It's Sept. 4, and if you're a hockey player and don't have a contract yet, it's time to be concerned. There are some guys who control their own destiny, like Mats Sundin and Mike Vigilante (who I expect an announcement on soon). But there are other guys, like Brad Schell, who would probably like to be in a better situation than they are right now.
Other familiar names still without contracts: Guillaume Desbiens, Craig Kowalski (G), Morgan Cey (G) (Update: Cey signed in CHL on 9/5, Mike Hamilton with ECHL Las Vegas). Ryan Munce (G) comes to mind too, but he's more obscure to readers of this blog.
Youngish guys without contracts who played games at the NHL level last year, with age:
Tomas Plihal, 24
Matthew Spiller, 24
Brandon Nolan, 24
Rob Globke, 25
Karl Stewart, 24
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Going to the Dome
This weekend I'm going to my first NFL game in Atlanta. I believe I was at an NFL game, the Steelers, when I was little. I asked my Dad about it recently to be sure, and he didn't think I had. But I now weight my own memory ahead of his, and I'll demonstrate why.
Here's an excerpt from an actual conversation with my dad, from when I brought my significant other home to visit for the second time. Dad asked significant other when his birthday is, and was told it's six months from his own.
Dad: Oh, that should be easy to remember.
Me: That's what you said last time.
So, you see why vague remembrances of yellow and black are what I'm going with. I have been to the Georgia Dome, just once, since I've lived here. That was for the U2 Pop tour -- ages ago. So I'm mildly excited about going, just for the spectacle.
Here's an excerpt from an actual conversation with my dad, from when I brought my significant other home to visit for the second time. Dad asked significant other when his birthday is, and was told it's six months from his own.
Dad: Oh, that should be easy to remember.
Me: That's what you said last time.
So, you see why vague remembrances of yellow and black are what I'm going with. I have been to the Georgia Dome, just once, since I've lived here. That was for the U2 Pop tour -- ages ago. So I'm mildly excited about going, just for the spectacle.
Thrashers Traverse City tourney roster
The rules of the tournament say each team is allowed four players with a year or pro experience. Grant Lewis, Tomas Pospisil, Chad Denny and Myles Stoesz are the four for the Thrashers. Ryan Daniels is an invitee in net. Daniels was at July prospect camp too. He's 20, so he has junior eligibility, but is probably looking to turn pro. He's an unsigned draft pick of Ottawa's. Scott Bartlett, a forward, looked good at July camp as an invitee.
It seems like every year one of the prospects injures themselves pretty badly at this tournament, so here's hoping for a very safe year. Again, HF will have daily game summaries with feedback from participants. I'll link to the articles, which should appear the next morning around 6am.
NO. PROSPECT NAME HT WT DRAFTED 2007-08 TEAM
FORWARDS
65 * Carter Bancks LW 5.11 169 — Lethbridge (WHL)
70 * Scott Bartlett F 5.09 165 — Middlebury (NESCAC)
57 Angelo Esposito C 6.00 190 PIT-07 (1-20) Quebec (QMJHL)
43 Riley Holzapfel C 5.11 170 ATL-06 (2-43) Moose Jaw (WHL)
53 Rylan Kaip C 6.01 188 ATL-03 (9-269) North Dakota (NCAA)
67 * Justin Larson C 6.03 195 — Mississauga (OHL)
66 * Matt Lyall C 5.11 155 — Sault Ste. Marie (OHL)
46 Spencer Machacek RW 6.00 182 ATL-07 (3-67) Vancouver (WHL)
68 * Robert Mignardi C 6.00 170 — Kingston (OHL)
59 Danick Paquette RW 6.00 210 ATL-08 (3-64) Lewiston (QMJHL)
56 Tomas Pospisil LW 6.00 185 ATL-05 (5-135) Gwinnett (ECHL)
63 Matt Siddall RW 6.01 205 ATL-04 (9-270) Northern Michigan (NCAA)
61 Myles Stoesz LW 6.02 208 ATL-05 (7-207) Gwinnett (ECHL)
DEFENSEMEN
44 Zach Bogosian D 6.02 197 ATL-08 (1-3) Peterborough (OHL)
64 * Patrick Cusack D 6.01 194 — Lewiston (QMJHL)
55 Chad Denny D 6.03 227 ATL-05 (2-49) Gwinnett (ECHL)
62 Arturs Kulda D 6.02 194 ATL-06 (7-200) Peterborough (OHL)
52 Grant Lewis D 6.03 193 ATL-04 (2-40) Chicago (AHL)
58 * Scott Marchesi D 6.01 200 — Sacred Heart (NCAA)
60 Paul Postma D 6.02 173 ATL-07 (7-205) Calgary (WHL)
GOALTENDERS
35 Chris Carrozzi G 6.03 185 ATL-08 (6-154) Mississauga (OHL)
34 * Ryan Daniels G 6.01 194 OTT-06 (5-151) Saginaw (OHL)
* denotes free-agent invitee
It seems like every year one of the prospects injures themselves pretty badly at this tournament, so here's hoping for a very safe year. Again, HF will have daily game summaries with feedback from participants. I'll link to the articles, which should appear the next morning around 6am.
NO. PROSPECT NAME HT WT DRAFTED 2007-08 TEAM
FORWARDS
65 * Carter Bancks LW 5.11 169 — Lethbridge (WHL)
70 * Scott Bartlett F 5.09 165 — Middlebury (NESCAC)
57 Angelo Esposito C 6.00 190 PIT-07 (1-20) Quebec (QMJHL)
43 Riley Holzapfel C 5.11 170 ATL-06 (2-43) Moose Jaw (WHL)
53 Rylan Kaip C 6.01 188 ATL-03 (9-269) North Dakota (NCAA)
67 * Justin Larson C 6.03 195 — Mississauga (OHL)
66 * Matt Lyall C 5.11 155 — Sault Ste. Marie (OHL)
46 Spencer Machacek RW 6.00 182 ATL-07 (3-67) Vancouver (WHL)
68 * Robert Mignardi C 6.00 170 — Kingston (OHL)
59 Danick Paquette RW 6.00 210 ATL-08 (3-64) Lewiston (QMJHL)
56 Tomas Pospisil LW 6.00 185 ATL-05 (5-135) Gwinnett (ECHL)
63 Matt Siddall RW 6.01 205 ATL-04 (9-270) Northern Michigan (NCAA)
61 Myles Stoesz LW 6.02 208 ATL-05 (7-207) Gwinnett (ECHL)
DEFENSEMEN
44 Zach Bogosian D 6.02 197 ATL-08 (1-3) Peterborough (OHL)
64 * Patrick Cusack D 6.01 194 — Lewiston (QMJHL)
55 Chad Denny D 6.03 227 ATL-05 (2-49) Gwinnett (ECHL)
62 Arturs Kulda D 6.02 194 ATL-06 (7-200) Peterborough (OHL)
52 Grant Lewis D 6.03 193 ATL-04 (2-40) Chicago (AHL)
58 * Scott Marchesi D 6.01 200 — Sacred Heart (NCAA)
60 Paul Postma D 6.02 173 ATL-07 (7-205) Calgary (WHL)
GOALTENDERS
35 Chris Carrozzi G 6.03 185 ATL-08 (6-154) Mississauga (OHL)
34 * Ryan Daniels G 6.01 194 OTT-06 (5-151) Saginaw (OHL)
* denotes free-agent invitee
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
So, about this Top 20
As promised, a few comments about the Top 20. I've discussed the process before, but this time I came up with an initial ranking of about 22 players and passed it around to a few knowledgeable people, including the HF staff. The top three guys are pretty cut and dried (and I was quickly locked into those for the benefit of the Top 50 list committee). It was the 4-10 range that was tough. I ended up taking the advice of those who have proven to be right about players over the longest period of time. But really, you could make an argument for any of them being No. 4, and any being No. 10 or 11.
I then wrote up 22 blurbs, without the exact order known. When they were done, I reordered them and that's what you see. We have a rough word limit per player for Top 20's at HF -- 150 words -- which means that in practice you can't include many quotes. I had to paraphrase most things, though I did include the two exact quotes from Kenny because they were good and I hadn't had a chance to use them before. You might ask why we have a word limit on a website, since we have unlimited space. Well, we want to make the articles approachable to someone who isn't a fan of the team, and a non-fan isn't going to read all the way through if it's longer than this. Plus there's a consistency issue across teams. In fact I sent the Minnesota one back today because it was too long, so we're pretty serious about that.
Things I cut out. I had written more on the dilemma of keeping an 18-year-old on the roster (i.e. Bogosian), but took it out because I decided it's not all that relevant right now since the Thrashers are pretty much forced to use him to get to the salary floor. If they didn't have that need, then they would need to consider the problem of bringing him up too fast and risking him losing confidence. Balance that with the possibility of him getting frustrated or bored if he were sent back to junior. Emotional reactions are extremely important at this age. One empirical fact remains though -- very few 18-year-old defensemen play in the NHL.
Somewhere along the way in the past few months, there's an idea out there that Kulda has a chance to make the Thrashers roster. That's just crazy talk. I was writing about him last year, before the pile of words that has accumulated now, but even though he's exceeding expectations, it's important to stay realistic about the normal development of prospects. Artie himself would probably say "it would be great if it happened, but..." tilt his head and leave the rest of the sentence hanging. Because he knows he's going back to Chicago. As he should.
If Lasu were in the Top 20, I would have included the fact that he was thrown out of a game at Lake Placid. Alas, I just mention it here.
Next up, a training camp preview focused on rookies. I already started it in fact.
This weekend I made a plane reservation for a hockey trip -- someplace I've never seen a game before. I decided I need to get out and see more things. Last year I made 3 trips to see the Wolves, and that was far too much. This year, I aim for more viewing of 2009s and other things of more general prospect interest. Word on the street is that scouting service ISS, which was sold a year ago, is in flux, so this will be a good year to use my own eyes more.
On an unrelated note, how about the possibility of Jake Anderson, John's son, getting a tryout with the Gwinnett Gladiators? He's a 23-year-old forward who played Div III at the Milwaukee School of Engineering. He played junior in the OPJHL. John made a crack about him moving back home this summer, though now "home" has moved.
I then wrote up 22 blurbs, without the exact order known. When they were done, I reordered them and that's what you see. We have a rough word limit per player for Top 20's at HF -- 150 words -- which means that in practice you can't include many quotes. I had to paraphrase most things, though I did include the two exact quotes from Kenny because they were good and I hadn't had a chance to use them before. You might ask why we have a word limit on a website, since we have unlimited space. Well, we want to make the articles approachable to someone who isn't a fan of the team, and a non-fan isn't going to read all the way through if it's longer than this. Plus there's a consistency issue across teams. In fact I sent the Minnesota one back today because it was too long, so we're pretty serious about that.
Things I cut out. I had written more on the dilemma of keeping an 18-year-old on the roster (i.e. Bogosian), but took it out because I decided it's not all that relevant right now since the Thrashers are pretty much forced to use him to get to the salary floor. If they didn't have that need, then they would need to consider the problem of bringing him up too fast and risking him losing confidence. Balance that with the possibility of him getting frustrated or bored if he were sent back to junior. Emotional reactions are extremely important at this age. One empirical fact remains though -- very few 18-year-old defensemen play in the NHL.
Somewhere along the way in the past few months, there's an idea out there that Kulda has a chance to make the Thrashers roster. That's just crazy talk. I was writing about him last year, before the pile of words that has accumulated now, but even though he's exceeding expectations, it's important to stay realistic about the normal development of prospects. Artie himself would probably say "it would be great if it happened, but..." tilt his head and leave the rest of the sentence hanging. Because he knows he's going back to Chicago. As he should.
If Lasu were in the Top 20, I would have included the fact that he was thrown out of a game at Lake Placid. Alas, I just mention it here.
Next up, a training camp preview focused on rookies. I already started it in fact.
This weekend I made a plane reservation for a hockey trip -- someplace I've never seen a game before. I decided I need to get out and see more things. Last year I made 3 trips to see the Wolves, and that was far too much. This year, I aim for more viewing of 2009s and other things of more general prospect interest. Word on the street is that scouting service ISS, which was sold a year ago, is in flux, so this will be a good year to use my own eyes more.
On an unrelated note, how about the possibility of Jake Anderson, John's son, getting a tryout with the Gwinnett Gladiators? He's a 23-year-old forward who played Div III at the Milwaukee School of Engineering. He played junior in the OPJHL. John made a crack about him moving back home this summer, though now "home" has moved.
Bar at the Cooler now open
Yesterday a Top 20, today bar reconnaissance. Don't say I'm not working for you.
The Cooler in Alpharetta, an ice rink with two sheets, has always had an upstairs that overlooked the rinks, but never did much with it. Leagues hold their drafts up there, that's about it. Well, that changed yesterday with the opening of the "Atlanta Fire Bar."
Don't get too excited, it's not much more than a basement bar. They have a license to serve beer and wine. It's $2 for a can of beer or 9oz. cup of wine. They also have some snacks you can order:
Chicken Fingers $3.50
Chick. Fingers & Fries $5.25
Mozzarella Sticks $2.75
Onion Rings $2.50
Fries $2.00
They may add wings and nachos, they tell me.
I asked two people about the hours it will be open, and that's still to be determined. Today it's open 5-10. That's not going to be late enough to rival nearby Miller's Ale House which closes at 2am, I'm afraid. But I think they are going more for the hockey parent demographic than the adult league players.
In any case, remember: don't drink and skate.
Update on the 3-year-old boy learning to skate that I talked about a month ago -- progress is slow. He and dad were there again today. I thought the rope he was holding the boy up with was helping him skate, but no, it just saves the dad's back.
The Cooler in Alpharetta, an ice rink with two sheets, has always had an upstairs that overlooked the rinks, but never did much with it. Leagues hold their drafts up there, that's about it. Well, that changed yesterday with the opening of the "Atlanta Fire Bar."
Don't get too excited, it's not much more than a basement bar. They have a license to serve beer and wine. It's $2 for a can of beer or 9oz. cup of wine. They also have some snacks you can order:
Chicken Fingers $3.50
Chick. Fingers & Fries $5.25
Mozzarella Sticks $2.75
Onion Rings $2.50
Fries $2.00
They may add wings and nachos, they tell me.
I asked two people about the hours it will be open, and that's still to be determined. Today it's open 5-10. That's not going to be late enough to rival nearby Miller's Ale House which closes at 2am, I'm afraid. But I think they are going more for the hockey parent demographic than the adult league players.
In any case, remember: don't drink and skate.
Update on the 3-year-old boy learning to skate that I talked about a month ago -- progress is slow. He and dad were there again today. I thought the rope he was holding the boy up with was helping him skate, but no, it just saves the dad's back.
New top 20 done
The new Thrashers Top 20 prospects is up at HF. I managed to finish it despite obsessively watching hurricane coverage.
I'll have some comments tomorrow -- things that were left out, etc. But here's the link for now.
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I'll have some comments tomorrow -- things that were left out, etc. But here's the link for now.
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Monday, September 1, 2008
Sitko to English Premier League after all
Only because it is after the Gladiators re-signed him for the season do I mention this, but Jon Sitko has signed with Swindon in the English Premier Ice Hockey League (a reorganization of the British Elite League).
Further down, the coach calls the signing a "major coup." I'll let you be the judge there.
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CANADIAN Jon Sitko is the final name on the Swindon Wildcats’ roster for the forthcoming English Premier Ice Hockey League season.
Further down, the coach calls the signing a "major coup." I'll let you be the judge there.
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