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.

January 8, 2008

The Hockey News - Jan-8-08

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-021483/9062743-1-eng-US/f0005-022.jpg" title="f0005-02" width="802" height="1079"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(DEBORA ROBINSON/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-03957/9062736-1-eng-US/f0005-032.jpg" title="f0005-03" width="152" height="152"></div><p>If the fighters in the NHL read The Hockey News, I guess it&rsquo;s safe to say the goal-scorers don&rsquo;t.</p><p>Every other week THN mentions scoring is down, but the goal-scorers do not get it together and change the problem. One little blurb in THN about goons losing their jobs, and boom! the NHL is a donnybrook again.</p><p>I guess the goal-scorers are too busy reading the Wall Street Journal. Keep up the good work.</p><p>PETER ROMANO, CRESSKILL, N.J.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0005-02

THE STANDARDS

JOB SECURITY

<p class="dropcap"><span>M</span>ICHIGAN&rsquo;S KEVIN PORTER has captained the U.S. national junior team, led the Wolverines in goals in both his sophomore and junior seasons and was a fourth round pick of the Phoenix Coyotes in 2004.</p><p>But with new linemates, a new position and his longtime partnerin-crime, T.J. Hensick, graduated, there were some questions about how Porter would respond in his senior season.</p><p>Well, its safe to say those questions have been answered.</p><p>After making the switch from wing to center, Porter is on a goala-game pace and led the nation in scoring with 18 goals and 29 points through 18 games.</p><p>&ldquo;Playing center took a little getting used to, but it&rsquo;s going to help me be a better player,&rdquo; Porter said. &ldquo;Before, with T.J., it was more him carrying the puck and me trying to get into position to get a pass. Now I&rsquo;m carrying the puck more up the middle and I have options. I like it.&rdquo;</p><p>Michigan coaches named Porter captain and put him between senior right winger Chad Kolarik and freshman left winger Max Pacio-retty and the trio quickly formed the team&rsquo;s top line. The Wolverines got out of the gate quickly, won 16 of their first 18 games to earn the nation&rsquo;s No. 1 ranking.</p><p>&ldquo;I am playing with some pretty good players who have really set me up a lot,&rdquo; Porter said. &ldquo;Chad is really fast, Max is physical and they both have great hands. We&rsquo;ve really been clicking.&rdquo;</p><p>After considering signing with Phoenix last summer, Porter returned for his senior season with the plan of improving his defensive play, increasing his offensive numbers and helping the Wolverines make a long post-season run.</p><p>&ldquo;When he decided to come back, he was coming back to have his best year,&rdquo; said Michigan coach Red Berenson. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s always been a good two-way player who did all the right things away from the puck. But he&rsquo;s taken it to a whole new level and has been an offensive force.&rdquo;</p><p>And on a squad that includes 12 freshmen, Porter&rsquo;s leadership has been invaluable.</p><p>&ldquo;When he does it every day in practice and in every game he&rsquo;s our best player, the other guys follow suit,&rdquo; Berenson said. &ldquo;He insists on a certain work ethic and when he sees something he doesn&rsquo;t like he lets the other players know, rather than let it slip and that has really helped out our young guys. Right from the day we named him captain you could see he wanted to make a difference.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-01571/9064814-1-eng-US/f0044-012.jpg" title="f0044-01" width="695" height="917"></div><p><b>&ndash; PHILIP COLVIN</b></p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-02345/9064807-1-eng-US/f0044-022.jpg" title="f0044-02" width="135" height="135"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><h2><b>KEVIN PORTER</b></h2><p>Michigan Wolverines</p><p>Ht. 5-11</p><p>Wt. 180</p><p>Pos. C</p><p>Age 21</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-03254/9064800-1-eng-US/f0044-032.jpg" title="f0044-03" width="323" height="62"></div><h3><b>Draft Status</b></h3><p>Selected 119th overall by Phoenix in 2004</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-04200/9064793-1-eng-US/f0044-042.jpg" title="f0044-04" width="162" height="96"></div><h2><b>AND COUNTING 1.0</b></h2><p>Number of goals Porter is averaging per game.</p><h2><b>Defense there, goals coming</b></h2><p>Ferris State has come exactly as advertised; good defensively with increasing offensive potential. Blueliners Adam Welch, a third-year captain, and junior Evan Case, along with goalies Mitch O&rsquo;Keefe (junior) and freshman Pat Nagle, have been outstanding. And sophomore forward Cody Chupp and juniors Brendan Connolly, Corey Couturier and Justin Lewandowski are all on pace for career scoring highs. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think we&rsquo;ve overachieved or underachieved,&rdquo; said Bulldogs coach Bob Daniels. &ldquo;But we&rsquo;ve put ourselves in a spot to make a run for an upper-division finish.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-05170/9064786-1-eng-US/f0044-052.jpg" title="f0044-05" width="211" height="212"></div><p><b>&ndash; PHILIP COLVIN</b></p><h2><b>Dainton quick to fill goalie gap</b></h2><p>When sophomore goalie Jon Quick signed with L.A., the UMass Minutemen were left with a huge void. But freshman Paul Dainton has filled it nicely, posting a 5-3-5 record, 2.01 goals-against average and .929 save percentage before the Christmas break. &ldquo;He has been as consistent as you could hope for from a young goalie under these circumstances,&rdquo; UMass coach Don Cahoon said. &ldquo;He has a great disposition for the position.&rdquo; UMass Lowell boss Blaise MacDonald also praised Dainton: &ldquo;He squares to the puck, manages the game well and doesn&rsquo;t allow soft goals.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-06147/9064779-1-eng-US/f0044-062.jpg" title="f0044-06" width="209" height="210"></div><p><b>&ndash; LARRY MAHONEY</b></p><h2><b>Puppa clone coming to RPI</b></h2><p>Allen York, a 6-foot-3 goalie for the Alberta Jr. League&rsquo;s Camrose Kodiaks, turned down some of the most high-caliber programs in the nation to play for the RPI Engineers next year. York, 18, was drafted 158th overall by the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2007 following his first season with the Kodiaks and was recruited by Minnesota, Wisconsin and Denver before opting to play for coach Seth Appert at RPI. Because of his size, York takes up a lot of space between the pipes and his style will remind RPI fans of Daren Puppa, who led the Engineers to the 1985 national title.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-07131/9064772-1-eng-US/f0044-072.jpg" title="f0044-07" width="209" height="211"></div><p><b>&ndash; TOM BOGGIE</b></p><h2><b>Three players hunt high award</b></h2><p>Three WCHA players &ndash; North Dakota defenseman Robbie Bina, Denver goalie Peter Mannino and St. Cloud State winger Marty Mjelleli &ndash; are among 20 fi nalists for the Lowe&rsquo;s Senior Class Award. The citation is given annually to the senior who best mixes academic and athletic achievement in eight NCAA-sanctioned sports. This is the second year men&rsquo;s hockey has been recognized after Notre Dame goalie Dave Brown won the award last season. A national voting panel will cut the field in half in January. The winner will be announced during the Frozen Four in April.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-0897/9064765-1-eng-US/f0044-082.jpg" title="f0044-08" width="210" height="210"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(U-M PHOTO SERVICES)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>&ndash; ANDY BAGGOT</b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0044-01

PROSPECTS UNLIMITED

GOING OUT WITH A BANG

f0022-01

IN THIS ISSUE

100 PEOPLE OF POWER AND INFLUENCE

f0032-01

PROSPECT WATCH

<div class="byline">with Jason Kay</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-012057/9062657-1-eng-US/f0004-012.jpg" title="f0004-01" width="578" height="489"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>P</span>AUL KELLY HAS BEEN PRESENTED WITH A UNIQUE opportunity to make an indelible imprint not just on the NHL, but the entire sports world: Be the leading advocate to set the gold standard for drug testing.</p><p>The new director of the Players&rsquo; Association is just weeks into his tenure, but sometime soon it would behoove him to push his charges to embrace reform and prove hockey is as clean as many of its guardians insist it is.</p><p>Depending on who you ask, the NHL&rsquo;s current testing procedure is either reasonable or toothless. What it isn&rsquo;t is beyond reproach.</p><p>Here&rsquo;s how it works. Beginning this year, players are subject to as many as three &ldquo;no notice&rdquo; tests during the regular season. Players on 10 teams will be tested once; 10 others twice; and the final 10 three times.</p><p>Critics take issue, primarily, with the fact there is no out-of-season testing, when players do most of their structured training. The league can silence cynics by pulling a Spinal Tap: Turning the intensity of the testing to &ldquo;11.&rdquo; Of course, it&rsquo;s an issue that would have to be approved by both the owners and the union, which typically isn&rsquo;t a simple task.</p><p>The bulk of the onus for making this happen rests with Kelly because it&rsquo;s the players who stand to be the major hurdle. For his part, Kelly says it&rsquo;s too early for him to pass judgement. He believes the sport doesn&rsquo;t have a drug problem, but would be willing to listen to ideas to improve the process.</p><p>&ldquo;If there was some way we could strengthen our drug-testing program and</p><p>make sure our athletes are not only playing the game fair and square, but not doing something that will jeopardize their own heath and safety, then I am going to be a big supporter of that,&rdquo; he told THN&rsquo;s Adam Proteau. &ldquo;Having said that, to date I haven&rsquo;t had an opportunity to fully study our program and find out if it has shortcomings that need to be addressed.&rdquo;</p><p>Fair enough, but we&rsquo;d advise against heeldragging. The chance to elevate respect for the game is just waiting to be injected.</p><p><i>(To read an edited version of Adam Proteau&rsquo;s interview with Kelly &ndash; the No. 4 entry on our People of Power and Influence list &ndash; see pg. 30. For the entire transcript, visit <a href="http://thehockeynews.com">thehockeynews.com</a>).</i></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-021736/9062650-1-eng-US/f0004-022.jpg" title="f0004-02" width="407" height="218"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(MARK WILSON)</span></figcaption></div><h2><b>DEPTH CHARTS RETURN!</b></h2><p>Back by popular demand, our unique NHL depth charts return in this issue on pg. 38. And we&rsquo;ve enhanced them by including players in the minors next in line for recall. The depth chart pages will appear regularly, though not necessarily in each issue. They can also be found weekly at <a href="http://thehockeynews.com">thehockeynews.com</a><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0004-01

DAZZLING CHANCE FOR KELLY TO SHINE

<blockquote class="pullQuote">&ldquo;If head-butting isn&rsquo;t considered a shot to the head, what in God&rsquo;s name is?&rdquo;</blockquote><h2><b>THE NEW CLARKE</b></h2><p>As a Flyers fan, I felt that was an excellent article on Mike Richards by Mike Brophy (Dec. 4).</p><p>Like Brophy writes, it won&rsquo;t matter if Richards ever wears the &lsquo;C&rsquo; as teammates recognize his leadership qualities anyway. But as far as finding the next Bobby Clarke? In my humble opinion, the Flyers already had one. He wore No. 17 and was a true Flyer in every sense of the word: Rod Brind&rsquo;Amour.</p><p>KEVIN MCKEAGUE, SEATTLE, WASH.</p><h2><b>PANTHER PARTY</b></h2><p>Nobody does it better than Detroit&hellip;or worse than Florida (Franchise Rankings, Dec. 4)?</p><p>Here are some things the rest of the hockey world needs to know about the Panthers: Parking at the venue is safe, clean, plentiful and free (a slight charge is written into the cost of every ticket).</p><p>There are two sections that include free beer and wine and an extensive selection of free food. Did any other team give every fan a different hat at each home game in November, or is that too absurd a concept since it cuts into merchandise sales? Numerous home and road games are shown on TV; a high percentage in high definition.</p><p>Yes, this is a non-traditional market with challenges similar (and some unique) to other such franchises. But what cynics may say are simply marketing moves, helps make the experience of going to a Panthers game and being a fan of the team a very userfriendly one.</p><p>KEVIN VARGAS, HOLLYWOOD, FLA.</p><h2><b>HALL FOR OATES</b></h2><p>Short Stick, long stats. I agree with Adam Proteau (<a href="http://THN.com">thn.com</a>), Adam Oates should be a no-brainer for the Hall of Fame next time around, particularly because he played with a notoriously short stick.</p><p>The guy was a master craftsman among journeyman carpenters.</p><p>PATRICK MORLEY, ST. PAUL, MINN.</p><h2><b>HEADS UP</b></h2><p>How can the NHL justify a mere one game suspension for Scott Walker&rsquo;s head-butt to Mike Fisher? How is that less severe than the &ldquo;crimes&rdquo; perpetrated by various Flyers during the course of the season?</p><p>I&rsquo;m not saying the Flyers players didn&rsquo;t deserve suspensions, but why is it whenever a Philly player cheapshots a guy they are given lengthy sentences, while no one else in the NHL gets much more than a wag of the finger?</p><p>I thought the NHL execs were trying to send a message that the players need to respect each other and that shots to the head would be dealt with severely.</p><p>If head-butting isn&rsquo;t considered a shot to somebody&rsquo;s head, what in God&rsquo;s name is?</p><p>KURT STEINER, GETTYSBURG, PA.</p><h2><b>I CAN SEE THE LIGHT</b></h2><p>Kudos to the NHL for finally getting the NHL Network to the U.S.</p><p>Hearing rumors that the network was coming to DIRECTV made me wonder how the league would drop the ball. Imagine my surprise when it was not turned into a pay channel, blacked out, or some other calamity.</p><p>The NHL Network is fantastic. Finally, an avenue to see hockey game highlights from the previous night without having to endure 59 minutes of other sports ranging from football to spelling bee championships.</p><p>Now if the league could just work on lifting those ridiculous rules that black out games on channels I already pay for&hellip;</p><p>JAMIE PEPIN, WATERBURY, CONN.</p><h2><b>EAGLE&rsquo;S LANDING</b></h2><p>Thanks for the piece on Eddie Belfour in Sweden (Dec. 4). I appreciated the update on how our town&rsquo;s native son is doing.</p><p>Any time you feel like putting another Belfour update in an issue, please feel free (especially when you can mention how great he still plays).</p><p>JUSTIN REID, CARMAN, MAN.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

CROWD SHOTS

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-021513/9062781-1-eng-US/f0006-022.jpg" title="f0006-02" width="510" height="476"></div><p><a href="http://thehockeynews.com">thehockeynews.com</a></p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-012276/9062788-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg" title="f0006-01" width="99" height="57"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p><i>MIKE CASARIN FROM HAMILTON, ONT., ASKS</i> When you came to Dallas after putting out the Stars in the 2000 Stanley Cup, were there any hard feelings?</p><p>Eddie (Belfour) and a few other guys were giving it to me a little bit, joking around and the fans were joking around with me a bit, but for the most part they welcomed me with open arms.</p><p><i>JEFF</i>&nbsp;<i>JEFFERSON FROM PROVI-DENCE, R.I., ASKS</i> What&rsquo;s the best NHL away city to spend a day in?</p><p>Probably Chicago. Great city, phenomenal shopping, great restaurants, lots of things to do. Just a fun city to visit.</p><p><i>MARC MITZNER FROM DUR-HAM, N.C., ASKS</i> I&rsquo;m quick on faceoffs but always lose to stronger guys. Any tips, especially in the defensive zone?</p><p>A lot of guys try to use technique if they&rsquo;re smaller guys. It depends on whether you&rsquo;re facing a righty or a lefty. Whether you want to go with the grain or against the grain. You&rsquo;ve got to think of those things when you come to the faceoff.</p><p><i>MIKE CASARIN FROM HAMIL-TON, ONT., ASKS</i> What are your goals this year as captain?</p><p>Just be a great guy in the room and a leader on and off the ice.</p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-07173/9062774-1-eng-US/f0006-072.jpg" title="f0006-07" width="72" height="72"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p>Visit <a href="http://thehockeynews.com">thehockeynews.com</a> to ask your questions of NHL stars!<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0006-02

FAN SHOOTOUT WITH JASON ARNOTT

<p class="dropcap"><span>T</span>HN, What&rsquo;s the deal with Maxim Afinogenov and his huge drop in points this season? He surely wasn&rsquo;t influenced that much by the departures of Drury and Briere.</p><p>Brendan Ross, Courtright, Ont.</p><p>Brendan, While Afinogenov may not look like he has been influenced by the departures of Briere and Drury, there certainly has been an effect on him. The deadliness of Buffalo in the past two years had been its ability to roll out three dangerous lines (and a pretty good fourth line to boot). Briere and Drury&rsquo;s lines offered cover for Afinogenov and his running mates, Thomas Vanek and Derek Roy. With Vanek and Roy also enjoying big seasons last year, the secret is out and the line that used to get &ldquo;third line&rdquo; notice now gets first line treatment from opponents.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-0976/9062826-1-eng-US/f0006-092.jpg" title="f0006-09" width="564" height="425"></div><p>THN, Who chooses the three stars of a game? I saw the Pens-Flyers game on Dec. 11 and R.J. Umberger had a hat trick but wasn&rsquo;t named a star.</p><p>Jamie DePolo, Lumberton, N.J.</p><p>Jamie, Generally, the three stars are chosen by a member of the local media covering the game. As for why that reporter didn&rsquo;t pick Umberger, we&rsquo;re stumped too. He had five points in an 8-2 win.</p><p>SEND YOUR BURNING QUESTIONS TO <a href="mailto:experts@thehockeynews.com">experts@thehockeynews.com</a></p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-03880/9062819-1-eng-US/f0006-032.jpg" title="f0006-03" width="72" height="72"></div><p>Need more of your questions answered? Read Proteau&rsquo;s &lsquo;Ask Adam&rsquo; column every Tuesday and Friday at <a href="http://thehockeynews.com">thehockeynews.com</a><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p></div>

f0006-09

ASK THE EXPERTS

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-05417/9062871-1-eng-US/f0006-052.jpg" title="f0006-05" width="475" height="368"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-06290/9062864-1-eng-US/f0006-062.jpg" title="f0006-06" width="459" height="639"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(ARNOTT: JOHN RUSSELL/GETTY IMAGES; AFINOGENOV: JEFF GROSS/GETTY IMAGES; BETTMAN: AMY SUSSMAN/GETTY IMAGES FOR NHL)</span></figcaption></div><h2><b>SPIT IT OUT!</b></h2><h3><b>GET IT OFF YOUR CHEST</b></h3><p><i>SEND US AN E-MAIL</i></p><p><a href="mailto:letters@thehockeynews.com">LETTERS@THEHOCKEYNEWS.COM</a></p><p><i>OR LOG ON</i></p><p><a href="http://www.thehockeynews.com">WWW.THEHOCKEYNEWS.COM</a></p><p><i>SEND US SNAIL MAIL</i></p><p>Letters, The Hockey News 25 Sheppard Ave. W., Suite 100 Toronto, ON., M2N 6S7, Canada</p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-1057/9062857-1-eng-US/f0006-102.jpg" title="f0006-10" width="72" height="72"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><h2><b>BONUS!</b></h2><p>All subscribers get exclusive content on <a href="http://thehockeynews.com">thehockeynews.com</a> with an ALL-ACCESS PASS!<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0006-05

POLL RESULTS

<div class="byline">&#x2013; KEN CAMPBELL</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0008-03" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-031150/9062909-1-eng-US/f0008-032.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Evgeni Nabokov <span class="photo-credit">(NORM HALL/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><h2><b>NO REST FOR NABOKOV</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-012175/9062916-1-eng-US/f0008-012.jpg" title="f0008-01" width="164" height="186"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>N</span>O NHL GOALTENDER HAS appeared in every one of his team&rsquo;s games since the days when Glenn Hall used to throw up all the time. And that almost certainly won&rsquo;t happen this season, but the NHL single-season record for appearances by a goalie is undoubtedly in jeopardy.</p><p>&ldquo;Dare me and I&rsquo;ll try it, though,&rdquo; said San Jose Sharks coach Ron Wilson, when asked whether Evgeni Nabokov could become the first goalie in NHL history to appear in all 82 of his team&rsquo;s games in one season.</p><p>The situation for Nabokov has been diametrically opposed to the one he faced in 2006-07, when he was platooned with Vesa Toskala through the season until Toskala went down with an injury with 25 games remaining.</p><p>Regardless of how they were performing, Nabokov started every even-numbered game and Toskala every odd-numbered game and the two were so symbiotic they earned the nicknames &ldquo;Toskabov&rdquo; and &ldquo;Naboskola.&rdquo;</p><p>But with Toskala being traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs on draft day and the Sharks giving the backup job to the untested Dimitri Patzold, Wilson spent most of the first half of the season riding Nabokov exclusively.</p><p>With the exception of three mop-up appearances by Patzold totaling 44 minutes, Nabokov played every other minute of every one of the Sharks&rsquo; first 33 games.</p><p>Wilson pointed to a three-games-in-fournights stretch the Sharks faced on the road from Dec. 28-31 as an opportunity to give Patzold his first NHL start. But he wouldn&rsquo;t rule out the possibility of continuing with Nabokov.</p><p>It&rsquo;s almost certain Nabokov will not play in all 82 games this season, but Grant Fuhr&rsquo;s record of 79 games with the St. Louis Blues in 1995-96 definitely is on shaky ground, as is Martin Brodeur&rsquo;s benchmark of 4,697 minutes in one season.</p><p>What makes Nabokov&rsquo;s play all the more impressive is the fact he has maintained a high level of performance this season. He&rsquo;s near or at the top of most of the goaltending categories and is thriving on the increased workload.</p><p>&ldquo;I haven&rsquo;t gotten to the point where I&rsquo;ve had to say, &lsquo;We have to play (Patzold) in this game because Nabby&rsquo;s dead,&rsquo; &rdquo;Wilson said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not stupid. As soon as I sense there&rsquo;s any kind of fatigue with Nabby or a hint of an injury coming, the other guy will get some time.</p><p>&ldquo;But Nabby just loves to play every game and if he says he can play every game, I&rsquo;m not going to make that decision for him if he&rsquo;s clearly better than the other guy.&rdquo;</p><p>It certainly helps that the Sharks are one of the best defensive teams in the league and were second in the NHL in shots allowed, giving up an average of just 24.5 per game.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-011958/9062902-1-eng-US/f0009-012.jpg" title="f0009-01" width="889" height="634"><figcaption class="caption-body">Sharks backup goalie Dimitri Patzold will not see a lot of action for San Jose this season.</figcaption></div><p>For his part, though, Nabokov has changed his on-and off-ice conditioning regimen and has not had the troublesome groin problems he suffered in the past.</p><p>&ldquo;Today I bag-skated the team at the end of practice and I told him, &lsquo;You don&rsquo;t have to do this,&rsquo; and he went down and did his own bag skate,&rdquo; Wilson said.</p><p>Part of Wilson&rsquo;s dilemma centers around the fact he has to keep his team in the playoff race, also mindful he&rsquo;ll need Nabokov for what he hopes will be a long playoff run.</p><p>&ldquo;The damn league is so tight right now,&rdquo; Wilson said. &ldquo;You blink and you slide five places.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0008-03

INSIDE THE NHL

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-03830/9062954-1-eng-US/f0009-032.jpg" title="f0009-03" width="407" height="408"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-021356/9062961-1-eng-US/f0009-022.jpg" title="f0009-02" width="224" height="192"></div><p>ROAD WARRIORS After winning just 13 games away from home all year last season, the Flames post a six-game road winning streak this year.</p><p>NICE TRICKS The Flyers&rsquo; Joffrey Lupul notches two hat tricks in three games.</p><p>GREEN MACHINE You knew Washington&rsquo;s Mike Green would be among the leaders in goals by defensemen, right?</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-04632/9062947-1-eng-US/f0009-042.jpg" title="f0009-04" width="407" height="408"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(MUELLER: LEN REDKOLES/GETTY IMAGES; GREEN: MITCHELL LAYTON/GETTY IMAGES; AFINOGENOV: BILL WIPPERT/GETTY IMAGES; PATZOLD: DAVE REGINEK/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>LIGHT SENTENCE Not often you can say the longest suspension in NHL history isn&rsquo;t enough, but in the case of eighttime offender Chris Simon&hellip;it isn&rsquo;t.</p><p>MAX CRACKS Just when Buffalo needs Maxim Afinogenov to hit high gear, the maligned winger forgets how to score.</p><p>CITY IS ASLEEP The two New York teams score less than any other Eastern club.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0009-03

PLUS/MINUS

<p>10 DAVID PERRON looks good in Canadian red, but too good in St. Louis blue to go.</p><p>9 With his sophomore slump, the Pens might want JOR-DAN STAAL to get a boost.</p><p>8 The Czechs could use Toronto&rsquo;s JIRI TLUSTY to sell some tourney tickets.</p><p>7 Minnesota&rsquo;s JAMES SHEP-PARD knows how to play with elite linemates.</p><p>6 MILAN LUCIC would be a man amongst boys with his big, bad Bruin game.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-05472/9062992-1-eng-US/f0009-052.jpg" title="f0009-05" width="519" height="404"></div><p>5 ERIK JOHNSON of St. Louis could pump up Team USA&rsquo;s power play.</p><p>4 Phoenix loves what PETER MUELLER does &ndash; and so would Americans.</p><p>3 Chicago&rsquo;s JONATHAN TOEWS would be an automatic Captain Canada.</p><p>2 If a game came down to a shootout, Edmonton&rsquo;s SAM GAGNER would get the call.</p><p>1 The NHL&rsquo;s rookie scoring leader, PATRICK KANE would look great in a USA jersey.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0009-05

Sarting from 10

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-021551/9063023-1-eng-US/f0010-022.jpg" title="f0010-02" width="564" height="675"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-012144/9063030-1-eng-US/f0010-012.jpg" title="f0010-01" width="122" height="123"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><h2><b>Sweet Potato Stew</b></h2><h3><b>WHAT YOU&rsquo;LL NEED</b></h3><p>1 Medium onion<br>&frac14; cup Creamy peanut butter<br>1 tsp Chili powder<br>&frac12; tsp Ground ginger<br>&frac14; tsp Cayenne powder<br>3 Large sweet potatoes<br>2 Cans diced tomatoes<br>1 Can black or great northern beans<br>1 1/2 Cup Frozen or fresh corn<br>6 oz Boneless, skinless chicken breast</p><h3><b>HOW TO MAKE IT</b></h3><p>Heat one tablespoon of cooking oil in a large soup pan or to reduce the fat content use water instead of oil to steam-fry.</p><p>Cook onion, cut into slices until tender.</p><p>Stir in peanut butter, chili powder, ground ginger, cayenne powder, sweet potatoes peeled and cut into cubes, diced tomatoes, beans, corn and chicken.</p><p>Heat to boiling, Reduce heat and cover, cooking 20-25 minutes or until potatoes are tender.</p><p>This stew can be served as is or over couscous or whole grain brown rice.</p><h3><b>WHY IT&rsquo;S GOOD</b></h3><p>This is a healthy way to put on weight, but if you&rsquo;re going to do that, Moreau said you better be able to carry it. &ldquo;It has to be mass-specific force.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0010-02

EAT THIS!

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-03972/9063103-1-eng-US/f0010-032.jpg" title="f0010-03" width="787" height="800"><figcaption class="caption-body">Chris Simon faces an uncertain future after stomping on Jarkko Ruutu&rsquo;s leg. <span class="photo-credit">(SIMON: JIM MCISAAC/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><span>A</span>FTER ISSUING THE MOST SEVERE SUSPENSION for an on-ice incident in NHL history &ndash; 30 games, to Islanders winger Chris Simon after he deliberately slew-footed and stomped down on Pittsburgh&rsquo;s Jarkko Ruutu &ndash; league disciplinarian Colin Campbell spoke to reporters via conference call. And whether or not it was intended, one of Campbell&rsquo;s comments hit at the heart of the failure of supplementary discipline in the NHL.</p><p>&ldquo;I think (the league has) been fairly kind, if that&rsquo;s the proper use of the word, in assessing a low number of (missed) games for a couple (of) those incidents,&rdquo; said Campbell in a conference call Dec. 19, referring to his investigation of the seven suspensions levied on Simon prior to the Islanders&rsquo; game against the Penguins Dec. 16. &ldquo;(Simon&rsquo;s previous suspensions) just (haven&rsquo;t) been a deterrent.&rdquo;</p><p>At least we agree on that much. Because we certainly don&rsquo;t agree Simon&rsquo;s eighth career suspension is sufficiently long.</p><p>Let&rsquo;s compare Simon&rsquo;s latest wanton act of aggression and the suspension that followed to discipline-worthy incidents in other sports. Baseball&rsquo;s International League suspended Tampa Bay prospect Delmon Young 50 games in 2006 for throwing a bat and hitting an umpire in the arm with it. The NBA suspended Ron Artest 73 games in 2004 for his actions in an on-court brawl that spilled into the stands.</p><p>Simon, meanwhile, slashed an opponent in the face with his stick last season &ndash; resulting in a thenrecord 25-game suspension &ndash; and now has used one of his skates as a weapon. Both acts were deliberate. In both cases, he could&rsquo;ve ended someone&rsquo;s career. But for both actions combined, the veteran NHLer received 18 games less of a punishment than Artest.</p><p>This is progress? This is the NHL getting tough? Please. This is another squandered opportunity to deliver a resounding shot across the bow of players unable to control their emotions during a game.</p><p>Campbell had another interesting comment during the call, when he said the league had a responsibility to protect Simon&rsquo;s future opponents. &ldquo;Now we&rsquo;re concerned about what&rsquo;s next,&rdquo; he said.</p><p>Same here. The NHL could&rsquo;ve controlled what&rsquo;s next &ndash; by suspending Simon, 35, long enough to end his career &ndash; but didn&rsquo;t. Now, we can only wait and see what Simon will do the next time he snaps.</p><p><b>ADAM PROTEAU</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-05487/9063096-1-eng-US/f0010-052.jpg" title="f0010-05" width="208" height="259"></div><h2><b>BLING BLING</b></h2><p>with Alex Steen</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-06370/9063089-1-eng-US/f0010-062.jpg" title="f0010-06" width="556" height="332"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(MATT FILION/THN)</span></figcaption></div><h3><b>GMC Yukon Denali</b></h3><p>$66,295</p><p>Leafs right winger Alex Steen likes to cruise in his brandnew luxury SUV. His 2008 Yukon Denali sits seven passengers with two rows of heated, leather bucket seats. It features a DVD system, sunroof, chrome body and 20-inch polished aluminum wheels. The engine is a V8. For other &lsquo;horsepower,&rsquo; Steen has a steed named Romeo. &ldquo;We keep him on a ranch in Ontario,&rdquo; Steen said. &ldquo;The price is too much to say, but he was pretty expensive.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-011855/9063082-1-eng-US/f0011-012.jpg" title="f0011-01" width="934" height="800"><figcaption class="caption-body">Marian Hossa, anyone? He can become a UFA on July 1.</figcaption></div><h2><b>SNAPSHOTS</b></h2><p>FROM AROUND THE NHL</p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-021341/9063075-1-eng-US/f0011-022.jpg" title="f0011-02" width="124" height="123"></div><p>DON&rsquo;T EVER ACCUSE THE NHL of censoring its website, <a href="http://NHL.com">nhl.com</a>. During a recent surf of the site, we noticed a link for <a href="http://firebettman.com">firebettman.com</a> where you can purchase Fire Bettman t-shirts, Teddy Bears, beer steins, etc. This helps explain why the cap keeps going up.</p><p>SPEAKING OF <a href="http://NHL.com">NHL.COM</a> there is also an ad for a hotel located within three blocks of the Oilers&rsquo; home rink, Rexall Place, in Edmonton. The big selling feature at the hotel is &ldquo;A/C in every room.&rdquo; Like you need air conditioning in Edmonton in the wintertime&hellip;</p><p>IT MIGHT SEEM LIKE all the NHL&rsquo;s young guns are getting locked up to long deals, but there should still be some pretty impressive unrestricted free agents next summer. Among the point producers slated to test the UFA market are: Cory Stillman, Kristian Huselius, Mike Ribeiro, Vinny Prospal, Daymond Langkow, Marian Hossa, Markus Naslund, Nicklas Lidstrom and Mike Comrie.</p></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><h2><b>VS.</b>&nbsp;<b>REPEAT SUCCESS NOT EASY FOR BIG-BUCK YOUNG BUCKS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-04677/9063068-1-eng-US/f0011-042.jpg" title="f0011-04" width="1159" height="753"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(MIKE STOBE/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><h3><b>THOMAS VANEK VS. DUSTIN PENNER</b></h3><p>During the summer of 2007, two restricted free agents received somewhat controversial (and lucrative) contract offers from Edmonton. Have they been earning their keep so far this season? You decide.</p><h3><b>TALE OF THE TAPE</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-05527/9063061-1-eng-US/f0011-052.jpg" title="f0011-05" width="884" height="481"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(VANEK: RICK STEWART/GETTY IMAGES; PENNER: MICHAEL MARTIN/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0010-03

30 NOT ENOUGH

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-012087/9063162-1-eng-US/f0012-012.jpg" title="f0012-01" width="616" height="627"><figcaption class="caption-body">Amani Toomer once traded in his football helmet for a hockey hat&hellip; for one game, anyway. <span class="photo-credit">(EVAN AGOSTINI/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><span>N</span>EW YORK GIANTS WIDE RECEIVER AMANI TOOMER has accomplished a lot in his career. The 12-year NFL veteran holds several team records, including total receptions and total receiving yardage. But there&rsquo;s one laurel that no NFL legend can match Toomer on: He once scored a goal for the Rangers at Madison Square Garden.</p><p>Toomer, who has caught over 8,700 yards worth of passes and 50 career touchdowns, is a nifty hockey player, too. &ldquo;I played in the Christopher Reeve Foundation SuperSkate charity game with the Rangers (in January of 2004), I got MVP, too,&rdquo; says the 33-year-old Californian. &ldquo;I was really excited about that. And I remember No. 41 Jed Ortmeyer from Michigan teaching me a few things to do on skates. And I got an assist from Alexei Kovalev. It was fun being on the ice with the Rangers. It was something I won&rsquo;t forget.&rdquo;</p><p>So, how did a kid from a football family (Toomer&rsquo;s dad, Donald Sr., played at Ohio State and his brother, Donald Jr., at Utah State) get started on ice? &ldquo;When I was little, they had a rink called Iceland in Berkeley, where everybody went for birthday parties and stuff. When we were there, we would go over and watch them skate, like they were the cool guys. Then when I was at Michigan, I started to watch it a lot. I played a lot of roller hockey, too. When I used to get bored at Michigan during the off-season, a couple guys taught me how to play roller hockey&hellip;I&rsquo;d go in my little driveway and I&rsquo;d just go do the figure-eight circles and just try to keep the puck under control. It was something to do, it was fun.&rdquo;</p><p>If Toomer had started playing earlier, might he be in the NHL today? &ldquo;If I had two years just to try and train, then I think I might have a shot to do something. I think I&rsquo;ve got skills like Sidney Crosby. No, I&rsquo;m joking. I think I&rsquo;d be something like one of those big defensemen who can score&hellip;like Chris Pronger.&rdquo;</p><p>Several players have impressed Toomer over the years. &ldquo;Sidney Crosby is amazing. And I like Matthew Barnaby, too. He was a cool guy. Most of them are really cool when you meet them, they&rsquo;re so unassuming and nice.&rdquo;</p><p>When catching a pass over the middle, who would he prefer to have to get hit by: Scott Stevens or Ray Lewis? &ldquo;Well, I&rsquo;vebeenhitbyRayLewis,&rdquo; says Too mer with a smile. &ldquo;Ithinkit&rsquo;sa different type of hit. In hockey you have to glide a couple of steps. I think here they hit you a little harder.&rdquo;</p><p><b>&ndash; SCOOP MALINOWSKI</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-021628/9063155-1-eng-US/f0012-022.jpg" title="f0012-02" width="809" height="605"></div><h2><b>BACK OF THE CARD</b></h2><p>How could we forget about you, Howie? Howie Morenz, a true NHL original, was not listed among Montreal&rsquo;s top 10 all-time players in our Nov. 20 issue, despite a lofty status as the No. 15 NHLer of all-time, period, in a definitive ranking compiled in 1997. Morenz retired as the NHL&rsquo;s leading scorer in 1937.</p><h2><b>FRESH LEGS</b></h2><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-031047/9063148-1-eng-US/f0012-032.jpg" title="f0012-03" width="123" height="123"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-04631/9063141-1-eng-US/f0012-042.jpg" title="f0012-04" width="511" height="792"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(DAVE SANDFORD/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-05449/9063134-1-eng-US/f0012-052.jpg" title="f0012-05" width="102" height="71"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><h3><b>KYLE CHIPCHURA</b></h3><p>MONTREAL CANADIENS, C</p><p>DEBUT Oct. 10, 2007</p><p>VS. Pittsburgh (3-2 win)</p><p>ICE TIME 12:11, 18 shifts</p><p>KEY STAT 2:53 SH TOI</p><p>&ldquo;MY FIRST GAME was in Pittsburgh. It was our third game of the year and I didn&rsquo;t dress for the first two. The first couple of shifts, I felt like my heart was pounding, but my legs weren&rsquo;t moving.</p><p>I was playing with Mathieu Dandenault and Steve Begin. It took until the second period before I could really settle in.</p><p>It&rsquo;s quite the leap from pre-season to the regular season. I remember getting the puck right off the bat on the penalty kill and thinking I had all the time in the world and then being caught from behind.</p><p>A couple of times we were down low against Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, and I remember Crosby just picking my pocket and I couldn&rsquo;t get the puck back for a bit. After the game I thanked my linemates for putting up with me for the first 20 minutes.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0012-01

FIRST AND PUCK

<div class="byline">with Ken Campbell</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0013-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-011875/9063200-1-eng-US/f0013-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p>PAY HIKE</p><p>Mike Richards gets a big raise, from $942,000 to $5.75 million per season.</p> <span class="photo-credit">(LEN REDKOLES/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-021319/9063207-1-eng-US/f0013-022.jpg" title="f0013-02" width="185" height="217"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>I</span>T WAS RIGHT THERE in black and white in the collective bargaining agreement, a clear victory for the owners in what we all thought coming out of the lockout was a ridiculous trouncing of the players.</p><p>Yup, it was in Article 9, which deals with entry level compensation. Under Article 9.6, it read: &ldquo;Player Contract Extensions. SPCs (Standard Player Contracts) for Group 1 players may not be extended.&rdquo;</p><p>If you&rsquo;re wondering why it&rsquo;s beginning to look as though the players actually took the owners to the cleaners in this CBA, one place you might want to start is Article 9.6, a provision that gave the owners a huge advantage, one they frittered away because of incessant whining from their GMs. The people who run hockey departments in the NHL began carping about the CBA before the ink was even dry and on this count, they stomped their feet like little kids having a meltdown and the owners and league caved.</p><p>They gave in when the GMs argued they couldn&rsquo;t risk going to July 1 and exposing their best young players to offer sheets from other teams that would have to be matched. So last season, the league went to the NHL Players&rsquo; Association in the hopes of getting it changed and the NHLPA, obviously unaware of the financial bonanza it was getting on a golden platter, was more than happy to comply.</p><p>After all, they&rsquo;re partners now, don&rsquo;t you know? In fact, Gary Bettman will be speaking at the NHLPA&rsquo;s player meetings this summer, the first time he has been invited to do so. As long as the NHL is going to give the PA fastballs at the belt buckles the way they did with this one, Bettman will be able to break bread with them any time he wants.</p><p>610.4%</p><p>And with a simple stroke of the keyboard, the league has created a mess for itself, one that was exposed in a big way recently when Mike Richards of the Flyers scored an outrageous 12-year contract worth $69 million. Richards&rsquo; agent called it &ldquo;a unique contract for a unique player,&rdquo; but what is so unique about a guy who gets picked in the first round, averages about a goal every seven games for his first two seasons, then turns it on in the year his contract is coming up for renewal?</p><p>What exactly has Richards done to deserve that kind of money and job security? Well, not much, but the Flyers were living in fear of him being signed to an offer sheet so they overpaid him and gave him a far longer term than what makes sense. Richards now gets guaranteed oneway money for the next 12 seasons.</p><p>But they&rsquo;re not the only ones. The Anaheim Ducks turned Ryan Getzlaf from a $740,000-ayear player to one who will make $5.3 million when his five-year extension kicks in next season. Matt Carle of the San Jose Sharks can&rsquo;t get into the lineup, but apparently merits $3.4 million per year starting next season. Even Braydon Coburn of the Flyers, a young, serviceable defenseman with potential, will see his salary almost double next season.</p><p>And this is just the beginning. There is every indication the Ducks intend on granting Corey Perry a healthy extension once they free up enough cap room in the form of tagging dollars for next season. There are a number of NHL observers who believe Perry is every bit as good as Getzlaf, maybe better. Perry, who is on pace to break through with 40 goals this season, may well lead the club in that department.</p><p>Then there&rsquo;s Dion Phaneuf, who is  ing to cash in with the Calgary Flames, and Alex Ovechkin, who will almost certainly get a long-term, big-money deal from the Washington Capitals.</p><p>All of this could have been avoided had the owners not listened to their GMs and left the situation well enough alone. While giving in to their GMs, the owners probably didn&rsquo;t realize that if all these guys had become restricted free agents July 1, the way they would have under the original CBA, the laws of supply and demand would have applied and their values likely would have been reduced because of the numbers of players out there.</p><p>Now, though, the law of unintended consequences will apply. There is no way the league could have envisioned the GMs, and the owners who are signing off on these ridiculous deals, would act so irresponsibly. Otherwise, it would have never endorsed changing the collective agreement. As it stands, the league will now try to limit the duration of contracts in the next CBA, something it tried to do in this one without success.</p><p>Having guys coming off entry level deals with contracts such as the Richards one makes you wonder why we all missed a year of hockey with the lockout in the first place. Perhaps the one good thing to come out of all this is that with deals like this, the players will realize they&rsquo;d be out of their minds to reopen the CBA when they have the option to do so after next season.</p><p>After all, as Richards and other youngsters have proven, they&rsquo;re getting the better of their employers once again.</p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-03967/9063193-1-eng-US/f0013-032.jpg" title="f0013-03" width="52" height="54"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p>For Ken&rsquo;s web-exclusive Campbell&rsquo;s Cuts column, visit <a href="http://THN.com">thn.com</a><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0013-01

FEAR BECOMING VERY COSTLY

<div class="byline">JAY GREENBERG</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0014-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-021556/9063245-1-eng-US/f0014-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Joffrey Lupul <span class="photo-credit">(JIM MCISAAC/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-012064/9063252-1-eng-US/f0014-012.jpg" title="f0014-01" width="185" height="218"></div><p>WHEN IT HAPPENS IN 2008, remember that you read it here first:</p><p>JAN. 27 When Cam Ward, the 14th alternate chosen by coach John Paddock, calls in sick, Ondrej Pavelec becomes the Eastern Conference goaltender for the All-Star Game. The Western Conference cannot find a volunteer, but nobody notices during West&rsquo;s 98-96 win in Atlanta.</p><p>FEB. 5 Teppo Numminen&rsquo;s return to the Sabres from open-heart surgery is postponed when the Sabres cancel his medical insurance. &ldquo;Unnecessary expense,&rdquo; says owner Tom Golisano. &ldquo;All my life, I&rsquo;ve gotten along fine without a heart.&rdquo;</p><p>MARCH 2 With the Devils leading the Atlantic Division by 10 points and five games remaining, CEO, president and GM Lou Lamoriello replaces coach Brent Sutter. Lamoriello will coach the team in the playoffs for the third straight spring.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m a little busy to coach the regular season, too,&rdquo; says Lamoriello, also the team&rsquo;s senior vicepresident of ticket operations, vice-president of marketing, comptroller, director of security, chief exercise physiologist, king video coordinator and head refreshment stand cashier.</p><p>Asked how one man can handle so many jobs, Lamoriello says: &ldquo;By not worrying about things out of my control.&rdquo;</p><p>APRIL 6 Regular season ends with all 30 teams over .500. Since 26 have a 35-31-16 record and 18 didn&rsquo;t play each other, the NHL utilizes its elaborate tiebreaking procedure to determine playoff seedings. The Oilers are given the last Western Conference berth because defenseman Sheldon Souray looks good on television.</p><p>Columbus will not be in the playoffs, says commissioner Gary Bettman, &ldquo;Because I didn&rsquo;t realize we had a team there.&rdquo;</p><p>MAY 12 Joffrey Lupul becomes the 33rd Flyer to be suspended during the 2007-08 season when he spears Antoine Vermette during the first period of Ottawa&rsquo;s 1-0 Game 7 victory in the Eastern Conference final. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not that kind of player,&rdquo; says a remorseful Lupul. &ldquo;And we&rsquo;re not that kind of team.&rdquo;</p><p>A HUMOROUS LOOK AT THE NEW YEAR</p><p>JUNE 5 Anaheim defeats Ottawa in five games again, 1-0, on a goal by Scott Niedermayer, to win its second consecutive Stanley Cup. Niedermayer announces plans to retire, unless he doesn&rsquo;t.</p><p>&ldquo;Next year I might like to play only on Tuesdays,&rdquo; he says. To clear cap room for Niedermayer, GM Brian Burke trades Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf and Francois Beauchemin to Chicago for Kris Versteeg.</p><p>JUNE 20 Sabres fail to exercise the 14th overall selection in the Entry Draft because they fired all their scouts two years ago and don&rsquo;t have a clue who to pick. Team announces budget trims that by the 2011-12 season will eliminate the need for any players.</p><p>AUG. 14 As dissatisfaction with officiating festers, NHL increases the use of instant replay to include offsides, icings, and all penalty calls. To save time, teams have two seconds to change lines and are prohibited from coming off the ice after goals. &ldquo;Not that anybody ever scores anyway,&rdquo; says Bettman, who announces that by 2015-16, the league plans to no longer stage live games, only replays in a studio in Toronto.</p><p>OCT. 8 Islanders&rsquo; season opening 1-0 win in Philadelphia is marred when Jesse Boulerice is suspended for gouging Ruslan Fedotenko. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re not that kind of team,&rdquo; says new Flyer coach Dave (The Hammer) Schultz.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-031072/9063238-1-eng-US/f0014-032.jpg" title="f0014-03" width="1254" height="1060"><figcaption class="caption-body">Vincent Lecavalier <span class="photo-credit">(SPORTS ACTION PHOTOGRAPHY)</span></figcaption></div><p>OCT. 23 Following a trend established by 15-and 12-year contacts given Rick DiPietro and Mike Richards respectively, Detroit signs Chris Chelios to a 28-year deal. &ldquo;I had really wanted to finish my career as a Red Wing,&rdquo; says Chelios, 46, after a 1-0 win over St. Louis.</p><p>&ldquo;This was the best I could get.&rdquo;</p><p>NOV. 13 Sale of Predators is finalized to a local Nashville group for $37.89. Deal stipulates that the new owners will receive $800 million from the city if franchise fails to sell out every game for the next five years. Team trades Martin Erat for an old guitar.</p><p>DEC. 18 Lighting announces it has signed rising young defenseman Paul Ranger to a 35-year, $245 million deal. Team now has $52.98 million of $53 million cap invested in Brad Richards, Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis. Asked how a team possibly can compete with $2,000 to pay 14 other players, GM Jay Feaster asks, &ldquo;What other players?&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0014-02

CHELIOS SIGNS FOR LIFE

<div class="byline">ALAN ADAMS</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-05505/9063283-1-eng-US/f0014-052.jpg" title="f0014-05" width="748" height="1271"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-04740/9063290-1-eng-US/f0014-042.jpg" title="f0014-04" width="185" height="217"></div><p>THIS IS NOT CHANGE for the sake of change.</p><p>If you&rsquo;ve followed THN&rsquo;s 100 People of Power and Influence rankings over its nine years, you&rsquo;re used to seeing NHL commissioner Gary Bettman entrenched as the No. 1 power broker in hockey.</p><p>Not anymore.</p><p>Don&rsquo;t be mistaken. Bettman hasn&rsquo;t suffered a power outage in the past 12 months. He still has his finger on the pulse of the league and could easily wipe out a civilization, er, franchise, with the wave of his wand. But now there&rsquo;s a bigger, stronger entity.</p><p>Sidney Crosby&rsquo;s unparalleled surge in the past year and our expectations for him in the coming one has No. 87 at No. 1. The Pittsburgh Penguins superstar casts an all-encompassing shadow over Bettman&rsquo;s empire that has yet to stop growing.</p><p>Consider the following:</p><p>Last season, when it looked as though the moving vans would be hauling the Penguins&rsquo; equipment to Hamilton, Bettman imposed several 11th hour restrictions that scuttled Jim Balsillie&rsquo;s bid to purchase the team and move it to Southern Ontario. Why? Pittsburgh is the only Steeltown the NHL wants Crosby to be in.</p><p>In last season&rsquo;s playoffs, <i>Hockey Night in Canada</i> was victimized by friendly fire when the NHL allowed NBC to pull Crosby off <i>HNIC</i> and into a U.S. preferred Saturday afternoon time slot.</p><p>Moreover, getting Crosby in every NHL city was <i>the</i> main factor in the NHL&rsquo;s decision to scrap the weighted schedule. And with Crosby as their main pitchman, Reebok has squeezed Nike out of the hockey business. A 6,700 square foot NHL Powered by Reebok store in Times Square in New York City recently opened.</p><p>That&rsquo;s all off ice. Need we say more about Crosby&rsquo;s on-ice influence? <i>(Need more proof? See Mike Brophy&rsquo;s cover story on the Crosby phenomenon.)</i></p><p>Back to the list.</p><p>As always, additions have been made to the top 100 ranking. People have fluctuated up and down the power grid. Many have dropped off altogether. The NHL power machine is full of old and new faces reflecting the fluid life cycle of power and influence in the world of hockey.</p><p>One thing we&rsquo;ve tried to do this year in compiling our list is to differentiate between individuals who do quality work and those who actually have significant influence.</p><p>To that end, we&rsquo;ve culled the number of media journalists from 13 on last year&rsquo;s list to six this year. That doesn&rsquo;t mean the ones falling off the list aren&rsquo;t still doing top-notch work. We&rsquo;re just not convinced they have the power to influence how the hockey world turns.</p><p>There are a great many number of people in this business that are excellent at their jobs, but what we&rsquo;re after are those people who make their homes in the cradle of clout.</p><p>The 2007-08 version of the THN People of Power top 100 also marks the first time Bettman has been dethroned from top spot.</p><p>Lists of any kind are sure to spark debate. If the colorful exchanges around the THN office are any indication, our top 100 people of power is sure to instigate a few disagreements. As the old adage goes; one man&rsquo;s hamburger is another man&rsquo;s filet mignon. And Crosby is the NHL&rsquo;s prime cut. It&rsquo;s hard to argue with that.</p><h2><b>FUTURE POWER PLAYERS</b></h2><p>TORY WEBER His Therma Blade is getting lots of attention and is even Gretzkysponsored.</p><p>GARRY GALLEY One of the few reasons to watch the revamped Hot Stove on HNIC. His analysis is fabulous.</p><p>WILLIAM DEL BIAGGIO</p><p>Prospective Nashville Predators owner has options to consider.</p><p>KEVIN DINEEN Coaching is in his blood and the next stop is the NHL.</p><p>MARK HUNTER He has turned London into a junior hockey gold mine.</p><h2><b>BIG DROPS FROM POWER</b></h2><p>TED SASKIN (2) Deposed NHLPA executive director fired amidst a dark cloud.</p><p>DARCY REGIER (21) Sabres GM had a tough summer and didn&rsquo;t offer any sort of counterattack.</p><p>CRAIG LEIPOLD (22) Ex-Predators owner is now counting his millions.</p><p>MIKE GARTNER (57) NHLPA director resigned over Saskin-gate.</p><p>RON MACLEAN (60) His ideas are too radical and he sounds like a broken record griping over officiating woes.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0014-05

THE KING OF THE CASTLE

<div class="byline">Words by Mike Brophy </div><div class="byline">Photos by Jamie Squire</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0016-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-011841/9063335-1-eng-US/f0016-012.jpg"></div><p><b>Don&rsquo;t believe it.</b></p><p><b>With the Buffalo Sabres and Ottawa Senators embroiled in a playoff thriller last April 19, NBC elected to cut away from the NHL game, despite the fact it was in overtime, to broadcast a horse race. Hockey fans were aghast and took it as a slap in the face, but from a bottom-line TV perspective, it was simply good business.</b></p><p><b>However, when NBC requested (demanded) the NHL give it an afternoon game April 14 involving the Pittsburgh Penguins, the league made it happen, rescheduling a Pen</b>&nbsp;<b>guins-Senators game set for the evening to accommodate the American network. That, despite the fact it meant Canadian hockey television institution <i>Hockey Night In Canada</i> would be left high and dry with no game to broadcast that night. Saturday night hockey is a religion in Canada and <i>HNIC&rsquo;s</i> bread and butter.</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-011720/9063328-1-eng-US/f0018-012.jpg" title="f0018-01" width="852" height="1240"><figcaption class="caption-body">The time has come to recognize Sidney Crosby as hockey&rsquo;s top power player.</figcaption></div><p>Why did NBC want the Pens? Well, certainly not to see Georges Laraque skate his three or four shifts, we can assure you that. In two words: Sidney Crosby.</p><p>Nobody&rsquo;s bigger than the game?</p><p>Sidney Crosby is the game!</p><p>Because of circumstances &ndash; namely an exploding media &ndash; no player in NHL history has been under the spotlight like the 20-year-old from Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia. Not Gordie Howe. Not Bobby Orr. Not Mario Lemieux. Not even Wayne Gretzky, the player many consider to be the best who ever skated in the NHL.</p><p>So it is completely without reluctance The Hockey News bumps NHL commissioner Gary Bettman from the top of the hill to No. 2, making way for Crosby as the most powerful and influential (young) man in hockey. Bettman held down top spot in each of our previous eight rankings.</p><p>&ldquo;Sidney&rsquo;s No. 1?&rdquo; asks NHL Frank Brown, the league&rsquo; vice-president of media relations. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s great. It&rsquo;s a sign that the priorities are where they need to be&hellip;the people who play the game are the people who should be on the magazine covers.&rdquo;</p><p>Nicely put.</p><p>Crosby is by no means the only NHL player who sells the game. But nobody comes close to receiving the number of requests No. 87 gets from media, sponsors and fans &ndash; and nobody comes close to fulfilling them.</p><p>&ldquo;Imagine Gretzky in the Internet era,&rdquo; Brown suggests. &ldquo;If you do that, then you start to come close to the challenges Sidney has to face during a period of time such as the three-game tour of Western Canada. Even to the extent of the so-called conventional media websites. There was no <a href="http://ESPN.com">ESPN.com</a> when Gretzky played. (Barry) Melrose was coaching players, not talking about them on TV. From that standpoint, the demands of immediacy that news consumers insist on, it&rsquo;s difficult to compare. This is a frontier Sidney is crossing almost by himself.&rdquo;</p><p>Ah, the Western Canada tour. If you don&rsquo;t live in Canada, then you probably won&rsquo;t have an appreciation for the hype surrounding Crosby&rsquo;s first trip to Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver. The way the media responded, you would think The Beatles had reunited (with John and George!) for all the commotion it caused. It didn&rsquo;t even seem to matter Crosby was held pointless in two of the three games (all Pittsburgh wins) and missed two shootout attempts and an overtime penalty shot in Vancouver. Everybody just wanted to see The Kid.</p><p>&ldquo;It wasn&rsquo;t unique from an overall standpoint because we&rsquo;re a Canadian city and we handle media requests of this volume during the playoffs,&rdquo; says Peter Hanlon, the Calgary Flames&rsquo; vice-president of communications. &ldquo;What was unique was the time of year. Sidney being here was as much a news story as it was a sports story.&rdquo;</p><p>Everybody jumped on the Sidney Crosby bandwagon. In fact, Rogers Sportsnet sent its <i>Hockey Central</i> panel on the road to cover the games at quite a considerable cost to the station, an expenditure often reserved for things such as the NHL All-Star Game and Stanley Cup final.</p><p>&ldquo;We looked at the schedule last summer and pretty much decided to send a reporter on the road for Crosby&rsquo;s first tour of Western Canada,&rdquo; says executive producer Mike English. &ldquo;But as it drew closer, we realized how huge it was going to be and the decision was made to send the <i>Hockey Central</i> group on the road. It&rsquo;s an extra expense, but being there gave us something different. Our viewers knew we were there dedicating a significant amount of time to Crosby on our highlight shows. For that, it was worth it.&rdquo;</p><p>You can bet it will be the same when the Penguins travel to Buffalo Jan. 1 to play an outdoor game at Ralph Wilson Stadium. Two teams will be there, but all eyes will be on one player.</p><p>Crosby is more than just a young hockey phenom &ndash; the stick that stirs the hockey industry, if you will. He is an industry unto himself and has endorsement deals with the likes of Reebok, Telus, Pepsi, Upper Deck, Frito-Lay, Gatorade and Tim Hortons. And he is the player everybody wants a piece of.</p><p>Last season, Crosby and the Penguins attracted the biggest crowds around the NHL, drawing an average of 17,791 (96 percent capacity) for road games. Games broadcast on NBC featuring the Penguins attracted a 36 percent higher audience than the average for NHL games broadcast on Versus. And &ndash; no surprise here &ndash; Crosby&rsquo;s jersey was the top seller for 2006-07.</p><p>It has become fashionable of late to argue whether Crosby or Tampa Bay&rsquo;s Vincent Lecavalier is the best player in the NHL. But if you substitute Martin St-Louis on the right wing of Crosby&rsquo;s line for Colby Armstrong, are we even having this debate? No disrespect to Lecavalier, who is a wonderful and elite player, but let&rsquo;s be serious.</p><p>At 19, Crosby became the youngest player in NHL history to lead the league in scoring last season, winning the Art Ross Trophy with 120 points in 79 games. He was also named Hart Trophy winner as the league&rsquo;s most valuable player and this season is the NHL&rsquo;s second-youngest captain ever (behind Brian Bellows). On the ice, there are few players in the league that display Crosby&rsquo;s intensity, a trait that rubs some the wrong way. He is in-your-face with both officials and opponents. That is not likely to change as he grows older.</p><p>It has always been Crosby&rsquo;s desire to be the best hockey player in the world and to have achieved that goal at such a young age is commendable. It is even more remarkable when you consider the demands on his time.</p><p>Off the ice, Crosby is both humble and, most importantly from a league perspective, accommodating. When The Hockey News asked Crosby to be on the cover of our newly redesigned magazine, and to answer questions submitted by our readers, he was both agreeable and enthusiastic.</p><p>Crosby is very guarded when it comes to voicing his opinions, but during the interview he made no bones about the fact he thinks the NHL must continue with its crackdown on obstruction (&ldquo;It was easier to score goals my first year,&rdquo; he says) and he thinks goalie equipment can still be made smaller.</p><p>&ldquo;I think with today&rsquo;s technology, they can make the goalie equipment just as protective, but a little tighter,&rdquo; Crosby told THN.</p><p>Not quite as political as Mario calling the NHL a garage league or Wayne calling the New Jersey Devils a Mickey Mouse organization, but Crosby makes a point. As he ages, he will come to understand just how influential he can be in league decisions. For now, he tries to walk a fine line between being the best he can be for the Penguins and being the game&rsquo;s No. 1 spokesman.</p><p>It has its challenges.</p><p>&ldquo;The West Coast trip took a lot out of him,&rdquo; says his agent, Pat Brisson. &ldquo;There were so many requests for his time. Sid had to turn down a lot of them. Finally, after the last game in Vancouver, he did the After Hours show following <i>Hockey Night In Canada</i>. He wasn&rsquo;t feeling too good, but put a smile on his face and did the show. They showed a clip of Sidney playing junior with his friend, Dany Roussin (now with Reading in the ECHL) and Sidney said, &lsquo;I almost started crying because those were the good days.&rsquo; Not that they aren&rsquo;t good now, but it is all so tiring for him.&rdquo;</p><p>Crosby can&rsquo;t be everywhere and he cannot be everything to everybody. The Penguins and Crosby&rsquo;s personal handlers turn down many, many requests for his time. Even when a big American TV networks asks for Crosby to be part of a commercial to promote the outdoor game &ndash; it would have meant a five-hour time commitment for Crosby &ndash; the answer was, &ldquo;Sorry, he doesn&rsquo;t have the time.&rdquo; And with the Penguins having very few days off in the second half, there will be plenty of more, &ldquo;Sorrys&rdquo; to come.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-011556/9063321-1-eng-US/f0019-012.jpg" title="f0019-01" width="695" height="1493"><figcaption class="caption-body">Crosby&rsquo;s on-ice exploits have made him a celebrity off the ice.</figcaption></div><p>Brown says the NHL is very cognizant of Crosby&rsquo;s busy schedule and marvels at how the young man is able to handle all the demands, and still perform at such a high level.</p><p>&ldquo;Whoever it is we have to thank for helping him understand the realities of life as a megastar, we owe that person or people (you can start with his parents, Troy and Trina), a profound debt of gratitude,&rdquo; Brown says.</p><p>Adds Brian Jennings, the NHL&rsquo;s vice-president of marketing: &ldquo;When he comes into town, it&rsquo;s a carnival-like atmosphere because people want to see the prodigy, they want to see the real deal. He&rsquo;s so authentic and so genuine, probably the biggest thing he has in front of him is, how do you stay focused on being the best hockey player in the world and the demands that takes and then be able to accommodate all these requests?&rdquo;</p><p>Chances are the trend will continue for years to come and Crosby will continue to be the face of the game. Given his track record, the game is in good hands.</p><h2><b>100 PEOPLE OF POWER + INFLUENCE</b></h2><p>Our annual profile of the 100 most powerful and influential people in the hockey world is a project that never ends. The 100-head beast is constantly evolving. We publish this list with one eye on the horizon and another in the rear-view mirror.</p><p>A power broker&rsquo;s track record is important, but not as vital as his projected role in 2008. With that as a backdrop, here&rsquo;s our ninth annual list. Included in this 17-page section are features on Sidney Crosby, Bill Daly and Paul Kelly.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0016-01

SPOTLIGHT

You’ve heard it a million times–no player is bigger than the game

<div class="byline">BY KEN CAMPBELL</div><p class="dropcap"><span>B</span>ILL DALY IS A BRILLIANT legal and business mind and one of the most powerful men in hockey. He has just recently finished taking the powerful New York Rangers to court and trouncing them, plus he has the ear, undivided attention and unwavering trust of NHL commissioner Gary Bettman.</p><p>But what makes Daly so endearing is that, unlike Bettman, he has an Everyman quality about him that makes it easy to envision knocking back a couple of cold ones with him. (And if you ask him, chances are he&rsquo;d be up for it.)</p><p>Really, aside from the brilliant legal mind stuff, Daly&rsquo;s not all that different from the thousands of other people who battle traffic with him every morning on the New Jersey Turnpike. He has lost his hair and now cuts it right down to the wood. He was a really good athlete, but not quite good enough to turn pro. He&rsquo;s divorced and remarried and gets to see his two kids on weekends. His workout consists of 20 minutes of squats and lifts in the morning in an effort to keep his weight down. And, this is a real tough one, he&rsquo;s a die-hard fan of the Miami Dolphins.</p><p>&ldquo;He still hangs out with his high school buddies from New Jersey,&rdquo; said Anaheim Ducks GM Brian Burke, a close friend of Daly&rsquo;s going back to their days together in the NHL&rsquo;s New York office. &ldquo;If you turn back the clock and watch him with those guys, he could be a guy who drives a school bus or works in a garage.&rdquo;</p><p>Fortunately for the NHL, Daly shot a little higher. Since leaving private practice to essentially head up the league&rsquo;s legal department in 1996, Daly has taken on more responsibility and made more professional strides than just about anyone at 1185 Avenue of the Americas. His reward for negotiating the collective bargaining agreement that ended the lockout was the title and role of deputy commissioner. And he did it after replacing Jeff Pash, who left the league to join the National Football League. Those who knew Pash claim he&rsquo;s one of the most brilliant and charismatic individuals they have ever known.</p><p>&ldquo;I clearly wasn&rsquo;t prepared for it, either,&rdquo; Daly said. &ldquo;I knew Jeff, I had worked with Jeff and I was very wary of being able to step into his role and perform it adequately. And I can tell you that never would have happened if I hadn&rsquo;t had the help of not only Gary, but Brian Burke and (former NHL vice-president) Steve Solomon. They both protected me like a little brother for the first year I was in the job. The first time I had to present to the general managers, I was terrified. I almost didn&rsquo;t make it through. But Burkie was chairing the meeting and he jumped in and saved me from ultimate embarrassment.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-011482/9063373-1-eng-US/f0020-012.jpg" title="f0020-01" width="919" height="1443"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(MARK WILSON)</span></figcaption></div><p>Daly is wary of being portrayed as a commissioner-in-waiting. He acknowledges he&rsquo;s perfectly content to be the second-in-command and Bettman clearly isn&rsquo;t going anywhere. But the two of them work so well together that Bettman said he would have no problem leaving the keys to the commissioner&rsquo;s office to Daly if things were to ever change.</p><p>&ldquo;If something unexpected happened,&rdquo; Bettman said, &ldquo;I think Bill could step up and do the things that need to be done without missing a beat. He has my complete confidence. The best thing I can say is he&rsquo;s a great partner and somebody whom I have the utmost regard for and trust in.&rdquo;</p><h2><b>BILL DALY&rsquo;S RISE</b></h2><p>JANUARY, 1996 Named senior vice-president, legal affairs of the NHL, replacing Jeff Pash.</p><p>1999 Title changed to executive vice-president, chief legal officer.</p><p>JULY, 2005 After leading NHL negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement, Daly is named NHL deputy commissioner by league commissioner Gary Bettman.</p><p>3 People of Power BILL DALY</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-03788/9063366-1-eng-US/f0020-032.jpg" title="f0020-03" width="1263" height="883"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(AL BELLO/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>The dynamic between Bettman and Daly works very well, so well that Daly can often take charge of situations without much input from Bettman because they share the same values and understand each other so well. &ldquo;We kind of know how to dance together,&rdquo; Bettman said.</p><p>Bettman, it has been widely acknowledged, gets a rather rough ride, particularly in Canada (&ldquo;I think Gary is treated very unfairly in the media and particularly in the Canadian media,&rdquo; Daly said), so comments like that one might make those north of the border view Daly as just another American lawyer running their game. But the fact of the matter is Daly&rsquo;s Canadian roots run very deeply. His mother, Donna, was born in Saskatoon and moved to New Jersey with her family in her senior year of high school when her stepfather was transferred there.</p><p>Donna&rsquo;s father, Daly&rsquo;s biological grandfather, was a fellow by the name of Lawrence &lsquo;Curly&rsquo; Woodhead, who is an inducted member of the Saskatoon Sports Hall of Fame for his springboard diving prowess. A Section Leader of theCanadian Corp of Firefighters in World War II, Lawrence Early Woodhead was killed fighting a fire after a London bombing in 1944 at the age of 34.</p><p>Growing up in New Jersey, Daly began following and playing hockey as a youngster, but he excelled more in football. After starring as a tailback in high school, Daly played at Dartmouth College and in his senior year in 1985, ran for 224 yards on 62 carries and scored three touchdowns. He also caught eight passes for 81 yards and averaged 16 yards on six kickoff returns. But the team was terrible and Daly was &ldquo;too small and too slow&rdquo; to ever make football a career.</p><p>After Dartmouth, Daly got his law degree at New York University and, being in private practice in New York, got to see his share of the Rangers, the team he idolized as a child. He managed to get a media pass through the NFL for Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final in 1994 and celebrated the Ranger victory with all the other blue seaters.</p><p>&ldquo;It was like a religious experience,&rdquo; Daly said. Little did he know that 13 years later, he&rsquo;d be staring the Rangers down in court over website ers are now in compliance with the rest of the rights. The league won the case and the Rang-league, but the decision is still up for appeal.</p><p>the NHL had whipped the players in negotiations, time has proven the victory certainly wasn&rsquo;t even close to a resounding one. And Daly did get caught up in the Ted Saskin situation after it was learned he passed on information to Saskin concerning which players might be the most aggressive about removing Saskin as executive director of the NHL Players&rsquo; Association.</p><p>&ldquo;The suggestion that somehow what I did in forwarding information to Ted was improper and, because I probably hold my integrity higher than any other feature I have, that hurt the most,&rdquo; Daly said. &ldquo;What I regret is that it could have possibly created a question in anyone&rsquo;s mind. The only thing those emails showed me was, that during a difficult transitional period, we were able to resolve more things and get more things done than the NHL and the Players&rsquo; Association had been able to do for the 10 years prior.&rdquo;</p><p>It&rsquo;s that sense of accomplishment and what&rsquo;s left to accomplish that has him in the office most days by 7 a.m. for what usually amounts to at least a 12-hour day.</p><p>&ldquo;I clearly am not the intellect Gary Bettman is,&rdquo; Daly said. &ldquo;But I work hard and 11 years in, I think I have a very good understanding of how the industry works. And I love what I do.&rdquo;</p><p>Things have gone rather well for Daly, but it hasn&rsquo;t been all triumphs. The lockout was particularly difficult and even though most thought</p><blockquote class="pullQuote">&ldquo;We were able to resolve more things than the NHL and PA (did in) 10 years.&rdquo;</blockquote><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0020-01

DARTMOUTH DEGREE, BUT DALY IS ‘EVERYMAN’

<div class="byline">with Adam Proteau</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-03658/9064156-1-eng-US/f0030-032.jpg" title="f0030-03" width="756" height="1154"><figcaption class="caption-body">4 People of Power PAUL KELLY <span class="photo-credit">(MARK WILSON)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><span>A</span>LTHOUGH HE WAS JUST SIX WEEKS into his new job as executive director of the NHL Players&rsquo; Association, Paul Kelly already was in the midst of a whirlwind fall introductory tour that saw him visit all 30 teams by New Year&rsquo;s Day.</p><p>In doing so, Kelly has had a quick acclimation period, something evident in his mid-December interview with The Hockey News. <i>(For the full interview, in which Kelly talks about the NHLPA&rsquo;s marketing plans, goaltender equipment, expansion to Canada, and the league&rsquo;s drug-testing policy, read the Dec. 27 Screen Shots column at <a href="http://www.thn.com/screenshots">www.thn.com/screenshots</a>)</i></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-011324/9064163-1-eng-US/f0030-012.jpg" title="f0030-01" width="185" height="212"></div><p>THE HOCKEY NEWS You&rsquo;re two-thirds of the way through your first tour of team meetings. What has that process been like?</p><p>PAUL KELLY It&rsquo;s been phenomenally interesting and informative&hellip;when players are leaving these meetings, we get the most pleasant, positive feedback from the guys, either in regards to how different the meeting was from past experiences, or some weren&rsquo;t planning to come or dreaded coming, but (after the meeting), they were really pleased they did come.</p><p>Here&rsquo;s an example &ndash; we were in Washington when the Rangers were in town, and at the end of our session with the Rangers, Jaromir Jagr came up to me and said, &lsquo;You know, I wasn&rsquo;t going to come, the other guys kind of convinced me to come.&rsquo; Then he said, &lsquo;I&rsquo;m really glad I came, this was a great meeting, I&rsquo;ve really learned a lot and this was terrific.&rsquo; And he was the last guy to leave &ndash; he stayed about 20 minutes past the last other Rangers player, just to talk. And we get a lot of that. So it&rsquo;s a very encouraging, rewarding experience.</p><p>THN You&rsquo;ve already spoken publicly about a significant number of NHLers wanting the instigator rule repealed. If the owners agree to remove it, how does that help a league that, to my knowledge, is the only one that allows its players to self-police?</p><p>PK It was mentioned to me by certain owners at the Pebble Beach (board of governors) meetings that certain individuals favored at least, if not a removal of the rule, certainly a significant modification of the rule.</p><p>Certain people on the management side of hockey did express what is obvious, which is that removal of the instigator rule probably creates a bit of a PR problem and issue, in terms of how certain segments of the public might receive that and whether or not they misread that as a signal of moving  backwards and bringing in more aggressiveness and more fighting back into the sport.</p><p>But&hellip;When we talk about it, we do so in the sense the players do believe there&rsquo;s a code of respect on the ice. And they do believe there are certain players who, unfortunately, play a certain style of hockey which is not well-received by their colleagues and potentially can be harmful to opposing players.</p><p>And they believe that if the instigator rule was modified, it would deter that conduct by a handful of players and you&rsquo;ve got to bring that style of play under control.</p><p>THN You&rsquo;ve also noted that coaches and their defense-first strategies can have an adverse effect on the ability of players to demonstrate their skills. If players are going to be educated on the benefits of a new approach to publicizing the NHL, shouldn&rsquo;t coaches be included in that process as well?</p><p>PK I think they should&hellip;Part of the issue here is you&rsquo;ve got too many coaches on the bench. You&rsquo;ve got three, four guys on the bench and as soon as players come back over the boards, the first thing that happens is some (coach) jumps in their ear, preaching defense, defense, defense, or an assistant calling down from the top of the rink.</p><p>Frankly, in an ideal world, if you could limit the number of coaches to one or two, you&rsquo;d have fewer guys preaching defense all the time. Let these guys play; these are elite athletes, and if you let the players play a little bit more, I think you&rsquo;d see less of the trap, less of the kind of filling in the slot, more of an openness to the game and a more enjoyable brand of hockey.</p><p>THN Your thoughts on mandatory visors?</p><p>PK I tell the players that, when it comes to visors, there are basically three ways to go: you can make them manda-tory, starting tomorrow; you can grandfather them in, so that everyone new to the league has to start wearing them; or you can go with players&rsquo; choice.</p><p>And right after, I tell them&hellip; &lsquo;Look, guys, a single eye injury can cost you your career. It is really essential to protect your eyes, and on behalf of the Players&rsquo; Association, I strongly recommend guys put visors on.&rsquo;</p><p>That said, I understand that some guys have played in the league 15, 17 years, they&rsquo;ve got a year or two to go, and they&rsquo;ve played their entire lives without a visor. Can some guy who&rsquo;s never skated in the NHL come in and suddenly dictate to them that they should slap a visor on?</p><p>I don&rsquo;t think that&rsquo;s my place and frankly my role is to give them the best advice and counsel I can, but then to represent what the players believe is in their best interest.</p><p>Even if we took no action, and I&rsquo;m not suggesting we won&rsquo;t, I just think there&rsquo;s going to be a steady, dramatic increase in visor usage. Because I think guys are getting the message they should put a visor on, there are more young guys and European guys coming into the league. And I wouldn&rsquo;t be surprised to see a 20 (percent) spike in the number of players wearing visors next year, and another 15 percent spike the year after that. Even left to its own natural evolution, visor use will become pretty much unanimous in a matter of two or three years.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-011218/9064149-1-eng-US/f0031-012.jpg" title="f0031-01" width="868" height="1371"><figcaption class="caption-body">If Chris Chelios is still playing in three years, will he be wearing a visor? <span class="photo-credit">(JOHN RUSSELL/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>THN Some fans remain fearful the NHL will suffer through another lockout or work stoppage. What would you say to those fans?</p><p>PK If the NHL approaches these issues in the coming years in an honest and good-faith manner, then we will not suffer future labor interruptions or work stoppages.</p><p>If the NHL behaves unreasonably or tries to take unfair advantage of the players or their family and takes positions which I think are inconsistent, not only with the best interests of the players, but the best interests of the game and&hellip;the fans, then that will be most unfortunate.</p><p>But the players won&rsquo;t be the party to pick that fight. We are very mindful of the fact that another labor interruption in this sport would be extremely harmful and I intend to do everything in my power to avoid that happening.</p><p>That said, my entire professional career has been spent as a trial lawyer, as an advocate, as an adversary; if the NHL wants to pick a fight, then frankly, that&rsquo;s what I do best.</p><p>(But) I don&rsquo;t think they want that fight. I know the sport doesn&rsquo;t need that fight and I would rather us, as smart businessmen, work through these problems for the benefit of the history of the sport.</p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-02898/9064142-1-eng-US/f0030-022.jpg" title="f0030-02" width="61" height="61"></div><p>To read the full transcript from Adam Proteau&rsquo;s interview with Paul Kelly, check out the Dec. 27 &lsquo;Screen Shots&rsquo; column at <a href="http://THN.com/screenshots">THN.com/screenshots</a>.</p></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-02813/9064135-1-eng-US/f0031-022.jpg" title="f0031-02" width="90" height="90"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p>For Adam&rsquo;s web-exclusive Screen Shots column, visit <a href="http://THN.com">thn.com</a><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0030-03

‘ADVOCATE’ KELLY WEIGHS IN ON LEAGUE

f0038-02

WESTERN CONFERENCE

f0039-02

EASTERN CONFERENCE

<div class="byline">BY KEVIN OKLOBZIJA</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-02452/9064602-1-eng-US/f0040-022.jpg" title="f0040-02" width="889" height="1092"></div><p>WHEN HE SKATED IN the Ontario League, Matt Pelech was honored with the scholastic player of the year award.</p><p>But no textbook ever taught Pelech that wily veterans can make a rookie defenseman look foolish on the ice in pro hockey. Nothing in the classroom mentioned how a talented American League forward can take advantage of a kid fresh out of junior.</p><p>So while Pelech&rsquo;s university pursuits this season are limited to a single online class, the Quad City Flames rookie is still a full-time student. His course of study is playing defense in the NHL.</p><p>&ldquo;I notice when I&rsquo;m playing in my own end that the good veteran forwards are so smart,&rdquo; said Pelech, chosen 26th overall in the 2005 draft by the Calgary Flames. &ldquo;The things they think of, the things they do, they&rsquo;re tough to defend. Even things you expect them to do, you still don&rsquo;t always know how to defend.</p><p>&ldquo;They&rsquo;re just so good at making smart plays to put the defender in an awkward position.&rdquo;</p><p>But that experience is proving invaluable.</p><p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think, as a player, you&rsquo;ll get better until you&rsquo;re put in that awkward position,&rdquo; said the 6-foot-4, 220-pound Toronto native. &ldquo;You learn from mistakes, but it&rsquo;s even harder than I thought it would be because habits are habits and they&rsquo;re tough to break.&rdquo;</p><p>It&rsquo;s up to coach Ryan McGill and assistant Scott Allen to guide Pelech out of old habits. He must resist the temptation to deliver a big hit when it means he&rsquo;s left out of position.</p><p>&ldquo;Matt is very fortunate to play in a very, very, very competitive division,&rdquo; McGill said. &ldquo;You have to play against those top players and you can&rsquo;t hide. So you learn.</p><p>&ldquo;The big thing he must improve is his consistency within the game. He needs to read the rush and make the right decisions reading the rush. He&rsquo;s nowhere close to where we want, but he&rsquo;s shown progress and we&rsquo;re willing to be patient.&rdquo;</p><p>Simply put, Pelech won&rsquo;t be joining Dion Phaneuf on the Calgary blueline this season. &ldquo;This is a two-, maybe three-, maybe four-year process,&rdquo; McGill said.</p><p>The Flames love Pelech&rsquo;s mobility and size, but believe he needs to learn when to go for the big hit and when to back off and take away a lane. He had injuries issues in major junior and lost almost 90 games in four years, so his development was slightly hindered.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m an aggressive player,&rdquo; Pelech said. &ldquo;They don&rsquo;t want to take that away from me, but they want me to do it smarter.</p><p>&ldquo;In junior you can get away with lunging for a hit or chasing someone to make a hit. If you do that here, it may end up in your net.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-03345/9064595-1-eng-US/f0040-032.jpg" title="f0040-03" width="210" height="209"></div><h2><b>MATT PELECH</b></h2><p>Quad City Flames</p><p>Ht. 6-4</p><p>Wt. 220</p><p>Pos. D</p><p>Age 20</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-04279/9064588-1-eng-US/f0040-042.jpg" title="f0040-04" width="210" height="209"></div><h2><b>AND COUNTING 60</b></h2><p>Penalty minutes in 28 games for the brawny Pelech</p><h3><b>NOTES FROM THE WEST</b></h3><h2><b>Best rookies in the West</b></h2><p>Here&rsquo;s the best of the Western Conference rookie crop at midseason by position.</p><p><b>Cory Schneider</b>, G, 21, Manitoba Moose (26th overall by Vancouver in 2004): One of the West&rsquo;s few freshman stoppers, Schneider has shown flashes of brilliance. Still finding his way in the pro game after leaving Boston College a year early.</p><p><b>Mike Weber</b>, D, 20, Rochester Americans (57th overall by Buffalo in 2006): Plays with grit, loves to hit and is just fine with the puck. When captains were injured, he was given an &lsquo;A&rsquo;, the youngest player ever to wear a letter in Rochester.</p><p><b>Anton Stralman</b>, D, 21, Toronto Marlies (216th overall by Maple Leafs in 2005): The Swede looks like a steal as a seventh round draft pick. Mobile and very good with the puck.</p><p><b>Derick Brassard</b>, C, 20, Syracuse Crunch (sixth overall by Columbus in 2006): Amazing hands and vision, plus a gifted skater &ndash; the real deal. Broken jaw put him on IR in November.</p><p><b>Sergei Kostitsyn</b>, RW, 20, Hamilton Bulldogs (200th overall by Montreal in 2005): Super puck skills and agility. Brother Andrei was a first-rounder, but this kid may be better.</p><p><b>Mason Raymond</b>, LW, 22, Manitoba Moose (51st overall in 2005): Scary speed. Needs some bulk, but he has a great nose for the net.</p><p><b>&ndash; KEVIN OKLOBZIJA</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-05239/9064581-1-eng-US/f0040-052.jpg" title="f0040-05" width="176" height="176"></div><h2><b>HEY MARTIN ST-PIERRE, EXPECT THE CALL</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-06212/9064574-1-eng-US/f0040-062.jpg" title="f0040-06" width="173" height="162"></div><p>Among the league scoring leaders, the shifty, tricky, playmaking fourth-year pro continues to play at better than a point-a-game pace with Blackhawks affiliate Rockford.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-07190/9064567-1-eng-US/f0040-072.jpg" title="f0040-07" width="182" height="260"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-08168/9064560-1-eng-US/f0040-082.jpg" title="f0040-08" width="267" height="63"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(DAN VERSCHA/THE QUAD CITIES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-01759/9064553-1-eng-US/f0040-012.jpg" title="f0040-01" width="80" height="77"></div><p>For more on hockey&rsquo;s best prospects, check out Ryan Kennedy&rsquo;s Hot List in the feature section on <a href="http://thehockeynews.com">thehockeynews.com</a><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p></div>

f0040-02

PELECH PLUGGING IN QUAD CITY

<div class="byline">BY PHIL JANACK</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-01678/9064661-1-eng-US/f0042-012.jpg" title="f0042-01" width="880" height="1083"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span>HOUGH DAN JANCEVSKI finds himself wearing a different AHL sweater for the third straight season, one thing remains the same for the journeyman defenseman.</p><p>Carefully stitched in the upper right corner of his jersey, close to his heart, is an extra letter, one that symbolizes the impact Jancevski continues to have as one of the league&rsquo;s most valued leaders.</p><p>Fresh off a Calder Cup with the Hamilton Bulldogs, Jancevski, 26, was snatched up by the Tampa Bay Lightning, both for NHL depth as well as to anchor the rebuilding process with its new affiliate, the Norfolk Admirals.</p><p>It is the third straight season Jancevski has been chosen as team captain, also serving as the first in Iowa Stars franchise history in 2005-06.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a great honor anytime you go to a new team and they give you a letter or consider you a leader,&rdquo; Jancevski said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s especially true here, where we have so many leadership-type guys in the dressing room.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m more of a quiet type, just try to go out there and lead by example. I&rsquo;m not a real rah-rah guy. It&rsquo;s been an honor for me.&rdquo;</p><p>Jancevski, defenseman Jay Leach and forwards Mathieu Darche and Craig MacDonald were signed to provide a foundation for the team.</p><p>Darche and MacDonald have spent most of the season with the Lightning, leaving Jancevski to carry the leadership load along with Leach and forwards Kyle Wanvig and Norm Milley.</p><p>&ldquo;He&rsquo;s not a real vocal leader, which we knew,&rdquo; said Admirals coach Steve Stirling. &ldquo;Most nights he leads by example with his play on the ice. He&rsquo;s steady as she goes. There&rsquo;s no flash to his game, which we also knew.&rdquo;</p><p>Though his offensive numbers were down, Jancevski led Norfolk defensemen with seven assists and nine points, playing in 23 of 26 games. The only ones he missed were on recall to Tampa Bay.</p><p>The 6-foot-3, 212-pound native of Windsor, Ont., has been a model of consistency. In his first six pro seasons, Jancevski played 470 of a possible 480 regular season games.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s just luck, I guess,&rdquo; Jancevski said. &ldquo;The trainers have done a great job keeping me in the lineup and hopefully it continues. I just go wherever and try to work hard and play the system within the team concept. Anytime you do that, you don&rsquo;t get in too much trouble.&rdquo;</p><p>That helps explain how Jancevski has been able to avoid the pitfalls of inconsistency that can lead to being a healthy scratch.&rdquo;</p><p>&ldquo;Even if he&rsquo;s having a bad night, Jano can usually find a way to do something that will help the team,&rdquo; Stirling said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s the sign of a real pro, because we all have bad nights.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-02414/9064654-1-eng-US/f0042-022.jpg" title="f0042-02" width="210" height="207"></div><h2><b>DAN JANCEVSKI</b></h2><p>Norfolk Admirals</p><p>Ht. 6-3</p><p>Wt. 212</p><p>Pos. D</p><p>Age 26</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-03322/9064647-1-eng-US/f0042-032.jpg" title="f0042-03" width="202" height="208"></div><h2><b>AND COUNTING 10</b></h2><p>Games missed (of 480) by Jancevski in six pro years</p><h3><b>NOTES FROM THE EAST</b></h3><h2><b>Young beasts of the East</b></h2><p>It will be months before the AHL announces its annual allrookie team, but here&rsquo;s a look, by position, at the best of the East&rsquo;s freshmen at mid-season.</p><p><b>Tuukka Rask</b>, G, 20, Providence Bruins (21st overall by Toronto in 2005): Naturally gifted and fundamentally sound. Won eight of first 10 pro starts; was solid in initial NHL action.</p><p><b>Casey Borer</b>, D, 22, Albany River Rats (69th overall by Carolina in 2004): Nearly made Canes&rsquo; roster after four seasons at St. Cloud. Led team in plusminus and defensemen scoring.</p><p><b>Brian Lee</b>, D, 20, Binghamton Senators (ninth overall by Ottawa in 2005): Strong skater with offensive instincts, working on shooting harder and getting more pucks on net. Fit in after leaving North Dakota early.</p><p><b>Jonathan Matsumoto</b>, C, 21, Philadelphia Phantoms (79th overall by Flyers in 2006): Got taste of AHL last spring; one of the top scorers on one of the league&rsquo;s balanced scoring clubs.</p><p><b>Teddy Purcell</b>, RW, 22, Manchester Monarchs. Undrafted winger has been a steal for the L.A. Kings. Among leaders in assists and points, similar to first and only season at Maine.</p><p><b>Liam Reddox</b>, LW, 21, Springfield Falcons (112th overall by Edmonton in 2004): Speedy and gritty, has thrived in Oilers&rsquo; system and been dependable at both ends.</p><p><b>PHIL JANACK</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-04255/9064640-1-eng-US/f0042-042.jpg" title="f0042-04" width="182" height="250"></div><h2><b>ON</b>&nbsp;<b>TOP</b></h2><h3><b>TOP BAD BOYS</b></h3><p>LOUIS ROBITAILLE</p><p>Hershey Bears</p><p>153</p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-05220/9064633-1-eng-US/f0042-052.jpg" title="f0042-05" width="146" height="129"><figcaption class="caption-body" style="width: 146px">PIMS <span class="photo-credit">(JUSTSPORTS PHOTOGRAPHY)</span></figcaption></div><p>Peter Vandermeer, SA 151</p><p>Kip Brennan, Bri 143</p><p>Cody McLeod, LE 101</p><p>Hans Benson, Peo 94<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p></div>

f0042-01

EVERYDAY DAN A LEADER AGAIN

<p>JOSH UNICE SLEPT through all three periods of his first hockey game, but woke up at the buzzer to be fascinated by the Zamboni.</p><p>Thanks to a four-year-old&rsquo;s infatuation with an ice resurfacing machine many years ago at a Toledo Storm game, OHL shooters are now losing sleep.</p><p>Unice, a rookie, is among the league leaders in every goaltending category. The Chicago Blackhawks prospect had four shutouts through 25 games with the Kitchener Rangers. The record is nine, held by the Toronto Marlies&rsquo; Don Lockhart in 1949-50.</p><p>&ldquo;My mom&rsquo;s best friends talked her into going to a Storm game,&rdquo; said Unice of his hockey baptism. &ldquo;She couldn&rsquo;t find a babysitter, so I went.</p><p>&ldquo;I slept every period and I only woke up to the Zambonis. Every little kid loves the Zamboni, but my mom&rsquo;s a doctor and she said I needed to apply myself to be something more than a Zamboni driver.&rdquo;</p><p>How he became a goalie &ldquo;is another messed-up story.</p><p>&ldquo;I used to play forward and I was OK. I tried out for all-stars when I was seven and the last thing my mom said was, &lsquo;Don&rsquo;t play goalie.&rsquo; Only one showed up so the coach said, &lsquo;Has anybody played before?&rsquo; I go, &lsquo;I play goalie in the basement.&rsquo; He said &lsquo;if you play goalie we won&rsquo;t cut you.&rsquo; I said &lsquo;that&rsquo;s a good deal&rsquo;&hellip;and the rest is history.&rdquo;</p><p>Unice was drafted in the third round by Chicago last June, then opted to leave the U.S. national team development program, even though a full ride awaited him at Bowling Green in 2008.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;ll play more games this year than I would in about three years at Bowling Green,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I just felt Kitchener would be the best opportunity and the fact they have the Memorial Cup here (in May), I couldn&rsquo;t be in a better situation.&rdquo;</p><p>Unice was disappointed he didn&rsquo;t make the U.S. national junior team for the world juniors, but felt his decision to leave the program wasn&rsquo;t a factor.</p><p>&ldquo;I was straight up with them before the summer camp,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I told coach (John) Hynes I was going major junior. I don&rsquo;t think it was a problem for them.&rdquo;</p><p>As a tribute to his mom, Carol, Unice has her initials on his mask.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-01671/9064734-1-eng-US/f0043-012.jpg" title="f0043-01" width="704" height="925"></div><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s for everything she&rsquo;s done for me,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;My dad hasn&rsquo;t been in the picture since I was three. He was an alcoholic and he wasn&rsquo;t good to my mom. She was in medical school when she had me, so she&rsquo;s worked hard all her life. She&rsquo;s all I have.&rdquo;</p><p><b>&ndash; JIM CRESSMAN</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-02447/9064727-1-eng-US/f0043-022.jpg" title="f0043-02" width="255" height="137"></div><h2><b>JOSH UNICE</b></h2><p>Kitchener Rangers</p><p>Ht. 5-11</p><p>Wt. 175</p><p>Pos. G</p><p>Age 18</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-07164/9064720-1-eng-US/f0043-072.jpg" title="f0043-07" width="361" height="79"></div><h3><b>Draft Status</b></h3><p>Selected 86th overall by Chicago in 2007</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-03371/9064713-1-eng-US/f0043-032.jpg" title="f0043-03" width="151" height="149"></div><h2><b>AND COUNTING 4</b></h2><p>With four shutouts, Unice has the OHL record (nine) in sight.</p><h2><b>Moose Jaw eyes new rink</b></h2><p>A traditional Moose Jaw Warriors nemesis has become one of the team&rsquo;s biggest boosters &ndash; in one respect. Brent Parker, GM of the arch-rival Regina Pats, is rooting for construction of a new rink to replace Moose Jaw&rsquo;s aging Civic Centre. &ldquo;Maybe, not too long in the future, they might not have a team unless somebody pulls their head out of their collective derrieres and realizes they need a new building,&rdquo; Parker said. Fundraising is ongoing in Moose Jaw, where a multi-purpose complex is being discussed. &ldquo;I think everybody knows that in order for us to survive, we need a new facility,&rdquo; said Warriors GM Chad Lang. &ldquo;People can say, &lsquo;You&rsquo;ve survived for 20-odd years already.&rsquo; That may be the case, but the business has changed.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-04273/9064706-1-eng-US/f0043-042.jpg" title="f0043-04" width="210" height="212"></div><p><b>&ndash; ROB VANSTONE</b></p><h2><b>Branches far reaching</b></h2><p>The OHL is a family affair for the Branch boys, but league matters aren&rsquo;t discussed over dinner. David Branch is commissioner, while sons Barclay, 31, is Belleville&rsquo;s assistant GM, Kyle, 25, is with OHL Central Scouting, and Wade, 22, scouts for the Bulls. &ldquo;We have this rule: I don&rsquo;t question the officiating or suspensions and dad doesn&rsquo;t ask about the Bulls,&rdquo; Barclay said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re a hockey family, so there&rsquo;s still lots to talk about.&rdquo; Barclay got his management training early. &ldquo;I was able to go with my dad to games when I was eight and I had a fascination with how good teams were constructed.&rdquo; He also learned a commissioner is a fan and team target. &ldquo;To be honest, when your priority is a team, I get caught up in it a little bit, too,&rdquo; he said.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-05234/9064699-1-eng-US/f0043-052.jpg" title="f0043-05" width="209" height="213"></div><p><b>JIM CRESSMAN</b></p><h2><b>Preparing players for life</b></h2><p>A December study shows 404 of the 435 QMJHL players attend either secondary or post-secondary school &ndash; that&rsquo;s 92.9 percent. &ldquo;Each franchise works closely with one or more academic consultants, whose role is to ensure a strong relationship is maintained between schools, players and teams,&rdquo; said league education advisor Robert Baker. The QMJHL offers grants to players who wish to pursue education beyond their major junior careers. Several teams have also created their own bursary programs. &ldquo;Last year, $396,000 was distributed among 98 players,&rdquo; said commissioner Gilles Courteau. &ldquo;Our objective is to invest even more in the next few years as well as to create new initiatives to help ensure players reach their full potential.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-06193/9064692-1-eng-US/f0043-062.jpg" title="f0043-06" width="210" height="211"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(CLAUS ANDERSEN/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>&ndash; NEIL HODGE</b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0043-01

HOCKEY AWAKENING

<h3><b>ECHL</b></h3><h2><b>Female crew in record books</b></h2><p class="dropcap"><span>P</span>ink ice, pink uniforms and charity fundraisers for breast cancer research are fairly common. But Cincinnati made an already worthwhile &ldquo;Pink in the Rink&rdquo; event historic, using an entirely female off-ice officiating crew in a Cyclones game against Johnstown. For the first time in North American history, a female crew ran a professional game. The team of 25 worked as statisticians, timekeepers, penalty-box officials and goal judges. Cyclones supervisor of off-ice officials, Tim O&rsquo;Shea, came up with the idea and trained the female volunteers with the help of regular staff. The pink home jerseys were auctioned off for charity.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-05201/9064894-1-eng-US/f0045-052.jpg" title="f0045-05" width="229" height="229"></div><p><b>&ndash; MIKE MASTOVICH</b></p><h3><b>UNITED STATES LEAGUE</b></h3><h2><b>Paul carries the load for Ice</b></h2><p>What&rsquo;s making the Indiana Ice so dominant this season? There are many reasons, but 19-year-old center Paul Carey, Colorado&rsquo;s fifth round pick at the 2007 NHL draft, stands out as one of the most important. Carey is carving out an excellent rookie season with 20 goals and 30 points through 23 games. In the 5-foot-11, 165-pound Carey, Colorado doesn&rsquo;t necessarily see size, but skill. So too does Boston College, where Carey will forge his collegiate career next fall. &ldquo;He&rsquo;ll have time to hone his game in college,&rdquo; said a scout at the 2007 draft. &ldquo;And if he uses his time wisely, he has upside and then some.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-06174/9064887-1-eng-US/f0045-062.jpg" title="f0045-06" width="229" height="229"></div><p><b>&ndash; PAUL SHAHEEN</b></p><h3><b>INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE</b></h3><h2><b>Houses over hockey</b></h2><p>The Bloomington Prairie Thunder lost its captain when forward Jason Ralph announced his retirement 17 games into the season. Ralph, 28, retired to join his father&rsquo;s real estate business. &ldquo;It was hard to stand up in front them and tell them I&rsquo;m leaving because I feel like I&rsquo;m letting the team down,&rdquo; Ralph said to the Bloomington <i>Panta graph</i>. &ldquo;But family is important to me and I know I&rsquo;m doing the right thing.&rdquo; Ralph had five goals and 10 points in his seventh professional season. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s no ill feelings,&rdquo; said forward Don Parsons. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a personal decision he had to make. It&rsquo;s not like he took off for Europe or anything like that.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-07156/9064880-1-eng-US/f0045-072.jpg" title="f0045-07" width="229" height="229"></div><p><b>&ndash; BRENDAN SAVAGE</b></p><h3><b>CENTRAL LEAGUE</b></h3><h2><b>Carroll new shutout king</b></h2><p>The numbers added up for Bossier-Shreveport goaltender Ken Carroll. The Mudbugs&rsquo; No. 34 stopped all 34 shots in a 3-0 win over the Colorado Eagles, becoming the Central League&rsquo;s all-time shutout leader. &ldquo;I guess it was meant to be,&rdquo; the eight-year veteran from Oil City, Ont., told the Shreveport <i>Times</i>. &ldquo;Tonight was the night.&rdquo; Carroll&rsquo;s 23rd blanking broke the mark belonging to former Tulsa Oilers netminder Rod Branch. Carroll took 220 appearances to set the record, compared to Branch&rsquo;s 388. Colorado was the highest-scoring team in the league, averaging 4.30 goals a game, and had not been shut out in 21 games this season.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-0895/9064873-1-eng-US/f0045-082.jpg" title="f0045-08" width="229" height="229"></div><p><b>&ndash; DAVID HENRY</b></p><h3><b>SOUTHERN PRO LEAGUE</b></h3><h2><b>Artful career dad&rsquo;s prophecy</b></h2><p>Knoxville&rsquo;s Art Mnatsakanov left Moscow at age 11. His family settled in Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich., where his father, Sergei, became the Red Wings&rsquo; masseuse. But on June 13, 1997, Sergei was riding in a limo with Wings defensemen Vladimir Konstantinov and Slava Fetisov when the driver lost control and crashed into a tree. &ldquo;Now he is in the wheelchair, but we&rsquo;re happy where he stands,&rdquo; the 23-year-old said. His father was the force behind Mnatsakanov, the SPHL&rsquo;s all-time leading scorer among blueliners, playing hockey. &ldquo;I keep on playing because ever since I was a little boy my dad told me I was going to be a hockey player,&rdquo; he said.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-01491/9064866-1-eng-US/f0045-012.jpg" title="f0045-01" width="211" height="212"></div><p><b>&ndash; NICK GATES</b></p><h3><b>EYE ON EUROPE</b></h3><h2><b>Canuck leads Finns to wins</b></h2><p>Doug Shedden&rsquo;s selection as Finland&rsquo;s coach hit that country like a bomb. A Canadian leading the national team? And one with mostly minor-league coaching experience? But after two tournaments, a 3-3 record and wins over both Sweden and Russia, the Finns are starting to warm up to Shedden&rsquo;s straightshooting style. &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t really understand what winning means when you play for your country, it&rsquo;s very special,&rdquo; said Shedden, who signed on for a one-year term last spring. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not sure if my being Canadian is an advantage, hockey&rsquo;s hockey. However, I know how things work there and I know the culture. Maybe that helps.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-02312/9064859-1-eng-US/f0045-022.jpg" title="f0045-02" width="210" height="212"></div><p><b>&ndash; RISTO PAKARINEN</b></p><h3><b>CANADIAN UNIVERSITY</b></h3><h2><b>Tough Smith still playing</b></h2><p>Less than two years ago, Jordan C. Smith lost his left eye when struck in the face by a deflected puck while skating with the AHL&rsquo;s Portland Pirates during his first season of pro hockey. It was the Sault Ste. Marie native&rsquo;s injury that prompted the AHL to introduce mandatory visor use prior to the 2006-07 season. Now skating with the Lakehead Thunderwolves, the punishing 2005 Anaheim Mighty Ducks&rsquo; second-rounder leads all Wolves blueliners with 11 points in 15 games. &ldquo;Jordan loves to win,&rdquo; said Lakehead coach Don McKee. &ldquo;And he loves to play hard. His work ethic is really rubbing off on our younger players.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-03259/9064852-1-eng-US/f0045-032.jpg" title="f0045-03" width="210" height="205"></div><p><b>&ndash; JEFF RENAUD</b></p><h3><b>THE WOMEN&rsquo;S GAME</b></h3><h2><b>Granato helps girls gear up</b></h2><p>Cammi Granato has a basic motivation for getting involved with a company that makes hockey equipment and apparel specifically for female players: &ldquo;To encourage more girls to take up a sport that has long been tailored to boys.&rdquo; Granato, who has an Olympic gold medal to her credit and has also worked in the media, is co-founder of Bela Hockey. &ldquo;This is your sport, too,&rdquo; is the company&rsquo;s message to female players. &ldquo;Often girls interested in playing (hockey) receive the message that it&rsquo;s a boys sport with all the equipment and clothing geared to males,&rdquo; said Granato, who was Team USA&rsquo;s captain until her career ended in 2005.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-04227/9064845-1-eng-US/f0045-042.jpg" title="f0045-04" width="210" height="212"></div><p><b>&ndash; ELIZABETH ETUE</b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0045-05

BEST OF THE REST

<div class="byline">by Nicolas Chabot</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0046-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0046-01476/9064932-1-eng-US/f0046-012.jpg"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-01456/9064925-1-eng-US/f0047-012.jpg" title="f0047-01" width="2793" height="992"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0046-01

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

<div class="byline">BY COREY ERDMAN</div><blockquote class="pullQuote"><i>&ldquo;Back then I thought, &lsquo;Well, there&rsquo;ll be other days.&rsquo; I didn&rsquo;t realize that that was the only day.&rdquo;</i><br>&ndash; &lsquo;Moonlight&rsquo; Graham in 1989 film <i>Field of Dreams</i></blockquote><p>MEET ROBBIE IRONS, the &lsquo;Moonlight&rsquo; Graham of the NHL.</p><p>Kevin Costner&rsquo;s epic <i>Field of Dreams</i> immortalized ballplayer Archibald &lsquo;Moonlight&rsquo; Graham, who appeared in one inning of Major League Baseball play. Irons, similarly, has the dubious honor &ndash; along with former Blackhawks netminder Christian Soucy &ndash; of the shortest NHL career in history: Three minutes.</p><p>He takes this moment of fame light-heartedly and, these days, describes himself as &ldquo;the same old Robbie Irons.&rdquo;</p><p>While playing Jr. B hockey in the Toronto suburb of Etobicoke, Irons was noticed by New York Rangers scout Louis Passador. In 1967, Irons led the New York-sponsored Kitchener Rangers to a first-place finish in the Ontario Hockey Association.</p><p>A broken arm from an off-season baseball game prevented Irons from reporting to the Omaha Knights of the International League. But an agreement was made with Fort Wayne, a city he would become a legend in, and Irons began his professional career as a Komet.</p><p>&ldquo;The pace might have been a bit slower, but the shots were harder and the guys were a lot bigger and stronger,&rdquo; said Irons of the difference between the OHA and the IHL.</p><p>&ldquo;It was what you&rsquo;d call a &lsquo;bus league,&rsquo; but that meant you&rsquo;d have some fierce was as if they were playing against their neighbor every night. You learned a lot, though, guys like Lenny Thornson (who played 12 seasons with the Komets) taught me a great deal. You learned how to compete, most of all.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0048-02201/9064970-1-eng-US/f0048-022.jpg" title="f0048-02" width="547" height="659"></div><p>After appearing in 43 games and leading the Komets to the post-season in his first full professional season in 1967-68, Irons was traded to the St. Louis Blues and was sent to the Kansas City Blues of the American League.</p><p>The Blues were stocking up on goaltending, despite having two legends in Glenn Hall and Jacques Plante. It was a plan only the winningest coach of all-time could have drawn up.</p><p>&ldquo;One day I got a call from Scotty Bowman and he said I was coming up with the big club so they could have a look at me and after two months they would send me back to Kansas City to develop some more,&rdquo; Irons said.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0048-01314/9064963-1-eng-US/f0048-012.jpg" title="f0048-01" width="1074" height="634"><figcaption class="caption-body">Irons&rsquo; NHL time was fleeting, but hockey is a mainstay in his life. <span class="photo-credit">(COURTESY FORT WAYNE KOMETS)</span></figcaption></div><p>He was now standing in the shadows of legends.</p><p>&ldquo;I couldn&rsquo;t believe it,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;One week I&rsquo;m at (the IHL) level and the next thing you know, I&rsquo;m sitting across the room from Jacques Plante and Glenn Hall, two of my heroes.&rdquo;</p><p>Bowman employed an innovative three-goalie system that allowed his two Hall of Fame goaltenders to be fully rested.</p><p>On Nov. 13, 1968, Robbie Irons finally got his chance.</p><p>&ldquo;I remember Plante had taken the late plane from Boston, where we were for the previous game,&rdquo; said Terry Crisp, Irons&rsquo; old teammate and a former NHL coach.</p><p>After a Glenn Hall misconduct penalty, Irons skated onto NHL ice for the first and only time.</p><p>&ldquo;I think he bumped the ref or something,&rdquo; Irons remarked of his often quirky goalie partner. &ldquo;Glenn was probably upset about the long trip or the curved sticks.</p><p>&ldquo;Scotty told me to go in, but he was creating a delay. I thought I was all set to finish (the game) off. This was my shot and I&rsquo;d either make it, or I wouldn&rsquo;t.&rdquo;</p><p>What Irons didn&rsquo;t know was that Plante had arrived and the delay Bowman was creating was to give him time to suit up.</p><p>After three minutes and a whistle, Plante emerged from the dressing room to replace Irons &ndash; never to be seen in the NHL again.</p><p>&ldquo;It was an experience I wish had gone on a lot longer, but one I will never forget,&rdquo; Irons said.</p><p>Added Crisp: &ldquo;He was the victim of a snipe hunt. The same thing happened to Teddy Ouimet (whose lone 60 minutes of NHL play also came with St. Louis during the same season).&rdquo;</p><p>Following his brief NHL moment, Irons returned to Fort Wayne and won the Turner Cup in 1974, as well as a spot on the IHL all-star team during his final campaign in 1980-81.</p><p>&ldquo;To be an all-star in your final season is phenomenal,&rdquo; said Steve Janaszak, Irons&rsquo; goalie partner during his final season.</p><p>Janaszak knows a thing or two about being unheralded, having been stuck behind Glenn &lsquo;Chico&rsquo; Resch, Don Beaupre and Gilles Meloche at various points in his career &ndash; and of course, Jim Craig during Team USA&rsquo;s &lsquo;Miracle on Ice&rsquo; run in 1980.</p><p>&ldquo;You sit there and scratch your head&hellip;you have a highly regarded goaltender, great discipline, loved the game and you wonder, how does he keep doing it every day? Just a phenomenal human being,&rdquo; Janaszak said.</p><p>Irons didn&rsquo;t walk away from the NHL without learning a thing or two. During his stint with the Blues, he provided commentary alongside Dan Kelly for two games in 1968. Today, one can find Irons doing the same for the Fort Wayne Komets.</p><p>His NHL career was fleeting, but to the people of Fort Wayne, he is not only a hero, but one of them &ndash; the same old Robbie Irons.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0048-02

THREE MINUTES OF GOALIE GLORY

<div class="byline">By Larry Humber</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-02188/9065022-1-eng-US/f0049-022.jpg" title="f0049-02" width="914" height="914"><figcaption class="caption-body">Answers available in next issue</figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-01276/9065029-1-eng-US/f0049-012.jpg" title="f0049-01" width="140" height="143"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><h2><b>ACROSS</b></h2><p>1 David ___ is a defenseman with Carolina</p><p>4 Glen ___ is his defense partner</p><p>9 John ___ had three 50-goal seasons for Philly</p><p>10 Montreal&rsquo;s ___ Hamrlik, pictured 11 Ejects</p><p>12 Boston ___ is a top hockey school</p><p>13 Trade</p><p>15 Craig ___ was once part of a deal involving Doug Gilmour</p><p>18 Tyler ___ is with the Avs</p><p> 21 Hockey buff Kurt Russell is also an ___</p><p>23 Give out</p><p>24 Where Gilmour began his NHL career</p><p>25 The Flyers were once &lsquo;The Broad ___ Bullies&rsquo;</p><p>26 Martin ___ is a Swiss-born goalie</p><h2><b>DOWN</b></h2><p>1 Dale ___ is Chicago&rsquo;s GM</p><p>2 Former tough guys Fotiu and Kypreos</p><p>3 Pummels: two words</p><p>5 Former Leaf and Red Wing ___ Thompson</p><p>6 He won his first Hart Trophy in 1988 7 Pulled</p><p>8 Atlanta&rsquo;s ___ Perrin</p><p> 14 Home of hockey&rsquo;s Spitfires</p><p>15 One of the Conachers in the Hall of Fame</p><p>16 Grand ___ is home of hockey&rsquo;s Griffins</p><p>17 Kerry ___ is a long-time referee</p><p>19 The Sharks&rsquo; ___ Bernier</p><p>20 He is Columbus&rsquo;s career goals leader</p><p>22 It gets extra padding in a hockey glove</p><p>LAST WEEK&rsquo;S CROSSWORD SOLUTION ACROSS 1. NIKLAS, 4. CALDER, 9. SHELDON, 10. TRIPS, 11. AISLE, 12. TONELLI, 13. ALES, 15. ANDY, 18. GONCHAR, 21. LILJA, 23. NASAL, 24. SENATOR, 25. SLYEST, 26. BARNES. DOWN 1. NASSAU, 2. KNEES, 3. ANDREAS, 5. ANTON, 6. DRILLED, 7. RUSSIA, 8. KNOT, 14. LINDSAY, 15. ATLANTA, 16. AGENTS, 17. SABRES, 19. HOLES, 20. RUSH, 22. LET IN.</p><h2><b>hockeysockpuppttheatre bycharlieteljeur</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-03135/9065015-1-eng-US/f0049-032.jpg" title="f0049-03" width="1530" height="740"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-04117/9065008-1-eng-US/f0049-042.jpg" title="f0049-04" width="653" height="70"></div><h2><b>NOTE TO READERS&ndash;SCHEDULE</b></h2><p>If you&rsquo;re a passionate hockey fan, you love deeply&hellip;and hate deeply. In the next issue of The Hockey News, we identify the most despised opponents in each of the 30 NHL cities. In Toronto for example, Ottawa&rsquo;s Daniel Alfredsson gets booed every time he touches the puck; fans in Edmonton haven&rsquo;t forgiven Chris Pronger for bolting; and Buffalo still has a hate-on for Dominik Hasek. The next issue of THN is cover dated Jan. 22, meaning you won&rsquo;t be receiving one next week. From there, we publish for three consecutive weeks (Jan. 29, Feb. 5 and Feb. 12) before taking another break. For our publishing schedule visit: <a href="http://thn.com/magsched">thn.com/magsched</a>.</p><p>by Ryan Kennedy</p><h2><b>TIPS FROM THE POINT</b></h2><h3><b>WITH IAN LAPERRIERE</b></h3><p>BATTLING IN THE CORNERS</p><p>Body position is the key &ndash; Andrew Brunette is the best I&rsquo;ve seen in awhile. I don&rsquo;t care if you&rsquo;re strong like a bull, if you don&rsquo;t put your butt in the right position, you&rsquo;ll lose. You have to have quick feet 1-on-1 and I&rsquo;ve also noticed a lot of &ldquo;reverse hits&rdquo; lately when players sense a guy coming.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-0581/9065001-1-eng-US/f0049-052.jpg" title="f0049-05" width="226" height="423"></div><p>COLORADO</p><p>AVALANCHE</p><p><b>AGE:</b> 33 <b>POS:</b> RW <b>NUMBER:</b> 14<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0049-02

CROSSWORD

<div class="byline">with Mike Brophy</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="c0004-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/c0004-02195/9065067-1-eng-US/c0004-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Matt Cullen <span class="photo-credit">(DAVE REGINEK/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><blockquote class="pullQuote">&ldquo;I would go an entire period without touching the puck&rdquo;</blockquote><p>LOOKING BACK NOW, it all seems like a blur.</p><p><i>Did I really play for the New York Rangers?</i></p><p>That&rsquo;s what Matt Cullen asks himself from time to time now that he is back home with the Carolina Hurricanes, the team with which he won the Stanley Cup in 2006&hellip;and then left for the bright lights of Broadway a few weeks later.</p><p>&ldquo;You know, it really does seem a little weird when I think about it,&rdquo; says Cullen, who signed a four-year, $11.5-million deal with the Rangers in the summer of &rsquo;06 only to be traded back to Carolina a year and 16 days later.</p><p>&ldquo;Everything happened so fast. We won the Cup and spent a few days celebrating. My brothers got married and then my wife had our baby. Suddenly I found myself in New York. Everything was such a blur.&rdquo;</p><p>After setting career-highs in goals (25) and points (49) in &rsquo;05-06, Cullen was one of the most attractive unrestricted free agents on the market and the Rangers were only too happy to scoop him up, along with fellow Hurricane Aaron Ward. New York&rsquo;s braintrust felt the pair of ex-Canes, coming off a championship, would solidify what was already a pretty good team. But in a rather strange turn of events, the two players were discarded by the Rangers; Ward was traded to Boston in February and Cullen dealt away in the summer of 2007.</p><p>Although his numbers suggest he played all right for New York &ndash; 16 goals, 41 points in 80 games &ndash; Cullen never really settled in with the Rangers. For starters, they saw him as a No. 2 center and that really was not his forte. And when you&rsquo;re paying a guy $3.1 million (which represented a 460-percent raise over the $668,800 he made the year before), expectations run pretty high.</p><p>Back in Carolina, Cullen has settled in nicely on the third line, playing behind Rod Brind&rsquo;Amour and Eric Staal. Not only that, he was 27th in NHL scoring with eight goals and 34 points in 35 games compared to Gomez, the Rangers&rsquo; top scorer, who ranked 62nd with 27 points.</p><p>What makes Cullen an extremely valuable member of the Hurricanes is his ability to man the point on the power play. He is quick, handles the puck well and has a booming shot.</p><p>Strangely, though, the Rangers didn&rsquo;t use him in that capacity.</p><p>&ldquo;I was really surprised by that because when they signed me, they said my ability to play the point on the power play was what really attracted me to them,&rdquo; Cullen says.</p><p>Instead, the Rangers mostly used Martin Straka and Michal Rozsival on the points on the first unit and Paul Mara and Karel Rachunek on the second unit.</p><p>&ldquo;We thought he would help on our power play, but as a forward on the second unit,&rdquo; says Rangers coach Tom Renney.</p><p>Cullen scored just two goals with the man advantage for the Rangers.</p><p>&ldquo;Not playing on the power play hurt my overall game,&rdquo; Cullen says. &ldquo;When you play on the power play, you have the puck a lot. I think that goes a long way in keeping you sharp. There were times when I&rsquo;d go an entire period without touching the puck.&rdquo;</p><p>His lack of opportunity and production on the power play aside, Cullen says there were other differences in suiting up for New York that conspired against him being able to play his game.</p><p>&ldquo;I would say the Rangers play a more defense-oriented system,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;I was used to playing a more run-and-gun style in Carolina, where we are encouraged to try things. You get the puck, you turn up ice and you fly. The first half of the season with the Rangers I often found myself way ahead of the play. It took a while to adjust.&rdquo;</p><p>Meanwhile, back in Carolina, the Canes struggled following their Cup win. The team tried a number of players at third-line center, but none came close to being as effective as the powerful 6-foot-1, 205-pound Cullen. The Canes went from champs to chumps, failing to qualify for the playoffs last year.</p><p>Although they have played inconsistently after a terrific start this season, the Hurricanes clearly are a better team with Cullen on board.</p><p>&ldquo;He fulfills a very important role on our team,&rdquo; says coach Peter Laviolette. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a strong, creative player who is excellent 1-on-1.&rdquo;</p><p>As for his New York adventure, Cullen says he has no regrets.</p><p>&ldquo;For a kid who grew up in Minnesota, signing with the Rangers was like a dream come true,&rdquo; he says.</p><p>&ldquo;There&rsquo;s something really special about playing in front of a New York crowd. But, like I said when I was traded back to Carolina, this is like home to me. I&rsquo;d be happy to play the rest of my career here.&rdquo;</p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/c0004-01309/9065060-1-eng-US/c0004-012.jpg" title="c0004-01" width="75" height="75"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p>For Mike&rsquo;s web-exclusive Double OT column, visit <a href="http://THN.com">thn.com</a><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

Search for your favorite player or team

January 8, 2008

JOB SECURITY

GOING OUT WITH A BANG

100 PEOPLE OF POWER AND INFLUENCE

PROSPECT WATCH