All Entries in the "Prospects" Category
NHL Summer School with Ambroz and Nieto
Last week NHL VP Brendan Shanahan invited 33 of the top prospects for the 2011 NHL Draft to Toronto so they could participate in the NHL’s Research and Development camp. Basically, players were there to test out some propsed rule changes. Hear from two players that were on the ice, get their impressions and opinions on what they liked and disliked. Plus a few notes on who looked impressive.
Injuries? Already? B’s Likely Lose Whitfield For Season
Bruins fans are all too familiar with the injury woes that surrounded their club in 2009-10. In fact, most get nauseous when recalling the turbulent season where the club lost 187 man-games to injury. With Marco Sturm’s road to knee surgery recovery already testing the depth of the Bruins to begin the season, the depth [...]
Dog Days of a Canucks Summer: Questions Surround Mitchell, Bieksa
While time has flown by over the last year, the dog days of summer are upon us and the hockey calendar has drifted into the slowest time of year for hockey fans.
If Brian Burke had his way, resurrecting hockey’s World Cup would spice up hockey’s summer slumber.
For now, Twitter will have to entertain the starved [...]
Bruins’ Mikko Lehtonen Heading to Swedish Elite League
If we’re being honest here, Bruins fans didn’t get much of a look at Finnish forward and 2005 third round draft choice Mikko Lehtonen during his tenure with the organization. In fact if you weren’t paying attention to his 23 minutes and change of time-on-ice in just two NHL games, there’s a chance you’re reading [...]
Off-Season Analysis: The Defense
Breaking: According to the team, the Montreal Canadiens have traded AHL goaltender Cedrick Desjardins to the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for goaltender Karri Ramo. Ramo, a 24-year-old native of Finland who has played 48 NHL games since 2007, played for the Omsk Avangard of the KHL this past season, and has one more year [...]
Tinordi Leaves Notre-Dame, Will Play for London Knights
Look who’s here?
Jarred Tinordi must have had a conversation with Louis Leblanc this past week.
The Canadiens’ 1st round pick in this past June’s draft will be leaving Notre-Dame of the NCAA to join the OHL team that held his rights, the London Knights.
Tinordi was selected 22nd overall at the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, with the [...]
Warming Up for the World Jrs with Kyle Clifford
Kyle Clifford of the OHL’s Barrie Colts (and a top prospect of the LA Kings) checks in with The Mayor to share some stories from his expereince at last weekend’s Team Canada evaluation camp, including his thoughts on several other players in the mix.
Leblanc Chooses Montreal; Habs sign Picard
Finally, some blog-worthy news to come out of the Montreal Canadiens’ camp.
It was announced on Friday evening that the Montreal Canadiens have signed 1st round pick Louis Leblanc to a three-year contract. While terms of the contract were not released, you can expect it to hover around the league maximum for an entry-level contract.
The deal [...]
Analyzing the Canes’ open forward spots
The Carolina Hurricanes have been very open to giving a chance to their youth.
They pitched their newly acquired collegiate forward Riley Nash a spot on the team even though he made it very clear he would like to graduate. Soon enough the cousin of Columbus Blue Jackets winger Rick Nash signed with the team, citing [...]
TALE OF TWO CITIES: A Scouting Story
Funny dichotomy…
NY Rangers lose their head European scout CHRISTER ROCKSTROM. Christer Rockstrom, the man with the rockstar name, was a member of the New York Rangers organization for the past 21 years, including the past five seasons as Director of Player Personnel – Europe. He previously served as a European scout for the Rangers for 16 [...]
Tarasenko Coming Now or Later?
When the Blues sent David Rundblad to Ottawa in order to draft Vladimir Tarasenko they knew they were taking a young man with nearly limitless scoring potential. They just didn’t know how soon he would cross the pond. Conflicting reports are circulating. Renewing undo confusion on where Tarasenko will play hockey in [...]
Rangers’ 2010 Traverse City Tournament Roster Set
Today the New York Rangers released their 22-man roster for the 2010 Traverse City Prospects Tournament. Five of the 22 members were selections in this year’s NHL entry draft.
The Rangers will be sending:
LW Ryan Bourque, RW Evgeny Grachev, C Roman Horak, LW Colin Martin, RW Chris McKelvie, RW Randy McNaught, C Brendan Shinnimin, C Derek [...]
The Bolts Beat, with Jon Jordan and Mike Corcoran
In this episode of The Bolts Beat, Mike and Jon discuss the recently completed prospect camp, the potential for moves the team should or should not make and, as always, Mike’s “Missed Call of the Week” and Jon’s “What the Hell Was That?!?” segments. We also reach into The Bolts Beat mailbag to answer your [...]
Tonight’s Young Guns Game Concludes Lightning Development Camp: 2010-11 Forwards in the Mix?
While Tampa Bay hockey fans with an eye on this week’s development camp are currently getting a look at a crop of players who could make up a significant portion of the Lightning’s core somewhere down the road, they could very well be witnessing a player or two competing in tonight’s camp-concluding Young Guns Game [...]
The Bolts Beat, 07/09/10: With Special Guest, Dan Ellis
In the latest installment of The Bolts Beat, Jon and Mike catch up with the Lightning’s newest goaltender, Dan Ellis and discuss the latest off-season happenings for the Bolts, including more unrestricted free agent signings, a couple of restricted free agents re-upping in Tampa, Mike’s recent sit-down with Lightning head coach Guy Boucher, the upcoming [...]
“We’re Not Done Yet” Gillis Eager After Adding Ballard, Oreskovich, Draftees
Mike Gillis sure is a man of action isn’t he?
While Gillis may not have the style and swagger of notorious past Canuck GM Brian Burke, however Gillis proved he is not afraid to make a move on draft day.
Minutes before the draft began, a deal had been made (contingent on Jarred Tinordi and Beau Bennett [...]
HOCKEY INDEPENDENT’s FREE AGENCY LIVE SHOW: 11am to 5pm on July 1st. Be There!
The LIVE CHAT will open at 11am. We will have a breaking news twitter feed in the chat so we all know at the same time as things break. Cut through the blogosphere and twittersphere noise and spend your Free Agent Frenzy day with us!
NHL DRAFT DAY WINNERS & LOSERS?
We should remark right here and now, that there can be no gauging on the NHL drafts winners and losers for a good 3 to 5 years. Maybe even 6 years down the line, ultimately.
However, we can comment on VALUE. Value in many cases was blown up this draft as many teams started drafting [...]
BLACKHAWKS’ 2010 DRAFT: THE KNOWN UNKNOWNS
“We’ve said all along that the key to sustaining a team is bringing up young players year after year.” That was how Stan Bowman viewed the Chicago Blackhawks’ posture going into the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. As a Stanley Cup Champion, the Hawks executives clearly felt they could afford to look at prospects who would pay off long term, rather than focusing on immediate returns. The choices also reflect some of the new trends in player development.
ISLANDERS TAKE KABANOV
3rd round pick makes it a low risk with a high reward scenario. Kabanov has top flight talent, on par with both Taylor Hall and Tyler Seguin. His issues are well-documented. Isles take a shot that just may…reap a huge reward or just fade into the KHL murk.
Ballsy move.
NY ISLANDERS DRAFT REPORT: Nobody Should Have Been Surprised With El Nino
There seems to be some revisionist history by many who pushed dmen or just didn’t have enough draft acumen to hazard a guess. History dictated, as I cited in a previous blog a while ago, that it is FORWARDS not defense that tend to develop to NHL-level at the 4-6th picks of the 1st round.
Then [...]
Sabres Take Pysyk at 23
Entering tonight’s first round of the NHL Entry Draft, there was much speculation on what Darcy Regier and the Buffalo Sabres were going to do with the 23rd overall selection. There had been rumors of a possible deal with Toronto for Tomas Kaberle. And since Toronto did not have a first round pick, the thought [...]
NY ISLANDERS GRAB FORWARD AT 5: Nino Niederreiter, Brock Nelson at 30
NINO NIEDERREITER
NY ISLANDERS – 5th Pick
Q. Nino, how do you feel about becoming an Islander?
NINO NIEDERREITER: It’s just a great feeling. I couldn’t be happier to be part of the Islanders.
Q. I understand you and Johansen are friends on and off the ice. Did you have any friendly bets about who was going [...]
BD LIVE FROM LA: Hall 1, Seguin 2, Gudbranson 3, Johansen 4, 5 El Nino
Follow me on twitter: @bdgallof to get the latest and greatest.
LA is sometimes called the land of hype and superficial. It is a place of cocktails handed out with plastic cups by failed actors. Is it any wonder that upon the advent of the NHL draft is a ton of hype, rumor, and innuendo flying around [...]
30 thoughts/facts/predictions around the 2010 NHL draft/free agency ***updated***
Three hours away from the beginning of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft in Los Angeles, California, there is a lot of talk surrounding what is likely to happen tonight, and before the start of the NHL free agency on July 1st.
Below, you will find 30 thoughts/facts/predictions about the NHL that might happen in the next [...]
Tonight The Bruins Will Pick…
It’s hard to contest that the Boston Bruins have had a draft pick as important as this one since 1997 when the club selected center and future Art Ross winner (albeit not completely with Boston) Joe Thornton with the first overall pick. Now, 13 years later, the B’s find themselves in possession of the NHL’s [...]
With the 27th Pick, the Montreal Canadiens Are Proud to Select…
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In this year’s draft, the Montreal Canadiens will be selecting 27th overall, thanks to their impressive run in the Stanley Cup playoffs. To put things into perspective, if they hadn’t amassed that single overtime point they did in the final game of the season against the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Canadiens would be drafting in [...]
DRAFT PROSPECT Q&A: BD Talks Prospects with TheProspectPark’s Jeff Rubenstein
QUESTION 1:
OK, Jess, I need to have you weigh in on Taylor or Tyler at the top spot
Oh this is a tough one because if you go by talent and potential then overall Tyler Seguin would be your pick. Edmonton though needs a player who has name recognition, will get fans to buy tickets, and [...]
Nick Giglia’s Mock Draft: The Ducked Version
Nick Giglia and his friend Andrew talk prospects after a beer-fueled mock draft.
Big Blues Blog – More on Halak, the Draft, and Free Agency
Fans in St. Louis and Montreal have had a few days to digest the first blockbuster deal of the summer. For as bitter as Montreal is, St. Louis is equally excited. The Blues official website, www.blues.nhl.com , had a splash page entirely devoted to the trade. Halak is the newest tool in [...]
After Taylor Swift-ly goes to Edmonton … others will be drafted
Most of the thirty National Hockey League clubs will add one or more new players to their organization tomorrow night when the first round of the 2010 Entry Draft takes place in Los Angeles at the Staples Center starting at 7 pm EDT / 4 pm PDT. Much bandwith has been expended over the last month as writers, bloggers [...]
2010 Mock Draft
Here’s how I see things going down…
1. Edmonton – Taylor Hall LW – Edmonton, like the Islanders a year ago, are in a no lose situation. They will either pick the super talented Hall or the kid who compares to Steve Yzerman. I say they take the flashy Hall and never look back.
2. Boston – Tyler Seguin [...]
What Now – Canucks Look Towards NHL Draft, Free Agency, Award Hardware
Now that the evil Chicago Blackhawks have won the Stanley Cup, leaving all of Vancouver with the “at least we lost to the Cup winners” excuse, it is time for the Canucks, specifically GM Mike Gillis to evaluate and improve the Canucks roster in order to elevate the team to the later rounds of the [...]
THE UNUSUAL SUSPECTS: What The Isles Will Likely Do This Draft
The NY Islanders march to the beat of a different drummer, even where scouting and prospect assessment is concerned. How do we know this? Just track their picks for the past few years, about the time where Mike Milbury was out and a new system was brought in. That system has created quite a bit [...]
Presidencies & Rumors: A Quietly Busy Week In Boston
It’s been an interesting and eventful week in Boston, but the Boston Celtics and the trade (and ensuing riot via social-networking) of Jaroslav Halak to St. Louis by the Montreal Canadiens has really buried the Bruins’ headline-sweeping ability. However, with the temperatures approaching 90 degrees in the city of Boston, it’s probably the only time [...]
ISLES BLOGOSPHERE WEIGHS IN ON DRAFT: Plus My Prediction, The Real Russian Factor, and More!
The Isles blogosphere comprises of a solid and unique bunch. To me, there is no better resource to go to for scenarios of what the Isles might do with this coming draft. The Isles hold 10 picks, including 2 2nd rounders, and 2 3rd rounders besides the overall #5 pick.
That, my friends, is a lot [...]
Halak to St.Louis…and other Blues news
Change is inevitable. It’s a common thread throughout history. As time has passed since the lockout the Blues have been in a continual, yet gradual, state of change.
Dismantle, sale, rebuild.
Today the Blues started the warp drive and jumped forward in to the next generation of Blues history. They traded their [...]
6 Picks In The Top 100
Rounds 2 and 3
The Islanders own 4 picks in the 2nd and 3rd rounds. As we saw last season with players like Landon Ferraro, Carl Klingberg, Jeremy Morin and Drew Shore players can sometimes slip from the end of the 1st round to the mid/late 2nd round.
If you remember in 2008, Kirill Petrov, Corey [...]
2010 NHL ENTRY DRAFT: A Q&A With McKeen’s Hockey David Burstyn
This will start our series of speaking to different Scouting outlets on this coming NHL entry draft, which will occur June 24-26 in Los Angeles. This draft might be more wide-open than the last few years, and lots of different Scouting Reports have varied on a few things.
We begin with the Director of Scouting at [...]
Cup Vs. Cap: What’s Next For the Chicago Blackhawks?
The confetti has barely been swept up from the Chicago Blackhawks’ Stanley Cup Championship parade, and already salary-dumping scenarios for the Hawks are being concocted. While Islanders great Mike Bossy suggested the Hawks can become a dynasty, some observers say the party’s already over as The Cap, in their eyes, crushes all hope. Where the truth is, perhaps, only Chicago GM Stan Bowman knows. At least, Hawks fans hope he does.
NHL ENTRY DRAFT PROSPECT: Tyler Seguin
Tyler is a pretty engaging charismatic fellow. You will notice on how not only he handles himself with the press, but also how the press becomes engaged to his own conversation and thoughts. It’s a gift, and pretty interesting to see. He and Gunbardson were ones who came across personable and confident. This of course [...]
Grading the Islanders: Part Four
Part four in a multiple part series that analyzes and grades the play of the New York Islanders. This part covers Mark Streit, Andy Sutton, Freddy Meyer, and Bruno Gervais.
NHL ENTRY DRAFT PROSPECT: Erik Gudbranson
Erik Gudbranson was led into the den of vipers, otherwise known as the press, at the Stanley Cup finals on Friday. He held up very well, looked people in the eye, and talks about his excitement in being there, being compared to Chris Pronger and more.
Some have him going at #4, others at #5 to [...]
SSDD in the 314
First off, let me say how much I am absolutely enjoying the Stanley Cup Finals even though my two teams (Blues and Pens) are healing up and playing golf. Three very exciting games showcasing multiple facets of the great game of hockey. Game One was all about scoring and speed. Game Two [...]
Grading the Islanders: Part Three
Some early morning Islanders news, as well as part three of a multiple part series that analyzes and grades the play of each of the New York Islanders from this past season.
