sport-scan daily brief - philadelphia flyers

SPORT-SCAN DAILY BRIEF NHL 8/23/2013

Anaheim Ducks 715666 Ducks' Selanne honored, still mum on future

Buffalo Sabres 715667 Source: Sabres hire Buffalo native Forton as assistant coach 715668 Rochester Amerks' schedule released

Calgary Flames 715669 Monahan, Dumba, Rattie headed to NHLPA rookie showcase

Carolina Hurricanes 715670 Russian winger Sergey Tolchinsky signs with Canes

Chicago Blackhawks 715671 Blackhawks sign Teravainen to 3-year deal 715672 Hawks agree to terms with Finnish draft pick 715673 Blackhawks agree to terms with Teravainen 715674 Jamal Mayers' family gets breakfast in a special cup

Dallas Stars 715675 New sweaters make Dallas Stars high risers in NHL uniform power rankings 715676 Tyler Seguin: Look at my resume; I can be leader of Dallas Stars 715677 Stars schedule annual `Ice Breaker' event for Sept. 7

Detroit Red Wings 715678 Red Wings' single-game tickets and Winter Festival tickets go on sale Saturday 715679 Pavel Datsyuk, asked about Russia's anti-gay law: 'I'm an orthodox, and that says it all' 715680 'It still works': Red Wings third in Uni Watch's NHL rankings 715681 Detroit Red Wings prospect Petr Mrazek invited to take part in NHLPA Rookie Showcase 715682 Detroit Red Wings have NHL's seventh-best group of forwards, says ESPN.com writer 715683 Could Detroit Red Wings' Pavel Datsyuk be wearing a 'C' on his jersey in 2014? It's a strong possibility

Edmonton Oilers 715684 The birth of advanced stats in the National Hockey League 715685 Marco Roy has some nice up arrows, but the Edmonton Oilers are going to have to wait a while

Los Angeles Kings 715686 Marco Roy has some nice up arrows, but the Edmonton Oilers are going to have to wait a while 715687 Stadium Series: No Kings-Ducks alumni game

Minnesota Wild 715688 Minnesota Wild 'stole' Ryan Suter, Nashville coach says

Montreal Canadiens 715689 Habs reach agreement in principle with defenceman Douglas Murray 715690 Newest Hab Murray: Swedish, smart, but not Cranky 715691 Canadiens sign free-agent defenceman Douglas Murray 715692 This is the heartwarming story of a former dead-end kid who found friendship and happiness on the Internet. 715693 Habs reach agreement with free-agent defenceman Douglas Murray

Nashville Predators 715694 Nashville Predators announce rookie camp roster

New York Rangers 715695 Rangers great Leetch nabs safety job with NHL 715696 Guest blogger: Papa Bear … Over/under for 2013-14

Ottawa Senators 715697 Tough task ahead for Kanata’s Spooner 715698 Ottawa Sens unveil rookie camp roster

Philadelphia Flyers 715699 Is this the worst of times in Philadelphia sports?

Phoenix Coyotes 715700 Recap: NHL introduces new Coyotes owners in Glendale

Pittsburgh Penguins 715701 Pittsburgh-born Saad savors his day with Stanley Cup 715702 Penguins release roster for annual rookie tournament 715703 Defenseman Murray signs with Montreal

San Jose Sharks 715704 Former Shark Murray finds new team

St Louis Blues 715705 Negotiations between Blues, Pietrangelo 'ongoing'

Tampa Bay Lightning 715706 Drouin tops Lightning roster for rookie camp, tournament

Toronto Maple Leafs 715707 Greediness of Maple Leafs franchise knows no bounds: DiManno 715708 Brian Burke: Rugby is tougher than hockey 715709 Patrick Burke, Brian Leetch join NHL safety department, smart move for Brendan Shanahan: Cox 715710 Brampton Beast of the Central Hockey League enters affiliation deal with Tampa Bay Lightning 715711 Tyler Seguin gets chance to be biggest Star in Dallas 715712 Connor McDavid, just 16 years old, tries to stay focused while training with NHL stars

Vancouver Canucks 715716 Vancouver Canucks re-sign Chris Tanev 715717 Canucks and Chris Tanev agree to one-year extension 715718 Canucks sign defenceman Chris Tanev

Washington Capitals 715713 Reports: Mikhail Grabovski agrees to one-year deal with Capitals 715714 Karl Alzner determined to prove he belongs on Canada’s Olympic team

Websites 715719 NBCSports.com / Luongo to Tortorella: ‘I just want to play’ 715720 USA TODAY / Canadiens agree to terms with Douglas Murray 715721 USA TODAY / Brian Leetch, Patrick Burke join Player Safety department 715722 USA TODAY / Islanders Fans: Looking Past the Coliseum

Winnipeg Jets 715715 Enstrom assault case goes awry SPORT-SCAN, INC. 941-284-4129

715666 Anaheim Ducks

Ducks' Selanne honored, still mum on future

By ERIC STEPHENS / ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

NEWPORT BEACH – Three simple words are long familiar to Teemu Selanne, and it didn’t take long for him to hear them ring out as he sat up at the front of the ballroom as the guest of honor Thursday night.

“One more year,” shouted a diner from among the hundreds that sat inside the tony Island Hotel.

Ducks right wing Teemu Selanne chats with donors before he was honored as Sportsman of the Year on Thursday by the Orange County Youth Sports Foundation at the Island Hotel in Newport Beach.

There was plenty of applause for Selanne as the longtime Ducks winger became the first hockey player honored as Sportsman of the Year by the Orange County Youth Sports Foundation.

But the hundreds in attendance didn’t get the answer they were hoping for to the question that was either blurted out in public or said to him in private. Not yet, at least.

Before he was honored and roasted a bit by a number of speakers, Selanne held to his plan of announcing next week whether he would return to the Ducks for what would be a 21st and presumably final season in the NHL.

The winger reiterated his plan to finish a busy week of charity events before meeting with Ducks brass to likely hammer out what his role would be on the team in the upcoming season and make a final decision.

“That’s the last piece of the puzzle,” Selanne said. “I just want to make sure that everybody is on the same page and we all feel the same way about the situation. That’s it. So far, so good.”

So the announcement that his legion of fans is pining for will have to wait. Selanne will go back to skating and working out as he has been doing at Anaheim Ice since returning to Southern California nearly two weeks ago.

The night was solely about recognizing an icon that has become a fixture in the Orange County sports scene and an adopted son of sorts who has embraced the region so that he will make it his home after he retires – now or later.

Selanne has long maintained a residence in the gated community of Coto de Caza and is slated to open a restaurant in Laguna Beach next month. He said he knew it could be a place to put down roots from the moment Winnipeg traded him to the Ducks in 1996.

“I remember the first morning when I ate breakfast after the trade,” he said. “Outside it was 85 degrees. I’m like, ‘This is heaven.’ I knew right away this is my place.

“Obviously coming from Finland where you get recognized so often and the same thing coming from Winnipeg, all of a sudden you have a totally different lifestyle. People didn’t recognize you and you could just (live) like a normal guy.

“It was something that really hit me.”

The Orange County Youth Sports Foundation has raised more than $2 million over the past four decades to help fund youth sports programs across the region and has given more than 150 college scholarships to student-athletes.

Past honorees include Tom Lasorda, Jerry West, Mike Scioscia, Bob Baffert, Tim Salmon, Matt Leinart, Mark Sanchez, Jim Nantz and Pete Carroll. Angels pitcher Jered Weaver was honored last year.

John Ursini, spokesman for the nonprofit organization, said honoring Selanne and his achievements in hockey had great meaning because of his ability to raise the Ducks’ profile in Orange County and his commitment to being part of the community.

“The goal of ours is obviously (to honor) a prominent athlete,” Ursini said. “The fact that he’s got kids in Orange County and has chose Orange County as where he’s going to raise his family is even more of a reason to be our honoree.”

Selanne humbly accepted an honor that caught him off guard.

“It’s a big thing to get recognized like that,” he said. “I didn’t really know what this meant until I saw the list in the past and who has won this before. There’s some unbelievable athletes there.

“Obviously it’s a big honor. It makes you feel good when you have done something good and people appreciate that too. It was a surprise but a nice surprise.”

Orange County Register: LOADED: 08.23.2013

715667 Buffalo Sabres

Source: Sabres hire Buffalo native Forton as assistant coach

A source has told The News that the Buffalo Sabres have added Buffalo native and former Niagara University assistant Jerry Forton as an assistant coach.

Forton, a UB graduate, is an 18-year collegiate coaching veteran who served as an assistant last season at Harvard.

Forton began his coaching career as an assistant at Niagara in 1996 and stayed with the program for 13 years, helping the Purple Eagles reach three NCAA Tournaments. He worked with forwards and defensemen, oversaw recruiting, scouted opponents and assisted with game strategy while at NU.

He left Niagara in 2009 and worked for two seasons as an assistant at UMass Lowell before moving on to Harvard.

Buffalo News LOADED: 08.23.2013

715668 Buffalo Sabres

Rochester Amerks' schedule released

Kevin Oklobzija

The Rochester Americans will have first shot at the defending Calder Cup champions when the American Hockey League season begins on Oct. 4.

The Gran Rapids Griffins will be the opponent for the Amerks’ 7:05 p.m. home opener, one of 19 Friday night home games on the Rochester schedule.

The second most popular night on the home schedule (in terms of games, anyway) is Wednesday, with 13 mid-week games. There are also are three Saturdays, two Sundays and one Monday matinee (3:05 p.m. on Veterans Day vs. Lake Erie).

The overload of Wednesdays and Fridays fits into the grand 3-R’s blueprint of the parent Buffalo Sabres: to provide a structured week-to-week schedule that ensures sufficient routine, rest and recuperation time for their prospects.

By playing 13 home Wednesdays, the Amerks avoid an overload of draining — and sometimes counter-productive — three-games-in-three-nights weekends. They have just three now: one February, March and April.

“The biggest thing is making sure our players develop and when you have that day between games (Thursday), it’s a little bit easier on their body,” Amerks coach Chadd Cassidy said.

“I really like the Wednesday-Friday-Saturday week so you get in that routine.”

Half of the 76 games will be played against North Division foes. Rochester has 10 each against the Lake Erie Monsters, Toronto Marlies and new Utica Comets, and there are eight against the Hamilton Bulldogs.

In terms of the number of different opponents, the Amerks will play 16 of the other 29 AHL teams as the Chicago Wolves, Milwaukee Admirals and Rockford IceHogs reappear on the calendar. The Amerks haven’t played the Admirals since 2006-07, and the Wolves and IceHogs since 2008-09.

The return of those three Midwest Division teams was part of a league-wide push to assure more schedule balance and integrity, since playoff positioning is based on conference finish. Last year, the Amerks didn’t face five Western Conference foes, even though they were competing against them for playoff berths.

“You always want to have a least four points up in the air for teams you’re battling against in the standings,” Cassidy said.

For the Amerks to achieve better conference balance, games against the Adirondack Phantoms and Albany Devils were dropped (four vs. each), and the Amerks will play the Syracuse Crunch two fewer times (now a total of four home, four road).

The Amerks will not play two Western teams, the Abbotsford Heat and Charlotte Checkers.

There is one game scheduled for First Niagara Center in Buffalo — Feb. 8 against Grand Rapids. That’s a change from a previously announced date (Oct. 30). The new date falls during the Sabres’ Olympic shutdown.

The Amerks did need the AHL’s schedule-maker to be creative, since they will participate in the annual Spengler Cup in Switzerland Dec. 26-Dec. 31. The tentative departure date for Europe is Dec. 23, so the Amerks’ final AHL game before the break is Dec. 21 at Lake Erie, and they will resume the regular season on Jan. 3 at Utica.

Democrat and Chronicle LOADED: 08.23.2013

715669 Calgary Flames

Monahan, Dumba, Rattie headed to NHLPA rookie showcase

Calgary Flames prospect Sean Monahan is among 27 players invited to the 11th annual 2013 NHLPA rookie showcase, set for next Tuesday in Toronto.

The sixth overall pick in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft will join such notable prospects as Nathan MacKinnon, Jonathan Drouin and Brendan Gallagher.

Calgarian Mathew Dumba, a Minnesota Wild prospect, and Airdrie’s Ty Rattie, a St. Louis Blues draft pick, are also attending the event.

RODEO TIME

Fresh off the success of the first year of his Glencross Invitational Charity Roughstock Event, Calgary Flames forward Curtis Glencross is looking forward to the second one, set for Friday at Daines Rodeo Grounds in Innisfail.

“Last year we could not believe the support we received from sponsors from all over,” said Glencross, noting the event raised $196,000 for Ronald McDonald House in Red Deer and the Hockey Alberta Foundation.

Gates open at 5 p.m., with events starting at 5:30 p.m. A poker tourney will be held in Red Deer before the rodeo for event sponsors.

Calgary Herald: LOADED: 08.23.2013

715670 Carolina Hurricanes

Russian winger Sergey Tolchinsky signs with Canes

By Chip Alexander — [email protected]

RALEIGH — Invited to the Carolina Hurricanes' prospect development camp in July, Sergey Tolchinsky was looking to make a favorable impression.

The Russian forward did -- with his speed, skill, scoring, attitude and personality.

The Canes on Thursday signed Tolchinsky to a three-year, entry-level contract. It will pay him $550,000 at the NHL level or $55,000 at the American Hockey League level in the first year; $550,000 in the NHL or $67,500 in the AHL in the second year; and $575,000 in the NHL or $67,500 in the AHL in the third year. He also received a $150,000 signing bonus.

Tolchinsky, 18, played this past season for the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). He finished with 26 goals and 25 assists, and a plus-8 plus/minus rating in 62 regular-season games.

But when the 2013 NHL Entry Draft was held at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., Tolchinsky did not hear his name called. He attended the New York Rangers rookie camp just after the draft, then was invited to Carolina's camp.

What the 5-8, 165-pound Tolchinsky lacked in size, he made up for with energized play on the ice. He scored twice in a scrimmage at PNC Arena, causing Canes coach Kirk Muller to say, "He's probably the biggest surprise or explosive guy this week. … He plays hard and he produces."

Tolchinsky, a Moscow native, shrugged off any concerns about his lack of size, noting, "Everyone says my size is a bad thing but I think it's a good thing in that being smaller I can be faster and quicker. I love fast hockey."

Tolchinsky will be competing for the Hurricanes next month in the Traverse City (Mich.) rookie tournament hosted by the Detroit Red Wings. Others on the Canes' 22-man roster are forward Elias Lindholm, Carolina's first-round draft pick this year, and defenseman Ryan Murphy, the team's first-round pick in 2011.

The Canes open the eight-team event Sept. 5 against the New York Rangers, then face the Columbus Blue Jackets Sept. 6 before finishing round-robin play against the Buffalo Sabres on Sept. 8. Each of the eight teams play a final game Sept. 9 to determine final tournament ranking.

Carolina won the event in 2009. Zach Boychuk and former Canes center Brandon Sutter scored and Mike Murphy was in net as the Canes topped the Minnesota Wild 4-1 in the title game.

NOTE; The Charlotte Checkers, the Canes' AHL affiliate, announced Thursday they will play two games at PNC Arena -- Feb. 14 and Feb. 16, both against Abbotsford. The games are scheduled during the NHL's Olympic break for the 2014 Winter Games.

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/08/22/3128099/russian-winger-sergey-tolchinsky.html#storylink=cpy

News Observer LOADED: 08.23.2013

715671 Chicago Blackhawks

Blackhawks sign Teravainen to 3-year deal

By Chris Kuc

The Chicago Blackhawks locked in some of their future when they agreed to terms with forward Teuvo Teravainen on a three-year contract Thursday.

The 18-year-old Teravainen was the Hawks' first-round selection (18th overall) in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft. He had 13 goals and 18 assists in 44 regular-season games with SM-liiga’s Jokerit of the Finnish League last season. The Helsinki, Finland, native was the league’s rookie of the year in 2011-12 after recording 11 goals and seven assists.

Tervainen was among the top players at the 2013 under-20 world championship with five goals and six assists in six games. It is expected Teravainen will remain in Europe for one more year before coming to North America to play.

"(Teravainen) may be the top center on the team over in Jokerit this upcoming season," Hawks general manager Stan Bowman said in July. "We’re really pleased with his progress. We’re really looking forward to having him in a Blackhawks uniform at some point here because he’s a special player and I think he’s going to electrify fans for a long time."

Meanwhile, the Hawks announced Thursday they would participate in the 2013 rookie tournament in London, Ontario, from Sept. 5-8. Hawks prospects will compete in three games against rookie teams from the Ottawa Senators, Pittsburgh Penguins and Toronto Maple Leafs.

Among those HAwks prospects expected to attend are former first-round draft choices Dylan Olsen (2009), Mark McNeill (2011) and Phillip Danault (2011). Drew LeBlanc, who appeared in two games with the Hawks last season after capturing the Hobey Baker Award as the top player in college, is also on the roster.

Chicago Tribune LOADED: 08.23.2013


Hawks agree to terms with Finnish draft pick

By Tim Sassone

When the Blackhawks made forward Teuvo Teravainen the 18th pick in the 2012 NHL draft, there were quick comparisons to Patrick Kane because of his size and skill level.

On Thursday, the Hawks signed the 5-foot-11, 169-pound Teravainen to a three-year, entry-level contract.

According to what Hawks general manager Stan Bowman said at the team's prospects camp and then at the convention last month, the 18-year-old Teravainen oozes skill.

"We're really looking forward to having him in a Blackhawks uniform at some point because he's a special player," Bowman said at the prospects camp in July. "I think he's going to electrify fans for a long time."

Then, at the convention, Bowman again was asked about Teravainen.

"Teuvo, I think, is going to be a superb talent when he gets here," Bowman said.

When Teravainen actually plays for the Hawks is not known despite the fact he is signed. The plan now is for him to return for a third season in Finland's top pro league, SM-liiga, where he ranked fifth on Jokerit with a career-high 31 points in 44 regular-season games last season.

The Helsinki, Finland, native was the league's rookie of the year in 2011-12 after posting 18 points in 40 games.

It's rare that Bowman gushes over a prospect like he does with Teravainen.

"He had a very good season last year," Bowman said in July. "I think he's going to play a real big role on their team next year. I think he may be the top center on the team over in Jokerit this upcoming season. We're really pleased with his progress. I think he's gained some strength. He needed to get stronger and he still does. He's worked at it."

Teravainen didn't attend the Hawks' prospects camp while preparing to compete with Finland's Under-20 team at the U.S. national junior evaluation camp in Lake Placid, N.Y.

The Hockey News has ranked Teravainen as the Hawks' top prospect.

Also on Thursday, the Hawks announced their roster for the 2013 Rookie Tournament, which will take place at Budweiser Gardens in London, Ontario, from Sept. 5-8.

The team includes 22 players (13 forwards, seven defensemen and two goaltenders), and will be coached by Rockford's Ted Dent and assistant Mark Osiecki.

Hawks prospects will compete in three games against rookie teams from the Ottawa Senators, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Toronto Maple Leafs.

The Hawks' roster includes former first-round draft choices in defenseman Dylan Olsen (2009) and centers Mark McNeill (2011) and Phillip Danault (2011).

Center Drew LeBlanc, who played two games in the NHL last season with the Hawks, will also participate in the tournament along with winger Garret Ross.

LeBlanc won the Hobey Baker Award as the top player in college hockey last season with St. Cloud State.

Daily Herald Times LOADED: 08.23.2013


Blackhawks agree to terms with Teravainen

The Chicago Blackhawks figured forward Teuvo Teravainen would be long gone by the time their first-round selection rolled around in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft. But come that 18th overall pick, Teravainen was there, and soon theirs.

Now he’s signed for a few years with them, too.

The Blackhawks agreed to terms with Teravainen on a three-year contract on Thursday afternoon. The 18-year-old Teravainen had a career-high 31 points (13 goals, 18 assists) in 44 regular-season games with Jokerit of the SM-liiga (Finnish Elite League). He was that league’s rookie of the year in 2011-12.

Upon drafting the young Finn in 2012, Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman called Teravainen “a dynamic offensive player with great hands and the ability to make plays. He’s got great speed and is a really gifted offensive player. The talent that you can get at that level, picking at the 18th spot, is pretty impressive.”

Teravainen recorded five goals and six assists in six games at the 2013 U20 World Championship.

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 08.23.2013


Jamal Mayers' family gets breakfast in a special cup

Sara Vallone

The Stanley Cup has made its way back to the United States and after a good time of running errands and boating with Coach Q, the Cup gets its day with right wing Jamal Mayers in St. Louis, Missouri.

Lord Stanley's cup helped make the most important meal of the day a little better for Mayers and his little ones.


715675 Dallas Stars

New sweaters make Dallas Stars high risers in NHL uniform power rankings

By SPORTSDAYDFW.COM

ESPN.com uniform guru Paul Lukas is in the process of unveiling his uniform power rankings for all 122 professional teams and the Stars may have the hottest new uniforms in all of sports.

In the NHL specific rankings, the new uniforms caused the Stars to jump 17 spots, the most of any team. Unfortunately the large jump only put them in the middle of the pack. They ranked 29th last year. They're up to No. 12 this year.

"The new uniforms, unveiled in June, mark a welcome return to aesthetic respectability for the Stars," Lukas wrote. "The only gripe here is that the new set doesn't include gold, making this the first gold-free design in team history (dating back to the franchise's Minnesota North Stars days) -- a shame, since green and gold go so well together."

The full 1-122 ranking comes out on Friday.

Dallas Morning News LOADED: 08.23.2013

715676 Dallas Stars

Tyler Seguin: Look at my resume; I can be leader of Dallas Stars

By SPORTSDAYDFW.COM

Tyler Seguin is 21 years old and reports of his partying lifestyle surface upon his departure from the Bruins, but he told the Toronto Star that he has enough to experience to be a leader in his first year with the Stars.

“In Boston, there were a lot of great players, a lot of veterans, guys who have seen a lot,” Seguin said. “I want to earn my way around Dallas, (taking a) young leadership role. If you look at my resume, it has those things required to make me a leader with what I’ve been through already.”

With 42 playoff games played in his three years in the league, Seguin has more postseason experience than all but five Stars. He also won the Stanley Cup with the Bruins in 2011, his first year in the league

“I know what it’s like to taste it (the Stanley Cup),” Seguin said. “I know what it’s like to lose it. I don’t know the taste of not making the playoffs, and I hope I never do.

“I think the taste for success has made me more driven as a player. Even being young, I hope to bring a lot of that experience to a locker room.”


715677 Dallas Stars

Stars schedule annual `Ice Breaker' event for Sept. 7

MIKE HEIKA / REPORTER

Here is the info:

Break out the Victory Green and make plans to attend the 2013 Dallas Stars Ice Breaker on September 7th at the Galleria Dallas. Spend the day meeting select Dallas Stars players and skating with the Stars Ice Girls. The Ice Breaker event is free and open to the public.

When:

Saturday, September 7th

Open skate with the Ice Girls: 10:00am-1:00pm

Dallas Stars autograph signing: 11:00am-1:00pm

Where:

Galleria Dallas: 13350 Dallas Pkwy, Dallas, TX 75240

http://stars.nhl.com/club/page.htm?id=91483&navid=DL|DAL|home


715678 Detroit Red Wings

Red Wings' single-game tickets and Winter Festival tickets go on sale Saturday

Detroit Free Press Staff

The Detroit Red Wings today announced that single-game tickets will go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday.

In addition to game tickets, tickets for events in the Hockeytown Winter Festival at Comerica Park in December will also be available.

Fans can purchase individual game tickets at the Joe Louis Arena Box Office, Hockeytown Authentics in Troy, or online at www.DetroitRedWings.com or www.ticketmaster.com . Single-game tickets are subject to availability and normal fees apply.

There is a two-ticket limit for Nick Lidstrom Night on March 6 vs. the Colorado Avalanche, as well as for contests on March 18 vs. the Toronto Maple Leafs and March 27 against Montreal. A four-ticket limit applies to all premium home games.

There are also tickets as low as $9 in limited quantities for all home games in October, November and December. Fans can buy up to four tickets for a maximum of two games for $9 per seat. This offer is available only at the Joe Louis Arena Box Office at 10 a.m. Saturday.

Tickets for most events at the Hockeytown Winter Festival are to go on sale for as low as $18. Events available include the Great Lakes Invitational on Dec. 27 (Michigan State vs. Michigan Tech at 3:30 p.m. and Western Michigan vs. Michigan at 7 p.m.) and Dec. 28 (consolation game at 3:30 p.m. and championship game at 7 p.m.); an Ontario Hockey League doubleheader on Dec. 29 (Windsor Spitfires vs. Saginaw Spirit at 1:30 p.m. and London Knights vs. Plymouth Whalers at 5 p.m.); and an American Hockey League contest between the Toronto Marlies and Grand Rapids Griffins on Dec. 30 at 5 p.m. Hockeytown Winter Festival start times are subject to change due to weather.

Detroit Free Press LOADED: 08.23.2013


Pavel Datsyuk, asked about Russia's anti-gay law: 'I'm an orthodox, and that says it all'

Posted by James Jahnke

The Eurotwins often seem like they’re thinking the same thing on the ice. But when it comes to hot-button political issues, maybe not so much.

Last week, Henrik Zetterberg ripped Russia’s law banning “homosexual propaganda,” saying, “It’s unbelievable that it can be this way in this time, especially in a big country like Russia.”

Today, his Detroit Red Wings teammate Pavel Datsyuk seemed to take a different stance on the issue, without coming right out and saying it.

Asked about the swirling controversy in his homeland, Datsyuk said, “I’m an orthodox, and that says it all,” according to sports.ru hockey reporter Igor Eronko.

Now, we simple sport folk aren’t terribly well-versed in orthodox ideology, but simple Google searches seemed to confirm our suspicion that Pav doesn’t agree with Z.

Detroit Free Press LOADED: 08.23.2013


'It still works': Red Wings third in Uni Watch's NHL rankings

The Detroit News

Uni Watch’s fourth pro sports uniform rankings on Thursday featured the NHL and the Red Wings checked in at No. 3 -- and deservedly so, says us, for something as iconic as the red winged wheel.

The rankings, established by Uni Watch’s Paul Lukas, were published this week at ESPN.com.

Lukas writes: “Imagine the reaction if someone came up with the Red Wings' design today: ‘No, sorry, it's too plain -- can you add some black accents? And the logo has too much subtle detail. And where's the alternate uniform?’ Fortunately, nobody was worried about any of those things back in 1932, when the Wings came out with their basic look. Eight decades later, it still works. Bonus points for the vertically arched lettering on the player names.”

The Canadiens and Bruins repeated as the top two teams, respectively, in the rankings. The Wings replaced the Rangers at No. 3 while the Rangers dropped one spot from last year’s rankings.

To review, the Tigers ranked No. 6 in MLB, the Pistons No. 12 in the NBA and the Lions No. 27 in the NFL.

From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20130822/SPORTS0103/308220076#ixzz2cmR0FeWR

Detroit News LOADED: 08.23.2013


Detroit Red Wings prospect Petr Mrazek invited to take part in NHLPA Rookie Showcase

Brendan Savage | [email protected] By Brendan Savage | [email protected]

For the fourth straight year, a member of the Detroit Red Wings organization has been invited to take part in the NHLPA Rookie Showcase.

This year, it will be goaltender Petr Mrazek representing the Red Wings Aug. 27 in Toronto.

The event was designed to allow the NHL's two official trading card companies to take photos of the league's top prospects in their team uniforms. The pictures will be used for trading cards and memorabilia launches.

Mrazek, who won his NHL debut 5-1 over St. Louis last season in one of two games with the Red Wings, is among 27 players who have been invited to take part in the event.

Other players who have been invited to the Rookie Showcase include the top two picks in this year's draft, Nathan Mackinnon (Colorado) and Aleksander Barkov (Florida).

Last year, Red Wings prospect Tomas Jurco was invited to take part in the event after Brendan Smith (2011) and Tomas Tatar (2010) both received invitations the previous two years.

This is the fifth year for the Rookie Showcase.

Here is the complete list of players invited to this year's event:

Nathan MacKinnon (Avalanche), Tyler Biggs (Maple Leafs), Brendan Gallagher (Canadiens), Jonathan Drouin (Lightning), Cory Conacher (Senators), Bo Horvat (Canucks), Sean Monahan (Flames), Malcolm Subban (Bruins), Christian Thomas (Canadiens), Aleksander Barkov (Panthers), Adam Clendening (Blackhawks), Mathew Dumba (Wild), Mikhail Grigorenko (Sabres), Tomas Hertl (Sharks), Boone Jenner (Blue Jackets), Nic Jensen (Canucks), Danny Kristo (Rangers), Dylan McIlrath (Rangers), Mark McNeill (Blackhawks), Jon Merrill (Devils), Petr Mrazek (Red Wings), Valeri Nichushkin (Stars), Tanner Pearson (Kings), Derrick Pouliot (Penguins), Matt Puempel (Senators), Ty Rattie (Blues), Tom Wilson (Capitals)

Michigan Live LOADED: 08.23.2013


Detroit Red Wings have NHL's seventh-best group of forwards, says ESPN.com writer


When it comes to the players who skate up front, the Detroit Red Wings have the seventh-best set of forwards in the NHL, according to ESPN.com writer Craig Custance.

Custance ranked the NHL's top forward groups and the Red Wings checked in behind Pittsburgh, Stanley Cup champion Chicago, Los Angeles, Edmonton, Boston and Philadelphia.

GM Ken Holland had one of his best offseasons in recent years, and the forward group is the biggest beneficiary -- Craig Custance, ESPN.com

Forwards were the Red Wings' target in free agency this summer as they signed right wing Daniel Alfredsson and center Stephen Weiss.

Alfredsson spent the first 17 seasons of his NHL career with Ottawa before signing a one-year, $5.5-million deal with the Red Wings in July. Weiss spent his first 11 NHL seasons in Florida before signing a five-year, $24.5-million deal with Detroit.

Custance likes both moves.

"GM Ken Holland had one of his best offseasons in recent years, and the forward group is the biggest beneficiary," Custance wrote. "The surprising addition of Daniel Alfredsson gives Holland the veteran eager to win a Stanley Cup he likes to have on his roster. And Alfredsson, as he showed in the playoffs, can still play at 40 years old. Stephen Weiss replaces Valtteri Filppula and is more of a natural center with better playmaking abilities.

Custance, who said Holland still needs to find a way to re-sign veteran forward Daniel Cleary, also provided some insight from an NHL talent evaluator:

"I think Alfie will have a good year," the evaluator said. "He can still skate. He's smart. You get him in that environment for a year -- he'll be all juiced up around good friends. He'll be fine. He'll be a really good player. Weiss is the interesting one for me. I'm just interested ... I just don't know. He's a good player but he's been a good player on a bad team for a lot of years. We'll see."

The top 10 was rounded out by the New York Rangers, St. Louis and Colorado.



Could Detroit Red Wings' Pavel Datsyuk be wearing a 'C' on his jersey in 2014? It's a strong possibility


Captain Pavel Datsyuk?

The title could fit soon.

Not with the Detroit Red Wings, of course. Henrik Zetterberg is entrenched in that role after succeeding Nicklas Lidstrom a year ago.

Do I dream of the role of captain? My dream is to help the team. Whether I will be captain or not has no meaning -- Pavel Datsyuk

But Datsyuk could very well wear the "C" for the host team in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

Other possible candidates include Ilya Kovalchuk, who was the Russian captain in the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, and Ilya Nikulin, who wore the "C" at this summer's World Championships.

To Datsyuk, the most important thing isn't who serves as team captain next winter. It's winning the Russia's first gold in hockey since 1988 in Calgary.

"Do I dream of the role of captain? My dream is to help the team," Datsyuk asked in a story by R-Sport. "Whether I will be captain or not has no meaning. I'm ready for the pressure that will be exerted upon us. "The closer we get to the Olympics, the greater it's going to get ... but we saw how the Canadians coped with the pressure in Vancouver," he said of the 2010 Olympic champion, also the host nation. We need to learn how to do this."

Datsyuk has appeared in the Olympics three times while also representing Russia five times in the World Championships.

He helped the Russians win the bronze medal in 2002 in Salt Lake City and also suited up in the 2006 and 2010 Olympics.

Datsyuk is an alternate captain for the Red Wings.


715684 Edmonton Oilers

The birth of advanced stats in the National Hockey League

David Staples

Roger Neilson and his asst. Ron Smith led the way in rating the two-way play of NHL players

The biggest and most lasting leap in advanced stats in the National Hockey League was the first one.

It came in 1977, when Roger Neilson, a non-NHLer, a former high school math teacher and career high school and junior hockey coach, took over as head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Neilson brought in a whole series of advanced stats techniques, most importantly the use of videotape to come up with individual scoring chance numbers for his team.

That Toronto team is remembered for being led by stars in their hockey prime such as Darryl Sittler, Lanny McDonald, Ian Turnbull and Borje Salming. After picking up tough guy winger Dan Maloney near the end of the regular season, the Leafs advanced into the third round of the NHL playoffs.sittler The birth of advanced stats in the National Hockey League

But it was Neilson’s contribution that has left the most lasting mark on hockey.

Neilson died in 2003 before advanced stats became the rage among NHL fans. He was never interviewed at length about his work on advanced stats, but by the time of his death most NHL teams were using the techniques he had invented and advocated. And while he’s gone, his right hand man, Ron Smith, is around to describe Neilson’s breakthrough and his thinking.

Smith, who recently retired as a pro scout with the Carolina Hurricanes, worked with Neilson nine years in the NHL, starting in Toronto, then Buffalo, Vancouver and New York.

In the mid-1970s, Smith was part of a huge group of amateur and university coaches in Canada, all hustling to bring more rational approaches to hockey development in Canada in the wake of the Soviet Union’s rapid movement towards hockey excellence. Smith ran the hockey development program for the Ontario Hockey Association, organizing hundreds of coaching clinics across the province.

He also coached junior hockey “A” hockey at Guelph and the team at York University. Neilson would come in and coach and speak at clinics.

When Neilson got the Leafs job in 1976, it was a big moment for career minor hockey, non-NHLer coaches like Smith. “It was kind of emotional. It really signalled a big change in the game. He was the first guy pretty much to come out of that kind of background. …. Most coaches at that time were all ex-players and didn’t use assistants and didn’t use any innovation in their game.”

In 1976, there was only one assistant coach in the NHL, Barry Ashbee in Philadelphia. Smith came on at first part-time with the Leafs in 1976, as they weren’t prepared to hire a full-time assistant.

They key stat is scoring chances

Roger Neilson

Roger Neilson

Among Smith’s job was video analysis of all the Leafs games, a first in the NHL. Neilson had first used reel-to-reel videotape for hockey analysis in his Peterborough days in the late 1960s, Smith says.

Smith tried to get an exchange program going on video with the other teams. Boston refused to do it, so Smith made a deal with the local TV truck operator, giving him $20 for a videotape.

“We analyzed basically every game after it was played in depth. It meant looking at the tape, breaking it down.”

The coaches used video to show certain situations to players, areas where they could improve. From the videotape, they also did their own set of statistics.

“The key one that we found — and I still believe to this day — is tallying a good scoring chance, what it involves, who was involved, why it happened.”

They kept a year-long study of scoring chances, something most teams now do. “I would bet that you now that every coach in the National Hockey League does it.”

Most teams have a video guy who is marking them as they happen, and within 15 minutes of the end of the game can give the coach all the scoring chances.

“I did a lot of the analysis. When I worked with (Roger), I was up most nights after a game doing the analysis. It would take about three hours to do the recording and video breakdown. Now it’s all done by the time the game is over. They got everything done on the computer.”

Why focus on the scoring chance?

“We just felt there is so much stuff in the game, and it’s not as scripted as other sports, but there had to be sort of a common thing that really indicated what happened in the game, and as far as we could see it was generating a good scoring chance. We didn’t care so much about shots on goals, although obviously a lot of them were scoring chances.

“We just felt that a legitimate, dangerous chance that the goalie probably had to make a tough save on would tell us about the game. There’s the odd game where your team would get 18 scoring chances and the other team would get seven and you’d lose, but by in large it told you what the true tale of the game was more than anything else.

“The big thing on top of that is you’d end up getting a really good look at just what kinds of things were causing you trouble, or causing you to do really good things. Were you doing really well on the rush, but not so good on the forecheck? Were your mistakes in front of our net with defensive coverage? Were guys getting caught up ice? So we ended up with categories, that you just put each scoring chance into one of these categories, and after awhile you’d have a pretty good look at what you had to work on, what was your weakness, what was your strength?”

On each scoring chance, what would you record?

“The type of chance. It might be a rush. It might be a forecheck where you went in and got the puck turned over. … lt could be offensive zone play, the whole cycling bit that goes on. We’d also identify the guy involved primarily, the guy who got it, and we’d usually give credit to a guy who was involved in that play, a great pass or whatever.”

Would you go so far as to give credit to the guy who screened the net on the chance, for instance?

“Yes. Absolutely.”

In Toronto in the first year, Neilson and Smith would post player stats for each game on hits, shots and scoring chances, as well as give each player a one-through-five rating. “That was pretty revolutionary and pretty dangerous for the NHL guys who had never had that before. I think their was some skepticism, but I’ll tell you one thing in the morning when that sheet went up, there’d be a crowd around it pretty quick to find out.”

Hits were not an official stat then, but Neilson and Smith recorded them. Smith made a deal with his NHL vets, that if they got three hits they were fine, if they got two, they owned him a buck, and if they got more than three, he owed them a buck. “I never lost money, but they tried.”

King Clancy

King Clancy

Some players didn’t list this kind of accountability, Smith says. It was a different age in the NHL, when the idea of cross-over or over-lapping on the attack wasn’t yet accepted. Using pylons in practice wasn’t the norm. “Oh my god (Hall of Fame player and former Leafs owner Harold Ballard’s crony) King Clancy just about frothed at the mouth when he saw us on the ice running a practice with pylons on the ice.

“There was a lot of skepticism about anything new.”

Smith never measured passing stats because he says the coaches knew instinctively who was doing it and who was not. “We didn’t need stats to tell us that Hawerchuk was a great passer, or Gretzky, who would go 30 or 40 games in a row without making a bad pass. I don’t think we needed that.”

Using videotape to eliminate false positives and negatives

The system Neilson and Smith developed to study scoring chances was a vast improvement on the existing plus-minus system. In traditional plus-minus, every single player on the ice for a goal gets a plus or a minus whether or not they had anything to do with the play. This system of rating the two-way play of players — be it on goals or shots or shots-at net (Corsi) – is problematic, as false positive and negative marks are handed out about 40 per cent of the time.

“We just felt the real pure and legitimate way of analyzing the game was first of all the scoring chance. And we did it both ways, on scoring chances against. And we’d identify the problems, and keep track of who was causing the problems, and at the end of ten games you could give a really complete report card to the guys.”

On the Leafs, Smith found himself studying the advanced stats, not the official stats, to get a fair take on his players.

“I just never felt, and Roger didn’t either, that (official) plus-minus was very meaningful. You knew that the guy could be 100 feet away from the puck that his partner gave away, and they score a goal and he gets a minus. Why? So that’s why the scoring chances really supplanted plus-minus in my mind as an indicator of what kind of player a guy is.”

Of course, forwards would earn more plus marks than defencemen in this system, while defence were much more likely to get a minus mark, given their role. “Defence are the ones that have to fight off rushes and win battles in front and get the puck out for sure. They’ve got a much, much bigger job in that area that the forwards have.”

What would get you a minus mark on a scoring chance against?

“Well, you could be the third guy (high in the offensive zone) and you’d get caught and make it a three-on-two. You could be the defenceman who gets caught. It could be a bad read by a defenceman, who overplays and leaves one guy loose. You could be out-fought in front of the net. It could be a giveaway, which is pretty common, a straight giveaway leading to the scoring chance.”

If one defenceman was +30 and another defenceman was -30 on scoring chances, did you start to feel this was a pretty accurate measure of their real contribution to the game?

“Yeah, the odd time, you’d forgive something and you’d say, ‘I don’t care what his stats are, he’s playing great for us.’ But, by in large, it reflected what he was as a player.”

One player who did well by this was defensive d-man Bill Hajt in Buffalo. “It was incredible the limited number of mistakes he made. In those days, the pressure on you wasn’t nearly as severe as it is today in terms of speed, but his numbers were incredible. Relative to everybody else, it was like a great shortstop in the major league who makes five errors in a season. You know, it’s so low that you can’t believe it.”

Smith and Neilson drew their scoring chance zone from the posts to the face off dots, straight back to the top of circle, then over to the other top of the circle, and called this “the House.”

“We had to evaluate the difficulty of the shot, but almost any decent shot in there, you’d say, ‘Well, that was a scoring chance.’ The goalies today make it look like they are not difficult these days. The odd time a long screened shot through traffic would sometimes be classified (as a scoring chance). If a guy got a two-on-one and missed the net, we probably gave him one because that reflected a dangerous chance.”

If a shot hit the post, it was counted as a chance. “Unless it was a 60-footer that hit the post.

“Roger and I would sometimes argue about what a scoring chance was and wasn’t. If we had 25 in a game, there might be three or four that I didn’t agree with, or if he did it, I’d be the same way.”

All goals scored were counted as scoring chances, even long shots that fluked in: “Because goals are what you’re trying to get.”

When it came to rating players, Smith always felt more comfortable watching the game, analyzing it and keeping an ongoing record. “So every ten games you could give a really objective report to the player. A lot of positive, some of it may not be. The players, they know. You can’t fool them very much. So I think it was important to me to be accurate when I showed them stuff, that I wasn’t way off base.”

When he did scouting for Carolina, Smith kept track of scoring chances during the game. It made him feel comfortable in his assessments of

individual players. “It really help me focus on the game instead of sitting there with a glaze over your eyes trying to get through it.”

“I felt I could do it in a general way live but it’s not nearly as detailed or accurate as watching video.”

Smith says a team could get together a group of 20 or 30 raters and get number on the entire league for a year. To eliminate individual bias, it would be necessary to have a workshop to set standards, he says.

How important was videotape?

“To be totally accurate, if you’re going to do a season-long catalogue, you have got to do the video.”

Smith says once more non-NHLers became NHL coaches it became more of a profession in the mid-1980s, more tied to traditional teaching, and the use of statistics became more part of the game.

“The way was much clearer for doing something teaching wise or analytical.”

Smith says analytical work should be married up with traditional scouting to rate players.

In the end, Smith was doing 180 or 190 games a year on video. A group of people like him could team up with others and do the work.

“There’s always be some skepticism about video. People say, ‘You can’t see the whole game.’ Well, you can see the whole game, plus, plus, plus. You’re seeing all the replays and from different angles. There’s not a better seat in the house than that, and there’s not a worse seat in the house than sitting in the press box.

“I think I was way more accurate watching games on video than I was watching live.”

Edmonton Journal: LOADED: 08.23.2013

715685 Edmonton Oilers

Marco Roy has some nice up arrows, but the Edmonton Oilers are going to have to wait a while

Bruce McCurdy

Edmonton Oilers Prospects: #8 Marco Roy

It’s hard to forecast exactly what the Edmonton Oilers got in Marc-Olivier Roy, a scoring winger with the powerful Blainville-Boisbriand Armada of the Quebec League. Safest prediction is that it’s going to take a little while to find out. That he already ranks in the top handful of Oilers forward prospects perhaps says more about the group than it does about Roy himself.

By the time he arrived in Edmonton for development camp a few days after Edmonton took him in the second round of the 2013 NHL Draft, Roy had contracted his hyphenated name to “Marco”, likely avoiding considerable confusion with Oilers’ goalie prospect Olivier Roy (#21 in our summer rankings) in the process. Thoughtful of him.

Red Line Report had an enthusiastic review of Roy’s capabilities, ranking him 39th overall. Upon reading this glowing profile, one might wonder, why so low?

While thought of as a grinder who brings passion and intensity to each shift (which is accurate), that is short-changing his skill level. Good skater with speed and balance, and accelerates well. Wins a lot of races for loose pucks and is always 1st into corners. Works his bag off every shift and comes back hard on the backcheck. He’s an absolute buzzsaw with a motor that never quits. If his team loses the puck, he wants to go and get it back immediately. Stays in constant motion in the offensive zone, making him very difficult to check or contain. Soft hands for both giving and receiving passes. Gets shots away quickly around the slot and shows good accuracy. Competes like a bastard and always has his head in the game. Rugged and persistent on the forecheck. Reliable player at both ends who is continually improving. Also 6’1″ with a nice frame to fill out.

(Who wrote that, his agent?)

Prospect expert Corey Pronman was more muted in his praise of Roy in his pre-draft rankings at Hockey Prospectus. He rated the 6’0, 175-pound right winger at #70, in part due to a lower opinion of Marco’s “every shift” consistency. His opening sentence raises another important consideration:

Roy is a late 1994 birthdate, and his late eligibility gave him extra time to take the next step in his development. That advantage allowed him to put up solid numbers in the QMJHL this season. Roy’s best skill is his skating, which is plus, as he can jet through the neutral zone with impressive top speed. He is a technically sound skater, and he is very elusive in tight. I have heard different takes on his offensive upside. One scout thinks he projects as an average offensive player, while another says his offensive instincts and puck play are very good but classifies his offensive potential as above-average. Roy has roughly average size, and his physical game can be inconsistent. He will, at times, show fine on-ice effort, but there will be times where he can drift off to the perimeter, while not overly impressing.

As the old saying goes, “somewhere in the middle, the truth lies”. The Oilers did snag Roy almost smack dab in the middle between #39 and #70, using the #56 overall pick obtained from Anaheim in the Andrew Cogliano trade to select the skilled forward.

The right winger was the youngest of four core scorers on the powerful Armada, who may have played second-line minutes but took advantage of a strong powerplay, where he scored 16 of his 35 goals over 80 regular season and playoff games.

Marco Roy career stats

A couple of nice things that jump off the screen are Roy’s steady season-over-season improvement and his consistently outstanding performance in the playoffs. Check out these points per game averages from his last four seasons:

MarcoRoyplayoffs

Small sample sizes in the second season, needless to say, but a substantial step-up in production each spring. Over his four years in midget

and junior, Roy has averaged 0.85 points per game during the season, but an eye-catching 1.50 in the playoffs. Suggestive (if that’s not too strong a word) of a guy with a capacity for rising to the occasion.

Roy is whispered to be a draft pick that Craig MacTavish’s “analytics guys” liked a lot. He’s a bit of a peculiar case with more than one way to parse the numbers. My erstwhile colleague Scott Reynolds, long a cornerstone writer for the SBN Oilers blog the Copper & Blue, compared Marco to a 30-year (!) group of Quebec League forwards of similar draft pedigree and production levels and found little to get excited about. The Cult of Hockey’s own Jonathan Willis, meanwhile, looked in the more immediate past and compared Roy’s 2012-13 production levels to those of the several Q forwards selected ahead of him.

Riffing off Jon’s work, the nine Quebec League forwards drafted in the #21-60 range all averaged between 0.92 and 1.12 points per game, with Roy falling nicely in the middle at 1.03. Not to say any of those guys is going to make it, of course; just that raw offensive numbers suggest Roy, taken near the end of that group, has as good a chance as any.

Another interesting number about Roy is his high proportion of Dangerous Shots, an extremely useful — at least in theory — stat kept by the Quebec League. Of the 159 total shots that Roy generated, some 115 of them were rated in the “dangerous” category, a team-leading 73%. He had somewhat similar results in his rookie season (not huge shot volumes, but a high percentage of dangerous ones). All that and five bucks will might buy you a latté at Starbucks, of course, but perhaps it offers a clue about what type of shooter Roy might be.

I’ve never seen the young man play an actual game, but he did catch my eye in a favourable way at summer development camp, impressing with his speed, shiftiness, and puck-handling. His skating was mentioned as a strength by pretty much all the scouting services, and it was easy to see why. I especially liked the way he bore down on rebounds and stray pucks around the goal mouth, snapping the disc into the cage with authority every chance he got, no half measures even on freebies. A sniper’s mentality.

Oilers fans will get their next chance to see Roy at September’ rookie camp, one of 15 forwards on the roster announced by the Oilers on Wednesday. With a relatively small group in attendance, he should see plenty of action as the Oilers hopefuls play three games in the Young Stars tournament in Penticton, then a fourth here in Edmonton. That last is the welcome return of what the Oilers release referred to as the “annual matchup” with the University of Alberta Golden Bears, so hopefully that means it’s back to stay. That tradition has long offered a great opportunity for local puck fans to follow the early development of prospects like Marco Roy.

Expectations for 2013-14: After that cameo at Oilers rookie camp, Roy is slated to return to Blainville-Boisbriand for his one remaining junior season, where the Armada will pursue their third consecutive division title. He is expected to assume a more central role in what projects as his final season of junior hockey.

Edmonton Journal: LOADED: 08.23.2013

715686 Los Angeles Kings

Marco Roy has some nice up arrows, but the Edmonton Oilers are going to have to wait a while

Bruce McCurdy

Edmonton Oilers Prospects: #8 Marco Roy

It’s hard to forecast exactly what the Edmonton Oilers got in Marc-Olivier Roy, a scoring winger with the powerful Blainville-Boisbriand Armada of the Quebec League. Safest prediction is that it’s going to take a little while to find out. That he already ranks in the top handful of Oilers forward prospects perhaps says more about the group than it does about Roy himself.

By the time he arrived in Edmonton for development camp a few days after Edmonton took him in the second round of the 2013 NHL Draft, Roy had contracted his hyphenated name to “Marco”, likely avoiding considerable confusion with Oilers’ goalie prospect Olivier Roy (#21 in our summer rankings) in the process. Thoughtful of him.

Red Line Report had an enthusiastic review of Roy’s capabilities, ranking him 39th overall. Upon reading this glowing profile, one might wonder, why so low?

While thought of as a grinder who brings passion and intensity to each shift (which is accurate), that is short-changing his skill level. Good skater with speed and balance, and accelerates well. Wins a lot of races for loose pucks and is always 1st into corners. Works his bag off every shift and comes back hard on the backcheck. He’s an absolute buzzsaw with a motor that never quits. If his team loses the puck, he wants to go and get it back immediately. Stays in constant motion in the offensive zone, making him very difficult to check or contain. Soft hands for both giving and receiving passes. Gets shots away quickly around the slot and shows good accuracy. Competes like a bastard and always has his head in the game. Rugged and persistent on the forecheck. Reliable player at both ends who is continually improving. Also 6’1″ with a nice frame to fill out.

(Who wrote that, his agent?)

Prospect expert Corey Pronman was more muted in his praise of Roy in his pre-draft rankings at Hockey Prospectus. He rated the 6’0, 175-pound right winger at #70, in part due to a lower opinion of Marco’s “every shift” consistency. His opening sentence raises another important consideration:

Roy is a late 1994 birthdate, and his late eligibility gave him extra time to take the next step in his development. That advantage allowed him to put up solid numbers in the QMJHL this season. Roy’s best skill is his skating, which is plus, as he can jet through the neutral zone with impressive top speed. He is a technically sound skater, and he is very elusive in tight. I have heard different takes on his offensive upside. One scout thinks he projects as an average offensive player, while another says his offensive instincts and puck play are very good but classifies his offensive potential as above-average. Roy has roughly average size, and his physical game can be inconsistent. He will, at times, show fine on-ice effort, but there will be times where he can drift off to the perimeter, while not overly impressing.

As the old saying goes, “somewhere in the middle, the truth lies”. The Oilers did snag Roy almost smack dab in the middle between #39 and #70, using the #56 overall pick obtained from Anaheim in the Andrew Cogliano trade to select the skilled forward.

The right winger was the youngest of four core scorers on the powerful Armada, who may have played second-line minutes but took advantage of a strong powerplay, where he scored 16 of his 35 goals over 80 regular season and playoff games.

Marco Roy career stats

A couple of nice things that jump off the screen are Roy’s steady season-over-season improvement and his consistently outstanding performance in the playoffs. Check out these points per game averages from his last four seasons:

MarcoRoyplayoffs

Small sample sizes in the second season, needless to say, but a substantial step-up in production each spring. Over his four years in midget

and junior, Roy has averaged 0.85 points per game during the season, but an eye-catching 1.50 in the playoffs. Suggestive (if that’s not too strong a word) of a guy with a capacity for rising to the occasion.

Roy is whispered to be a draft pick that Craig MacTavish’s “analytics guys” liked a lot. He’s a bit of a peculiar case with more than one way to parse the numbers. My erstwhile colleague Scott Reynolds, long a cornerstone writer for the SBN Oilers blog the Copper & Blue, compared Marco to a 30-year (!) group of Quebec League forwards of similar draft pedigree and production levels and found little to get excited about. The Cult of Hockey’s own Jonathan Willis, meanwhile, looked in the more immediate past and compared Roy’s 2012-13 production levels to those of the several Q forwards selected ahead of him.

Riffing off Jon’s work, the nine Quebec League forwards drafted in the #21-60 range all averaged between 0.92 and 1.12 points per game, with Roy falling nicely in the middle at 1.03. Not to say any of those guys is going to make it, of course; just that raw offensive numbers suggest Roy, taken near the end of that group, has as good a chance as any.

Another interesting number about Roy is his high proportion of Dangerous Shots, an extremely useful — at least in theory — stat kept by the Quebec League. Of the 159 total shots that Roy generated, some 115 of them were rated in the “dangerous” category, a team-leading 73%. He had somewhat similar results in his rookie season (not huge shot volumes, but a high percentage of dangerous ones). All that and five bucks will might buy you a latté at Starbucks, of course, but perhaps it offers a clue about what type of shooter Roy might be.

I’ve never seen the young man play an actual game, but he did catch my eye in a favourable way at summer development camp, impressing with his speed, shiftiness, and puck-handling. His skating was mentioned as a strength by pretty much all the scouting services, and it was easy to see why. I especially liked the way he bore down on rebounds and stray pucks around the goal mouth, snapping the disc into the cage with authority every chance he got, no half measures even on freebies. A sniper’s mentality.

Oilers fans will get their next chance to see Roy at September’ rookie camp, one of 15 forwards on the roster announced by the Oilers on Wednesday. With a relatively small group in attendance, he should see plenty of action as the Oilers hopefuls play three games in the Young Stars tournament in Penticton, then a fourth here in Edmonton. That last is the welcome return of what the Oilers release referred to as the “annual matchup” with the University of Alberta Golden Bears, so hopefully that means it’s back to stay. That tradition has long offered a great opportunity for local puck fans to follow the early development of prospects like Marco Roy.

Expectations for 2013-14: After that cameo at Oilers rookie camp, Roy is slated to return to Blainville-Boisbriand for his one remaining junior season, where the Armada will pursue their third consecutive division title. He is expected to assume a more central role in what projects as his final season of junior hockey.

LA Kings Insider: LOADED: 08.23.2013

715687 Los Angeles Kings

Stadium Series: No Kings-Ducks alumni game

The Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks have excelled at expanding their alumni relations and bringing former players back within their organizational borders. Unfortunately for fans of the two Southern California teams that had hoped otherwise, there won’t be an alumni game surrounding the January 25 Kings-Ducks Coors Light NHL Stadium Series event at Dodger Stadium, as noted by Kelly Cheeseman, Chief Operating Officer, AEG Sports, in a conversation with LA Kings Insider.

“We went through that exercise ad nauseum to try to make that work, because…we were very excited about that possibility. But, unfortunately, just the logistics and the timing of our game, and the concerns of the ice conditions, aren’t going to allow us to pull off an alumni game, unfortunately. We got pretty far down the line. We looked at all the possibilities, and then we just said for the good of the game and for protecting the ice conditions, we needed to make sure that we held that integrity,” Cheeseman said.

Cheeseman said that the experience will incorporate “innovative ideas that will make the game different than any of the outdoor games that we’ve seen today.”

“It’s definitely going to represent Southern California. It’s not going to be what you would traditionally see in any other market.”

Though there isn’t an opportunity to rub shoulder pads with L.A. alumni on the ice at Dodger Stadium, the team is still offering fans the chance to immerse themselves with Kings alums at Frozen Fury Fantasy Camp, a four-day Vegas vacation that puts campers on the ice, at the poker table, and at an MGM Grand pool party alongside Luc Robitaille, Rob Blake, Sean O’Donnell, Charlie Simmer, Glen Murray, Jim Fox and Bob Miller, amongst other organizational greats.

Earlier this week Dennis Bernstein of The Fourth Period tweeted a Dodger Stadium seating map for the Stadium Series game:

LA Kings Insider: LOADED: 08.23.2013

715688 Minnesota Wild

Minnesota Wild 'stole' Ryan Suter, Nashville coach says

By Kevin Cusick

The Minnesota Wild's $98 million signing of free agent defenseman Ryan Suter last July has been called a lot of things. Expensive. Transformative. Smart.

But no one had called it a steal until Wednesday, when Nashville Predators coach Barry Trotz tried to stir up a rivalry with their new Central Division rivals.

"We've got to start new rivalries, like us and Minnesota. They stole Ryan Suter, so I want to kick their butt, plain and simple," Trotz said during an interview with a Nashville radio station.

The Wild and Predators will butt heads often in the new seven-team division that debuts this season. The new rivalry will be joined in Nashville's home opener, the season's third game, on Oct. 8.

The Predators reportedly offered Suter a mere $90 million last year, so he headed north and enjoyed his greatest season as a pro. He was a finalist for the Norris Trophy, emblematic of the league's best defenseman, and made the All-NHL first team for the first time.

Suter also helped lead the Wild to their first playoff berth in five years, though they were eliminated quickly by the eventual Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks.

The Predators got a little revenge last month, though, by signing away one of the Wild's stars.

"We got Matt Cullen back," Trotz told WPRT-FM in Nashville, referring to the Wild center and Virginia, Minn., native who left as a free agent after three seasons in Minnesota.

Suter, of course, isn't the only NHL figure to make his way from Middle Tennessee to St. Paul. Craig Leipold bought the expansion Predators franchise in 1997. He sold the team 10 years later after incurring $70 million in losses, by his count. He bought the Wild eight months later.

Pioneer Press LOADED: 08.23.2013

715689 Montreal Canadiens

Habs reach agreement in principle with defenceman Douglas Murray

MONTREAL — The Canadian Press

The Montreal Canadiens have reached an agreement in principle with Swedish defenceman Douglas Murray on a one-year contract.

The six-foot-three, 245-pound defenceman had one goal, five assists and a minus-9 rating in 43 games with San Jose and Pittsburgh last season. He added two goals and an assist in 15 playoff games with the Penguins.

The native of Bromma, Sweden, was drafted in the eighth round, 241st overall, by the Sharks in the 1999 NHL draft.

He has seven goals, 55 assists and 370 penalty minutes in 465 career games with San Jose and Pittsburgh.

He represented Sweden at the 2008 world championship and the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.

Globe And Mail LOADED: 08.23.2013


Newest Hab Murray: Swedish, smart, but not Cranky

By pat hickey, THE GAZETTEAugust 22, 2013

MONTREAL — Here are some things you may not know about newly signed Canadiens defenceman Douglas Murray:

Murray has a degree in hotel administration from Cornell University and is one of the inventors of the UberTap, a hands-free dispensing system that allows you to pour three beers at a time and drain a keg five times faster than a traditional tap.

In 2010, Sporting News selected Murray as the 16th-smartest pro athlete.

The Swede with the Scottish name has dated Tiger Woods’s ex, Elin Nordegren.

Murray answers to the nickname Crankshaft but gets upset if anyone calls him Cranky.

He shared the 2005 Cleveland Barons Rubbermaid Player of the Year award with Josh Gorges.

But the most important thing you should know about Murray is contained in this statement from Canadians general manager Marc Bergevin: “Douglas Murray is an experienced defenceman with good size and is a seasoned veteran. He will being a physical dimension to our team.”

Bergevin has been pursuing Murray for most of the off-season and reached agreement Thursday on a one-year deal worth $1.5 million. Murray was still on the open market because he had been looking for a longer deal for more money but there were no takers.

Murray fits into the Canadiens’ overall plan because Bergevin has limited cap space and, with some promising young defencemen in the system, he was reluctant to make a long-term commitment.

At 6-foot-3 and 240 pounds, the 33-year-old Murray brings much-needed size to the Canadiens’ roster and an element of depth to the defence corps. His offensive contributions over his career have been minimal but he is a physical defenceman who will contribute with hits and blocked shots.

It was important for the Canadiens to add a bruiser because the team’s most physical defenceman last season, Alexei Emelin, is recovering from major reconstructive knee surgery. The last report on the Russian indicated his recovery is on schedule, which means he could be back in the lineup by Christmas.

The Canadiens now have eight healthy NHL-calibre defencemen under contract, led by Norris Trophy winner P.K. Subban. The others are Andrei Markov, Raphael Diaz, Francis Bouillon, Davis Drewiske, rookie Jarred Tinordi and Gorges. They also have prospects Nathan Beaulieu, Greg Pateryn, Darren Dietz and Magnus Nygren in various stages of development.

Murray has seven goals and 55 assists in 465 NHL games. He played most of his career in San Jose but was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins as they bulked up for the playoffs at the trade deadline earlier this year.

In other news, the Canadiens announced a series of initiatives to support the residents of Lac-Mégantic, which experienced a tragic train explosion of July 6.

The Canadiens will invite families directly impacted by the explosion and emergency personnel to one of the five pre-season games being held at the Bell Centre between Sept. 15 and Sept. 26.

A special ceremony remembering the victims of the tragedy will be held before the Sept. 15 game against the Buffalo Sabres.

On Sept. 14, the Canadiens will wrap up the first stage of its training camp with an informal scrimmage at the Bell Centre. Fans wishing to attend the scrimmage can purchase tickets for $5 and the proceeds will go to the Fonds Avenir Lac-Mégantic. Tickets go on sale Saturday online and at the Bell Centre box office and the price of admission includes a hot dog, bag of chips and a soft drink.

And residents of Lac-Mégantic will get an opportunity to see the Canadiens practice at the Centre Sportif Mégantic on Oct. 3.

Montreal Gazette LOADED: 08.23.2013


Canadiens sign free-agent defenceman Douglas Murray

THE CANADIAN PRESSAugust 22, 2013

MONTREAL — The Canadiens have reached an agreement in principle with Swedish defenceman Douglas Murray on a one-year contract.

The 6-foot-3, 245-pound defenceman had one goal, five assists and a minus-9 rating in 43 games with San Jose and Pittsburgh last season. He added two goals and an assist in 15 playoff games with the Penguins.

The native of Bromma, Sweden, was drafted in the eighth round, 241st overall, by the Sharks in the 1999 NHL draft.

He has seven goals, 55 assists and 370 penalty minutes in 465 career games with San Jose and Pittsburgh.

He represented Sweden at the 2008 world championship and the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.



This is the heartwarming story of a former dead-end kid who found friendship and happiness on the Internet.

MIKE BOONE

No, Ian Cobb’s favourite site isn’t kinky.

It’s hockey.

Cobb is a resident of Belleville, Ont., who has spent most of his 65 years concealing a secret. He couldn’t read or write. About 18 months ago, he discovered Habs Inside/Out, where the words began to make sense because Cobb cared about what Dave Stubbs, Pat Hickey and I were writing.

We’re not making outlandish claims here. The Gazette’s Canadiens fansite can’t bring eyesight to the blind. It can’t cure cancer.

But Habs I/O helped Ian Cobb. And he’s given back by posting countless comments and by becoming one of the primary organizers of the second annual Habs Inside/Out Summit, which brought about 80 fans to the Bell Centre for the Oct. 25 game against Anaheim.

The Canadiens lost that night, but Cobb’s enthusiasm was undiminished.

A typical post: “Boys and girls! We don’t need anyone to tell us that we have a shot at the Cup this year. We, the most perceptive and most informative hockey fans in the world, have been treated and shown how this game is to be played and won for 100 years. We recognize quality and expect performance, from management to throughout the organization …”

Here’s how Cobb describes himself in his Habs Inside/Out profile: “Born in Montreal … Worked many different jobs around Mtl. as a kid, later went working pipeline construction as a labourer, equipment operator and scuba diver for oil & gas co’s … owned and operated two corporations in three provinces, illiterate until my late 50s. Raised three children, retired 10 years ago as just your average millionaire, drive school bus and read and write on Inside/Out, learning here every day with friends!!!”

That’s the bare-bones outline. As he’s told me over too many beers at Habs I/O Summits I and II and in a phone conversation last week, Cobb has done a lot of living since his youth in South Shore St. Lambert.

“My dad was a welder, a church-going man and all that kind of stuff,” Cobb recalls. “He didn’t know why his son couldn’t read or write.

“I felt I let the family down.

I walked around with different inferiority complexes, pissed the bed till I was 12. I was scared to go to school and got strapped every day.”

Neither his father nor his teachers knew that Cobb was dyslexic. In the absence of a diagnosis and special-needs instruction, he stumbled along, repeating Grades 5 and 6.

“I got to know everyone in high school,” Cobb recalls, “because they all went by me.”

He dropped out without finishing elementary school. Cobb was illiterate, but “I could bulls— with the best of them, and I learned how to do that.”

How good was Cobb at concealing his disability?

“My wife of 30 years never knew I couldn’t read or write,” he says.

But, as Cobb’s posted CV indicates, he could do a variety of jobs that didn’t require literacy. He was a teenager, washing dishes at a restaurant near the Forum, when Danny Gallivan took a shine to him and set up Cobb with a room at the downtown YMCA and various odd jobs around the Forum.

“Boom-Boom Geoffrion had a big blue station wagon,” Cobb recalls, “and I used to start it up for him on cold days.”

While living at the Y, Cobb would hang out at the Sir George Williams University library in the adjoining building on Drummond St. He couldn’t read the books, but he liked to look at the pictures.

Fiercely proud of “never taking a friggin’ handout in my life,” Cobb reels off a long list of work experiences that took him from the dress-alteration

department at Sears to pipeline construction in Alberta and Kentucky to a jail cell in Oregon (it’s a long story, involving papers that were not in order).

“I’d go with the flow,” Cobb says. “My first trip out west was riding the freight cars.”

The constant was Cobb’s ability to live by his wits, without benefit of the alphabet. He didn’t have to be literate to run a ranch in New Brunswick, where Cobb had 2,000 silver foxes and 36,000 minks, breeding animals to supply furriers on Mayor St. in Montreal and developing a feed formula he sold to Ralston Purina.

Another constant: passion for hockey. Since moving to Belleville in 1993, Cobb has billeted players – including Dan Cleary and Jonathan Cheechoo – for the OHL’s Bulls.

Cobb was living with a woman who helped him with dyslexia and following the Canadiens at a distance when he stumbled on Habs Inside/Out.

“My first post to the site, I didn’t even know how to use Spell Check,” he says.

There have been maybe 500 posts since – all knowledgeable, none a literary classic.

“I’d get up in the morning and go on Habs Inside/out,” he says, “and I didn’t know how to go on another site. I had a dictionary, my partner and everybody on the site giving me help.

“I didn’t have to look anyone in the eye and feel my face go red every time I screwed up a word. It was so exciting to be able to communicate.

“I learned to read and write on Habs Inside/out. There’s no doubt about it.”



Habs reach agreement with free-agent defenceman Douglas Murray

Posted by Stu Cowan

The Canadiens announced on their official Twitter account on Thursday morning that they have reached an agreement in principle with free-agent defenceman Douglas Murray on a one-year contract (2013-14).

The Gazette’s Pat Hickey reports that the deal is worth $1.5 million and that Murray had been looking for a longer deal and more money, which is why the 33-year-old was still available on the free-agent market.

The 6-foot-3, 245-pounder started last season with the San Jose Sharks, picking up three assists and 26 penalty minutes in 29 games. He was acquired by Pittsburgh in exchange for two draft picks before the NHL trade deadline and played 14 games with the Penguins, posting 1-2-3 totals and nine penalty minutes.

“Douglas Murray is an experienced defenceman with good size and is an seasoned veteran,” Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin said in a statement. “He will bring a physical dimension to our team and is a significant addition to our group of defencemen. We are happy to have him join our organization for the upcoming season.”

Murray, a graduate of Cornell University, is from Bromma, Sweden. He was selected by the Sharks in the eighth round (241st overall) of the 1999 NHL entry draft.

Last summer, Murray made headlines off the ice when the Swedish website Expressen reported he was hanging out with Tiger Woods’s ex-wife, Elin Nordegren. The website reported that the pair were spotted having dinner at a nightclub in Stockholm and also had dinner with Swedish golfer Jesper Parnevik, who introduced Woods to Nordegren and later regretted it when the world learned about Tiger’s off-course antics as a married man.

Murray told Expressen at the time that he and Nordegren are “only friends.”

“We are not dating and we have never dated,” he added at the time. “We have friends in common and we have only known each other for a couple of weeks.”


715694 Nashville Predators

Nashville Predators announce rookie camp roster

Josh Cooper

Predators move to block Blackhawks fans from buying single-game tickets

Predators prospects will report to town Sept. 4 before heading to Sunrise, Fla., for games against Florida Panthers and Boston Bruins rookies from Sept. 6-8.

The list includes Sebastian Geoffrion. Clearly the Brentwood native made an impression at July’s development camp, though he seems to be on an AHL or tryout deal.

Tennessean LOADED: 08.23.2013

715695 New York Rangers

Rangers great Leetch nabs safety job with NHL

By DAVID SATRIANO

Former Rangers defenseman and Hockey Hall of Famer Brian Leetch was named the Manager of Player Safety for the NHL on Wednesday, filling the opening left by Rob Blake who left to become the assistant general manager of the Kings.

Leetch helped the Rangers win the Stanley Cup in 1994 - their first Cup in 54 years - and was named MVP of the playoffs that season. Over his 18-year career, spent mostly with the Rangers, he had 1,028 points and 571 penalty minutes.

A 2009 inductee into the Hockey Hall of Fame, Leetch also had his No. 2 retired by the Rangers in 2008. The 10-time All-Star who also won the Calder Trophy as the rookie of the year in 1989, had been an analyst for the Rangers on MSG since 2009.

New York Post LOADED: 08.23.2013

715696 New York Rangers

Guest blogger: Papa Bear … Over/under for 2013-14

23 August 2013, 4:15 am by Carp in Hockey New York Rangers NHL Stanley Cup playoffs - No Comments

New York Rangers v Boston Bruins - Game Five

Thanks Carp for asking to post my over/under suggestions as a Guest Blog. I guess it’s my turn to “stink”.

Boneheads, here are some of my suggestions for Over/Under pools for the upcoming season:

A) Ranger Point Total: 62

B) Kreider Goals: 47 (Note: If Torts was still coach over/under would have been on the # of times sent down and recalled)

C) # of times Eric declares “season over” before Christmas? 142?

D) # of Dan Girardi Snow Angels during season: 1820?

E) # of times Sam declares during broadcast… “great play by Staal”? 1650 (this includes any Staal brother, not just Marc)

F) # of times during the year Papa Bear refers to Nash as “Mister Softie” – 1240

G) Minutes into the actual season when someone on Bonehead Nation blogs “Richards sucks, we should have bought him out” – over / under: 1st period, 1st game, before Richards 3rd shift?

H) # of beers Kristo consumes before he suffers from late night frost-bite on a road trip to Winnipeg: 2 cans of St. Paulie Girl?

I) # of times Carp declares Rangers are playing with only “1 first line player”? 640?

J) # of times combined Mannu declares Kyle Jean, Brandon Mashinter or Dylan McIlrath the answer to our prayers: 860?

K) # of hy-phenated words posted by that Miami Pimp guy during the season? Not-enough?

L) # of Looney Tune Gravatars on blog used by someone other than blogger formerly known as Llatona – 0?

M) # of bloggers who jump ship and root for the Fishsticks after they win the Stanely Cup in Brooklyn in 2015: 3 Trolls and 2 Legitimate Boneheads?

N) # of times we take the blog over 1,000 in a day? Zero (unless Eddie 3X’s makes a comes back)

O) # of Boneheads calling for a compliance buyout of Nash instead of Richards going into next off-season (besides Papa Bear)? ………Scary thought, Huh?

P) # of Ranger players on the golf course at the start of the Stanley Cup Playoffs? 18 and 2 Goaltenders.

Q) # of Rangers traveling together on exotic romantic getaway and not on the golf course at the start of the Stanley Cup Playoffs? 2 (Del Zotto & Zuccarello)

R) # of ways one could combine/sequence the words “Is this thing on?” and still make sense? Lost count, but a lot.

S) # of times CCCP and his brother, (or is it his cousin?) ICCCP, refer to the off-season blogging as “brutal”? Probably a lot more if they happen to read this jibberish!

X) I’d add some more but I forgot what letter comes after S and I don’t want to embarrass myself any further.

U) When does the Travesty City prospect tournament start?

V) Warmest Regards Always to my Fellow Boneheads,

W) Papa Bear

T) Yes I agree,

Y) Nash played

Z) Good in the Playoffs.

SHHHHEEEEEEEESSSSSSSHHHHHHHH!

Rockland Journal News: LOADED: 08.23.2013

715697 Ottawa Senators

Tough task ahead for Kanata’s Spooner

By Allen Panzeri, Ottawa CitizenAugust 22, 2013

Getting drafted by the Boston Bruins is something of a mixed blessing for Ryan Spooner.

Under general manager Peter Chiarelli, the Bruins have become a perennial favourite to challenge for the Stanley Cup, making it to the finals twice in the last three years and winning in 2011.

So once you make it, it’s a great team to be on.

But for the 21-year-old Spooner, born and raised in Kanata, that’s the hard part: Trying to break into the lineup.

Ahead of him on the depth chart at centre are Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci, Chris Kelly, and Gregory Campbell.

Those are some big dogs to kick off the porch.

But Spooner, the leading scorer for the Providence Bruins last year — 17 goals and 40 assists in 59 games — is a highly regarded prospect so he’ll get a long look.

“I think the only thing for me to do in camp is play my game and just try to open some eyes, show them that I’m ready to play,” he said Thursday after a practice session at the Sensplex.

“I think if I do that, hopefully they’ll make a spot for me.

“If not, I’d be upset going back to Providence to play, but it’s a great league down there, too, and the coaching staff is great, so I can learn a lot of stuff down there.”

Spooner was picked in the second round of the 2010 draft (45th) after two 60-plus point seasons in the OHL.

He had 66 points in 57 games with Kingston and Sarnia in 2011-12, and 81 points in 64 games with Peterborough and Kingston in 2010-11.

He’s got great hands and vision, works hand, and is not afraid of bumping or getting bumped.

And after leading the AHL Bruins in scoring last year, his offensive promise is real.

The only drawback is his size (5-10 and 175 pounds).

As it stands, all he can do is work harder than the next guy, which he has been doing this summer. He’s on a rigorous training schedule that has him on the ice almost every day, sometimes twice a day.

“Being the younger guy, it’s kind of hard to crack a team like that,” he said.

“They like you to grow and mature as a player. I had a pretty good year last season. I had my ups and downs, so I’d like to think I learned a lot from the season.

“I’m just going to go into this year and show that I’ve matured as a person.”

Spooner got in four NHL games last year, but he didn’t have very much to show them: Only three shots in total.

The only game he played more than eight minutes was on March 19 in Winnipeg, when he played 15:29 between Milan Lucic and Nathan Horton.

Otherwise, he played 5:29 when he made his NHL debut on Feb. 6 in Montreal, 8:17 when he returned to Ottawa on March 21, and 7:14 in Toronto on March 23.

Spooner will have a lot of chances to make an impression in this training camp. He’s scheduled to play in a four-team rookie tournament in Florida (against the Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Nashville Predators), then he’ll pack up and head to Boston for the main camp.

Considering he’s entering only his second season as a professional, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him head back to Providence, at least temporarily. But he’s certain to be the first centre on the recall list.

As for setting any sort of time frame to make it to the NHL, he’s loath to put himself on the clock.

“I think that’s a tough thing to do,” he said. “It kind of depends on what team you’re on. Some teams need centres like me, but on others you might have to wait a couple of years.

“I don’t really want to set expectations like that.

“For me, I think the thing for me to do is stay focused on my game and when the chance comes, make the most of it.

“All those players there are so skilled and so experienced that once you get immersed in that environment, it really helps you to grow as a player.”

Ottawa Citizen LOADED: 08.23.2013

715698 Ottawa Senators

Ottawa Sens unveil rookie camp roster

3

By Tim Baines ,Ottawa Sun

The Senators' young guns will get a chance to show their stuff when rookie camp opens Sept. 4 at the Bell Sensplex.

Twenty-six players have been invited to take part in a four-team round-robin tournament from Sept. 5-8 at the Budweiser Gardens in London, Ont. Joining the Senators prospects at the tournament will be the Chicago Blackhawks, Pittsburgh Penguins and Toronto Maple Leafs.

The Ottawa team will be made up of three goalies, eight defencemen and 15 forwards. Eighteen of the players were drafted by the Senators, six were signed as free agents and two players will be participating under professional tryout agreements. Among the players, Derek Grant, Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Mark Stone each played their first NHL regular-season game with Ottawa during the 2012-13 campaign. The Senators' 2013 rookie tournament roster is also comprised of three recent first-round NHL draft picks -- Curtis Lazar (17th, 2013), Cody Ceci (15th, 2012) and Matt Puempel (24th, 2011).

ON TV

The Senators have announced their 54-game regional broadcast schedule on Sportsnet and Sportsnet Sens. Coverage begins with the Senators' season-opener Oct. 4, 7 p.m., in Buffalo against the Sabres. Among the broadcasts: Bobby Ryan faces his old team, the Anaheim Ducks, Oct. 25 and the Senators get a crack at former captain Daniel Alfredsson and the Detroit Red Wings Feb. 27.

In addition to Sportsnet East's 47-game Senators broadcast schedule, seven games will air on Sportsnet Sens. Sportsnet will televise six matchups against the Senators' Canadian counterparts, including two each against the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames, and single games against the Winnipeg Jets and Vancouver Canucks.

Eighty-one of the 82 games in the 2013-14 season are scheduled to be available on TV, with the exception being Nov. 27 when the Senators visit Washington to face the Capitals.

BINGO IN OTTAWA

The AHL Binghamton Senators will travel to Ottawa for a Feb. 8 game against the Hamilton Bulldogs at Canadian Tire Centre.

The B-Sens have played a handful of games in Ottawa, most recently, Nov. 13, 2011, when they lost 5-2 to the Bulldogs.

Hamilton also will 'host' the B-Sens Feb. 21 in the home of the Bulldogs' NHL affiliate -- the Bell Centre in Montreal.

The B-Sens open their 76-game season Oct. 5 against the visiting Syracuse Crunch.

Twitter: @TimCBaines

Ottawa Citizen LOADED: 08.23.2013

715699 Philadelphia Flyers

Is this the worst of times in Philadelphia sports?

Bob Brookover, Inquirer Baseball Columnist

They celebrated the past at Ponzio's Diner in South Jersey on Thursday afternoon.

The FM station - WIP-FM (94.1) - that was an AM station - WIP-AM (610) - for most of Charlie Manuel's tenure with the Phillies showered the recently dismissed manager with praise. In a classic made-for-radio event called A Tribute to Charlie, the station that belittled Manuel for most of his early years as manager made sure he left town as one of the most beloved figures in Philadelphia sports history.

"I find that amazing," Manuel said.

It truly was a remarkable reversal of fortune.

But the best of times are behind us now, and the Phillies are as much a part of the city's changing and depressing sports landscape as the Eagles, Flyers, and 76ers.

It could be argued that we are in the worst of times.

The Phillies are about to finish below .500 for the first time since 2002. The Eagles were so bad that they landed the fourth overall draft pick. The Flyers failed to make the playoffs for just the second time in 18 seasons. The Sixers, a team that has finished above .500 just twice in the last 10 years, have entered tank mode in the hope they can land a franchise player in the 2014 draft.

Unless the Eagles make the playoffs, this will be the first year since 1994 without one of the four major Philadelphia franchises participating in the postseason.

Watching losers is never fun, but watching winners develop can be.

It really is quite odd for everyone involved right now to walk into Citizens Bank Park and not see Manuel sitting in the dugout.

It's equally strange to walk into the NovaCare Complex and not see Andy Reid.

"It's a whole new world here," said Derek Boyko, the Eagles director of football media services.

At this point, things are far more interesting on the Eagles' side of Broad Street. Most people were burned out on Andy Reid's efforts to "put the players in better positions," and everyone is eager to see Chip Kelly's fast-paced system at work.

Kelly has a cockiness about him that will be embraced as long as he is successful. He showed a glimpse of it Thursday when asked about the demands his up-tempo offense will put on his own defense. He took the opportunity to rip apart the notion that time of possession is an important statistic.

"It's about plays run," he said. "I've heard the question about time of possession. Time of possession is how much time the other team can waste. Most games, we lose the time of possession, but it's how many snaps do you face, and I think in both games we've played, we've played more snaps than the other team."

The Eagles ran 14 more offensive plays than the Patriots and 11 more than the Panthers in their first two exhibition games.

"We played a game against UCLA a couple years ago, [in which] time of possession was 40 to 20," Kelly said. "They had 20 more minutes of time of possession, and it was 73-71 snaps."

It was actually 73-70 in favor of Oregon. The final score of that 2010 Pac-12 game was far more lopsided: Oregon 60, UCLA 13.

"So all I gathered was that they stand around a lot more than we do," Kelly said. "Plays run are what I look at because you're not exerting any energy if you're just standing in the huddle. Now if it's drastically different and teams are snapping the ball and getting 80 snaps against our defense, and we're putting 50 snaps up offensively, then it's an issue.

"If you're doing things the way we're supposed to be doing them on offense, then we need to teach our defense how to stand around better."

It's interesting to hear Kelly talk about these types of things, which obviously worked for him at the college level. It's also fascinating to tour the NovaCare Complex, where the rules, and lots of other things, have changed. Drink machines line the hallways to the locker room because Kelly believes nutrition is as important as an up-tempo offense. Players no longer are assigned lockers based on positions because Kelly believes a mix is better for team chemistry.

"Why not give it a shot?" quarterback Michael Vick said. "That's what I was telling guys all spring when some guys complained. What do we have to lose? It sounds good. Let's try it. It only took two weeks for everyone to buy into the program, and now we enjoy it. It's a great environment to be in."

Ryne Sandberg's job as Manuel's replacement is more challenging because he inherited a soiled slate in the middle of a rotten season. But he, too, is trying to change a culture and convince players his way of doing things can work. Brett Brown will attempt to do the same with the 76ers when he opens his first training camp as coach.

Flyers coach Peter Laviolette, meanwhile, has become the dean of Philadelphia coaches as he prepares for his fourth full season with the team. The last Flyers head coach to have the most tenure in the city was Mike Keenan in 1988.

The sports landscape around here is barely recognizable, and the challenge all around is to make sure it doesn't remain barren for too much longer.

Philadelphia Inquirer / Daily News LOADED: 08.23.2013

715700 Phoenix Coyotes

Recap: NHL introduces new Coyotes owners in Glendale

The Republic | azcentral.com Tue Aug 6, 2013 1:08 PM

National Hockey League Commissioner Gary Bettman formally introduced the new owners of the Phoenix Coyotes during a press conference at Jobing.com Arena in Glendale today.

It marked the first press conference by Coyotes Governor George Gosbee and Alternate Governor Anthony LeBlanc since an investment group they lead purchased the team Monday. They were expected to discuss the sale and the team’s future.

Arizona Republic LOADED: 08.23.2013

715701 Pittsburgh Penguins

Pittsburgh-born Saad savors his day with Stanley Cup

By Josh Yohe

Brandon Saad posed for pictures with friends and family Thursday, the Stanley Cup by his side.

His father, George Saad, just smiled and shook his head.

George Saad left Syria as a young man to attend college in the United States and has stayed here ever since. Watching his 20-year-old son with the Stanley Cup was the culmination of a lifetime of hard work for the Saad family.

“God bless America,” George Saad said. “It's the only place on Earth where you can chase your dreams, and your dreams can come true. And honestly, this whole year has been like a dream. And for Brandon, it came true.”

Saad, the first Pittsburgh-born and -trained player to win the Stanley Cup, did so in his rookie year with the Chicago Blackhawks.

He finished third in Calder Trophy (Rookie of the Year) voting two years after being selected in the second round by the Blackhawks.

Surrounded by more 100 than friends and family members Thursday night, the reserved Saad, a Pine-Richland product, finally was able to open up while posing for pictures beside sports' most famous trophy.

“I'd be lying if I said this whole thing wasn't more than a little surreal,” Saad said. “But it's great.”

Those close with Saad often joke about how quiet and private he is.

He didn't seem to mind the attention Thursday, though.

“I'm sure his parents had to convince him to have a party,” cousin John Humenik said. “He's always been quiet. Really, it's a testament to his family. They have always kept him grounded. I don't think all the fame will ever hurt his character. He's just a good, good kid.”

Saad's day with the Cup was a modest one.

He picked up the silver hardware at the Pittsburgh International Airport early Thursday morning, then met with family members at his cousin's lake house.

“Took it out on the boat,” he said. “Had some Wheaties (in the Cup) this morning for the breakfast of champions.”

After hosting a three-hour meet-and-greet with friends and family, he was planning on a quiet night with the Cup. Even though he is 20 with a long NHL career surely awaiting him —and the Blackhawks could be poised for greatness for many more seasons — Saad isn't taking the championship for granted.

“Not at all,” he said. “Some guys play their whole career and never get this chance. I realize that. I'm so grateful.”

Saad said he will remain in Western Pennsylvania for a few more weeks before returning to Chicago.

The Blackhawks play a preseason game at Consol Energy Center this season and then March 30 — in a game that will be televised nationally in the United States and Canada — Saad will play a regular season game in Pittsburgh for the first time.

Of course, he already had a pretty nice homecoming Thursday.

“Everyone is happy for him,” said Billy Bartelt, his billet from his Ontario Hockey League days in Saginaw, Mich.

“He was such a nice kid the two years he lived with us. So quiet, so respectful. He's never changed.”

Read more: http://triblive.com/sports/nhl/4564826-74/saad-cup-family#ixzz2cmaKCWfv

Follow us: @triblive on Twitter | triblive on Facebook

Tribune Review LOADED: 08.23.2013


Penguins release roster for annual rookie tournament

By Josh Yohe

The Penguins released their roster for the rookie tournament that unofficially marks the start of training camp.

Most of the Penguins' top prospects will compete in the tournament, which begins Sept. 5 in London, Ontario, against prospects from the Chicago Blackhawks, Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators.

Defensemen Derrick Pouliot, Olli Maatta and Scott Harrington, who figure to get a long look from coaches during training camp, will participate.

Other players who could make the Penguins' opening night roster — forwards Adam Payerl and Jayson Megna and defenseman Brian Dumoulin — will take part.

Goalies Eric Hartzell, Matt Murray and Tristan Jarry — the Penguins' 2013 second-round draft pick — also will attend along with highly regarded prospects Dominik Uher, Tom Kuhnhackl, Harrison Ruopp and Philip Samuelsson.

Penguins camp begins one week after the tournament

— Josh Yohe

Read more: http://triblive.com/sports/penguins/4577390-74/tournament-penguins-camp#ixzz2cmaYV6mE

Follow us: @triblive on Twitter | triblive on Facebook

Tribune Review LOADED: 08.23.2013


Defenseman Murray signs with Montreal

By Nick Veronica / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Defenseman Douglas Murray, whom the Penguins acquired at the trade deadline last season, has agreed to a one-year deal with the Montreal Canadiens. TSN of Canada reported that the contract is worth $1.5 million.

Murray, 33, had been making $2.5 million the last four years. He was an unrestricted free agent who saw his ice time decrease throughout the playoffs as he accumulated 32 penalty minutes and went minus-3.

Murray, acquired from San Jose for a 2013 second round draft pick, is the second of the Penguins' four deadline additions to have signed elsewhere this offseason. Jarome Iginla singed with Boston in July.

First Published August 22, 2013 3:11 pm

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/sports/penguins/defenseman-murray-signs-with-montreal-700383/#ixzz2cmagJrj1

Post Gazette LOADED: 08.23.2013

715704 San Jose Sharks

Former Shark Murray finds new team

ProHockeyTalk.com

The Montreal Canadiens have made an interesting move, signing defenseman Douglas Murray to a one-year deal.

The contract is worth $1.5 million, according to Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston.

Murray, 33, split last season between San Jose and Pittsburgh, scoring six points in 43 games (and three in 15 playoff games). He was acquired by the Penguins at the trade deadline and saw an uptick in minutes (17:09 average TOI in San Jose; 18:30 in Pittsburgh) before falling back to around 15 minutes per night in the postseason.


715705 St Louis Blues

Negotiations between Blues, Pietrangelo 'ongoing'

13 hours ago • By Jeremy Rutherford [email protected] 314-444-7135

Alex Pietrangelo will be joining a hockey team this weekend, but it won't be the Blues.

The defenseman is scheduled to be one of 47 NHL players traveling to Calgary for Team Canada's Olympic orientation camp, which runs Sunday through Wednesday.

Meanwhile, there is no update regarding contract negotiations between the Blues and Pietrangelo. After completing his three-year, entry-level deal last season, the defenseman remains a restricted free agent less than three weeks before the start of training camp.

Blues general manager Doug Armstrong and Pietrangelo's agent, Don Meehan of Newport Sports Management, have been in communication the past several months, but have not been able to come to agreement on an extension.

"Nothing really to report to you concerning Alex’s contractual status," Meehan wrote in an email to the Post-Dispatch Thursday afternoon. "Our discussions are ongoing with Doug."

Pietrangelo's asking price is believed to be close to $7 million per season. The Blues apparently aren't willing to eclipse $6 million.

With the sides unable to find comfort on the financial compensation, Armstrong indicated earlier this month that a short-term, or "bridge" contract, is a possibility.

“It’s just finding out is it a maximum-term contract of eight years or do both sides feel it’s better to go short?” Armstrong said. “We’re going to work hand-in-hand with Alex because it’s not a win-lose. We’re hoping to find a win-win for both sides.”

The fact that Pietrangelo is one of 17 defensemen who have been invited to Team Canada's orientation camp may push him to get a deal done and be in the Blues' training camp on time. His best chance of making Canada's roster is being on the ice when the NHL season starts, allowing Olympic officials to evaluate him.

However, as the Post-Dispatch has reported, Newport Sports has had three contract holdouts in recent years with Montreal's PK Subban, Colorado's Ryan O'Reilly and Los Angeles' Drew Doughty. The Blues are hopeful that Pietrangelo's name isn't added to that list.

St Louis Post Dispatch LOADED: 08.23.2013

715706 Tampa Bay Lightning

Drouin tops Lightning roster for rookie camp, tournament

Times wires

The Lightning will hold a rookie camp Sept. 4-5 at the Tampa Bay Times Forum and then participate in a rookie tournament with the Panthers, Bruins and Predators on Sept. 6-8 in Coral Springs.

The sessions at the Forum are free and open to the public, times to be announced.

At the tournament, the Lightning plays the Predators at 2 p.m. Sept. 6, the Bruins at noon Sept. 7 and the Panthers at 4 p.m. Sept. 8 at the Saveology IcePlex. Admission is free, but fans must register for tickets at floridapanthers.com/trainingcamp.

Highlighting the Lightning roster for the camp and tournament is wing Jonathan Drouin, the third overall pick in this year's draft. For the complete roster, go to lightning.nhl.com.

Also, the Lightning signed a one-year affiliation agreement with Brampton, Ontario, of the Central Hockey League.

Drouin tops Lightning roster for rookie camp, tournament 08/22/13 [Last modified: Thursday, August 22, 2013 9:45pm]

Tampa Bay Times LOADED: 08.23.2013

715707 Toronto Maple Leafs

Greediness of Maple Leafs franchise knows no bounds: DiManno

By: Rosie DiManno Columnist, Published on Thu Aug 22 2013

Here we are, still nine weeks away from the start of the NHL season, and the Leafs have already muscled their way into dominance of the sports pages. The Toronto Sun, which leaves no Leaf twitch undocumented, no informal skating session in August unscrutinized, devoted three full pages to matters blue and white earlier this week before any mention was made for the Blue Jays or Argos. This is jumping the shark backwards.

We are in pathological thrall to the Leafs, a club which returned to the post-season in May after an eight-year absence and suffered an epic Game 7 collapse in the first round against Boston. But let bygones be bygones. And what would an exhibition camp be without a contract holdout? Come on down, Nazem Kadri. Few others in Leaf-land can so easily fill a notebook with quotes.

Clearly, the appetite for Toronto’s hockey beloveds is insatiable. Price no object. So, while many will in fact object to the team’s newly bruited ticket costing formula , the disgruntlement will not affect sales one iota.

While details haven’t been finalized — regular-season tickets don’t go on sale to the public until mid-September — the Leafs plan to hike prices on a tiered basis for 2013-14. Ducats will be jacked up for visits by “premium’’ teams, perhaps, according to reports, by up to a $35 swing in face value, across five levels of offering from pre-season to super-premium. Not that the Leafs have ever had problems drawing sellouts for low-wattage opposition — and some clubs apply the formula in reverse, to encourage attendance when the likes of Columbus come to town.

Toronto already soaks the public with the most expensive tickets in the league and only recently has the on-ice product been remotely enticing, at least since the flare-out of the Ron Wilson debacle. According to an evaluation by U.S.-based Team Market Reporting this past February, the average Leaf ticket costs $124.69 last season, compared to the average Coyotes ticket at $40.32.

At the moment, a platinum ticket goes for $270. More, however, for ultra-elite platinum, say, on the rail. It is a pecking order within a pecking order but most of us don’t get to pick a peck.

A club source explains that the steepened cost is, technically, tiered and not “dynamic,” which is a sports economics mumbo-jumbo term for the increasingly prevalent practice of price distinction or, more accurately, price discrimination — likened by one in-the-know person interviewed Wednesday as “buying stock in a moving target.” The value is fluid and stretches, according to various changing factors. An NFL ticket purchased in November may cost more in December, at the club’s discretion. “For a fan, not every day is created equal,’’ I was told.

The Leafs will set their value-added mark-up for hot games at the start of the season and not revisit it later.

This scheme is aimed at single-ticket purchases. It will have no impact on season ticket holders. At an arena with a seating capacity for hockey of 18,819, 90 per cent of seats are controlled by that constituency of the privileged, whether individuals or (boo-hiss) tax write-off corporations. Everybody else — ordinary mooks — are in a dogfight over what’s left, which usually means dropping large wads via curbside scalpers and re-sale online sites.

The greediness of the franchise knows no bounds. There was nary a blush in the spring when the Leafs jacked ticket prices by up to 75 per cent. Did you see an empty seat in the house — by the start of the second period, I mean. We know the platinum 1 per centers don’t settle in until midway through the first.

Supply-demand economics are seriously askew at 40 Bay. The franchise operates in an environment that defies real world verisimilitude. For regular folks, that means their cherished Leafs will never be any closer that the sports pages or the TV broadcast.

As a kid, I used to sneak into Maple Leaf Gardens and hide in secret places for hours before venturing out in search of an empty seat or, at worst,

standing room only spots. I hope — yet doubt — that urchins are still finding a way to breach the ramparts at the ACC.

That might be against the law but so is extortion — except when it masquerades as best business practice.

What do you think?

Do you think the move to dynamic pricing policy is fair?

YesNo

VoteView Results

One platinum seat, pre-mark-up: $270.

Or .005 per cent of Phil Kessel’s salary for next season.

I’d take beer and a spa, rather.

Toronto Star LOADED: 08.23.2013


Brian Burke: Rugby is tougher than hockey

By: Kevin McGran Sports Reporter, Published on Thu Aug 22 2013

Be it talking sports or media scrums, Brian Burke appears to approach everything with full contact.

The former president and general manager of the Maple Leafs has taken a position with Rugby Canada and was at his bombastic best Thursday, defending the violent nature of the two sports he has aligned himself with.

“If anyone in the medical community thinks it’s a revelation that this (rugby) is a violent sport, then they wasted seven years of undergraduate and medical school,” said Burke. “It is a violent sport. It’s a full-contact sport. So is hockey. I played contact sports because I wanted the contact.”

Burke was reacting to word out of Calgary that Canada’s doctors have denounced the NHL for “complacency in regards to violence” in hockey. Rugby, in many ways, is more physical than hockey.

‘The people that don’t want contact should play other sports,” said Burke. “There are wonderful sports you can play where you’ll never get an injury. Be a swimmer. It’s a great sport. You might get a cold but you probably won’t get a concussion.

“This is a full-contact sport. None of us that play it, none of us that coach it, none of us that work in it will apologize for that. People get hurt playing this game. People that don’t want to get hurt should play sports where you’re not going to get hurt. There are some wonderful sports where you’re not going to get hurt. I don’t enjoy any of them. But there are a lot of them.”

The ever-belligerent and very quotable Burke was promoting this Saturday’s game at BMO Field between Canada and the United States, a qualifier for the 2015 men’s Rugby World Cup. Canada has an 18-point advantage heading into the final leg of the home-and-home series, with the winner clinching a berth in the tournament to be held in England.

Rugby has its own issues with injuries and the pace of the game — much like hockey — and has introduced new rules for scrums to address both. Formations are slightly different, leading to less body contact and quicker ball movement.

Burke, who played hockey at Providence College and in the AHL, said he played rugby for five years, starting in law school in Harvard and then in a men’s league in New England. He said rugby is tougher than hockey.

“Every long-term injury I have came from rugby,” said Burke. “My shoulders and neck, my knee. It’s a hard game to play. It’s a hard game to excel at. The premium on teamwork might be the highest in rugby than in any sport.

“One mistake in rugby by one player has more consequences for the rest of the team than in any other sport.

“It’s a great game. A warrior’s game.”

Burke’s a warrior, all right, having battled some in media, his bosses at MLSE and haters on social media in his four years in Toronto. Still working as a scout for the Anaheim Ducks, he said his role with Rugby Canada won’t change his desire to get back into a GM’s chair in the NHL.

“It doesn’t change my intention to get back in at the GM level. It doesn’t diminish that urge,” said Burke. “I didn’t do this for money. I wouldn’t do it for money.”

The reason he is doing it is to help rugby grow.

“Anything I can do as far as taking rugby to the next level in this country,” said Burke. “I know about marketing and putting a league on a certain footing and being professional. I hope to add there.

“It’s a game, we’re playing catch-up with a lot of established sports, with a lot of broadcast sports. It doesn’t diminish the fact we have a product we think can compete with those sports.

“Professional rugby is coming. I’m not going to give you a time frame. It is our goal to get to the point where a player like (veteran) Jamie (Cudmore)

doesn’t have to go to France to play, that he’s got a Canadian team that will put him to work.”



Patrick Burke, Brian Leetch join NHL safety department, smart move for Brendan Shanahan: Cox

By: Damien Cox Hockey, Published on Thu Aug 22 2013

Another set of eyes, another way of looking at things.

Smart, really, for Brendan Shanahan to add to the Department of Player Safety heading into the first full season in two years, undoubtedly with lots and lots of issues soon to be on his desk.

While Brian Leetch, the former Norris Trophy winning blueliner and briefly a Leaf, simply replaces the departed Rob Blake, Shanahan has added a position and hired Patrick Burke, son of former Leaf GM Brian Burke.

Until this week, Burke the Younger was executive director and president of the You Can Play Project in honour of his late brother, Brendan. The project emphasizes the right of all to play the sport regardless of sexual orientation. Burke will stay on as president while making former NFL player Wade Davis become the more active face of the organization.

Burke has also scouted for seven years, most recently in the Philadelphia Flyers organization, so he knows the pro game and many of the people.

His father, of course, did Shanahan’s job as head NHL disciplinarian for several years, so the dinner discussion in the Burke household should be even livelier going forward.

Patrick Burke’s prominent voice on gay/lesbian rights should also help the NHL navigate the tricky waters heading towards the Sochi Olympics. Burke, of course, might be exactly the type of person who would fall afoul of Russia’s dreadful new anti-homosexual laws, and it’s important for the NHL to be seen to be on the right side of this contentious issue.

Leetch, the longtime Ranger stalwart, has been one of the most respected individuals in the league ever since his playing days, not to mention one of the most highly skilled blueliners ever to play the game.

While Blake left for a front office position with the Los Angeles Kings, Shanahan briefly held talks with the Calgary Flames before deciding to continue his frequently controversial role as NHL sheriff this summer.



Brampton Beast of the Central Hockey League enters affiliation deal with Tampa Bay Lightning

By: Robin Inscoe BRAMPTON GUARDIAN, Published on Thu Aug 22 2013

That roar that was heard coming from Brampton’s Rose Theatre on Thursday afternoon wasn’t from the new Central Hockey League’s Brampton Beast.

It was a roar of approval from the almost 400 hockey fans that took the time to hear NHL legend Steve Yzerman announce via video that his Tampa Bay Lightning had entered into an affiliation agreement with the first-year club, along with the Lightning’s American Hockey League affiliate in Syracuse.

“We take our developmental system very seriously and that is why we are here today,” said Yzerman. “We are looking forward to working with the Beast, and continuing our minor league successes as they embark on their inaugural season as the first-ever Canadian franchise in the Central Hockey League.”

The Lightning forged an affiliation with the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch one year ago and that team reached the league finals this past spring.

The Beast are hoping for the same type of results.

“We were in the same boat last year,” said Syracuse owner Howard Dolgon, who made the four-hour trip for the presentation, that featured a laser show in addition to video presentations.

“Tampa Bay is what you want in an NHL affiliate.”

Dolgon feels that Brampton has what it needs to be successful as a professional hockey market.

“You’ve got what you need to be successful,” said the Crunch owner. “A supportive mayor and great ownership.”

Dolgon took time to recognize the large throng that turned out.

“There are more fans here today than at some games I’ve been at,” said Dolgon, to the delight of the Beast faithful.

“This is fabulous,” stated Tampa Bay assistant general manager Julien Brisbois, who doubles as the Syracuse GM.

“This many people showing up on a Thursday afternoon in August. It’s really impressive. It bodes well for the future.”

As part of the one-year affiliation agreement, the Lightning organization will send a minimum of two prospects to the Beast.

And Brisbois indicated there will be other benefits, like the exchanging of ideas between organizations.

And for Beast head coach Mark DeSantis, it might even mean an opportunity for some of his players to get a taste of the AHL when the Crunch are short staffed.

“It’s going to be great working with their organization,” said the Brampton bench boss. “Hopefully, we can develop and move players to the NHL.”

“I’m excited,” admitted Brampton owner Gregg Rosen, and it wasn’t necessarily about the affiliation. “I knew about that before today, but to see so many people here on a Thursday afternoon, you have to be excited.”

And the affiliation might have already started on the right foot.

One Founder’s Cup member asked about special discounts to Syracuse and Tampa games, and Dolgon indicated that it could be arranged.

And Rosen has offered up two bus trips to Syracuse, at his cost, if there was enough interested.



Tyler Seguin gets chance to be biggest Star in Dallas

By: Kevin McGran Sports Reporter, Published on Thu Aug 22 2013

When Tyler Seguin heads to Dallas to start his first training camp with the Stars, he’ll go with the weight of a franchise on his shoulders that matches up well with his own self-confidence.

Seguin will be The Man. Emerging from the shadows of Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci, the 21-year-old from Brampton —now an ex-Boston Bruin — will be the No. 1 centre on a team that hasn’t made the playoffs in five years.

“I know what it’s like to taste it (the Stanley Cup),” said Seguin. “I know what it’s like to lose it. I don’t know the taste of not making the playoffs, and I hope I never do.

“I think the taste for success has made me more driven as a player. Even being young, I hope to bring a lot of that experience to a locker room.”

Finding a franchise player is never easy. Teams usually get them through the draft. Their availability in a trade — as Seguin was — is rare.

It was only possible this year because the Bruins were tight against the salary cap and needed the space of Seguin’s $6 million (U.S.) cap hit to sign others, most notably goalie Tuukka Rask. There were also whispers of a party lifestyle that may have contributed to the trade.

So far in his NHL career, Seguin hasn’t been a No. 1 centre. He played mostly on Boston’s second line — as a winger — with Bergeron. In the most recently completed playoffs, Seguin finished as a third-line checker.

But for most of the rest of his hockey playing life, Seguin has been a centre, and often the most important centre on the team. And he believes he will be a leader in Dallas.

“In Boston, there were a lot of great players, a lot of veterans, guys who have seen a lot,” said Seguin. “I want to earn my way around Dallas, (taking a) young leadership role. If you look at my resume, it has those things required to make me a leader with what I’ve been through already.

“Growing up, in juniors, I was a guy that led by example, I’m still pretty young in this league, but going to the Cup finals and winning it in my first year, then losing this year, I feel like I know a lot, what it takes, what it tastes like, how the team has to be to get to certain areas.”

Seguin’s rise is part of the NHL’s natural evolution at the leadership level as players take prominent roles at younger ages in the salary cap era. Like Sidney Crosby and Jonathan Toews before them, there are great players on bad teams who hope to take their clubs to new heights.

Around the league:

Steven Stamkos, 23, is now solidly entrenched as the face of the Tampa Bay Lightning, now that long-time captain Vincent Lecavalier has been bought out and moved on to Philadelphia.

John Tavares, 22, is most likely going to be named captain of the New York Islanders, a team on the upswing.

Gabriel Landeskog, 21, of the Avalanche is already the league’s youngest captain.

Taylor Hall, 21, is the leader of the young guns in Edmonton.

Nazem Kadri, 22, has a chance to be the No. 1 centre with the resurgent Maple Leafs.

Cody Hodgson, 23, would seem to be the centrepiece of the rebuilding Buffalo Sabres.

“I’m used to that role. I’m comfortable in it,” said Hodgson of being Buffalo’s top centre. “I think I can definitely be capable of playing that role and hopefully everything works out.

“But when you say lines and combinations, I don’t pay too much attention to it. I just know who I’m going to be playing with. Where you’re slotted doesn’t have much consequence. When you’re on the ice, things change so much.

“You just have to be ready to play. That’s what I try to do, just focus on the shift, what you’re doing, not everyone else.”

Hodgson won’t have the load that Seguin will. Seguin carries a big price tag. And he’s a different player than the one-way scorer Boston got when they drafted him from the Plymouth Whalers in 2010. He’s more defensively aware, having played under Claude Julien and alongside Bergeron.

“I looked up to Patrice Bergeron,” said Seguin. “He just played the game so responsibly and so well. I never want to be a Patrice Bergeron, but I want to mix in some of his attributes: his defensive play, his compete level, his talent on taking faceoffs. That’s the stuff I watched very closely playing alongside him most of the last two years.

“It will be an adjustment. I’m excited for it.”



Connor McDavid, just 16 years old, tries to stay focused while training with NHL stars

Michael Traikos | 13/08/22 | Last Updated: 13/08/21 6:16 PM ET

Toronto – The Next One is The Nervous One.

Jets prospect Mark Scheifele searching for that NHL edge

It is Day 3 of the BioSteel strength and conditioning camp and 16-year-old Connor McDavid is on the ice for the first time against a two-time Rocket Richard Trophy winner and other veterans who were playing in the NHL before he was even born. But that is not what is worrying McDavid, who has played above his age level since he could he skate and who does not look out of place against Steven Stamkos and the other pros training at St. Michael’s College this week.

No, what worries McDavid is how he will look when the Ontario Hockey League season begins next month. The Erie Otters centre, who was the youngest player in the league last season, was named top rookie after finishing with 66 points in 63 games. But with great success comes great expectations. And McDavid, who Sidney Crosby has said “reminded me of myself,” knows he has to continue to get better.

“It was a little different going into the first year because there weren’t too many expectations on you,” said the Newmarket, Ont., native, who is the early favourite to go No. 1 overall in the 2015 draft. “And now it seems like there’s a lot of pressure that I have to do better than last year. I’m a little nervous going into the year to live up to the expectations, but at the same time I’m really looking forward to it.”

The expectations are not only for McDavid to produce more points than he did a year ago. He is expected to lead a team that finished with the second-worst record in the OHL, and he is expected to make Canada’s world junior team as a 16-year-old.

It was frustrating at times. It sucks going into games and losing by a couple of goals … but every athlete has to learn how to lose, I think

That is why he is on the ice this week: to get a head start on meeting all the expectations he and others have set for himself.

“Before you used to go to training camp to get into shape,” McDavid said. “Now it’s completely different. Obviously, you can tell these guys are competing this summer and they’ve never been bigger, never been faster.”

McDavid, who was just the third player to receive exceptional status to play in the OHL as a 15-year-old, received just as rare an invite to the BioSteel camp this week. Normally a camp for established pros looking to get a head start on the upcoming NHL season, McDavid was asked if he wanted to come after some players dropped out and quickly lived up to the advanced hype.

“Stephen Weiss said, ‘I think he’s the best player out here,’” said trainer Gary Roberts. “He looked at his skill level and was like, ‘How old is this guy?’”

For McDavid, the camp is not to improve his skills. His speed and puck-handling ability allowed him to routinely beat defenders last season, but his lack of size and strength made him vulnerable when the puck went into the corners. Roberts said McDavid’s body will mature over time. But until then, the youngster is looking to add much-needed muscle to his 5-foot-11, 170-pound frame.

“He was obviously matching up against bigger players,” Otters head coach Kris Knoblauch said. “If he struggled anywhere, it was in those puck battles. Physically he was overmatched.”

“Playing against guys that are five years older than you takes a toll on your body,” McDavid said. “So this summer I’m looking to get bigger and faster.”

McDavid, who began training with Roberts last year, said he has ditched his diet of fast food for healthier options. But a bigger benefit has come from working out in the same gym as Stamkos, James Neal and other NHLers.

“Stamkos worked out in the group before me and every day it would be pretty interesting [to see what he was lifting],” McDavid said. “If there was a

trap bar, I’d try to lift it. But it seemed like it was record-setting every time. It was definitely pretty cool.

“Obviously it works with guys like Steven Stamkos and James Neal. Those guys are unbelievable. Those guys are physical specimens. So if I do what they do, maybe I can grow into that.”

There is still plenty of time for McDavid to grow into the star player many project he will become. For now, he is concentrating on the immediate challenges that lie ahead. He was recently invited to the world junior development camp, where he impressed coach Brent Sutter, He is aiming to become the first player since Crosby to make Canada’s under-20 team as a 16-year-old.

But the main goal is winning hockey games with the Otters.

“Being right at the bottom of the standings is something that I’m not used to,” McDavid said of last season. “It was frustrating at times. It sucks going into games and losing by a couple of goals … but every athlete has to learn how to lose, I think.

“They have a saying in golf: ‘You’re not going to win a major until you lose one’.”

National Post LOADED: 08.23.2013

715713 Washington Capitals

Reports: Mikhail Grabovski agrees to one-year deal with Capitals

By Katie Carrera, Updated: August 22, 2013

According to multiple reports Thursday night including Yahoo’s Dmitry Chesnokov and TSN’s Aaron Ward, unrestricted free agent center Mikhail Grabovski has agreed to a one-year contract with the Capitals.

Grabovski, 29, was bought out by the Toronto Maple Leafs earlier this summer and always seemed like a potential fit in Washington, where center depth is a concern following Mike Ribeiro’s departure.

A three-time 20-goal scorer and consistent offensive producer for much of his career, Grabovski (94 goals, 123 assists in 367 NHL regular season games) saw his numbers decline after he fell out of favor with Toronto Coach Randy Carlyle last season. The two never saw eye to eye and after being bought out Grabovski called his former coach an “[expletive] idiot” in an interview with TSN. Still, the center has a track record of driving possession and would undoubtedly add skill and necessary depth down the middle in Washington.

Thursday night Grabovski’s agent, Gary Greenstin, said “tomorrow will be big announcement” but declined to elaborate further.

Grabovski will likely slot into the lineup as the second-line center. In July, General Manager George McPhee dubbed Brooks Laich the heir apparent to that spot but circumstances can obviously change based on what players are available and for what price. (Case in point: Remember when the Caps unexpectedly signed goaltender Tomas Vokoun on July 2, 2011?)

Belarusian television station ONT first reported Thursday that Grabovski and the Capitals were close to a deal.

Washington Post LOADED: 08.23.2013

715714 Washington Capitals

Karl Alzner determined to prove he belongs on Canada’s Olympic team

By Katie Carrera, Updated: August 22, 2013

The initial surprise of being one of the 47 players invited to Canada’s Olympic orientation camp may have worn off slightly, but Karl Alzner still catches himself imagining the possibility of fulfilling one of his childhood dreams.

“There are times when I’m at home and I’m like, ‘Holy smokes, this is such a big opportunity’,” Alzner said earlier this week. “This is something that is so cool it makes you feel like a little kid.”

Alzner is looking forward to Canada’s camp, which runs for four days in Calgary beginning Sunday, and soaking up as much information as possible on what team officials are looking for in assembling the squad for Sochi. (Canada, like the United States, will not hold on-ice practices during their orientation camp because of the high cost of insuring players’ NHL contracts.)

As excited as he is to learn what to expect should he be named to the team and participate in the various team-building activities, Alzner readily acknowledges he’s a realist.

Alzner, 24, knows that of the 17 defensemen invited to camp he is one of three who have never represented Canada in international competition at the senior level. Then there’s the consideration that several spots on the blueline will likely be filled by players who were part of the gold-medal winning team from 2010 in Vancouver – Shea Weber, Drew Doughty, Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith for example – making competition fierce for the remaining positions.

Alzner is determined to make the most of his chance, though, and demonstrate why he deserves to be on the final roster.

“From what I’ve heard at least, they’re looking for a left-handed shut down defenseman that can skate. That is usually the way I like to view myself,” Alzner said. “When you’re going up against the best players in the NHL you’re always kind of looking [at other defensemen] and thinking ‘Oh that guy can skate better than me, that guy’s got a better stick than me.’ You’re always kind of picking things apart, but realistically I think that I have an opportunity. It’s going to come down to how I’m playing at the time and also injuries, which we all know can happen so randomly.”

It’s no secret that when assembling Olympic rosters most countries put significant weight on how players perform during the first few months of the NHL season, especially when choosing how to fill the final few openings in the lineup. Excelling in the first 30 or so games of the year can boost a player from long shot to serious contender for a position.

That fact isn’t lost on players, many of whom will have the Olympics in the back of their mind whether they admit it or not. Alzner admits he won’t be able to ignore it, but wants to ensure his Olympic aspirations don’t negatively impact or overshadow his NHL performance.

“I’ve gotta know that the only thing I can control is how I’m playing. I can’t go into a game thinking if I make one mistake my chances are done of making that team,” Alzner said. “If I try and make that bigger than what it is, then that’s when it’s going to be a problem. I feel one of the things I’ve gotten better at over the years is being able to put things behind me a lot quicker and not taking things so seriously. Although it is a very serious thing to make the Olympics, I can’t have that taking over what I normally focus on. The main thing has to be playing in the NHL, this is a little bit of gravy.”

>> For those looking to attend the public day of the U.S. Olympic orientation camp on Tuesday Aug. 27 at KCI in Arlington, tickets ($40 for adults, $30 for children 14 and under) went on sale earlier this week. The events will be open only to ticket holders, who will be able to get autographs, skate and see the unveiling of the U.S. Olympic jersey. A friendly reminder, though, that there will be no on-ice practices for the players themselves.

Washington Post LOADED: 08.23.2013

715715 Winnipeg Jets

Enstrom assault case goes awry

By: Ed Tait

A man accused of robbing Winnipeg Jets defenceman Toby Enstrom in Sweden in late June has been sentenced to one month in jail for giving a false name to police.

Enstrom was assaulted on the evening of June 29 in ñrnskldsvik, Sweden while attempting to take money out of an automated teller machine. The Jets defenceman had been out for dinner with friends and his sister that evening when witnesses say they saw him attacked and left unconscious. He was rushed to the hospital and needed stitches above his right eye, but was not seriously injured.

Enstrom told the court in ñrnskldsvik on Thursday that he did not recognize the accused and could not prove he had actually lost any money.

The accused, who was arrested along with two other men a few hours after the assault -- both of whom were later released -- denied the incident or ever having seen Enstrom in court.

The court determined that the testimony of the witnesses could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused actually robbed Enstrom.

Long record

But the defendant -- who has a long record dating back to 2004 for theft, fraud, receiving stolen goods and misdemeanor drug offences -- was sentenced for giving a false name to the police, who also admitted in court they recorded his name incorrectly and should have been more thorough in checking his identity.

Enstrom, who said he experienced some lingering effects from the assault for a few days but is fine now, is expected to report to Jets training camp next month.

Winnipeg Free Press LOADED 08.23.2013

715716 Vancouver Canucks

Vancouver Canucks re-sign Chris Tanev

THE CANADIAN PRESS August 22, 2013

VANCOUVER — The Vancouver Canucks have re-signed defenceman Chris Tanev to a one-year $1.5 million contract.

The 23-year-old Toronto native recorded seven points (two goals, five assists) and added 10 penalty minutes in 38 games with Vancouver last season.

The six-foot-two, 185-pound blue-liner has 10 points and 12 penalty minutes in 92 career games, all with Vancouver.

He originally signed with the Canucks as a free agent May 31, 2010.

Vancouver Province: LOADED: 08.23.2013


Canucks and Chris Tanev agree to one-year extension

Jason Botchford

Canucks defenceman Chris Tanev is going to have to wait for the big, multi-year payday contract.

He’s going to have to put up some offensive numbers to get it too.

After finally re-signing with the Canucks, a one-year, $1.5 million deal, Tanev, 23, is looking for more minutes and more opportunity to prove he can be a complete player.

And show he is not devoid of offensive instincts.

“If you see him play, you know he has ice water in his veins, excellent puck retrieval skills and he makes great decisions with the puck,” his Vancouver-based agent Ross Gurney said.

“He makes people around him better. It seemed (with the Canucks) a lot of times when players were having problems, they paired those players with Chris.

“These are all great attributes. But they are not necessarily attributes that gets a player paid.”

Tanev, who had seven points in 38 games last season, was seeking a three-year deal. But without a predatory offer sheet from another team, he was out of leverage with training camp just three weeks away, unless you really believed he’d consider Europe.

Without question, Tanev has proven himself one of the Canucks most dependable and consistent blueliners.

He is coming off a a three-year entry level contract that paid him $900,000 and a season in which he averaged 17 minutes a game.

“He has a lot of unrealized potential in front of him,” Gurney said.

”It’s a viscious and violent game, if you can get security you try to get term in an ideal world.

“But it can be difficult leaving the entry system and a one-year deal allows him to get to a place where he has a larger body of work.”

Vancouver Province: LOADED: 08.23.2013


Canucks sign defenceman Chris Tanev

David Ebner

The Vancouver Canucks, after extended talks and percolating uncertainty, have signed their young-and-steady defenceman Chris Tanev to a one-year contract for $1.5-million.

The Tanev negotiations dragged through the summer. The 23-year-old was first represented by his father before turning to agent Ross Gurney. There were recently rumours of interest from Russia and Europe – stoked to generate leverage where Tanev had little-to-none as a first-time restricted free agent – and talks intensified in the past day or so before the deal was announced Thursday morning.

The one-year deals is a raise over Tanev’s 3-year, $900,000 per season entry level deal and gives Tanev more weight in contract talks next summer, when he will have arbitration rights, if he delivers a strong 2013-14 campaign for the Canucks.

The Toronto-raised defenceman, who went undrafted and was signed as a free agent out of college, established himself in 2013 as one of the Canucks’s top six defenders and was known as a steady hand in the Canucks end, with an agile poke check and a strong first pass to clear the zone. Offensively, he is a mostly a non-entity, with two goals and seven points in 38 games.

Tanev’s value will rise if he produces additional offence, said Canucks assistant general manager Laurence Gilman in an interview Thursday morning. Talks, he said, went back and forth through the summer, with ideas of longer-term deals at various levels of salary.

“Chris is an evolving player who came virtually from nowhere to earn an every-day spot on our roster,” said Gilman. “This contract rewards him for the level of contribution he has provided so far, which is really as an adept, steady, and stable shutdown defenceman but recognizes there is more he can accomplish.”

Tanev, 6-foot-2, 185 pounds, appeared in the last three games of the 2011 Stanley Cup final just a year after he was signed out of one year of college.

Tanev was smaller than his peers as a teenager, which developed his style of game.

“I couldn't push people off the puck. It’s something I grew up doing. I had to,” said Tanev in an interview with The Globe in early March. The size-disadvantage remains true: the NHL features many opponents bigger than Tanev is - even though he can well handle bigger players in front of the net. “I’m still not as strong as a lot of these guys, so it's something I have to focus on, always having my stick in a good place.”

Vancouver still has roster spots available – designed so that young names such as last year’s first round draft pick Brendan Gaunce or others such as this year’s first-rounder Bo Horvat can make the team. Both of those players would come with a $925,000 salary-cap hit.

Based on numbers from capgeek.com, and adding the Tanev signing, the Canucks have $61.45-million committed under the $64.3-million, leaving $2.85-million of space for additional skaters.

Globe And Mail LOADED: 08.23.2013

715719 Websites

NBCSports.com / Luongo to Tortorella: ‘I just want to play’

Joe Yerdon

It’s never dull in Vancouver when it comes to Roberto Luongo‘s status with the team. He’s been very quiet most of the summer, save for the occasional tweet here and there, but one guy who’s kept up with him is his new coach, John Tortorella.

Brad Ziemer of the Vancouver Sun spoke with Tortorella (it’s a great interview, by the way) and finds out the coach is very much working on his relationship with Luongo.

“He knows there is a lot of talk and probably a lot of questions coming his way with how it all unfolded here,” Tortorella said. “I think he’s prepared for that and the bottom line is he told me “I just want to play.” I think that is the most important thing, if there is some conflict or you are unhappy about certain things, the bottom line is and he understands it, is that he is playing for his teammates. Those are the most important people.”

Rumors about Luongo not being happy coming back to Vancouver after the Canucks dealt Cory Schneider this summer instead of him have persisted. His seeming aloofness has kept the rumor mill going.

If Luongo is unhappy about things, stressing how the team needs him is a good way to appeal to him. After all, it’s not like he’s getting traded now. If it didn’t happen in the last two years, it’s not about to now.

NBCSports.com / LOADED: 08.23.2013

715720 Websites

USA TODAY / Canadiens agree to terms with Douglas Murray

A small break in the summer-long NHL free agency doldrums occurred Thursday when the Montreal Canadiens agreed to terms with defenseman Douglas Murray.

The one-year contract will be worth $1.5 million, according to TSN. He made $2.5 million last season.

Murray was acquired by the Pittsburgh Penguins last spring as they loaded up for a playoff run, but none of the three potential free agents they traded for were re-signed. Jarome Iginla joined the Boston Bruins and Brenden Morrow remains unsigned.

Murray had a combined one goal and five assists in 43 games last season with the San Jose Sharks and Penguins.

The defensive-mind defenseman is best known for his ability to clear out the crease.

MORE: NHL free agent tracker

This summer had been exceedingly slow on the free agent market as teams are dealing with a drop in the salary cap to $64.3 million.

Other than Jaromir Jagr signing with the New Jersey Devils on July 23, there has been little action in the free agent market since the opening days in early July.

Remaining players include Daniel Cleary (expected to re-sign with the Detroit Red Wings), Mikhail Grabovski, Ron Hainsey, Damien Brunner, Ryan Whitney and Morrow.

Other signings

The Vancouver Canucks re-signed defenseman Chris Tanev to a one-year, $1.5 million contract. Tanev, 23, had two goals, five assists and 10 penalty minutes in 38 games with the Canucks last season, when he made $900,000. The Canucks also brought back Andrew Alberts for one year at $600,000, according to the Vancouver Province. Alberts, 32, had one assist and 32 penalty minutes in 24 games last season. ... The Chicago Blackhawks signed Teuvo Teravainen, their 2012 first-round pick, to an entry-level contract.

USA TODAY LOADED: 08.23.2013

715721 Websites

USA TODAY / Brian Leetch, Patrick Burke join Player Safety department

Kevin Allen, USA TODAY Sports 2:46 p.m. EDT August 22, 2013

When Patrick Burke asked his father, Brian Burke, whether he should consider working for the NHL in Department of Player Safety, the answer was an emphatic yes as long as Patrick understood that there would be days when he wished he weren't there.

"I thought working at the league was a wonderful experience and I felt my time at the league benefited me greatly," said Burke, now a consultant with the Anaheim Ducks. "There is no question that a lot of headaches come with it. But it's an important job. You are protecting the players and you have input on rule changes."

The NHL announced Thursday that Hall of Fame defenseman Brian Leetch would replace Rob Blake as the manager of player safety. Blake left to become an assistant general manager for the Los Angeles Kings.

The younger Burke, 30, was given the newly created title of director of player safety, He and Leetch will work for Brendan Shanahan, who heads the department. One of the department's primary duties during the season is handling supplemental discipline.

MORE: Burke opposes boycotting Olympics

Patrick Burke worked as a scout for the Philadelphia Flyers for seven years, but he is better known for his work as one of the founders of You Can Play, an organization dedicated to ensuring equality, respect and safety for every athlete, without regard to sexual orientation. Patrick and and his father became involved to honor the memory of Brendan Burke, Brian's son, who was killed in an automobile accident the year after announcing he was gay. He was a student manager of the Miami (Ohio) University hockey team.

"Brian Leetch and Patrick Burke are two astute members of the hockey community who will bring unique perspectives and personal experiences to the Department of Player Safety," Shanahan said.

Patrick Burke had been You Can Play's face, but the organization recently hired former NFL player Wade Davis to be the organization's director. According to the Burkes, the hiring of a director had been planned for months because the organization was maturing. The younger Burke helped You Can Play gain visibility.

"I'm tremendously excited for the opportunity to work for the NHL and for Brendan specifically. I hope to bring my background in scouting and in law to help the Department of Player Safety continue to work to maintain the integrity of the game," Patrick said.

Brian Burke understands fully what his son is getting into because he handled supplemental discipline when he was a league executive during the 1990s. He knows that his son now works in an office whose decisions often make everyone unhappy. Usually, when a player is suspended, his team thinks the sentence is too harsh and the victim's team believes it is too lenient.

2013-08-22-patrick-burke

"Patrick's ultimate aspiration is to run a team and I think it's a wonderful stepping stone," Brian Burke said. "And I think Brendan Shanahan is a natural teacher."

As a Hall of Famer with more than 600 goals scored, Shanahan brings credibility to his decisions. Leetch has similar credentials.

"As one of the greatest defensemen in NHL history, Brian displayed a rare sense of the game and its nuances," Shanahan said. "That will be a tremendous asset to our department's efforts to make the game safer for our players while maintaining its physicality and passion. The ability to evaluate players that Patrick refined as a pro and amateur scout will be invaluable to the team that monitors games each night to both identify incidents that might merit supplemental discipline and to note developing trends in our game."

Patrick Burke recently graduated from the New England School of Law.

"If you look at career building blocks for him," Brian Burke said, "it's law school. Check. Amateur scouting. Check. Pro Scouting. Check. Now working at the league office. Check And I think this will help him get to his ultimate goal."


715722 Websites

USA TODAY / Islanders Fans: Looking Past the Coliseum

By Reagan King / In New York Islanders / August 22, 2013

Last week, Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano announced Executive Chairman of Forest City Ratner Companies, Bruce Ratner, was selected as the winning bidder for a much needed renovation for Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. In his proposal, the $229 million plan would revamp the Coliseum, the area surrounding it, and also allow the Islanders to play six games in the 41 year old arena.

New York Islanders Barclays Center

The Islanders will make the Barclays Center their new home at the start of the 2015-16 season.

As we’ve seen countless times already with any hockey news during the summer months, this announcement was no different. Immediately following the 11:30AM press conference, social media networks exploded as Islanders fans rejoiced in the news that Madison Square Garden Executive Chairman and New York Rangers owner James Dolan did not come away with the bid. Many fans of the Isles saw this as a big win. The Rangers owners wouldn’t be taking over our holy grounds and fans can still see their boys play in their current home, even if it’s just for six games. But the joyous news for Isles fans also brought vocal outrage and frustration. The twitterverse filled with a collective “why couldn’t this have been solved a couple years earlier?” A valid question among fans who have rode a Nassau County political roller coaster for much longer than intended, and more importantly, are soon losing their team to a borough 45 minutes west (of course, without taking Long Island traffic into consideration).

At the conclusion of the 2014-15 season, the Islanders will officially be moving out. It’s a narrative we’ve gone over and over and read about tirelessly since the October 2012 announcement. At best, we get two more seasons out of the old barn before the team packs their bags for the move to Brooklyn. As most moves go, it usually comes as bittersweet. Leaving what is known and loved to move to a new, unfamiliar home. It wasn’t the ideal outcome, but it’s a move the New York Islanders franchise is ready for, and its fans should be ready for as well.

The move to Brooklyn is one of the final pieces of the ongoing rebuild puzzle. The Islanders have been at the butt-end of jokes for far too long. A new building, buying out ludicrous contracts, and a solid 2013 campaign capped off by a strong return to the playoffs, it’s time to look to the future, not the past. This also means that games need to played in the new home, not the old one. Bouncing between two arenas, even if they’re just preseason games, is one of the stranger moves the team can make. You wouldn’t go back to your old house for Thanksgiving and Christmas every year, and the Islanders shouldn’t go back to Uniondale for the memories.

I love the Coliseum, you love the Coliseum, and every Islanders fan loves the Coliseum. Fans across the League don’t understand why. They see the second oldest building in the League that for many games, would be filled with an uncomfortable ratio of road fans to Islander fans. Not us. We see the building where three of four Stanley Cups were raised. A dynasty was born. The place where you thought the roof was literally going to blow while waiting for our boys in blue and orange to hit the ice during their return to the playoffs. But as much as we all may love it, we must accept that times are changing and it won’t be our home come 2015-16.

Nassau Coliseum

The Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum will serve as the Islanders home for two more seasons.

We also know our time is limited in Uniondale. Most of us can’t wait until October to get here, let alone two years from now. The Islanders and their fans should be focusing on the now, but when the time does come, should continue to live in the present, not the past. Even just six games a year is too much. The locker room wouldn’t be theirs anymore. It’d be like staying in a hotel. It’s yours for the night, but that’s about it. Bouncing between two arenas wouldn’t benefit the team or their image one bit, and need to make a point that Brooklyn is their new town for good.

While the clock continues to tick toward the fateful departure, let’s enjoy it while we can. A couple more playoff runs and maybe even a Cup, would be

a great way to say a final goodbye to the home we’ve grown to love. It may be considered a dump to most fans throughout the League, but it’s our dump.

The NHL regular season schedule was released on Friday. Check out our partners at TiqIQ for the best deals on New York Islanders tickets for all 2013-14 games.


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