Don't look now!

Unless you have been checking the NHL.com standings more often than a TSN intern, you'll have noticed that the standings just aren't what they used to be. It's like the Bizzaro world episode of Seinfeld. The South East division is now relevant, the Pittsburgh Penguins are out of the playoffs, and top it off , the Chicago Blackhawks would play the Phoenix Coyotes at the 4-5 spot if the playoffs started today.

How did this all happen? OK, well the South East division is basically the Alex Ovechkin show, so let's not go into details on that one. The Pittsburgh Penguins being out of the playoffs, now that's something you don't see everyday! Sure they are only two points out of the playoffs, but they are 4-6-0 in their last 10 games, and through the holidays they went 1-7 for a stretch. During that stretch they allowed 33 goals in 8 games, for a GAA of 4.125. Ryan Whitney came back during that run and he has been a -8 player playing 25 minutes per game. Does this mean that when Gonchar comes back they will plummet to Senator-like play?

The Chicago Blackhawks have slowly crawled out of their basement apartment in the Central division to become on of the bandwagon teams of the last two years (the other being Washington, oh and have you noticed all the Bruins fans lately?). The 'Hawks are being outscored by only the Sharks, Wings and Bruins, (when you consider the Caps have 4 games on them and the Flyers have 2) there's something to be jovial about.

And how about those Phoenix Coyotes, the addition of Olli Jokinen seems to have invigorated the youngest team in the league. A year ago people were calling for Wayne Gretzky to step down and join the ranks of the "Great players but brutal coaches" (which everyone seemed to WANT to label him as) but he has showed them that he really knows what he is doing; just look at his former assistant, Rick Tocchet as the head coach of the 7-3-0 Lightning. It's great to see the Great One getting credit where it is due. I think he should be in the running for coach of the year along with Claude Julien, Joel Quenneville and of course Todd McLellan.

And, most of all, my Dallas Stars are back in it! Only two points out of a playoff spot and firing off a shutout win last night, the Stars seem to have turned the ship around. Slowly climbing out of the worst start in franchise history, this team looks poised to make a run in the playoffs, talk about a team you wouldn't want your San Jose Sharks to face in the first round.

How about Pogge last night? Give me your thoughts, I've seen him play a lot and I personally do not think he is the guy just yet for the Leafs, but what do you think?

Mid Season Surprises

Hey everyone, sorry about the delays, I have been quite busy lately and this post has suffered. However, here we go.

I figured since every other NHL related write-ups have included some mid season evaluation I would do my own. (I thought about ranting that NHL players don't care about the all-star game, but TSN beat me to it) So instead of talking about the first 60 guys on the NHL points sheet, I'd like to talk about some of the next 120 guys on that list.

First of all, Craig Anderson, goaltender from the Florida Panthers is the most under rated tender in the NHL. Anderson has posted the second best save percentage in the league with .930 (.014 points better than the starter Tomas Vokoun) has earned his team 23 points in 22 games and is in his third year of playing this good! His SVP in 07 was .931 and last year it was a mind blowing .935. His seventh year as a back-up should be his last, as I hope Anderson will land a starting job somewhere this off season. Anderson seen here scoping out the Ice Girls, now we know why he is 7-0-1 in arenas with Ice Girls*.

I would love to talk about David Krejci, however, he's just too good; his 52 points in 47 games is beyond the caliber of this blog. If you don't know him, go look him up, you'll be impressed.

Would you be surprised to know that Rene Bourque has as many points as Chris Drury, Keith Tkachuk and even Paul Stastny? Well you should, Bourque is 3 points away from his career high of 34 points and is playing some great defensive hockey for the Flames. The pride of Lac La Biche, Alberta (2 hours north of Edmonton) is playing about 17 minutes per game and making the most of it. Another 27 year old proving that age doesn't mean you can't have a breakout season.

Next we have Joakim Lindstrom of the very surprising Phoenix Coyotes (who are in the playoffs right now, weird). Lindstrom is 25 and is playing with his 3rd team in 8 months and is turning some heads in Phoenix. With 20 games into this season he has 7 goals, that’s a pace of 28 in a season, not bad.

It’s hard to not talk about Claude Lemieux, the 43 year old made waves when he signed with the Shanghi Sharks of the Chinese Hockey League in October. He played 2 games and out skated the likes of Hirogachi Namasaki, Eto Chung and Dave Rockford (beer league player from Cold Lake Alberta, brought in as a ringer). It's crazy to think that he has made a comeback and is playing with the best team in the NHL no less. Good luck to Claude!

In closing, I can't wait to see the All-Star game in Montreal as the super shootout (let's call it that for now) looks like it should be interesting. My pick for the event is Rob Schremp...oh; sorry he's still in the AHL since he can't play defense, my bad!

*not a real stat

WJC Wrap-up

Well the tournament of the year has come and delivered on all fronts - The Canadians won, the Americans had their drama and the Russian dreams were crushed by Canada.

I am just going to write about some of the individual players that impressed me the most. These aren't the guys that won tournament all-stars or MVPs. This isn't about Hodgson, Tavares, Eberle, Karlsson or Backlund.


Here are the players that stood out for me.

Tyler Myers, Defense, Canada
The 12th overall pick in the 2008 Entry Draft is property of the Buffalo Sabres. This 6'7'' behemoth anchored Canada's blue line with Keith Aulie (6'6'') in what was in my opinion, Canada's best defensive pairing. I wasn't expecting much from pairing these two slow towers together, however, Myers' speed was very impressive for a man of his stature. In my mind, he was Canada's best defenseman.

Tomas Tatar, Wing, Slovakia
The undrafted 17 year old Slovak put up an electrifying 7 goals in as many games, and he did played his best hockey against USA, Sweden and Russia. With such strong offensive flair, Tatar is undersized and could have problems adjusting to the strength of North American defensemen, however, I expect him to be drafted in the top 20 picks of this year's entry draft.

Jaroslav Janus, Goaltender, Slovakia
This 19 year old goaltender is currently with the Erie Otters of the OHL and is not property of any NHL team. In my mind he was the best goaltender at the tournament. Making over 40 saves in three consecutive games, he was very impressive with his quickness and glove hand. Sure, Janus probably won't be a star in the NHL but I can see him being very wealthy one day in his native Slovakian league.

Magnus Svensson-Paajarvi, Wing, Sweden
Another electrifying 17 year old, Magnus's speed was among the best in the tournament. His strength on the puck was that of most other 19 year olds and his quickness along the boards made him a very dangerous threat on his off wing. He busted by the defensemen on most teams with one hand on the puck and the other protecting it. He finished the tournament with 6 points in 6 games. I think he may have some character issues but he should be another top 20 pick this year.

Ryan Ellis, Defense, Canada
I could talk about how effective Ryan Ellis was for an entire blog, however, only his mom would read it. Ellis was Canada's quarterback, protector, and initiator. He had the most responsibility one defenseman can ever have on a power play: the entire blue line. With Canada's 1-3-1 system Ellis was the only man back and he rarely turned the puck over, always making the safe play. Showing that much poise as a 17 year old goes a long way, expect him to easily crack the top 10 in this year's entry draft.

I could talk about a lot more guys up here but we just don't have enough time, this tournament was easily the most exciting in a few years for Canadian Fans. I was impressed with the quality of play this year and I hope that we can see some of these guys light up the tournament again next year.

Thanks for your patience in regards to the blog, I have moved and am trying to get the computer back up and running. Feel free to post subjects you would like the next blog to be on, it can be anything but try to keep it hockey.