032.jpg" title="f0010-03" width="1342" height="2082"><figcaption class="caption-body">TROPHY HUNTForsberg would love to help MoDo enjoy the championship success he&rsquo;s had in the NHL.</figcaption></div>Forsberg&rsquo;s NHL career, though just 10 seasons old, has been nothing short of remarkable. Picked sixth overall in the 1991 NHL draft by Philadelphia, he was a part of one of the biggest trades in league history, the Eric Lindros deal, that sent him to Quebec (which transferred to Colorado a year later). Since then he has become a player no sane GM would trade straight-up for Lindros, never mind as part of a package that included Steve Duchesne, Kerry Huffman, Mike Ricci, Ron Hextail, among others, as well as $15 million.<h2>HALL OF FAME CAREER</h2>Forsberg won the Calder Trophy as top rookie in 1995. He led the league in scoring and won the Hart Trophy as NHL MVP in 2003, a year after he sat out the regular season with a foot injury. In 2002, he returned for the playoffs and led all scorers with nine goals and 27 points in 20 games-despite the fact the Avalanche didn&rsquo;t even make it to the final. He did the same thing in 1998-99 when he scored eight goals and 24 points in three ounds.Forsberg won Stanley Cups in 996 and 2001; a rld Championship gold in 1992; the 1994 Olympic gold medal; and, is a three-time NHL first-team all-star.At 6-feet and 205 pounds, Forsberg is not counted among the biggest forwards in the NHL. But he plays bigger than his size and has a mean streak.&ldquo;There are times when you just want to say to him, &rsquo;Take it easy Pete, you don&rsquo;t always have to go after the big guys,&rsquo;&rdquo; Foote said.Giving back is his nature. It&rsquo;s one reason why he is playing for MoDo this year. It&rsquo;s also why he takes no guff from opponents. Get a whack, give a whack; get shoved, shove back harder.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s as competitive as it gets,&rdquo; said Detroit Red Wings center Kris Draper. &ldquo;If you just go out and check him and leave him alone, he&rsquo;s OK. But as soon as you lay a hit on him or get confrontational, that&rsquo;s when he seems to elevate his game. He&rsquo;s one of the superstars that wants to make a statement that, &rsquo;You&rsquo;re not going to take a run at me, you&rsquo;re not going to intimidate me.&rsquo; &ldquo;Some NHLers went to Europe to earn a living, but not Forsberg. Colorado has paid him more than $45 million over the past seven years, so money is no issue. (He is reportedly playing for $22,000 a month.) Forsberg has returned home for the love of the game and the love of an organization that treated him like gold for 15 years before he left for North America. He feels he owes MoDo a debt.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-05437/8314021-1-eng-US/f0010-052.jpg" title="f0010-05" width="814" height="660"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-021248/8314014-1-eng-US/f0011-022.jpg" title="f0011-02" width="4439" height="4493"><figcaption class="caption-body">PRODIGAL SON MoDo removed Forsberg&rsquo;s jersey from the rafters and brought his No. 21 out of retirement.</figcaption></div>Forsberg is not the only NHLer headed back to Europe to play pro hockey while Gary Bettman and Bob Goodenow take their sweet time in getting a new collective bargaining agreement done. On MoDo alone are the Sedin twins, Henrik and Daniel, who play for Vancouver, as well as Mattias Weinhandl of the Islanders.Vancouver&rsquo;s Markus Naslund and Montreal&rsquo;s Niklas Sundstrom are expected to join them. What separates Forsberg from most others, however, is the fact he has committed to his team for the year, regardless of whether or not the NHL plays this season.His return home is considered crucial to an organization that has plans for a new 6,500-seat arena (complete with an ocean view) that&rsquo;s scheduled to be ready for next season. Forsberg is helping to finance the new facility.<h2>WANTS TO WIN CHAMPIONSHIP</h2>Forsberg hopes to lead MoDo to its first championship since 1979 and, in doing so, generate interest in the team. The year before a new building opens is considered critical in terms of selling tickets, board advertising and luxury boxes. It helps to have the best player in the world along for the ride in that year.&ldquo;Here in our town everybody is talking about it and have been since the springtime when they read in the papers that maybe Peter is coming home,&rdquo; said MoDo GM Bengt Hedin. &ldquo;We sold out the first game and everybody is talking hockey.&rdquo;Hedin is downright giddy about Forsberg playing on the team.&ldquo;I am the only (hockey) sports director in the world who has the opportunity to have the best player on the globe sign with me, so that is lucky for me, of course,&rdquo; Hedin said. &ldquo;(Forsberg) is standing on the ground with both feet and that is great. He is the same guy who left us and that&rsquo;s nice to see.&rdquo; Forsberg is looking forward to a season of fun. Not that playing in the Swedish league is a walk in the park, but it certainly isn&rsquo;t as demanding as playing in the NHL.&ldquo;The ice is bigger and there&rsquo;s no red line offside,&rdquo; Forsberg said. &ldquo;The NHL is pretty rough. It&rsquo;s a long 82-game season. Here it&rsquo;s 50 games and you really don&rsquo;t need to play as hard as you do in the NHL.&rdquo;Forsberg has never been outspoken about the way NHL games are played, but with the league on a hiatus and the promise of changes to come, he put in his two cents&rsquo; worth.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-021512/8314007-1-eng-US/f0012-022.jpg" title="f0012-02" width="1716" height="3528"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-03986/8314000-1-eng-US/f0012-032.jpg" title="f0012-03" width="1989" height="1583"><figcaption class="caption-body">Peter Forsberg has been putting fear in the hearts of NHL goalies since coming to the NHL in &rsquo;94 (GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t make a big deal of it, but if a plumber and a good player get together and start a scrum, if I was the referee, I think I would know who started it,&rdquo; Forsberg said. &ldquo;I think they (the plumbers) almost get away with more than the good players.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not complaining, but if you look at some players, let&rsquo;s say a guy like Sean Avery (of the Los Angeles Kings), he&rsquo;s a good skater and he plays hard and he&rsquo;s a physical player. But he doesn&rsquo;t want to handle the puck much.&ldquo;He can outskate me any day and if he gets the chance to ruin the game (for me) then he&rsquo;s going to do it,&rdquo; Forsberg continued. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a guy who just goes out there to throw good players off their game. It&rsquo;s easy to play that way, to just go out and try to stop the best players from scoring. But is it entertaining?&rdquo;Forsberg said he has more respect for checkers who also handle the puck and cited Draper as a perfect example. &ldquo;He plays the game honest and he plays the game hard,&rdquo; Forsberg said.Forsberg would like nothing better this year than to lead his new/old team to a championship.&ldquo;That is definitely our goal,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ll see if the lockout is going to last the whole year. If it does, we&rsquo;re going to have a good team. It might change if the lockout ends, though we&rsquo;ll still have a good team if we lose some players to the NHL.&ldquo;It has always been my dream to come back and play for my home team and win a championship.&rdquo;<h2>PETER IN A BOX</h2>Forsberg has posted jaw-dropping numbers and collected all manner of awards through his NHL career.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-04604/8313993-1-eng-US/f0010-042.jpg" title="f0010-04" width="1015" height="793"></div><h2>GOIN&rsquo; HOME&nbsp;Here are notable Swedish NHLers who returned to Europe to close their careers, with last NHL season and last European season.</h2>Ulf STERNERLast NHL: NYR, &rsquo;64-65Last Euro: London (UK), &rsquo;73-74Thomas RUNDQVISTLast NHL: Mtl, &rsquo;84-85Last Euro: Feldkirch (Aus.), &rsquo;97-98Stefan PERSSONLast NHL: NYI, &rsquo;85-86Last Euro: HV71 (Swe.), &rsquo;90-91Willy LINDSTROMLast NHL: Pit, &rsquo;86-87Last Euro; Brynas (Swe.), &rsquo;89-90Kjell DAHLINLast NHL: Mtl, &rsquo;87-88Last Euro: Farjestad (Swe.), &rsquo;93-94Tomas JONSSONLast NHL: Edm, &rsquo;88-89Last Euro: Leksand (Swe.), &rsquo;97-98Hakan L00BLast NHL: Cgy, &rsquo;88-89Last Euro: Farjestad (Swe.), &rsquo;95-96Bengt GUSTAFSSONLast NHL: Wsh, &rsquo;88-89Last Euro: Feldkirch (Aus.), &rsquo;97-98Jonas BERGQVISTLast NHL: Cgy, &rsquo;89-90Last Euro: Leksand (Swe.), &rsquo;97-98Borje SALMINGLast NHL: Det, &rsquo;89-90Last Euro: AIK (Swe.), &rsquo;92-93 &#9632;

f0010-02

COVER STORY

RETURN OF A HERO

<h2>ISLANDERS CO-OWNER KUMAR INDICTED</h2>NEW YORK New York Elanders co-owner Sanjay Kumar has pled not guilty to securities fraud, obstruction of justice and other charges stemming from his time as chief executive of software giant Computer Associates International Inc. The company was the subject of a two-year Securities and Exchange Commission investigation for questionable accounting practices. Kumar stepped down as CEO in April and cut ties with the company this summer.<h2>WOLFMEYER SET FREE</h2>EAST ST. LOUIS, ILL. A federal jury acquitted Katie Wolfmeyer of trying to help former St. Louis Blues player Mike Danton kill his agent David Frost. The jury deliberated more than three hours before releasing its verdict Sept. 20. Wolfmeyer, 19, said the FBI twisted facts in making the case against her. In sobbing testimony, she said she never knew Danton intended to have anyone killed. &ldquo;I knew all along that I was innocent. I&rsquo;m glad the jury saw through all that,&rdquo; she said afterward. Danton pled guilty to conspiracy charges in July and is expected to be sentenced Oct. 22.<h2>LOCKED-OUT NHLERS FLOCK TO EUROPE</h2>ZURICH If the point of a lockout is to prevent players from collecting professional paychecks, it is failing in more than 20 per cent of the cases. The International Ice Hockey Federation said 155 NHL players were playing in Europe as of Sept. 22, accounting for nearly 22 per cent of all NHLers. The Czech Republic was the most popular destination with 47 players, followed by Russia and Sweden with 35. Of the 155 players, 22 are from North America. (See pg. 34 for full list.)<h2>KARMANOS SPEAKS OUT</h2>DETROIT Carolina Hurricanes owner Peter Karmanos said players can complain about the owners&rsquo; hard-line stance if they choose, but it&rsquo;s not going to change the outcome of the collective bargaining negotiations. &ldquo;The losses are going to stop,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re going to tie the players&rsquo; salaries to the revenues of the league.&rdquo; Karmanos claims he has lost between $12 million and $16 million every season since he purchased the team in 1994, but stands to lose just $5 million if there is no hockey this year. Of the proposed changes that would reduce the average player salary from $1.8 million to $1.3 million, he said: &ldquo;We&rsquo;re not talking about making them paupers. They can get by on that&rdquo;<h2>LOCKOUT APATHY IN U.S.</h2>WASHINGTON Nearly nine out of 10 people in the United States don&rsquo;t follow the NHL and two out of three don&rsquo;t care if there&rsquo;s an NHL season, according to the result of an Ipsos Reid poll. Of the 1,000 Americans surveyed, just 100 considered themselves hockey fans. Sixty-one per cent of resident in the southern U.S. had no idea there was a lockout ongoing at all A pollster who conducted the survey said U.S. interest in the NHL is comparable to their interest in pro soccer.<h2>ORIGINAL STARS GAMES POSTPONED</h2>SARNIA, ONT. The Original Stars Hockey League said its regular season is going ahead as planned despite the cancellation of some pre-season games. A Sept. 22 press release on OSHL letterhead reported the league was suspending operations, but president Randy Gumbley said the release didn&rsquo;t come from the league. NHL players including Mike Comrie, Dave Andreychuk and Mike Johnson are participating in the six-team, 4-on-4 league. The regular season is scheduled to begin Oct. 7.<h2>HALL OF FAME OLDTIMERS PLAY ON</h2>TORONTO The Hockey Hall of Fame announced an afternoon old-timers game Nov. 6 at Air Canada Centre featuring Original Six Legends against Expansion Legends. The Hall of Fame induction ceremony honoring Ray Bourque, Paul Coffey, Larry Murphy and Cliff Fletcher takes place Nov. 8. &#9632;

HOCKEY WORLD IN BRIEF

<div class="byline">BY JED DEVENISH</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-021228/8314097-1-eng-US/f0013-022.jpg" title="f0013-02" width="392" height="626"><figcaption class="caption-body">RILEY HERN</figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-011752/8314104-1-eng-US/f0013-012.jpg" title="f0013-01" width="102" height="131"></div>The first pro hockey game didn&rsquo;t take place in Kingston or Halifax or Montreal. In feet, it didn&rsquo;t even happen in Canada.It was played in Pittsburgh, of all places.On Dec. 9, 1904, in the inaugural game of the short-lived International Hockey League, a Portage Lakes team from Houghton, Mich., beat the home side 6-3. Barney Holden of Portage Lakes scored the first-ever pro goal.The IHL consisted of five teams: Pittsburgh, Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., and three teams from northern Michigan-Sault Ste. Marie, Portage Lakes, and Calumet. The league was the first to give salaries to its players. At the time, the Ontario Hockey Association refused to pay players and the Stanley Cup was awarded to the best amateur team.To mark the centennial anniversary of the debut of pro hockey, residents of Houghton, a small community of 25,000 about eight hours northwest of Detroit, organized a celebration in recognition of the region&rsquo;s role in hockey history.</div><div style="clear: both;"></div>Festivities in Houghton were to take place Sept. 23-26, highlighted by a game between Detroit Red Wings alumni, featuring Gordie Howe, and Michigan Tech University alumni, including former NHLers Randy McKay and Mike Zuke.Other events include Portage Lakes and Calumet player reunions, the Society for International Hockey Research&rsquo;s annual fall meeting and U.S. and Canadian Hockey Hall of Fame exhibiE. An original Zamboni used at the old Olympia Stadium in Detroit will be on display.&ldquo;We want this event to open awareness of Houghton&rsquo;s role in hockey,&rdquo; said Bill Sproule, a civil engineering professor at Michigan Tech University who proposed the idea to Houghton city council. &ldquo;It is a source of pride in our community to be able to say we are the birthplace of professional hockey.&rdquo;All profits from the event will go either to charity or minor hockey, but it isn&rsquo;t the money organizers are interested in.&ldquo;This celebration will allow residents of the area to show their devotion to the game,&rdquo; said Sproule, who teaches a course on hockey history and culture at MTU.&ldquo;Hockey has been here since the late 1800s and people around here are very passionate about the sport.&rdquo;The original International Hockey League rosters were filled with Canadians who yearned for the opportunity to earn money playing a game they loved.Hall of Famers Fred&rsquo; Cyclone&rsquo; Taylor, Joe Hall, Riley Hern and Hod and Bruce Stuart were among the league&rsquo;s top recruits.John&rsquo; Doc&rsquo; Gibson, a businessman from Houghton and a member of the Portage Lakes team, was the catalyst in establishing the league and recruiting players.Gibson was inducted into the builders&rsquo; category of the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1976. &#9632;

f0013-02

Pro hockey hits century mark

<div class="byline">BY THN STAFF</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0013-03" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-03899/8314135-1-eng-US/f0013-032.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Marian Hossa&rsquo;s visor might have saved him from serious injury in last year&rsquo;s playoffs. (FREESTYLE/BS/GETY)</figcaption></div>NHLers can see the puck just fine when they&rsquo;re wearing visors. It&rsquo;s coming up with a legitimate reason for not using them that gives them problems.Players&rsquo; claims about impaired vision are harder to believe after a study by two optometrists at the University of Montreal found no perceptible difference in vision between a group of players wearing shields and those exposed to vision tests with their naked eye.&ldquo;There is no statistically significant difference for visual acuity, color vision and sensitivity to contrast with or without eye protection,&rdquo; wrote researchers T anlantp and PilonThe two visors used in the test, halfshields made by Itech and Oakley, are the most popular eye protection among NHL players.Several players suffered serious eye injuries last season, most notably Detroit captain Steve Yzerman in the playoffs and Toronto winger Owen Nolan during the regular season. Yzerman&rsquo;s injury forced his withdrawal from the World Cup.The researchers undertook the study after hearing NHLers justify discarding the protection because of impaired vision. Eric Lindros had been quoted as saying wearing a visor is like &ldquo;driving in the rain without windshield wipers.&rdquo;&ldquo;We wanted to know if they were justified in complaining about this factor,"Laplante said. &rsquo;Our conclusions are very clear: they are wrong.&rdquo;According to the most recent figures, 132 of 700 NHL players-about 19 percent &mdash; wear visors. Visor advocates often point out a high percentage of elite players wear facial protection without suffering a drop in production. The top seven NHL scorers last season all wore visors.The evidence on visors&rsquo; ability to prevent eye injuries is equally convincing. According to the Canada Safety Council, some 300 players have lost the use of an eye playing hockey. None of them was wearing a Canadian Standard Association-approved visor.CSA statistics also report that more than one-third of eye injuries in Canada over the past 25 years have been hockey-related, making the sport the top causal factor of eye injuries.The study conducted the tests with subjects seated in a chair and did not take into account actual hockey situations. The researchers said more study is needed in this area. Laplante said there has been no feedback from anyone in the professional hockey community. &#9632;

f0013-03

No sight loss with visors

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0014-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-021445/8314166-1-eng-US/f0014-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">DANIEL ALFREDSSON: OTTAWA SENATORS</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-011902/8314173-1-eng-US/f0014-012.jpg" title="f0014-01" width="211" height="217"></div><h2>TICKET PRICES</h2>Here is each team&rsquo;s average ticket price in 2003-04 compared to 1999-2000. Ottawa has had the greatest percentage increase over that span while Atlanta has slashed prices by the greatest percentage. All prices are in U.S. dollars. *Average ticket price is for 2000-01.Daniel Alfredsson&rsquo;s plan to take his show on the road has run into a roadblock.The Ottawa captain planned to return to Vastra Frolunda this season, the Swedish club he played for from 1992 to 1995, but he may remain in Canada and on the sidelines during the NHL lockout.The Ottawa Sun reported it would cost Alfredsson more than $1 million for insurance to cover his current five-year, $32.5-mil-lion contract with the Senators.Some 155 NHLers have signed contracts to play in Europe. For a complete list, see pg. 34.AHL PROSPECTS In this week&rsquo;s NHL team reports, we list each team&rsquo;s top five long-term NHL prospects playing in the American League this season.TICKET PRICES IN SPOTLIGHT The &lsquo;Spotlight&rsquo; boxes show each club&rsquo;s average ticket price over the past five seasons. &#9632;

f0014-02

NHL TEAM REPORTS

<div class="byline">-DAN WOOD</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-04697/8314204-1-eng-US/f0014-042.jpg" title="f0014-04" width="348" height="755"></div>Hours before the NHL lockout took effect, Anaheim secured the services of junior stars Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry, their two first round picks in the 2003 draft.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-031006/8314211-1-eng-US/f0014-032.jpg" title="f0014-03" width="236" height="310"></div>The Ducks signed Getzlaf, a center chosen 19th overall, to a deal worth approximately $1.2 million a year if he plays in the NHL.Perry, a right winger selected 28th overall, would receive close to $1 million annually. Both signed three-year, entry-level contracts.Getzlaf, who had a realistic chance to crack the Anaheim roster this season, went back to the Calgary Hitmen of the Western League, while Perry returned to London of the Ontario League.AHL PROSPECTS Here are the Ducks&rsquo; five top prospects playing in the American League this year:Joffrey Lupul, RW Minor league seasoning figures to help improve his all-around game.Stanislav Chistov, LW After strong NHL rookie year and disastrous sophomore stint, confidence-boosting remains the primary goal for skilled, but diminutive Russian.Ilya Bryzgalov, G Ticketed to be the backup to Jean-Sebastien Giguere in Anaheim, Bryzgalov instead will strive for even more consistency in minors.Alexei Smirnov, LW Team&rsquo;s first round pick from 2000 (12th overall) hasn&rsquo;t developed as quickly as hoped, but he is still 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds.Aaron Rome, D Former L.A. Kings draft pick looks for quick climb up ladder after signing free-agent deal.NOTEBOOK Goaltender J-S Giguere planned to participate with other French-Canadian players in a barnstorming caravan through Quebec during the NHL lockout, while center Sergei Fedorov figured to go on a European tour.<h2>SPOTLIGHT &#9632;</h2>

f0014-04

Ducks ink prospects to entry-level deals

<div class="byline">-JOHN MANASSO</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-06371/8314242-1-eng-US/f0014-062.jpg" title="f0014-06" width="349" height="754"></div>The Thrashers had planned for goalie Kari Lehtonen to battle with Pasi Nurminen for the starting job this season.Instead, Lehtonen will play with Chicago in the American League and Nurminen will play for Lahti in Finland. Lehtonen said he is disappointed not to be in Atlanta, but is glad he has a good option for improving.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-05471/8314249-1-eng-US/f0014-052.jpg" title="f0014-05" width="238" height="303"></div>&ldquo;I enjoy it so much,&rdquo; Lehtonen said of Chicago. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m happy to go back there if there&rsquo;s no hockey (in the NHL).&ldquo;Of course I&rsquo;m disappointed and so are the rest of (the players). I thought I&rsquo;d be ready to go to Atlanta and play the whole season, but I&rsquo;ll get better with Chicago.&rdquo;AHL PROSPECTS Here are the Thrashers&rsquo; five | top prospects playing in the American League this year:Kari Lehtonen, G Ready for NHL after being named minors&rsquo; top prospect by The Hockey News.Tommi Santala, C Defense-minded player ready for second chance to make the big team.Karl Stewart, LW Second year as pro should help speedy, undersized forward.Michael Garnett, G One of organization&rsquo;s 10 best prospects. With Lehtonen ahead of him, may have to go to ECHL to play.Libor Ustrnul, D Big defenseman keeps showing signs of improvement, but isn&rsquo;t ready for NHL yet.NOTEBOOK Sept. 29 marks the one-year anniversary of the car accident that killed Thrashers center Dan Snyder Oct. 5. Snyder&rsquo;s parents, Graham and LuAnn Snyder had no plans to visit Atlanta and will mark the occasion quietly in their hometown of Elmira, Ont., where their son is buried. The family hopes to raise enough money to help build a new ice rink and community center in Elmira in their son&rsquo;s name.<h2>SPOTLIGHT &#9632;</h2>

f0014-06

Lehtonen in Chicago to continue playing

<div class="byline">-NANCY MARRAPESE-BURRELL</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-08237/8314280-1-eng-US/f0014-082.jpg" title="f0014-08" width="351" height="752"></div>The Bruins paid a steep price to obtain Brad Boyes, but they believe the young center is worth it.The Bruins dealt another attractive prospect, defenseman Jeff Jillson, to San Jose when the Sharks made Boyes available last March.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-07289/8314287-1-eng-US/f0014-072.jpg" title="f0014-07" width="214" height="299"></div>Boyes, 22, is in Providence, where he&rsquo;s starting the American League season. When the NHL returns, he is expected to be in the Bruins&rsquo; plans. Although he&rsquo;s not as strong as they would like him to be, management believes he&rsquo;ll eventually graduate to the big leagues.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s got very good hockey sense and terrific hands,&rdquo; said GM Mike O&rsquo;Connell. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s got to get stronger.He&rsquo;s got to get bigger. He&rsquo;s got to bulk up.&rdquo; (See pg. 23 for more on Boyes.)AHL PROSPECTS Here are the Bruins&rsquo; five top prospects playing in the American League this season:Brad Boyes, C Playmaker has superb vision and is a bona fide scorer, with 31 goals and 72 points in 78 AHL games last year.Hannu Toivonen, G Big and athletic butterfly goalie projected to be NHL starter someday.Colton Orr, RW Bruins think he&rsquo;ll be an NHL presence. Skating needs work, but he&rsquo;s a strong fighter.Milan Jurcina, D Good skater tough to beat 1-on-l.Martin Samuelsson, RW He has big-league skating ability, but needs use it more effectively. If he makes NHL, it&rsquo;ll be as a checker.NOTEBOOK Although many teams have trimmed staff, Boston has no plans to follow suit-at least through the end of the calendar year. &ldquo;We had some natural attrition and we&rsquo;ve been fortunate in that we&rsquo;ve been able to move some Bruins&rsquo; staff over to the FleetCenter (staff),&rdquo; said Bruins president Harry Sinden. GM Mike O&rsquo;Connell said the same is true for the hockey operations side. &ldquo;Everything, for the most part, is going to remain the same,&rdquo; he said.<h2>SPOTLIGHT &#9632;</h2>

f0014-08

Bruins believe Boyes will be big scorer

<div class="byline">-JIM KELLEY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-03876/8314318-1-eng-US/f0015-032.jpg" title="f0015-03" width="348" height="748"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-011735/8314332-1-eng-US/f0015-012.jpg" title="f0015-01" width="211" height="217"></div>Alexei Zhitnik believes in the old bromide &ldquo;good things come to those who wait.&rdquo; He just wonders how long the process will take.The veteran blueliner spurned a last minute offer from the Sabres in the early summer and leapt into free agency knowing a lockout could affect his contract options. With the lockout under way, Zhitnik doesn&rsquo;t know how long he&rsquo;ll be unemployed, but he believes he made the right choice.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-021246/8314325-1-eng-US/f0015-022.jpg" title="f0015-02" width="234" height="299"></div>&ldquo;Why would anyone sign anyone long term if no one knows what&rsquo;s going to happen?&rdquo; said the 32-year-old. &ldquo;If I was in management&rsquo;s position, I would do the same.&rdquo;Zhitnik hasn&rsquo;t yet committed to playing in Europe or his native Russia. He wants to see if there&rsquo;s progress before making that decision. As a result, he continues to skate, work out and hope for a quick resolution.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s tough to say who&rsquo;s totally right, who&rsquo;s totally wrong,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I think each side has to give up a little bit,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It could be a long time, it could be a couple of months. The people who are negotiating have to work harder.&rdquo;AHL PROSPECTS Here are the Sabres&rsquo; five top prospects playing in the American League this season:Ryan Miller, G Wants to make NHL in the worst way, but needs a season at AHL level.Derek Roy, C/RW Must learn to use speed for the defensive aspects of the game.Thomas Vanek, LW Wanted desperately to jump from University of Minnesota to NHL. Instead he gets minor pro experience he needs.Dan Paille, C Strong two-way forward showed character in leading Canada at World Junior Championship.Doug Janik, D Must continue to develop his defensive game to convince management he&rsquo;s ready.NOTEBOOK Veteran defenseman James Patrick said that if there is an NHL season it will be his last. He was unsigned as of late September, but likely will sign with Buffalo if the season gets under way&hellip;Citing insurance concerns, right winger Miroslav Satan says he is reluctant to play in Europe right away&hellip;The Sabres say they will wait until Oct. 15 before making declarations regarding staff reductions.<h2>SPOTLIGHT &#9632;</h2>

f0015-03

Unemployed blueliner Zhitnik content to play waiting game

<div class="byline">-RANDY SPORTAK</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-05449/8314363-1-eng-US/f0015-052.jpg" title="f0015-05" width="350" height="749"></div>It&rsquo;s buses instead of chartered planes and fast food instead of filet mignon for Dion Phaneuf.Phaneuf, the Flames&rsquo; prized prospect, was signed just before the Sept. 15th deadline and would likely have made the NHL roster.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-04644/8314370-1-eng-US/f0015-042.jpg" title="f0015-04" width="232" height="301"></div>However, because of the lockout, it&rsquo;s back to junior for the defenseman ranked by The Hockey News as the second-best NHL prospect.&ldquo;With this, it gives us some options, said Phaneuf, who could be promoted to the Flames if a new labor deal is worked out. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll be following it a little more closely because it&rsquo;d be nice to play up there.&rdquo;Phaneuf, drafted ninth overall in 2003, has all the makings of a cornerstone player for a team with an already young, deep defense corps. The 6-foot-2, 205-pound Edmontonian had 19 goals and 43 points in 62 games with Red Deer of the Western League last season.AHL PROSPECTS Here are the Flames&rsquo; five top prospects playing in the American League this season:Chuck Kobasew, RW Young sniper will only go if he can&rsquo;t find a European gig. Not playing would hurt his development greatly.Matthew Lombardi, C Rookie who surprised last season on slow road to recovery from playoff concussion.Brent Krahn, G First-rounder must step forward and become a No. 1 goalie in the minors before thinking of NHL gig.Lynn Loyns, LW Depth player&rsquo;s career in jeopardy due to heart problems that required three surgeries.Mark Giordano, D Offense-minded blueliner must revamp entire game for pro ranks.NOTEBOOK Right winger Jarome Iginla wasn&rsquo;t signed before the lockout, though there had been rumors of a long-term deal in the works&hellip;Signed just before the lockout were left winger Lynn Loyns and defenseman Anders Eriksson&hellip; When asked about playing in charity games or with the Original Stars League, defenseman Andrew Ference said: &ldquo;I just played for the Calgary Flames in the Stanley Cup final. I can&rsquo;t find a passion to play 4-on-4 hockey or scrimmage for a year like we do in the summer.&rdquo;<h2>SPOTLIGHT &#9632;</h2>

f0015-05

Top prospect Phaneuf signs, but lockout alters his course

<div class="byline">-LUKE DECOCK</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-031003/8314401-1-eng-US/f0016-032.jpg" title="f0016-03" width="350" height="752"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-011697/8314415-1-eng-US/f0016-012.jpg" title="f0016-01" width="211" height="217"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-021328/8314408-1-eng-US/f0016-022.jpg" title="f0016-02" width="233" height="247"></div>Eric Staal reported for what would have been the first day of training camp at 200 pounds, up 10 from where he finished last season and 15 from a year ago.That muscle would have served the 19-year-old well in his second NHL season. Instead, he&rsquo;ll apply his newfound strength at the American League level for the Lowell Lock Monsters.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s definitely tough, but it&rsquo;s the business of the game and where we&rsquo;re at right now,&rdquo; Staal said. &ldquo;But I still have a chance to play and keep improving.&rdquo;Staal had 11 goals 31 points as an NHL rookie last year, but a year in the AHL may not be bad for him. He struggled with the beating he took from more physical NHLers, going goalless in 33 games in February and March.AHL PROSPECTSHere are the Canes&rsquo; five top prospects playing in the American League this season:Eric Staal, C Was one of Carolina&rsquo;s best forwards last year, but needs to develop consistency.Ryan Bayda, LW One of Canes&rsquo; most effective players down the stretch, should dominate at this level.Sean Curry, D Hurricanes think rangy blueliner has an NHL future; improved AHL will be solid test.Brad Fast, D Offense-minded blueliner must hone power play skills before jump to NHL.Danny Richmond, D Second-rounder in 2003 jumps to pros after world junior gold medal win.NOTEBOOK A year ago, the Canes sold 226 programs to fans during the first three days of training camp. On what would have been Day 3 of camp this year, eight fans showed up to watch 10 current and former Hurricanes skate&hellip;The Canes&rsquo; will meet with season-ticket holders on what would&rsquo;ve been opening night, Oct. 14, including a rare visit to Raleigh by owner Peter Karmanos.<h2>SPOTLIGHT &#9632;</h2>

f0016-03

Staal puts on pounds, prepares for AHL stint

<div class="byline">-ADRIAN DATER</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-07397/8314484-1-eng-US/f0016-072.jpg" title="f0016-07" width="349" height="750"></div>The loss of Peter Forsberg this season, lockout resolution or not, is a serious blow. But the Avalanche have shown in the past that losing the former Hart Trophy winner is no death knell.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-06454/8314491-1-eng-US/f0016-062.jpg" title="f0016-06" width="233" height="294"></div>&ldquo;You&rsquo;d rather have Peter on your team and in your lineup,&rdquo; said Avs captain Joe Sakic. &ldquo;But we&rsquo;ve still got a good team and we&rsquo;ve been able to have success without him before.&rdquo; The Avs won a Stanley Cup in 2001 without Forsberg in the lineup for two playoff rounds and won a division title in the 2001-02 regular season without him at all.Forsberg will spend the season playing for MoDo in Sweden. He won&rsquo;t return to the NHL if a CBA is agreed to, but indicated he will return to the NHL, and presumably the Avalanche, at some point.AHL PROSPECTS Here are the Avs&rsquo; five top prospects playing in the American League this season: Marek Svatos, RW Fast winger made impact for the Avs in playoffs and might have been on the second line to start NHL season.Peter Budaj, G Would have had a good shot at being David Aebischer&rsquo;s backup, but will spend another season in Hershey instead.Cody McCormick, C Spent portion of last year with Avs. Must develop in Hershey for that to happen again.Johnny Boychuk, D Would have been longshot to make Avs anyway. Frantisek Skladany, LW Boston University standout will need to get stronger to advance to NHL.NOTEBOOK Veteran defenseman Adam Foote, who will stay in Denver during the lockout, believes the owners are being too inflexible in their demands. &ldquo;As players, we want to negotiate,&rdquo; Foote said. &ldquo;But they&rsquo;re just talking hard cap. We just can&rsquo;t do that. You talk to football players, they&rsquo;re not happy with their deal. It doesn&rsquo;t have to go that far.&rdquo;<h2>SPOTLIGHT &#9632;</h2>

f0016-07

Avs no less confident in Forsberg’s absence

<div class="byline">-AARON PORTZLINE</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-09300/8314522-1-eng-US/f0016-092.jpg" title="f0016-09" width="349" height="748"></div>The Blue Jackets will try to keep a close eye on Rick Nash, even though he is playing on the other side of the world.The 19-year-old Nash, who tied for the NHL lead in goals last season, is playing in Davos, Switzerland until the lockout is over.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-08344/8314529-1-eng-US/f0016-082.jpg" title="f0016-08" width="235" height="301"></div>&ldquo;I tried to talk (Nash and his agent, Gord Kirke) out of it,&rdquo; said Blue Jackets GM-president Doug MacLean. &ldquo;I knew after Sept. 15 I had no control over it, but it&rsquo;s not a very comfortable feeling, trust me.&rdquo;The concern is Nash, the Blue Jackets&rsquo; foundation, will get injured, although MacLean acknowledges the Swiss League isn&rsquo;t nearly as physical as the NHL.Still, Nash, coming off a 41-goal season, is the Blue Jackets headline talent.&ldquo;Is it a big risk for us? Yeah,&rdquo; MacLean said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a bigger one for him.&ldquo;But 19- and 20-year-olds don&rsquo;t walk around worrying about whether they&rsquo;re going to get injured.&rdquo;AHL PROSPECTS Here are the Jackets&rsquo; five top prospects playing in the American League this season:Nikolai Zherdev, W Electric playmaker may not play in Syracuse.Pascal Leclaire, G This should be Pascal&rsquo;s last full season in minors.Aaron Johnson, D Smooth skater and slick passer working on defense.Dan Fritsche, C Plays with nasty edge-something Columbus can use.Tim Jackman, RW Powerful winger yet to prove NHL capability.NOTEBOOK Blue Jackets players who aren&rsquo;t playing overseas have begun meeting on a semi-regular basis to workout and chat about CBA-related issues&hellip;Tom Fritsche, younger brother of Blue Jackets center Dan Fritsche, will be a freshman this fall on the Ohio State hockey team. Tom Fritsche was part of the U.S. Under-18 team that finished second to Russia in the World Championship in April.<h2>SPOTLIGHT &#9632;</h2>

f0016-09

Nash’s trip to Europe ‘big risk’ for Jackets

<div class="byline">-MIKE HEIKA</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-11256/8314560-1-eng-US/f0016-112.jpg" title="f0016-11" width="348" height="751"></div>As a group, the Dallas Stars might be one team that&rsquo;s on the same page when it comes to staying in shape during the lockout.For the most part, players will stay in Texas and work out together.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-10276/8314567-1-eng-US/f0016-102.jpg" title="f0016-10" width="232" height="255"></div>&ldquo;There&rsquo;s things we&rsquo;re studying, but the options are limited,&rdquo; said captain Mike Modano. &ldquo;At the end, you might be best off to rest up during the time off and treat it like summer. I&rsquo;m sure a bunch of us will just skate around here.&rdquo;Currently living in the Dallas area are Modano, Sergei Zubov, Bill Guerin, Brenden Morrow, Stu Barnes, Marty Turco and Philippe Boucher. In addition, former Stars players Richard Matvichuk, Teppo Numminen, Lyle Odelein and Brett Hull live in Dallas and are working out with Stars players at area rinks.During the 1994 lockout, players rented ice from the Stars and they will continue to do so this time. It&rsquo;s expected they will work out at the main training facility in Frisco.AHL PROSPECTS Here are the Stars&rsquo; five top prospects playing in the American League this season:Dan Ellis, G Scrappy competitor has leg up in battle to become Marty Turco&rsquo;s backup.Trevor Daley, D Skilled defenseman continues to work on defensive aspects of the game.Steve Ott, LW Great checker has opportunity to work on his goalscoring.Antti Miettinen, RW Showing potential to be a top six forward.Junior Lessard, RW At 23, this is a transition that could lead straight to NHL.NOTEBOOK Fox Sports Southwest is considering playing some classic Stars games to fill in for lost programming during the season. Time slots could also be taken up by high school sports.<h2>SPOTLIGHT &#9632;</h2>

f0016-11

Stars stick together waiting to play again

<div class="byline">-NICHOLAS J. COTSONIKA</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-03862/8314598-1-eng-US/f0017-032.jpg" title="f0017-03" width="349" height="750"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-011516/8314612-1-eng-US/f0017-012.jpg" title="f0017-01" width="211" height="217"></div>Defenseman Niklas Kronwall would have started last season with the Detroit Red Wings, but he was assigned to American League affiliate Grand Rapids because of a numbers crunch.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-021184/8314605-1-eng-US/f0017-022.jpg" title="f0017-02" width="237" height="287"></div>Kronwall would have started this season with the Wings, but he was assigned to Grand Rapids because of the NHL lockout.It&rsquo;s more bad luck, but not the worst. The worst came last season when Kronwall got called up, played well and then suffered a freak injury before what would have been his 21st game. During warmup at Los Angeles, his right skate got caught in a rut and he suffered a broken leg.Considering the 23-year-old Swede played only half of last season, the Wings are happy he will at least be on this side of the Atlantic this season.&ldquo;He needs to play in North America and develop,&rdquo; said assistant GM Jim Nill. &ldquo;He&rsquo;ll be fine.&rdquo;AHL PROSPECTS Here are the Wings&rsquo; five top prospects playing in the American League this season: Niklas Kronwall, D The Wings expect him to be a leader, the Griffins&rsquo; version of Nicklas Lidstrom.Jiri Hudler, C He would have been a bubble player in Detroit. Hudler needs to get stronger and keep developing, but can dominate at AHL level.Joey MacDonald, G Has earned No. 1 job, now needs to prove he can handle it.Derek Meech, D Promising prospect needs to continue to shine while making jump from junior to pro.Nathan Robinson, C Was impressive last year before suffering a groin injury.NOTEBOOK Centers Pavel Datsyuk (Russia), Henrik Zetterberg (Sweden) and winger Tomas Holmstrom (Sweden) are the only Wings playing in Europe.<h2>SPOTLIGHT &#9632;</h2>

f0017-03

Kronwall’s leadership anticipated in minors

<div class="byline">-ROB TYCHKOWSKI</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-05441/8314643-1-eng-US/f0017-052.jpg" title="f0017-05" width="352" height="747"></div>It was like handing in a book report two minutes before it was due. With just hours to go before the CBA expired Sept. 15, GM Kevin Lowe signed two of Edmonton&rsquo;s top players, defenseman Jason Smith and right winger Radek Dvorak.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-04632/8314650-1-eng-US/f0017-042.jpg" title="f0017-04" width="220" height="309"></div>Had Lowe missed the deadline, negotiations would have been suspended until after the NHL work stoppage ended. Now the team can pretty much hit the ground running whenever the lockout ends.Lowe says both deals keep Edmonton well within any projected salary cap figure while maintaining the team&rsquo;s financial pecking order.Smith&rsquo;s contract averages $2.5 million a year over four years and is a bargain for the team captain and leader. Dvorak&rsquo;s two-year, $4.2-mil-lion deal amounts to less than a 10 per cent raise for their second leading scorer in 2003-04.AHL PROSPECTS Here are the Oilers&rsquo; five top prospects playing in the American League this season:Jarrett Stoll, C Had a regular NHL spot last year and needs big league experience more than anything.Doug Lynch, D Was supposed to be on the verge of cracking the NHL this year; another year in the AHL will be difficult mentally.JeffWoywitka, D Alberta-born blueliner gets to show his stuff for family, fans and most importantly, Oilers brass.Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers, G Oilers&rsquo; second pick in 2002 needs seasoning; AHL&rsquo;s increased talent base this year will be good for him.Brad Winchester, LW Big winger struggled early in his AHL rookie season before hitting stride.NOTEBOOK A published report in the Edmonton Journal said the Oilers stand to lose $13-million-even without paying player salaries-if the owner-imposed lockout causes them to lose the entire season.<h2>SPOTLIGHT &#9632;</h2>

f0017-05

Last second signings keep dollars in mind

<div class="byline">-MIKE RUSSO</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-07274/8314681-1-eng-US/f0017-072.jpg" title="f0017-07" width="349" height="751"></div>The Florida Panthers felt they could have signed Canadian world junior sparkplug Anthony Stewart later rather than sooner because of the anticipated overhaul of the entry-level system in the next collective bargaining agreement.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-06340/8314688-1-eng-US/f0017-062.jpg" title="f0017-06" width="230" height="309"></div>But in the end, they didn&rsquo;t want to take any chances.Just prior to the Sept. 15 lockout deadline, the Panthers signed their 2003 first-round pick to a three-year, $2.85million deal.Under the expired CBA, Stewart, 19, could have re-entered the draft if unsigned by June 1, 2005. That would have been devastating to the Panthers&rsquo; ultrathin forward corps, which desperately needs Stewart&rsquo;s scoring touch and bulk.&ldquo;He is a valuable part of the future of the Panthers and we look forward to watching him grow and devel-op into an NHL caliber player,&rdquo; said GM Mike Keenan.AHL PROSPECTS Here are the Panthers&rsquo; five top prospects playing in the American League this season:Jay Bouwmeester, D Coming off the World Cup, the Panthers want swift-skater to keep developing instead of sitting at home.Stephen Weiss, C Maturing process in the minors last year earned him big points.Lukas Krajicek, D Will eventually be power play quarterback, but needs work in own zone.Gregory Campbell, LW/C Fitness fanatic and leader who played out of position last year needs continued work on his checking game.Kamil Kreps, C First-year pro is highly skilled and strong on special teams, but must get stronger and play more in traffic.NOTEBOOK Goalie Roberto Luongo said owners won&rsquo;t bust the players&rsquo; union: &ldquo;A salary cap is not even a starting point for us to talk about. Until the owners cave in, there&rsquo;s not going to be any hockey.&rdquo;<h2>SPOTLIGHT &#9632;</h2>

f0017-07

Stewart’s size, touch bang-on tor Panthers

<div class="byline">-MATT MCHALE</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-03883/8314719-1-eng-US/f0018-032.jpg" title="f0018-03" width="347" height="744"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-011576/8314733-1-eng-US/f0018-012.jpg" title="f0018-01" width="211" height="217"></div>At the end of his record-breaking 2003-04 season, Luc Robitaille said he expected to retire if the NHL entered into a lengthy lockout.Robitaille, 38, isn&rsquo;t saying anything about the future now. He has been skating with Kings teammate Sean Avery and Avs blueliner Rob Blake in L.A. and hoping for the best.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-021213/8314726-1-eng-US/f0018-022.jpg" title="f0018-02" width="220" height="292"></div>&ldquo;We&rsquo;re sitting here going, &rsquo;Why did the (old) deal get extended if it was so bad?&rsquo;&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;This time around, we as players know that something needs to be done, a deal that&rsquo;s good for both sides. But the only thing we&rsquo;ve said all along is that we will not agree to a hard cap.&rdquo;AHL PROSPECTS Here are the top five Kings prospects playing in the American League this season:Mike Cammalleri, C Seemed ready for regular spot with Kings after scoring eight goals in 11 games, but play sagged after that.Dustin Brown, RW Made the Kings out of camp last season, but spent most of year sidelined with a badly sprained ankle.Scott Barney, RW Led Manchester (AHL) with 19 goals before being called up last season, but missed a month with a shoulder injury.Tim Gleason, D Played 47 games with the Kings as a rookie, but finished with 29 games at Manchester.Denis Grebeshkov, D Injured left wrist the day before training camp last season and appeared in just four NHL games. Played 43 games for Manchester.NOTEBOOK After the lockout began, several Kings signed to play in Europe. Goalie Roman Cechmanek returned to Vsetin of the Czech Elite League, where he played before coming to the NHL. Blueliner Lubomir Visnovsky signed with Bratislava in his native Slovakia, while center Martin Straka is playing with Plzen of the Czech Elite League.<h2>SPOTLIGHT &#9632;</h2>

f0018-03

Robitaille stumped by labor showdown

<div class="byline">-BRIAN MURPHY</div>Minnesota Wild prospect Stephane Veilleux rejected a $55,000 offer to return to the Houston Aeros of the American League and was weighing offers from at least three teams in Russia.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-04595/8314771-1-eng-US/f0018-042.jpg" title="f0018-04" width="321" height="386"></div>With 10 points in the Wild&rsquo;s final 19 games last season, I Veilleux padded a resume that includes 57 NHL games and productive stints in the minors. The energetic winger was a leading candidate to earn a full-time job in Minnesota, but the lockout scuttled that scenario.During the 2003 Calder Cup playoffs, Veilleux led the Aeros with 18 points in 23 games as Houston won the AHL championship.AHL PROSPECTS Here are the Wild&rsquo;s five top prospects playing in the American League this season:Pierre-Marc Bouchard, CA visionary with the puck, an enigma without it. Consistent ice time should boost his confidence. Mikko Koivu, C There&rsquo;s more waiting for the 2001 first-rounder as he adjusts to North American ice. He earned high marks in Finland for his versatility.Kyle Wanvig RW Matured power forward is anxious to shed the minor-league tag. His biggest challenges are eliminating complacency and winning the 1-on-l battles.Josh Harding, G AHL rookie from Saskatchewan could face Texas-sized culture shock. His poise and consistency will be tested by heavier shots and increased traffic.Erik Reitz, D Physical third-year pro has a chance to establish himself as a shutdown defender.NOTEBOOK Center Brian Rolston, after learning his name was on a roster of players committed to the fledgling Original Stars Hockey League: &ldquo;I haven&rsquo;t heard anything about it. Maybe my agent gave them my name. See if you can get me a good deal.&rdquo;<h2>SPOTLIGHT</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-05402/8314764-1-eng-US/f0018-052.jpg" title="f0018-05" width="353" height="743"></div> &#9632;

f0018-04

Houston’s problem: Veilleux off to Russia

<div class="byline">-HERB ZURKOWSKY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-07259/8314802-1-eng-US/f0018-072.jpg" title="f0018-07" width="348" height="743"></div>The Canadiens are prepared to risk the entire season to secure a lasting resolution to the NHL&rsquo;s financial problems, according to team president Pierre Boivin.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-06314/8314809-1-eng-US/f0018-062.jpg" title="f0018-06" width="237" height="270"></div>&ldquo;We have only one imperative &mdash; that&rsquo;s to put in place a system that allows the sport not only to survive, but to progress in the future,&rdquo; Boivin said. &ldquo;So far as the Montreal Canadiens (are concerned), yes, we are ready (to sacrifice the season).&rdquo;Despite saving millions in player salaries, the team will continue losing money during the lockout because of municipal taxes that are owed. The Canadiens pay the highest taxes in the league, at $8.2million per year.Some 1,000 part time employees who work game nights have been laid off. Another 150 full time employees have begun four-day work weeks.AHL PROSPECTS Here are the Canadiens&rsquo; five top prospects playing in the American League this season:Mike Komisarek, D Played 46 NHL games last year, but must stay active at this stage of his career.Andrei Kostitsyn, RW Highly touted Russian will benefit from being eased into North American hockey.Matt Higgins, C U.S.-born pivot likely would have cracked NHL lineup, but should benefit from more seasoning.Tomas Plekanec, LW Skills could erode from third full AHL season.Yann Danis, G Should be Bulldogs&rsquo; No. 1 goalie in his first full pro season.NOTEBOOK GM Bob Gainey, who spent 16 seasons in the NHL as a player, all with Montreal, appears to have little compassion for the players during the lockout. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s time things were stabilized, so that teams don&rsquo;t have to concentrate on the next week, the next month, the next year,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;and we can concentrate on the play on the ice.&rdquo;<h2>SPOTLIGHT &#9632;</h2>

f0018-07

Canadians prepared for year-long lockout

<div class="byline">-DAVID BOCLAIR</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-09157/8314840-1-eng-US/f0018-092.jpg" title="f0018-09" width="350" height="748"></div>The Predators reveled in the play of defenseman Kimmo Timonen during the World Cup.Timonen helped lead Finland to the silver medal with one goal and six points, which led all defenseman for the tournament, and logged tremendous ice time.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-08190/8314847-1-eng-US/f0018-082.jpg" title="f0018-08" width="238" height="271"></div>&ldquo;He played terrific,&rdquo; said GM David Poile. &ldquo;He has become that national team&rsquo;s most important defenseman, I think.&rdquo; Timonen is a player Nashville gambled on when it traded with Los Angeles to get him just prior to the 1998 expansion draft. The 29-year-old has long been the Predators&rsquo; most important defenseman and is signed through 2006-07.AHL PROSPECTS Here are the Predators&rsquo; five top prospects playing in the American League this season:Dan Hamhuis, D Played a ton of NHL minutes in all situations last season. Now he gets a chance to catch his breath.Scottie Upshall, LW The team has resisted the temptation to rush him the past two seasons. Now they won&rsquo;t be tempted.Jordin Tootoo, RW Coaches believe a step back will be beneficial after he played last year in the NHL.Timofei Shishkanov, LW Another player who might otherwise be rushed, he now maintains a more standard developmental path.Andrew Hutchinson, D He likely would have been Nashville&rsquo;s eighth defenseman.NOTEBOOK Defenseman Marek Zidlicky agreed to terms on a two-year deal worth $1.5 million per season just hours before the lockout was imposed&hellip; Right winger Scott Walker admitted his off-season training suffered due to the threat of a lockout. &ldquo;Usually when you start camp, that&rsquo;s the best shape you&rsquo;re in at any time,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t want to get to that point and then go the other way when we didn&rsquo;t start.&rdquo;<h2>SPOTLIGHT &#9632;</h2>

f0018-09

Timonen Mr. Terrific on Finnish blueline

<div class="byline">-RICH CHERE</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-11125/8314878-1-eng-US/f0018-112.jpg" title="f0018-11" width="347" height="744"></div>Never one to sugarcoat his feelings, John Madden had a suggestion for the NHL players&rsquo; union: whatever it takes, get a labor deal in place and get back to playing hockey.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-10135/8314885-1-eng-US/f0018-102.jpg" title="f0018-10" width="226" height="298"></div>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not in favor of giving in,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s a problem that needs to be solved. It&rsquo;s not my final decision to say whether a cap is going to be involved, but I&rsquo;m just saying we need to fix the problem. &ldquo;We need to find common ground. That&rsquo;s where I&rsquo;m willing to go-the middle of the road-with everything.&rdquo;Madden suggested a cap might be necessary, although certainly ndt one as low as $31 million. However, when his words caused controversy, he softened them.&ldquo;I was asked if my union decided to go along with a cap, would I accept that,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I said, &rsquo;Yeah, I&rsquo;d go along with my union.&rsquo; That&rsquo;s all I said. I&rsquo;m with them 110 per cent.&rdquo;AHL PROSPECTS Here are the Devils&rsquo; five top prospects playing in the American League this season: David Hale, D Showed he can play in NHL, but at 23 should benefit from playing in the minors.Zach Parise, C If he&rsquo;s ready for NHL, he&rsquo;ll tear up the AHL.Scott Clemmensen, G Strong enough as Martin Brodeur&rsquo;s backup to hold that spot again this season.Ari Ahonen, G Must be more consistent, even at minor league level.Tuomas Pihlman, LW After brief taste of NHL, must use season to reduce mistakes and improve speed.NOTEBOOK Before the NHL board of governors voted to lock the players out, they approved Jeff Vanderbeek as the Devils&rsquo; new prinicpal owner. &ldquo;It was a bittersweet day for me in that regard,&rdquo; Vanderbeek said, &ldquo;though (the lockout) was fairly well advertised. The union, over the last period of time, I didn&rsquo;t sense there were any real negotiations going on.&rdquo;<h2>SPOTLIGHT &#9632;</h2>

f0018-11

Madden’s thoughts spark controversy

<div class="byline">-PETER BOTTE</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-03763/8314916-1-eng-US/f0019-032.jpg" title="f0019-03" width="349" height="746"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-011447/8314930-1-eng-US/f0019-012.jpg" title="f0019-01" width="211" height="217"></div>Michael Peca already has sat out one entire NHL season due to contractual problems and the Islanders captain is ready to do it again.At least this time he will have company if the NHL lockout wipes out the entire 2004-05 campaign.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-021097/8314923-1-eng-US/f0019-022.jpg" title="f0019-02" width="224" height="307"></div>&ldquo;Speaking from experience, sitting out a season is not the easiest thing to do,&rdquo; said Peca, who missed all of 2000-01 with Buffalo and forced a trade to the Islanders. &ldquo;But when you have 700-plus guys on your side and it&rsquo;s not just you standing alone, obviously, the principles are very strong. And we&rsquo;ll stick by them.&rdquo;AHL PROSPECTS Here are the Islanders&rsquo; five top prospects playing in the American League this year:Sean Bergenheim, LW Feisty speedster returned for AHL playoffs after playing second half of season in Finland.Wade Dubielewicz, G AHL&rsquo;s top rookie last year could use seasoning before taking over as Rick DiPietro&rsquo;s backup.Justin Papineau, LW Not assigned yet, but speedy forward must play somewhere after toiling mostly in fourth line duty for Isles last season.Justin Mapletoft, C Is checking center still in plans after spending majority of another season in Bridgeport?Ryan Caldwell, D Steady blueliner could make NHL after minor league seasoning.NOTEBOOK Never one to mince words, GM Mike Milbury quickly pointed out who is to blame for the NHL lockout: Everyone. &ldquo;Of course, it&rsquo;s sad,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;And I think we should all-and by &lsquo;all&rsquo; I mean owners, managers and players-should be embarrassed by it"&hellip;Right winger Mattias Weinhandl is basically playing for free during the lockout for MoDo, the Swedish team he came up with before joining the Islanders. &ldquo;I just want to give something back to the team,&rdquo; he said.<h2>SPOTLIGHT &#9632;</h2>

f0019-03

Peca has experience in fighting for rights

<div class="byline">-LARRY BROOKS</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-05433/8314961-1-eng-US/f0019-052.jpg" title="f0019-05" width="350" height="748"></div>While the Rangers succeeded in getting most of their prime young pros into the American League, Jamie Lundmark has chosen to spend the lockout in Italy rather than Hartford.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-04588/8314968-1-eng-US/f0019-042.jpg" title="f0019-04" width="214" height="296"></div>&ldquo;We&rsquo;d have preferred for Jamie to play in Hartford, but there were issues we couldn&rsquo;t work out,&rdquo; said assistant GM Don Maloney.Lundmark sustained a right knee sprain last December that kept him out of the next 23 games and all but ruined his season. He requested this fall that passing an AHL physical be equated with him passing his NHL physical, in order to get insurance on his $1.1 million NHL salary, but the request was denied by the Rangers.As a result, he agreed in principle to a deal with Bolzano in the Italian league.He can return to the Rangers at the end of the lockout.AHL PROSPECTS Here are the Rangers&rsquo; five top prospects playing in the American League this season:Fedor Tyutin, D Displayed a surprising mean streak in addition to a variety of skills during his 25-game run on Broadway last year.JozefBalej, RW Rangers expect the flashy winger to score; in Hartford he&rsquo;ll be given prime ice time to do just that.Maxim Kondratiev, D A one-time partner of Tyutin&rsquo;s in Russia, the Rangers hope reuniting the duo will accelerate Kondratiev&rsquo;s progress to NHL-readiness post-lockout.Dwight Helminen, C Before leaving school this summer, the speedster was compared favorably to John Madden by University of Michigan coach Red Berenson.David Liffiton, D First-year pro known for physical game represents hope for Rangers&rsquo; future blueline.NOTEBOOK Competing in a charity golf tournament in New Jersey, 43-year-old center Mark Messier said he remains undecided about returning for a 26th NHL season.<h2>SPOTLIGHT &#9632;</h2>

f0019-05

Interest from Italy lures Lundmark away

<div class="byline">-BRUCE GARRIOCH</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-07272/8314999-1-eng-US/f0019-072.jpg" title="f0019-07" width="347" height="746"></div>Jason Spezza isn&rsquo;t going to complain about a trip to Binghamton this September.The Ottawa Senators center never thought for a second he&rsquo;d be happy about riding the bus again, but he didn&rsquo;t argue one bit when GM John Muckier came up with the idea of sending him to the team&rsquo;s American League affiliate during the NHL lockout.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-06322/8315006-1-eng-US/f0019-062.jpg" title="f0019-06" width="234" height="297"></div>After playing all last season with Ottawa, Spezza willingly accepted his assignment and was set to report to the team&rsquo;s camp at the Broome County Arena with the rest of the prospects Sept. 26.While Spezza has left Ottawa with a long face in the past after being sent down, he packed up his equipment and headed to join the Baby Sens without any complaints.&ldquo;This is the first time I&rsquo;ve really felt like I want to go to Binghamton,&rdquo; Spezza said. &ldquo;Obviously, I&rsquo;m a young player and I need to play. I talked with John Muckier and we both felt it was a good idea for me to be playing.&rdquo;AHL PROSPECTS Here are the Senators&rsquo; five top prospects playing in the American League this season:Jason Spezza, C Set to be the Senators No. 1 center when the dust settles.Anton Volchenkov, D Hoped to play in Moscow, will get a trip to Binghamton instead.Antoine Vermette, C Has to get scoring touch back after stint on wing.Brian Pothier, D Has chance to be a regular in the NHL and has dominated in the AHL in the past.Ray Emery, G This is the year he has to emerge as a top goalie in the AHL.NOTEBOOK Goaltender Dominik Hasek has agreed to a two-week conditioning stint in Binghamton (AHL) after which an evaluation will be made on his future.<h2>SPOTLIGHT &#9632;</h2>

f0019-07

Spezza happy to join Sens’ AHL affiliate

<div class="byline">-WAYNE FISH</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-02973/8315044-1-eng-US/f0020-022.jpg" title="f0020-02" width="242" height="279"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-011346/8315051-1-eng-US/f0020-012.jpg" title="f0020-01" width="211" height="217"></div>There might not be any hockey in Philadelphia, but there is some hockey-related entertainment.Jeremy Roenick, who claims he suffered his 10th career concussion during last year&rsquo;s playoffs, said he is too injured to play and should be paid during the lockout.The Flyers say Roenick passed his end-of-season physical. Injured players are to be paid, during a lockout under terms of the expired labor agreement.At stake is the $7.5-million salary Roenick was scheduled to receive.Roenick was to see Montrealbased neurologist Karen Johnston in late September.&ldquo;She&rsquo;ll be able to tell everyone whether I&rsquo;m OK, whether I can play&hellip;whether I have to take a year off,&rdquo; he told a Philadelphia paper.&ldquo;People have said to me all summer, &rsquo;J.R., you don&rsquo;t seem right.&rsquo;&rdquo; Roenick added. &ldquo;My whole career is riding on what happens over the next couple of weeks. If (Flyers GM Bob Clarke) said there&rsquo;s no problem with me, he&rsquo;s crazy.&rdquo;AHL PROSPECTS Here are the Flyers&rsquo; five top prospects playing in the American League this season:Joni Pitkanen, D NHL all-rookie team selection was plus-15 last year, but defensive game needs work.Antero Niittymaki, G With one year left on Sean Burke&rsquo;s contract, Niittymaki was likely going to play with the AHL Phantoms anyway.Patrick Sharp, C Likely would&rsquo;ve made Flyers&rsquo; opening night roster.Dennis Seidenberg, D Broken leg cost him half of last season, but he starred for Germany at World Cup.R.J. Umberger, C Assistant GM Paul Holmgren says he has tools and size to make mark quickly.NOTEBOOK Flyers owner Ed Snider, who has been at the team&rsquo;s helm since its inception in 1967, said he has never seen the owners&rsquo; labor philosophy so unified &ldquo;in all my years of hockey.&rdquo;<h2>SPOTLIGHT</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-03702/8315037-1-eng-US/f0020-032.jpg" title="f0020-03" width="351" height="745"></div> &#9632;

f0020-02

Roenick’s contention: I’m hurt, so pay me!

<div class="byline">-JERRY BROWN</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-05288/8315082-1-eng-US/f0020-052.jpg" title="f0020-05" width="351" height="746"></div>In one of the few positives of a dismal 2003-04 season that saw the team clean house at the trade deadline, the Coyotes promoted a half-dozen of their prospects from the minors and had a good look at their long term potential.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-04486/8315089-1-eng-US/f0020-042.jpg" title="f0020-04" width="213" height="307"></div>Players like center Jeff Taffe, right winger Fredrik Sjostrom and blueliner Matthew Spiller played more than 50 games each, while centers Erik Westrum and Jason Jaspers and left winger Mike Stutzel also got their feet wet.All six players will start this season in the American League with Utah. Since the Coyotes spent the summer stacking the team with nine new players, it was easy to assume the reviews were poor. But GM Mike Barnett disagreed, saying the goal is to elevate players from role players to core players.&ldquo;We don&rsquo;t want guys like Taffe and Sjostrom playing 10-12 minutes a night on our third and fourth line with no power play time,&rdquo; Barnett said. &ldquo;We expect them to be our goal-scorers of the future.&rdquo;AHL PROSPECTS Here are the Coyotes&rsquo; five top prospects playing in the American League this season:David LeNeveu, C If lockout lasts more than a year, he could be ready for No. 1 job when play resumes.Fredrik Sjostrom, RW Has more than 50 NHL games under his belt, but still looking for first AHL goal.Keith Ballard, D If he shines in Utah, University of Minnesota star could force Coyotes to make room.Jeff Taffe, C Skills are good, but will he play enough defense to stick at NHL level?Matthew Spiller, D Played 51 NHL games and was overmatched. He&rsquo;ll get another shot.NOTEBOOK Rick Bowness still wears the interim coach tag six months after replacing Bob Francis, but attended the Anaheim rookie tournament with GM Mike Barnett and assistant GM Laurence Gilman.<h2>SPOTLIGHT &#9632;</h2>

f0020-05

Coyotes want youth to have time to grow

<div class="byline">-JOE STARKEY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-07196/8315120-1-eng-US/f0020-072.jpg" title="f0020-07" width="349" height="744"></div>After assigning 14 players to the Penguins&rsquo; American League Wilkes-Barre/Scranton farm club, GM Craig Patrick said he considers all other players in the organization locked out.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-06232/8315127-1-eng-US/f0020-062.jpg" title="f0020-06" width="232" height="307"></div>He will not, however, object to Wilkes-Barre signing Penguins prospects-those who would have had to clear waivers to be assigned to Wilkes-Barre &mdash; to AHL-only deals.&ldquo;Wilkes-Barre has to run a business, so they have to sign people,&rdquo; Patrick said.Two players who spent the 200304 regular season in the NHL-winger Konstantin Koltsov and defenseman Brooks Orpik-will not be suiting up for Wilkes-Barre.Ramzi Abid, Kris Beech, Shane Endicott, Rob Scuderi and Tomas Surovy are among the Penguins prospects who might sign AHL-only deals.AHL PROSPECTS Here are the Penguins&rsquo; five top prospects playing in the American League this season:Marc-Andre Fleury, G Any positive experience is sure to help the prospective franchise goaltender, who had bad endings in the NHL, Quebec League and World Junior Championship last season.Ryan Whitney, D Should gobble up loads of ice time in Wilkes-Barre and be ready whenever NHL resumes.Ben Eaves, C Time in minors could provide nice buffer between Boston College and NHL for diminutive playmaker.Colby Armstrong, RW Important for the 2001 first-rounder to establish his grinding game.Kris Beech, C Must continue high standard of play in AHL, then hope for another NHL shot.NOTEBOOK Chairman and CEO Mario Lemieux, president Ken Sawyer, GM Craig Patrick and coach Eddie Olczyk all are taking paycuts during the lockout.<h2>SPOTLIGHT &#9632;</h2>

f0020-07

Young Pen NHLers could see AHL Ice

<div class="byline">-DERRICK GOOLD</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-09100/8315158-1-eng-US/f0020-092.jpg" title="f0020-09" width="346" height="743"></div>Jon DiSalvatore was on the team, but not in the organization anymore when he played for the Cleveland Barons in last season&rsquo;s American League playoffs.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-08139/8315165-1-eng-US/f0020-082.jpg" title="f0020-08" width="231" height="294"></div>In an unusual move, DiSalvatore signed with the Blues while the Blues were playing his former organization, San Jose, in the playoffs-and the Sharks didn&rsquo;t stop the right winger from staying on for the post-season.&ldquo;San Jose really stuck with me and gave me an opportunity the second half of the season,&rdquo; DiSalvatore said. &ldquo;I wanted to stay loyal to them, I did, but&hellip;it&rsquo;s not all the time you get a chance to be an unrestricted free agent.&rdquo;When San Jose passed on a clause in his contract, DiSalvatore became a free agent while still playing. Aching for wingers with a scoring touch, St. Louis jumped in. They got a player who scored 22 goals and 46 points in his first AHL season. Had the NHL started on time, he was a favorite to fill an open spot.AHL PROSPECTS Here are the Blues&rsquo; five top prospects playing in the American League this season:Jon DiSalvatore, RW Exposure to Blues&rsquo; system will give him jumpstart when he gets a call-up.Curtis Sanford, G Could have won backup job in camp; instead will vie for No. 1 AHL spot.Peter Sejna, LW Recovered needed confidence last season, but breakout AHL year would serve him well.Trevor Byrne, D Set for AHL anyway, he figures to be next of Blues&rsquo; baby blueliners to arrive.Aaron MacKenzie, D Rugged blueliner needs to refine physical play.NOTEBOOK Eager to start his first training camp as a NHL head coach: Mike Kitchen was saddened by the lockout. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a very empty feeling,&rdquo; Kitchen said. &ldquo;The game can&rsquo;t afford to have it for a long time-or any time at all, really. It&rsquo;s a sad state that we put ourselves in.&rdquo;<h2>SPOTLIGHT &#9632;</h2>

f0020-09

DiSalvatore signs on after leaving Sharks

<div class="byline">-ROSS MCKEON</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-1161/8315196-1-eng-US/f0020-112.jpg" title="f0020-11" width="348" height="742"></div>When Wayne Primeau signed a one-year, $1.05-million deal on the eve of the NHL lockout, it meant all Sharks players would be ready to play once the league restarts.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-1077/8315203-1-eng-US/f0020-102.jpg" title="f0020-10" width="237" height="308"></div>It&rsquo;s marked the second off-season in which GM Doug Wilson navigated his way through a double-figure total of restricted free-agents without having the distraction of contract disputes that were a common occurrence in past regimes.Primeau, 28, produced career-highs in goals (nine) and points (29) during his first full season in San Jose last year.In addition, San Jose&rsquo;s payroll is $31.9 million, down from the $34.8 figure at the start of last season, which ranked 20th in the league. The Sharks did not resign any of five unrestricted free agents-Vincent Damphousse, Mike Ricci, Curtis Brown, Todd Harvey or Jason Marshall-a group that combined for $11.1 million in salary last year.AHL PROSPECTS Here are the Sharks&rsquo; five top prospects playing in the American League this season: Christian Ehrhoff, D Offense-minded blueliner looks to add balance to his game.Milan Michalek, RW Physical winger must recapture confidence.Marcel Goc, C Strong two-way player assumes No. 1 role in minors.Dimitri Patzold, G Latest in line of up-trending goalies in system.Doug Murray, D Big, strong, blueliner needs more experience.NOTEBOOK Free agent right winger Riley Armstrong signed a pro contract after leading a Sharks team of rookies with three goals in four games during a four-team tourney in Anaheim. The 5-foot-10,188-pound Saskatoon, Sask., native came to San Jose as a tryout player after spending last season skating for exSharks&rsquo; coach Kevin Constantine with Everett of the Western League.<h2>SPOTLIGHT &#9632;</h2>

f0020-11

Signing of Primeau has all Sharks in tank

<div class="byline">-TOM JONES</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-03446/8315234-1-eng-US/f0021-032.jpg" title="f0021-03" width="350" height="749"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-011086/8315248-1-eng-US/f0021-012.jpg" title="f0021-01" width="211" height="217"></div>French-Canadian kid looking to reach his potential. Big tournament. A breakthrough performance.Sounds a bit like Mario Lemieux in the 1987 Canada Cup, doesn&rsquo;t it?<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-02696/8315241-1-eng-US/f0021-022.jpg" title="f0021-02" width="237" height="300"></div>It also sounds like Tampa Bay&rsquo;s Vincent Lecavalier in the 2004 World Cup.Lecavalier, who made the Team Canada roster only because of an injury to Steve Yzerman, was named MVP of the tournament after two goals and seven points.&ldquo;Well, I don&rsquo;t know if it was a kind of breakout or what, but this is obviously great for my confidence,&rdquo; Lecavalier said. &ldquo;Being a part of a Stanley Cup championship just a couple of months ago and now this, it feels great.&rdquo;AHL PROSPECTSHere are the Lightning&rsquo;s five top prospects playing in the American League this season:Shane Willis, RW The 2001 NHL all-rookie team member still struggles to find consistency.Brian Eklund, G Stuck behind Nikolai Khabibulin and John Grahame for now; brass thinks he has a chance to be an impact goalie.Mike Egener, D Smooth puckmoving blueliner had an impressive camp in 2003 and had chance of making opening-night roster.Gerard Dicaire, D A good two-way defenseman and power-play specialist, he still needs to add muscle and weight to his 6-foot-2 frame.Adam Heinrich, LW Power forward stepped up his play physically last season, but needs to pay more attention to the two-way game.NOTEBOOK Defenseman Brad Lukowich signed a contract to play for the Fort Worth Brahmas of the Central League during the lockout. He doesn&rsquo;t expect the lockout to end soon. &ldquo;The players are not going to back down,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We are not going to accept a salary cap and as soon as the owners realize that, we can start having real negotiations.&rdquo;<h2>SPOTLIGHT &#9632;</h2>

f0021-03

Lecavalier sky high after World success

<div class="byline">-KEN CAMPBELL</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-05229/8315286-1-eng-US/f0021-052.jpg" title="f0021-05" width="348" height="745"></div>Shortly after John Ferguson took the GM job a year ago, he decided Toronto had to do a better job of drafting and developing players.Ferguson stressed that goal would be part of what he likes to call his &ldquo;strategic plan.&rdquo; This summer he has been true to his word.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-04334/8315293-1-eng-US/f0021-042.jpg" title="f0021-04" width="214" height="307"></div>Not only was Ferguson instrumental in moving the Maple Leafs&rsquo; farm team from St. John&rsquo;s to Toronto for next season, he has spearheaded a number of changes in the scouting department. Ferguson hired former Calgary GM Craig Button as a pro scout one week after announcing the hiring of former Washington executive Shawn Simpson in the same capacity. He has also added to the amateur side, hiring Dave Morrison as a full-time amateur scout along with part-timers Real Paiement (Eastern Canada) and Peter Ahola (Finland).AHL PROSPECTS Here are the Leafs&rsquo; five top prospects playing in the American League this season:Matt Stajan, C Didn&rsquo;t look out of place at the NHL level.Carlo Colaiacovo, D Would have challenged for work in Toronto, but more development time can&rsquo;t hurt.Mikael Tellqvist, G He had a shaky World Cup, but has little to gain playing a fourth AHL season.Jeremy Williams, C A 100-point man in junior, Williams will likely have to work through growing pains.Andy Wozniewski, D Free agent signee should be able to make an impact with his physical prowess.NOTEBOOK GM John Ferguson said even a big-market team such as Toronto needs a salary cap. &ldquo;The current system needs to be adjusted,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re running out of runway"&hellip;Right winger Alexander Mogilny was scheduled to have hip surgery sometime in late September, early October. He will continue to get his $5.5-million salary until he&rsquo;s cleared to play.<h2>SPOTLIGHT</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-06175/8315279-1-eng-US/f0021-062.jpg" title="f0021-06" width="1636" height="1819"><figcaption class="caption-body">Pivot Ryan Kesler will continue his development with Manitoba (AHL) this year. (FREESTYLE/BS/GETTY)</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0021-05

Player development finally gets Its due

<div class="byline">-ELLIOTT PAP</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-08113/8315324-1-eng-US/f0021-082.jpg" title="f0021-08" width="346" height="749"></div>Amid all the chaos over the lockout, Vancouver Canucks owner John McCaw reached an agreement in principle to sell his team and GM Place to two Vancouver businessmen.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-07148/8315331-1-eng-US/f0021-072.jpg" title="f0021-07" width="220" height="303"></div>Tom Gaglardi, whose family owns the Sandman Inn chain among other assets, and Ryan Beedie, whose family owns a number of industrial parks in British Columbia, reportedly agreed to pay $250 million (Cdn.) for the rink and team. The sale still has a number of hurdles to clear.&ldquo;These things are complicated and there&rsquo;s a lot to them,&rdquo; said Stan McCammon, who oversees the Canucks on behalf of the Seattlebased McCaw. &ldquo;My view is there&rsquo;s never a deal until there&rsquo;s a deal.&rdquo; Canucks center Brendan Morrison viewed the potential sale as a positive.&ldquo;I guess time will tell, but you would think with a local guy, maybe he would go above and beyond what a guy from out of town might do,&rdquo; Morrison said.AHL PROSPECTS Here are the Canucks&rsquo; five top prospects playing in the American League this season:Alex Auld, G Job as backup to Dan Cloutier is all his, so he&rsquo;s marking time with Manitoba.Jason King LW Needs to fill the net to guarantee a spot with the big club when the lockout ends.Ryan Kesler, C This is his chance to prove he can produce against AHL goaltending.Tomas Mojzis, D Stylish blueliner can continue to work on defensive zone play and improve his strength.Kiril Koltsov, D Similar to Mojzis; just needs more time.NOTEBOOK The Canucks have put their support staff on four-day work weeks with a corresponding 20-per-cent cut in pay. GM Dave Nonis and the hockey department are also taking 20-per-cent pay cuts.<h2>SPOTLIGHT &#9632;</h2>

f0021-08

Local ownership deal seen as positive step

<div class="byline">-DAVE FAY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-1072/8315362-1-eng-US/f0021-102.jpg" title="f0021-10" width="349" height="750"></div>Frank Provenzano, the Washington Capitals&rsquo; assistant GM, has been granted an indefinite leave of absence. Provenzano is engaged and plans to spend time in Europe as a part of his honeymoon.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-0990/8315369-1-eng-US/f0021-092.jpg" title="f0021-09" width="237" height="305"></div>The Caps said Provenzano&rsquo;s leave had nothing to do with the labor strife and is not a layoff. His leave is open-ended, an official said, and it is possible he will return.Provenzano, a native of Sault Ste Marie, Ont., has been with the Caps for eight years. His responsibilities include contract negotiations and salary arbitration. His duties will be assumed by GM George McPhee.Washington has a wide range of administrative and playing positions open due to the lockout, meaning there will be a crush of deals to be made if there is a sudden settlement.AHL PROSPECTS Here are the Caps&rsquo; top five prospects playing in the American League this season: Alexander Semin, LW Fast, shifty, good hands, loves the spotlight. Needs to learn team discipline and to be defensively responsible.Maxime Ouellet, G His ticket to the NHL is punched; he is getting the experience he needs.Brian Sutherby, C A team leader who take genuine pride in policing his own end.Steve Eminger, D Sees the ice well and clears the zone with quick, accurate passes.Jakub Klepis, C Potential NHL sniper had six goals in a scrimmage ending rookie camp.NOTEBOOK Washington added Ray Payne to its amateur scouting staff. Payne had been San Jose&rsquo;s chief amateur scout&hellip;This from center Jeff Halpern after the U.S. bowed out of the World Cup: &ldquo;When I realized I might have played my last hockey for a while, I was sick to my stomach. Now you don&rsquo;t know when the season is going to start.&rdquo;<h2>SPOTLIGHT &#9632;</h2>

f0021-10

Love, not lockout, sends exec packing

<div class="byline">BY KEVIN OKLOBZIJA</div>The American League, in cooperation with the NHL, has developed an educational program for players, coaches and officials that will clearly define accepted levels of physical play.Just as important will be the consequences. Those who are guilty will pay heavily.AHL president Dave Andrews said; there will be a crackdown on blows to VdH&rsquo; the head and hits from behind. In addition, stick-swinging will be A LI I 11 severely punished. AHL VThe program is partially in response to the ugly axe-chop that Hamilton Bulldogs winger Alexander Perezhogin delivered to the head of Cleveland Barons defenseman Garrett Stafford late last season. Stafford suffered cuts, lost teeth and a concussion, while Perezhogin awaits trial in Hamilton after police charged him with assault.But hits from behind and shots to the head are far too prevalent and the league wants players to respect opponents. To emphasize the point, &ldquo;the message will be delivered by players to the players,&rdquo; Andrews said.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-03683/8315459-1-eng-US/f0022-032.jpg" title="f0022-03" width="269" height="261"><figcaption class="caption-body">AHL WEST NOTEBOOK</figcaption></div>The AHL said it will be more willing to suspend players-and suspensions will be without pay. While many teams have often ignored the &ldquo;without pay&rdquo; clause, Andrews said the league will be more diligent in ensuring players aren&rsquo;t paid.THE TROPHY SPEAKS When Utah Grizzlies assistant coach Gord Dineen teaches Phoenix Coyotes prospects about the nuances of playing defense, they won&rsquo;t doubt what he says.After all, the team award for best defenseman is named after Dineen.&ldquo;They&rsquo;re supposed to name awards for old, old guys-guys that aren&rsquo;t living anymore,&rdquo; Dineen joked. &ldquo;It was pretty flattering when they did that. I actually was still playing here when the idea originated with Butch Goring.&rdquo;Goring coached the Grizzlies when they played in the International L. League.RUMOR MILL Chicago Wolves GM Kevin Cheveldayoff didn&rsquo;t deny rumors his club is interested in VEST signing defenseman Chris Chelios, an icon in Windy City from his playing days with the Blackhawks.Chelios didn&rsquo;t re-sign with the Detroit Red Wings before the lockout and had reportedly expressed an interest in playing in the AHL. Team owner Don Levin would like nothing more than to have Chelios back in Chicago, skating in Wolves clothing.&ldquo;All I can say is anything is possible,&rdquo; Cheveldayoff said. &ldquo;Chicago fans love a guy who wears his heart on his sleeve.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-04495/8315452-1-eng-US/f0022-042.jpg" title="f0022-04" width="1348" height="1960"><figcaption class="caption-body">Center Tomtni Santala split last season between the Chicago Wolves and Atlanta Thrashers. He&rsquo;ll play for Chicago during the lockout. (ROSS DETTMAN)</figcaption></div><h2>HOCKEY NATION AT A GLANCE</h2>The International Ice Hockey Federation is the world&rsquo;s governing body for hockey. In each issue this season, we profile some of the 63 national association members.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-05367/8315445-1-eng-US/f0022-052.jpg" title="f0022-05" width="165" height="158"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-06288/8315438-1-eng-US/f0022-062.jpg" title="f0022-06" width="755" height="356"></div>MONGOLIAMember of IIHF since 1999Pop. of country 2,694,432Registered players 690Ice facilities 11 (all outdoor)Association e-mail <a href="mailto:bsndava_its@mongol.net">bsndava_its@mongol.net</a>NORTH KOREAMember of IIHF since 1964Pop. of country 22,224,195Registered players 3,090Ice facilities 22003 champion PhyongcholAssociation e-mail <a href="mailto:gfasa@silibank.com">gfasa@silibank.com</a>2003 world ranking No. 41 &#9632;

f0022-03

AHL hoping to curb violence

<div class="byline">BY MIKE MASTOVICH</div>The NHL lockout will convert many ECHL coaches into gamblers.Some NHL prospects that would have made the big club will land on American League rosters. In turn, some AHL-level players will end up on ECHL rosters.And a few ECHL free agent signees will be pushed out of the lineup due to the trickledown effect.For the short term, the ECHL will be stronger on the ice. The question is, for how long?&ldquo;It&rsquo;s going to increase the talent pool in our league,&rdquo; said John Olver, coach of the defending Kelly Cup-champion Idaho Steelheads. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re already seeing numerous players that have played at the American League level the last &rsquo; year or two or three that are now looking toplay at our level.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-07237/8315490-1-eng-US/f0022-072.jpg" title="f0022-07" width="246" height="232"><figcaption class="caption-body">NOTEBOOK</figcaption></div>&ldquo;I think the coaches are going to be faced with a real dilemma on how many players they&rsquo;re going to choose to sign that they potentially could lose once the lockout ends. If you&rsquo;re a gambler, you might take a chance and take a lot.But if the lockout ends, you might pay the price.&rdquo;The ECHL issued a news release to stave off speculation about how the lockout might impact the league.&ldquo;While we hope that the (NHL) labor situation is resolved as quickly as possible, it is important that ECHL fans know that our teams will be playing,&rdquo; said ECHL commissioner Brian McKenna.HOME AWAY FROM HOME The Victoria Salmon Kings will open their inaugural season in a temporary home, the Bear Mountain Arena in Colwood, B.C., as the team awaits the completion of a $30-million, 7,000-seat arena.PRESIDENTIAL PRESENCE The Johnstown Chiefs closed their offices Sept. 9. But they had a good reason. A crowd of 6,200 gathered as U.S. president George W. Bush made a campaign stop at Cambria County War Memorial Arena. &#9632;

f0022-07

NHL lockout exnands ECHL talent nool

<div class="byline">BY ROBIN SHORT</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-02774/8315521-1-eng-US/f0023-022.jpg" title="f0023-02" width="306" height="490"><figcaption class="caption-body">BRAD BOYES</figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-011107/8315528-1-eng-US/f0023-012.jpg" title="f0023-01" width="111" height="112"></div>Only 22 and already traded twice in a pro career that&rsquo;s just two years old, Brad Boyes may have finally found a home in Boston. He&rsquo;ll just have to wait a while before moving in.With forwards Mike Knuble (signed with Philadelphia) and Brian Rolston (Minnesota) out of the B&rsquo;s hive-and unrestricted free agent Glen Murray expected to leave-Boyes was pegged to join Boston this season. Especially after a 2003-04 campaign that saw him finish sixth in American League scoring (72 points, including 31 goals, in 78 games) and earn a second-team all-star berth.But with an NHL lockout in effect, Boyes is instead slated to start the season with the Providence Bruins.&ldquo;The upside is I&rsquo;m playing,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;You can always get better and develop your skills wherever you are.&rdquo;</div><div style="clear: both;"></div>Drafted 24th overall by his hometown Toronto Maple Leafs in 2000, Boyes joined the AHL&rsquo;s St. John&rsquo;s Maple Leafs following a brilliant junior career with the Erie Otters. With Erie, he won the Ontario League&rsquo;s most outstanding player and playoff MVP awards in 2001-02 as the Otters won the OHL championship.But Boyes didn&rsquo;t last long in the Leafs&rsquo; organization. He was packaged to San Jose at the March, 2003, trade deadline in the deal that sent Owen Nolan to Toronto. Boyes finished the 2002-03 season with the Cleveland Barons and was named to the AHL&rsquo;s all-rookie team.Last season, Boyes was traded again at the deadline. This time he was shipped to Boston in a three-way deal involving Buffalo.Boyes said he relishes the opportunity to prove himself to another organization. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m still looking for that opportunity and I hope Boston is where I&rsquo;ll get it. It&rsquo;s all about being in the right spot and hopefully Boston is it for me.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0023-02

Talented Boyes skates with baby B’s

<div class="byline">BY ROBIN SHORT</div>Binghamton Senators management might be excited Dominik Hasek is coming to town, but at least one veteran player is upset the allworld goaltender is bound for the American League during the NHL lockout.And Terry Virtue, who sits on the &rsquo; executive committee of the Professional Hockey Players&rsquo; Association, the minor league players&rsquo; union, said he&rsquo;s not alone.&ldquo;A lot of the guys are a little bit upset with that,&rdquo; said Virtue of the six-time Vezina Trophy winner and two-time NHL MVP joining Ottawa&rsquo;s farm club.&ldquo;There are a lot of guys out there who don&rsquo;t have jobs right now because of the NHL guys. The NHL players have no consideration for the American League guys like me.&rdquo;Hasek plans to play in Binghamton on a two-week conditioning stint as he rehabs from groin surgery. But he may spend more than 14 days in Binghamton because there&rsquo;s no rule preventing him from agreeing to a series of conditioning stints.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-03570/8315573-1-eng-US/f0023-032.jpg" title="f0023-03" width="269" height="261"><figcaption class="caption-body">AHL EAST NOTEBOOK</figcaption></div>Virtue, a Springfield Falcons defenseman entering his 14th professional season, said concerns have been brought to the PHPA, but there&rsquo;s little that can be done. AHL teams are free to sign any players they choose, including NHL free agents or those under NHL contract.&ldquo;A guy like Hasek, why is he coming down to play in the minors?&rdquo; asked Virtue.HOMEWARD BOUND Tuomo Ruutu, who represents the future of the Chicago Blackhawks, was one of 22 players assigned to the Norfolk Admirals. But don&rsquo;t expect the young Finnish star, who scored a highlight-reel goal against Canada in the World Cup final, to report to Virginia. In what was likely a paper transaction, Ruutu will probably remain home. &ldquo;We wanted to cover our bases and give him that opportunity (of playing in the AHL) just in case,&rdquo; said Blackhawks spokesman Jim DeMaria.NOTEBOOK League president Dave Andrews said the AHL could benefit from extra media exposure it figures to receive as a result of the lockout. Since the 103-day NHL lockout in 1994-95, the AHL has grown from 16 to 28 teams and attendance is up to nearly 6,000 a game from 4,300 a decade ago. &ldquo;We have grown exponentially since (the 1994-95 NHL lockout),&rdquo; Andrews said&hellip;Providence signed signed left winger Jay Henderson, who played last season for the Calder Cup-champion Milwaukee Admirals. Henderson also won the Calder Cup with the Bruins in 1999 and Houston in 2003.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-04414/8315566-1-eng-US/f0023-042.jpg" title="f0023-04" width="1348" height="1999"><figcaption class="caption-body">Albany right winger Alexander Suglobov scored 22 points in 35 games as a rookie pro and also suited up for New Jersey last year.</figcaption></div><h2>EYE ON EUROPE</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-08166/8315559-1-eng-US/f0023-082.jpg" title="f0023-08" width="675" height="254"></div>Here are some NHLers who&rsquo;ve signed to play in Europe during the NHL lockout, listed with their position, age, 2003-04 team, Euro team and league:<h3>Players</h3>David Aebischer G, 26, Col Lugano (Swi.)Radek Bonk, C, 28, Mtl Trinec (Cze.)Nils Ekman, LW, 28, SJ Djurgarden (Swe.)Martin Gerber, G, 30, Car Langnau (Swi.)Milan Hejduk, RW, 28, Col Pardubice (Cze.)Tomas Holmstrom, LW, 31, Det Lulea (Swe.)Richard Jackman, D, 26, Pit Bjorkloven (Swe.)Jaromir Jagr, RW, 32, NYR Kladno (Cze.)Olli Jokinen, C, 25, Fla Kloten (Swi.)Ladislav Nagy, LW, 25, Phx Kosice (Slo.)Jaroslav Spacek, D, 30, Clb Plzen (Cze.)Martin Straka, C, LW, 31, LA Plzen (Cze.)Mattias Timander, D, 30, Phi MoDo (Swe.) &#9632;

f0023-03

Hasek’s AHL stint draws criticism

<div class="byline">BRENDAN SAVAGE</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-05302/8315604-1-eng-US/f0023-052.jpg" title="f0023-05" width="207" height="111"></div>It took two tries for Port Huron to get its man. When the Beacons first approached Rick Adduono about replacing Bruce Ramsay as their coach, Adduono declined, saying he was happy in Greensboro of the ECHL. In July, he became available when the Greensboro franchise was terminated. So Adduono replaces Mark Kumpel in Port Huron, who resigned after two months for personal reasons. Adduono coached six years in the ECHL and led South Carolina to the Kelly Cup in 2001. He called the Beacons job his biggest challenge. &ldquo;When I came to Greensboro from South Carolina two years ago,&rdquo; said Adduono to the Port Huron Times Herald, &ldquo;that was a big challenge, too, because they had finished at the bottom of the heap&hellip;It was tough. I believe I&rsquo;ll be able to put a good, solid team on the ice.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0023-05

NOTEBOOK

<div class="byline">-DAVID HENRY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-06239/8315635-1-eng-US/f0023-062.jpg" title="f0023-06" width="207" height="115"></div>The Lubbock Cotton Kings aren&rsquo;t the least bit worried about the high cost of gas. They hope to have plenty of the symbolic variety; during their home opener Oct. 29. According to the Guinness Book: of World Records, there is a record for most people sitting on whoopee cushions at the same time. The Cotton Kings hope to; break that record by having their fans break wind, figuratively, at least. As part of a promotion, a company called Family Oxygen is sponsoring 6,000 whoopee cushions to be distributed to fans in hopes of establishing a record. However, fans must use their posterior to operate the devices at the same time. On a related note, the Kings are hoping to set a world record for loudest crowd Feb. 5, which will require Kings fans to generate a more traditional noise. &#9632;

f0023-06

<div class="byline">-NICK GATES</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-07199/8315666-1-eng-US/f0023-072.jpg" title="f0023-07" width="201" height="152"></div>They are in a new league with a new coach and have a roster with a lot of new faces. Now they have a new name with alliteration. The FireAntz dropped Cape Fear from their name and replaced it with Fayetteville, the North Carolina city the team has called home for the past two years. &ldquo;We have really thought about doing this for several years,&rdquo; said Howard Bullard, FireAntz co-owner and board chair. &rsquo;This is good public relations for our city and our team.&rdquo; Said FireAntz assistant GM Darren McLean: &ldquo;Cape Fear is a region; Fayetteville is a city. We&rsquo;re locally owned and operated and we&rsquo;re attempting to bring a little more attention to our city and let everyone know where we are. We didn&rsquo;t want to make a big deal out of it. It&rsquo;s just the right thing to do.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0023-07

<div class="byline">BY JIM CRESSMAN</div>The NHL is honoring its expired agreement with the Canadian Hockey League with respect to 18- and 19-year-olds.Under terms of the old deal that expired in June, if a junioraged player is signed but didn&rsquo;t stick in the NHL, he must be returned to his junior club.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-04410/8315749-1-eng-US/f0024-042.jpg" title="f0024-04" width="305" height="209"></div>There was fear among the major junior teams that with the agreement expiring and the NHL&rsquo;s rush to sign juniors prior to the lockout, the 18- and 19-year-olds would be sent to the American League.But the London Free Press learned NHL vice-president and chief legal officer Bill Daly notified NHL teams that the old agreement will remain in effect until a new deal is reached.The only exceptions are Patrice Bergeron, Nathan Horton and Brent Burns, who spent last season in the NHL as 18-year-olds. The NHL has decided they may be assigned to the AHL.&ldquo;Bill Daly sent a letter to NHL GMs instructing them that 18 and 19-year-olds have to be returned to their junior club,&rdquo; a source said.But in the case of Bergeron, Horton and Burns, &ldquo;the CHL won&rsquo;t challenge that.Everyone agreed it&rsquo;s in the players&rsquo; best interests because they weren&rsquo;t going to be sent back to junior anyway.&rdquo;Ontario League commissioner David Branch, who&rsquo;s also the CHL president, was not aware a written directive went out from Daly, &ldquo;but we&rsquo;ve had discussions with people at the NHL team level and we were led to believe junior-aged players would be returned to their junior team.&rdquo;Branch, however, said the issue surrounding the three who played in the NHL last season &ldquo;is still a question mark With the formal aspect of the lockout now in place, we&rsquo;ll have further discussions with the NHL.&rdquo;RICH GET RICHER The London Knights bolstered an already powerful lineup, acquiring overage defenseman Bryan Rodney from the Kingston Frontenacs in exchange for blueliner Adam Nemeth, 18, winger Bobby Bolt, 17, and a draft pick.Rodney led all OHL defensemen with 76 points last season. He fills the void created when rearguard Danny Richmond signed with the Carolina Hurricanes.GOOD BLOODLINES Matthew Spezza, the brother of Ottawa Senators center Jason Spezza, will be the Kingston Frontenacs backup goaltender after making the team as a walk-on in training camp.<h2>SPOTLIGHT</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-05280/8315742-1-eng-US/f0024-052.jpg" title="f0024-05" width="346" height="909"></div> &#9632;

f0024-04

CHL teams relieved to keep prospects

<div class="byline">BY ROB VANSTONE</div>There aren&rsquo;t many positive aspects to the NHL lockout, but Red Deer Rebels defenseman Dion Phaneuf managed to find one.Due to the labor strife, Phaneuf-who signed with the Calgary Flames on the same day NHL commissioner Gary Bettman declared a lockout-returned to the Western League instead of attending his first big-league training camp.(See Page 15 for more on Phaneuf.)&ldquo;It definitely was a very exciting day for me,&rdquo; said Phaneuf, 19, of signing his first NHL contract. &ldquo;There were mixed emotions, too, with the lockout coming. I&rsquo;ve just got to make the best of where I&rsquo;m at. People ask me if I&rsquo;m disappointed to be back in Red Deer and my answer is, &rsquo;No, not at all,&rsquo; because I&rsquo;m playing during this lockout and a lot of guys aren&rsquo;t.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-06218/8315787-1-eng-US/f0024-062.jpg" title="f0024-06" width="291" height="287"></div>The timing was unfortunate for Phaneuf, the ninth overall pick in the 2003 draft, as it was anticipated he would spend the entire season with the Flames. He could be recalled by Calgary if and when the lockout ends.&ldquo;You can never be quick enough and you can never be strong enough to play at the next level,&rdquo; said the 6-foot-2, 200-pound Edmonton native. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m definitely going to work on that-size, strength and speed.&rdquo;SARINA SPEAKS Sarina Mytopher became the first female play-by-play l announcer in the recorded history of the WHL when she called the Regina Pats&rsquo; 5-4 exhibition victory over the host Brandon Wheat Kings.Mytopher, an employee of Regina radio station CKRM, was filling in Sept. 18 for Rod Pedersen, who also calls games involving the Canadian Football League&rsquo;s Saskatchewan Roughriders. Pedersen was unavailable for the game due to football commitments.&ldquo;I am extremely excited for this opportunity,&rdquo; said Mytopher, 25, who is scheduled to call three regular season games.BLACK MARK Brandon left winger Mark Derlago suffered a season-ending neck injury when he was hit by Regina left winger Jordan McGillivray during a Sept. 18 game.The 18-year-old nephew of former Wheat Kings and NHL center Bill Derlago was airlifted to Winnipeg&rsquo;s Health Sciences Centre, where he was diagnosed with a fractured second vertebrae. McGillivray received a charging major.Derlago, the Wheat Kings&rsquo; rookie of the year last season, will wear a halo neck brace for at least two months. He did not suffer any paralysis and a full recovery is expected.<h2>SPOTLIGHT</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-07178/8315780-1-eng-US/f0024-072.jpg" title="f0024-07" width="354" height="909"></div> &#9632;

f0024-06

Return to Red Deer excites Phaneuf

<div class="byline">-PAUL SHAHEEN</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-08141/8315825-1-eng-US/f0024-082.jpg" title="f0024-08" width="511" height="155"></div>The Omaha Lancers were the big winners at the pre-season Buc Bowl-and not only due to their perfect 3-0 record.Coach-GM Mike Hastings pulled off a coup on the eve of the tournament, snagging talented forward and top Division I prospect Brock Bradford from the British Columbia Junior League&rsquo;s Coquitlam Express. The 5-foot-10, 170-pounder played the past two seasons for the Express.Bradford, 17, has been on the NCAA&rsquo;s radar for at least two years. He has narrowed his collegiate choices down to Boston College, Denver and Minnesota.Bradford will turn 18 in January and is eligible for the 2005 NHL draft.&ldquo;He could be one special player,&rdquo; said a scout who attended the Buc Bowl. &ldquo;He has a good stick, good feet and great vision. Just when you think someone&rsquo;s covered, he finds a way to get them the puck. What makes him unique is his passionate approach to the game.&rdquo;<h2>SPOTLIGHT TEAM</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-09124/8315818-1-eng-US/f0024-092.jpg" title="f0024-09" width="1389" height="726"></div><h3>KAMLOOPS BLAZERS</h3>Arena Sport Mart Place Capacity 5,158GM Dean Clark Coach Dean Clark &#9632;

f0024-08

UNITED STATES LEAGUE

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0025-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-011063/8315877-1-eng-US/f0025-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">DEFENDING CHAMPSDenver claimed the NCAA title last spring with a win over Maine.Anay uaggotTom BoggieLarry MahoneyPhilip Colvin</figcaption></div>The Hockey News top-10 ranking of NCAA schools was determined by our correspondents: Andy Baggot (WCHA), Tom Boggie (ECAC), Phil Colvin (CCHA) and Larry Mahoney (Hockey East). They have given the nod to the Michigan Wolverines to win the NCAA national championship.<h2>The Hockey News: TOP TEN</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-02725/8315870-1-eng-US/f0025-022.jpg" title="f0025-02" width="802" height="588"></div>Strong on offense (nine NHL draft picks), strong in goal (Al Montoya) and solid on the blueline, Michigan features enough skill to give any opponent a lot to think about.With nine NCAA titles in their history, the Wolverines have more national championships than any other hockey program. This season they begin the hunt for their tenth title with a veteran team that, appropriately, features 10 seniors-only one of the reasons we are touting Michigan as our top NCAA team.In this section, you will find a preview of the big four Division I conferences-CCHA, ECAC, WCHA and Hockey East-and the two second-tier Division I conferences-Atlantic Hockey and the CHA.We begin by giving you our top Hobey Baker Award candidate from each of the big four conferences:<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-03496/8315863-1-eng-US/f0025-032.jpg" title="f0025-03" width="450" height="440"><figcaption class="caption-body">COLLEGE PREVIEW 2004-05</figcaption></div>LEE STEMPNIAK, LW, ECAC It&rsquo;s no surprise the ECAC&rsquo;s top candidate for the Hobey Baker plays at Dartmouth College. The big surprise is that he isn&rsquo;t Hugh Jessiman.When the talk turns to the most complete players in the NCAA, the Dartmouth player that moves to the top of the list is senior left winger Lee Stempniak.The 6-foot, 195-pound native of West Seneca, N.Y., earned first-team All-American honors last year, and is on pace to become just the fourth player in Dartmouth history to score 150 points.&ldquo;Down low, between the tops of the circles, I&rsquo;ve never seen anyone take it to the net like he does,&rdquo; said Big Green coach Bob Gaudet. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s very elusive and very strong on his skates.&rdquo;Stempniak became an offensive force for the Big Green during the second half of his freshman year and had a career-high 49 points as a sophomore. Playing on a more balanced offense last year, he led the team in points (38) and assists (22), while tying for the lead in goals (16).He doesn&rsquo;t ignore the defensive end of the ice by any stretch of the imagination, but scoring is his forte.&ldquo;One of my assistant coaches put together all of Lee&rsquo;s goals over the course of his career and it&rsquo;s a highlight film as good as any you&rsquo;ll ever see,&rdquo; Gaudet said. &ldquo;He has a way of making people look sick.&rdquo;<h2>JIMMY HOWARD, 6, HOCKEY EAST</h2>The Maine goalie set Division I records for lowest goals-against average (1.19) and highest save percentage (.956) last year in his sophomore season. He also posted six shutouts.Howard, a native of Ogdensburg, N.Y., will be asked to carry the bulk of the load this year after splitting the goalie duties with Frank Doyle the past two seasons.&ldquo;Playing multiple nights will be fun,&rdquo; Howard said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m definitely looking forward to the challenge.&rdquo;Howard hasn&rsquo;t given any thought to being a Hobey Baker candidate. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s no big deal,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;If you don&rsquo;t perform up to your capabilities, nothing is going to happen. If I do the best I can, everything else will fall into place.&rdquo;<h2>JIM SLATER, C, CCHA</h2>Just days after Michigan State ended its season with a 5-0 loss to Minnesota-Duluth at the 2004 NCAA Midwest Regional, Spartans captain Jim Slater was in coach Rick Comley&rsquo;s office to tell him he&rsquo;d be back for his senior campaign.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-02849/8315856-1-eng-US/f0026-022.jpg" title="f0026-02" width="2470" height="2035"><figcaption class="caption-body">ON A MISSION Michigan looks to return to the Frozen Four after losing the East Regional final last year</figcaption></div>As a junior, Slater finished tied for first in CCHA scoring and was 10th in the nation, with 19 goals and 48 points. He was named a second-team All-American and Hobey Baker finalist.&ldquo;I have some unfinished business and I think I can do better,&rdquo; Slater said.&ldquo;I think our team is going to be good and I want to win a CCHA title.&rdquo;A weight-room disciple, Slater sets the tone for his teammates both on and off the ice and has become a more vocal leader after increasing his offensive production every year despite being the main target of opposing defenses.&ldquo;He has paid the price to get better and has prepared himself to step directly (into) the NHL,&rdquo; Comley. said. &ldquo;He has fun playing the game and for me it&rsquo;s the perfect scenario-he&rsquo;s my captain, he&rsquo;s my most talented player and he&rsquo;s my hardest-working player.&rdquo;<h2>BERND BRUCKLER, G, WCHA</h2>Wisconsin senior goalie Bernd Bruckler was a record-setting first-team All-American last season, but his place atop the list of Hobey Baker Award candidates from the WCHA for this year is almost by default.The WCHA had three underclassmen among the 10 Hobey Baker finalists last season-forwards Zach Parise and Brandon Bochenski from North Dakota and defenseman Keith Ballard from Minnesota-and all of them turned pro. Another Hobey candidate would have been Minnesota left winger Thomas Vanek, but he signed with Buffalo. That leaves Bruckler, the only returning All-WCHA first-team selection, as the top Hobey choice.Don&rsquo;t be mistaken-Bruckler is worthy of the distinction. The native of Graz, Austria, is coming off a season in which he set school records for goals-against average (2.09) and save percentage (.924) and tied the mark for most shutouts (four). Bruckler was also named the most outstanding player in the NCAA East Regional and was the Badgers&rsquo; MVP.Big, quick and extremely athletic, Bruckler will be counted on even more than he was last season and not just because he&rsquo;s an alternate captain. The September decision by standout sophomore defenseman Ryan Suter to sign with Nashville means the Badgers will open with seven defensemen-four of whom are freshmen.-WITH FILES FROM ANDY BAGGOT, TOM BOGGIE, PHIL COLVIN & LARRY MAHONEY<h2>TOP MEN</h2>Our candidates for the Hobey Baker (one from each league):Lee Stempniak Dartmouth (ECAC), LW Drafted: 148th overall, 2003 (StL) Jim Slater Michigan St. (CCHA), C Drafted: 30th overall, 2002 (Atl)Bernd Bruckler Wisconsin (WCHA), G Drafted: 150th overall, 2001 (Phi) Jimmy Howard Maine (HE), G Drafted: 64th overall, 2003 (Det) &#9632;

f0025-01

Climbing college summit

<div class="byline">BY TOM BOBBIE</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-03552/8315915-1-eng-US/f0027-032.jpg" title="f0027-03" width="757" height="316"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-011142/8315922-1-eng-US/f0027-012.jpg" title="f0027-01" width="100" height="96"></div>This season will be a year of transition for the Eastern College Athletic Conference.For one, the league has officially added &ldquo;Hockey League&rdquo; to the end of its ECAC moniker. Also, Vermont is playing as a lame duck, waiting to jump to Hockey East in 200506, and Quinnipiac of Atlantic Hockey is waiting in the wings, ready to take Vermont&rsquo;s place.Two new coaches will make their debuts: Harvard graduate and 13-year NHL veteran Ted Donato takes over at his alma mater, inheriting a team that won the ECAC tournament championship last season; and, Guy Gadowsky is the new boss at Princeton, which has finished last in the league for two years running.Here&rsquo;s our projected finish for 2004-05:1. DARTMOUTH BIG GREEN On paper, Dartmouth is easily the most talented team in the league. The Big Green has two of the ECAC&rsquo;s most dynamic scorers in senior Lee Stempniak, a first-team All-America selection last season, and junior Hugh Jessiman, who turned down an opportunity to sign with the Rangers to return to Dartmouth for at least one more year.The defense is outstanding, anchored by sophomore Grant Lewis, picked 40th overall by Atlanta in June, and Boston College transfer Ben Lovejoy, who is eligible to play this season after sitting out a year. And don&rsquo;t try to find a weakness in goalie Dan Yacey. All the senior did last year was set an ECAC tournament record with over 180 consecutive shutout minutes.As if Dartmouth wasn&rsquo;t talented enough, the freshman class includes forward Nick Johnson, last season&rsquo;s Canadian Jr. A player of the year.2. CLARKSON GOLDEN KNIGHTS Don&rsquo;t lament the loss of defenseman Matt Nickerson, who | turned pro after his freshman season, for too long. The Golden Knights have enough&rsquo;depth to more than make up for his absence. And besides, Nickerson finished the year minus-13, I the worst plus-minus rating on the team.</div><div style="clear: both;"></div>There&rsquo;s nothing flashy about the Knights. Everyone on the roster, with the exception of the goalies, had at least one goal last season. This is a blue-collar team with a blue-collar coach, George Roll. Like construction workers, the Knights will toil and sweat until the job is done.The top four scorers from last year are all back, led by senior center Mac Faulkner, who had a breakout season in 2003-04 with 17 goals and 43 points in 40 games.Junior Dustin Traylen was an ironman in net last year, compiling a 2.57 goals-against average in 36 games and, unless he wears down, Clarkson is going to be a tough team to beat.3. HARVARD CRIMSON The cupboard is full for new coach Donato, but a number of role players last season need to shed their understudy status and become stars.The top talent is definitely on defense, where senior captain Noah Welch and sophomore Dylan Reese, who was hampered by a back injury last season, anchor a veteran unit. Then there&rsquo;s senior goalie Dov Grumet-Morris, who has one of the best career save percentages (.914) in Harvard history. Grumet-Morris went through an inconsistent stretch early last sea son, but was outstanding in crunch time, leading the Crimson to the ECAC tournament championship.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-02773/8315908-1-eng-US/f0027-022.jpg" title="f0027-02" width="2029" height="2512"><figcaption class="caption-body">NOSE FOR THE NET Dartmouth&rsquo;s Lee Stempniak, who led the Big Green in points last season, gives his team a dangerous scoring threat.</figcaption></div>Senior Brendan Bernakevitch emerged as one of the most consistent forwards in the league last year and was named the MVP of the ECAC championship, but Donato will need the forwards in the sophomore class to take on a leadership role this season and add production.4. CORNELL BIG RED Cornell&rsquo;s philosophy is defense-first and this season will be no exception, even though coach Mike Schafer has a couple of forwards who are set to contend for the league scoring title.The big man on defense is sophomore goalie David McKee, who was named co-rookie of the year last season with Brown forward Brian Ihnachak. McKee led the league in goals-against average (1.37) and was second to All-American Yann Danis of Brown in save percentage (.939).Junior Matt Moulson is one of the best pure snipers in the league and senior Mike Knoepfli is getting better each year. Fans should expect a lot of low-scoring, hard-hitting games.5.ST. LAWRENCE SAINTS Need consistent goaltending to achieve true contender status.6.COLGATE RAIDERS Have to prove last year&rsquo;s success was no fluke.7.VERMONT CATAMOUNTS Could be the sleeper team in their final ECAC season.8.. RENSSELAER ENGINEERS Have big skates to fill at key positions.9.BROWN BEARS Will the Bears be the same without goaltender Danis?10.UNION SKATING DUTCHMEN Lack of depth could be a real problem.11.YALE BULLDOGS Really need to tighten up defensively.12.PRINCETON TIGERS Lost two key recruits in coaching transition.<h2>ECAC COACHES</h2>Here are all nine, listed with age and years with school.Tim Taylor, Yale, 61, 27th yr.Joe Marsh, St. Lawrence, 52, 20th yr.Don Vaughan, Colgate, 43, 12th yr.Dan Fridgen, RPI, 45, 11th yr.Mike Schafer, Cornell 41, 10th yr,Bob Gaudet, Dartmouth, 45, 8th yr.Roger Grillo, Brown, 40, 8th yr,Nate Leaman, Union, 31, 2nd yr.George Roll, Clarkson, 42, 2nd yr.Kevin Sneddon, Vermont, 34, 2nd yr.Ted Donato, Harvard, 35, 1st yr.Guv Gadowsky, Princeton, 39, 1st yr. &#9632;

f0027-03

Green dynamo ready to roll

<div class="byline">BY ANDY BAGGOT</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0028-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-02823/8315960-1-eng-US/f0028-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">WISCONSIN&rsquo;S WALL The Badgers&rsquo;Bernd Bruckler is a big goaltender who set a school record last season with four shutouts.</figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-011183/8315967-1-eng-US/f0028-012.jpg" title="f0028-01" width="100" height="96"></div>By all accounts, the Western Collegiate Hockey Association put on a stunning display of depth and strength last season.North Dakota won the regular season title and Minnesota emerged as the WCHA playoff champion. Denver and Minnesota-Duluth wound up advancing to the NCAA Frozen Four, where the Pioneers emerged with the sixth national title in school history with a 1-0 win over Maine. A fifth WCHA school, Wisconsin, also qualified for the NCAA tournament, losing in the quarterfinal.The WCHA upstaged itself with an even more remarkable showing during the off-season.Seven standout underclassmen from four different schools left for the pros: defensemen Keith Ballard and Jake Taylor and left winger Thomas Vanek from Minnesota; forwards Zach Parise and Brandon Bochenski from North Dakota; defenseman Ryan Suter from Wisconsin; and, winger Curtis Glencross from Alaska-Anchorage.North Dakota also saw coach Dean Blais, architect of two NCAA titles, leave to become associate coach with the Columbus Blue Jackets.Here&rsquo;s our projected finish for 2004-05:1. MINNESOTA-DULUTH BULLDOGS The Bulldogs lost Hobey Baker Award winner Junior Lessard, a senior who signed a free agent contract with Dallas, but they return seven of their top nine scorers and highly regarded goaltender Isaac Reichmuth.Offense won&rsquo;t be a problem for Minnesota-Duluth, which has four of the top 20 scorers in the WCHA from last season in forwards Evan Schwabe (57 points), Tyler Brosz (41), Tim Stapleton (41) and Luke Stauffacher (35).Leadership isn&rsquo;t a problem, either, since the Bulldogs have 11 seniors back from a team that lost to league-rival Denver in the NCAA semifinal. A potential distraction looms in that coach Scott Sandelin will oversee Team USA at the World Junior Championship in December.</div><div style="clear: both;"></div>2. COLORADO COLLEGE TIGERS A year after fading badly down the stretch and missing out on an NCAA berth, the Tigers have the wherewithal to make amends.They have their top four scorers back, led by junior center Marty Sertich (39 points). They also have one of the best defensemen in the nation in junior Mark Stuart, selected 21st overall in 2003 by Boston.The Tigers are strongest in goal, where senior Curtis McElhinney (10-6-1, .906 save percentage) and sophomore Matt Zaba (10-10-2, .911) figure to split time.One concern for the team is leadership, since only two seniors saw consistent playing time last season.3. NORTH DAKOTA FIGHTING SIOUX Yes, the Fighting Sioux endured major defections in the lineup and on the bench, but first-year coach Dave Hakstol nevertheless inherits a well-stocked cupboard of talent.Sophomore wingers Brady Murray (46 points), Drew Stafford (32) and Chris Porter (25) are NHL-caliber youngsters.Incoming freshman Travis Zajac, a high-scoring center, was chosen 20th overall by New Jersey in June.North Dakota returns everyone from a big, nasty and mobile blueline corps.Finally, the goaltending tandem of Jordan Parise (14-4-3, .908 save percentage) and Jake Brandt (16-4-0, .906) rounds out a very dangerous team.The biggest question is how everyone will respond to the new guy behind the bench.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-03605/8315953-1-eng-US/f0028-032.jpg" title="f0028-03" width="977" height="217"><figcaption class="caption-body">WESTIBN COLUGlATE HOCKEY ASSOCIATION</figcaption></div>4. WISCONSIN BADGERS Tremendous back-to-back recruiting classes have moved the Badgers back among the WCHA elite.Seven of the top nine scorers return for a club that narrowly missed a spot in the Frozen Four last season.Into that mix, coach Mike Eaves has added the past two goal-scoring leaders in the United States League in center Joe Pavelski and winger Matt Ford.Wisconsin was one of the best defensive teams in the nation last season thanks to the work of All-America goaltender Bernd Bruckler.But the defense in front of Bruckler became vulnerable when standout Suter signed with Nashville in September. Not only will the Badgers start three freshmen on the blueline, they only have seven defensemen on the roster.5. MINNESOTA GOLDEN GOPHERS Have oodles of talent, but leadership base has been seriously eroded.6. DENVER PIONEERS A very good team, but will miss goaltender Adam Berkhoel.7. ST. CLOUD STATE HUSKIES Need consistency at forward and in net if they are to improve.8. MSU-MANKAT0 MAVERICKS The Mavericks will rely heavily on elite winger David Backes and a veteran defensive unit.9. MICHIGAN TECH HUSKIES Dynamic winger Chris Conner is capable of lifting the Huskies higher than this.10. ALASKA-ANCHORAGE SEAWOLVES Showed signs of improvement, but that was before Curtis Glencross and Chris Fournier bolted. I<h2>WCHA COACHES</h2>Here are all III, listed with age and years with current school.Craig Dahl, St. Cloud State, 51, 17th yr.George Gwozdecky, Denver, 51, 10th yr,Don Lucia, Minnesota, 46, 6th yr.Scott Owens, Colorado College, 48, 5th yr.John Hill, Alaska-Anchorage, 43, 4th yr.Troy Jutting, MSU-Mankato 39, 4th yr.Scott Sandelin, Minnesota-Duluth, 40, 4th yr.Mike Eaves, Wisconsin, 48, 3rd yr.Jamie Russel, Michigan Tech, 37, 2nd yr.Dave Hakstol, North Dakota, 36, 1st yr. &#9632;

f0028-02

Veteran Dogs class of league

<div class="byline">BY LARRY MAHONEY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-03490/8316005-1-eng-US/f0029-032.jpg" title="f0029-03" width="747" height="341"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-011051/8316012-1-eng-US/f0029-012.jpg" title="f0029-01" width="100" height="96"></div>There is little margin for error in Hockey East, as evidenced by the fact the conference has put 24 teams in the Frozen Four since 1990. That&rsquo;s eight more than the second-place conference, the Central Collegiate Hockey Association.&ldquo;The league has made unbelievable strides,&rdquo; said Boston University coach Jack Parker.Parker&rsquo;s Terriers, who have enjoyed a lot of success over the years, have something more to be excited about than just the beginning of the new year. In early January, the team leaves its current home, the Walter Brown Arena, for the state-of-the-art Agganis Arena.This is also Hockey East&rsquo;s last year as a nine-team conference. Next season, the league adds a tenth member in the Vermont Catamounts, who currently play in the Eastern College Athletic Conference. Vermont will play six Hockey East teams this season in preparation for the move.Here&rsquo;s our projected finish for 2004-05:1. BOSTON COLLEGE EAGLES The bad news is, the Eagles have lost three All-Americans in linemates Ben Eaves and Tony Voce, who combined for 343 points in 293 games, and defenseman J.D. Forrest.The good news is, second-team AllAmericans Ryan Shannon (42 points in 42 games) and Patrick Eaves (41 points in 34 games) headline a talented group of forwards.First-team All-American Andrew Alberts leads a blueline cast that includes veterans John Adams, Peter Harrold and Greg Lauze. In net, workhorse senior goaltender Matti Kaltiainen (27-7-4, .907 save percentage) will be pushed by newcomer Cory Schneider, who was chosen 26th overall by Vancouver in June&rsquo;s NHL draft.&ldquo;This is the best depth we&rsquo;ve had in goal in my 10 years,&rdquo; said Eagles coach Jerry York. &ldquo;We lose three all-league guys who were elite players, but we&rsquo;ve got plenty of top-end guys returning.&rdquo;</div><div style="clear: both;"></div>2. MAINE BLACK BEARS Maine returns Division I record-setting goalie Jimmy Howard (.956 save percentage), who was a second-team AllAmerican last year, and the entire defense corps minus second-team All-American Prestin Ryan.But scoring was a problem at times last season and the Bears have lost two of their top three point-producers and their top two goalscorers in Colin Shields (18 goals, 44 points) and Todd Jackson (team-high 21 goals, 33 points). One of Maine&rsquo;s top power forwards last season, Dustin Penner, has also moved on.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve going to have to find guys who can elevate their games as much as Ryan and Jackson did last year,&rdquo; said Bears coach Tim Whitehead.Michel Leveille (40 points), the Hockey East rookie of the year, and Derek Damon (31 points), are in danger of being slowed early by lingering knee injuries.Maine was the stingiest team in the nation last year (1.55 goals-against average) and is set to be among the leaders again this season.3. NEW HAMPSHIRE WILDCATS The Wildcats have five of their top six scorers back in Sean Collins (42 points), Justin Aikins (41), Preston Callander (35), defenseman Brian Yandle (28) and Jacob Micflikier (26).But Hockey East player of the year and Hobey Baker Award finalist Steve Saviano (49 points), three veteran blueliners and longtime standout goalie Mike Ayers will be difficult to replace.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-02707/8315998-1-eng-US/f0029-022.jpg" title="f0029-02" width="2056" height="2509"><figcaption class="caption-body">MAINE ATTRACTION Jimmy Howard, a Red Wings draft pick, won 14 games last season as a sophomore for the Black Bears.</figcaption></div>&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got some rebuilding to do,&rdquo; said Cats coach Dick Umile. &ldquo;Last year&rsquo;s seniors were a pretty successful group. We&rsquo;ve got some good young players and our challenge will be to get them to figure out the pace and skill as quickly as possible so they can fill those roles.&rdquo;Jeff Pietrasiak, who appeared in 11 games last year, will be pushed in goal by sophomore A.J. Bucchino and freshman Kevin Regan.4. UMASS-LOWELL RIVER HAWKS The River Hawks have virtually everybody back from a team that would have contended for a home-ice berth in the Hockey East playoffs if they weren&rsquo;t forced to forfeit five wins, including three in league play, for using an ineligible player.The top eight point-producers from a season ago will be back, including leaders Elias Godoy (41 points), Ben Walter (34) and Andrew Martin (34).Matt Collar and Cleve Kinley will anchor the defense corps, along with senior Peter Tormey.Goaltender Chris Davidson was vastly improved last year and hopes to continue that trend with highly touted freshman Peter Vetri and junior John Yaros battling him for playing time.5. UMASS-AMHERST MINUTEMEN An otherwise strong team will miss forwards Thomas Pock and Greg Mauldin.6. BOSTON UNIVERSITY TERRIERS Need inexperienced goalies to step up.7. NORTHEASTERN HUSKIES Almost all of their top scorers are returning.8. PROVIDENCE FRIARS One of the youngest teams in Hockey East.9. MERRIMACK WARRIORS Need to get some consistent goaltending.<h2>HOCKEY EAST COACHES</h2>Here are all nine, listed with age and years with school.Jack Parker, Boston University, 59, 32nd yr.Dick Umile, New Hampshire, 55, 15th yr.Paul Pooley, Providence, 44, 11th yr.Jerry York, Boston College, 59, 11th yr.Bruce Crowder, Northeastern, 47, 9th yr.Chris Serino, Merrimack, 55, 7th yr.Don Cahoon, UMass-Amherst, 55, 5th yr.Blaise MacDonald, UMass-Lowell, 41, 4th yr.Tim Whitehead, Maine, 43, 4th yr. &#9632;

f0029-03

Eagles’ depth key to success

<div class="byline">BY PHIL COLVIN</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-03573/8316050-1-eng-US/f0030-032.jpg" title="f0030-03" width="891" height="321"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-011182/8316057-1-eng-US/f0030-012.jpg" title="f0030-01" width="100" height="96"></div>Last season&rsquo;s Central Collegiate Hockey Association race came down to the final weekend with three teams all having a shot at the conference title.In the end, Michigan edged out Miami (Oxford, Ohio) by a point in the standings, with Michigan State finishing just two points back in third place. Ohio State, in fourth, went on to win the CCHA Mason Cup playoff title.&ldquo;That&rsquo;s the way our league is and this year should be no different,&rdquo; said Notre Dame coach Dave Poulin.Michigan is a solid bet to repeat, but picking the order of finish after that is a mug&rsquo;s game. The schools in the middle of the pack all have question marks and those that finished at the bottom are set to improve.Here&rsquo;s our projected finish for 2004-05:1. MICHIGAN WOLVERINES Coming off their record 14th consecutive NCAA tournament appearance, Michigan starts the year with a bull&rsquo;s-eye on its back.The Wolverines have finished first or second in the CCHA for 14 straight seasons and have nine NHL draft picks up front (14 total), a 10-member senior class and arguably the best goalie in the country in junior Al Montoya, selected sixth overall by the New York Rangers in June. Montoya has 56 career wins at Michigan.Scoring goals won&rsquo;t be a problem. Speedy sophomore T.J. Hensick is positioned to improve on his team-high 46 points, junior forward Andrew Ebbett (37 points) is a playmaker and junior forward Brandon Kaleniecki led the team with 20-goals. Senior captain Eric Nystrom and junior Jeff Tambellini are set to break out.Seniors Brandon Rogers, Eric Werner, Nick Martens and sophomore Tim Cook make up a solid blueline unit.2. MICHIGAN STATE SPARTANS Led by senior captain Jim Slater, Michigan State returns veteran players at all positions.</div><div style="clear: both;"></div>The Spartans will count heavily on senior forward Mike Lalonde, who led the team with 22 goals last season, and sophomore Tom Goebel, who had 15 goals as a true freshman. Look for junior power forward David Booth, picked 53rd overall by Florida in June, to regain the form he showed as a freshman.Junior Corey Potter and sophomore second-team All-American defenseman A.J. Thelen, picked 12th overall by Minnesota in 2004, will anchor the defense. Sophomore goalie Dominic Vicari took over the top job as a freshman, but senior Matt Migliaccio will push him.3. NORTHERN MICHIGAN WILDCATS The Wildcats start the season with 10 NHL draft picks and one big question mark: Who is going to replace goalie Craig Kowalski, who graduated after setting five school records? Senior Tuomas Tarrkki, a 24-year-old Finn who played well at the end of last year when Kowalski was injured, has earned the first shot at the job. Sophomores Josh Hatinger and Bill Zaniboni are also in the running.The picture up front is clearer. Darin Olver is back after leading the team in scoring (32 points) as a freshman. Senior Kevin Gardner, sophomore power forward Pat Bateman and junior Dirk Southern, the only other Wildcat in double digits in goals (10) last season, are ready to step up.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-02797/8316043-1-eng-US/f0030-022.jpg" title="f0030-02" width="2044" height="2506"><figcaption class="caption-body">STATE&rsquo;S EVIDENCE Michigan State captain Jim Slater enters his senior year determined to lead the Spartans to a CCHA title.</figcaption></div>Junior captain Nathan Oystrick, who leads Northern Michigan&rsquo;s strong defensive unit, ranks among the best blueliners in the country.4. OHIO STATE BUCKEYES Ohio State&rsquo;s underclassmen gained confidence during last year&rsquo;s Mason Cup playoff title run. They&rsquo;ll need it after losing nine seniors and their top four scorers.Junior goalie Dave Caruso is back after winning three games in three days in the CCHA playoffs. Junior Dan Knapp, the top returning scorer (30 points), and sophomores Andrew Schembri and Rod Pelley will see more ice time. Senior captain JB Bittner is the team&rsquo;s leader and sophomore forwards Bryce Anderson and Matt Beaudoin are ready to take the next step.The defensive unit is big and mobile and led by physical junior Nate Guenin, picked 127th overall by the Rangers in 2002. Sophomores Matt Waddell, Sean Collins and TysonStrachan, picked 137th overall in 2003 by Carolina, are ready for more responsibility.5. MIAMI REDHAWKS How much will they miss Kompon, Hogeboom and Edwardson?6. NOTRE DAME FIGHTING IRISH Key losses, but goalies Morgan Cey, Dave Brown return.7. FERRIS STATE BULLDOGS Center Jeff Legue and goalie Mike Brown need big seasons.8. WESTERN MICHIGAN BRONCOS Scoring goals no problem, but stopping them could be.9. BOWLING GREEN STATE FALCONS Brothers Jordan and Jonathon Sigalet are top players.10. LAKE SUPERIOR STATE LAKERS Big, strong, young team is improving.11. NEBRASKA-OMAHA MAVERICKS Roster includes 21 freshmen and sophomores.12. ALASKA-FAIRBANKS NANOOKS New coach Tavis MacMillan has 11 new players. I<h2>CCHA COACHES</h2>Here are all 12 listed with age and years with age and years with current schoolRed Berenson, Michigan, 64, 21st yr.Bob Daniels, Ferris State, 45, 13th yr.John Markell, Ohio State, 48, 10th yr.Dave Poulin, Notre Dame, 45, 10th yr,Mike Kemp, Nebraska-Omaha, 51, 8th yr.Enrico Blasi, Miami, 32, 6th yr.Jim Culhane, Western Michigan, 39, 6th yr. Frank Anzalone, Lake Superior State, 49, 4th yr. Rick Comley, Michigan State, 57, 3rd yr.Walt Kyle, Northern Michigan, 48, 3rd yr.Scott Paluch, Bowling Green, 34, 3rd yr,Tavis MacMillan, Alaska-Fairbanks, 34, 1st yr. &#9632;

f0030-03

Solid Michigan leads tight race

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0031-04" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-04411/8316102-1-eng-US/f0031-042.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">STAYING FOCUSED Goalie Jeff Van Nynatten won 18 games for Niagara last year.</figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-011089/8316109-1-eng-US/f0031-012.jpg" title="f0031-01" width="100" height="96"></div>Atlantic Hockey and College Hockey America represent the NCAA&rsquo;s two second-tier conferences. Both leagues have made great strides in the past five years to develop players and compete with the big four conferences. And both receive one automatic bid into the NCAA tournament.Here&rsquo;s a closer look at the two leagues:ATLANTIC HOCKEY Last year, Atlantic Hockey was dominated by a wire-to-wire title run by Holy Cross that included a sweep through the playoffs en route to the school&rsquo;s second league championship and first NCAA berth. Though the Crusaders return much of their deep squad from a year ago, other schools also remain strong.Mercyhurst, which has two NCAA appearances to its credit, will again be strong and is the pre-season favorite. Sacred Heart, which came within a win of the league title last season, will be somewhat of a surprise team.Behind those three is a solid group of schools capable of mounting a challenge. Quinnipiac, playing its final season in Atlantic Hockey before moving to the Eastern College Athletic Conference, needs to fill some holes in its lineup, but still should challenge for a top spot.And last year&rsquo;s playoff surprise, Canisius, returns a solid crop of young players who, if they get hot early, could cause some damage.Connecticut returns an experienced class and the performance of sophomore Scott Tomes in net could sway them from the middle of the pack to the top. Bentley, a perennial dark horse, will look to be the league&rsquo;s spoiler. American International, which lost its top scorer in Giullaume Caron, brings back one of the league&rsquo;s best netminders in Frank Novello.Finally, Army will be showing a new, though somewhat familiar face behind its bench. Brian Riley replaces brother Rob as coach. Their father, Jack, preceded the two brothers on the Black Knights bench.COLLEGE HOCKEY AMERICA Will it be deja vu all over again for Bemidji State? The Beavers hope not.Bemidji has 11 players who have been on the last two teams that lost the conference championship game. Returnees hoping to redeem themselves include top scorers Brendan Cook, Riley Riddell and Luke Erickson. But the regular season champion Beavers are vulnerable defensively due to the graduation losses of veteran blueliners Anders Olsson and Bryce Methven and goalie Grady Hunt.Niagara University, which beat Bemidji 4-3 in overtime to win the conference championship, features 18 returnees from a 21-win team that lost in the first round of the NCAA tournament.The returnees include goalie Jeff Van Nynatten, the CHA tournament MVP, and CHA player of the year Barret Ehgoetz. The senior captain Ehgoetz was the fifthleading scorer in Division I with 52 points. Niagara also returns three of its top four defensemen in sophomore Patrick Oliveto and juniors Andrew Lackner and Brian Hartman.With the Findlay Oilers opting to end their foray into Division I quite suddenly last winter, former Oiler Kris Wiebe found a home with Niagara, which hopes the senior can help offset the graduation loss of sniper Joe Tallari.Alabama-Huntsville will be dangerous because of senior forward Jared Ross, who finished seventh in league scoring. Wayne State added former Findlay goalie Will Hooper to the fold, in the hope he can provide the solid last line of defense the low scoring Warriors need.Air Force also had trouble scoring and keeping the puck out of its net last year, but figures to use hard work and passion to compete. First-year student Robert Morris replaces Findlay.-WITH FILES FROM JIM CONNELLY & MIGUEL RODRIGUEZ</div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-02725/8316095-1-eng-US/f0031-022.jpg" title="f0031-02" width="719" height="1023"></div>Here is our prelected order of finish for 2004-05:1. Mercyhurst Laker*2. Holy Cross Crusaders3. Sacred Heart Pioneers4. Quinnipiac Bobcats5. Canisius Golden Griffins6. Connecticut Huskies7. Bentley Falcons8. American Inti Yellow Jackets9. Army Black Knights<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-03542/8316088-1-eng-US/f0031-032.jpg" title="f0031-03" width="710" height="839"></div>Here is our projected order of jimsh for 2004-05:1. Niagara Purple Eagles2. Bemidji State Beavers3. Alabama-Huntsville Chargers4. Wayne State Warriors5. Air Force FalconsA Dnhari Mnrric Crslnni &#9632;

f0031-04

Underdogs still fighting

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0032-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-011163/8316147-1-eng-US/f0032-012.jpg"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-03636/8316140-1-eng-US/f0034-032.jpg" title="f0034-03" width="4310" height="1447"></div> &#9632;

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NCAA PREVIEW

NCAA CONFERENCE SCHEDULES

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0034-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-011185/8316216-1-eng-US/f0034-012.jpg"></div> &#9632;

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October 5, 2004

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