All Entries in the "Prospects" Category
Five Deals That SHOULD Be Made Before The Deadline
As the late February NHL trading deadline approaches rumors have began to surface in every corner of the hockey world. From buyers to sellers and rentals, a plethora of deals always seem to be made this time of year. This year, as a few top-tier players are slated to become Unrestricted free agents at year’s [...]
Q & A with Hockey Future’s Jared Ramsden (Update on NJ Devils prospects)
Thank you to Jared Ramsden from Hockey’s Future (www.hockeysfuture.com) for taking out the time to answer some questions for me on the future prospects of the New Jersey Devils. Jared is a great resource on the up and comers for the Devils. Be sure to check out his upcoming column (expected to be available in mid-February) on the [...]
CONCUSSIONS KILLING HOCKEY
Speed and offense are now the kings in the present day NHL. A focus on players with those very attributes took over drafts and team on-ice strategies. Slower skaters have slowly been fazed out, especially those pugilistic specialists who all too often didn’t quite have the same skill sets and strides of their respective teammates. [...]
Thoughts on World U-17 Tournament
As a hockey fan living in Michigan, I have always been accustomed to watching the Detroit Red Wings, but it’s not the only hockey ticket in town. About 30 minutes northwest are the Plymouth Whalers and they are one of the premier teams in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). If you want to cross the [...]
Detroit Red Wings Week In Review
At the Christmas break, the Detroit Red Wings (21-12-1) are currently in third place in the Central Division with 43 points and they now stand in sixth place in the Western Conference. With back-to-back losses on the road to Vancouver and Calgary, it’s no secret that the Red Wings need to pick it up and [...]
The Personal Demons Of NY Islanders Prospect Corey Trivino
If you aren’t aware, I am a hockey blogger for CBS New York / WFAN now. My first blog was earlier this week with the lay of the land with the NY Islanders, arguing that the Isles have indeed taken a step forward thus far. My second piece, today, is on Isles 2008 2nd [...]
Pre-season prospecting: Tom Kuhnhackl
It is not clear how many people in recent history have made the 4,250 mile journey from Augsburg, Germany to Pittsburgh. In a few years, the Penguins are hoping a prospect who travelled that path will realize his NHL dream. Right wing Tom Kuhnhackl, 19, a 6’2″ 172 lb. native of Landshut, Germany, was drafted [...]
Sky’s the limit for award-laden Nashville blue line prospect Ryan Ellis
After a distinguished four-year major junior career in which he put his name in the conversation of all-time best Ontario Hockey League defenceman while earning just about every award imaginable, 20-year old blueliner Ryan Ellis only took a brief rest this past summer before resuming his training program. This week, Ellis continues his journey to [...]
LA Kings prospect calls Anaheim Ducks fan ‘a lost cause’
Kaunisto during Rookie Camp (photo: CIKIRI) It’s time for the return of the Yooper. Ray Kaunisto, a 6-foot-4 left wing, played 57 games for Manchester last season, the Kings’ AHL affiliate. He had 14 points (8 goals, 6 assists) and finished with a minus-6 rating. Not exactly numbers that will shoot him past Brandon Kozun [...]
PAT LAFONTAINE AND STEVE WEBB TO RIDE 550 MILES FOR CHARITY
We here at HI support this effort by Pat LaFontaine and Steve Webb, and personally implore you to give just anything you can in support of this…. HOCKEY LEGENDS PAT LAFONTAINE AND STEVE WEBB TO RIDE 550 MILES FOR W20 FOUNDATION AND COMPANIONS IN COURAGE FOUNDATION NEW YORK (September 19, 2011) –NHL alumnus Steve Webb [...]
Despite winless Rookie Tournament, Nasreddine, Samuelsson positive
The Pittsburgh Penguins lost all three games of the 2011 NHL Rookie Tournament in Oshawa, Ontario, falling by a lopsided composite score of 13-2 in three games over four days. Today, the Penguins’ prospects fell 4-1 to Chicago’s prospect squad in a game that turned near the end of the second period when after Pittsburgh [...]
McKegg’s 1 goal, 2 assists lead Leafs over Pens at Rookie Tournament
Greg McKegg, a returnee from last year’s Rookie Tournament, scored a third period goal and added two assists as the Toronto Maple Leafs won their second straight game this weekend, 5-1 over the Pittsburgh Penguins. Pittsburgh fell to 0-2 in Oshawa. McKegg, 19, scored 49 goals and 92 points for the Erie Otters of the [...]
Brandon Saad making most of chances with Hawks at Rookie Tournament
Chicago and Toronto played a competitive, back-and-forth game on Saturday night at the 2011 NHL Rookie Tournament with the Leafs’ propsects prevailing over Chicago’s youngsters 4-2 with Jake Gardiner scoring the game-winning and insurance goals in the third period. After Toronto took a 1-0 lead, the game featured two lead changes before Gardiner, a forward [...]
Cowick’s 2 goals help Sens shut out Penguins in opener of Rookie Tournament
The Ottawa Senators defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-0 for a shutout win in the opening game of the 2011 NHL Rookie Tournament at General Motors Centre in Oshawa, Ontario. Left wing Corey Cowick, a 2009 draft choice of the Senators, scored two goals while Robin Lehner, Sweden’s netminder at the 2011 World Junior Championship, made [...]
Rookie tournaments give prospects chance to make a statement
Hockey Independent will be on-site at General Motors Centre in Oshawa, Ontario this weekend to report on the 2011 NHL Rookie Tournament. Prospects from the Pittsburgh Penguins, Chicago Blackhawks, Ottawa Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs will play each other once for a total of six games from Saturday until Tuesday.
Lokomotiv tragedy pierces the soul of global hockey community
The imminent start of hockey season and the usual excitement of seeing players slowly trickling into training camps enthusiastically looking forward to making a fresh start suddenly seems very irrelevant and very meaningless this morning. Writing off-season recaps to remember who went where in free agency or trades suddenly seems equally irrelevant and equally meaningless [...]
Expect Rookie Blueliner To Get Taste Of NHL This Season
Whether he plays all 82 games, or only 20 games, with the Detroit Red Wings, expect 2007 first round pick Brendan Smith to play on NHL ice this season. If and when he does, he will get the best on-the-job training around. He will be around a future Hall of Famer in Nicklas Lidstrom, which [...]
One year after World Hockey Summit: Player transfer agreements – Part 2
Part 1 of this retrospective article on the one-year anniversary of the Molson Canadian World Hockey Summit quickly reviewed the nature of NHL – European league Player Transfer Agreements and the refusal of the Russian Hockey Federation to enter into such agreements. The acrimony surrounding the movements of Evgeni Malkin from Russia to North America and [...]
One year after World Hockey Summit: Player transfer agreements – Part 1
The final notable topic that still resonates one year after the Molson Canadian World Hockey Summit was held in Toronto, is international player transfer agreements. With the exception of Russia, most European nations have a formal legally-binding agreement in place with the NHL that stipulates the price to be paid by a North American club to [...]
NY Islanders: A Recipe for Success?
We are in the dog days of summer. There is nothing worse for an Isles fan than an August where so much is left up in the air. Its been a long long month. The venue effort failed. Free agency was with minor solid piece on the bottom 6, which I warned long ago. The [...]