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March 2, 2009
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.
Montoya still in mix
THE WORST THING ABOUT BEING the seldom-used backup goalie isn’t the effect sitting on the bench has on your game. Oh, sure, it’s obvious that facing shots only in practice isn’t best for development. Game action is where a goalie’s abilities are truly judged. But there’s still nothing worse for a goalie than having an idle mind. Especially for a goalie who has never been stuck in the backup role. Al Montoya has learned the hard way this season with the San Antonio Rampage. Once a can’t-miss prospect for the New York Rangers, Montoya, the sixth overall pick in 2004, is enduring the most trying season of his career. Between Nov. 28 and Feb. 8, he made just six starts and through the first four months of the season, he was 3-13-0 with a…
On the ice, in the alley
EVANDER KANE HAS a Giant appetite for goals. “He loves to score,” said Vancouver Giants GM Scott Bonner of his team’s 17-year-old center. “In the NHL, they talk about how Alex Ovechkin likes to score. Evander’s the same way. “At practice, Evander celebrates every goal he scores like it’s a feat. At times, he probably drives the other guys nuts, but they do respect it. I’ve never seen a guy in junior who loves to score as much as this guy does. He wants to be the best and he loves to compete.” A little too much, on occasion. “He’s a bit like the old Bryan Trottier-type guy who can do whatever you need,” Bonner continued. “If you need to play in the alley or play on the rink…he’s a competitive guy and he…
First to 50?
THERE WAS A TIME WHEN 50 goals was a virtually unassailable scoring mark in the NHL, a measure of performance that only the nicknamed few – the Rockets, Boom Booms and Golden Jets – were able to achieve. Fifty goals eventually became a significant, but not impossible scoring standard, as the NHL schedule lengthened from the 50 games it took Maurice Richard to break the 50-goal barrier for the first time to a high of 84 games played during the two-year experiment with neutral-site contests. Is Richard’s achievement – the same number of goals scored in far fewer games – more significant than the 14 players who made it to 50 in the 1992-93 season, including two (Jeremy Roenick and Brendan Shanahan) who both reached the milestone in the 84th game of…
Bench bosses getting swaped
Differing circumstances brought new coaches to a pair of Eastern Conference teams. The Ottawa Senators fired Craig Hartsburg and promoted second-year professional coach Cory Clouston from Binghamton. Ottawa assistant Curtis Hunt, also fired, accepted the Binghamton job. Longtime AHL assistant Mike Busniuk and Ottawa director of player development Randy Lee filled in until Hunt’s arrival. In Springfield, the Edmonton Oilers fired first-year coach Jeff Truitt and replaced him with Rob Daum, Houston’s former coach who had been working as a pro scout for Edmonton. PHANTOM FINALE The Philadelphia Phantoms will play their final regular season game at the Wachovia Spectrum April 11 against the arch-rival Hershey Bears. It is a change from the original schedule, which had Philadelphia hosting the Norfolk Admirals on Easter Sunday, April 12. Comcast-Spectacor sold a controlling share of the Phantoms franchise…
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