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.

February 26, 2008

The Hockey News - Feb-26-08

<div class="byline">&#x2013; KEN CAMPBELL</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-012175/9182174-1-eng-US/f0010-012.jpg" title="f0010-01" width="952" height="818"><figcaption class="caption-body">The Red Wings&rsquo; stable of two-way stars makes Detroit a powerhouse at even strength.</figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><span>P</span>ERHAPS IT WASN&rsquo;T THE BEST TIME to talk to Mike Babcock about how dominant his team has been playing 5-on-5 this year. Just the night before, the Red Wings coach had watched Detroit lose to the worst club in the league and look singularly unimpressive in doing so.</p><p>But suffice it to say the Wings&rsquo; 5-3 loss to Los Angeles in early February, one in which they gave up as many even-strength goals as they scored, was a wild aberration. The Red Wings have not only been the best 5-on-5 team in the league this season, it hasn&rsquo;t even been close.</p><p>Through 56 games, the Wings had 125 goals in 5-on-5 situations and given up just 69 for a plus-56. Ottawa was second at just plus-22 (132-110). The Red Wings scored 1.79 goals at 5-on-5 for every one they gave up, which was miles ahead of the Senators, who were second at 1.24. Moreover, the Wings were plus-1.3 in terms of 5-on-5 plus/minus per 60 minutes of hockey, while the Sens were second at just plus-0.5.</p><p>It certainly helps the Wings are loaded with talented, conscientious two-way skaters. But there&rsquo;s also an expectation players will play a responsible game. &ldquo;It just comes down to philosophy,&rdquo; Babcock said. &ldquo;The philosophy here is, that is what we expect and what we demand. Obviously, you need players, but you need players who will make a commitment. Everybody has good players. We watch other teams in warmups and we say, &lsquo;Man, they&rsquo;re really good, they&rsquo;re really talented,&rsquo; and then the puck is dropped.&rdquo;</p><p>Part of that philosophy is giving players the confidence their defensive efforts will be rewarded with scoring chances. Red Wings such as Dan Cleary, Valtteri Filppula and Pavel Datsyuk weren&rsquo;t particularly dynamic two-way talents when they arrived in Detroit, but they have been transformed largely because they have seen the results of sound positioning and good defensive play without the puck.</p><p>&ldquo;People talk about how if you want to create offense, you have to cheat defensively,&rdquo; Babcock said. &ldquo;I believe, and our team believes, that the 100 percent opposite is true.&rdquo;</p><p>Babcock acknowledges all-world defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom is key to the Wings&rsquo; efforts at 5-on-5. Along with Brian Rafalski and Niklas Kronwall, the Wings have one of the NHL&rsquo;s best puck-moving defense corps. &ldquo;When your defensemen can&rsquo;t move the puck, your forwards are starving for offense,&rdquo; Babcock said. &ldquo;When one of those guys is out of our lineup, we don&rsquo;t generate near as much as when they&rsquo;re in there.&rdquo;</p><h2><b>WHAT&rsquo;S IRRITATING BROPHY + CAMPBELL THIS WEEK?</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-03995/9182167-1-eng-US/f0010-032.jpg" title="f0010-03" width="252" height="251"></div><p>Fans in Toronto say they&rsquo;ll accept a youth movement. But when the kids get spanked like they did in an 8-0 loss to Florida in early February, they get booed off the ice by those very same fans.</p><p>Why did the Hawks turn out to be such posers? Weren&rsquo;t they supposed to be good? After a promising start, Chicago has a better chance of getting the No. 1 pick than making the playoffs.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-04691/9182160-1-eng-US/f0010-042.jpg" title="f0010-04" width="412" height="553"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jiri Tlusty</figcaption></div><h2><b>FRESH LEGS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-05504/9182153-1-eng-US/f0010-052.jpg" title="f0010-05" width="719" height="939"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(NISKANEN: GLENN JAMES/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES; DETROIT: GREGORY SHAMUS/GETTY IMAGES; TLUSTY: GRAIG ABEL/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>MATT NISKANEN</p><p>DALLAS STARS, D</p><p>DEBUT Oct. 3, 2007</p><p>VS. Colorado (4-3 loss)</p><p>ICE TIME 15:16, 17 shifts</p><p>KEY STAT 1 blocked shot</p><p>&ldquo;MY FIRST GAME came in Colorado and the veterans on our team were very excited for me. They told me beforehand, &lsquo;You only have one first game.&rsquo;</p><p>My defense partner was Stephane Robidas and we talked a lot from shift to shift about team systems, positioning and what to do with the puck in certain situations.</p><p>About five seconds after I hopped over the boards for my first shift, the puck came to me and I made my first pass. It felt great to be in the game and I settled down after that.</p><p>Colorado really pressures you, but I think I made some solid plays to break the puck out, which gave me confidence.</p><p>At one point, I got one of the veteran Avs in the side with my stick. He yelled, telling me to watch it. As a rookie, I didn&rsquo;t want to talk back.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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THE STANDARDS

WINGS THRIVE 5-ON-5

<div class="byline">BY BOB DUFF</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0048-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0048-01340/9183404-1-eng-US/f0048-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Paul Ysebaert, with Bob Probert at left, runs his stable like a shrewd NHL GM.</figcaption></div><p>WHEN IT COMES TO BREEDING, retired NHLer Paul Ysebaert is a busy man.</p><p>At home, the father of one is waiting for his wife Tera to deliver their second child.</p><p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got one girl (two-year-old Ava Marie) and another girl on the way,&rdquo; Ysebaert said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s amazing. I didn&rsquo;t think parenthood would change me that much, but you just can&rsquo;t believe how wonderful it is until you try it.&rdquo;</p><p>At the farm, Ysebaert has some other babies that are a going concern. An owner and breeder of standard-bred race horses, now is the time of year in the horse-racing game when the two-year-olds &ndash; the rookies in the business &ndash; are getting schooled in the ways of the track.</p><p>&ldquo;I got a filly we&rsquo;ve bred that we&rsquo;re pretty excited about,&rdquo; said Ysebaert of a two-year-old pacer named Energy Efficient, who is a full sister to former world champion Artiscape.</p><p>Consider it the same as finding out your team just signed Sidney Crosby&rsquo;s brother.</p><p>Eleven seasons as an NHL winger taught Ysebaert plenty about the ups and downs of life as a professional athlete.</p><p>With the Detroit Red Wings in 1991-92, Ysebaert posted an NHL-best plus-44 rating. Six seasons later with the Tampa Bay Lightning, Ysebaert&rsquo;s minus-43 rating was the NHL&rsquo;s worst, making him the only player in league history to turn this unique, albeit undesirable double play.</p><p>All of which served as great preparation for life in the harness-racing business.</p><p>For Ysebaert, 41, who played 532 NHL games for Detroit, New Jersey Devils, Chicago Blackhawks, Winnipeg Jets and the Lightning from 1988-99, it&rsquo;s a game he has been in since his hockey-playing days and one that has proven very rewarding.</p><p>&ldquo;There are a lot of similarities between human athletes and horses, more than there are differences,&rdquo; Ysebaert said. &ldquo;The competition is so similar.&rdquo;</p><p>His experience as a hockey player gives him a unique perspective on the comparison. Some horses give their best every time out, regardless of their aches and pains. Others cower and find excuses not to perform at their peak.</p><p>Ysebaert pointed out an obvious, but crucial discrepancy: &ldquo;The biggest difference is they don&rsquo;t speak.&rdquo;</p><p>A native of Corunna, Ont., Ysebaert&rsquo;s first experience with horse racing came when he was playing in a junior hockey tournament in Windsor, Ont.. During his stay, the parents of some friends took him to Windsor Raceway for a night out.</p><p>Later, as a minor pro player with the AHL&rsquo;s Utica Devils, New Jersey&rsquo;s farm club at the time, Ysebaert began to follow racing more closely. He met seven-time Canadian trainer-of-the-year Bob McIntosh while playing for the Wings in 1990 and, soon after, purchased a horse for McIntosh to train.</p><p>Though he never won a Stanley Cup as a player, Ysebaert has sent several horses to the Breeders Crown, harness racing&rsquo;s version of the Stanley Cup final. Electrical Art, V P Finance, Mr. G and I Zee are just some of the stakes-winning horses Ysebaert has owned over the years.</p><p>Since retiring from hockey, Ysebaert has become more involved in racing. He attends yearling sales, but leans more towards homegrown products. Along with eight racehorses, he owns three broodmares (females used primarily for breeding). Electrical Art, a million-dollar earner as a racehorse, is now one of Ysebaert&rsquo;s finest.</p><p>If he were running a hockey team instead of a successful racing stable, Ysebaert would be the sort of executive who built through the draft rather than signing pricey free agents.</p><p>&ldquo;You can watch them develop,&rdquo; he says of the homebred racehorses. &ldquo;Then enjoy the plan when it comes to fruition.&rdquo;</p><p>At one point, Ysebaert&rsquo;s stable included pieces of ownership in seven broodmares and as many as 28 racehorses.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been downsizing the broodmares and cutting down on the racehorses,&rdquo; Ysebaert said.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not making an NHL salary anymore.&rdquo;</p><p>The star of the stable last season was All Accounted For, a two-year-old filly that earned more than $100,000 in an Ontario Sires Stakes competition. Just Plug It In, another Ysebaert homebred, set a track record last year at Clinton (Ont.) Raceway.</p><p>&ldquo;We follow a simple plan,&rdquo; Ysebaert said. &ldquo;If they&rsquo;re not going to be stakes horses at three (years old), we sell them.&rdquo;</p><p>He&rsquo;s building a family home in Mooretown, Ont., and Ysebaert figures his racing experience has taught him what it would be like to build a hockey team in today&rsquo;s salary-capped NHL.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s just like being a GM,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s all about money management.</p><p>&ldquo;Each move you makes determines whether you&rsquo;ll be able to stay in the game.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0048-02216/9183397-1-eng-US/f0048-022.jpg" title="f0048-02" width="669" height="1007"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(ELSA/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

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IN THIS ISSUE

SERIOUS STYLE OF HORSE PLAY

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0036-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-011229/9182932-1-eng-US/f0036-012.jpg"></div><h2><b>WESTERN CONFERENCE</b></h2><h2><b>EASTERN CONFERENCE</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-011098/9182925-1-eng-US/f0037-012.jpg" title="f0037-01" width="2432" height="3184"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

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DEPTH CHARTS

<div class="byline">by Nicolas Chabot</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0044-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-01597/9183366-1-eng-US/f0044-012.jpg"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-01512/9183359-1-eng-US/f0045-012.jpg" title="f0045-01" width="5604" height="3544"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-01474/9183352-1-eng-US/f0047-012.jpg" title="f0047-01" width="2548" height="1390"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

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INSIDE THE NUMBERS

<div class="byline">with Jason Kay</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-012085/9181825-1-eng-US/f0004-012.jpg" title="f0004-01" width="765" height="642"></div><p>A YEAR AFTER DIPPING its toe in European waters, the NHL will wade in up to its ankles in 2008-09.</p><p>The plan calls for five games to kick off the season, with contests slated in Switzerland, Sweden and the Czech Republic. This follows the 2007-08 campaign launch in the U.K.</p><p>The concept was pretty much met with yawns in North America, with the exception of new union director Paul Kelly, who publicly warned a befuddled NHL that his constituents hadn&rsquo;t yet signed off on the plan. Consent would certainly be forthcoming, he maintained, but details still needed to be completed. A little muscle-flexing, perhaps?</p><p>Either way, the road show is on. The league, presumably in an attempt to expand its footprint, cultivate new revenue streams and generally grow the game, is going &ldquo;over there.&rdquo;</p><p>But questions persist. What exactly is the league&rsquo;s long-term vision, if it indeed has one? Euro expansion? A Euro division? Or is this simply a way to try to squeeze every potential Euro dollar (jersey sales, TV packages, website traffic, etc.) from a demographic that, per capita, has a far greater affinity for hockey than the U.S.?</p><p>We don&rsquo;t blame the league for trying to earn more money; heck, that&rsquo;s their job. But this experiment isn&rsquo;t a gimme and it could end up backfiring.</p><p>For starters, while a handful of European communities may embrace regular season NHL games, the venues are limiting. Typically, their capacities are small by NHL standards &ndash; the Globe Arena in Stockholm, where the Sens and Pens will meet, seats 13,850 for hockey. That&rsquo;s fine for a series of one-offs, but a huge risk if we&rsquo;re talking expansion. Ticket prices for entrenched club teams in Europe don&rsquo;t approach what North Americans pay to see NHLers live, so it&rsquo;d be a serious leap of faith to believe Swedes, Finns, Russians and Czechs would dole out more for a new, rival league. It didn&rsquo;t work in Europe for the behemoth NFL &ndash; and there wasn&rsquo;t any competition in that sport.</p><p>The games create little buzz here, back home, what with the time change and distance making them seem, well, foreign. We can swallow this once a season, but if it were to happen repeatedly, the league runs the risk of alienating some of its core. Less pressing, but still a consideration, is the fact a large number of players see these games as a necessary evil. Some may get a kick playing at home, but for many the travel and jet lag are a hassle.</p><p>Don&rsquo;t get us wrong. We&rsquo;re not suggesting the NHL abandon its Euro foot-dipping; we just believe they should keep wading, not diving in.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-021764/9181818-1-eng-US/f0004-022.jpg" title="f0004-02" width="448" height="241"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(MARK WILSON)</span></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

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EUROPE: A NICE PLACE TO VISIT

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0005-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-021502/9181880-1-eng-US/f0005-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(JIM MCISAAC/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><span>I</span> hope we aren&rsquo;t seeing a trend here. First Scott Niedermayer said he thought about retiring after winning the Stanley Cup with Anaheim. Then, he decided to come back midway through the season. Now Teemu Selanne has changed his mind, too?</p><p>Which guy gets bumped down to the minors, traded, or sits in the press box in Selanne&rsquo;s place? Is it fair to that player, who showed up on Day 1 and has the bruises to prove it? It&rsquo;s not as if either of these guys have a legitimate excuse like Mario Lemieux had. I say enough. Quit waffling, guys. Are you in or are you out?</p><p>DIANA SPRAIN, LAS VEGAS</p><blockquote class="pullQuote">Just because a few thousand people come dressed as seats doesn&rsquo;t mean they&rsquo;re not loyal</blockquote><h2><b>FASHION CONSCIOUS</b></h2><p>I greatly enjoyed Ken Campbell&rsquo;s article on the Los Angeles Kings and their increasing potential to land one or both of Steven Stamkos and John Tavares (Jan. 29).</p><p>However, as a long-time Kings fan, I deeply resent his implication that the Kings&rsquo; announced attendance figure is ever &ldquo;bogus.&rdquo;</p><p>Just because a few thousand people a night in fashion-conscious Los Angeles happen to show up dressed as seats, that doesn&rsquo;t mean they&rsquo;re not loyal and true fans&hellip;</p><p>MEL POWELL, SHERMAN OAKS, CALIF.</p><h2><b>DOC&rsquo;S GOOD DEED</b></h2><p>I just wanted to inform the hockey world about a great gesture Mike &lsquo;Doc&rsquo; Emrick initiated.</p><p>My son and I were at the CNN Center in Atlanta waiting in line and Mike walked by. I said hello to him and we spoke for a while. He asked us if we had tickets to the All-Star Game that night. We said no. He reached into his suit and gave us two club-level seats.</p><p>He made a 10-year-old boy and a lifelong hockey fan very happy. Mike Emrick is not just a great Hall of Fame announcer, but a better human being. Thanks again, Mike.</p><p>GREGORY BARNA, MARIETTA, GA.</p><h2><b>FOR THE KIDS</b></h2><p>I read the Jan. 22 article about ways to improve the NHL All-Star Game &ndash; and I have to admit I agreed with much of what was said. The game has become boring, predictable and, to a degree, pointless.</p><p>But having just watched it with my two sons, aged seven and 11, I think my view has changed. Listening to them cheer on their heroes, and watching them as Vincent Lecavalier made spin moves you won&rsquo;t see in any regular game, I&rsquo;d have to suggest that from the boys&rsquo; viewpoint, there is nothing wrong with the All-Star Game.</p><p>They were riveted to the action, especially at the end of the third and cheered loudly when Marc Savard scored to give the East the win. It was like Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final.</p><p>Lots of goals, players having fun, watching their heroes &ndash; from a kid&rsquo;s perspective, maybe the game should just be left alone.</p><p>ANDREW CUDMORE, OTTAWA</p><h2><b>BACKING UP BACKUPS</b></h2><p>I love Ken Campbell&rsquo;s columns. They are the main reason I subscribe to the magazine. However, I take issue with the article &ldquo;Why Can&rsquo;t A Goalie Play In All 82?&rdquo; (Jan. 22). For me, there is a simple reason why starting goalies shouldn&rsquo;t be expected to play every game: That&rsquo;s unfair to the backups.</p><p>Backup goalies can&rsquo;t learn to play their best without experience. If they don&rsquo;t get adequate ice time, they don&rsquo;t get the experience needed to become good netminders. If they don&rsquo;t become good backup goalies, they don&rsquo;t get the opportunity to improve their skills to become even better backups and, possibly, eventual starters. A classic Catch-22.</p><p>MATTHEW CHOCIEJ, AUBURN, WASH.</p><h2><b>IGGY SECOND TO NONE</b></h2><p>I just want to comment about the Jarome Iginla cover story in the Jan. 22 issue. I want to say thank you.</p><p>I&rsquo;m a Penguins fan and always will be, but a player I admire very much is Iginla. He&rsquo;s an amazing player, and I think a lot of people overlook him because of other stars such as Sidney Crosby and Vincent Lecavalier. You don&rsquo;t hear much about Iginla unless it&rsquo;s a little blurb here or there and I just wanted to say I think he was a good choice for MVP at the half.</p><p>MALLORY FAUST, JARRETSVILLE, MD.</p><h2><b>DUCK PONDERINGS</b></h2><p>When Anaheim signs Scott Niedermayer and Teemu Selanne late, and for less money, it sets off other teams trying to find ways to cheat the salary cap.</p><p>Also, it makes the regular season meaningless, as teams can sit out players for a playoff run. If this sport becomes any more like baseball, I will not follow it.</p><p>BILL SMITH, NEWARK, N.J.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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PERSONAL FOWL

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-012307/9181918-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg" title="f0006-01" width="562" height="571"></div><p>What was your &lsquo;welcome to the NHL&rsquo; moment?</p><p>When John Davidson told me I would be in the lineup after the 10th game and I should look for somewhere to live, that was pretty cool. I scored five times in my first 10 games, so I started off well.</p><p>Favorite movie of all-time?</p><p><i>300</i>.</p><p>Worst hotel you&rsquo;ve ever stayed in?</p><p>In Russia for the world junior &ndash; that was awful. The rooms were very narrow and the air was bad. Moscow as a city was awesome, though.</p><p>Who is your road roommate and how are they?</p><p>I&rsquo;ve had two: D.J. King and Christian Backman. They&rsquo;ve both been great, taking care of me as a rookie.</p><p>What was your last job before becoming a hockey player?</p><p>Mowing lawns.</p><p>Best vacation you&rsquo;ve taken?</p><p>I never vacation. In the summer I just rest. Going to the All-Star Game this year (as a YoungStar) was my vacation &ndash; it was amazing.</p><p>Which current NHLer is a lock for the Hall of Fame?</p><p>Joe Sakic.</p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-021542/9181911-1-eng-US/f0006-022.jpg" title="f0006-02" width="77" height="77"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p>Visit <a href="http://TheHockeyNews.com">thehockeynews.com</a> for exclusive audio from 2 MINUTES IN THE BOX<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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2 MINUTES IN THE BOX WITH DAVID PERRON

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-04559/9181963-1-eng-US/f0006-042.jpg" title="f0006-04" width="251" height="251"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span>HN, There&rsquo;s been a question that has been boggling my mind since I started watching hockey&hellip;Why do so many goalies use numbers in the 30s or No. 1?</p><p>Deryk Luce</p><p>Deryk, Back in the early days of the NHL, your number was determined by your position. Goalies wore No. 1, defensemen wore Nos. 2-8 and forwards wore Nos. 9 and up (although they only went to the high 20s). When the two-goalie system began to take hold, the backup netminder needed a different number and 30 was the lowest one available.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-07185/9181956-1-eng-US/f0006-072.jpg" title="f0006-07" width="611" height="459"></div><p>THN, I recently saw a game where the starting goalie was run into and hurt. He was then replaced by the backup goalie. The backup also got run into, but didn&rsquo;t get hurt. What happens if both goalies get hurt during a game?</p><p>Paul Dyck</p><p>Paul, If both goalies go down, their team is in a lot of trouble. However, according to the NHL rulebook, the team can play any available goalie (ie. one not dressed that night) in this situation. On Dec. 17, 2005, the Blues almost dressed local police officer Bill Muller as a backup when Chris Beckford-Tseu&rsquo;s arrival from the ECHL was in doubt.</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/f0006-05434/9181949-1-eng-US/f0006-052.jpg" title="f0006-05" width="76" height="78"></div><p>Need more of your questions answered?</p><p>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>

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ASK THE EXPERTS

<p><i>Who is the best goal-scorer in the NHL?</i></p><p>Alex Ovechkin 74 %</p><p>Ilya Kovalchuk 10 %</p><p>Vincent Lecavalier 5 %</p><p>Jarome Iginla 4 %</p><p>Rick Nash 4 %</p><p>Dany Heatley 3 %</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-06305/9182001-1-eng-US/f0006-062.jpg" title="f0006-06" width="496" height="695"></div><h2><b>SPIT IT OUT!</b></h2><p>GET IT OFF YOUR CHEST</p><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/f0006-08111/9181994-1-eng-US/f0006-082.jpg" title="f0006-08" width="76" height="77"><figcaption class="caption-body" style="width: 76px"><span class="photo-credit">(PERRON: MARK BUCKNER/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES; LUONGO: JEFF VINNICK/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES; OVECHKIN: DAVE SANDFORD/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></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>

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POLL RESULTS

<div class="byline">&#x2013; MIKE BROPHY</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0008-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-012206/9182039-1-eng-US/f0008-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Joe Thornton <span class="photo-credit">(DEBORA ROBINSON/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-021667/9182046-1-eng-US/f0008-022.jpg" title="f0008-02" width="181" height="206"></div><p>The East is the least!</p><p>If you believe that any one of the top seeds in the Western Conference would be able to beat any one of the top seeds in the Eastern Conference in a best-of-7 Stanley Cup final &ndash; and there are a lot of &ldquo;experts&rdquo; who would take that bet through early February, particularly with Ottawa in a tailspin &ndash; then it&rsquo;s safe to suggest the NHL&rsquo;s best hockey is being played in the West.</p><p>And that doesn&rsquo;t even really count a team like Anaheim as a top seed, although the Ducks are rising in the West and expect to take a run at repeating as Cup champions now that Scott Niedermayer and Teemu Selanne are back in the fold.</p><p>&ldquo;Look at the way Anaheim plays,&rdquo; said one pro scout. &ldquo;They have all that size up front to go with the best defense in the league and they simply try to grind you down.&rdquo;</p><p>The simple fact is, the West won 63 of the first 109 intra-conference games against the East (a .578 winning percentage). That would appear to seal the deal for the West, but the separation between the two conferences is actually narrower than initially meets the eye.</p><p>For instance, many would agree the best three young players in the game are Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin. They are all stationed in the East. Further, seven of the NHL&rsquo;s top 10 scorers through early February reside in the East, including the top three &ndash; Ovechkin, Daniel Alfredsson and Vincent Lecavalier.</p><p>On the other hand, Nicklas Lidstrom, Chris Pronger and Niedermayer are strong choices as the league&rsquo;s top three defensemen, and they&rsquo;re all in the West. And seven of the top 10 teams in goals-against average are Western clubs, including three (Detroit, San Jose, Vancouver) of the top four. New Jersey &ndash; big surprise &ndash; is third. When it comes to goals, six of the top 10 snipers are in the East &ndash; including Ovechkin, who has eyes on his first Rocket Richard Trophy, and Ilya Kovalchuk, who could win his second (he tied Rick Nash and Jarome Iginla in 2004).</p><p>Then there&rsquo;s fighting. Anaheim set the tone last season by leading a resurgence of &ldquo;old-time hockey&rdquo; en route to winning the Cup. So, it shouldn&rsquo;t shock anyone to learn the Ducks, trying to follow up on last year&rsquo;s success, are using the same formula and are once again the NHL&rsquo;s most pugilistic team with 45 fighting majors. But this year, they&rsquo;re not alone. Tied for first is Philadelphia, which seems bent upon returning to the Broad Street Bullies days.</p><p>Of the 10 teams with the most fighting majors, six were from the West. In fact, Western Conference teams held down five of the top seven spots. Amongst the NHL&rsquo;s most penalized players, the top five (Daniel Carcillo, Jared Boll, Eric Godard, Zach Stortini and Adam Burish) are Western-based.</p><p>However, not all Eastern teams have been fodder. Pittsburgh, for example, is 7-1-0 against Western competition. Florida is a respectable 4-2-3. On the other hand, the Maple Leafs are an abysmal 1-7-0 and Carolina is just 2-5-0.</p><p>Meanwhile, Colorado dominated Eastern teams with a 7-1-0 record while Detroit is 6-2-0 and St. Louis is 5-1-1. Only three Western teams have losing records against the East (Chicago, Minnesota, San Jose).</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-03847/9182032-1-eng-US/f0009-032.jpg" title="f0009-03" width="969" height="642"><figcaption class="caption-body">Phoenix&rsquo;s Daniel Carcillo loves to drop the gloves in defense of his fellow Dogs.</figcaption></div><p>If there is one team that can play any way the opposition chooses, it&rsquo;s the Western-based, NHL-leading Detroit Red Wings. The Wings don&rsquo;t fight a lot &ndash; they&rsquo;re second-last with 14 fighting majors in 54 games &ndash; but they don&rsquo;t shy away from the rough stuff, either.</p><p>&ldquo;You might say on some level they play more of an Eastern style,&rdquo; said a pro scout. &ldquo;Your first impression is they play with speed and finesse, but if you watch them, you&rsquo;ll see they are also one of the hardest-working teams in the NHL. Also, they crash the net hard and get pucks to playable positions better than any other team.&rdquo;</p><p>In the East. Or West.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0008-01

EAST VS. WEST: WHO’S THE BEST?

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-011985/9182091-1-eng-US/f0009-012.jpg" title="f0009-01" width="306" height="272"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-021380/9182084-1-eng-US/f0009-022.jpg" title="f0009-02" width="503" height="503"></div><p>KATZ MEOW Have to feel good about billionaire Daryl Katz, who grew up in Edmonton, buying the Oilers.</p><p>DWIGHT ON Weyburn (Sask.) Red Wings Jr. A coach Dwight McMillan joins bench legends Scotty Bowman and Brian Kilrea in the 1,000-win club.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-04647/9182077-1-eng-US/f0009-042.jpg" title="f0009-04" width="503" height="503"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(CARCILLO: JIM MCISAAC/GETTY IMAGES; RICHARDS: SCOTT CUNNINGHAM/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES; SELANNE: BRUCE BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES; RYDER: ANDRE RINGUETTE/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>CZECHING OUT? As of early February, 40 NHLers had more points than slumping Ranger Jaromir Jagr.</p><p>RYDER&rsquo;S CRASH Two-time 30-goal man Michael Ryder has been scratched as many times as he&rsquo;s scored this year.</p><p>ONE FORWARD, TWO BACK? Slumping Canucks, Senators hardly building on progress each team made last season.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0009-01

PLUS/MINUS

<p>10 DAVID LEGWAND is on his way to being a Predator for life.</p><p>9 Those who like DUSTIN BROWN, namely the Kings, like him a lot.</p><p>8 You can&rsquo;t have DANY HEATLEY without JASON SPEZZA, so the Sens re-upped both.</p><p>7 Lucky sevens for JAROME IGINLA as he&rsquo;ll pull in $7 million a year until 2013.</p><p>6 RYAN GETZLAF is the future &ndash; and a good chunk of the present &ndash; in Anaheim.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-05484/9182122-1-eng-US/f0009-052.jpg" title="f0009-05" width="685" height="478"></div><p>5 DION PHANEUF&rsquo;S new six-year deal locks up the Flames blueline tight.</p><p>4 Big MILAN MICHALEK has even more time grow in San Jose.</p><p>3 Is MIKE RICHARDS the next Flyers captain? He&rsquo;s got eight more years to do it.</p><p>2 SIDNEY CROSBY gets points for coordinating his cap hit and jersey number.</p><p>1 With 13 years to go, ALEX OVECHKIN has confirmed his love of Washington.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0009-05

Starting from 10

<div class="byline">&#x2013; ADAM PROTEAU</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0011-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-021364/9182233-1-eng-US/f0011-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">The stars are back in Anaheim. Will the Stanley Cup return, too? <span class="photo-credit">(BRUCE BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><span>O</span>UTSIDE OF ANAHEIM, you&rsquo;ll find no shortage of fans irked by the recent returns of Scott Niedermayer and Teemu Selanne to the Ducks lineup.</p><p>And though the situation has resulted in cries in some circles for the NHL to set an earlier deadline for inactive NHLers to declare their intent to play &ndash; the current roster freeze is the Feb. 26 trade deadline &ndash; a few league observers have some advice for those circles: Don&rsquo;t hold your breath.</p><p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think the league needs a rule,&rdquo; said Red Wings assistant GM Jim Nill. &ldquo;If you&rsquo;ve got the cap room to bring in a player, you&rsquo;ve got the cap room. You can&rsquo;t restrict every corner (of the game), and it&rsquo;s a team&rsquo;s choice how they spend their money.&rdquo;</p><p>The return of two veterans in the middle of an NHL season isn&rsquo;t without its downsides, Nill added, but under the right circumstances, bringing in inactive players is akin to a trade, or to a veteran coming back from a long-term injury.</p><p>&ldquo;There&rsquo;s a fair amount of risk involved,&rdquo; Nill said. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s a risk as to whether your team will be in the playoff mix by the time the players want to return and that&rsquo;s obviously hard to plan for. There&rsquo;s a risk chemistry-wise in the dressing room. And there&rsquo;s a risk as to whether the player or players returning can get their game up to speed.</p><p>&ldquo;Niedermayer has done it, because he&rsquo;s a great player. Selanne will do it too, because he&rsquo;s also a great one. But it&rsquo;s like a player being injured for five months &ndash; what happens if he can&rsquo;t find his game in time (for the playoffs)?&rdquo;</p><p>That the Ducks are coming off a championship season also makes the return of Niedermayer and Selanne more palatable to the team.</p><p>&ldquo;Anaheim&rsquo;s a unique situation, because (Selanne and Niedermayer) are very respected in the dressing room,&rdquo; Nill said. &ldquo;Both of them were a big part of that team winning a Stanley Cup. In the end, players want to win and if they can bring in more guys to help them do that, then that&rsquo;s what they&rsquo;ll want.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-03914/9182226-1-eng-US/f0011-032.jpg" title="f0011-03" width="196" height="196"></div><h2><b>ROCKIN&rsquo; OUT with Joffrey Lupul</b></h2><p>The Flyers right winger rocks out to an array of artists.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-04692/9182219-1-eng-US/f0011-042.jpg" title="f0011-04" width="248" height="210"></div><p>NAME</p><p>Encore</p><p>ARTIST</p><p>Jay-Z</p><p>JL: &ldquo;I like everything, but you won&rsquo;t find any country.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-05536/9182212-1-eng-US/f0011-052.jpg" title="f0011-05" width="248" height="210"></div><p>NAME</p><p>By The Way</p><p>ARTIST</p><p>Red Hot Chili Peppers</p><p>JL: &ldquo;I also like Pearl Jam. They get me going.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-06454/9182205-1-eng-US/f0011-062.jpg" title="f0011-06" width="248" height="210"></div><p>NAME</p><p>Better Together</p><p>ARTIST</p><p>Jack Johnson</p><p>JL: &ldquo;Sometimes I like more mellow stuff to chill out to.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0011-02

RETURNING DUCKS AN ANOMALY

<div class="byline">&#x2013; WAYNE FISH</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0012-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-012118/9182292-1-eng-US/f0012-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jeff Carter and R.J. Umberger are connecting.</figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><span>W</span>HEN YOU&rsquo;VE SPENT time on the power play working behind guys named Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr, you get a pretty good sense of how the whole thing works.</p><p>Philadelphia assistant coach Joe Mullen, a Hall of Famer who did some secondary power play work during Pittsburgh&rsquo;s Stanley Cup years in the early 1990s, has helped elevate the Flyers&rsquo; power play unit to first or second in the NHL for much of the season.</p><p>Some of the credit for that success obviously goes to the members of the team&rsquo;s second option.</p><p>The three or four forwards &ndash; usually Jeff Carter, Joffrey Lupul, Scott Hartnell or R.J. Umberger &ndash; who work on Philadelphia&rsquo;s &ldquo;backup&rdquo; power play unit have accounted for 21 of the team&rsquo;s 66 extra-man goals.</p><p>&ldquo;In our case, we feel like we have two strong lines (with Simon Gagne, Daniel Briere, Mike Knuble on the top unit) out there,&rsquo;&rsquo; Mullen said. &ldquo;We have one of our best forwards (Mike Richards) on the point&hellip;he&rsquo;s a big plus on that first unit.</p><p>&ldquo;It (playing time for second unit) depends on your point men. We&rsquo;re trying to get (defensemen) Braydon Coburn and Randy Jones the experience back there. We try to keep it a little simpler with those guys. We have some bigger guys on that unit &ndash; we just try to get it up top and shoot it.&rsquo;&rsquo;</p><p>Mullen&rsquo;s strategy for his second unit is fairly direct: It&rsquo;s all about execution. Make smart decisions and be ready to resume 5-on-5 play when the power play ends.</p><p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know if we overload (the top unit)&hellip;especially the way our second unit has come on in the second half,&rsquo;&rsquo; Mullen said. &ldquo;The second unit has been getting more time lately, as opposed to 20 or 30 seconds earlier in the season&hellip;Sometimes even starting now, because they&rsquo;re playing strong.&rsquo;&rsquo;</p><p>As for the configuration of his second unit, Mullen says the score of the game plays into it. If the Flyers are behind, they might risk putting a fourth forward at the point as they do with Richards on the first unit.</p><p>&ldquo;Right now I don&rsquo;t know if we&rsquo;ve found another forward we&rsquo;re consistently comfortable with back there,&rsquo;&rsquo; Mullen said.</p><p>The coach refutes the notion the second group should feel less pressure to score.</p><p>&ldquo;There&rsquo;s probably more pressure,&rsquo;&rsquo; he said. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re getting less time and if they&rsquo;re not producing or getting plays at the net, then you (Mullen) are thinking, &lsquo;Do I have to make changes on that unit? Do we need to get stronger? Different personnel, different chemistry?&rsquo;</p><p>Mullen believes his second unit does its best work when it doesn&rsquo;t try to get too fancy.</p><p>&ldquo;Get a shot from the top to the net and hope there&rsquo;s someone in front,&rsquo;&rsquo; he says. &ldquo;Set up screens, get some rebounds.&rsquo;&rsquo;</p><p>So far that approach is working just fine.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-031066/9182285-1-eng-US/f0012-032.jpg" title="f0012-03" width="230" height="287"></div><h2><b>BLING BLING with Marian Hossa</b></h2><p>Nikon SLR D40 / $549 / <a href="http://nikonusa.com">nikonusa.com</a></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-04641/9182278-1-eng-US/f0012-042.jpg" title="f0012-04" width="783" height="657"></div><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been looking for a camera and I just decided to get it for myself over Christmas,&rdquo; says the Atlanta Thrashers sniper.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s got pretty much everything with the lenses. I&rsquo;ve always wanted to take quality pictures, especially to put into my computer and now I&rsquo;ve got a great camera. Maybe I&rsquo;ll be able to get into photography a little bit more now.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-05453/9182271-1-eng-US/f0012-052.jpg" title="f0012-05" width="457" height="780"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(DAVE SANDFORD/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><h2><b>BEFORE I MADE IT</b></h2><p>Growing up on the prairies, I used to play both defense and goalie. After moving to the crease for good, I played for Brent Sutter with the WHL&rsquo;s Red Deer Rebels. In the NHL, my nerves of steel help me stay calm amidst stormy surroundings. That&rsquo;s how I met Stanley.</p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-12147/9182264-1-eng-US/f0012-122.jpg" title="f0012-12" width="76" height="77"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p>To find out who I am, visit <a href="http://thn.com/photos">thn.com/photos</a><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0012-01

SECOND (PP) EFFORT

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0013-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-011893/9182351-1-eng-US/f0013-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Marty Brodeur and sparsely needed Kevin Weekes.</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-03971/9182344-1-eng-US/f0013-032.jpg" title="f0013-03" width="196" height="191"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>H</span>AS THE GHOST of Bob Goodenow been awakened? New NHL Players&rsquo; Association executive director Paul Kelly seems to be going out of his way to prove he&rsquo;s not too chummy with the league by hiring forensic accountant Bob Lindquist, possibly to scrutinize exactly what the NHL deems &ldquo;revenues.&rdquo; Kelly also publicly contradicted commissioner Gary Bettman at the All-Star Game by stating the players haven&rsquo;t officially agreed to start next season in Europe.</p><p>MARTIN BRODEUR IS BUSY once again. You may recall a year ago Brodeur finished the season with a remarkable 48-23-7 record en route to his third Vezina Trophy in four seasons, but faltered in the playoffs when he quite simply looked tired. His backup last season, Scott Clemmensen, got into six regular season games. The Devils signed veteran stopper Kevin Weekes last summer, but once again have gone almost exclusively with Brodeur. Only time will tell if playing Brodeur too often in the regular season will affect his performance at the most critical time of year.</p><p>VS. BIG-NAME BAIT FOR CUP-HUNGRY TEAMS</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-021328/9182337-1-eng-US/f0013-022.jpg" title="f0013-02" width="568" height="910"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-05619/9182330-1-eng-US/f0013-052.jpg" title="f0013-05" width="862" height="809"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(SUNDIN: GRAIG ABEL/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES; HOSSA: SCOTT CUNNINGHAM/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES BRODEUR: LEN REDKOLES/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><h2><b>MATS SUNDIN VS. MARIAN HOSSA</b></h2><p>Mats Sundin&rsquo;s Maple Leafs always got the best of Marian Hossa&rsquo;s Senators in the playoffs before Hossa was traded to Atlanta in 2005. Which potential UFA could most help a playoff team this spring?</p><h2><b>TALE OF THE TAPE</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-06510/9182323-1-eng-US/f0013-062.jpg" title="f0013-06" width="973" height="530"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0013-01

SNAPSHOTS FROM AROUND THE NHL

<div class="byline">with Ken Campbell</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0014-03" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-031076/9182389-1-eng-US/f0014-032.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Wisconsin beat out Vancouver in securing the services of Kyle Turris. <span class="photo-credit">(DAVID STLUKA)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-012095/9182396-1-eng-US/f0014-012.jpg" title="f0014-01" width="206" height="246"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>Y</span>OU&rsquo;LL BE PLEASED TO KNOW that 11 months before the first puck is dropped, the 2009 World Junior Championship in Ottawa is sold out of tickets, which will go a long way to fulfilling the $12.5-million commitment the host city made to Hockey Canada when it bid for the event.</p><p>That&rsquo;s substantially more than the $10 million Vancouver committed in 2006, but probably not as much as the cities tripping over themselves to host the event in 2010 and 2012 will have to guarantee. Yes, times are good for Hockey Canada and the Canadian Hockey League, largely because Hockey Canada gets 50 percent of all the profits and the CHL takes 35 percent.</p><p>Forget for a moment that nary a penny of this money will actually go to improving the lot of the players who are generating it. Once the untold millions pour in, there&rsquo;s a pretty good chance the average major junior player will still be making the $50 a week he has been paid for the past two decades, and that primarily the best players &ndash; most of whom turn pro and never cash in &ndash; will receive full university scholarships. You never know, though, perhaps the operators of junior teams will find it in their hearts to give players more than five bucks a week in gas money.</p><p>And there&rsquo;s another group that&rsquo;s feeling a little disenfranchised over all this &ndash; the operators of junior-A leagues in Canada. The way many of them see it, Hockey Canada panders to the CHL (Western League, Ontario League and Quebec Leaue) at their expense, largely because Hockey Canada&rsquo;s partnership with the CHL is so lucrative.  Or as Kevin Abrams, the director of the Ottawa District Jr. A Hockey Association said recently, &ldquo;Just follow the money.&rdquo;</p><p>The operators of junior-A leagues have been a little cranky lately because they feel the cozy relationship between Hockey Canada and the CHL has taken away the choice for many teenage players. This, they claim, has frozen their leagues out when it comes to competing for players, giving major junior operators a huge recruiting advantage that is not only unfair, but maybe illegal. They&rsquo;d love to go to court over the issue, but who has $500,000 lying around to pay lawyers?</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s almost criminal that this is going on,&rdquo; said Alberta Junior League president Craig Cripps, &ldquo;particularly with the knowledge of Hockey Canada.&rdquo;</p><p>The subject of their ire is the Canadian Development Model (CDM). It&rsquo;s a program, adopted by Hockey Canada three years ago, that president Bob Nicholson claims focuses on player development. But junior-A operators say it stacks the deck in favor of the three major junior leagues.</p><p>&ldquo;The CDM is CHL-driven, not Hockey Canada-driven,&rdquo; said British Columbia Jr. League president John Grisdale. &ldquo;Hockey Canada is the facilitator because they have to be the facilitator.&rdquo;</p><p>And it&rsquo;s hard to argue that isn&rsquo;t the case, considering:</p><p>&bull; Under the CDM, the only 15-year-old players who can play any level of junior hockey are those deemed &ldquo;exceptional.&rdquo; In the three years of the rule&rsquo;s existence, John Tavares of the OHL&rsquo;s Oshawa Generals has been the only one.</p><p>But those who are exceptional are going to play major junior, not junior-A, B, C or D. Not only does it take players from those leagues who are capable of playing, it forces all 15-year-olds to play midget hockey, where costs can run a family more than $5,000 a year. Players in any level of junior hockey play for free.</p><p>&bull; Major junior teams are allowed four 16-year-old players, but levels below that are allowed only two.</p><p>&bull; At any level below major junior, players younger than 17 are not allowed to play outside their designated area. But in the CHL, a 16-year-old from Manitoba can play in British Columbia or a 16-year-old from California can play in Alberta. When Sidney Crosby was 15, he was barred from playing in the Ontario Provincial Jr. A League because of that provision and wound up playing high school hockey much further away at Shattuck-St. Mary&rsquo;s in Minnesota.</p><p>&ldquo;We still have pictures of him in a Georgetown Raiders jacket,&rdquo; said OPJHL commissioner Bob Hooper.</p><p>&bull; Despite the fact players can&rsquo;t play major junior until they are 16, that doesn&rsquo;t stop the WHL from having a 14-year-old draft. That gives teams the better part of a year to cajole and pressure players into taking the major junior route instead of playing junior-A and keeping their U.S. scholarship possibilities open. Junior teams are allowed to call up 15-year-old players for as many as five games, but once a player plays a single game in major junior, he seriously jeopardizes his eligibility to play U.S. college hockey.</p><p>When current Wisconsin Badger Kyle Turris was drafted as a 15-year-old, the WHL&rsquo;s Vancouver Giants relentlessly pursued his services, but were thwarted. They weren&rsquo;t about to let the same thing happen with Gary Nunn, who attended a training camp at 15, but had every intention of taking a scholarship with Minnesota State at Mankato. When Nunn showed up to camp, the Giants cajoled the 15-year-old into signing a letter of intent, just in case, saying it would never be submitted to the league. But mysteriously, the NCAA found out about it and ruled Nunn would have to sit out one full season. That left him no choice but to join the Giants this year.</p><p>The junior-A operators in Canada argue their option allows players to go either the major junior or U.S. college route, but in its attempts to have a monopoly over players, the CHL takes that option away. Grisdale estimates about 85 percent of the bantam-aged players drafted by the WHL end up playing games as 15-year-olds, basically wiping out their chances to go the college route.</p><p>And while it has nothing to do with the CDM, junior-A operators are getting a little weary of seeing other leagues get money from the NHL for draft picks they provide for free. For example, in the past five drafts, the Salmon Arm Silverbacks of the BCHL have had eight players drafted, including first-rounders Riley Nash, Travis Zajac and Kris Chucko. That&rsquo;s more than the Kingston Frontenacs, Guelph Storm, Owen Sound Attack, Rouyn-Noranda Huskies, Regina Pats, Brandon Wheat Kings, Lethbridge Hurricanes, Tri-City Americans, Barrie Colts, Drummondville Voltigeurs, Cape Breton Screaming Eagles, Chicoutimi Sagueneens, Acadie-Bathurst Titan, Victoriaville Tigres and Val d&rsquo;Or Foreurs have had taken, yet CHL teams receive millions in development money from the NHL.</p><p>Among European leagues, whose teams receive $200,000 for each player who signs an NHL pact, the only teams that have had more picks than Salmon Arm are Dukla Trencin, IFK Helsinki, Jokerit, Ilves, Karpat Oulu, Central Army, Yaroslavl, Frolunda and Sodertalje.</p><blockquote class="pullQuote">Junior-A operators are getting weary of seeing other leagues get (draft) money</blockquote><p>Nicholson said he&rsquo;s &ldquo;disappointed&rdquo; that junior-A owners have aired their beefs publicly, particularly considering Hockey Canada is in the process of doing a thorough review of the CDM. But he stands by his organization&rsquo;s concern for player development and there is little reason to believe he is insincere. Nicholson said that before the CDM, a total 1,200 of 15-and 16-year-olds were playing junior hockey, a number he sees as alarmingly high.</p><p>But the end simply doesn&rsquo;t justify the means. To arbitrarily take options away from players is just plain wrong, particularly when leagues such as the CHL gain from the leg up they have on the others.</p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-021573/9182382-1-eng-US/f0014-022.jpg" title="f0014-02" width="53" height="53"></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>

f0014-03

JUNIOR-A LEADERS FEELING THE FREEZE

<div class="byline">STAN FISCHLER</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0016-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-011873/9182434-1-eng-US/f0016-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">CLUTCHING AND GRABBING IS KILLING PUGILISM <span class="photo-credit">(CHRISTIAN PETERSEN/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-021448/9182441-1-eng-US/f0016-022.jpg" title="f0016-02" width="207" height="246"></div><p>DURING THE SEASON, I eagerly await those moments when a light goes off in my head and an idea emerges which I know is the <i>real</i> goods.</p><p>It finally happened the other day while reading Glen Sonmor&rsquo;s delicious autobiography, <i>Old-Time Hockey</i>.</p><p>Early in the book Sonmor weaves a tale about Johnny Mariucci, Chicago&rsquo;s defenseman-policeman who rode shotgun whenever little Hall of Famers Max and Doug Bentley were on the ice.</p><p>If a foe dared mess with the Bentleys, &lsquo;Maroosh,&rsquo; as he was affectionately known, would fly in with a few lefts and rights until justice was done.</p><p>And just to prove the point, Sonmor ran a photo of Mariucci blasting a roundhouse right at Detroit&rsquo;s John &lsquo;Black Jack&rsquo; Stewart.</p><p>Some say it was <i>the</i> greatest fight in NHL history. Sonmor claims it lasted almost 20 minutes, but my recollection is that it was 10 minutes of relentless swinging on the ice and another five in the penalty box where &ndash; in those days &ndash; players sat on the same bench in the sin bin.</p><p>&ldquo;It was a fight,&rdquo; Sonmor writes, &ldquo;not a bunch of grabbing and holding on to each other.</p><p>&ldquo;In those days guys fought toe to toe. As soon as they grabbed on to each other&rsquo;s jerseys, that was when the referees would break it up.&rdquo;</p><p>After reading those paragraphs, the brainstorm hit me: There&rsquo;s something radically wrong with fighting in hockey today. The artistry of boxing on ice is gone; replaced by the unattractive sight of guys grabbing uniforms, wrestling or attempting the cheap stunt of pulling a jersey over an enemy&rsquo;s head. &lsquo;Maroosh&rsquo; and &lsquo;Black Jack&rsquo; would puke if they ever saw those antics.</p><p>Me, I love fighting on ice; always have and always will, but too many of today&rsquo;s pugilists have corrupted the art &ndash; and it <i>is</i> an art &ndash; in terms of what it was meant to be. In fact, aspects of contemporary fighting are just plain stupid, such as whacking your fist against a rock-hard helmet.</p><p>So here&rsquo;s my simple three-part solution: If two players want to go, let them first, as they always do, drop their sticks and gloves. But then, the helmets must come off. <i>Then</i>, let the fight begin.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-011651/9182427-1-eng-US/f0017-012.jpg" title="f0017-01" width="1630" height="1186"><figcaption class="caption-body">Back in the old days, tough guys stood a pace apart and did their best to knock a rival&rsquo;s block off with a series of stiff jabs and haymakers.</figcaption></div><p>But with no grabbing, no pulling jerseys over the head, no wrestling. Extra penalties would be levied for each violation: Two minutes for not removing the helmet, another minor for grabbing, jersey-pulling or wrestling.</p><p>That, my friends, would separate the men from the boys; the phonies from the real fighters. Plus, it would eliminate a lot of dancing around. There&rsquo;s nothing more boring than some of today&rsquo;s waltz-fights. Half the time, you can&rsquo;t tell whether they&rsquo;re fighting or doing a cha-cha-cha.</p><p>Bottom Line: Under the Fischler Plan, fights would be <i>fights</i> once again, in the Mariucci-Stewart tradition. I asked NHL commish Gary Bettman what he thought of my idea and his response was less negative than I had anticipated. &ldquo;It would be tough to enforce,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;but I hear you.&rdquo;</p><p>Bill Clement, who once played with Dave &lsquo;The Hammer&rsquo; Schultz and the other Broad Street Bullies, was less amenable.</p><p>&ldquo;You can&rsquo;t do it,&rdquo; Clement said, &ldquo;because balance is an issue and is so crucial.&rdquo;</p><p>George Parros, the Anaheim Ducks&rsquo; fightmeister, is more sympathetic.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m a guy who fights kind of open,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I trade punches and it&rsquo;s frustrating for me when someone wants to clutch and grab. At the same time, I think it would be pretty tough to penalize a player for holding in that situation.&rdquo;</p><p>I emphatically disagree.</p><p>The moment one player grabs &ndash; as Sonmor pointed out earlier &ndash; the linesmen bust in and break it up. No more, no less!</p><p>But, Parros disagrees with my disagreement.</p><p>&ldquo;Today you have guys who are training just for fighting and they can really hurt you,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Now some players are thinking defense first and that&rsquo;s where the clutching and grabbing comes in.&rdquo;</p><p>Hey, if a skater doesn&rsquo;t want to fight, he can just walk away from it. Hall of Famer Mike Bossy did that discreetly and effectively, which means anyone can do it.</p><p>When asked how he&rsquo;d feel about penalizing a player for grabbing the jersey, the Wild&rsquo;s Aaron Voros offers an insightful response.</p><p>&ldquo;If you want to force two guys to go toe-to-toe without grabbing,&rdquo; Voros said, &ldquo;I&rsquo;m sure it could be done and it would end fights quicker&hellip;but with maybe someone injured. On the other hand, I&rsquo;m not sure there&rsquo;s much merit trying to get guys not to hold on at some point during a fight&hellip;There are too many things involved that would make it hard to penalize someone.&rdquo;</p><p>I don&rsquo;t know about that. The way referees call penalties these days, it shouldn&rsquo;t be difficult to whistle a man off for illegal sweater-grabbing.</p><p>Fighting is in the books; so let them fight. Wrestling isn&rsquo;t in the books; don&rsquo;t let them wrestle. Let&rsquo;s revert back to the days Sonmor and I knew and loved so well. &ldquo;They would just land haymakers on each other until they could barely stand up,&rdquo; Sonmor wrote. &ldquo;It was great!&rdquo;</p><p>I was there and he&rsquo;s not kidding. It <i>was</i> great because it was hockey fighting as it was meant to be &ndash; pure and simple.</p><h2><b>FIGHT PATH</b></h2><p>The average number of fights per game has fluctuated over the decades.</p><p>2007-08</p><p>0.52</p><p>1997-98</p><p>0.78</p><p>1987-88</p><p>1.07</p><p>1977-78</p><p>0.68</p><p>1967-68</p><p>0.18</p><p>1957-58</p><p>0.20<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0016-01

SPOTLIGHT

GO TOE TO TOE – OR DON’T GO AT ALL

<div class="byline">WORDS BY MIKE BROPHY </div><div class="byline">PHOTO BY ANDRE RINGUETTE</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0018-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-011748/9182493-1-eng-US/f0018-012.jpg"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>S</span>o when it&rsquo;s suggested to the GM that his Montreal Canadiens are overachieving &ndash; given where many hockey experts picked them to finish this season &ndash; Gainey very stoically offers, &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t really know how, with any kind of accuracy, predictions in October can be made. I think it is something you must be asked to do so you do the best you can. Surely there will be some guys who nail it and some who miss it completely. A player has a great year&hellip;a player has an off-year&hellip;a team has an injury to a key player&hellip;&rdquo;</p><p>Point taken. For the record, The Hockey News picked the Habs to finish 13th in the Eastern Conference.</p><p>&ldquo;And you&rsquo;re owning up to that?&rdquo; chuckles Canadiens defenseman Michael Komisarek.</p><p>Well, yeah. Truth be told, 13th seemed like a very reasonable projection when we considered the Habs&rsquo; question marks in goal; Guy Carbonneau&rsquo;s dubious debut behind the bench last season; and, Alexei Kovalev&rsquo;s apparent disinterest in living up to his potential as the team&rsquo;s most talented player.</p><p>But all of that has changed. Goaltending has not been an issue for the Canadiens in 2007-08; Carbonneau is repaying Gainey&rsquo;s faith in him as coach; and Kovalev, finally, is not only Montreal&rsquo;s best player, but a bona fide leader, too. Bet you thought you&rsquo;d never see those words in print.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-011509/9182486-1-eng-US/f0020-012.jpg" title="f0020-01" width="1040" height="1381"><figcaption class="caption-body">The fabulous Kostitsyns, Andrei (No. 46) and Sergei, have been a force. <span class="photo-credit">(ANDRE RINGUETTE/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>So is your team overachieving then?</p><p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think we have underachieved or overachieved yet because it&rsquo;s the first of February,&rdquo; Gainey says. &ldquo;Nothing is lost and nothing is gained at this point.&rdquo;</p><p>Point taken&hellip;again.</p><p>The truth of the matter is the Canadiens have been methodically moving to this stage for a few years now. Gainey, who took over as executive vice-president and GM of the league&rsquo;s most fabled team in 2003, clearly sees value in the concept of building from within and allowing players to develop slowly.</p><p>A quick glance at Montreal&rsquo;s roster bears this out. Tomas Plekanec, for example, is Montreal&rsquo;s second-leading scorer behind Kovalev and he spent a significant amount of time with Hamilton in the AHL &ndash; 231 games, to be exact &ndash; before graduating full-time to the Canadiens. He&rsquo;s not alone. Rising star Andrei Kostitsyn played 180 games in Hamilton, Chris Higgins played 143 games there and Komisarek played in 94 AHL games over three seasons.</p><p>Part of that, admittedly, was because the Canadiens sent their kids to the AHL during the lockout, but for the most part Gainey believes there are valuable lessons to be learned in the minors before embarking on an NHL career. An exception to the rule is 20-year-old Sergei Kostitsyn, the younger brother of teammate Andrei. In his first pro season, he played just 22 games with Hamilton this year (scoring 22 points) before being called up. He had six goals and 14 points through 23 NHL games. The Kostitsyns, by the way, became the first brother combo to score goals in the same game for the Habs &ndash; on Jan. 31 in a 5-4 loss to Washington &ndash; since Frank and Peter Mahovlich did it back on April 14, 1974.</p><p>Gainey says the Habs don&rsquo;t necessarily tell all their kids playing in the minors will be part of their learning curve, but he thinks most of them, knowing the team&rsquo;s history, get the picture.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s nice when the players can recognize they need a little more of this or that,&rdquo; Gainey says.</p><p>&ldquo;They go to a training camp and see a Plekanec or another player that has been through it (playing in the minors). They can see there is a difference in where they are with their skills and where the other players are. It helps them understand what they need to do to get to the next level.&rdquo;</p><p>So then, a youngster like Kyle Chipchura (the team&rsquo;s top draft pick in 2004), who had four goals and 11 points in 36 games with Montreal this season before being sent to Hamilton, can take comfort in knowing he is gone, but not forgotten.</p><p>Higgins, for one, has no complaints about his minor league experience.</p><p>&ldquo;I can only speak for myself, but I definitely needed my time in Hamilton,&rdquo; Higgins says. &ldquo;It served me well. It was probably one of the things that helped me, especially in the lockout year because the AHL was a better league then. I was able to work on my skills with no pressure or worry about being called up or sent down. A lot of guys might think they should be in the NHL right away, but there is a learning process.&rdquo;</p><p>Gainey believes having a strong minor league support system has lent itself to the exploits his team has enjoyed thus far this season.</p><p>&ldquo;I think our success in April and May in Hamilton last year was a good indicator of the development of some of our young players that we knew we were going to be counting on this year,&rdquo; says Gainey of Hamilton winning the 2007 Calder Cup.</p><p>&ldquo;Hamilton has turned out to be an excellent place for the guys to play and live and to improve. We&rsquo;ve had Doug Jarvis as the coach there and Don Lever as the coach now. Ron Wilson has been there through all of it. Even though it&rsquo;s not a rabid, over-the-top fan base in Hamilton, the people that are there are really good. The players know they get lots of viewing because it&rsquo;s an easy place for scouts to get in and out of.&rdquo;</p><p>The Canadiens faced a number of questions heading into this season. For instance, it was felt veteran Cristobal Huet (now pronounced Hewette) and Jaroslav Halak were capable of being successful for short stints at the NHL level, but what about the long haul?</p><p>It has once again been a case of musical goalies for the Canadiens, with Carey Price making his mark early and Huet ultimately returning to form; in the end, goaltending has not been a major concern for the Habs this season.</p><p>Carbonneau, who won two Stanley Cups as a player with Montreal and one with Dallas, started last season as a rookie coach with a very strong support system. The Canadiens hired former Los Angeles Kings coach Andy Murray as a pro scout and he had daily conversations with Carbonneau, serving as something of a mentor. However, Murray left the organization midway through the year to become coach of the St. Louis Blues. Also, Carbonneau leaned heavily on Gainey, but their working relationship was sidetracked when Gainey had to deal with the tragedy of his daughter, Laura, being lost at sea.</p><p>In the end, Carbonneau and his players clashed at times and his inexperience showed.</p><p>Then there was Kovalev. Considered an enigma for much of his 15-year NHL career, he butted heads with his coach over playing time and was criticized for a lack of passion. That hasn&rsquo;t been the case this year. In fact, the 35-year-old was on pace for 37 goals and 76 points; only once in his career &ndash; a 44-goal, 95-point campaign with Pittsburgh in 2000-01 &ndash; has Kovalev surpassed his projected output for this year.</p><p>&ldquo;I think he said it himself a couple of times this year,&rdquo; Gainey says. &ldquo;He has had a change in attitude in terms of how he needs to participate. The physical part of that is he has reversed the priorities of his skill set. He skates more now and still controls and handles the puck a lot, but that has become secondary. Last year I think those two skill sets were reversed &ndash; there was too much hands and not enough legs.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-011230/9182479-1-eng-US/f0021-012.jpg" title="f0021-01" width="670" height="961"><figcaption class="caption-body">Chris Higgins and the Habs have discovered their killer instinct. <span class="photo-credit">(BOTH: ANDRE RINGUETTE/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>Just how high the Canadiens can fly this year remains to be seen. There is no clear favorite in the Eastern Conference, although the Ottawa Senators and Philadelphia Flyers have come closest to emerging as the best teams. Ottawa, however, lost the services of top gunners Dany Heatley and Daniel Alfredsson for a stretch, and the Sens were exposed in their absence. And when you consider the circus that has been goalie Ray Emery&rsquo;s season, you have to wonder if the Senators will get back on track. <i>(See pg. 50 for more on Ottawa.)</i></p><p>Komisarek believes the sky is the limit for his team. &ldquo;The biggest difference in this year compared to last year is, there&rsquo;s no one guy who is bigger than the team,&rdquo; says the 27-year-old native of West Islip, N.Y. &ldquo;Everyone is playing for each other and we&rsquo;re all committed to playing well defensively. The reason we are having success this year is because we&rsquo;re playing well defensively and we&rsquo;re using our speed.&rdquo;</p><p>Adds Higgins: &ldquo;I think it&rsquo;s more of an attitude change. We realize where we went wrong last season. We had a dip in our play last year when the team had the flu and we gave up a lot of valuable points down the stretch. This year we know we can&rsquo;t give away points at any stage of the season.&rdquo;</p><p>So when the Canadiens blow a 3-0 home lead and lose, as they did to the Rangers on Feb. 3, there is no need to panic.</p><p>&ldquo;We had a team down and out and you feel good about your game and your team, then things change,&rdquo; Komisarek says. &ldquo;You need to learn how to stop the bleeding and push back. We need to learn from games like that.&rdquo;</p><p>The big question now is, will the Canadiens be buyers or sellers at the trade deadline? Last season they had the opportunity to part with pending free agent Sheldon Souray, who surely would have fetched a significant return. But Montreal elected to hang on to him in an effort to make the playoffs, only to see him sign with Edmonton in the summer and get nothing in return. Gainey doesn&rsquo;t think it is defined in simple terms.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;d almost say that terminology doesn&rsquo;t fit anymore &ndash; buyer and seller,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s just not enough teams that on Feb. 26th are going to be able to, with real definitive clearness, declare, &lsquo;We&rsquo;re not a contender.&rsquo; I think in the next three weeks 85 to 95 percent of the teams will be asking themselves how they can improve their chances of reaching the goal of getting into the playoffs.</p><p>&ldquo;Last year we had made one trade already, moving Craig Rivet. Our team was successful last season and a lot of that was based on our power play, which Souray was a big part of. We were a contending team until 12 o&rsquo;clock midnight on the last night we played. You know, sometimes you have to play for the moment. You can&rsquo;t always be playing for tomorrow.&rdquo;</p><p>Some Canadiens fans may not want to hear that. The team that has won the most Stanley Cups in NHL history hasn&rsquo;t sipped champagne from the trophy since 1993. But when you take a look at Montreal&rsquo;s youth and skill, there is no denying this is a franchise on the rise, destined to be good for a long time.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-02804/9182472-1-eng-US/f0021-022.jpg" title="f0021-02" width="585" height="755"></div><h2><b>GOALS PER GAME</b></h2><p>3.15 Montreal is one of only four NHL teams averaging more than three goals per game, behind Ottawa (3.39), Detroit (3.27) and Philadelphia (3.25).</p><h2><b>ROAD WARRIORS</b></h2><p>.679 The Habs have the third-best winning percentage on the road this season.</p><p>1. Detroit .750 (20-6-2)</p><p>2. San Jose .740 (17-5-3)</p><p>3. Montreal .679 (17-7-4)</p><p>4. Ottawa .630 (16-9-2)</p><p>5. Phoenix .600 (17-11-2)<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0018-01

Saving Montreal

<div class="byline">WORDS BY KEN CAMPBELL </div><div class="byline">PORTRAITS BY JAMIE SQUIRE</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0022-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-011395/9182566-1-eng-US/f0022-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p>At the end of your career, you want to see some medals or a ring in your house. That&rsquo;s why I play hockey, to win something.</p><p>I want to win everything. Especially Cups because Cups is Cups.</p></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-011344/9182559-1-eng-US/f0024-012.jpg" title="f0024-01" width="2081" height="2053"><figcaption class="caption-body">There&rsquo;s a lot to laugh about when you&rsquo;re the NHL&rsquo;s most lethal snipers. <span class="photo-credit">(BRUCE BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES FOR THE NHL)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><span>A</span>TLANTA &ndash; It&rsquo;s media day at the All-Star Game and this is strictly a command performance. You get the sense pretty quickly that the players are about as thrilled being here staring into a sea of microphones as they would be if they were in a dental chair facing the prospect of extensive surgery.</p><p>They stand about 10 feet apart, Ovie and Kovy, the two most talented, most dynamic, most powerful, most exciting and most emotional left wingers on the planet today. In one corner, Ovie is playing a cat-and-mouse game, flashing a grin that, without a front tooth courtesy a high stick from Garnet Exelby, makes him look a little like the diabolical assassin Jaws from the James Bond movie.</p><p>&ldquo;Nicklas Backstrom, he&rsquo;s a good guy,&rdquo; says Alex Ovechkin of his teammate and rookie-of-the-year candidate. &ldquo;We like to hang out. But he&rsquo;s only 20 so I have to sneak him into the bars.&rdquo;</p><p>In the other corner, Kovy is playing it straight. The vast majority of his time is spent doing interviews in Russian, which is a little strange considering the All-Star Game is being played on his turf.</p><p>&ldquo;The Russian reporters always want to know how I sleep and who I sleep with,&rdquo; Ilya Kovalchuk says. &ldquo;I always tell them, &lsquo;When you&rsquo;re writing about me and I play good, say, &lsquo;He plays good.&rsquo; If I play bad, say, &lsquo;He plays bad.&rsquo; Your personal life, I think, should be personal.&rdquo;</p><p>On the ice, the similarities between Ovie and Kovy are almost uncanny. Separated by one inch and five pounds &ndash; Ovechkin is taller, Kovalchuk heavier &ndash; both are prodigies of the Russian hockey system, the only two Russian-born players to go first overall in the NHL entry draft. They are both right-hand shots coming down the left side, both have the ability to score eye-popping goals, whether they&rsquo;re on lethal snapshots from 35 feet out or the result of deft stickhandling in tight. They can overpower defensemen as easily as blow by them to the outside. And in a league where there is far too little flamboyance, they are both powered by an intense passion to win for the team and be the best for themselves. They love to score goals and are emotional when they do &ndash; glass-slamming, ear-to-ear-grin emotional. In fact, since Ovechkin entered the league in 2005-06, he leads all NHL players with 144 goals, 11 more than Kovalchuk, who sits second.</p><p>What makes them so attractive as players is just that: The unbridled emotion they bring to the game. It endears people to Ovechkin and it sometimes lands Kovalchuk in hot water, such as just before the all-star break when he earned a one-game suspension for taking his frustrations out on Michal Rozsival of the New York Rangers. Early in his career, Kovalchuk also taunted his opponents on occasion, something he says happens when he gets carried away during a game.</p><p>&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a passion guy,&rdquo; Ovechkin says. &ldquo;When you have this kind of player, it&rsquo;s good for the team and it&rsquo;s good for the league and it&rsquo;s better than having a guy who says, &lsquo;Oh, it&rsquo;s OK, I score goals.&rsquo; He&rsquo;s passionate. It&rsquo;s all about winning.&rdquo;</p><p>Both wear numbers to honor their childhood heroes &ndash; Kovalchuk&rsquo;s No. 17 is in deference to former Soviet great Valeri Kharlamov and Ovechkin wears No. 8, the same one his mother, Tatiana, wore when she won Olympic gold medals with the Soviet basketball team in 1976 and 1980.</p><p>And it turns out, the two stars are very good friends, dating back to when they roomed together as younger players who were picked up by Yaroslavl for the Champions Cup. They text-message each other after games and hang out in the off-season. When Kovalchuk got married last summer, he invited Ovechkin to the small, private ceremony only the day before. Ovechkin showed up at the restaurant clutching flowers and wearing shorts, then joined the party. Two summers ago while vacationing in Nice, France, they joined a number of other Russian celebrities for a TV show called <i>The Big Race</i> in which they did a number of silly things, including teasing a bull.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-02852/9182552-1-eng-US/f0025-022.jpg" title="f0025-02" width="766" height="992"><figcaption class="caption-body">Not only are they great scorers, they have the best celebrations, too.</figcaption></div><p>&ldquo;We actually never talk about hockey when we&rsquo;re together,&rdquo; Kovalchuk says. &ldquo;Mostly, we just tell stories and laugh a lot.&rdquo;</p><p>If Ovechkin is seen as the impetuous young phenom and Kovalchuk as the more stoic, almost stone-faced prototypical Russian, neither seems to mind. Kovalchuk doesn&rsquo;t feel a burning desire to be the center of attention and doesn&rsquo;t seem the least bit put out that he was basically shunted aside by Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby after the lockout. Kovalchuk and Ovechkin are only separated by two years, but it might as well be 200 when it comes to where they are in their lives.</p><p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s OK with me because, you know, the league needs somebody to talk about, to make the face of the league,&rdquo; says Kovalchuk of Ovechkin. &ldquo;He was just in the right place at the right time. Crosby came here and Alex came here and they had that crazy battle against each other (for the Calder Trophy) and everybody  was talking about it. Then Alex wins it and just shows everybody what a great player he is.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-011202/9182545-1-eng-US/f0025-012.jpg" title="f0025-01" width="818" height="1035"></div><p>Ovechkin is a 22-year-old kid who is bubbling with youthful exuberance, while Kovalchuk, 24, has a two-year-old daughter with his wife Nicol Ambrazaitis, a Lithuanianborn pop star in Russia. Kovalchuk has undoubtedly matured since his teen years when, in an exhibition game against a junior-A team prior to the under-17 World Hockey Challenge in 2000, he fought the opposing goalie and started a brawl by diving into the other team&rsquo;s bench elbow-first.</p><p>Kovalchuk is a home body, preferring to spend his spare time with his family. He reflects on his daughter, Caroline, who was born two months after his father died in Russia. Valeri Kovalchuk was a former Soviet basketball pro who turned all his energies into making Ilya a hockey player. The two were fiercely close.</p><p>&ldquo;My father died July 17 and (Caroline) was born Oct. 1,&rdquo; Kovalchuk says. &ldquo;For me, it was like God takes one from you and he gives you another one. I&rsquo;m the only guy in the family now. I&rsquo;ve got my wife and my mom and my sister and my daughter, so that&rsquo;s a lot of people to take care of.&rdquo;</p><p>Ovechkin, on the other hand, spends his down time doing things such as tooling around downtown D.C. on a Segway, wearing his sweater and yelling, &ldquo;Go Caps!&rdquo; He had a replacement tooth for the one that is missing until he took it out before playing basketball one day and lost it. He&rsquo;s a spokesman for an energy drink called Hype, which is just too fitting.</p><p>&ldquo;He&rsquo;s endorsing an energy drink, that&rsquo;s perfect,&rdquo; says Capitals goalie Olie Kolzig. &ldquo;Sometimes he has down days. When we have three in four nights and he&rsquo;s pretty banged up, he&rsquo;ll come to practice a little melancholy. Then he has a Red Bull or a coffee and he&rsquo;s back to normal.&rdquo;</p><p>Both have been extraordinary this season. Even when the Thrashers got off to the 0-6-0 start that cost Bob Hartley his job, Kovalchuk was playing as well and as determined as he is now.</p><p>Ovechkin has been nothing short of brilliant most of the season, with his signature game coming Jan. 31 against Montreal. Despite breaking his nose on a hit from Francis Bouillon, Ovechkin scored five points, four of them goals, including the overtime winner. After the game, an emotional Kolzig took Ovechkin aside and told him he was the best player with whom Kolzig has ever played.</p><p>&ldquo;Life is beautiful,&rdquo; says Ovechkin, borrowing the famous line from former Soviet hero Leon Trotsky. &ldquo;You have to enjoy life every day, every minute. Especially with what I&rsquo;ve got. I&rsquo;m living the dream. I&rsquo;m in the NHL and my dream is to be one of the best players in the NHL. I&rsquo;m doing my best to reach that dream.&rdquo;</p><p>But as good as they are, chances are one of them will not be in the playoffs this season &ndash; and perhaps neither of them will be. The Caps have been nothing short of remarkable since Bruce Boudreau took over as coach and even if they don&rsquo;t make it this season, there&rsquo;s every reason to believe they will be a force in the future. The Thrashers, on the other hand, are a real different bird. They show flashes of brilliance, but have holes in their lineup and bowed meekly out of the playoffs in four games last spring.</p><p>Both players are keenly aware that a Russian-born player has never been <i>the</i> man on a Stanley Cup-winning team, but there&rsquo;s every reason to believe Kovalchuk and Ovechkin desperately want to be that kind of player. Certainly, in order for their teams to contend, Ovechkin and Kovalchuk will have to lead the way. There are a number of Russian players who started their careers as superstars, though, and were for whatever reason unable to maintain it. Pavel Bure, Sergei Fedorov, Alexander Mogilny and Alexei Yashin leap to mind. Neither Kovalchuk nor Ovechkin are showing any sign of slowing down, but they&rsquo;ll probably have to elevate their games even more if they want to see their teams compete for the Stanley Cup.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-011354/9182538-1-eng-US/f0026-012.jpg" title="f0026-01" width="1974" height="1878"><figcaption class="caption-body">Alex Ovechkin and Ilya Kovalchuk enjoy some rare on-ice down time. <span class="photo-credit">(JAMIE SQUIRE/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want to be like (Mats) Sundin or Bure,&rdquo; Kovalchuk says. &ldquo;At the end of your career, you want to see some medals or a ring in your house. That&rsquo;s why I play hockey, to win something.&rdquo;</p><p>Ovechkin is just as determined and doesn&rsquo;t buy into the theory the Capitals have a lot of time to become a winner.</p><p>&ldquo;I want to win everything,&rdquo; Ovechkin says. &ldquo;Especially Cups because Cups is Cups.</p><p>&ldquo;You win the Cup and you know you did an unbelievable job. But if you say, &lsquo;You know this year, it&rsquo;s not going to happen, let&rsquo;s wait until next year,&rsquo; it&rsquo;s not right. We have to take the maximum we can at one time. People say we don&rsquo;t have the players, but we beat Ottawa four times and we lost to Detroit in a shootout. I think it&rsquo;s good when people don&rsquo;t respect us and we show them that we&rsquo;re a good team.&rdquo;</p><p>The long-term prospects for both players will depend on how well they are able to stay away from major injuries, which could be difficult given they play such a robust game and are constant targets of their opponents. Neither one shies away from physical contact &ndash; quite the opposite &ndash; and both players give and receive their share of hits. They play in all situations, against the best shutdown players in the league, and they&rsquo;re not afraid to take a hit to make a play. It&rsquo;s that kind of style that can often wear on a player, not to mention the mental toll that being the franchise player takes.</p><p>After all, they have a lot to live up to, particularly Ovechkin, who signed the richest contract in NHL history when he extended his deal by 13 years for $124 million. Kovalchuk is under contract for another two years after this one at an annual cap hit of $6.3 million.</p><p>&ldquo;I was joking with (Caps owner) Ted (Leonsis) and (GM George (McPhee) the other night and I said, &lsquo;I think you guys might have got him at a bargain,&rsquo;&rdquo; Kolzig says.</p><p>&ldquo;To play this way for the next 13 years, it&rsquo;s going to be physically demanding, that&rsquo;s for sure. I think he&rsquo;s going to have to change his style a little bit because I don&rsquo;t know if he&rsquo;ll be in the league in 13 years if he keeps playing this way. Eventually he&rsquo;s going to have to figure out how to play the same style, but not with quite the same reckless abandon.&rdquo;</p><p>For Kovalchuk, who can become an unrestricted free agent in 2010, it might be a matter of providing him with some supplementary talent. Aside from their playoff appearance last year, the Thrashers have not been a threat in what is clearly the weakest division in the NHL. They&rsquo;re a borderline playoff team this season and it&rsquo;s not as though they have a bountiful crop of young and promising players coming along in the near future. Even though Kovalchuk wants to stay in Atlanta, you have to wonder how long he&rsquo;ll be content to be on a team that has limited success.</p><p>Even the man who has assembled the team, coach-GM Don Waddell, acknowledges Kovalchuk would probably be even more productive if he had better players around him. With the exception of Marc Savard, Kovalchuk has never had a center who could get him the puck in scoring areas with regularity.</p><p>&ldquo;He&rsquo;s going to get better when, and it&rsquo;s not a knock against any of our players, but he has never had a clear No. 1 center,&rdquo; Waddell says. &ldquo;If he was playing with a guy who was clearly a No. 1 center, it would be scary how many more opportunities he would get to score goals. He plays with good players, but he still doesn&rsquo;t have that pure passer who&rsquo;s an 80-or 90-point guy.&rdquo;</p><p>But undoubtedly, both players will continue to keep shooting and scoring at a prodigious rate for the foreseeable future. With 46 goals in 55 games through early February, Ovechkin was on pace to score 69 this season, which would smash Luc Robitaille&rsquo;s record of 63 for left wingers. He was also on pace for 459 shots, which would be the second-highest total in NHL history.</p><p>The puck seems to come off their sticks sometimes before it even gets there and they don&rsquo;t give the goalie a chance to get set for the shot. But whether it&rsquo;s skating, hitting, displaying skill or scoring, what seems to set Ovechkin and Kovalchuk apart is that they bring those attributes every shift of every game. They&rsquo;re among a very small group of players who have the potential to make something special happen every time they touch the puck.</p><p>In a game in Tampa Bay last season, one pro scout recalled Ovechkin taking 13 shots against the Lightning, not including a goalpost and a crossbar. After the second period, he went to a person who worked for the Lightning and asked about buying a ticket. When asked for which game, he replied, &ldquo;The one I&rsquo;m watching.&rdquo;</p><p>It&rsquo;s that ability to excite people that make both Ovechkin and Kovalchuk so special in today&rsquo;s NHL. Scoring goals is what they do best and even though they&rsquo;ve done it with more regularity than any of their peers in the past few seasons, their hunger to continue to do it is what drives them.</p><p>&ldquo;When 20,000 people are standing on their heads and cheering for you, you&rsquo;ve got this crazy power and you&rsquo;re not in control of yourself,&rdquo; Kovalchuk says. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a couple of seconds, but you&rsquo;re on top of the mountain and then it goes away.</p><p>&ldquo;When you score a big goal in the game, what I like most is when you come back to the dressing room and you see the guys and their eyes just light up and everyone is so much happy. That&rsquo;s what truly makes me feel good.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-011285/9182531-1-eng-US/f0027-012.jpg" title="f0027-01" width="800" height="596"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(GRAIG ABEL/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><h2><b>RUSSIAN ROCKETS</b></h2><p>The NHL&rsquo;s top 10 goal leaders since the lockout.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-02902/9182524-1-eng-US/f0027-022.jpg" title="f0027-02" width="700" height="771"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0022-01

Moscow dynamos

<div class="byline">with Adam Proteau</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0028-04" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-04517/9182604-1-eng-US/f0028-042.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Guy Lafleur <span class="photo-credit">(DENIS BRODEUR/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-02945/9182611-1-eng-US/f0028-022.jpg" title="f0028-02" width="207" height="246"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>I</span>T WAS THE LAST day of January and THN editor Jason Kay and I were in his palatial office quarters discussing the legacy of one of the most famous Montreal Canadiens and NHLers of all-time.</p><p>We talked about Guy Lafleur, who was in the news after being charged with misleading a Quebec court in proceedings related to alleged crimes committed by his drug-plagued son, Mark. And we decided, for a variety of reasons, that Guy Lafleur&rsquo;s on-ice legacy wasn&rsquo;t held in the same esteem as the Wayne Gretzkys and Mario Lemieuxs of the hockey world.</p><p>I&rsquo;d soon find out hockey fans&rsquo; love for Lafleur hasn&rsquo;t abated at all.</p><p>Later that afternoon, I wrote a Screen Shots column (it can be seen at <a href="http://www.thn.com/screenshots">www.thn.com/screenshots</a>) criticizing the charges against the Habs great.</p><p>I argued that, though the crimes Guy Lafleur&rsquo;s son stands accused of are serious and troubling, dragging any parent through the legal wringer because of their less-than-ideal parenting choices for a child with substance-abuse issues is needless and benefits only a &ldquo;justice&rdquo; process lacking the flexibility to respond to complex human problems.</p><blockquote class="pullQuote">I&rsquo;ve never received more emails on any single opinion column I&rsquo;ve written</blockquote><p>In less than 72 hours, I was inundated with feedback from readers. In fact, I&rsquo;ve never received more emails on any single opinion column I&rsquo;ve written.</p><p>And the passion expressed by those on both sides of the issue &ndash; from people who believe there is simply no excuse for perjury, and from folks who&rsquo;d rather not prosecute parents of drug addicts and instead extend compassion to them &ndash; was unlike any I&rsquo;d previously encountered.</p><p>While it was interesting to note the emails supporting Guy Lafleur outnumbered those wanting him punished by a 2:1 ratio, I was more impressed to see exactly how dear people still hold &lsquo;The Flower&rsquo; in their hearts.</p><p>Words of encouragement for the Hall of Famer came in from Vancouver and Kelowna and Pitt Meadows and Kitimat and Campbell River in British Columbia, and from Calgary and Edmonton in Alberta.</p><p>Emails urging him and his family to stay positive came in from Moose Jaw and Leask and Prince Albert and Melfort and Conquest in Saskatchewan, and from Winnipeg and Snow Lake in Manitoba.</p><p>I heard from Lafleur supporters from all over Ontario &ndash; North Bay and London, Uxbridge and Sundridge, Cornwall and Windsor and Barrie, and, yes, even Toronto.</p><p>I heard from a nice lady in Glace Bay, N.S., and a nice man in Harcourt, N.B. And I heard from dozens of Quebeckers, from Lasalle to Magog to Trois Rivieres to Montreal, not to mention letters of support from England and China.</p><p>Here&rsquo;s a sampling of their sentiments:</p><p><i>&ldquo;Leave (Lafleur) be and let him concentrate on helping his son &ndash; it&rsquo;s not like he tried to smuggle him out of the country in a hockey bag&hellip;If the courts thought they had issues with Lafleur&rsquo;s son before, wait until (they) start taking away the ones who really care about him.&rdquo;</i></p><p><b>&ndash; V.M. Rivest, Winnipeg</b></p><p><i>This just shows how screwed up (Canada&rsquo;s) justice system is. While the real criminals are out there doing their thing, we focus on something so petty and trivial involving someone showing their love and compassion for their family. This is one part of being a Canadian which does ANY-THING but make me proud.</i></p><p><b>&ndash; Ian Ricker, Elkford, B.C.</b></p><p><i>I believe&hellip;that (Guy Lafleur) was forced to choose between trying to shore up family trust with his son while he was also unfortunately dealing with a legal system whose main concern is usually the letter of the law rather than flexibility and understanding of social situations. If it comes down to a question of a judgement ruling against Lafleur, then certainly justice in this case is blind.</i></p><p><b>&ndash; Richard Budzyn, Dieppe, N.B.</b></p><p><i>Guy Lafleur was my idol&hellip;I sympatize with his family for what they are going through. I have three children and would do the same (as Lafleur did) in that situation. Leave the poor guy alone.</i></p><p><b>&ndash; Danielle Day, Prince Albert, Sask.</b></p><p><i>Many of us as parents have had heartbreaking situations with our children and no amount of ridicule against us helps our children or rids the streets of the horrendous temptations facing our kids today.</i></p><p><i>I am not an avid hockey fan, but I have always had the greatest respect for Guy as a player and athlete. My compassion and love go out to him and his family.</i></p><p><b>&ndash; Mary F. Smith, Barrie, Ont.</b></p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-03713/9182597-1-eng-US/f0028-032.jpg" title="f0028-03" width="53" height="53"></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>

f0028-04

FANS’ LOVE FOR LAFLEUR STEADFAST

f0030-02

NHL TEAM REPORTS

<div class="byline">BY KEVIN OKLOBZIJA</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-011185/9182991-1-eng-US/f0038-012.jpg" title="f0038-01" width="964" height="1190"></div><p>COMPARED TO HIS FIRST MONTH in pro hockey, the next three went much better for Chris Stewart.</p><p>Of course, after producing just one assist in his first 10 games and even sitting out once as a healthy scratch, life on the ice with the Lake Erie Monsters had to get better.</p><p>As the American League schedule reached February, Stewart was leading the Monsters in goals with 15 and was second in points with 27 in 43 games.</p><p>Solid numbers, but certainly nothing to put him among the league leaders. Then again, the Colorado Avalanche didn&rsquo;t expect to see Stewart leading the AHL in goals.</p><p>This is a transition year for the 6-foot-2, 228-pound right winger. Drafted 18th overall in 2006, Stewart must go from junior scoring star with Kingston in the OHL to physical, all-around winger in the Avalanche organization.</p><p>&ldquo;When you&rsquo;re a big, big man and can skate like he can, you can make a big difference in the outcome of a game when you&rsquo;re able to pressure the puck like he can,&rdquo; said Lake Erie coach Joe Sacco. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a big guy who moves well and has pretty good hands.&rdquo;</p><p>But there is a learning curve. Stewart, 20, didn&rsquo;t necessarily need to be banging all night in the corner to produce back-to-back 30-goal, 80-point seasons with Kingston.</p><p>&ldquo;Coming from junior, where he was more of a scorer, he&rsquo;s had to learn to be a complete player,&rdquo; Sacco said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s not good enough to just be a one-dimensional player. If you are one-dimensional, you have to be really dynamic.</p><p>&ldquo;The emphasis with &lsquo;Stew&rsquo; has been that when he finishes his checks, when he&rsquo;s backchecking, when he&rsquo;s getting pucks out, he gets more scoring opportunities. And if not him, then his linemates.&rdquo;</p><p>He has done that with much more frequency over the past two months.</p><p>&ldquo;We show them video and keep track of the numbers: how many checks they finish, how many turnovers (they cause), how many turn-aways,&rdquo; Sacco said. &ldquo;Is it better than the start? Yes. Are they where they need to be? No.&rdquo;</p><p>The biggest trick is getting Stewart to play that banging, barge-into-the-corners style night after night. His older brother, Anthony, is still trying to find that consistency. A third-year pro, Anthony was the 25th overall pick of the Florida Panthers in 2003, but as of early February hadn&rsquo;t played 50 NHL games yet.</p><p>&ldquo;If he can find that consistency game in and game out, shift by shift,&rdquo; Sacco said of Chris Stewart, &ldquo;he&rsquo;ll be a very good player.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-03646/9182984-1-eng-US/f0038-032.jpg" title="f0038-03" width="214" height="213"></div><h2><b>CHRIS STEWART</b></h2><p>Lake Erie Monsters</p><p>Ht. 6-2</p><p>Wt. 228</p><p>Pos. RW</p><p>Age 20</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-04519/9182977-1-eng-US/f0038-042.jpg" title="f0038-04" width="229" height="229"></div><p>AND COUNTING 1.6 PIMs per game averaged over past three seasons</p><h3><b>NOTES FROM THE WEST</b></h3><h2><b>Flying high, still hopeful</b></h2><p>The good news for Rochester Americans right winger Anthony Stewart: He had been called up eight times between October and the start of February.</p><p>The bad news: He had been sent down seven times.</p><p>If there&rsquo;s one thing the thirdyear veteran knows, it&rsquo;s what airlines serve the Miami and Rochester markets.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve spent half the year there and half the year here so I can&rsquo;t be complaining,&rdquo; Stewart said.</p><p>In 24 NHL games, he had one assist. In 24 AHL games, he had eight goals and 19 points. Stewart has primarily been called up when there have been injuries, but has been unable to supplant a Panthers regular for a roster spot.</p><p>If there&rsquo;s one downfall to the constant travel: He&rsquo;s rarely with the same airline: &ldquo;I&rsquo;d have a million air miles by now if it was,&rdquo; Stewart joked.</p><p>GREAT OUTDOORS A major topic among league governors at the AHL All-Star Classic was an outdoor game.</p><p>The league is very intrigued by the potential and Hamilton already has said an outdoor allstar game would be a smashing success in the Steel City.</p><p>&ldquo;When we should be talking about scheduling issues, our people are talking about an outdoor game,&rdquo; AHL president Dave Andrews said with a laugh.</p><p><b>&ndash; KEVIN OKLOBZIJA</b></p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-05416/9182970-1-eng-US/f0038-052.jpg" title="f0038-05" width="1122" height="678"></div><h2><b>HEY KYLE OKPOSO,</b>&nbsp;<b>EXPECT THE CALL</b></h2><p>Stepped out of the world juniors and onto the Sound Tigers top line without missing a beat. After bolting college for the pros, it&rsquo;s hard to believe he&rsquo;ll be long for the farm.</p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-02802/9182963-1-eng-US/f0038-022.jpg" title="f0038-02" width="76" height="77"><figcaption class="caption-body" style="width: 76px"><span class="photo-credit">(BRAD WHITE/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></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>

f0038-01

PROSPECTS UNLIMITED

FINDING HIS WAY IN A NEW GAME

<div class="byline">BY PHIL JANACK</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-011092/9183050-1-eng-US/f0039-012.jpg" title="f0039-01" width="966" height="1192"></div><p>THE DEVASTATING FLU BUG that ravaged the Albany River Rats is long gone, but there is one remnant that continues to impact the team.</p><p>His name is Bryan Rodney. Recalled from the ECHL under emergency conditions, the 23-year-old blueliner has become a Rats regular.</p><p>&ldquo;I really like him,&rdquo; said Albany coach-GM Tom Rowe. &ldquo;He had bounced around a couple times in the Coast and we couldn&rsquo;t figure it out, because he came up and played so well. Usually those ECHL guys come up and tail off a little bit, but he hasn&rsquo;t.&rdquo;</p><p>A heady, smooth-skating, puck-mover, Rodney had one goal and six points in 18 games, seeing time at even strength and on both special teams. It took three days for Albany to turn his 25-game tryout into a standard AHL contract.</p><p>&ldquo;I think every hockey player waits for their chance and it seems like this is my chance,&rdquo; Rodney said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m just trying to make the best of that. The coaching here has been top-notch. It&rsquo;s been real easy for me to come in and learn the system.&rdquo;</p><p>This is not the first AHL action for the London, Ont., native, who won the Memorial Cup with his hometown Knights in 2005.</p><p>As a rookie in 2005-06, Rodney skated in eight games for the Hartford Wolf Pack, scoring a goal and three points. He played 127 ECHL games with Charlotte, Columbia and Elmira, tallying 15 goals and 78 points.</p><p>&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t know if the chance was going to come again,&rdquo; Rodney said. &ldquo;I had it in the back of my mind. When you&rsquo;re down in that league, you&rsquo;re working every day for this opportunity.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m lucky the flu bug hit here. It just so happened we played the night before and there was a snowstorm on this side of the country and we drove through and made it. It took us about eight hours to make a five-hour trip. We drove through the night the whole way. It&rsquo;s funny how things work. I&rsquo;m a real believer things happen for a reason.&rdquo;</p><p>Never drafted, Rodney made his Albany debut Dec. 16 in Bridgeport, the afternoon after the Rats played with an AHL-minimum 13 skaters and were hammered 8-1 by Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.</p><p>&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a very good player,&rdquo; Rowe said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s not flash-in-the-pan-type stuff, either. He makes some plays that are pretty special.&rdquo;</p><p>Rowe said it&rsquo;s likely the parent Carolina Hurricanes will look to sign Rodney after the season.</p><p>&ldquo;Hopefully, there&rsquo;s a future for him here,&rdquo; Rowe said. &ldquo;I think there is. I think he can play in the NHL right now, to be honest with you. I guarantee, if we don&rsquo;t have the flu bug, we never find him.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-02709/9183043-1-eng-US/f0039-022.jpg" title="f0039-02" width="214" height="213"></div><h2><b>BRYAN RODNEY</b></h2><p>Albany River Rats</p><p>Ht. 6-0</p><p>Wt. 200</p><p>Pos. D</p><p>Age 23</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-03551/9183036-1-eng-US/f0039-032.jpg" title="f0039-03" width="229" height="229"></div><p>AND COUNTING 3Days it took for Rodney to earn an AHL contract.</p><h3><b>NOTES FROM THE EAST</b></h3><h2><b>Shorter sked being discussed</b></h2><p>It has been more than 30 years since the AHL went to an 80-game schedule, but a change is already in the works.</p><p>In response to requests from the NHL to decrease travel and increase practice time and development, the AHL&rsquo;s board of governors is considering a 72-game regular season.</p><p>&ldquo;There&rsquo;s a lot of interest on the part of NHL GMs to reduce our schedule, eliminate the four-in-five series of games and try and reduce the three-in-threes and spread the schedule out a bit in terms of the weighting of games in the second half,&rdquo; said president Dave Andrews.</p><p>The AHL has played an 80-game schedule since 1976-77.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not necessarily my objective to get to 72 games, but my responsibility is to move this thing along to the point where we can understand what the impact is and make an informed decision,&rdquo; Andrews said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re going to pursue it and see how much support we might be able to get from the NHL to move in this direction.</p><p>&ldquo;There is a signifi cant impact on our league, financially, to do that and we need to have some discussion with NHL GMs to see how we can cost share that impact. I wouldn&rsquo;t say it&rsquo;s imminent, but I would say it&rsquo;s at the top list of issues we&rsquo;re talking about right now.&rdquo;</p><p><b>&ndash; PHIL JANACK</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-04458/9183029-1-eng-US/f0039-042.jpg" title="f0039-04" width="201" height="282"></div><h3><b>ON</b>&nbsp;<b>TOP</b></h3><h2><b>SHORTHANDED GOALS</b></h2><p>JUSTIN MAPLETOFT</p><p>Binghamton Senators</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-05382/9183022-1-eng-US/f0039-052.jpg" title="f0039-05" width="229" height="214"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(ANDY CAMP)</span></figcaption></div><p>7 SHORTHANDED GOALS</p><p>Jeff Tambellini, Bri 6</p><p>Alex Foster, Tor 4</p><p>Greg Moore, Har 4</p><p>Cal O&rsquo;Reilly, Mil 4</p><p>Chris Durno, SA 4</p><p>Adam Pineault, Syr 4<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0039-01

RODNEY JOINS THE RAT RACE

<div class="byline">BY KEVIN OKLOBZIJA</div><p>TEDDY PURCELL ARRIVED IN pro hockey with little fanfare.</p><p>He was undrafted and traveled a very atypical path to an NHL contract, a route even <a href="http://Mapquest.com">Mapquest.com</a> would have difficulty plotting.</p><p>From his birthplace of St. John&rsquo;s, Nfld., to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, of the United States League, to the University of Maine and, finally, to Manchester, N.H., of the AHL.</p><p>The next trip will be much easier to plan: Manchester to Los Angeles, as the Kings inked him last April.</p><p>A set-up wizard for the Monarchs, Purcell, 22, played goal-scorer in Binghamton at the 2008 AHL All-Star Classic. His three goals plus a shootout clincher gave Canada a 9-8 victory over PlanetUSA.</p><p>&ldquo;We were joking on the bench about how cool it would be to score the winner in the shootout,&rdquo; said Purcell, the game&rsquo;s MVP.</p><p>Purcell took advice from Rockford IceHogs center Martin St-Pierre, his linemate for a night.</p><p>&ldquo;He&rsquo;s leading the league in assists and he said, &lsquo;Just get open,&rsquo; so that&rsquo;s what I did,&rdquo; Purcell said.</p><p>That Purcell transformed the All-Star Game into his personal showcase wasn&rsquo;t a big surprise. He entered February as the AHL&rsquo;s fourth-leading scorer with 15 goals and 55 points in 43 games.</p><p>The 6-foot-3, 180-pounder has not gone more than two games without registering a point this year. That&rsquo;s somewhat amazing considering he slipped through the draft and needed a 16-goal, 43-point season last year with the Maine Black Bears to gain attention.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m kind of a late bloomer,&rdquo; Purcell said.</p><p>He was in full bloom at the All-Star event.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-01783/9183088-1-eng-US/f0040-012.jpg" title="f0040-01" width="815" height="780"><figcaption class="caption-body">L.A. Kings prospect Teddy Purcell was named MVP of the AHL All-Star Game.</figcaption></div><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s weird because I was always a fan growing up and always saw those guys on TV getting drafted and playing,&rdquo; said Purcell, a leading rookie-of-the-year candidate. &ldquo;I never thought I could play with those guys. It&rsquo;s a good feeling to know you fit in with all those skilled players.&rdquo;</p><p>Meanwhile, Rochester right winger Mark Mancari was a late replacement for Clarke MacArthur after the latter was called up to Buffalo, but he sure made an impact.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-02473/9183081-1-eng-US/f0040-022.jpg" title="f0040-02" width="214" height="213"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(JUSTSPORTS PHOTOGRAPHY/AHL)</span></figcaption></div><p>The third-year pro won the hardest-shot contest with a howitzer that registered an AHL-record 102.8 m.p.h. on the radar. That bettered the old mark of 101 m.p.h. set by the Chicago Wolves&rsquo; Kurtis Foster in 2003 &ndash; and was just three-tenths off the winning blast in this year&rsquo;s NHL event by Boston&rsquo;s Zdeno Chara.</p><p>The Hockey Hall of Fame scooped up Mancari&rsquo;s stick.</p><p>&ldquo;This is something I&rsquo;m going to remember forever,&rdquo; Mancari said.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0040-01

PURCELL EXCELS AMONG THE STARS

<h2><b>SAUVE CONTINUES FAMILY TRADITION</b></h2><p>HIS FATHER IS Jean-Francois Sauve, a former center for the Buffalo Sabres and Quebec Nordiques.</p><p>&ldquo;Unfortunately, I never got to see him play in the NHL,&rdquo; said Val d&rsquo;Or Foreurs center Maxime Sauve. &ldquo;I wasn&rsquo;t born yet. I&rsquo;ve watched videos from his playing days and I&rsquo;ve heard his stories. That&rsquo;s had an influence on me for sure. It gives me extra motivation to make it there.&rdquo;</p><p>Sauve, a first round pick in the 2006 QMJHL draft, is making his own mark as an 18-year-old sophomore. He had 48 points, including 17 goals, in 55 games and was selected to play in the 2008 CHL Top Prospects Game.</p><p>He&rsquo;s trying to follow in the path of his father, his uncle (former NHL goaltender Bob Sauve) and his cousin (former NHL and now German League goalie Philippe Sauve). Uncle Bob is now a player agent who represents Maxime.</p><p>&ldquo;My family has had a big impact on me,&rdquo; said Sauve, who&rsquo;s 6-feet and 178 pounds. &ldquo;They&rsquo;ve all had great experiences in pro hockey and I&rsquo;m working hard to live the same dream.&rdquo;</p><p>Sauve was born in France and moved to Canada at two and grew up in Montreal. He wasn&rsquo;t in the International Scouting Services top 100 list for the 2008 NHL draft early in the season, but he was No. 66 in December and he&rsquo;s now No. 55 in the rankings.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s nice to see he&rsquo;s getting some recognition,&rdquo; said Val d&rsquo;Or coach Eric Lavigne. &ldquo;If a team drafts Maxime 66th overall, I&rsquo;m sure it&rsquo;s going to be a steal. A lot of scouts have talked to me about him. I think he&rsquo;s going to go earlier than that.&rdquo;</p><p>While Sauve is a point-producer by nature, he has realized how important it is to become a reliable player in his own zone.</p><p>&ldquo;He has a lot of skills offensively and he skates very well,&rdquo; Lavigne said. &ldquo;His strength is on offense for sure, but he works a lot on his defensive-zone coverage. He&rsquo;s a smart player who&rsquo;s pretty good both ways.&rdquo;</p><p>Sauve, who was traded from the Quebec Remparts to Val d&rsquo;Or in December, has an inquisitive nature that serves him well.</p><p>&ldquo;He wants to know,&rdquo; Lavigne said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s very curious and asks a lot of questions. You can see he has a strong desire to be better defensively  and he&rsquo;s steadily improving his overall game. I really think he has a bright future.&rdquo;</p><p>Asked if there&rsquo;s an NHL forward he tries to pattern himself after, Sauve answered quickly: &ldquo;Pavel Datsyuk. I want to be a solid two-way player.&rdquo; With a plus-14 rating through 55 games, he&rsquo;s on his way.</p><p><b>&ndash; NEIL HODGE</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-01671/9183161-1-eng-US/f0041-012.jpg" title="f0041-01" width="764" height="1006"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-02415/9183154-1-eng-US/f0041-022.jpg" title="f0041-02" width="278" height="150"></div><h3><b>MAXIME SAUVE</b></h3><p>Val d&rsquo;Or Foreurs</p><p>Ht. 6-0</p><p>Wt. 178</p><p>Pos. C</p><p>Age 18</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-03334/9183147-1-eng-US/f0041-032.jpg" title="f0041-03" width="355" height="67"></div><h4><b>Draft Status</b></h4><p>Ranked 55th overall by ISS for 2008 draft</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-04288/9183140-1-eng-US/f0041-042.jpg" title="f0041-04" width="229" height="220"></div><p>AND COUNTING .94 Points per game since December trade to Val d&rsquo;Or.</p><h2><b>Departing GM helps fill shoes</b></h2><p>One of Donn Clark&rsquo;s final acts as Prince Albert GM was to suggest a replacement. Raiders coach Bruno Campese, who succeeded Clark after he was fired Jan. 14, is grateful to his predecessor. &ldquo;Am I disappointed he has been let go? Absolutely,&rdquo; Campese said. &ldquo;By the same token, Donn recommended I take over the job. I can&rsquo;t thank Donn enough for not only hiring me, but also for recommending me for this interim position &ndash; or possibly longer as we move forward&hellip;It speaks volumes about his character.&rdquo; Campese pulled double duty as coach and director of hockey operations of the B.C. Junior League&rsquo;s Penticton Vees before being hired as Raiders coach last June. The Raiders board will review the hockey operations after the season.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-05261/9183133-1-eng-US/f0041-052.jpg" title="f0041-05" width="229" height="226"></div><p><b>&ndash; ROB VANSTONE</b></p><h2><b>Rangers draw fan connection</b></h2><p>The host Kitchener Rangers have come up with a unique way to honor the Memorial Cup, the fourth-oldest hockey trophy in existence. They&rsquo;re staging a Design the Ticket contest, where fans are asked to submit artwork depicting the greatest moments in Cup history or what the event means to them. The winner receives transportation for two, accommodations, tickets and their artwork goes on the ducats. The Memorial Cup was commissioned by James Richardson, whose brother died in World War I. George Richardson starred with the Allan Cup-champion Kingston Frontenacs in 1909 and was killed in France in 1916. The Cup was first presented three years later in memory of Canadian hockey players who died in the war.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-06232/9183126-1-eng-US/f0041-062.jpg" title="f0041-06" width="229" height="229"></div><p><b>&ndash; JIM CRESSMAN</b></p><h2><b>League returns to Montreal</b></h2><p>The QMJHL will be back in Montreal next season after a five-year absence. Farrel Miller purchased the St. John&rsquo;s Fog Devils for more than $3 million and the franchise will transfer to Verdun. &ldquo;With a population of just over 3.6 million people, Montreal is an excellent market for a major junior franchise,&rdquo; said Miller, the founder and CEO of <a href="http://SportTV.com">SportTV.com</a>, which broadcasts sporting events on the Internet. The St. John&rsquo;s franchise failed because of high operating costs, poor attendance and an unenviable building lease. The Fog Devils expect to match last season&rsquo;s $750,000 loss and team governor Brad Dobbin admitted his family &ldquo;grossly overestimated&rdquo; the hunger for major junior hockey in the Newfoundland capital.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-07203/9183119-1-eng-US/f0041-072.jpg" title="f0041-07" width="227" height="229"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(GHYSLAIN BERGERON)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>&ndash; NEIL HODGE</b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0041-01

MAJOR JR.

<h2><b>HOCKEY CALLING CAN&rsquo;T BE IGNORED</b></h2><p>EVERY TIME WILL ENGASSER comes to a fork in the road, he takes the path that leads to hockey.</p><p>Coming out of The Blake School in Minnesota, the 6-foot-3, 235-pounder could have played college football as a linebacker. He picked hockey and went to Yale.</p><p>Now, Engasser has another decision, but it&rsquo;s not entirely his. The senior captain at Yale could go on to medical school, but wants to play hockey and hopes the Phoenix Coyotes are on the same page.</p><p>&ldquo;I would love to play pro hockey, but I haven&rsquo;t had the best college career and I think they lost some interest in me,&rdquo; said Engasser, a left winger who was taken in the ninth round by the Coyotes in 2005. &ldquo;I know I&rsquo;m not a first-or second-line guy, but I know I can be an energy guy who plays the body, maybe fights once in a while and gets some points along the way.&rdquo;</p><p>A finalist for the Minnesota Mr. Hockey Award as a high school senior, Engasser assumed he was going to make an impact at Yale as a freshman. It didn&rsquo;t work out.</p><p>&ldquo;I had never faced adversity in hockey before,&rdquo; said the Chanhassen, Minn., native. &ldquo;But my first two years under coach (Tim) Taylor, I got into a funk with him. For whatever reasons, he wasn&rsquo;t happy with the way I was playing and I missed some games, both as a healthy scratch and with injuries.&rdquo;</p><p>Engasser played only 39 games in his first two seasons, scoring four goals and six points. But when Keith Allain replaced Taylor before 2006-07, Engasser got new life. He scored seven goals as a junior and this year, had three goals and 15 points in 17 games.</p><p>His best production came when playing with Sean Backman and Marc Arcobello, the Bulldogs&rsquo; top two offensive guns. The visual is unique, as Engasser towers over his linemates, who are both 5-foot-9.</p><p>His pro hockey size is an asset, but other areas need work.</p><p>&ldquo;One of the things I&rsquo;ve been working on is getting lighter and quicker,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;My up and down speed wasn&rsquo;t a problem, but my side to side was an issue.&rdquo;</p><p>&ldquo;The biggest adjustments he needs to make if he wants to play pro hockey are to keep his feet moving and finish his checks on a more consistent basis,&rdquo; Allain said.</p><p>Despite his troubles, Engasser never questions his hockey-over-football decision.</p><p>&ldquo;This could have happened in any program,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I love being at Yale and if you think about it, there are people in a lot worse situations than I am.&rdquo;</p><p><b>&ndash; TOM BOGGIE</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-01704/9183241-1-eng-US/f0042-012.jpg" title="f0042-01" width="762" height="1006"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-02435/9183234-1-eng-US/f0042-022.jpg" title="f0042-02" width="149" height="150"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><h3><b>WILL ENGASSER</b></h3><p>Yale Bulldogs</p><p>Ht. 6-3</p><p>Wt. 235</p><p>Pos. LW</p><p>Age 22</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-04270/9183227-1-eng-US/f0042-042.jpg" title="f0042-04" width="367" height="88"></div><h4><b>Draft Status</b></h4><p>Selected 261st overall by Phoenix in 2005</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-03338/9183220-1-eng-US/f0042-032.jpg" title="f0042-03" width="229" height="229"></div><p>AND COUNTING 65 More pounds than each of his 170-pound linemates.</p><h2><b>Getting back to grassroots</b></h2><p>In an effort to get more kids playing hockey, CCHA teams are conducting their own version of Hockey 101. The league teamed up with Fox Sports Net and an equipment retailer to offer &ldquo;Hockey is Fun&rdquo; free clinics for boys and girls aged 5-11 at its member school&rsquo;s campus arenas. The coaching staff and student athletes serve as instructors and all equipment, including skates and a stick, is provided. &ldquo;The greatest part was seeing the kids fall down and get right back up with a smile on their face,&rdquo; said Bowling Green senior captain Derek Whitmore.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-05235/9183213-1-eng-US/f0042-052.jpg" title="f0042-05" width="229" height="229"></div><p><b>&ndash; PHILIP COLVIN</b></p><h2><b>Fresh face Marcou deadly</b></h2><p>Boyish-looking James Marcou certainly doesn&rsquo;t play like a child. Quick, crafty and tenacious, the 5-foot-7, 155-pound UMass freshman right winger had a team-high eight goals and 25 points through 25 games. &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t know what to expect from him, but I knew we were getting a player who could make plays,&rdquo; said Massachusetts coach Don Cahoon. Marcou, an undrafted free agent who spent the past two seasons at Waterloo of the USHL. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve always had confidence,&rdquo; said the 20-year-old. &ldquo;But I didn&rsquo;t expect to do this well. I&rsquo;ve had some great linemates.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-06212/9183206-1-eng-US/f0042-062.jpg" title="f0042-06" width="235" height="250"></div><p><b>&ndash; LARRY MAHONEY</b></p><h2><b>Big comparison for small Burton</b></h2><p>Colgate senior center Tyler Burton has gotten used to scouts criticizing his size. He&rsquo;s also gotten used to proving them wrong. Going into February, the 5-foot-9, 180-pound Burton, the first scholarship player in Colgate history, had played in 140 consecutive games, scoring exactly 140 points (72 goals, 68 assists). Burton can draw additional inspiration from another former Colgate star, 5-foot-10 St. Louis Blue Andy McDonald, who won the Cup with Anaheim last year. Colgate coach Don Vaughan said Burton&rsquo;s attitude toward the game mirrors McDonald&rsquo;s.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-07180/9183199-1-eng-US/f0042-072.jpg" title="f0042-07" width="228" height="229"></div><p><b>&ndash; TOM BOGGIE</b></p><h2><b>Beavers build new agreement</b></h2><p>A moratorium on expansion has kept Bemidji (Minn.) State&rsquo;s men&rsquo;s program on the outside looking in at the 10-team WCHA. But with a new arena in the works, Bemidji State has reached an agreement with the league that will create a series of 12 non-conference games with WCHA members starting in 2010-11. &ldquo;This is a positive step,&rdquo; said Bemidji State athletic director Dr. Rich Goeb. The Beavers currently play in College Hockey America, but that league is in a precarious state given that Wayne (Mich.) State is dropping the sport, leaving four schools in the CHA.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-08148/9183192-1-eng-US/f0042-082.jpg" title="f0042-08" width="229" height="229"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(DAVID SILVERMAN)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>&ndash; ANDY BAGGOT</b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0042-01

U.S. COLLEGE

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-05246/9183307-1-eng-US/f0043-052.jpg" title="f0043-05" width="240" height="236"></div><h3><b>ECHL</b></h3><h2><b>Changing Lane hits hardwood</b></h2><p class="dropcap"><span>I</span>n the past, Lane Manson&rsquo;s arrival in Victoria, B.C., would have had the Salmon Kings preparing for the physical element the 6-foot-9, 270-pounder brought to the ice. But when Manson, 24, visited recently, he was wearing sneakers instead of skates. The Atlanta fourth-rounder from 2002 has left the ice for the hardwood as a center on the University of Saskatchewan Huskies basketball team. The Huskies visited the University of Victoria for a game a short distance from the Salmon Kings&rsquo; Save-on-Foods Centre. Manson played four ECHL seasons and was on the past two Kelly Cup runner-up teams with Dayton and Gwinnett.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-01696/9183321-1-eng-US/f0043-012.jpg" title="f0043-01" width="231" height="217"></div><p><b>&ndash; MIKE MASTOVICH</b></p><h3><b>NORTH AMERICAN LEAGUE</b></h3><h2><b>Runners find Topeka form</b></h2><p>Perhaps the NAHL&rsquo;s move to Topeka, Kansas wasn&rsquo;t such a bad idea after all. While some thought the Road-Runners wouldn&rsquo;t be any more successful in the prairies than they were in Santa Fe, NM (where over three years they drew a woeful 400 fans a night), the return, so far, is quite promising. Not only are the Runners making great gains on the ice (they had a tidy 23-9-6 record through 38 games), the team has been averaging over 1,400 fans per game, fourth best in the league overall. &ldquo;As the community interacts with our players, they&rsquo;ve become more attached,&rdquo; said Topeka director of media relations Arch Ecker.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-03387/9183314-1-eng-US/f0043-032.jpg" title="f0043-03" width="215" height="236"></div><p><b>&ndash; PAUL SHAHEEN</b></p><h3><b>INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE</b></h3><h2><b>High honor for linesman</b></h2><p>Linesman Ryan Hutchison, a police constable in Leamington, Ont., was selected to receive the Governor General&rsquo;s Medal of Bravery for his role in saving the lives of two girls who were in danger of drowning in Lake Erie on Aug. 21, 2005. After he and his partner responded to a 911 call, Hutchison dove into the water near the Pelee Island ferry dock and got the girls, aged 11 and 13, back to shore before the choppy waters repeatedly drove him into a brick wall. Hutchison, who said he isn&rsquo;t a strong swimmer, was hospitalized for severe exhaustion. The doctor said age and conditioning were the only things that saved him.</p><p><b>&ndash; BRENDAN SAVAGE</b></p><h3><b>CENTRAL LEAGUE</b></h3><h2><b>Record-setting Bugs stoppers</b></h2><p>It&rsquo;s a good thing Ken Carroll and John DeCaro are friends who put their team first; otherwise, the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs would need a bigger dressing room for the egos of their two goaltenders. The fierce, but friendly rivalry between the two stoppers has officials rewriting the record book and has led to talk of the greatest season between the pipes for a team in CHL history. Through 40 games, the duo set or tied three league/individual marks. Carroll&rsquo;s 23rd career shutout set a new league standard. &ldquo;They are both team-first and their performances speak for themselves,&rdquo; Mudbugs coach Scott Muscutt told the Shreveport <i>Times</i>.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-07173/9183300-1-eng-US/f0043-072.jpg" title="f0043-07" width="217" height="244"></div><p><b>&ndash; DAVID HENRY</b></p><h3><b>SOUTHERN PRO LEAGUE</b></h3><h2><b>Rich in wins despite losses</b></h2><p>What made Richmond&rsquo;s leaguerecord winning streak astonishing wasn&rsquo;t that it catapulted the Renegades from last place to regular season title contenders, but that it continued after a wave of quality player defections. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s just guys stepping up,&rdquo; explained captain and veteran defenseman Dan Vandermeer, whose team broke the old mark of 11 games Feb. 2. &ldquo;Guys are leaving and moving up to bigger and better things, and guys are filling spots. Everyone is buying into more of a team system.&rdquo; Top scorer Danny White (12 goals and 35 points in 23 games) became the first of three players to bolt for Europe&rsquo;s greener pastures.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-02468/9183293-1-eng-US/f0043-022.jpg" title="f0043-02" width="229" height="229"></div><p><b>&ndash; NICK GATES</b></p><h3><b>EYE ON EUROPE</b></h3><h2><b>Helminen&rsquo;s ride finally ending</b></h2><p>Raimo Helminen, 43, will retire after the season. But fans of the sixtime Olympian got one last chance to see him play for his country when GM Jari Kurri picked Helminen, Team Finland&rsquo;s all-time leading scorer, for a Euro Hockey Tour game against the Czech Republic. Helminen&rsquo;s career spans almost three decades, from being voted the best player of the Finnish Federation&rsquo;s prospect camp in 1979, to winning the World Junior Championship scoring title in 1984, to his first Olympics that same year, to 117 NHL games, to winning the World Championship in 1995. His last game with Finland was his 331st, a world record, and came 24 years after the first one.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-04287/9183286-1-eng-US/f0043-042.jpg" title="f0043-04" width="229" height="229"></div><p><b>&ndash; RISTO PAKARINEN</b></p><h3><b>CANADIAN UNIVERSITY</b></h3><h2><b>Younger Heatley heading home</b></h2><p>Following graduation, Mark Heatley is taking his giant-sized game across the pond. The 23-year-old brother of NHL superstar Dany Heatley and top-10 OUA scorer with the Toronto Varsity Blues is on course to graduate this spring with an honors degree in international relations, with a minor in German. The 6-foot-3 center is moving to Germany this summer in hopes of landing a spot with a second division team. &ldquo;I&rsquo;d like to go back there for family reasons and cultural reasons and to take advantage of my dual citizenship,&rdquo; Heatley said. &ldquo;My dad played hockey there, my mom&rsquo;s from there and Dany and I were both born there.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-06203/9183279-1-eng-US/f0043-062.jpg" title="f0043-06" width="237" height="229"></div><p><b>&ndash; JEFF RENAUD</b></p><h3><b>THE WOMEN&rsquo;S GAME</b></h3><h2><b>Czech star with conviction</b></h2><p>Alena Polenska&rsquo;s profile is growing. Her parents put the young Czech on skates at a very young age to play hockey with her three-year-old brother. She excelled on boys teams, including an international camp in the ninth grade, where a U.S. coach told her she was good enough to play abroad. Months later, she got an offer to attend Wyoming Seminary Prep School in Kingston, Penn. Her mother said no, but Polenska left home. &ldquo;It was something I always wanted,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;There was nothing mom could do about it.&rdquo; The 17-year-old scored nine points in five games to lead the Czechs to bronze at last month&rsquo;s under-18 worlds.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-08139/9183272-1-eng-US/f0043-082.jpg" title="f0043-08" width="223" height="229"></div><p><b>&ndash; ELIZABETH ETUE</b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0043-05

BEST OF THE REST

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0049-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-02212/9183456-1-eng-US/f0049-022.jpg"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-01300/9183463-1-eng-US/f0049-012.jpg" title="f0049-01" width="155" height="155"></div><h2><b>CROSSWORD</b></h2><p>By Larry Humber</p><p>Answers available in next issue</p><h3><b>ACROSS</b></h3><p>1 Scott Stevens was captain here for a decade</p><p>8 Carolina&rsquo;s Rod Brind&rsquo;___, pictured</p><p>9 There&rsquo;s WHL hockey in Swift ___</p><p>10 Hockey boots</p><p>11 Flexible goalies can do them</p><p>12 Struck hard</p><p>14 Lindy Ruff won the Jack ___ Award in 2006</p><p>17 Nickname of Chicago&rsquo;s AHL team</p><p>19 Medicine Hat&rsquo;s team goes by this nickname</p><p>20 Where Jaromir Jagr spent a season (playing for Omsk)</p><p>21 Daring</p><p>22 Jari Kurri&rsquo;s old number</p><h3><b>DOWN</b></h3><p>2 Outfit</p><p>3 Doug ___ played an amazing 964 consecutive games</p><p>4 What Cup winners have on their fingers</p><p>5 Pulled</p><p>6 Cheer: two words</p><p>7 Promising juniors</p><p>11 Colorado&rsquo;s Karlis ___</p><p>13 Jagr&rsquo;s current team</p><p>15 Playoff ___ are best-of-7</p><p>16 Prince ___ is also in the WHL</p><p>17 What visiting teams wear in the NHL</p><p>18 &lsquo;Butch&rsquo; Bouchard&rsquo;s real first name</p><p>LAST WEEK&rsquo;S CROSSWORD SOLUTION <b>ACROSS</b> 1. IOWA STARS, 8. IRATE, 9. CASHMAN, 10. ANTERO, 11. MAJORS, 12. YELLE, 14. WALES, 17. TOOTOO, 19. UDVARI, 20. AMIABLE, 21. ERNIE, 22. ISLANDERS. <b>DOWN</b> 2. OMAHA, 3. ASHTON, 4. TEARS, 5. SIDNEY, 6. PATELLA, 7. FEDOTENKO, 11. MILWAUKEE, 13. GLOVING, 15. SERGEI, 16. DONALD, 17. TAMPA, 18. OILER.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-03156/9183449-1-eng-US/f0049-032.jpg" title="f0049-03" width="1736" height="838"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-04138/9183442-1-eng-US/f0049-042.jpg" title="f0049-04" width="152" height="155"></div><h2><b>HOMETOWN HOCKEY</b></h2><p>PEORIA, ILL.</p><p>They always ask if it will &ldquo;play in Peoria,&rdquo; and hockey can claim that it does. The Illinois city of 110,000 has had a professional hockey team since 1972 when the Blades of the old Continental League first hit the ice. After that, it was the rather unfortunately named Peoria Prancers, who plied their trade in the International League in the early 1980s. But the staple franchise in Peoria has been the Rivermen, first as an IHL replacement for the Prancers, then as an ECHL team in the 1990s and, finally, as the AHL squad that skates to this day.</p><p>by Ryan Kennedy</p><h2><b>TIPS FROM THE POINT</b></h2><p>WITH KEITH TKACHUK</p><p>TIP-INS</p><p>The first thing you need to do is get into position in the shooting lane. You can work on tip-ins at practice by having a teammate shoot from the point. In a game, the hardest part is the defensemen trying to go around you. You can&rsquo;t hope to separate from them, so try to keep them on your back side instead.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-0599/9183435-1-eng-US/f0049-052.jpg" title="f0049-05" width="248" height="463"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p>ST. LOUIS BLUES</p><p><b>AGE:</b> 35</p><p><b>POS:</b> LW</p><p><b>NUMBER:</b> 7</p></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0049-02

LAST MINUTE OF PLAY

<div class="byline">with Mike Brophy</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="C0004-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/c0004-02204/9183501-1-eng-US/c0004-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(ANDRE RINGUETTE/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/c0004-01318/9183508-1-eng-US/c0004-012.jpg" title="C0004-01" width="207" height="246"></div><blockquote class="pullQuote">The Sens&rsquo; concerns go way beyond the Ray Emery soap opera</blockquote><p>RAY EMERY HAS BECOME the lightning rod for all that goes wrong in Ottawa Senators Land these days.</p><p>And with good reason.</p><p>His selfish and disruptive behavior has greatly outweighed his contribution to a team that&rsquo;s trying to return to the Stanley Cup final. Emery&rsquo;s antics are an insult to his teammates and, for that matter, anybody who buys into the concept of team-building. In his world, it&rsquo;s all about me, me, me.</p><p>It&rsquo;s shocking the Senators have allowed it to go on without punishment beyond monetary fines for being late for practice. Kind of tells you what they think about Martin Gerber&rsquo;s potential to take them to the final, huh?</p><p>My guess is Emery will never live up to his self-generated hype and become a great NHL goalie. It probably explains why the Senators have been unable to move him. It&rsquo;s not like we&rsquo;re talking about Dominik Hasek, who has quirks, but also has MVP awards, a Stanley Cup and an Olympic gold medal. What has Emery done? Zip. Here&rsquo;s an idea, Ray: Try winning something or, at the very least, being an impact player before going all Hollywood.</p><p>One journalist lightheartedly suggested Emery would be better suited to being a rock star than a professional athlete. Yeah, like Milli Vanilli &ndash; the lips move, but nothing of consequence comes out.</p><p>Emery wants everybody to believe he&rsquo;s the King of Cool when, in fact, just about everything he does is contrived. Maybe that will change when he grows up.</p><p>If you ask me, the Sens&rsquo; concerns go way beyond the Ray Emery soap opera. The big question GM Bryan Murray must ask himself is: Are we any better this year than we were last season? The answer is no.</p><p>The thing about the Senators&rsquo; problems is, they&rsquo;re not restricted to just goaltending. It is reasonable to suggest that when Dany Heatley and Daniel Alfredsson return to good health, the goaltending woes will be diminished.</p><p>The Sens are a very good hockey team. They&rsquo;re good enough to win the Eastern Conference for a second straight season, but are they good enough to beat Anaheim in a rematch of last year&rsquo;s final? Or Detroit? Or Calgary? Or Minnesota?</p><p>Would winning the East for a second year in a row, but with another loss in the final, be a sign of progress? Probably not.</p><p>And therein lies the problem. You see, some teams in the West have bulked up in an effort to take down the Ducks. So even if Ottawa reaches the Cup final, they would face a formidable foe.</p><p>Also, other teams in the East have made strides in catching up to the Sens, who, for the most part, have remained status quo.</p><p>Murray cannot ignore that reality. His Senators kind of remind me of the NFL&rsquo;s Buffalo Bills from the early 1990s who lost four straight Super Bowls. They were good enough to get there, but not quite good enough to win.</p><p>So while Murray contemplates how to make Gerber more consistent and get Emery on board, he must also be wondering how to improve his team&rsquo;s scoring. The mid-season injuries to Heatley and Alfredsson will likely be long forgotten by playoff time, but the lack of secondary scoring will still be apparent unless Ottawa makes a significant upgrade.</p><p>Mike Fisher fits the role of second-line center perfectly, this year more than ever. But he has a long history of injury woes and it would be a mistake for the Senators to bank on him remaining healthy for the rest of the year. It might happen, but you can&rsquo;t ignore the past.</p><p>Ottawa has waited patiently for Antoine Vermette to emerge as a consistent offensive threat and a strong second half by No. 20 may ease their minds.</p><p>But can they bet the farm on Emery taking the next step?</p><p>At the end of the day, the Sens have the best No. 1 line in the NHL in Alfredsson, Heatley and Jason Spezza, who has played with more of an edge this season. Alfredsson is a leading candidate for the Hart Trophy as the NHL&rsquo;s most valuable player and Heatley is one of hockey&rsquo;s most prolific goal-scorers. The Senators also have a strong and dependable defense led by Chris Phillips, Andrej Meszaros and Anton Volchenkov to go with John Paddock&rsquo;s good coaching.</p><p>You have to believe this group is extremely hungry, having advanced to the final last year only to watch the Ducks skate off into the California sun with the Stanley Cup.</p><p>But if the Senators think solving the Rubik&rsquo;s Cube that is their goaltending controversy will be the key to winning the Cup, they are sadly mistaken. It&rsquo;s going to take more than that.</p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/c0004-03120/9183494-1-eng-US/c0004-032.jpg" title="C0004-03" width="76" height="77"></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>

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February 26, 2008

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