The Hockey News has been providing the most comprehensive coverage of the world of hockey since 1947. In each issue, you'll find news, features and opinions about the NHL and leagues across North America and the world.

October 21, 2008

The Hockey News - Oct-21-08

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THE STANDARDS

NHL TEAM REPORTS

<div class="byline">WITH ERIK JOHNSON</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-012076/9164451-1-eng-US/f0005-012.jpg" title="f0005-01" width="562" height="583"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(JOHN RUSSELL/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><i>MATTEO PASCULLI FROM MAPLE, ONT., ASKS</i> How does it feel to be a No. 1 overall draft pick after Crosby and Ovechkin?</p><p>I&rsquo;m fine with it. I&rsquo;d have a problem if I was a forward, but my expectations are completely different with my team. They&rsquo;re expected to light it up every night. As a defenseman, scoring 20 goals would be great.</p><p><i>NICK</i>&nbsp;<i>GROENEWEGEN FROM WOODSTOCK, ONT., ASKS</i> Who is the hardest forward to contain that you play against?</p><p>Everyone&rsquo;s good in this league, but Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg are tough because they change speeds so well and have such good vision on the ice. But there isn&rsquo;t an easy night anywhere.</p><p><i>RYAN THIESSEN FROM KENNE-WICK, WSH., ASKS</i> I&rsquo;m volunteering to coach underprivileged kids this year. What are some good drills to teach a love of the game?</p><p>Have them play 3-on-3 cross-ice in one zone. Or, something we did in college that I enjoyed was having everyone play opposite-handed. Keep the game light and fun.</p><p><i>DARREN O&rsquo;BRIEN FROM LANG-LEY, B.C., ASKS</i> What is the most important skill out there for a defenseman?</p><p>Confidence in your abilities. Going out every night and thinking you&rsquo;re the guy and can&rsquo;t be beat 1-on-1.</p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-04605/9164444-1-eng-US/f0005-042.jpg" title="f0005-04" width="76" height="77"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p>Visit <a href="http://thehockeynews.com">thehockeynews.com</a> to ask your questions of NHL stars!<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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IN THIS ISSUE

FAN SHOOTOUT

<div class="byline">by Nicolas Chabot</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0045-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-01509/9166262-1-eng-US/f0045-012.jpg"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0046-01497/9166255-1-eng-US/f0046-012.jpg" title="f0046-01" width="2804" height="3543"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

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INSIDE THE NUMBERS

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the BIG BLUE LINE

<div class="byline">with Jason Kay</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-012080/9164389-1-eng-US/f0004-012.jpg" title="f0004-01" width="765" height="643"></div><p>THE SAN JOSE SHARKS have long been a fashionable pick of prognosticators because, in large part, they haven&rsquo;t achieved any real success.</p><p>Experts are people, too, and many are image-conscious; they want to get the pick right, but they want to look good doing it. Opting for the defending champ is the easy out. Going way off the board with a long shot could put your credibility at risk.</p><p>The Sharks represent a sexy middle ground, a team perpetually on the fringe of greatness, but one that keeps getting knocked back. Will this season be any different? Have they done enough to change their culture, bringing in veterans such as Rob Blake and Dan Boyle on the blueline?</p><p>From this perspective, the play of Boyle will be critical. The 32-year-old defenseman has the ability to be a key driver for a championship team (see 2004), but will have to overcome a nightmare season in which he missed 45 games with a wrist injury. When he did play, he managed four goals and 25 points in 37 games, but was an alarming minus-29 for Tampa Bay. If he is able to revert back to his star form, Boyle will be in the running for the Masterton Trophy/comeback player of the year.</p><p>In this, a season of many happy returns, Boyle faces stiff competition. Here, listed with their 2007-08 tales of woe in parentheses, are five more NHLers who could emerge as the &ldquo;feel good&rdquo; story of the year.</p><p>&bull; <b>Simon Gagne, Philadelphia</b> (25 GP, concussion). He was coming off back-to-back 40-plus goal seasons before head injuries took control. If healthy, there&rsquo;s no reason he shouldn&rsquo;t return to those rarefied heights.</p><p>&bull; <b>Patrice Bergeron, Boston</b> (10 GP, concussion). It&rsquo;s a relief to see Bergeron back on the ice at all following last year&rsquo;s scary incident. Now back in black, he gives Boston a potent 1-2 center combo with crafty Marc Savard.</p><p>&bull; <b>Richard Zednik, Florida</b> (54 GP, neck laceration). Zednik will try to put the images and fears of last year&rsquo;s horrific throat slash behind him. The Panthers need him to supply offense if they want to challenge for the playoffs.</p><p>&bull; <b>Teppo Numminen, Buffalo</b> (1 GP, heart surgery). The 40-year-old blueliner figures to be a stabilizing influence on a revamped Sabres blueline, health permitting. Everyone&rsquo;s rooting for him.</p><p>&bull; <b>Ethan Moreau, Edmonton</b> (25 GP, broken bone in leg). The gritty captain has played in less than 20 percent of Edmonton&rsquo;s games the past two seasons due to injury. His veteran leadership presence is significant on a highly skilled, but potentially fragile young lineup.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-021759/9164382-1-eng-US/f0004-022.jpg" title="f0004-02" width="448" height="240"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(MARK WILSON)</span></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

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A SEASON OF MANY HAPPY RETURNS

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0005-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-021498/9164506-1-eng-US/f0005-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Nikolai Zherdev <span class="photo-credit">(FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>I just finished watching the first Victoria Cup final and what a great contest.</p><p>As the game went on, the Rangers began to take it more seriously and bounced back from a 3-0 deficit to win 4-3. The atmosphere in the arena was fantastic and the game was a lot of fun to watch. I feel the world of hockey has found a great new tradition and look forward to watching many more Victoria Cups in the future. This game, and others in Europe, are somewhat of an eye-opener. The fans over there are great and expanding the league into Europe, I feel, would be a great idea.</p><p>ALEX CALABRESE, METUCHEN, N.J.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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TRANS-EURO EXPRESS

<p><i>Was Roberto Luongo the best choice as Vancouver&rsquo;s new captain?</i></p><p>Yes 64%</p><p>No 36%</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-03963/9164544-1-eng-US/f0005-032.jpg" title="f0005-03" width="496" height="696"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(JEFF VINNICK/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><h2><b>SPIT IT OUT!</b></h2><p>GET IT OFF YOUR CHEST <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</p><p>25 Sheppard Ave. W., Suite 100</p><p>Toronto, ON., M2N 6S7, Canada</p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-05390/9164537-1-eng-US/f0005-052.jpg" title="f0005-05" width="76" height="77"></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

<h2><b>ONE LAST SHOT</b></h2><p class="dropcap"><span>G</span>oodbye, Paul Newman, you will be missed. As a big fan of your movies and especially old-time hockey, I will always remember my favorite player/coach, No. 7 Reggie Dunlop.</p><p>Say hi to Toe Blake and Eddie Shore for me.</p><p>MIKE DEBIASE, SAYREVILLE, N.J.</p><h2><b>DEVIL MAY CARE</b></h2><p>Brian Rolston is the Rodney Dangerfield of the NHL.</p><p>He has a bomb from the point on the power play, is annually among the leaders in shorthanded goals, skates like the wind and yet he&rsquo;s not ranked in Mike Brophy&rsquo;s top 20 at his position (Sept. 30).</p><p>He&rsquo;s moved around in his career and has now returned to the Devils, the team which originally drafted him. I look for him to have yet another productive year.</p><p>BOB FRICK, AUBURN HILLS, MICH.</p><h2><b>A FOND LOOK BACK</b></h2><p>I would like to thank you for all the years I have subscribed to your publication &ndash; it truly has been a part of my life.</p><p>This recently came to mind after going and putting the past 10 years worth of The Hockey News in numerical order. I have every issue since 1972 in storage. I recently turned 50 and reading your issues from cover to cover has seen many changes in both my life and yours.</p><p>From playing high school hockey under coach Barry Van Gerbig &ndash; he of the Golden Seals &ndash; to raising a family, starting a career and, sadly, having my playing days end with a heart attack on the ice when I was 30, to today, the arrival of a new issue is always exciting.</p><blockquote class="pullQuote">Get the Jets back in Winnipeg. Or, give Hamilton a shot.</blockquote><p>I love to look back at old issues and read about events and even see the change in print type and overall format that you have gone through, yet all the while keeping up an incredibly high level of writing and reporting. Congratulations!</p><p>KARL MILLER, MONTPELIER, VT.</p><h2><b>OVIE ONE</b></h2><p>I can&rsquo;t wait to see the excuses THN comes up with for Sidney Crosby this year.</p><p>Alex Ovechkin won the Calder Trophy over Crosby and ran the table on the awards last season. THN&rsquo;s favorite stat to show is that Crosby wins head-to-head.</p><p>But you fail to mention that Crosby has played with Hall of Famers while Ovechkin has skated with rookies and has-beens.</p><p>Now that Ovechkin has a supporting cast, what will Crosby&rsquo;s excuse be?</p><p>JASON MCCARTHY, RARITAN, N.J.</p><h2><b>KEEP IT LOCAL</b></h2><p>Why is it that Gary Bettman wants to bring the NHL to Europe so badly? It doesn&rsquo;t make any sense.</p><p>The time changes are one thing. But when you can get a team in any Canadian city and sell out every game, the answer seems pretty clear to me.</p><p>Get the Jets back in Winnipeg. Or, give Hamilton a shot. Not some team stationed in Europe that probably will fold after the first year because of a lack of support. Not to mention the problems coming from the KHL by having an NHL team in their backyard. Listen to what the players have to say. Come on, Gary, it isn&rsquo;t rocket science.</p><p>DAYTON BROWN, FORT FRANCES, ONT.</p><h2><b>HOT TODDY</b></h2><p>Todd Bertuzzi is back in Canada. He had stints in Florida, Detroit and Anaheim, but never really found his game after the Steve Moore incident while he was with Vancouver.</p><p>In Calgary, the fans love Bertuzzi&rsquo;s gritty style and scoring ability, so it&rsquo;s a clean slate. He&rsquo;s playing with Jarome Iginla, the best all-around forward in the NHL, and/or Daymond Langkow and Michael Cammalleri, which will give him enough scoring chances and, with Mike Keenan as a coach, he should get ice time.</p><p>If Todd gets more than 25 goals and 50 points he&rsquo;ll probably be re-signed. Don&rsquo;t forget his 46-goal and 97-point 2002-03 campaign. Good luck, Todd.</p><p>SCOTT FRANCHUK, BARRHEAD, ALTA.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

CROWD SHOTS

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-012302/9164589-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg" title="f0006-01" width="250" height="251"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>A</span>dam, Please don&rsquo;t think that I just awoke from a coma, but I still don&rsquo;t know what a defensivezone trap is. Could you shed some light on the subject for me?</p><p>Scott Turner, Toronto</p><p>Scott, The trap is a system in which the team without the puck holds back four skaters in the neutral and defensive zones, and tries to force the puck-carrier from the middle of the ice toward the boards. Ironically, the trap system is so boring that viewers have been known to fall into a coma. Perhaps that&rsquo;s what happened to you prior to submitting your question.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-021537/9164582-1-eng-US/f0006-022.jpg" title="f0006-02" width="611" height="459"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(JIM MCISAAC/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>Adam, What happens when a team retires so many jersey numbers they don&rsquo;t have enough left to use? (It could and probably will happen someday.)</p><p>Stefan Stadie, Calgary</p><p>Stefan, An interesting observation, albeit one that won&rsquo;t be a pressing concern for most NHL teams anytime soon. When it does become a hot topic, my (tongue-in-cheek) suggestion would be to add a decimal point and the number &lsquo;1&rsquo; to every retired sweater, so that, for example, a descendant of Wayne Gretzky would wear 99.1. It might confuse some fans into thinking they were watching an FM radio station on the ice, but think of the promotional opportunities!</p><p>SUBMIT YOUR QUESTIONS AT <a href="http://thehockeynews.com">thehockeynews.com</a></p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-03896/9164575-1-eng-US/f0006-032.jpg" title="f0006-03" width="76" height="77"></div><p>Need more of your questions answered? Read Proteau&rsquo;s &lsquo;Ask Adam&rsquo; column every Tuesday and Friday at <a href="http://thehockeynews.com">thehockeynews.com</a><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p></div>

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ASK ADAM

<div class="byline">&#x2013; RYAN KENNEDY</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0007-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-012068/9164627-1-eng-US/f0007-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">John Tavares <span class="photo-credit">(CLAUS ANDERSEN/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-021400/9164634-1-eng-US/f0007-022.jpg" title="f0007-02" width="182" height="206"></div><p>WHAT WAS ONCE a preposterous question has become an intriguing debate: John Tavares or Victor Hedman &ndash; who do you want?</p><p>While Tavares has spent years as the consensus No. 1 prospect for the 2009 NHL draft, Hedman steadily worked his way into the picture last season and has surpassed the Oshawa Generals star in the minds of some.</p><p>In Tavares, you have a preternatural goal-scorer; a player as dangerous from the blueline in as one can imagine. He&rsquo;s an offensive phenom and has been dealing with the public spotlight for several years. He is <i>itching</i> to get an NHL jersey on. Hedman, meantime, is a behemoth Swedish defenseman with an offensive game that Steven Stamkos, the No. 1 draft pick last June, once said reminded him of Nicklas Lidstrom. At 6-foot-7 and 220 pounds, Hedman is huge and will have two years of experience playing against men in the Swedish Elite League when he comes over.</p><p>Both have tremendous upsides. Both easily have the skill sets to challenge for the Calder Trophy. So who to choose if you&rsquo;re the GM of a basement team? Well, it may have to come down to which basement team you speak of. Here&rsquo;s a look at some potential draft lottery &ldquo;winners&rdquo; and the player that fills their needs best.</p><p>NEW YORK ISLANDERS We say this nearly every year, but there&rsquo;s not a lot of hope on the Island. The Isles are committed to rebuilding and landing the top pick is likely. Kyle Okposo is New York&rsquo;s brightest young star right now, with Josh Bailey and Corey Trivino also in the mix, but a few years behind. All three are forwards, which certainly doesn&rsquo;t exclude Tavares, but does make the case for Hedman more compelling. In terms of defense prospects, the Isles are thin. Chris Campoli and Bruno Gervais are regulars, but after that it&rsquo;s patchy. Jack Hillen is on the verge, while Aaron Ness is at least a couple years away. <b><i>THN odds to finish 30th</i></b>&nbsp;<i>2-1</i></p><p>ATLANTA THRASHERS The acquisition of Mathieu Schneider makes Atlanta&rsquo;s defense corps semiimpressive, but the Thrashers will likely die by the fact they couldn&rsquo;t land an elite center for team MVP Ilya Kovalchuk. Assuming the Russian sniper re-signs with Atlanta&ndash;a big &ldquo;if&rdquo; &ndash; the least the Thrashers can do is hook him up with Tavares (78 assists in 59 OHL games last year). <b><i>THN odds to finish 30th</i></b>&nbsp;<i>3-1</i></p><p>LOS ANGELES KINGS The Kings will not be good this year because of their youth and questions in net. Shockingly, on a team with Anze Kopitar, Dustin Brown, Alexander Frolov and Patrick O&rsquo;Sullivan, the Kings are even more set on defense, with Jack Johnson, Drew Doughty, Alec Martinez, Colten Teubert and Thomas Hickey all coming together in the near future. Adding Tavares makes the Kings scary &ndash; and soon. <b><i>THN odds for No. 1 pick</i></b>&nbsp;<i>3-1</i></p><p>TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS The Buds tend to play just well enough down the stretch to avoid basement status, but if there ever was a season for them to &ldquo;fade,&rdquo; this is the one. Toronto will struggle to score and there isn&rsquo;t any game-breaking talent in the pipeline. Tavares is a local boy and would immediately become the No. 1 center. (Not to tamper, but Rick Nash is also from the area and he can become an unrestricted  free agent in 2010.) <b><i>THN odds to finish 30th</i></b>&nbsp;<i>6-1</i></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-031167/9164620-1-eng-US/f0008-032.jpg" title="f0008-03" width="969" height="701"><figcaption class="caption-body">Victor Hedman is a huge defender with his sights set on going first overall in the 2009 draft. <span class="photo-credit">(BRUCE BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>ST. LOUIS BLUES With Chicago and Columbus both better on paper, the Blues are the sole whipping boys in the Central Division. They won&rsquo;t be horrible, but losing Erik Johnson for the year certainly doesn&rsquo;t help. St. Louis is already integrating forward prospects such as T.J. Oshie and Patrik Berglund into the fold, where they&rsquo;ll join a core of 20-somethings. Beyond Johnson, St. Louis has Alex Pietrangelo to look forward to on defense, but adding a third tower in Hedman would be a nice luxury. <b><i>THN odds to finish 30th</i></b>&nbsp;<i>8-1</i><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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TAVARES VS. HEDMAN: WHO’LL BE NO. 1?

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-012202/9164679-1-eng-US/f0008-012.jpg" title="f0008-01" width="306" height="271"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-021662/9164672-1-eng-US/f0008-022.jpg" title="f0008-02" width="502" height="503"></div><p>CAPTAIN LOUIE Canucks break with tradition and name goalie Roberto Luongo as team captain.</p><p>BLUELINE UPGRADE Acquiring Mathieu Schneider from Ducks will help thin defense corps in Atlanta.</p><p>BC THE BEST On the heels of a national title last year, Boston College tops our 2008-09 NCAA rankings.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-04645/9164665-1-eng-US/f0008-042.jpg" title="f0008-04" width="502" height="503"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(GONCHAR+SCHENN: DAVE SANDFORD/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>OUCH Missing injured Sergei Gonchar for most of the season will definitely hamper Pittsburgh&rsquo;s power play.</p><p>CZECHED OUT Rangers in Prague lacks some zest without Czech stars Jaromir Jagr, Martin Straka in the fold.</p><p>PICK YOUR SPOTS RaffiTorres injures shoulder in pre-season fight and will miss the first chunk of the season.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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PLUS/MINUS

<p>10 DAVID MOSS gave Calgary the secondary scoring everyone wondered about.</p><p>9 Picking up where he left off, MARTIN BIRON was hot for Philadelphia.</p><p>8 If nothing else, CODY HODG-SON&rsquo;S play in Vancouver made Don Cherry a fan.</p><p>7 An entry-level contract was nice incentive for the Isles&rsquo; JOSH BAILEY.</p><p>6 PAUL BISSONNETTE introduced himself to Penguins fans with his fists.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-05459/9164710-1-eng-US/f0008-052.jpg" title="f0008-05" width="562" height="436"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(DEBORA ROBINSON/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>5 VIKTOR TIKHONOV gained coach Wayne Gretzky&rsquo;s respect early in Phoenix.</p><p>4 Also picking up where he left off was Habs sniper ANDREI KOSTITSYN.</p><p>3 ANDY MCDONALD certainly has hit his stride early in St. Louis.</p><p>2 LUKE SCHENN wasn&rsquo;t making it easy for Toronto to send him back to junior.</p><p>1 The way he&rsquo;s scoring, another big season may be in store for BRAD BOYES.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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Starting from 10

<div class="byline">&#x2013; JAY GREENBERG</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0009-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-011980/9164741-1-eng-US/f0009-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Paul Newman&rsquo;s Reggie Dunlop character in the movie <i>Slap Shot</i> became an icon in the hockey world.</figcaption></div><p>&ldquo;DON&rsquo;T ACT.&rdquo;</p><p>That was the advice of one of the great actors of his generation to three kids hired to play themselves.</p><p>&ldquo;Put yourself in the situation,&rdquo; the Academy Award winner told Steve Carlson, who swears &ndash; as Nancy Dowd&rsquo;s script had its characters doing often in the comic masterpiece <i>Slap Shot</i> &ndash; that indeed there was a lot of the earthy, impish, Reggie Dunlop in Paul Newman, regular guy.</p><p>&ldquo;The first time I met him, I introduced myself to Mr. Newman and he said, &lsquo;My name is Paul,&rsquo;&rdquo; said Carlson, who played one of the movie&rsquo;s famous Hanson brothers along with real life brother Jeff Carlson and cousin Dave Hanson.</p><p>&ldquo;In his trailer between scenes you would talk to him about anything you wanted. We invited him to our place and he came a few times. We would go out and he didn&rsquo;t say, &lsquo;Put it all on my tab.&rsquo; We all bought.</p><p>&ldquo;The scene when Strother Martin (playing Charlestown Chiefs GM Joe McGrath) came into the dressing room all bleeped off that we had stopped gooning it up, we shot 20 times.</p><p>&ldquo;Strother&rsquo;s pants were halfway down his butt and they were hanging differently each time. Newman was bleeping his pants, we all thought it was so funny. That&rsquo;s the stuff I remember about him.&rdquo;</p><p>Likewise, Newman, who died Sept. 26 at age 83 from cancer, always recalled <i>Slap Shot</i>, inspired in part by the real-life antics of the Johnstown Jets&rsquo; Carlson brothers and filmed in the Western Pennsylvania mill town, as one of the most enjoyably shot of his 65-plus films.</p><p>&ldquo;He said that on talk shows,&rdquo; said Steve, who later coached in Johnstown and now lives in Kenosha, Wisc. &ldquo;He was so into helping Jeff, Dave and myself. We weren&rsquo;t actors, although we had been acting all our lives. Paul would give us tips and we would tell him what a real hockey player would do. He pulled off a cult classic.</p><p>&ldquo;You know in 1977, nobody talked like that on the screen and they wanted to rate it &lsquo;X.&rsquo; He and (director) George Roy Hill argued it had to be realistic and used their influence to get it rated &lsquo;R,&rsquo; and into (mainstream) theaters.&rdquo;</p><p>A second sequel will debut in November, with the Hansons, who have taken their act to arenas for years, &ldquo;putting on the foil&rdquo; again for old time&rsquo;s sake and old-time hockey&rsquo;s sake. Even after 31 years, the original still &ldquo;hones&rdquo; the hockey community&rsquo;s heart.</p><p>&ldquo;Paul did almost all his own skating,&rdquo; Carlson said. &ldquo;The scene where the ref warns me during the national anthem and I say, &ldquo;I&rsquo;m listening to the (expletive) song!&rsquo; took four days because the ref kept falling. He finally stumbles up and gives his line and I&rsquo;m so bored, bleeped off and said it so angrily, George Roy Hill thought it was perfect.</p><p>&ldquo;There was a lot of ad-libbing. We weren&rsquo;t supposed to beat up the soda machine in the train station as badly as we did. We had to buy them a new one. Hey, it took my quarter.</p><p>&ldquo;The toy race cars? The truth, too. The bars were closed in Johnstown on Sundays and we had to entertain ourselves so we got a keg and these race car sets and bet.</p><p>&ldquo;The sign of the cross I did before we jumped the other team? That was ad-libbed, like Paul encouraged us. We lost a great man.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0009-01

PAUL’S LAST SHIFT

<p>The beginning of another NHL season can mean only one thing for fantasy pool junkies: the return of THN&rsquo;s Supreme Pool.</p><p>With more than $15,000 up for grabs in cash and prizes &ndash; including $5,000 and lifelong bragging rights for the winner &ndash; you can get in on the Supreme Pool excitement at <b><a href="http://thn.com/supremepool">thn.com/supremepool</a>.</b></p><p>The format is simple: pick a team of 20 players &ndash; one each from 20 pre-selected groups of 10 NHLers &ndash; that you believe will compile the most points in 2008-09. You can also make unlimited trades to bolster your roster in case injuries &ndash; or slumps &ndash; occur.</p><p>There are also weekly, monthly and random prizes throughout the season. Entry fee is $19.95.</p><p>To help get you started, here are five guys considered sleeper picks with potential. These are under-theradar players who should reach at least 40-50 points this season &ndash; with the possibility of scoring a lot more.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-021375/9164800-1-eng-US/f0009-022.jpg" title="f0009-02" width="164" height="207"></div><p>COLUMBUS</p><p>Jakub Voraeck</p><p>43 pts</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-03843/9164793-1-eng-US/f0009-032.jpg" title="f0009-03" width="164" height="208"></div><p>MINNESOTA</p><p>James Sheppard</p><p>48 pts</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-04643/9164786-1-eng-US/f0009-042.jpg" title="f0009-04" width="164" height="191"></div><p>NEW JERSEY</p><p>Travis Zajac</p><p>44 pts</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-05480/9164779-1-eng-US/f0009-052.jpg" title="f0009-05" width="164" height="188"></div><p>PHOENIX</p><p>Kyle Turris</p><p>61 pts</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-06396/9164772-1-eng-US/f0009-062.jpg" title="f0009-06" width="164" height="193"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(HULTON ARCHIVE/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>SAN JOSE</p><p>Joe Pavelski</p><p>49 pts<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0009-02

$15,000 UP FOR GRABS

<div class="byline">&#x2013; KEVIN WOODLEY</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0010-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-012170/9164852-1-eng-US/f0010-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Roberto Luongo can&rsquo;t wear the &lsquo;C&rsquo;, but he&rsquo;s the leading man in Vancouver. <span class="photo-credit">(JEFF VINNICK/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>SO, ROBERTO LUONGO is the new captain of the Vancouver Canucks.</p><p>Except, of course, when they are actually playing games.</p><p>While the Canucks confirmed Luongo&rsquo;s status as the franchise leader, an NHL rule dating back to the late 1940s prevents any goaltender from acting as the official team captain on the ice. So there will be no &lsquo;C&rsquo; on Luongo&rsquo;s chest, no arguing calls or taking ceremonial faceoffs, duties to be divided among a trio of new alternate captains: defenders Mattias Ohlund and Willie Mitchell and center Ryan Kesler.</p><p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve come to the agreement opening faceoffs will be Mattias because he&rsquo;s the longest-running Canuck and since Willie likes to talk the most, we&rsquo;ll have him talk to the referee,&rdquo; joked Vancouver coach Alain Vigneault.</p><p>That solves the logistical problems created by Rule 6.1, which reads, &ldquo;no playing Coach or playing Manager or goalkeeper shall be permitted to act as Captain or Alternate Captain.&rdquo;</p><p>The Canucks simply turned the page to Rule 6.2, which allows for three alternate captains &ldquo;only when the Captain is not in uniform.&rdquo; Since Luongo can&rsquo;t wear the captain&rsquo;s uniform, that will be the case every night.</p><p>All of which might seem like a lot of headaches to circumvent a rule sparked by complaints the last goalie to wear a &lsquo;C,&rsquo; Canadiens Hall of Famer Bill Durnan in 1947-48, was creating extra timeouts by arguing calls at center ice. But as unusual as the move may seem &ndash; Don Cherry called it &ldquo;silly&rdquo; and Calgary goalie Miikka Kiprusoff labeled it &ldquo;weird&rdquo; &ndash; the captaincy actually fits Luongo. Not only is he the team&rsquo;s best player &ndash; and best hope of winning on most nights &ndash; Luongo is also the hardest-working Canuck, a superstar that had to be ordered by coaches to take a day off two years ago.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m ready for that responsibility,&rdquo; said Luongo, in his third season of a four-year contract signed after being traded from Florida to Vancouver in the summer of 2006. &ldquo;The main thing is the way I work and the way I prepare and the dedication I have not only to my position, but to my team and my teammates.&rdquo;</p><p>As for the unique challenges of being a goaltender and the captain, arguing calls might have been the easiest part. The job description off the ice can be far more taxing and, some would argue, ill-suited to a position already in the spotlight.</p><p>How does a goalie, whose every mistake is replayed for all to see, tell teammates when they aren&rsquo;t pulling their weight? How can goalies, so many of whom, including Luongo late last season, don&rsquo;t speak on game days, serve as the team&rsquo;s voice?</p><p>Why would anyone already in the pressure cooker want turn up the heat?</p><p>&ldquo;I put a tremendous amount of pressure on myself to begin with,&rdquo; said Luongo, who insisted none of the above changes as captain, but did pledge to better handle the media after reacting, at times, to criticism last year. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not as vocal as some guys in the dressing room, but I do voice my opinion when I feel it&rsquo;s time. It&rsquo;s a comfort level within a dressing room&hellip;I&rsquo;m not going to change my ways.&rdquo;</p><p>Nor will he have to change his jersey, though Luongo said he didn&rsquo;t understand the rule, which hasn&rsquo;t stopped college hockey from seamlessly naming goalies captain, and admitted it would have been cool to wear the &lsquo;C&rsquo; vacated by Markus Naslund.</p><p>&ldquo;But at the same time it&rsquo;s not a big deal,&rdquo; he said with a smile.</p><h2><b>SNAPSHOTS</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-03990/9164845-1-eng-US/f0010-032.jpg" title="f0010-03" width="198" height="197"></div><p>FROM AROUND THE NHL</p><p>THE IIHF isn&rsquo;t showing much in the way of fortitude in dealing with the Alexander Radulov case. The group hired a crew of international lawyers who uncovered this incredible nugget: Radulov had one year remaining on his contract with Nashville. Wow. Either the requirements to get into law school are getting too loose or the IIHF is doing its best to turtle away from this issue.</p><p>HABS SOPHOMORE Carey Price dropped 28 pounds this summer, after playing at around 225 pounds last year. The 6-foot-3 goalie said he feels much quicker in the crease.</p><p>ACCORDING TO a report in <i>The Globe and Mail</i>, the NHL will closely monitor transactions between the Leafs and Ducks due to speculation Brian Burke could be Toronto-bound next summer. So, the Ryan Getzlaf-for-Jeff Finger deal is off?</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-021573/9164838-1-eng-US/f0010-022.jpg" title="f0010-02" width="236" height="310"></div><h2><b>STARTING LINEUP &lsquo;76-77 PROVIDENCE</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-04686/9164831-1-eng-US/f0010-042.jpg" title="f0010-04" width="264" height="264"></div><p>Some teams are blessed with great leadership. Other teams, such as the 1976-77 Providence College Friars, have it spilling out from all angles. Though the squad finished a pedestrian 14-11-0, placing them firmly in the middle of the ECAC standings, the roster of the Friars turned out to be quite an influential one.</p><p>Leading the team in scoring and securing second-team All-American honors was defenseman and current Maple Leafs coach Ron Wilson (pictured). Also making noise for the Friars was Anaheim Ducks GM Brian Burke. And the man in charge of the ship? Three-time Stanley Cup engineer and New Jersey Devils GM Lou Lamoriello.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0010-01

CAPTAIN CANUCK

<div class="byline">with Ken Campbell</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0012-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-021650/9164897-1-eng-US/f0012-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Daniel Alfredsson <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/f0012-012114/9164904-1-eng-US/f0012-012.jpg" title="f0012-01" width="207" height="246"></div><blockquote class="pullQuote">Daniel Alfredsson is flat-out one of the best all-round players in the league</blockquote><p class="dropcap"><span>F</span>UNNY, ISN&rsquo;T IT, how nobody seems to be picking the Ottawa Senators to do much of anything this season? That&rsquo;s probably just fine with them, given how many times they&rsquo;ve fallen flat on their faces in recent seasons when great things were expected of them.</p><p>Here at The Hockey News, we chose the Senators to finish a very ordinary fifth in the Eastern Conference and some think that might be charitable to the local 23 in Canada&rsquo;s capital. But the fact remains the Senators are still deeper in talent than any other team in the conference and if addition by subtraction means anything, the Senators might have actually gotten better in the off-season.</p><p>That&rsquo;s why I&rsquo;m picking them to return to the Stanley Cup final.</p><p>I&rsquo;ve always had a soft spot for the Senators. I admire the way they&rsquo;ve built through astute drafting and top-notch development of players and how they&rsquo;ve placed more of an emphasis on skill and panache than almost any other team in the league. For the better part of a decade, the Sens have done almost everything the right way and have bupkis to show for it in terms of tangible rewards.</p><p>But in an Eastern Conference that remains wide open, why not the Senators? The Montreal Canadiens exceeded all expectations last season, but let&rsquo;s see what they can do under the scrutiny of being a favorite and having the pressure of trying to win a Stanley Cup during their 100th anniversary season. Forget the Pittsburgh Penguins now that Sergei Gonchar and Ryan Whitney are out long-term from a lineup that was depleted in the offseason. The Washington Capitals have star power, but Jose Theodore as your No. 1 goalie for the season? And can anyone look at the rosters of the Philadelphia Flyers or New York Rangers and honestly say those teams have significantly better personnel than the Senators?</p><p>Not a chance. The Senators have their warts to be sure, namely the sudden lack of a puck-moving, offense-generating defenseman and a goalie whose confidence seems to be about as solid as Lehman Brothers stock. But name one team in the East that doesn&rsquo;t have serious holes in its lineup. And when it comes down to it, the Senators have smaller and fewer holes than most of the teams in their conference.</p><p>Ridding themselves of Ray Emery, and to a lesser extent Wade Redden, could very well turn out to be addition by subtraction. To be sure, not having Emery around will be one huge distraction with which the Senators will not have to deal and, for all his puck-moving abilities, Redden had presided over a game that had gone south in Ottawa the past two seasons.</p><p>On the other hand, where the Senators may have created one deficiency, they filled another one in a big way. The knock on the Senators has long been that they have lacked team toughness, not in terms of their ability to get into meaningless fights, but in terms of having the mental toughness to play through difficult games and handle adversity. Well, enter defenseman Jason Smith and left winger Jarkko Ruutu, who both represent enormous upgrades in that area.</p><p>Smith is a battle-tested veteran and former captain who will hold teammates accountable in a way the much quieter, follow-my-example-but-only-if-you-want-to Daniel Alfredsson never could. In Ruutu, the Sens have the kind of belligerent pest that used to drive them nuts.</p><p>Their core of forwards remains one of the deepest in talent in the NHL, led by the first line of Jason Spezza between Alfredsson and Dany Heatley. The line may be the most dangerous in the game, particularly when Heatley is playing well. Alfredsson is flat-out one of the best all-round players in the league and there&rsquo;s absolutely no reason he won&rsquo;t maintain his high level of play.</p><p>And this is where Heatley, and by extension new coach Craig Hartsburg, come in. What Hartsburg must do this season is convince Heatley to take on more accountability and a leadership role on the team. Spezza will likely never be the heartbeat of a Stanley Cup contender, but he shouldn&rsquo;t have to be with the Senators. If Alfredsson and Heatley can lead the way, Spezza can follow and not feel as though he has to be the center of attention.</p><p>Ottawa&rsquo;s potential second line of Mike Fisher between Antoine Vermette and Nick Foligno has all sorts of speed and an underrated level of skill. If Fisher could ever get a little better touch around the net, he&rsquo;d be a star in the league, but he likely won&rsquo;t do that anytime soon. Still, the speed on this line is enough to drive teams to distraction.</p><p>With Chris Kelly centering the third line between Ruutu and Chris Neil, the Senators now truly have a line that can be a serious thorn in the side of its opponents. It will be up to that line to try to forge a new, more ornery identity for the Senators and, more importantly, show the rest of the league they won&rsquo;t be pushed around.</p><p>The defense corps, anchored by Chris Phillips and Anton Volchenkov, is not near as offensively bent as it used to be, but with forwards like the ones the Senators have, they don&rsquo;t need to be. And you can go back and look at the playoff tapes if you want. Zdeno Chara was, generally speaking, pretty bad for the Senators in the playoffs and there were times when Redden wasn&rsquo;t much better.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-011888/9164890-1-eng-US/f0013-012.jpg" title="f0013-01" width="1629" height="815"><figcaption class="caption-body">The Senators still possess one of the NHL&rsquo;s deepest group of forwards. <span class="photo-credit">(ANDRE RINGUETTE/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>Which leaves us with goaltending. Gerber usually is at his best when he doesn&rsquo;t have to look over his shoulder and worry about being replaced if he lets in a soft goal. He remains a top talent who has yet to put his game together. If he doesn&rsquo;t, don&rsquo;t be surprised to see the Senators go out and get a goalie or perhaps give a chance to prospect Brian Elliott.</p><p>In Hartsburg, they have a coach who isn&rsquo;t John Paddock and that itself is a step forward. Hartsburg is an NHL veteran who has had success and gives the Sens a defensive mind behind the bench, but not one that will suck the life out of them the way Jacques Martin often did.</p><p>So, you heard it here first &ndash; the Senators will make it back to the Stanley Cup final&hellip;where they&rsquo;ll be blown out by Detroit, or San Jose, or Dallas.</p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-031064/9164883-1-eng-US/f0012-032.jpg" title="f0012-03" width="76" height="77"></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>

f0012-02

SENATORS CAN TAKE THE EAST BY STORM

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-13125/9165190-1-eng-US/f0017-132.jpg" title="f0017-13" width="704" height="2718"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(DAVE SANDFORD/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0017-13

Defense dollars

<div class="byline">By Ken Campbell</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0018-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-011743/9165242-1-eng-US/f0018-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(ELIOT J. SCHECHTER/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-011573/9165235-1-eng-US/f0019-012.jpg" title="f0019-01" width="1301" height="879"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(GREG FIUME/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><span>A</span>bout 25 years ago, Ted Leonsis had a brush with death. Not surprisingly, that got him thinking about his mortality, which prompted him to come up with a list of 101 things he&rsquo;d like to do before he dies. He&rsquo;s at No. 74 and counting.</p><p>Some of them are pretty run-of-the-mill. See the Rolling Stones (check), fall in love and get married (check), catch a foul ball (check), go to Hawaii (check). Many of them, however, are the private domain of rich guys. Go 1-on-1 with Michael Jordan (perk of the job), create $1 billion dollars in value with an outside investment (check), give away $100 million in a lifetime (not yet, but if he hangs onto the Washington Capitals long enough&hellip;), have a net worth of $1 billion after taxes (&ldquo;I was close at one point, but I&rsquo;m pretty far away now.&rdquo;).</p><p>No. 41 on the list might be the most difficult to achieve, perhaps even more than No. 84, which is to go into outer space. But the next couple of years should go a long way toward determining whether Leonsis has a better chance of doing a space walk than winning a Stanley Cup.</p><p>The Washington Capitals are coming on. After years of languishing near the bottom of the NHL standings and in the periphery of their own city, the past couple of seasons have seen the Capitals become relevant, sexy, exciting and more than just a little bit interesting. It all starts, of course, with superstar Alex Ovechkin, he of the impish grin and the ridiculously emotional goal celebrations. Ovechkin plays the game with a gusto rarely seen in today&rsquo;s superstar, although Sidney Crosby can match Ovechkin stride for stride in that department.</p><p>When the Capitals stumbled upon Bruce Boudreau last season, they found a dynamic, disciplined coach whose philosophy meshed perfectly with his players. The Capitals went on a dizzying run after Boudreau&rsquo;s hiring, capturing the imaginations of their fans and the hockey world. Whether they can build upon that enough to win a Stanley Cup this season &ndash; or ever &ndash; remains to be seen, but one thing is certain: The Capitals are the NHL&rsquo;s most exciting team to watch.</p><p>The Caps are kind of a trendy dark-horse pick to win the Cup this year, one people who want to go off the board will make. The way Boudreau reasons, it&rsquo;s pretty easy to pick Detroit or Montreal or Pittsburgh, but picking the Capitals takes moxie.</p><p>&ldquo;I think some people think it&rsquo;s pretty cool to pick us this year,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s like going into a golf tournament. Anybody could bet on Tiger Woods, but what about the guy who picked Mike Weir and he won the tournament? He&rsquo;s the cool guy.&rdquo;</p><p>The Eastern Conference is wide open this season and the Capitals have provided ample evidence they can be a contender. In 61 games under Boudreau in 2007-08, the Caps scored 3.13 goals per game, which would have put them third in the league behind only Ottawa and Montreal. They also averaged 31.6 shots, which would have put them fourth.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-011504/9165228-1-eng-US/f0020-012.jpg" title="f0020-01" width="704" height="1000"></div><blockquote class="pullQuote"><b>I THINK SOME PEOPLE THINK IT&rsquo;S PRETTY COOL TO PICK US THIS YEAR</b><br>&nbsp;<i>&ndash;Bruce Boudreau</i></blockquote><p>Washington came a goalpost and one overtime goal &ndash; scored while they were shorthanded &ndash; from advancing to the second round of the playoffs last spring. On the flip side, they came one regulation loss away from missing the playoffs altogether. But they did it with a certain swagger and more than a little panache, which have re-awakened a fan base that had grown weary of all the losing.</p><p>Just a couple of miles from the Verizon Center, lawmakers in the U.S. capital were busy trying to piece together a $700-billion package to bail out Wall Street. But the Washington economy is in decent shape and the Capitals are trying to get a piece of the action. Because of the buzz from last season, they had a franchise-high, 93 percent renewal rate on season tickets and doubled their season-ticket base to 10,000.</p><p>Not to put any pressure on the players, but Leonsis is of the opinion the Capitals absolutely must give their fans the same excitement they generated last season with even more on-ice success.</p><p>&ldquo;This is the most important year for our franchise in our history because we have so many new customers and there&rsquo;s still so much pent-up demand,&rdquo; Leonsis said. &ldquo;If we have a good year, those customers will come back and people who like us and are on the fence will come in and then we will sell out. Forever. We&rsquo;re that close to being a hockey town.&rdquo;</p><p>Nobody has ever accused Washington of being a hockey town before and perhaps Leonsis is dreaming a little too big here. But they have to be encouraged that <i>ESPN The Magazine</i> did a cover story on the Capitals, depicting Ovechkin as the U.S. president, Boudreau as his VP and other members of the Capitals as cabinet members and security detail.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-011390/9165221-1-eng-US/f0022-012.jpg" title="f0022-01" width="1567" height="1673"><figcaption class="caption-body">The enthusiasm with which the Caps play the game is infectious. <span class="photo-credit">(LEN REDKOLES/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>The good thing about the Capitals is that unlike, say, the New Jersey Devils, playing an exciting style of hockey and winning are not mutually exclusive. Under Boudreau, the Capitals have put an emphasis on pressure when they don&rsquo;t have the puck and keeping possession when they do, which is a lot easier to accomplish when you can throw the likes of Ovechkin, Alexander Semin, Nicklas Backstrom, Michael Nylander, Sergei Fedorov and Mike Green over the boards.</p><p>The Capitals are deadly in transition and what makes it all so encouraging is it&rsquo;s an organizational philosophy that has been adopted from top to bottom. They try to draft players who fit their system, they employ it on their AHL team and they stand by it. Boudreau&rsquo;s defense pairings almost all feature a stay-at-home guy with an offensive guy who has the green light to create when he gets the puck. Ovechkin and Semin, in particular, have dazzling 1-on-1 skills and Ovechkin combines that with an ability to play a physical game, particularly when fellow Russian Evgeni Malkin is at the receiving end of his hits. (What&rsquo;s up with that anyway?)</p><p>Still, the Caps have a reputation of being a run-and-gun team that both creates and gives up a lot of quality chances. But the fact is while their goals-against average last season was only middle of the pack, they gave up the fifth-fewest shots per game under Boudreau. Over the final 20 games last season, 15 of which were victories, the Capitals had the best GAA in the league.</p><p>&ldquo;I think we&rsquo;re exciting, but I don&rsquo;t think we&rsquo;re as risky as everyone thinks we are,&rdquo; Boudreau said. &ldquo;What we try to tell the guys is we&rsquo;ve got to play very good defensively, but when we&rsquo;ve got the chance, go. If we turn the puck over, then let&rsquo;s go. In transition, let&rsquo;s be a team that goes for goals and wants to be aggressive.</p><p>&ldquo;Let&rsquo;s say you play an aggressive style and say you start off with 14 mistakes a game that lead to chances, but now you have your style in place. If the next game you knock that down to 12 mistakes and then you eventually knock it down to two or three mistakes and you&rsquo;re still playing an up-tempo style, you&rsquo;re going to be successful.&rdquo;</p><p>Boudreau wasn&rsquo;t the most committed player in the history of the game, but the coach does have a keen hockey mind. And nobody who watches the coach go about his business these days would question his dedication to the cause.</p><p>On days after games, he can be found behind his desk at the Capitals&rsquo; practice facility by 6:30 a.m. breaking down video and preparing drills for practice. Those are not the habits of someone without an interest in the minute details of the game.</p><p>&ldquo;I preach defense first, like I&rsquo;m sure every coach in the NHL does,&rdquo; Boudreau said. &ldquo;But playing our style is important because we want people to love hockey. (Capitals GM) George (McPhee) and I talk all the time about how we play. The pressure game is so much more fun to play and watch. It might not be as successful as backing into the neutral zone and dumping it out and everything like that, but we think that&rsquo;s the way people want to see hockey.&rdquo;</p><p>When the Capitals do score goals, again led by Ovechkin, they tend to be on exciting individual plays or big-time shots. And when they score them, they express themselves with a joy that is infectious both on teammates and on those in the stands. Much of Ovechkin&rsquo;s charisma comes from the sheer happiness he displays when he scores a goal.</p><p>&ldquo;Alex has made it cool again to look like you&rsquo;re having fun,&rdquo; Boudreau said. &ldquo;Too many people, and this goes right down to my 10-year-old son&rsquo;s team, think you have to be so serious when the game is on. Why can&rsquo;t you have fun? I tell them, &lsquo;You can work really hard with a smile on your face. You don&rsquo;t have to make it look like it&rsquo;s work.&rsquo; And I think Alex epitomizes that because he works harder than anybody, yet he&rsquo;s always smiling and people take their cue from that.&rdquo;</p><p>The kind of passion Ovechkin brings to the rink could be summed up by what happened one night in early October. The Capitals were playing a pre-season game in Philadelphia and Ovechkin was not slated to play, so he stayed at home while those Capitals who were playing took an afternoon bus to Philadelphia. But at about 4 o&rsquo;clock, Ovechkin decided he wanted to be with his teammates, so he and two friends jumped into their car and drove to Philadelphia to watch the game.</p><blockquote class="pullQuote"><b>THE PASSION THE YOUNG CAPITALS HAVE FOR THE GAME IS WHAT MAKES THEM SO APPEALING</b></blockquote><p>Leonsis said he once had lunch with Red Auerbach, the late, legendary Boston Celtics coach and used the opportunity to get some advice on how to handle a star player.</p><p>&ldquo;He said your best player has to be your best person,&rdquo; Leonsis said. &ldquo;He has to be your most coachable person, he has to be the most respectful person because that will set the tone for the team. We&rsquo;re lucky that Alex is a world-class player, but he&rsquo;s even a better person &ndash; and the fan base knows that.&rdquo;</p><p>But it&rsquo;s more than just Ovechkin. Boudreau claims that from a skill standpoint, Semin is the best-kept secret in the NHL. Once he developed a sense of self-confidence, Green became one of the most offensively productive and exciting defensemen in the NHL. He has even drawn favorable comparisons to Paul Coffey and, unlike many young defensemen, isn&rsquo;t afraid to keep the puck on his stick and rush it up the ice. Backstrom has a wonderful skill level &ndash; it isn&rsquo;t hard to see him as Ovechkin&rsquo;s set-up man for the next decade or so &ndash; and if Nylander can stay healthy, he&rsquo;ll contribute more to the offense.</p><p>The passion the young Capitals have for the game is what makes them so appealing. When Boudreau holds an optional skate, 22 players show up. Brooks Laich has to be ordered to take a day off. Boudreau joked that prospect Chris Bourque could do two-a-day practices and play a game at night and he&rsquo;d still be the first player on the ice and the last one off.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a pretty cool group to be around,&rdquo; Boudreau said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know if that means they&rsquo;re going to win anything, but they&rsquo;re a pretty cool group to be around.&rdquo;</p><p>The coolness of the Capitals goes beyond Ovechkin&rsquo;s Dolce & Gabbana wardrobe. The Capitals are also on the cutting edge of technology,  which is not surprising since their owner made billions of dollars with AOL. The Caps have three full-time employees devoted singularly to providing video content for their website. They have 25 bloggers who have full access to the team and run numerous promotions and fan clubs on Facebook. At noon on game days, the Caps will tell students on Facebook that as soon as the puck drops that night, any unsold tickets will go for $25 to people who can show student identification.</p><p>&ldquo;And we&rsquo;ll sell 1,500 or 2,000 tickets that way at no cost,&rdquo; Leonsis said. &ldquo;These social networks have become very, very powerful marketing engines and communications engines for us. When we first bought the team, I said it was going to use the Internet and we were going to tell people, &lsquo;Adopt our team if you don&rsquo;t have a hockey team or adopt our team if you&rsquo;re not happy with your current team.&rsquo; And I do think that&rsquo;s happening. I think we&rsquo;re becoming people&rsquo;s favorite team or second-favorite team.&rdquo;</p><p>Somewhere along the line, Leonsis came to the realization the newspaper industry is &ldquo;crippled.&rdquo; There have been cuts to be sure, many of which have come at the expense of hockey coverage. The San Jose <i>Mercury</i> doesn&rsquo;t cover the Sharks at home or on the road, the Palm Beach <i>Post</i> has abandoned the Florida Panthers and the Los Angeles <i>Times</i> has one beat writer to cover both the Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks. About five years ago, Leonsis convinced the Capitals to embrace the blogosphere and he has his own blog where he comments on everything from the Caps to the credit crisis in the United States.</p><p>&ldquo;I remember a couple of years ago there was this big debate on whether we should do it and I was like, &lsquo;What, are you kidding?&rsquo;&rdquo; Leonsis said. &ldquo; &lsquo;This is like oxygen, get used to it. Should I be breathing? I don&rsquo;t know. Let&rsquo;s have a sub-committee formed to see if oxygen is appropriate.&rsquo;&rdquo;</p><p>There is no doubt the Capitals have breathed new life into the local market and, along with an array of other young stars on other teams, the league as a whole. Both Boudreau and Leonsis are a little nervous about the level of expectations facing this team and are going out of their way to temper the high hopes. The Caps are striving to spend the next decade as a perennial Stanley Cup contender and hope to win one or two along the way.</p><p>Certainly, a redux of their first-place finish in an improved Southeast Division should be expected from this group, which comes back largely intact, but has some concerns in goal with Jose Theodore as its No. 1 man. Washington will be hoping his mid-career revival continues, but the Capitals should provide a buffer by scoring a ton this season. There&rsquo;s no reason to believe this team can&rsquo;t go deep into the playoffs.</p><p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got so much to prove,&rdquo; Boudreau said. &ldquo;We want to get there, but we haven&rsquo;t done anything to prove that we&rsquo;re in the Detroit category yet where people should be picking us to win.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0018-01

Dangerous AND Compelling

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-011236/9165273-1-eng-US/f0023-012.jpg" title="f0023-01" width="667" height="783"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(CLAUS ANDERSON/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>PRE-BRUCE POST-BRUCE</b></p><p>RECORD <b>6-14-1</b> RECORD <b>37-17-7</b></p><p> WIN PCT. <b>.310</b> WIN PCT. <b>.664</b></p><p> GOALS/GAME <b>2.23</b> GOALS/GAME <b>3.13</b></p><p> GOALS AGAINST/GAME <b>3.05</b> GOALS AGAINST/GAME <b>2.67</b></p><p> POWER PLAY <b>14.6%</b> POWER PLAY <b>20.4%</b></p><p> PENALTY KILL <b>78.2%</b> PENALTY KILL <b>81.5%</b></p><p> SHOTS/GAME <b>29.1</b> SHOTS/GAME <b>31.6</b></p><p> SHOTS AGAINST/GAME <b>29.0</b> SHOTS AGAINST/GAME <b>27.0</b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0023-01

THE BOUDREAU CONSPIRACY

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-011339/9165304-1-eng-US/f0024-012.jpg" title="f0024-01" width="351" height="660"><figcaption class="caption-body">Fedorov <span class="photo-credit">(SPORTS ACTION PHOTOGRAPHY)</span></figcaption></div><blockquote class="pullQuote"><b>AVERAGE AGE OF CAPS&rsquo; TOP 6 DEFENSEMEN 25.5</b></blockquote><blockquote class="pullQuote"><b>AVERAGE AGE OF CAPS&rsquo; 9 YOUNGEST FORWARDS 26.0</b></blockquote><blockquote class="pullQuote"><b>AVERAGE AGE OF CAPS&rsquo; 3 OLDEST FORWARDS (FEDOROV, NYLANDER, BRASHEAR) 36.7</b></blockquote><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0024-01

FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH

<div class="byline">with Adam Proteau</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0025-03" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-03598/9165342-1-eng-US/f0025-032.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Rick Nash&rsquo;s Blue Jackets have underwhelmed since their inception. <span class="photo-credit">(JAMIE SABAU/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-02849/9165349-1-eng-US/f0025-022.jpg" title="f0025-02" width="209" height="239"></div><blockquote class="pullQuote">It&rsquo;s been eight years and we haven&rsquo;t played a meaningful game in March</blockquote><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span>HERE ARE TWO TYPES OF people in the world: those who love the blossom and those who love the bloom; those enthralled by the process and those enamored with the processed; those who get their kicks watching the means to an end and those who prefer the end itself.</p><p>When you&rsquo;re the GM of an NHL team, you have to be somewhat of a blend between the two personality types to succeed.</p><p>Yes, you must be obsessed with the possibilities of building the sort of on-ice leviathan that has earned the current incarnation of the Detroit Red Wings more laurels than George Lucas receives at a geek gathering.</p><p>However, you also have to put forth the effort and handle the stress associated with cultivating a young, inexpensive talent base year after year.</p><p>In other words, you need a whole lot of patience to accompany your passion.</p><p>Take the Columbus Blue Jackets, for example. Since that franchise&rsquo;s inaugural season in 2000-01, it has promised improvements while only improving the vagaries of its promises.</p><p>In seven seasons, not once have the Jackets qualified for the post-season. Not once have they rewarded their fans for sticking by them through the Lasse Pirjeta-Deron Quint-Robert Kron era.</p><p>And here they are again at the beginning of the 2008-09 campaign, delivering a message even team management knows sounds painfully familiar to their customers.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s hard for me (to talk about patience), because I&rsquo;ve been in the job for only 16 months,&rdquo; said Blue Jackets GM Scott Howson. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s probably easier for me to say something like that, coming in. But it&rsquo;s been eight years for our fans, and we haven&rsquo;t played a meaningful game in March.</p><p>&ldquo;Our message has been pretty consistent: We&rsquo;re trying to build a team the right way. We&rsquo;re not going to tell you when we&rsquo;re going to make the playoffs, we just know that if we do the right things and make the right decisions, the results will take care of themselves.</p><p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s a tough message for some people to hear, because the expectation level here at times has been high and we&rsquo;ve failed to meet that.&rdquo;</p><p>Howson &ndash; who left a productive gig as Edmonton&rsquo;s assistant GM in 2007 to replace Doug MacLean &ndash; put the wrecking ball to Columbus&rsquo; roster this summer, bringing in three veteran forwards (wingers Raffi Torres and Kristian Huselius and center R.J. Umberger) and a trio of experienced defensemen (Mike Commodore, Fedor Tyutin and Christian Backman), while jettisoning Jackets mainstays such as Nikolai Zherdev, David Vyborny and Ron Hainsey.</p><p>Combine Columbus&rsquo; revamped roster with the fact the Jackets are coming off their best-ever record (34-36-12) and you have another year where the bar has risen in terms of what will pass for success this season.</p><p>But Howson knows the team may not necessarily clear that bar.</p><p>&ldquo;You need some luck,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;but you have to build the organization right off the ice. That will make the decisions on the ice better, too.&rdquo;</p><p>Although Howson sees parallels between the small market he works in now and the one he once worked in with the Oilers, there are crucial differences between the two.</p><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a little different for me here than it was in Edmonton, because even when we didn&rsquo;t make it, we were always fighting for that last (playoff) spot,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;(In Columbus), we&rsquo;ve tried to under-promise and over-deliver. We had the best year we ever had last year, but that&rsquo;s not even close to good enough.&rdquo;</p><p>Most hockey pundits have Columbus finishing out of the playoff mix again this season. And Howson accepts his team will have to prove themselves on the ice before they get the benefit of anyone&rsquo;s doubt.</p><p>&ldquo;The (Western Conference is tough), the whole NHL is so tough, none of those eight (playoff teams in each conference) are going away easily,&rdquo; Howson said. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s no significant weaknesses on any of those teams, so you have to get better to push one of them out.&rdquo;</p><p>If that&rsquo;s what the Jackets are able to do, they&rsquo;ll finally have some steak to go along with brief glimpses of sizzle and far more fizzle. And if Howson can perfect that combination of patience and performance, it won&rsquo;t take them another eight years for their second post-season berth.</p><p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got a lot to prove here, especially to our fan base, which has heard all these things before about how good we&rsquo;re going to be and how we&rsquo;re improving,&rdquo; Howson said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s very much a &lsquo;show me&rsquo; type of deal for us right now.&rdquo;</p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-011198/9165335-1-eng-US/f0025-012.jpg" title="f0025-01" width="76" height="77"></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>

f0025-03

JACKETS MUST SHOW, NOT TELL

f0032-01

WESTERN CONFERENCE

f0033-01

EASTERN CONFERENCE

<div class="byline">BY KEN CAMPBELL</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0034-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-011331/9165746-1-eng-US/f0034-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Kyle Okposo bolted Minnesota for the Islanders last December.</figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><span>W</span>HEN THE LEADERS OF THE three most powerful U.S. college hockey conferences made a PowerPoint presentation to the NHL&rsquo;s 30 GMs last February in Naples, Fla., they wanted to make one thing crystal clear: &ldquo;We are not here to ask for money!&rdquo;</p><p>What the schools were asking the NHL for were possible solutions to a problem that might not be solvable &ndash; how to stem the tide of more and more underclassmen signing NHL contracts. Similar to European federations, NCAA schools don&rsquo;t mind losing players such as Phil Kessel and Erik Johnson after one year if they go directly to the NHL. But to lose a key player, sometimes in mid-season, only to see him toiling in the ECHL not long after, is what has them concerned.</p><p>One of the unintended consequences of the NHL&rsquo;s new collective bargaining agreement is the way it affects college hockey. With an NHL salary limit, many teams are opting to sign college players because they&rsquo;re generally cheaper than veteran pros and can be sent to the minors on a two-way contract, which saves salary cap space.</p><p>Getting players out of college used to cost NHL teams a premium, but with limits on signing bonuses that is no longer the case.</p><p>&ldquo;The investment made by the NHL club today is miniscule compared to what it was at one time,&rdquo; said CCHA commissioner Tom Anastos, who authored the report along with ECAC commissioner Joe Bertagna and Bruce McLeod of the WCHA. &ldquo;For them to sign a guy to a $90,000 signing bonus and pay him $40,000 or $50,000 in the minors is nothing. I&rsquo;ve been told by people who run NHL clubs, &lsquo;We can go and sign five or six guys and hope one of them makes it.&rsquo;&rdquo;</p><p>The Boston Bruins didn&rsquo;t exactly do that, but they did sign three players &ndash; Blake Wheeler from Minnesota, Jeff Penner from Alaska and Jeff LoVecchio from Western Michigan &ndash; as free agents who still had remaining college eligibility.</p><p>And the evidence points to NHL teams doing that more than ever under the new system. In 2003-04, a total of 10 underclassmen signed NHL contracts. That number increased to 15 the next season. In 2005-06, it ballooned to 26, but the thinking at the time was there was a double cohort of signings because of the NHL lockout.</p><p>But in 2006-07, 30 underclassmen signed NHL contracts. And, according to <a href="http://insidecollegehockey.com">insidecollegehockey.com</a>, a total of 24 players with eligibility remaining signed NHL contracts between last March and June. Of those players, only six &ndash; Kyle Turris (Phoenix), Justin Abdelkader (Detroit), Alec Martinez (Los Angeles), T.J. Oshie (St. Louis), Max Pacioretty (Montreal) and Wheeler &ndash; have realistic chances of being NHL regulars this season.</p><p>There are many in the college game who think player agents have a role in this, too. By strict definition, NCAA players aren&rsquo;t allowed to have professional agents, but that is largely ignored by both players and schools. Players are allowed to have &ldquo;family advisors&rdquo; and the majority of these are certified agents with the NHL Players&rsquo; Association.</p><p>College hockey observers opine that increased competition means many agents begin recruiting players as young as 14 years old. And when those players go the college route and stay for four years, advisors/agents might end up not seeing any money for as long as 10 years. So it&rsquo;s no surprise some may push their clients to leave school early.</p><p>To be sure, the players are also seeing dollar signs. Not so much on their entry-level contracts, but on their second deals, three years later. If they can get to the NHL sooner, they can get through their entry-level contract sooner and (potentially) start making serious money sooner.</p><p>Muddling the issue is determining whether it&rsquo;s even a problem to begin with. Having more players drafted and signed by NHL teams is undoubtedly a boon for the college system, which faces stiff competition for the best young players in North America from the Canadian Hockey League.</p><p>The possibility of any help for the NCAA coming from the NHL and the NHLPA is small. There&rsquo;s little chance any changes to the CBA will be made with regards to entry-level players and it would be difficult to justify anything inhibiting a young man&rsquo;s right to pursue a living.</p><p>A further enticement for signing college athletes is they&rsquo;re generally more mature than junior players. The average age of a freshman player is 19.8 years old and the average NCAA player age is 21.2, making them more attractive to clubs looking to fill out minor league rosters.</p><p>It seems the systemic issues in this debate are more the NCAA&rsquo;s than anyone else&rsquo;s. The NCAA has always philosophically eschewed anything that smacks of professionalism, putting its schools at a serious disadvantage. The moment a player signs a contract he&rsquo;s considered a professional and irrevocably severs his ties to college hockey. In the CHL and, to some degree, Europe, players can sign NHL deals and return to their teams if they don&rsquo;t make the NHL immediately.</p><p>&ldquo;We don&rsquo;t, at this time, have a solution to propose,&rdquo; Anastos said. &ldquo;We have opened up some dialogue with the very top executive levels at the NCAA to tell them, &lsquo;Hey, we are facing some issues. We want to understand what kinds of parameters we might be able to pursue.&rsquo; We know there is ongoing collaboration between the NBA and the NCAA and we&rsquo;d like to know&hellip;if the NCAA would maybe look at the (hockey) world differently.&rdquo;</p><h2><b>TOP 10</b></h2><p>The Hockey News&rsquo; top-10 ranking of NCAA Frozen Four contenders was selected by our four U.S. college correspondents:</p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-02908/9165739-1-eng-US/f0034-022.jpg" title="f0034-02" width="130" height="164"><figcaption class="caption-body" style="width: 130px"><p>Andy Baggot</p><p><b>WCHA</b></p></figcaption></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-03722/9165732-1-eng-US/f0034-032.jpg" title="f0034-03" width="125" height="160"><figcaption class="caption-body" style="width: 125px"><p>Philip Colvin</p><p><b>CCHA</b></p></figcaption></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-04578/9165725-1-eng-US/f0034-042.jpg" title="f0034-04" width="124" height="159"><figcaption class="caption-body" style="width: 124px"><p>Tom Boggie</p><p><b>ECAC</b></p></figcaption></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-05473/9165718-1-eng-US/f0034-052.jpg" title="f0034-05" width="125" height="160"><figcaption class="caption-body" style="width: 125px"><p>Larry Mahoney</p><p><b>Hockey East</b></p> <span class="photo-credit">(SCOTT A. SCHNEIDER/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>1. Boston College Hockey East</p><p>2. Notre Dame CCHA</p><p>3. Colorado College WCHA</p><p>4. Michigan CCHA</p><p>5. Princeton ECAC</p><p>6. Wisconsin WCHA</p><p>7. Denver WCHA</p><p>8. Boston University Hockey East</p><p>9. Cornell ECAC</p><p>10. Michigan State CCHA<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p></div>

f0034-01

PROSPECTS UNLIMITED

NCAA FEELING THE SQUEEZE

<div class="byline">BY TOM BOGGIE</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0035-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-011247/9165777-1-eng-US/f0035-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Lee Jubinville <span class="photo-credit">(BEVERLY SCHAEFER)</span></figcaption></div><p>IF HOBEY BAKER was still alive, he&rsquo;d be a Lee Jubinville fan.</p><p>Much like Baker, the former Princeton captain for whom college hockey&rsquo;s top award is named, Jubinville is undersized and tough as a two-dollar steak. Last season, he became the first Princeton player ever to make the list of 10 finalists for the Hobey Baker Award and this year, he has a great chance to complete the karmic connection by winning the trophy.</p><p>&ldquo;This may sound strange, but Lee is as safe an offensive player as there is,&rdquo; said Tigers coach Guy Gadowsky.</p><p>No, actually, it&rsquo;s not strange, because the 5-foot-10, 165-pound senior center from Edmonton is one of the best two-way players in the nation. Usually opponents are overwhelmed by his amazing speed, which allows him to burst through defenses and set up his linemates, but what they don&rsquo;t notice is that &lsquo;Jubes&rsquo;, as he&rsquo;s known to his teammates and coaches, never gives up the puck.</p><p>&ldquo;Everyone expects the offense from him, but I think he&rsquo;s better defensively than he is offensively,&rdquo; said Gadowsky, who guided the Tigers to their first ECAC title since 1998 last season. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a really tough kid. He never gets knocked off the puck.&rdquo;</p><p>Jubinville, an undrafted free agent, was Princeton&rsquo;s leading scorer last season, finishing with 39 points, which included a team-high 27 assists, in 34 games. With 78 career points, he only needs an average year to break into the top 10 on the Tigers&rsquo; all-time scoring list.</p><p>Although being a league&rsquo;s most heralded player may feed the egos of many young athletes, Gadowsky has no worries about Jubinville getting caught up in his celebrity status.</p><p>&ldquo;He&rsquo;s not that type of kid,&rdquo; Gadowsky said. &ldquo;He has the same personality off the ice that he does as a player. He&rsquo;s not going to get blinded by the bright lights.&rdquo;</p><p>Princeton&rsquo;s public relations staff will be busy this winter, fielding credential requests from pro scouts who want to get a closer look at Jubinville.</p><p>&ldquo;I think it correlates well for Lee,&rdquo; Gadowsky said. &ldquo;As you play hockey at a higher level, your core game becomes more important and Lee is fantastic in the defensive zone.&rdquo;</p><p>Here&rsquo;s how the ECAC teams stack up this season.</p><p>1. PRINCETON The last team to win back-to-back ECAC titles was St. Lawrence, in 2000 and 2001, but Princeton is a solid choice to match the Saints&rsquo; feat this season.</p><p>After losing just three seniors, the Tigers are loaded. Yes, they have to replace All-American defenseman Mike Moore, but junior goalie Zane Kalemba, the MVP of last season&rsquo;s ECAC tournament, will provide an incredible insurance policy.</p><p>Joining Jubinville up front are senior Brent Wilson and junior Cam McIntyre &ndash; if Gadowsky puts them together, they&rsquo;ll be one of the most potent lines in the nation.</p><p>2. CORNELL The Big Red went through some growing pains last season, as freshmen and sophomores handled many critical assignments. But having that experience behind them will pay off this season.</p><p>The Big Red return junior center Colin Greening and sophomore center Riley Nash, last year&rsquo;s ECAC rookie of the year, as well as junior goalie Ben Scrivens, who had an incredible 2.02 goals-against average and .930 save percentage last season.</p><p>3. CLARKSON The Golden Knights lost a ton of scoring through graduation, but have amazing depth at forward. And 6-foot-3, 210-pound senior defenseman Phil Paquet, a Montreal Canadiens draft choice, is healthy again and ready to prove he can be a force in the ECAC. As long as junior Matt Beca and senior Chris D&rsquo;Alvise play up to their potential, the Knights will be fine offensively.</p><p>4. RPI The Engineers, a sleeper team this season, had a nasty habit of folding in the third period of games last year, but that can be attributed to youth: their top six defensemen consisted of three freshmen and three sophomores and the top two scorers, Tyler Helfrich and Chase Polacek, were also rookies.</p><p>But the greenness has worn off, and they&rsquo;ll be playing in front of one of the top goaltending tandems in the league in senior Mathias Lange and 6-foot-4 rookie Allen York, a Columbus Blue Jackets draft pick.</p><p>5. UNION The Dutchmen broke into the top four for the first time ever last season and will again contend for home ice in the playoffs, especially if sophomore goalie Corey Milan grabs the No. 1 job and turns into a workhorse. It also doesn&rsquo;t hurt that the top five scorers are all back, led by sophomore Adam Presizniuk.</p><p>6. HARVARD The Crimson lost to Princeton in the ECAC championship game last season, but the loss of junior Kyle Richter, the Ken Dryden Award winner as the league&rsquo;s top goaltender, will hurt. Crimson coach Ted Donato announced in September that Richter won&rsquo;t be returning for &ldquo;personal reasons,&rdquo; leaving a huge gap in goal.</p><p>7. YALE Its top six scorers, led by junior Sean Backman, along with both goaltenders are back. If the team can cut down on its penalty minutes, the Bulldogs could contend.</p><p>8. QUINNIPIAC The Bobcats have one of the league&rsquo;s most dangerous forwards in junior Brandon Wong, but ran out of steam down the stretch last season.</p><p>9. ST. LAWRENCE The Saints have the league&rsquo;s best defense, but won&rsquo;t generate nearly enough goals.</p><p>10. COLGATE Replacing goalie Mark Dekanich is a must.</p><p>11. DARTMOUTH Last season&rsquo;s three top scorers, &ndash;David Jones, Nick Johnson and J.T. Wyman &ndash; are all gone.</p><p>12. BROWN After a 6-21-4 campaign, the record has to improve, but Brown&rsquo;s spot in the standings won&rsquo;t.</p><h2><b>FABULOUS FRESHMEN</b></h2><p>The top incoming ECAC rookies are listed with their position, age, school and draft status</p><h3><b>1. ALLEN YORK</b></h3><p>G, 19, RPI, sixth round</p><p>Columbus Blue Jackets, 2007</p><h3><b>2. ALEX KILLORN</b></h3><p>C, 19, Harvard, third round</p><p>Tampa Bay Lightning, 2007</p><h3><b>3. CORBIN MCPHERSON</b></h3><p> D, 20, Colgate, third round</p><p>New Jersey Devils, 2007</p><h3><b>4. JULIEN CAYER</b></h3><p> LW, 19, Clarkson, fifth round</p><p>Detroit Red Wings, 2008</p><h3><b>5. AUSTIN SMITH</b></h3><p> RW, 19, Colgate, fifth round</p><p>Dallas Stars, 2007<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0035-01

TIGERS POISED TO REMAIN CHAMPS

<div class="byline">BY ANDY BAGGOT</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0036-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-011226/9165808-1-eng-US/f0036-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Ryan Lasch <span class="photo-credit">(SCOTT A. SCHNEIDER/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><span>I</span>F RECENT HISTORY IS ANY guide, it should be easy to spot the top Hobey Baker Award candidates from the Western Collegiate Hockey Association.</p><p>Big hint: look down.</p><p>The 2008 winner was Nathan Gerbe of Boston College, who measured 5-foot-5 and 160 pounds.</p><p>The 2007 winner was Ryan Duncan of the North Dakota Fighting Sioux, who checked in at 5-foot-6 and 142 pounds.</p><p>The 2005 winner was Marty Sertich of Colorado College, who was listed at 5-foot-8 and 165 pounds.</p><p>Not exactly your prototypical power forwards.</p><p>Given those parameters, the Hobey discussion in the WCHA this season includes Duncan, who&rsquo;s back for his senior season with the Fighting Sioux, as well as St. Cloud State teammates Garrett Roe, who stands in at 5-foot-8 and 162 pounds, and 5-foot-9, 175-pound Ryan Lasch.</p><p>With all due respect to Duncan, Lasch is the frontrunner. A 21-year-old junior free agent, he was one of 10 finalists for the Hobey last year after leading the WCHA in scoring with 25 goals and 53 points in 40 games and earning first-team allleague honors.</p><p>While Duncan lost his longtime sidekick &ndash; center T.J. Oshie bypassed his senior season to sign a NHL contract with the St. Louis Blues &ndash; Lasch will continue to create  all sorts of mayhem with Roe, a sophomore.</p><p>Lasch is a right-handed shot who grew up in Southern California and cut his developmental teeth with the Pembroke Lumber Kings of Ontario&rsquo;s Central Junior League. As a sophomore last year, he made significant strides from his freshman season when he totaled 16 goals and 39 points.</p><p>&ldquo;One thing that we&rsquo;ve always talked about is that (Lasch) was born to score, and he is going to find his offense,&rsquo;&rsquo; said St. Cloud State coach Bob Motzko. &ldquo;I also think we are going to see him take another step in terms of being a team leader this season.&rsquo;&rsquo;</p><p>Here&rsquo;s how the WCHA shakes out.</p><p>1. COLORADO COLLEGE Sophomore goaltender Richard Bachman and senior center Chad Rau give the Tigers a great chance of defending the MacNaughton Cup as WCHA regular season champions.</p><p>Bachman is coming off an astounding freshman season in which he was named both rookie of the year and player of the year for WCHA. The only other person in the 56-year history of the league to manage that double was goaltender Curtis Joseph with Wisconsin in 1988-89. Rau, meanwhile, was a first-team all-league selection after scoring 28 goals last season.</p><p>There are also a lot of good candidates to step up and fill the void created by the loss of standout senior defenseman Jack Hillen.</p><p>2. WISCONSIN At the end of last season, a WCHA coach said the Badgers would be &ldquo;awesome&rsquo;&rsquo; if all of their defensemen returned.</p><p>Voila.</p><p>Three first round NHL picks (sophomores Ryan McDonagh and Brendan Smith and freshman Jake Gardiner) will team with a pair of second-rounders (junior Jamie McBain and sophomore Cody Goloubef).</p><p>That kind of depth should make things easier for senior goaltender Shane Connelly, not to mention allow a promising collection of forwards to flourish.</p><p>3. DENVER The only major question concerning the Pioneers is untested sophomore goaltender Marc Cheverie. If he&rsquo;s the real deal, Denver will be able to mix it up with anyone.</p><p>Two major pieces of the puzzle are incoming freshmen: center Joe Colborne, selected 16th overall in &rsquo;08 by Boston, and defenseman Patrick Wiercioch, taken 42nd overall in the same draft by Ottawa. Both have the skill sets to be big contributors right away.</p><p>4. MINNESOTA STATE-MANKATO</p><p>There&rsquo;s nothing sexy about the Mavericks &ndash; no one on the roster makes you gasp &ndash; but they have an excellent goaltender in senior Mike Zacharias and experienced depth at forward and on the blueline.</p><p>If Troy Jutting, the WCHA coach of the year last season, can get the Mavericks to play with their usual zest in all three zones, they will contend for the MacNaughton Cup a year after just missing out on an NCAA tournament berth.</p><p>5. NORTH DAKOTA If the Fighting Sioux find a goaltender to replace Hobey Baker Award finalist Jean-Philippe Lamoureux and a go-to energy source to fill the hole left by All-American center T.J. Oshie, a fourth-straight trip to the NCAA Frozen Four is possible.</p><p>6. MINNESOTA The Gophers are extremely talented, but clubs this young face an uphill climb. Sophomore goaltender Alex Kangas is a difference-maker.</p><p>7. ST. CLOUD STATE Its two Hobey Baker candidates, Lasch and Roe, and junior goaltender Jase Weslosky make the Huskies a dark horse.</p><p>8. MINNESOTA-DULUTH The Bulldogs need to find some offense because junior goaltender Alex Stalock can&rsquo;t carry the team himself every game.</p><p>9. ALASKA-ANCHORAGE The Seawolves have some promise up front &ndash; five of their top six scorers are back &ndash; but can they find consistency in goal?</p><p>10. MICHIGAN TECH Devoid of senior leadership at forward, the Huskies will have to rely on veteran defensemen and senior goaltender Rob Nolan.</p><h2><b>FABULOUS FRESHMEN</b></h2><p>The top incoming WCHA freshman are listed with their position, age, school and draft status</p><h3><b>1. JORDAN SCHROEDER</b></h3><p>C, 18, Minnesota, eligible 2009</p><p>Ranked seventh by ISS</p><h3><b>2. JOE COLBORNE</b></h3><p> C, 18, Denver, first round</p><p>Boston Bruins, 2008</p><h3><b>3. BRAD EIDSNESS</b></h3><p> G, 19, North Dakota, fifth round</p><p>Buffalo Sabres, 2007</p><h3><b>4. PATRICK WIERCIOCH</b></h3><p> D, 18, Denver, second round</p><p>Ottawa Senators, 2008</p><h3><b>5. JAKE GARDINER</b></h3><p> D, 18, Wisconsin, first round</p><p>Anaheim Ducks, 2008<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0036-01

LITTLE BIG MEN LEAD THE WAY

<div class="byline">BY LARRY MAHONEY</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0037-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-011096/9165839-1-eng-US/f0037-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Matt Gilroy <span class="photo-credit">(ELSA/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>WHEN MATT GILROY WAS five years old, his mother, Peggy Ann, bought him a pair of figure skates and gave him skating lessons.</p><p>&ldquo;I hated it,&rdquo; he recalled.</p><p>But now Boston University&rsquo;s star senior defenseman admits those lessons helped him become a fluid skater.</p><p>Gilroy has developed into one of the nation&rsquo;s best defensemen. In fact, he is the only player to have been named to All-America teams the previous two seasons.</p><p>He fielded plenty of free agent offers in the off-season, but decided to return for his final year.</p><p>&ldquo;It was a tough decision,&rdquo; Gilroy said. &ldquo;But I was named the team captain, I was going to get a chance to play with my brother (freshman forward Kevin) and if it is supposed to happen, (the opportunities) will still be there after this season.</p><p>&ldquo;You only have four years of college.&rdquo;</p><p>Gilroy, Hockey East&rsquo;s leading Hobey Baker candidate, has racked up 47 points over his past two seasons, but his statistics understate his value to the Terriers.</p><p>&ldquo;He really controls the tempo of a game,&rdquo; said Providence coach Tim Army. &ldquo;You have to look beyond the numbers. He may not always show up on the scoresheet, but his impact on the game is much greater than that. He does so much for them. He is so efficient on both sides of the puck. He moves the puck real well, he defends really well and his transition is very good.&rdquo;</p><p>UMass Lowell coach Blaise Mac-Donald concurred.</p><p>&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a great skater, his ice vision is terrific and his stick skills in tight are good,&rdquo; MacDonald said. &ldquo;He takes his game to such a high level.&rdquo;</p><p>Gilroy hasn&rsquo;t set any individual goals for himself, he just wants to help the Terriers make an NCAA Tournament-run after missing out last season and exiting in the first round two years ago.</p><p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve had a few disappointing years,&rdquo; said Gilroy, 24. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re going to have a good team. I just want to go out and have fun.&rdquo;</p><p>Here&rsquo;s how the Hockey East squads stack up.</p><p>1. BOSTON COLLEGE The defending NCAA-champion Eagles lost dynamic Hobey Baker Award finalist Nathan Gerbe (68 points), but the next three scorers are back in Joe Whitney (51), Ben Smith (50) and Benn Ferriero (42).</p><p>Captain Brock Bradford, a 45-point man two seasons ago, is 100 percent healthy after missing all but five games in 2007-08 with a broken arm. The Eagles also return five seasoned defensemen and impressive sophomore goalie John Muse, who posted a 2.20 goals-against average and a .921 save percentage last season.</p><p>Add in a talented recruiting class and you have another national championship calibre team.</p><p>&ldquo;I think we&rsquo;re going to have a good club,&rdquo; said 15th-year coach Jerry York.</p><p>2. BOSTON UNIVERSITY The Terriers graduated their top two scorers, but the next eight are back. They will be inexperienced in goal, with seldom-used sophomore Adam Kraus and freshmen Kieran Millan and Grant Rollheiser vying for the job. But they have five defensemen who were drafted in the first four rounds and the other is two-time All-American and captain Gilroy.</p><p>&ldquo;I think BU has the most talent in the league,&rdquo; said Northeastern coach Greg Cronin.</p><p>Hockey East rookie of the year and first-rounder Colin Wilson had 35 points last year. Chris Higgins and Nick Bonino had 32 and 29. The Terriers also added another top-shelf recruiting class.</p><p>3. NEW HAMPSHIRE The Wildcats were hit hard by graduation, but they always reload, as evidenced by their seven straight NCAA Tournament appearances.</p><p>They will have to replace their two top point-producers, but James van Riemsdyk, the second overall pick from 2007, had an outstanding 34-point freshman season and he will get plenty of scoring help from Jerry Pollastrone (29 points), Danny Dries (28) and Bobby Butler (26). Defensemen Craig Switzer and Brad Flaishans and Hobey Bakerfinalist goalie Kevin Regan will be difficult to replace, but the Wildcats are tough to beat at home and they have some impact freshmen ready to step in.</p><p>4. NORTHEASTERN Everyone returns except eighth-leading scorer Jimmy Russo and the Huskies have added a strong recruiting class. Their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1993-94 is a realistic goal.</p><p>Leading scorer Joe Vitale (35 points) and workhorse netminder Brad Thiessen (2.64 GAA, .914 save percentage) headline the list of returnees. Northeastern&rsquo;s Cronin said they must improve their special teams if they&rsquo;re going to make significant strides.</p><p>5. VERMONT They reached the Hockey East title game last season, but need to replace goalie Joe Fallon.</p><p>6. UMASS AMHERST Last year&rsquo;s young Minutemen will be improved.</p><p>7. PROVIDENCE Friars have speed and one of the nation&rsquo;s best offensive defenseman in Matt Taormina.</p><p>8. UMASS LOWELL Almost everyone is back, but the River Hawks need more consistent goaltending.</p><p>9. MAINE Rebuilding Black Bears have goal-scoring issues and inexperienced goaltending, but a promising defense corps.</p><p>10. MERRIMACK Center Rob Ricci could lead the youthful Warriors to a top-seven finish.</p><h2><b>FABULOUS FRESHMEN</b></h2><p>The top incoming Hockey East freshmen are listed with their position, age, school and draft status</p><h3><b>1. DAVID WARSOFSKY</b></h3><p>D, 18, BU, fourth round</p><p>St. Louis Blues, 2008</p><h3><b>2. COREY TRIVINO</b></h3><p> C, 18, BU, second round</p><p>New York Islanders, 2008</p><h3><b>3. JIMMY HAYES</b></h3><p> RW, 18, BC, second round</p><p>Toronto Maple Leafs, 2008</p><h3><b>4. TOMMY CROSS</b></h3><p> D, 19, BU, second round</p><p>Boston Bruins, 2007</p><h3><b>5. BLAKE KESSEL</b></h3><p> D, 19, UNH, sixth round</p><p>New York Islanders, 2007<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0037-01

EAGLES STILL PERCHED AT THE TOP

<div class="byline">BY PHIL COLVIN</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0038-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-011182/9165870-1-eng-US/f0038-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jeff Lerg <span class="photo-credit">(JOSH HOLMBERG)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><span>M</span>ICHIGAN STATE&rsquo;S Jeff Lerg has spent his career proving critics wrong and not letting anything get in the way of his becoming one of the top goaltenders in the nation.</p><p>The Spartans senior &ndash; who is 5-foot-6, 155 pounds and has battled an asthmatic condition since he was four years old &ndash; helped Michigan State win a national title in 2007 and was a Hobey Baker Award finalist, a first-team all-CCHA selection and the league&rsquo;s scholarathlete of the year last season.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve always demanded the best out of myself,&rdquo; said Lerg, the CCHA&rsquo;s prime Hobey candidate this season. &ldquo;And I&rsquo;ve played on a lot of really good teams. So I never really let what people were saying bother me.&rdquo;</p><p>The unquestioned leader of the Spartans, Lerg ranks in the top 10 of all of the school&rsquo;s goaltending records and was named team captain this year.</p><p>&ldquo;He&rsquo;s been such a key player for us the last three years,&rdquo; said Michigan State coach Rick Comley. &ldquo;It was a no-brainer. He does everything the right way. He&rsquo;s a great student and there is no doubt about his leadership on the ice or in the locker room. That locker room is Jeff&rsquo;s locker room.&rdquo;</p><p>Here&rsquo;s how the CCHA teams rank this season.</p><p>1. NOTRE DAME Last year, Notre Dame used a stingy defense and timely goal-scoring to make a Frozen Four run before losing in the national title game to Boston College.</p><p>Expect more of the same.</p><p>Jeff Jackson, starting his fourth year behind the Irish bench, preaches a smothering team defense anchored by senior workhorse Jordan Pierce, last year&rsquo;s CCHA goalie of the year.</p><p>And six of the Fighting Irish&rsquo;s top-seven scoring forwards return, including leading scorer and captain Erik Condra (15 goals, 38 points last year), who is back from a late-season knee injury. Junior Ryan Thang led the team in goals with 18 and senior Christian Hanson, junior Kevin Deeth and sophomore Ben Ryan are all solid two-way players who can finish.</p><p>Junior playmaker Kyle Lawson, along with sophomore Ian Cole, a first round pick of St. Louis in 2007, junior Brett Blatchford and sophomore Teddy Ruth lead a formidable blueline corps.</p><p>2. MICHIGAN If the Irish stumble, a deep, veteran Michigan squad will be right there to take advantage. Despite losing their top three scorers, including Hobey Baker winner Kevin Porter, the Wolverines are loaded at every position.</p><p>Senior goalie Billy Sauer won 30 games last season and keeps getting better. Sophomore Aaron Palushaj had 44 points last year and is Michigan&rsquo;s top returning scorer, while senior Travis Turnbull and sophomores Matt Rust, Carl Hagelin and Louie Caporusso could have breakout years.</p><p>But it&rsquo;s on the blueline where the Wolverines have an abundance of talent. All seven defensemen who saw action last season are back, including senior captain Mark Mitera, a 2006 first round pick of Anaheim and second-team all-CCHA last season and juniors Chris Summers, a Phoenix first-rounder in &rsquo;06 and Steve Kampfer, a fourth round pick of Anaheim in &rsquo;06. Freshman Brandon Burlon will also contribute.</p><p>3. MICHIGAN STATE The loss of eight regulars, including top scorers Bryan Lerg to graduation and Justin Abdelkader and Tim Kennedy to pro contracts, forces Michigan State to re-tool from the goal out.</p><p>The Spartans will be a work in progress, but when your goalie is Jeff Lerg, things aren&rsquo;t so bad.</p><p>On the blueline, standout sophomore Jeff Petry, a first round pick of Edmonton in 2006, has tons of upside. Senior Brandon Gentile and juniors Justin Johnston and Ryan Turek are experienced.</p><p>An 11-member freshman class includes forward Daultan Leveille, a first round pick of Atlanta in 2008. Senior forwards Tim Crowder, Matt Schepke and Nick Sucharski need to have big years.</p><p>4. NORTHERN MICHIGAN Last season, Northern Michigan played 11 freshmen and started the CCHA season with seven straight losses. But the youth movement paid off when the Wildcats went 11-6-3 in their final 20 games and knocked off defending national champion Michigan State and Frozen Four finalist Notre Dame in the league playoffs.</p><p>Northern Michigan returns nine of their top 10 scorers from last year and will be dangerous. Sophomore forward Mark Olver is back and senior Nick Sirota and sophomore Phil Fox will be even better.</p><p>The Wildcats are experienced on the back end with junior goalie Brian Stewart, who won 15 games last season, and sophomore blueliner Erik Gustafsson, who made the all-rookie team.</p><p>5. MIAMI Two freshmen goalies, but strong defense and lots of firepower up front.</p><p>6. FERRIS STATE Young players are experienced and could surprise.</p><p>7. BOWLING GREEN Solid, if unspectacular, at all positions.</p><p>8. NEBRASKA-OMAHA Seven veteran defensemen and goalie Jerad Kaufmann are key.</p><p>9. LAKE SUPERIOR STATE Goalies Pat Inglis and Brian Mahoney-Wilson will determine success.</p><p>10. ALASKA Dallas Ferguson is Nanooks&rsquo; third coach in as many seasons.</p><p>11. OHIO STATE Top six returning scorers are all sophomores.</p><p>12. WESTERN MICHIGAN Cam Watson only Bronco to score in double-digits last year.</p><h2><b>FABULOUS FRESHMEN</b></h2><p>The top incoming CCHA rookies are listed with their position, age, school and draft status</p><h3><b>1. WILL WEBER</b></h3><p>D, 20, Miami, second round</p><p>Columbus Blue Jackets, 2007</p><h3><b>2. ZAC DALPE</b></h3><p> RW, 18, Ohio State, second round</p><p>Carolina Hurricanes, 2008</p><h3><b>3. ROBBIE CZARNIK</b></h3><p> RW, 18, Michigan, third round</p><p>Los Angeles Kings, 2008</p><h3><b>4. DAULTAN LEVEILLE</b></h3><p> C, 18, Michigan State, first round</p><p>Atlanta Thrashers, 2008</p><h3><b>5. CHAD BILLINS</b></h3><p> D, 19, Ferris State</p><p>Undrafted<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0038-01

BITTER ENDING JUST THE BEGINNING

<div class="byline">BY JIM CONNELLY</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0039-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-011089/9165901-1-eng-US/f0039-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Josh Kassel <span class="photo-credit">(COURTESY OF UNITED STATES MILITARY ACADEMY)</span></figcaption></div><p>ON THE EVE OF A BRAND new college hockey season, you would think all the attention would be focused on the ice.</p><p>But for college hockey&rsquo;s two youngest leagues, College Hockey America and Atlantic Hockey, there&rsquo;s more talk about issues off the ice than on.</p><p>Both leagues were part of Division I hockey&rsquo;s largest expansion in the late 1990s when the NCAA virtually abolished Division II hockey. With teams needing to decide whether to make the financial commitment necessary to play at the Division I level or drop their programs to Division III, two new leagues were born &ndash; the CHA and the MAAC (which ultimately became Atlantic Hockey).</p><p>At first blush, the leagues were formed under the guise of a &ldquo;scheduling alliance.&rdquo; These emerging teams would group together to play at the Division I level, but, at least to start, with the understanding the Big Four conferences (the term used to classify the ECAC, Hockey East, the WCHA and the CCHA) would not be rushing to schedule these clubs.</p><p>Over time both conferences, under NCAA guidelines, qualified for an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament. To say this raised the stakes for Atlantic Hockey and the CHA is an understatement.</p><p>Pride alone kept both leagues from wanting to become standard walkovers once they reached the national tournament and thus many schools increased funding, almost to the point where their schools compete financially with some Big Four programs.</p><p>The issue, though, was that not every team was along for the ride. Many athletic program budgets didn&rsquo;t allow for such spending and a disparity between schools was quickly evident.</p><p>Predictably, some programs haven&rsquo;t been able to keep up with the Joneses and the result has been attrition in both leagues. Atlantic Hockey has handled programs dropping hockey, replacing these teams over time with either clubs from other leagues or other teams wishing to elevate their program to the Division I level.</p><p>The CHA hasn&rsquo;t had that luxury. Beginning as a six-team league, the CHA lost Army to Atlantic Hockey early on. Though able to replace the military academy with Robert Morris, an emerging Division I program, another member, Air Force, followed Army&rsquo;s lead and headed to Atlantic Hockey in 2006.</p><p>A further blow was dealt when Wayne State announced last year it would drop its program at season&rsquo;s end, lessening the CHA membership to just four schools.</p><p>The reality is the conference can&rsquo;t survive with four teams. Thus, for nearly 12 months, discussion has centered on what will happen to the &ldquo;final four&rdquo; of the CHA &ndash; Niagara, Robert Morris, Bemidji State and Alabama-Huntsville.</p><p>With the exception of Robert Morris, which instituted hockey as a varsity sport in 2004, all the programs have unmistakable &ndash; though varied &ndash; histories in NCAA hockey. Both Alabama-Huntsville and Bemidji were powerhouses at the Division II level. Niagara, in 2000, became the first of the late-&rsquo;90s expansion teams to qualify for an NCAA tournament, earning an at-large bid and upsetting New Hampshire in the opening round.</p><p>But changing the landscape of college hockey will be tough because those Big Four conferences don&rsquo;t seem to have the ability &ndash; or possibly better said, the desire &ndash; to expand.</p><p>Atlantic Hockey might seem like the most reasonable home for these teams, which are spread somewhat geographically. Colorado Springsbased Air Force is the most western Atlantic Hockey team in a league centered mostly in New England and New York. But adding four teams to a league that each year just receives a single NCAA Tournament bid muddies the water.</p><p>Thus, college hockey is left with an impasse that won&rsquo;t easily be solved.</p><p>&ldquo;Everybody has talked about it,&rdquo; said Atlantic Hockey Commissioner Bob DeGregorio. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s probably the biggest single issue (on our plate). If you accept more members, you decrease the opportunity for (current members to get to the NCAA tournament).&rdquo;</p><p>This issue is such a sticking point in Atlantic Hockey that the athletic directors of the 10 member schools voted to place a moratorium on expansion.</p><p>One possible solution could be to give Atlantic Hockey two automatic qualifiers for the NCAA tournament. Under a 14-team structure, Atlantic Hockey could split into two, seven-team conferences and receive one automatic bid for each. In essence, the current CHA qualifier would simply shift to Atlantic Hockey, giving the 14-team conference two bids and leaving 14 bids for the Big Four.</p><p>Such a move would fit into Atlantic Hockey&rsquo;s pattern of growth in terms of on-ice success. The league has continually made strides to improve competitiveness, including placing its first ever player on an All-American team in Army goaltender Josh Kassel last season.</p><p>&ldquo;They talk about the Big Four in college hockey,&rdquo; DeGregorio said. &ldquo;I think it&rsquo;s the Big Five now. We&rsquo;re knocking at the door and we&rsquo;re not going away.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0039-01

NO EASY ANSWER FOR NCAA DILEMMA

<div class="byline">BY KEVIN OKLOBZIJA</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-01779/9165967-1-eng-US/f0040-012.jpg" title="f0040-01" width="969" height="1193"></div><p>THE HOCKEY SEASON can be a long one, what with training camp starting in September and the playoffs often running well into May.</p><p>Thus, players cherish summer.</p><p>Sun, beaches, golf courses, hammocks. All favorite places to be, in no particular order.</p><p>But sometimes priorities trump being a bum. When Brett MacLean finished his final Ontario League season with the Oshawa Generals, he gave up most of his summer free-time and headed to the Athletic Performance Institute in Phoenix.</p><p>And in forfeiting fun, he may very well have fast-tracked his NHL career.</p><p>MacLean, 19, is starting the season with the San Antonio Rampage, but the super-scoring left winger will be with the Phoenix Coyotes sooner than later.</p><p>&ldquo;He&rsquo;s very highly thought of in our organization and we expect good things,&rdquo; said Rampage coach Greg Ireland.</p><p>MacLean scored 61 goals and 119 points in 61 games last season. The year before he scored 47 goals and 100 points in 68 games.</p><p>&ldquo;Some players have an innate ability to put the puck in the net,&rdquo; Ireland said. &ldquo;We expect him to do that here. He&rsquo;s not going to be playing on our fourth line. We&rsquo;re going to put him in situations to succeed.&rdquo;</p><p>That&rsquo;s precisely what MacLean did for himself over the summer. On the advice of Coyotes management, he went to the API, where NHLers such as Coyotes captain Shane Doan and NFLers like Cleveland Browns quarterback Brady Quinn have spent their summers.</p><p>&ldquo;I knew I had to do something to get prepared for my first pro season,&rdquo; MacLean said. &ldquo;I went there for a month and I really enjoyed it, so I went back for another six weeks.&rdquo;</p><p>On his own dime, too.</p><p>&ldquo;He spent time redefining his habits in terms of nutrition and workouts,&rdquo; Ireland said. &ldquo;He worked on his foot speed, strength and conditioning, things that will benefit him on the ice.&rdquo;</p><p>Immediately, too. When he signed his contract, the Coyotes deemed skating a priority in terms of things for MacLean to improve.</p><p>&ldquo;He skated with us at the end of last season and I can see a difference,&rdquo; Ireland said.</p><p>He can already do things so many others can&rsquo;t around the goal mouth. So while in San Antonio, he must focus on the finer points of play without the puck.</p><p>&ldquo;I know that&rsquo;s going to be the difference for me making the next step,&rdquo; MacLean said. &ldquo;They know I can score, but I have to be a responsible player.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-02469/9165960-1-eng-US/f0040-022.jpg" title="f0040-02" width="214" height="214"></div><p>BRETT MACLEAN</p><p>San Antonio</p><p>Ht. 6-2</p><p>Wt. 197</p><p>Pos. LW</p><p>Age 19</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-03360/9165953-1-eng-US/f0040-032.jpg" title="f0040-03" width="228" height="229"></div><p>AND COUNTING</p><p>61</p><p>Goals for MacLean in 61 OHL games last season</p><h3><b>NOTES FROM THE WEST</b></h3><h2><b>Mason down, LaCosta in</b></h2><p>With highly touted Steve Mason recovering from an arthroscopic procedure on his left knee, the spotlight will shine on Dan LaCosta in goal for the Syracuse Crunch.</p><p>Mason, 20, is regarded as the goalie of the future for the Columbus Blue Jackets. A thirdround draft pick (69th overall) in 2006, he underwent surgery in the spring and missed the Memorial Cup. More repair was needed to the meniscus in September and a late-October or early-November return to the Crunch is projected.</p><p>That gives LaCosta, who&rsquo;ll be the undisputed No. 1 goalie in Mason&rsquo;s absence, a chance to show he shouldn&rsquo;t be forgotten.</p><p>&ldquo;He hasn&rsquo;t got too many breaks along the way, so hopefully he shows what he can do,&rdquo; said Crunch coach Ross Yates.</p><p>LaCosta, 22, was picked 93rd overall by Columbus in 2004 and was 9-2-3 with a 2.12 goals-against average and .932 save percentage last season.</p><p>HOMECOMING Left winger Ryan Dingle is hoping to call Des Moines, Iowa, his hockey home yet again.</p><p>Dingle was an undrafted collegian who joined the Anaheim organization as a free agent. He split last season between Portland and Augusta (ECHL).</p><p>Dingle, 24, played two junior-A seasons with the USHL&rsquo;s Des Moines Buccaneers.</p><p><b>&ndash; KEVIN OKLOBZIJA</b></p><h2><b>ON</b>&nbsp;<b>TOP</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-05250/9165946-1-eng-US/f0040-052.jpg" title="f0040-05" width="186" height="269"><figcaption class="caption-body">LOUIS ROBITAILLE <span class="photo-credit">(CLAUS ANDERSEN/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><h3><b>PENALTY MINUTES</b></h3><p>Hershey Bears</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-06222/9165939-1-eng-US/f0040-062.jpg" title="f0040-06" width="229" height="218"></div><p>350 PIMS</p><p>Peter Vandermeer, SA 332</p><p>Derek Dorsett, Syr 289</p><p>Hans Benson, Peo 265</p><p>Brandon Prust, QC 248</p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-04291/9165932-1-eng-US/f0040-042.jpg" title="f0040-04" width="76" height="77"></div><p>For more on hockey&rsquo;s best prospects, check out Ryan Kennedy&rsquo;s Hot List in the feature section on <a href="http://thehockeynews.com">thehockeynews.com</a><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p></div>

f0040-01

NO FEAR OF COMMITMENT

<div class="byline">BY PHIL JANACK</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-01667/9166026-1-eng-US/f0041-012.jpg" title="f0041-01" width="969" height="1193"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(MIKE STOBE/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>MATT MURLEY CAME VERY CLOSE to crossing one very large body of water to play hockey this season.</p><p>Instead, the 28-year-old journeyman winger opted for an opportunity much closer to home.</p><p>Murley turned down the temptation to play in Europe for another crack at returning to the NHL, where he has played 62 games over parts of six seasons.</p><p>He signed a one-year deal with the Carolina Hurricanes and begins the season with their top farm club, the Albany River Rats, who play their home games just across the Hudson River from where Murley grew up in Troy, N.Y.</p><p>&ldquo;I had a bunch of things going on (overseas) and I looked into going to that Russian league (the KHL) and I was almost going to do that,&rdquo; Murley said. &ldquo;In the end, I decided to try at least one more year over here and see if I can get back and play a number of games in the NHL, or just have a really big year in the AHL.&rdquo;</p><p>Murley spent most of his first three pro seasons with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and has 92 goals and 252 points in 353 career AHL games.</p><p>Last year, he led San Antonio with 41 assists, 62 points and a plus-20 rating in 76 games. The left winger also had one assist in three NHL games for Phoenix, choosing the Coyotes over Carolina as a free agent last summer.</p><p>&ldquo;This is the only organization I wanted to stay over here for,&rdquo; Murley said. &ldquo;I wanted to sign here last year, but my agent and a couple other people thought it&rsquo;d be better if I tried Phoenix, so I gave it a shot. It didn&rsquo;t work out as well as I hoped, but I&rsquo;m real happy I got to come back here this year.&rdquo;</p><p>Carolina was hit hard by injuries, particularly up front, last season, necessitating several call-ups. Before camp opened, the Canes lost right winger Justin Williams with an Achilles tendon tear that could cost him most of the season.</p><p>&ldquo;Matt is a good player,&rdquo; said Carolina GM Jim Rutherford. &ldquo;He had a good camp here. We view him as a player who will play some games in Carolina and be a good depth player. Obviously, he&rsquo;s a good player at the American League level.&rdquo;</p><p>This won&rsquo;t be Murley&rsquo;s first time playing in front of the home crowd. He skated four college seasons from 1998 to 2002 at RPI in Troy and spent the 2006-07 season in Albany, as a member of the Colorado Avalanche organization. That season, Murley was a key part of ending the Rats&rsquo; AHL-record six-year Calder Cup playoff drought, then led the club in post-season scoring.</p><p>&ldquo;It makes it a little easier with them knowing what kind of player I am,&rdquo; Murley said, &ldquo;but I still have to show them what I can do and how I&rsquo;ve improved.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-02411/9166019-1-eng-US/f0041-022.jpg" title="f0041-02" width="214" height="214"></div><p>MATT MURLEY</p><p>Albany River Rats</p><p>Ht. 6-1</p><p>Wt. 206</p><p>Pos. LW</p><p>Age 28</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-03330/9166012-1-eng-US/f0041-032.jpg" title="f0041-03" width="228" height="229"></div><p>AND COUNTING</p><p>41 Murley led San Antonio with 41 assists last year.</p><h3><b>NOTES FROM THE EAST</b></h3><h2><b>Setting the Barre</b></h2><p>Fans of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, who have put the franchise at or near the top of league attendance standings annually, demand a blue-collar approach.</p><p>So when the club, as part of its 10th anniversary celebration, asked fans to help select its alldecade team, it was no surprise intensity, grit and discipline were well represented.</p><p>Forwards Colby Armstrong, Dennis Bonvie and Tom Kostopolous, defensemen Alain Nasreddine and John Slaney, goalie Marc-Andre Fleury and coach Michel Therrien comprise the Penguins&rsquo; 10th season team. The leading vote-getters will be honored with a special bobblehead giveaway this season.</p><p>Armstrong had 129 points in 215 games for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Bonvie retired following last season as professional hockey&rsquo;s all-time penalty-minutes leader and landed a scouting job with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Kostopolous is the franchise&rsquo;s all-time leader in games (318) and points (246).</p><p>Nasreddine was a steady, stay-at-home defenseman, while Slaney holds the AHL record for points at the position with 519. Both blueliners play in Germany now. Fleury established several club goalie records and Therrien reached the Calder Cup final in his first season as coach.</p><p><b>&ndash; PHIL JANACK</b></p><h2><b>ON</b>&nbsp;<b>TOP</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-04284/9166005-1-eng-US/f0041-042.jpg" title="f0041-04" width="186" height="263"><figcaption class="caption-body">JEFF HOGGAN</figcaption></div><h3><b>PLUS/MINUS</b></h3><p>Providence Bruins</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-05258/9165998-1-eng-US/f0041-052.jpg" title="f0041-05" width="229" height="228"></div><p>+39 PLUS/MINUS</p><p>Corey Potter, Hfd +33</p><p>Sami Lepisto, Her +29</p><p>Andrew Hutchinson, Hfd +28</p><p>Sean Curry, Prov +28<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0041-01

VETERAN MURLEY GOES HOME AGAIN

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0042-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-01700/9166071-1-eng-US/f0042-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Former Ottawa goalie Ray Emery is off to a strong start in the KHL. <span class="photo-credit">(NORMUNDS BRICS, JANSONS MEDIA)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><span>W</span>HEN OLD RIVALS Red Army and Moscow Dynamo clashed in Moscow recently, there more was on the minds of players and fans than just the game, as a banner in the crowd attested.</p><p>Red Army goaltender Jussi Markkanen&rsquo;s 4-year-old son Olli died after tumbling from a fifth-storey window at the family&rsquo;s Moscow apartment.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-02432/9166064-1-eng-US/f0042-022.jpg" title="f0042-02" width="251" height="274"></div><p>Coach Slava Bykov has given Markkanen, a former NHL puckstopper, an indefinite, paid leave of absence to help him deal with the tragedy. Red Army players dedicated their 3-2 victory to the Markkanen family.</p><p>Around the rest of the league:</p><p>&bull; Jaromir Jagr fired the winning goal as Avangard Omsk made coach Wayne Fleming&rsquo;s debut a successful one with a 7-4 victory over HK MVD Balashikha. Former NHLer John Grahame was off to a great start in the Avangard net with a 6-2-0 record, 2.11 goals-against average and a .915 save percentage.</p><p>Jagr led the league with 10 goals in 13 games, while former New York Rangers teammate Marcel Hossa, now with Dynamo Riga, was second with nine markers.</p><p>&ldquo;Yes, I made some efforts (to convince Fleming to coach in Russia),&rdquo; Jagr said. &ldquo;It does not matter that Wayne has never been my coach before, I have heard only good things about him.&rdquo;</p><p>Jagr said when his two-year contract with the Russian club is up, he plans to return to the Czech Republic to help his father, who is coaching there.</p><p>&bull; Ray Emery, who signed a one-year, $2-million pact with Atlant Mytischi, has combined in goal with Vitaly Kolesnik to push the club into first place with nine wins in 11 games. Emery must share the netminding chores since the league has a rule requiring homegrown goalies to play at least 35 percent of the time.</p><p>&bull; Rumors have circulated that Igor Larionov could replace Barry Smith as coach of the SKA club in St. Petersburg. But Alexander Medvedev, chairman of the club&rsquo;s board of directors, said Smith will remain behind the bench at least through this season.</p><p>Smith was the target of public criticism by veteran winger and former Minnesota Wild player Maxim Sushinsky. The club suspended Sushinsky for his comments and tried to trade him to Avangard Omsk for three players, including former NHLer Pavel Rosa. But the deal fell through and Sushinsky, a member of Russia&rsquo;s 2008 world championship gold medal-winning team, was reinstated and scored the first goal in SKA&rsquo;s 3-0 shutout victory over HK MVD.</p><p>&bull; Paul Kelly, executive director of the NHL Players&rsquo; Association, told the Russian newspaper <i>Sovietsky Sport</i> the NHL could send as many as eight teams to Europe in the fall of 2009, with the possibility of games being played in Moscow. Kelly also said he expects the next World Cup of Hockey to be held in 2011 and every four years thereafter.</p><p>Canada won the most recent World Cup in 2004. The United States won the inaugural tournament in 1996.</p><p><b>- DENIS GIBBONS</b></p><h3><b>EYE ON EUROPE</b></h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-03336/9166057-1-eng-US/f0042-032.jpg" title="f0042-03" width="625" height="630"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(RICHARD WOLOWICZ/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><h2><b>NORWAY INVADES</b></h2><p>The hottest source for imports in the Swedish Elite League these days is Norway.</p><p>No way? Yes way.</p><p>At the start of the season, there were 78 non-Swedes on the 12 Elitserien teams. Of those, the Finns are still the largest group with 31 players followed by 10 Canadians. But Norway is tied for third with the Czech Republic and Slovakia at nine players each.</p><p>One of them, Mats Zuccarello Aasen, has taken the league by storm. In his first Elitserien season, the diminutive Modo winger &ndash; he&rsquo;s only 5-foot-7 &ndash; has scored nine points in five games to lead the league in scoring.</p><p>&ldquo;Beginner&rsquo;s luck,&rdquo; he said.</p><p>The 21-year-old, who tallied 64 points in 34 Norwegian league games last season, has been lucky to have been put on a line with fellow Norwegian, Per-Age Skroder and former NHLer Niklas Sundstrom.</p><p>&ldquo;They are extremely easy to play with,&rdquo; Sundstrom said. &ldquo;All I have to do is hang in there.&rdquo;</p><p>Modo&rsquo;s Finnish coach, Harri Rindell, is more than happy with his young star.</p><p>&ldquo;Mats has really impressed me with his hockey sense and skills,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I saw him play at the worlds so I knew that he was good, but it&rsquo;s been thrilling to work with him.&rdquo;</p><p>Zuccarello Aasen played seven games for Norway at the world championship in Canada this past spring, netting one goal and averaging about 12 minutes of ice time per game.</p><p><b>- RISTO PAKARINEN</b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0042-01

MOSCOW MOURNS WITH MARKKANEN

<p class="dropcap"><span>S</span>AM KADRI WANTED TO embrace his adopted country after immigrating to Canada from Lebanon as a young man. And what better way to be immerse yourself in Canadiana than become a hockey fan?</p><p>So it was only natural that when he started his own family, his son would become a fan as well. Sitting in the seats at the old London Ice House, watching the hometown Knights, young Nazem Kadri decided he wanted to be just like Rick Nash.</p><p>Kadri now has that opportunity, going to the Knights in June after two seasons with the Kitchener Rangers, as the final piece of the Steve Mason trade last January. Kadri will also be one of the stars of the 2009 NHL entry draft.</p><p>&ldquo;It might be a bit of stretch, but by the end of the year there could be whispers that he&rsquo;s as good as John Tavares,&rdquo; said one NHL scout. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s very well-rounded, a very responsible player and plays much older than one who has just turned 18 years old.&rdquo;</p><p>The scout was excited to learn of Sam Kadri&rsquo;s love for the sport.</p><p>&ldquo;Hockey is (Canada&rsquo;s) passion and good for the dad. It&rsquo;s great that he gave his son this opportunity.&rdquo;</p><p>Kadri is also on Hockey Canada&rsquo;s radar after being the youngest player to attend the world junior championship tryout camp this past summer. He and Tavares were the only two undrafted players invited to the camp.</p><p>&ldquo;From people I talked to, Kadri was the best forward there,&rdquo; said the scout.</p><p>Hockey Canada head scout Al Murray likes Kadri&rsquo;s versatility.</p><p>&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a very interesting player for us because he can play all three forward positions,&rdquo; he said.</p><p>The NHL scout said the fact Kadri can play any forward spot will be a great plus when he gets to the NHL.</p><p>&ldquo;That just speaks to the maturity of his game, that you can plug him in anywhere,&rdquo; he said.</p><p>&ldquo;There aren&rsquo;t very many guys who can do that.&rdquo;</p><p>The scout said because of Knights coach Dale Hunter&rsquo;s penchant for mixing up his lines &ndash; and not just game-to-game, but period-to-period and even shift-to-shift &ndash; Kadri&rsquo;s game will develop even further.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-04284/9166144-1-eng-US/f0043-042.jpg" title="f0043-04" width="765" height="1009"></div><p>&ldquo;The first two periods he&rsquo;ll be a scorer and the third he could be a shutdown guy,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a very exciting player and if I was a parent at a game with my 11-or 12-year-old son or daughter, he&rsquo;s a player I would tell them to watch.&rdquo;</p><p><b>&ndash; JIM CRESSMAN</b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-05245/9166137-1-eng-US/f0043-052.jpg" title="f0043-05" width="278" height="151"></div><p>NAZEM KADRI</p><p>London Knights</p><p>Ht. 6-0</p><p>Wt. 165</p><p>Pos. C/W</p><p>Age 18</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-06202/9166130-1-eng-US/f0043-062.jpg" title="f0043-06" width="366" height="84"></div><p>Draft Status</p><p>Ranked No. 9 overall for 2009 NHL draft by ISS</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-07172/9166123-1-eng-US/f0043-072.jpg" title="f0043-07" width="229" height="229"></div><p>AND COUNTING</p><p>1.3</p><p>Kadri&rsquo;s points-pergame in 20 playoff contests last spring</p><h2><b>Honoring a league legend</b></h2><p>Ed Chynoweth died April 22, but remains an unmistakable presence in the WHL, as evidenced by the league&rsquo;s decision to dedicate the 2008-09 season to its former president. &ldquo;Ed was not only the principal architect and builder of the WHL and major junior hockey, he was a mentor to everyone associated with our level of the game,&rdquo; said WHL commissioner Ron Robison. Chynoweth was the league&rsquo;s chairman of the board and governor of the Kootenay Ice when cancer claimed him at 66. Players and officials will wear a helmet decal with his initials this season. &ldquo;I know he&rsquo;s up there looking down with a smile with all the tributes and accolades that have come his way since he passed,&rdquo; said Chynoweth&rsquo;s son, Jeff, the Ice&rsquo;s GM-president.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-01693/9166116-1-eng-US/f0043-012.jpg" title="f0043-01" width="228" height="229"></div><p><b>&ndash; ROB VANSTONE</b></p><h2><b>Boys behaving much better</b></h2><p>The message has gotten through. During the 2005-06 season, when the new standard of rule enforcement went into effect, OHL clubs averaged 510 power plays (7.5 per game). A year later, that number was down to 472 (6.9 per game). Last season, it was 397 (5.8 per game) and it&rsquo;s declining again this year. &ldquo;The standard hasn&rsquo;t changed,&rdquo; said Conrad Hache, director of officiating. &ldquo;The videos are the same ones we showed two years ago. It took a year or two for everyone to get used to it. Now the players have been conditioned and they come into the league knowing what&rsquo;s a penalty and what&rsquo;s not.&rdquo; The OHL will go with two refs in 70 percent of its games this season; Hache is scouting officials in the lower ranks to get to 100 percent soon.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-02465/9166109-1-eng-US/f0043-022.jpg" title="f0043-02" width="228" height="229"></div><p><b>&ndash; JIM CRESSMAN</b></p><h2><b>Labrecque finally lands</b></h2><p>It&rsquo;s a case of better late than never for the Shawinigan Cataractes when it comes to Dave Labrecque. The 18-year-old center is in his rookie season after being selected ninth overall in the 2006 QMJHL draft and he&rsquo;s proving to be worth the wait. &ldquo;He was our best player in training camp and he&rsquo;s off to a great start to the season,&rdquo; said GM Martin Mondou. &ldquo;We had five NHL scouts at one game to watch him. I think he&rsquo;s going to be one of the big stories in the league this season.&rdquo; Labrecque had 14 points, including five goals, in seven games. &ldquo;He had the talent to play for us the past two seasons, but he decided to playJr. A instead,&rdquo; Mondou said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s come back a lot more focused this season and he&rsquo;s turning into the player we thought he could be.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-03384/9166102-1-eng-US/f0043-032.jpg" title="f0043-03" width="228" height="229"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(CLAUS ANDERSEN)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>&ndash; NEIL HODGE</b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0043-04

NEW KNIGHT THE TOTAL PACKAGE

<h3><b>ECHL</b></h3><h2><b>Desharnais&rsquo; dream days</b></h2><p class="dropcap"><span>D</span>avid Desharnais had an all-everything 2007-08 season with the Cincinnati Cyclones. He led the league with 106 points, earning MVP, rookie-of-theyear, all-rookie and first-team all-star honors for the Kelly Cup champs. He also earned a training camp look with the NHL&rsquo;s Canadiens. The 5-foot-6 center was a Habs fan growing up in Chicoutimi, Que., where he also netted 374 points in junior. He did what he does best during his NHL pre-season debut, collecting an assist in a 3-2 win over Buffalo. &ldquo;David worked hard last season and during this past summer to prepare for this chance,&rdquo; said Cyclones coach Chuck Weber.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-01593/9166224-1-eng-US/f0044-012.jpg" title="f0044-01" width="229" height="229"></div><p><b>&ndash; MIKE MASTOVICH</b></p><h3><b>NORTH AMERICAN LEAGUE</b></h3><h2><b>Michigan back on map</b></h2><p>The NAHL spent years largely removed from its Michigan roots. But with relocation and expansion, the league is again a power player in the Great Lake State. In 2005, Toledo (Ohio) moved to Alpena, and this past summer, Owatonna (Minn.) became the Motor City Machine. Expansion teams Traverse City and Marquette have created the Smith Barney Challenge Cup, which goes to the regular season, head-tohead winner between the two. &ldquo;It was new to our fans last season,&rdquo; said North Stars coach Anthony Palumbo. &ldquo;I think as we continue to build the rivalry with Marquette, the Cup will become more of a focus for our fans.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-03268/9166217-1-eng-US/f0044-032.jpg" title="f0044-03" width="228" height="229"></div><p><b>&ndash; PAUL SHAHEEN</b></p><h3><b>INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE</b></h3><h2><b>McKie ready to fight in Flint</b></h2><p>In his first full season as coach of the Flint Generals, Peter South has turned to an old friend to provide muscle. Rusty McKie last played for South&rsquo;s Border City Bandits of the Central League in 2000-01, totaling 204 penalty minutes in 35 games. &rdquo;I&rsquo;m out there for all the guys,&rdquo; McKie said. The 33-year-old winger had been working on his farm and painting houses before getting the itch to play again after watching his 6-year-old son win a world wrestling title last winter. &ldquo;He has absolutely no friends on the other team,&rdquo; said South of McKie. &ldquo;Everyone of his teammates is his brother. He will fight and battle for every single one of them.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-05181/9166210-1-eng-US/f0044-052.jpg" title="f0044-05" width="229" height="229"></div><p><b>&ndash; BRENDAN SAVAGE</b></p><h3><b>CENTRAL LEAGUE</b></h3><h2><b>New Tulsa arena a blessed place</b></h2><p>The new home of the Tulsa Oilers has the blessings of Native Americans. Before the grand opening of the $178-million, 18,500-seat BOK Center in September, city and arena officials participated in a ceremony conducted by representatives of the Osage, Creek, Cherokee and Otoe tribes. The ceremony included pots of burning coals and cedar and eagle feathers. The tribal representatives stood at the arena&rsquo;s four compass points to symbolize unity and prayed in their native languages to bless the new arena. &ldquo;We want everyone to have a good time in this beautiful building,&rdquo; said Otoe chaplain Gary Whitecloud to the Tulsa <i>World</i>.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-07142/9166203-1-eng-US/f0044-072.jpg" title="f0044-07" width="228" height="229"></div><p><b>&ndash; DAVID HENRY</b></p><h3><b>SOUTHERN PRO LEAGUE</b></h3><h2><b>Hybrid icing gets a trial</b></h2><p>The SPHL will experiment with hybrid icing during its three-day preseason. Based on players&rsquo; positions  once they cross an imaginary line at the faceoff dots, the front linesman will determine which player &ndash; offensive or defensive &ndash; is most likely to touch the puck first. If it&rsquo;s the offensive player, icing is waved off. If it&rsquo;s the defensive player, icing is called immediately. Any plays too close to call are considered ties and will be called icing. &ldquo;It doesn&rsquo;t seem nearly as complicated as the wording,&rdquo; said Knoxville coach Scott Hillman. Once the pre-season is complete, the six-member board of governors and commissioner Jim Combs will vote on implementation.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-02362/9166196-1-eng-US/f0044-022.jpg" title="f0044-02" width="229" height="228"></div><p><b>&ndash; NICK GATES</b></p><h3><b>CANADIAN JR. A</b></h3><h2><b>The Schwartz be with you</b></h2><p>Center Jaden Schwartz is the first 16-year-old to suit up for the Notre Dame Hounds Jr. A team since Brad Richards. Playing for the Hounds&rsquo; triple-A bantam entry last year, Schwartz set a team record with 129 points in 25 games &ndash; two points better Vincent Lecavalier&rsquo;s mark. &ldquo;Every time Jaden has the puck he&rsquo;s dangerous,&rdquo; said Schwartz&rsquo;s 18-year-old brother Rylan, a Saskatchewan Jr. League all-rookie team member in 2007-08 with Notre Dame. The brothers will be teammates this season and for the next few, as both will enroll at Colorado College, Rylan next season and Jaden in 2010. &ldquo;We could develop some good chemistry,&rdquo; Jaden said.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-04212/9166189-1-eng-US/f0044-042.jpg" title="f0044-04" width="229" height="228"></div><p><b>&ndash; TIM SWITZER</b></p><h3><b>CANADIAN UNIVERSITY</b></h3><h2><b>DaSilva decides to stay home</b></h2><p>Last season with the Kootenay Ice, Steven DaSilva was a top-five WHL scorer. The 5-foot-11 center had his choice of any university in the country to continue his playing career, but he chose his hometown Saskatchewan Huskies. DaSilva said Saskatchewan&rsquo;s mix of hockey tradition, academic excellence and proximity to home made his decision a no-brainer. &ldquo;It was a chance for me to be home with my family and friends, who I haven&rsquo;t been able to spend time with the last four years,&rdquo; said DaSilva, who scored 90 points in 68 games in 2007-08. &ldquo;The hockey program is continually one of the best in the country, so that helped, too.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-06158/9166182-1-eng-US/f0044-062.jpg" title="f0044-06" width="229" height="228"></div><p><b>&ndash; JEFF RENAUD</b></p><h3><b>THE WOMEN&rsquo;S GAME</b></h3><h2><b>Two spots left for 2010</b></h2><p>There are just two of eight spots remaining for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. In order of seeding, the first six entries are: Canada, United States, Finland, Sweden, Switzerland and Russia. Germany and China are the seventh-and eighth-ranked teams, but the final two 2010 berths will be decided by qualification tournaments in November held in those two countries. In September, Norway and Slovakia won pre-qualifying rounds to earn qualification chances. Group C features Germany, Slovakia, Kazakhstan and France. Group D features China, Norway, Japan and the Czech Republic. The two group winners will earn spots in the Olympics.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-08106/9166175-1-eng-US/f0044-082.jpg" title="f0044-08" width="228" height="228"></div><p><b>&ndash; ELIZABETH ETUE</b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0044-01

BEST OF THE REST

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0047-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-01469/9166300-1-eng-US/f0047-012.jpg"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-02314/9166293-1-eng-US/f0047-022.jpg" title="f0047-02" width="76" height="77"></div><p>Can&rsquo;t get enough numbers? Visit our online &lsquo;Stats&rsquo; section every day at <a href="http://thehockeynews.com">thehockeynews.com</a><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p></div>

f0047-01

RADIO + TV GUIDE

<div class="byline">BY NATHAN WHITE</div><p class="dropcap"><span>A</span>fter eight months of practices, games, bus rides and a minor pro cameo 2,000 miles from home, Chris Morehouse could have slept in on his first day off after last season.</p><p>Instead, he was up early the next morning, driving more than an hour to the birthday party of a 12-year-old boy he&rsquo;d known for more than a year.</p><p>Morehouse has made a name for himself doing things above and beyond what you might expect. That&rsquo;s why the Canadian Hockey League named him its 2007-08 humanitarian of the year.</p><p>The 5-foot-9, 180-pound winger wasn&rsquo;t even supposed to have a junior career, let alone leave a lasting impression. As an 18-year-old free agent, he had little chance of making the Moncton Wildcats in 2005-06. Yet he scrapped his way onto the team and two years later became team captain. This year, he&rsquo;s suiting up for the Saint Mary&rsquo;s Huskies in the Canadian university ranks.</p><p>Morehouse, who grew up just outside Saint John, N.B., is a dogged worker who gets an ovation for a good hard shift. But he may have worked even harder off the ice, relying on his faith during hard times as a young hockey player with a single mom.</p><p>In February of 2007, Morehouse was at a Wildcats outdoor skate when he met another boy with a single mom; a boy named Brent Deborn whose cerebral palsy confines him to a wheelchair.</p><p>Morehouse could have smiled politely and shied away, but he introduced himself and took Deborn to meet the rest of his teammates and get their autographs.</p><p>As their friendship grew, Morehouse arranged for Deborn to sit on the bench during warmups and join practices, and even got the kid his own dressing room stall. At season&rsquo;s end, he held an auction to raise $15,000 for renovations to make their house more wheelchair-accessible.</p><p>&ldquo;He became like a big brother to Brent,&rdquo; said Kim Deborn, Brent&rsquo;s mother.</p><p>Morehouse also created Cat&rsquo;s Corner With Chris, a box for 20 underprivileged kids, who get to watch a game, receive a T-shirt and eat snacks. He has also visited other children in the hospital and spoken at churches, schools and hockey banquets.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0048-02212/9166338-1-eng-US/f0048-022.jpg" title="f0048-02" width="503" height="416"><figcaption class="caption-body">Chris Morehouse formed a special bond with Wildcats fan Brent Deborn.</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0048-01335/9166331-1-eng-US/f0048-012.jpg" title="f0048-01" width="877" height="1133"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(PHOTOS COURTESY OF MONCTON WILDCATS)</span></figcaption></div><p>&ldquo;I never thought he&rsquo;d do those things, but I knew whatever he made up in his mind to do, he&rsquo;d do well,&rdquo; said Morehouse&rsquo;s mother, Wendy White.</p><p>When Morehouse was 10, his father left him and his two older sisters with their mother. A year later, he was diagnosed with epilepsy and at one point had 48 seizures in two weeks.</p><p>His father leaving &ldquo;really affected him,&rdquo; said White, who believes Morehouse&rsquo;s health issues arose as a result. &ldquo;I had a lot on my mind, a lot of things I wasn&rsquo;t happy about,&rdquo; Morehouse said. But he credits his mother, an elementary school teacher, with grounding him in Christian faith and making sure he and his sisters had the necessities of life. Those close family relationships bred in him a desire to want to help others achieve their dreams.</p><p>&ldquo;He could have blamed inadequacies, lack of ability, or a situation, but he didn&rsquo;t do that,&rdquo; said his sister, Alycia Morehouse.</p><p>&ldquo;He took it upon himself to work hard and made up for any lack of skill with dedication, hard work and really getting involved.&rdquo;</p><p>Morehouse had a reputation as a pest and trash-talker who occasionally dropped the gloves. Bruce Smith, Atlantic director of Hockey Ministries International, coached Morehouse in peewee and recalls a &ldquo;loose cannon&rdquo; whose &ldquo;raw passion for the game&rdquo; was second to none.</p><p>&ldquo;He&rsquo;s the kind of guy the fans pay their money to see,&rdquo; said former Wildcats coach John Torchetti, now an assistant with the Chicago Blackhawks.</p><p>Some people question how Morehouse balances his edgy style with his faith, but he points to former NHL scrapper Stu Grimson, who racked up more than 2,000 penalty minutes.</p><p>Said Smith: &ldquo;His view is a Christian can play a physical role in the game, still maintain his faith and play the role he&rsquo;s called to perform.&rdquo;</p><p>It&rsquo;s not easy when you spend the winter traveling on a bus where cursing and dirty jokes are part of the vocabulary.</p><p>&ldquo;On the road, following God isn&rsquo;t the easiest thing,&rdquo; Morehouse said. &ldquo;Life is not really centered on religion and being your own person is hard. But sometimes if you really stand up for what you believe and follow your dreams and goals, anything is possible.&rdquo;</p><p>Morehouse has done that, impacting people such as Brent Deborn, who flashes a toothy smile when he talks about his favorite player. But Morehouse said he gets just as much out of the relationship.</p><p>&ldquo;He&rsquo;s the toughest kid I know,&rdquo; Morehouse said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s been a blessing in my life and really made me appreciate things I&rsquo;ve accomplished.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0048-02

KEEPING THE FAITH, TOUCHING LIVES

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0049-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-02207/9166390-1-eng-US/f0049-022.jpg"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-01295/9166397-1-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 the next issue and at <a href="http://THN.com/XWORD">THN.com/xword</a></p><h3><b>ACROSS</b></h3><p>1 Bruce Boudreau is the latest ___ ___ Award winner</p><p>8 Where New Jersey&rsquo;s top farm team was located from 1987-93</p><p>9 He&rsquo;s coach of the champion Red Wings</p><p>10 The Flyers once had a 35-game undefeated ___</p><p>11 ___ Kallur was with the Isles for their four Cups</p><p>12 Traded</p><p>14 Ron Wilson&rsquo;s new team</p><p>17 Dirk ___ was Chicago&rsquo;s captain</p><p>19 Florida&rsquo;s ___ Horton</p><p>20 Home of the AHL&rsquo;s Aeros</p><p>21 The last player to win consecutive Hart Trophies</p><p>22 It protects a player&rsquo;s lower leg</p><h3><b>DOWN</b></h3><p>2 Quebec-born coach ___ Vigneault</p><p>3 Struck with the foot</p><p>4 One of 9 Across&rsquo;s former teams</p><p>5 Dressed, ___ up</p><p>6 Hockey great Red Kelly represented this party in Canada&rsquo;s parliament</p><p>7 He&rsquo;s the Wild&rsquo;s top puckstopper</p><p>11 Tony Granato is back coaching this team</p><p>13 Mike Gartner was ___ skater at the All-Star Game three times</p><p>15 Todd McLellan is this team&rsquo;s new mentor</p><p>16 The Isles play at ___ Coliseum</p><p>17 ___ pulls are common in hockey</p><p>18 Veteran sniper Rod Brind&rsquo;___, pictured</p><p>LAST WEEK&rsquo;S CROSSWORD SOLUTION ACROSS 1. GEOFFRION, 8. OMAHA, 9. OCTOBER, 10. CROSBY, 11. ALLEGE, 12. SATOR, 14. MARCH, 17. SUNDIN, 19. OTTERS, 20. HALIFAX, 21. TURCO, 22. NICHOLSON. DOWN 2. EXCEL, 3. FLOWER, 4. REESE, 5. NORRIS, 6. BASSETT, 7. GARY GREEN, 11. ADAM FOOTE, 13. WRITERS, 15. HORTON, 16. O&rsquo;NEILL, 17. SLASH, 18. IDAHO.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-03152/9166383-1-eng-US/f0049-032.jpg" title="f0049-03" width="1694" height="831"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-04134/9166376-1-eng-US/f0049-042.jpg" title="f0049-04" width="156" height="155"></div><h2><b>JERSEY HOUND</b></h2><p>Sometimes justice does come for those who need it most. In this case, fans of the Buffalo Sabres can once again wear a current sweater of which they can be proud of both the design and the team it represents. The much-maligned &lsquo;Buffa-slug&rsquo; is still the primary symbol of Western New York&rsquo;s finest, but the Sabres have blessed the hockey world with a reworking of their classic sweater, which will now serve as the team&rsquo;s third jersey. The blue is darker than the original and the graphics are more defined, but oh, how it feels so right again.</p><p>&ndash; Ryan Kennedy</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-0595/9166369-1-eng-US/f0049-052.jpg" title="f0049-05" width="815" height="744"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p>BUFFALO SABRES</p><p><b>2008-09</b></p></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0049-02

LAST MINUTE OF PLAY

<div class="byline">with Eric Duhatschek</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="C0004-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/c0004-02202/9166428-1-eng-US/c0004-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jay Bouwmeester <span class="photo-credit">(ELIOT J. SCHECHTER/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/c0004-01316/9166435-1-eng-US/c0004-012.jpg" title="C0004-01" width="202" height="231"></div><blockquote class="pullQuote">Florida is a departure point thanks to its annual struggles</blockquote><p>SO HERE IS A DELICIOUS BIT of irony as the new season begins:</p><p>Jay Bouwmeester, who doesn&rsquo;t like to say much of anything, is about to become the most talkedabout player in the NHL, for as long as it takes him to either: a) sign a long-term contract extension with the Florida Panthers; or, b) drag his heels on signing a long-term contract extension with the Florida Panthers, at which point they will have to dangle him on the trade market.</p><p>And by talk, we don&rsquo;t mean in stories about results and scoring championships and MVP races and such. That&rsquo;s still Alex Ovechkin/Sidney Crosby territory. No, we mean in the blogosphere and on sports talk radio, where all the real NHL chatter takes place until, oh, a couple of weeks before the trade deadline, when the GMs get into the action as well.</p><p>But until that happens, Bouwmeester will be this year&rsquo;s answer to Marian Hossa or Brian Campbell, the two players you just knew were not going to finish the season in the same place they started last year. And while there&rsquo;s nothing really strange about that &ndash; 65 players, from Craig Adams to Doug Weight, eventually traded places last season &ndash; Hossa and Campbell were the focal points. They were two difference-makers, one up front and one on the blueline, who &ndash; it was thought &ndash; could change the playoff fortunes of any team willing to part with enough tangible assets to land their services.</p><p>Hossa even made a difference, short-term anyway, for his employers, the Pittsburgh Penguins, who went all the way to the Stanley Cup final in no small part because he contended for the playoff scoring lead right up to the bitter end.</p><p>So now, here is Bouwmeester, who just turned 25 and with five full seasons under his belt, is still seeking his first taste of NHL playoff action. This is a source of frustration to him, in part because in the three-plus seasons he starred with the WHL&rsquo;s Medicine Hat Tigers, his team didn&rsquo;t make the playoffs either. It means his entire post-season experience beyond midget hockey consists of the 18 games he played for the AHL&rsquo;s Chicago Wolves during the 2004-05 lockout.</p><p>On the plus side, Bouwmeester did play upwards of 28 minutes per night for the Panthers last season, the most in the NHL. Yes, there were growing pains &ndash; almost inevitable for any defenseman who debuts in the NHL as a teenager &ndash; but last year, he legitimately showed signs of maturing into a front-of-the-line defenseman, someone capable of playing shutdown minutes late in games and providing offense from the back end.</p><p>Sadly for the Cats, Bouwmeester&rsquo;s development has coincided with the point in his career when someone else could snap him up, just as he enters his prime.</p><p>The job of forestalling that departure falls to Peter DeBoer, the Panthers&rsquo; new coach, who will try to get a team that is seven years and running out of the playoffs into the post-season this year, or at least challenging for a spot. Organizationally, the Panthers are at the opposite end of the pecking order from the Detroit Red Wings. Just as players gravitate towards Detroit in order to enhance their chances of winning a championship (which is how Hossa landed there), Florida is a departure point, thanks to its annual struggles to escape 11th place. That frustration &ndash; with the team&rsquo;s direction and its disheartening results &ndash; contributed to the exits of Roberto Luongo and Olli Jokinen. And when your top players abandon ship, it&rsquo;s difficult for the rest of the crew to find a reason to stay.</p><p>It&rsquo;s why Bouwmeester was unwilling to go long-term this past summer, settling the day before arbitration for a one-year contract that will pay him $4.875 million.</p><p>Now, the Panthers did succeed in getting their newest defenseman, Keith Ballard, to sign on for six years and other building blocks &ndash; Nathan Horton, Rostislav Olesz, Stephen Weiss &ndash; signed for the long haul as well, but none is as visible or viable as the young Bouwmeester.</p><p>He has evolved into a linchpin. On the open market at the trade deadline, where teams continue to pay premium prices even for rental players, the return on Bouwmeester would be significant.</p><p>If the Panthers find themselves in the playoff race, then it may not matter, because he&rsquo;ll be part of the reason they&rsquo;re competitive and perhaps he&rsquo;ll commit to the Cats for the long term.</p><p>If they don&rsquo;t, get out your spellcheck &ndash; because &lsquo;Bouwmeester&rsquo; is a name you&rsquo;ll be seeing, hearing and reading about everywhere when the silly season arrives in February.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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October 21, 2008

NHL TEAM REPORTS

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