Cleaning out the notebook

Here's a bunch of random stuff to get through before I start a new notebook. First two funny items.

1. You must read former journeyman Sean Pronger's blog at the Hockey News. He's found a new calling as a humor columnist. My favorite bit in there is "turkey sub."

From a reporter's standpoint, I would say that healthy scratches possess their own type of deflector shield. "Do not talk to me during this time of suffering." No problem, because you have bad juju right now. The healthy scratches you want to talk to are the juniors who are up at the end of the year soaking it all in. They are happy to be there and happy that someone wants to talk to them.

2. A week or so ago, I was in Jeff Pyle's office and the injured Phil Youngclaus popped his head in and asked if he could go home for Christmas for a week. Jeff said to take as long as you want as long as you're doing your therapy. Phil said his therapy was going well and that his attitude was that if he gets 1% better for 100 days, he'll be 100% better. Jeff responded by saying "If 100% of the players are giving 75%, I guarantee you'll only win 50% of the games." Laughing, I asked if he saw a little bit of himself in those NHL Network commercials. He said no. I didn't tell Youngclaus that his math on getting better was wrong due to compound interest. He needs to keep it simple.

3. A reader, Logan, wrote in today regarding the recent post that noted that none of the Thrasher draft picks out of the QMJHL are in the NHL. He pointed to Ondrej Pavelec, who played junior with Cape Breton.

When hockey people use the term "drafted out of," it refers to the league they played in in the season before they were drafted. Going into the wayback machine, we recall that Pavelec was drafted out of the Czech junior league -- HC Kladno Jr to be exact. He didn't move to the Q until after his draft. So he was not drafted out of the Q. This actually draws attention to another trend -- that the success the Thrashers have had in goal has almost exclusively been drafted out of Europe: Pavelec, Kari Lehtonen and Pasi Nurminen. There's been a lot of bad goaltenders serving as contrast.

4. A good source mentioned that the oddness of the Hurricanes rehiring Paul Maurice is explained by the plan to make Ron Francis the coach next year. Francis is an associate coach now under Maurice; he had been an assistant general manager with the Canes.

Oddly, Maurice makes for two rehires in the NHL this year. Two clubs willing to admit mistakes. Refreshing, isn't it?

5. 2008 draft pick Danick Paquette was benched on Friday.

Danick Paquette, the captain, rode the pine in the third period after taking two bad penalties on the power play in the third. Both of them ultimately cost the team a goal.

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Thrasher prospects and the 2009 WJC

If it's Christmas shopping season, that means the World Juniors is coming up. The Thrashers will have two, with an outside chance of three, prospects competing. That's a low number.

Team USA has announced a final roster (not a preliminary one). They don't have a camp right before the tournament to pick the team, so they dive right in. Zach Bogosian, John Albert and Vinny Saponari attended the August camp. But now Bogosian is both hurt and in the NHL, so he wasn't named to the team. Neither Albert nor Saponari made the cut. This is Albert's last year of eligibility, but Saponari can try again next year. The biggest surprise on that team was Blake Kessel, Phil's little brother. I saw him play in the USHL in his draft year and was not impressed whatsoever. He went on to be drafted in the 6th round by the Islanders. He's improved some and is at UNH now. His NCAA location had to have had a lot to do with his selection, because you can't tell me there aren't several Americans in the CHL who aren't better than him.

Nicklas Lasu has been named to the Sweden team, and Niclas Lucenius has been named to the preliminary Finland roster. He should make the roster with little problem, given the rest of the roster.

For Team Canada, Angelo Esposito was named to the 38-man camp roster. He's been cut from the team three times already. That's hard to do, because it means you were really really good really young, but didn't improve enough to later make the team. New Team Canada coach Pat Quinn has said he wants a hard-working gritty team. That does not describe Esposito, so he'll headed for the distinction of being cut four times. That's a record that may never be broken. You can chime in with a vote on whether or not he'll make the team in a poll at the upper right.

On a side note, it's trade deadline time in the QMJHL, and Esposito's name is back in the trade rumors this year. His Montreal Junior aren't doing that well, so they may deal Esposito. They are ninth in the Q, with a record of 16-14-1.

From the Telegraph-Journal:

"A lot will depend on whether Saint John and/or Montreal are buyers or sellers at the deadline," said Moncton Flyers midget AAA coach John DeCourcey. "(Saint John's) Alex Grant and Chris DiDomenico and (Montreal's) Angelo Esposito are all guys that could shift the balance of power."

And briefly on the 2009 entry draft, more on Evander Kane. I put our WHL writer up to asking Kane how he'd feel about being a role model for African-Americans if he was picked by Atlanta (who I noted earlier had interviewed him). When the piece came back, I realized that I had made two Canadians talk to each other about a place that neither had been to. The outcome was amusing. I added the clarification to the article that Atlanta is heavily African-American so that Canadians, even the ones asking and answering the questions, would understand.

I suppose Canadians see American movies set in big cities that have a lot of blacks and don't realize what regional variation there is to it. But of course there are parts of America that are whiter than Britney Spears' teeth. My school had one black girl in it -- and she was adopted. And my dad had a guy on his softball team who was black. It was quite exotic. Those were all the black people I knew until I went to college.

Anyway, here's the quote:

On being interviewed by the Atlanta Thrashers, where he would potentially become an important role model in the heavily African-American city…
“I did speak with Atlanta. And I suppose going to the United States, of course there are a lot of African Americans. But I would be happy to play anywhere in the NHL. If it were Atlanta, well yes, you’re correct on that note and I guess that’s all part of the job and I would be very happy doing it.”

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Statistical update

This is just your basic statistical glimpse at how the prospects are doing. A few things to note are that John Albert has taken 14 shots in four games, so he's shooting more, as he intended to. He leads his team in points as a sophomore. Esposito has nine points, but six of them came in one game. I heard he's out with a broken hand, which he injured in a fight of all things.

I didn't include the AHL level because they're all with one team and if you want to look at their stats, just go here.

Player	Pos	Team	League	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIMs
Albert	F	OSU	CCHA	4	2	4	6	+4	2
Saponari	F	BU	HEast	4	1	1	2	+2	0
Martin	F	DU	WCHA	3	0	2	2	0	2
Leveille	F	MSU	CCHA	4	0	2	2		0
Kozek	F	UND	WCHA	4	1	0	1	-3	2
O'Neill	D	Umaine	HEast	1	0	0	0	0	0
Redmond	D	NMU	CCHA	4	0	3	3		4
Enlund	F	Tappara	Finland	16	4	7	11	-2	4
Lucenius	F	Tappara	Finland	10	0	1	1	-3	0
Zubarev	D	Mytishchi	KHL	13	0	1	1	+3	6
Lasu	F	Boras HC	Swe-2	5	0	2	2		4
Tuomainen	F	Lukko	Finland	15	0	2	2	+1	0
Postma	D	Calgary	WHL	11	1	10	11	+6	2
Esposito	F	Montreal	QMJHL	8	2	7	9	+3	7
Paquette	F	Lewiston	QMJHL	10	4	3	7	-2	41
Forney	F	Green Bay	USHL	4	3	4	7	+4	12
Goalie		Team	League	GP	W	L	T	GAA	SPCT
Kangas		U Minn	WCHA	2	2	0	0	1.50	.942
Carrozzi		Miss	OHL	5	3	1	0	1.85	.936

Esposito's snub may have worked out best for Sea Dogs

From the Telegraph-Journal, a very enlightening read about Esposito not being picking first in the Q draft because he claimed he was going the college route. It sheds light on him, as well as the often very shady dealings in the CHL.

At the time, it was seen as a loss for the Dogs. More than three years later, it's not so clear cut.

LeBlanc still has vivid memories of that day. He also recalls the five months before the draft and the multiple meetings he and head scout Norm Gosselin had with the Esposito family and his agent, Phil Lecavalier.

"At no time did they say they were going to come (to the league). If he didn't want to play in Saint John, he could have just come out and said so," said LeBlanc, now a scout for the Halifax Mooseheads....

LeBlanc still believes [Patrick] Roy and Esposito had a deal in place before the draft.

"Two weeks later everything changes?" he said. "Give me a break."

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Esposito with six-point game

Keep in mind the QMJHL is a high-scoring league, but Angelo Esposito had six points in his second game with his new team, the Montreal Juniors. Here's the box score for the 8-4 win. Teammate Luke Adam, a Sabres draft pick, had a hat trick and five points.
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Paquette ejected in season opener

From the Sun Journal:

Maineiacs' captain Danick Paquette made his long awaited season debut, but that lasted all of 4:09. On his third shift, Paquette went to line up Moncton captain Matt Eagles. The shifty forward ducked, and the players' knees collided. Officials assessed Paquette a 5-minute major and a game misconduct for kneeing, and also kicked Moncton's David Savard out of the game after the lunky forward started a fight with Paquette.

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Esposito back in his hometown

As expected, Angelo Esposito was traded from the QMJHL Quebec Remparts to the newest franchise, the Montreal Juniors last weekend.

From the Montreal Gazette:

As a kid growing up in Town of Mount Royal, this is not how Angelo Esposito dreamed it would go down.

His introductory meeting with the Montreal media would have been held at the Bell Centre, not at a club on Crescent St., and he would be putting on the famed bleu-blanc-rouge of his beloved Canadiens as photographers' flash bulbs clicked around him.

Instead, Esposito was at Newtown yesterday afternoon trying on the burgundy and white colours of the Junior de Montréal, who acquired the 19-year-old's rights in a blockbuster deal that landed the transplanted major-junior hockey franchise a marquee, homegrown talent for its maiden season in the city.

Sometimes a change of scenery does players a lot of good. Maybe Esposito can get back on the right development path with the Montreal Juniors. They probably don't need to worry about losing him to the NHL this fall though, as he doesn't look ready to make that jump just yet.

He would need to want it incredibly bad, which is questionable given that he's still harboring so much hope of playing for the Canadiens:

"I obviously always dreamed of playing for the Montreal Canadiens, and hopefully that can happen one day, or maybe it will," said Esposito, quickly catching himself so he didn't upset his bosses in the Atlanta Thrashers organization.

I asked Thrashers Asst. GM Larry Simmons last weekend if Esposito would be signed before training camp. It's not an urgent thing of course, since he doesn't have to be signed until June 2009. Simmons thought perhaps he would be, but the Thrashers were letting the issue wait for now because Esposito has the same agent as Luc Bourdon, who was tragically killed in a motorcycle accident a few weeks ago (Kent Hughes).

Rumors of QMJHL trade for Esposito

From the Moncton Times & Transcript:

There's also rumours that Quebec has placed centre Angelo Esposito on the trade market. If he moves, he may be headed to his hometown Montreal Juniors who could be looking for a high-profile player as they prepare for their first season.

[Quebec head coach and general manager Patrick] Roy dismissed the talk, saying "They're all just rumours." Esposito, 19, has seen his production decline in each of his three QMJHL seasons. He had 69 points, including 30 goals, in 56 games this past season. That compares to 98 and 79 points in his first two seasons.

This would of course only mean a change in QMJHL rights, not NHL rights. The QMJHL is currently in a trade freeze until the day before their yearly draft, which will take place June 7.

The Montreal Juniors are a new team, as the St. John's Fog Devils move to the city. Montreal used to have junior hockey, the Montreal Rocket, but has had trouble supporting it in the past.

The Halifax Chronicle-Herald says it's the Juniors who are initiating the trade talks:

It’s also believed that Roy is listening to an aggressive pitch by the Montreal Juniors for forward Angelo Esposito. It seems Juniors owner Farrel Miller has targeted the 19-year-old Esposito to be the face of his franchise and is prepared to pay a handsome price to pry him away from the Remparts.

That has to be sweet music to Roy, who will gladly sit back and let the Juniors back up the truck for Esposito. Watch for this one to end well for the Remparts.

Signing deadlines for prospects

It's fish or cut bait time on players drafted in 2006. I actually really like the June 1 deadline because it tidies things up. We get some closure on guys all across the league and it clears the decks for a new crop at the 2008 draft.

The NHL CBA states that players drafted out of Canadian juniors or Europe are subject to this deadline or they return to the draft. The wrench in the machine is this thing about the IIHF agreement falling apart. I blogged about it a few weeks ago. Previously the Russians had dropped out, causing the signing deadline for Russians to be extended indefinitely. It's unclear if the NHL is going to do the same for all European countries now. Extending it puts the power in the hands of NHL teams and takes leverage away from the players, so one would think so.

Note that it's the league a player is drafted out of that matters for these rules, not your country of nationality or current play. So Arturs Kulda is subject to rules on Russia, not the OHL, because he was drafted coming out of a Russian league.

Here are the Thrashers prospects in play right now. Two CHL guys have already been signed -- Holzapfel and Machacek.

June 1 - CHL and Europe (deadline fuzzy on Europeans)

Jonas Enlund - Finland
Juraj Gracik - Slovak
Arturs Kulda - Russia
Denis Loginov - Russia
Miikka Tuomainen - Finland
Andrei Zubarev - Russia

August 15 - NCAA graduating seniors

Rylan Kaip
Matt Siddall

I've been getting emails asking me who I think will and won't be signed. The only guys I expect to get a press release about in the next week are Kulda and Enlund. Zubarev would be a plus, but don't hold your breath. Gracik, Loginov and Tuomainen are not worthy of contracts.

On the two college graduating seniors, with an Aug. 15 deadline, I don't expect Siddall to be signed. Kaip, I have a feeling he'll end up with an affiliate next year. I think he's a solid, character player you want in the system, but his NHL upside is low. That's exactly the kind of guy you set up with Chicago or Gwinnett. Then if he overachieves, you haven't cut ties.

Sometimes guys who aren't signed by their drafting team within the window are reselected in the draft, but it seems like they rarely pan out. The Thrashers have been on both sides of that equation. Rob Zepp reentered the draft after being taken by the Thrashers in 1999, and Paul Flache was a redraft in 2002. Both of them played in Europe last year.

On a side note, in ECHL news, the Ducks announced an affiliation with the Bakersfield Condors, thus ending their relationship with the Augusta Lynx.

Junior review done

Just finished the review of the Thrasher prospects who played junior this year. Here are a few notes that didn't make it in.

If he weren't still with the Chicago Wolves, Arturs Kulda would have been a candidate for the Latvian senior national team, now playing in the World Championships. He's a veteran of the national junior team.

Spencer Machacek and Riley Holzapfel were born only two months apart, though they fell into different draft years. That's important when comparing them.

I came across an article in the Regina Leader-Post that bemoans the lack of offense in the WHL. It's noteworthy that Holzapfel was mentioned as an exciting player to watch.

"It's not as exciting to watch a defensive struggle as it is to see an offensive game,'' [Regina Pats general manager Brent] Parker continued. "That probably goes without saying. But the players who are exciting and fun to watch -- like Tyler Ennis and Zach Boychuk and Zach Hamill and Jordan Eberle and Riley Holzapfel -- because of the way our game is played, they don't get the opportunity to show the skills that they've got.''

Statistics show that it is harder to score in the WHL than the QMJHL (the OHL falls in between). It's important to keep this in mind when comparing the numbers of two prospects across leagues. The WHL is generally thought to best model the pro game. So it is always more likely that a WHL can make an easy transition than someone out of the Q.

Listening to the inteviews again, it struck me how funny Kulda is. It's mostly intentional, but partly a function of his struggle with the language too. The humor doesn't translate to paper -- er, screen -- that well though.
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To avoid embarrassment, keep your sisters away from the press

Because they are likely to say things that you wouldn't necessarily want out there during the playoffs. It's a lesson Thrashers prospect Paul Postma is facing right now.

With many fans choosing to stay home to watch the Calgary Flames-San Jose Sharks tilt on TV, the Saddledome [home of the Calgary Hitmen] was less than half full.

But despite being avid Flames fans, the Postma sisters -- Jamie-Lea, Alissa and Sharlene -- wouldn't consider missing a Hitmen game.

Their brother Paul, who was facing the Lethbridge Hurricanes last night, is one of the club's top defencemen.

"I think we've only missed two games since he was traded (from Swift Current,)" said Jamie-Lea, who makes the drive from Red Deer for every junior contest.

"We're die-hard sisters. We've been Flames fans since we were babies. Even Paul had a little sleeper he used to wear.

Does everyone have a visual in their head of baby Paul in his Calgary Flames sleeper? Good. I'm sure that's just what he would have wanted.
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Esposito's AHL debut

Angelo Esposito made his AHL debut today for the Chicago Wolves. The team pulled its tried and true rookie prank on him, though it didn't work quite as well on him as it has some others.



Esposito and Ondrej Pavelec.

Bryan Little and Esposito.

He looked pretty nervous during warmup, but when he saw a camera on him, tried to put on a good face.




Esposito played left wing on the fourth line with Steve Martins and a rotating winger. He saw about two or three shifts a period. Once when Martins was tossed from the faceoff circle, he and Darren Haydar quickly discussed who would step in. They decided on Espo.

A few times Esposito's shift was cut short when a penalty occurred. He drew a hooking call himself once as he crossed the blue line with speed.

In general I thought he did a lot of running around. Seemed to want to be everywhere. Went for some hits, but doesn't really have the body mass yet to be an effective hitter.

He had a nice one-timer that he shot wide, but otherwise no scoring opportunities. He had a dipsy-doodle move in the slot once, but the defender was right on him.



All in all, he showed a glimpse of his talent, but wasn't in the best places to get the puck on his stick. I asked Peoria's play-by-play guy what he thought of him, because I know Tom and he has no dog in the hunt, and he said he thought he looked raw, and that he has talent but doesn't know where to go. And that guys out of junior/college run around with chickens with heads cut off, and he followed that pattern.

Dan Marr of the Thrashers was there to see him.

I asked Wolves coach John Anderson what he thought of his play, and he was complimentary:

"Really liked him. You can see he's got some savvy, a good shot, and he's pretty smart with the puck. His first game, he was a little nervous, but I thought he played very well for us. I'm happy we had a chance to use him."

Anderson had the rink diagram out with him on the bench, drawing a few things. One thing he was showing him was "soft locking."

"If he's the last guy in the zone, when he comes over to the player, normally you want to go and take the man out, but you can't because you'd get trapped against the wall and it's a 3 on 2 the other way," Anderson explained. "So what we teach is to come up and soft lock on the guy -- you turn up with him as opposed to taking him out, so at least you're coming back with the play instead of getting stuck on the wall. A few other things, but he's very good, a quick learner. He hadn't seen our team play or our systems at all. Nelly (asst coach Todd Nelson) spent a good 45 minutes before the game explaining a few things we like to do. He was very receptive, a quick thinker."

Angelo Esposito will make AHL debut tomorrow

His junior season with the Quebec Remparts ended yesterday, he flew in tonight and watched the Wolves game. After the game, I saw him walking with Wolves GM Kevin Chevaldayoff. As I was doing a double-take, Chevy said to me "it's snowing!" as in, I must be having a fit coming from Atlanta (he's right). I said "new player, eh?" He said yeah, he just picked him up at the airport around 7pm.

I then chatted with Esposito for a couple minutes, who seemed wary to talk. Understandable under the circumstances. Not much came out of that other than he doesn't know anyone but Jordan LaVallee.

I asked him what number he would wear tomorrow and he said "whatever they give me." Well, they're giving you #6, kid. Enjoy it.

For those who can't quite recall, Esposito was acquired in the Marian Hossa deal at the trade deadline. Here are his stats. The Wolves take on the Peoria Rivermen at 3pm CT (4pm ET).

Naturally there will be photos tomorrow.

CHL playoff update

Real quickly since it's timely, center Riley Holzapfel's eighth-ranked Moose Jaw Warriors are taking on defenseman Paul Postma's Calgary Hitmen in the WHL playoffs. Both of them had a goal last night in what was a 5-1 win by the Hitmen. Keep an eye on Postma. He's an up and comer.

Spencer Machacek's Vancouver Giants are playing Chilliwack, and they beat them 2-1 last night. Machacek also had a goal. Both games were Game 1 of what will be a seven-game series.

In the QMJHL, Angelo Esposito's Quebec Remparts are taking on Chicoutimi (my favorite Q-team name). They lead the series 1-0. In what has become a theme now, Esposito had a goal in the game -- shorthanded.

Defenseman Arturs Kulda's OHL Peterborough Petes are taking on the Belleville Bulls. They are even at 1-1 in the series. Kulda has one assist in those two games.

Playoff outlook for Thrashers prospects (NCAA, CHL, Europe)

I'll start with the CHL since it's more straightforward.

The WHL regular season ends this Sunday. Riley Holzapfel's Moose Jaw Warriors are 8th in the WHL's Eastern Conference, and will likely match up against Paul Postma's 1st place Calgary Hitmen in a seven-game playoff series. So one of the two of them would be done early, and I'd have to guess Holzapfel based on the standings. Joining the Chicago Wolves would give him a nice taste of pro hockey as he heads into next year though.

Spencer Machacek's Vancouver Giants are 2nd in the WHL's Western Conference. They of course went on to win the Memorial Cup last year. Angelo Esposito's Quebec Remparts are 4th in the QMJHL's Telus Division. Arturs Kulda's Peterborough Petes are 8th in the OHL's Eastern Conference. An early exit by them could have Kulda joining the Wolves. It's not unheard of for a player with junior eligibility remaining to play a few AHL games in the spring either (and then return to junior the next year), so Esposito could conceivably do that, but it's unlikely given Chicago's depth.

The NCAA is more of a mess. The regular season is done and we're now in conference championships. But what teams really want to do is be invited to the national tournament, a la basketball's March Madness. These invites are based on rankings -- strength of schedule and the like. Here's a link to USCHO.com's PairWise rankings and latest bracketology where they guess the match-ups. It gives you a good idea of who will be invited. The league champions each get an automatic bid, even the struggling CHA. The writer predicts that 7 WCHA teams -- generally agreed to be the strongest conference and the one where more NHL prospects play -- will make the tournament.

The WCHA's Univ. of North Dakota is tied for fourth in the pairwise rankings. UND is the team of three Thrashers prospects -- Rylan Kaip, Andrew Kozek and Michael Forney. They are a talented and gritty team -- the stuff that could take them all the way. They do indeed, as they say, put the fight in Fighting Sioux. Denver, ranked 6th, is home to freshman Jesse Martin. By the way, if anyone can explain to me why Denver goes by "DU," yet the official name of the school is University of Denver, do tell. Seems to me like it ought to be UD. And finally, for all its struggles, the Univ. of Minnesota is ranked 12th and will probably just make the tourney. Goaltender Alex Kangas is their starting goaltender as a freshman.

In the CCHA, John Albert and Ohio State finished next to last in the regular season standings and have already been put out of their misery. Last place was Western Michigan, a school you almost never hear about anymore. Matt Siddall is at Northern Michigan and they finished 6th in the CCHA.

In Europe, Jonas Enlund had a great start to his playoff career with Tappara Tampere in the Finnish league the other night -- he turned game 1 around and scored both goals in a 2-1 win vs. JypHT in the quarterfinals. Also in Finland, Miikka Tuomainen's team Lukko Rauma is out, losing in the "pre-playoffs." Andrei Zubarev is not playing at the moment but his Russian Super League team Kazan Ak Bars won the first round and is now playing CSKA in the quarterfinals. Kazan is one of the favorites for the league title.

Finally, I have to share something funny I read today:

. Vancouver comic Torben Rolfsen, on University of Moncton hockey player Josianne Bisaillon being suspended for an entire year after she punched a female linesman three times in the face: "Great; this totally screws up my Atlantic University Sports women's hockey fantasy league team.''

Espo's flow coming soon to Atlanta

So, as you've heard, the Thrashers got Angelo Esposito as part of the deal for Marian Hossa. For me, two things come to mind about Espo.

First is Karl Alzner commenting on Espo's look at the draft in Columbus. I went to the media luncheon and I just wanted to chat a few people up, put some names with faces. Alzner is known as a clothes horse, so I asked him who in the group of top prospects was the best dressed. Without hesitation he said Espo. He commented on his shoes and longer suit jacket. Alzner said he also likes Espo's "slicked-back flow." I checked out the hair, and indeed young Angelo has a nice head of wavy hair and he can dress himself. He could be gracing the cover of several Atlanta magazines one day.

But what caught my eye, on a more serious note, when I checked him out was his limp. He was recovering from a groin injury. Here it was end of June, he hadn't played in several weeks and was still limping. That raised some red flags for me. Usually limping goes away in a couple days. He was still not healthy last August.

Espo is healthy now, has been all year, but the wonky groin could be a story someday in the future. I hope it isn't, but the sight of him limping at the draft will stick with me.

Esposito was a teammate of now fellow Thrashers prospect Jordan LaVallee on the 2005-06 Memorial Cup-winning Quebec Remparts team. Having just turned 19 a few days ago, next year Espo will either need to make the big club or go back to junior. Sometimes these prodigy types have used up their four years of junior eligibility by having played at a young age, but since Espo played at Shattuck-St. Mary's (high school), he's only in his third year of junior. Does he have some issues? Sure. But with talent like this, it's not a bad gamble.

As far as trade deadline day goes, it was a good number of trades league-wide -- enough to keep you interested, not so many it was overwhelming. I used Kevin Allen's USA Today blog to get updates, and was satisfied with only that.

On the good news front, from what I hear, our message boards at Hockey's Future didn't crash like a few others out there did. We even set a new simultaneous usage record of 17,150 users at 3:13 PM. Holy cow that's a lot of people at the exact same time! But, that traffic is what pays me the big -- make that small -- bucks, so good job to the admins.

Riley Holzapfel makes the cut for 2008 WJC

He's expected to play on the fourth line. Several prominent names were sent home. I'm sure this is headline news north of the border.

From TSN

[Leland] Irving and [Angelo] Esposito were not the only eye-openers on cut-down day, as four players from the Canadian team that won the lopsided Super Series were also let go. Defencemen Keaton Ellerby and Ty Wishart were sent back to their junior clubs, along with forwards Dana Tyrell and Zach Hamill. ...

With the cuts, the lines for the tournament should see Brad Marchand, Kyle Turris and Claude Giroux on the first line, Zach Boychuk, Brandon Sutter and Stefan Legein on the second unit, Shawn Matthias, Steve Stamkos and Matthew Halischuk on the third line and Colton Gillies, Riley Holzapfel and Wayne Simmonds on the fourth line. Oshawa Generals forward John Tavares will likely be rotated among the forward lines and on the power play unit.

Machacek and Blum drop the gloves at practice

Thrashers prospect Spencer Machacek fought teammate Jon Blum (NAS) at practice with the Vancouver Giants (WHL). This happened a week ago, but is still somewhat interesting.

Winger Spencer Machacek and defenceman Jon Blum, two of the squad's best three or four players, dropped the mitts in the midst of skating laps at the end of the session. Usually during a practice scrap two or three guys go over and break it up; this time, with two key players involved, there were 10 or 12 guys in the pile.

No one was saying afterwards what it stemmed from. Everyone was saying that it wasn't a big deal and that both Machacek, the team captain, and Blum, an alternate, had moved on.