After watching the Edmonton Oilers struggle the last few weeks I have come to realize a few things. One, never before have I seen a club more reliant on their first and second year players to carry the load. Two, there is a glaring need to add a couple premier defenseman. And three, it seems like a deflated and frustrated group all the way from the top down.
It’s a club that has lost it’s confidence. It’s swagger that was there when they went an impressive 8-4 to start the season is all but a distant memory. And, while that start was maybe a glimpse into a sign of things to come for the young Oilers, in no way does it reflect how the fans should have expected their season to play out. Read more »
I was going to wait before dropping a new Top 50 prospects list on my site, as I will be taking in the CHL’s Top Prospect Game in Kelowna, BC in the coming weeks. Actually, I wasn’t even planning on doing a draft eligible list, but didn’t want to disappoint my loyal fan. Being that I have been busy with the Indiana Ice, most my weekends have been spent catching Major Midget games out West, but I have still found time for the occasional junior games as well. And, despite not really working on my site anymore, I still like to keep in tune with the upcoming prospects for the NHL Entry Draft.
If the 2012 version of the NHL Entry Draft was a movie, than the working title may just be “Year of the D-Man” as there are an abundance of stud defenseman Read more »
It’s easy to write a positive article about a hockey organization that has given me an opportunity, but putting all bias aside, the Indiana Ice have had an impressive proven track record of success since their inaugural season in the USHL back in 2004.
The team has made the playoffs in each of their first six seasons in the league, and hoisted a Clark Cup Championship in 2008-09. They’ve also developed a plethora of NHL Draft picks, highlighted by Washington Capitals defenseman John Carlson, and this season boasted three picks in Blake Coleman (3rd, New Jersey), Brian Ferlin (4th, Boston), and Sean Kuraly (5th, San Jose). Take the US Development Program out of the mix (12 players selected), and only the Read more »
Toronto, ON – The Canadian Hockey League in association with the Western Hockey League, the Kelowna Rockets Hockey Club, and Home Hardware Stores Limited, today announced that the 2012 Home Hardware CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game will be held at Prospera Place in Kelowna, British Columbia, home of the WHL’s Kelowna Rockets on Wednesday February 1, 2012. Read more »
After the theme of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft was sweet Swede’s, and talented pivots, the 2012 version looks to be loaded with high-end defensemen and a Russian flavour that we haven’t seen in quite sometime. In most scouts eyes, next years crop is richer than this past installment of the draft. The hype surrounding Nail Yakupov and Mihail Grigorenko alone, is already a well-discussed topic among the hockey community, and may just raise the great “Mikhail vs Nail” debate. I’m officially trademarking that phrase too, so anyone who uses it (ahem TSN) has to give me gratuities. Okay, I know, not gonna happen, but sheesh I need to make money somehow. Read more »
I wasn’t going to attempt another mock draft, simply because for the amount of time and effort it takes, it can instantly be wrong once a couple teams select guys ahead of schedule. That being said, it is fun to think about the possibilities for each individual team. While many scouts continue to predict Ryan Nugent-Hopkins as the first overall pick, it isn’t that black and white, as the Oilers could definitely use a blueliner to sure up their back end. And, as good as Nugent-Hopkins was this year, many of his points were racked up on the powerplay, and against weaker opponents. Not to mention that, this draft has numerous wildcards, so Nostradamus himself couldn’t predict who goes where. All you can do, is close your eyes, and hope your team acquires the best possible pick Read more »
Never before has it been more important to be in great shape when talking about playing hockey. The new NHL rules have made the game about speed and power, and it can carry over from peewee hockey right into the junior ranks.
It is said that Pavel Bure used to stick to a intense 6 days a week routine in the off-season that included the following:
Morning: 1 hour of running, 1 hour of soccer or tennis
(Lunch/nap)
Afternoon: 1 hour weightlifting, 1 hour basketball, 30 min of swimming
He would frequently do 250 push-ups in a single session Read more »
As the National Hockey League gets settled for a second time around in the friendly province of Manitoba, I thought it be fun to take a look at some of the former greats that played for the Jets franchise. In their 7-year span in the World Hockey Association (1972-79) the Jets captured 3 Championships, yet they only won a measly one NHL playoff series, against the Calgary Flames in the 1986-87 Smythe Division Semi-final. Despite their record in that time, they still had some tremendous players fly through the town from 1979-96.
Now, some of my favourites to don the blue, red and white were guys that maybe didn’t have the numbers to make them great, but were definitely a big part of the franchise while they were there. Read more »
When most hockey players think of the term “cycling” the strategy based on protecting and moving the puck along the boards in the offensive zone may be the first thing that comes to mind. But, if you ask players like the Boston Bruins defenseman Andrew Ference, cycling is also a terrific way to stay in shape during the off season. The 31-year-old will even ride his bike to practise some days.
Russian stars Alexander Ovechkin and Evgeni Malking believe in riding the bike for 20-minutes both before and after their workouts. Former Vancouver Canuck great Trevor Linden is a huge advocate on riding a racing bike in order stay conditioned. With the rules that eliminated obstruction, the game has got faster and in turn NHL players have to work all year round, in regards to staying in game shape. Read more »
In a year where many hockey observers were thinking the 2011 NHL Entry Draft would be modest at best, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has single-handedly made it just as entertaining as the Taylor vs Tyler debate of 2010, if not more so.
At the beginning of the season, numerous scouts were predicting that big Swedish blueliner Adam Larsson would be the consensus first overall pick, with an outside chance that Drummondville’s Sean Couturier could make a push for top spot. Meanwhile, I had the opportunity to catch Nugent-Hopkins in early November against Vancouver and Chilliwack. He was good, but not great. Little did I know however, that the kid was just getting warmed up, as from January on he amassed 59 points in just 34 games. He was also absolutely lights out at the CHL’s Top Prospect game, and Read more »
