Traverse City Game 1 Recap

Sure it's not really NHL hockey, but for guys like me who will stay up all night watching truncated versions of 2009 NHL Playoffs games on NHL network to pass the summer once St. Louis Cardinals games are over, it's a start. I'm of course referring the the twelfth annual Traverse City NHL Prospects tournament. For those in the very small minority I'm sure that don't know what the NHL Prospects tournament is all about, I'll fill you in (the rest of you bear with me and try not to laugh at our clueless fans). Every year, eight NHL franchises, including the Blues, organize a squad complete with the top prospects of the organization, as well as various unsigned and undrafted players who the respective franchises would like a longer look at. While officially the tournament doesn't give the prospects any advantage in training camp (which is just around the corner!!!!), it does give a coach another point of view if they still are having trouble placing a prospect in the system. However the tournament doesn't only make it easier for the franchises. As per NHL.com's Mike Morreale, Blues' standout T.J. Oshie says, "I think just the confidence you gain there by meeting new guys gives you a sense of the pro life and it makes you a little more comfortable for training camp."

Last night, the Baby Blues defeated the Baby Stars in game one of the 2010 tournament, winning 9-6 in a defense optional first game. The Blues' squad features notables such as, 2008's fourth overall pick Alex Pietrangelo,

University of Michigan and Team USA standout Aaron Palushaj (already anointed the next T.J. Oshie), unsigned St. Louisan Jack Combs (a flashy forward with a huge offensive upside), Goalie of the Future Jake Allen, WHL All Star Brett Sonne (who looks to make a big enough splash to stick with the big club this season, and CBC alum Phil McRae (who once could only watch helplessly as I dangled a puck between his legs then sniped it top cheese to take the lead in the 2005 MOIHA season opener)

In a 9-6 game the scoring was well spread out. Palushaj, McRae, Combs, and Sonne all had goals (Palushaj netting the pair). Pietrangelo remained absent from the scoresheet but from what I've heard he settled into a shutdown role, holding the Baby Stars' top two snipers scoreless. Despite letting in 6 goals, Jake Allen still made 31 saves for an .838 save percentage. Nerves plus the fact that tournaments like this are akin to all star games and feature less defense may have contributed to the skewed numbers. But numbers aside, this kid got the win in a western shootout type of game. I won't make a judgement on him til the end of the tournament.

For the complete scoresheet from game one visit, http://www.pointstreak.com/prostats/gamesheet_full.html?gameid=1083428

Some thoughts following the first game:

1. The Blues have a very bright offensive future. Can you imagine a 2012 top 6 forward core consisting of David Perron, Brad Boyes, T.J. Oshie, Andy Macdonald, Patrik Berglund, and David Backes? Now look at a possible 2012 third line of Aaron Palushaj, Phil McRae (who in all seriousness could find a way to score on a nun), and Lars Eller, (who honestly belongs in the top 6)? Somewhere in the mix you expect to see Brett Sonne, Pat Combs, and depth guys like Jay McClement, and Alex Steen. Run the numbers Blues fans, all of these guys aren't going to ever fit on one team, and that's a good thing. Like the 2009 Cardinals, the 2010-2014 Blues will be able to make any deal necessary to fill any hole they have, and with the smart front office currently in place I doubt there will be that many holes to fill anyway.

2. The Blues have a very bright defensive future. Erik Johnson, Alex Pietrangelo, Ian Cole, Carlo Colaiocovo, Roman Polak, David Rundblad, and Barret Jackman figure to be the 2012 starting seven. But let's not forget Brett Ponich, Cade Fairchild, and Jonas Junland. Damn it feels good to be a Blues fan.

3. Kind of a conclusion after reading the first two...How nice would this look traveling down Market Street for the first time (Hayden included)?

FORF'S 2010 NHL Predictions

Hey puckheads, it’s nearly close to being almost that time, and I’m sure somewhere in the world a pond is starting to freeze. If you’ve been following the fragments of hockey coverage going on in the major media outlets, you’ve seen the predictions for the upcoming NHL season. Well, it’s my turn, and since I’ve never been wrong with my predictions for FORF, these predictions should be no different.

First we’ll get the Eastern conference playoff contenders out of the way.

1. Pittsburgh Penguins: In America you’re innocent until proven guilty, in hockey you’re the Champs until someone dethrones you. Last year’s champs like a fine wine will only get better with age.

Washington Capitals: A strong playoff run last season leaves Alexander Ovechkin and Co hungry for a shot at dethroning Sid.

3. Boston Bruins: A team that may have been a surprise last year won’t be turning any heads this year, if only because all eyes will be on them from the start. Look for Tim Thomas to either build on his Vezina Trophy year or fall into obscurity, either way the Bruins who are deep in goaltending should have a strong year.

4. Philadelphia Flyers: Jeff Carter looks to build on his breakout season, and adding Chris Pronger to the mix sure doesn’t hurt them…Goaltending remains an issue for the Flyers, but they should stay a playoff team if all doesn’t go well for them.

5 . Ottawa Senators: Goaltending may be an issue, and the distractions Dany Heatley may cause could derail this club, but on paper this already was a high powered offense before the Sens picked up Alex Kovalev.

6. Montreal Canadians: A top line of Scott Gomez, Brian Gionta, and Michael Cammalleri would make any defense wet themselves, but is this team a one line show? Look for Tomas Plekanec and Andrei Kostitsyn to have breakout years if this team is going to go anywhere. Finally this will be the year that Carey Price nuts up and becomes one of the elite backstoppers in the NHL.

7. New Jersey Devils: There has been a changing of the guard in East Rutherford as this team no longer needs Marty Brodeur to steal games for them. Zach Parise and Travis Zajac provide more firepower, and old dogs Patrick Elias and Brendan Shanahan don’t exactly need to learn new tricks to be successful in this league.

8. Tampa Bay Lightning: So the Barry Melrose experiment failed early, and may have left a bad taste in everyone’s mouths. And sure Steven Stamkos wasn’t the second coming of Pat Kane in his first year. But when you throw Vincent Lecavalier, Marty St. Louis, an older and wiser Steven Stamkos, and a Ryan Malone out there, it can’t be all that bad can it? And word on the street is this Victor Hedman kid is for real. He won’t be winning Norris Trophies just yet, but the Bolts are very happy that he fell to the number 2 overall pick. Look for Antero Nittymaki to grab the starting reigns early in camp.

Eastern Conference Surprises:

Should my predictions be incorrect, I expect to replace one of these teams with the Carolina Hurricanes. Finally I’ll be on record when the Washington Capitals do reach their first Cup Final in the Alex Ovechkin era.

Now for the more interesting and more important Western Conference.

1. Calgary Flames: A Blueline with Dion Phaneuf and now Jay Bouwmeester is just scary, almost as scary as a top line of Jarome Iginla, Rene Bourque (who set a career high point total in only 58 games), and Ollie Jokinen.

2. San Jose Sharks: Sure they’ll win the division, two strong top defensive pairings and two outrageously skilled top forward lines will guarantee that. Oh and that Evgeni Nabokov isn’t too shabby either. The big question for the Sharks will be, can they finally go deep into the playoffs?

3. St. Louis Blues: Yes, you read this right, and yes the ranks are in order. Finally yes this does mean the Blues will win the Central Division. A perfect storm of goaltending, young guys hitting their stride and vets sinking into their new roles, combined with turmoil in the rest of the division doesn’t come around that often; Andy Murray won’t let this opportunity go to waste.

4. Detroit Red Wings: I struggled with putting the Dead Wings in the home ice advantage area, (you’ll see why), but when in doubt the Red Wings have shown that they deserve the benefit of that doubt. They sure aren’t getting any younger though and I don’t expect much of a playoff run for them.

5. Anaheim Ducks: Bobby Ryan’s only going to get better, Corey Perry showed last year why he was a first round pick in 2003, and Ryan Getzlaf may contend for the Art Ross and Hart Trophies in 2010. Great goaltending, solid D and good depth in the second and third lines make this an easy regular season for the formerly Mighty Ducks.

6. Columbus Blue Jackets: I really wanted to put them in the fourth spot, but they’re going to have to prove to me this season that they belong there. Steve Mason will one day be the best keeper in the league, but will it be next year? Rick Nash challenges Alex the Great for the Richard Trophy. Both are good news for Jackets fans.

7. Vancouver Canucks: They were a good team with a great goalie last year…not much will change, except they won’t challenge Calgary much for the Northwest Division lead.

8. Chicago Blackhawks: They won’t start the season well with all their distractions on and off the ice, but they’re just too good of a team to not make the playoffs. A late surge with the return of Marian Hossa will put them over the Minnesota Wild for the 8^th spot late in the season.

Western Conference Surprises.

Well one of them I’m staking my reputation on, the Blues’ Central Division Championship, the other I’m not counting on just yet; the Calgary Flames will give Canada it’s first Stanley Cup Parade since 1993.

If There's a God, He Hates Chicago

I always struggle with the existence of God or some other kind of intelligent designer. On the one hand the positive argument seems too convenient, on the other hand, there’s the city of Chicago; God must really hate the people of Chicago.

Sure I’ll concede, the city is pretty nice. The improv comedy scene is stellar. The shopping is pretty sweet, if you’re into that sort of thing… (I am). But that’s the tourist side of town, and anyone who lives his or her days as a Chicago citizen will tell you it’s a tough life.

First let’s forget about the 2005 White Sox, because a) It was a fluke, and b) the South Side of Chicago doesn’t count. Disregarding that one year, the city of Chicago hasn’t won a championship since the Bulls won in 1998, but who likes the NBA anyway? The Bears haven’t won a Superbowl since 1985 and lost a heartbreaker in 2006 due to the heroics of Rex Grossman… Everyone knows how long it’s been since the North Side has had a parade in October. In fact had archaeologists not recently dug up evidence of a World Series Parade, that information may have been lost to history forever.

And finally there’s the Chicago Blackhawks. There’s a lot of glory involved in being a ‘Hawks fan. They’re an Original Six Franchise, their esteemed alumni include none other than Bobby Hull, Stan Mikita, Jeremy Roenick, Chris Chelios, and Ed Belfour…just to name a few of the more famous ones. However the glory ends there. The Stanley Cup hasn’t paraded in Chicago since 1961, (Blues fans that’s longer than our entire history). More recently, from 1998 until 2008 the Blackhawks had all but been dead from the October drop of the puck (a quick playoff exit in 2002 at the hands of the St. Louis Blues being the only bright spot in a dark time). This of course was during a time where average ticket prices exceeded $50, and home games weren’t even shown on TV in an effort to force home attendance for fans. The Hawks finally hit rock bottom in 2004 when ESPN named the Blackhawks the worst franchise in all of professional sports.

But as quickly as the wheels had seemingly fallen off the wagon, the team began a turnaround. After several top prospects including Eric Daze, Tuomo Ruutu, and Rene Bourque, all fizzled out or found success with other teams, the Hawks finally turned the ship around in 2006 by not only drafting Jonathan Toews at third overall but also acquiring Martin Havlat and Bryan Smolinski.

In 2007, the Hawks earned the top pick in the draft and with it took highly skilled American Patrick Kane.

In 2008 both Kane and Toews contended for the Calder trophy with Kane eventually winning after leading all rookies in points (Toews led all rookies in goals). Finally 2009 marked the first time in six years that the new-look youngster-laden Blackhawks reached the playoffs. With a solid rebuilding plan in place, it seemed to be only a matter of time before the Blackhawks earned their fourth Stanley Cup.

But let’s not forget the title of this think piece. What started out as a good plan, and quickly blossomed into a solid organizational stance may be in the midst of a supernova-esque destruction. Ask any hockey fan who the best young program in the NHL was in 2008-2009, and they would naturally say the Chicago Blackhawks. The NHL even recognized the by awarding Chicago the Winter Classic. I myself although I hated to say it, have been quoted saying that the Blackhawks had a good model to imitate in the Blues’ own rebuilding process. Hell, the Blackhawks led the league in home attendance a mere four years after ESPN named them the worst franchise in sports. This of course all happened before the summer of 2009.

It started off simple, a team seeking scoring brought in a proven goal scorer when they signed Marian Hossa to an admittedly odd 12 year deal worth $62.8 million. A team needing depth signed Tomas Kopecky, and John Madden. For maybe an hour or so this seemed like a good idea, until the city of Chicago, and indeed the rest of the NHL ran the numbers and found two problems. Problem #1, and the more obvious one: in a salary cap-run system struggling with a bad economy, how on earth can a team expect to hold onto a core group of talent when more than $5 million dollars is going to one player each season? Fans reacted in outrage when they realized that it would be a miracle if the Hawks could hold onto Hossa, Toews and Kane (who both lose their entry level restrictions after 2010 and will be seeking huge paydays), Duncan Keith, Patrick Sharp, Kris Versteeg (who they almost lost to the cap in 2009 anyway), and Brian Campbell who is making $7 million of his own. Problem #2: The NHL found an oddity in the deal that called for Hossa to make only $875,000 in each of the final four years of the outrageously long contract (which would end when Hossa turned 42) after making $5-7 million in the eight years prior. With that information the NHL is now building a case against the Blackhawks by saying that there must have been some kind of agreement involving retirement before the end of the deal, and the drop off in pay is an effort to reduce the salary cap hit should Hossa retire. If this is the case, the Hawks could lose draft picks as a punishment.

Quickly after these allegations arose, Hossa found himself in more controversy when he announced he could miss the first four months of the season due to a shoulder injury. It couldn’t get much worse for the Blackhawks right?

Wrong. This is why I’m sure that if there is a God, he really hates Chicago. On August 9^th, Buffalo Police arrested number one overall pick Patrick Kane for Criminal Mischief and Robbery. What was at the center of this alleged incident? Alcohol? Nope. Drugs? Nope. Hookers? Nope. Money? Well maybe, if by money you mean twenty whole pennies. That’s right, allegedly, when the driver of the cab in which Kane and his cousin were riding didn’t have two dimes, four nickels, or twenty pennies to complete making change for the $13.80 fare, the two boys (yes young boys under 22) punched the driver repeatedly, took their money back, taunted the driver by asking him over and over again “Do you know who I am?”, and then fled the scene. (As a responsible journalist I should note that Kane has plead not guilty so all the facts are not out at this time.)

Call it the EA Sports curse, (Kane recently appeared on the cover of NHL10), call it a young star with a huge ego, or call it whatever you wish, (Personally, I call it ridiculous. We can save these stories for the NBA and NFL) one thing is for certain…Each day I get a little bit more proud to be a Blues Fan.