With the Leafs’ latest move of shipping goaltender Justin Pogge off to Anaheim, it seems that people have decided to come out of the woodwork, and are bashing Pogge. Who are they? Where were they before this trade occurred? How come this trade had such an effect on their opinion of Pogge? They are throwing around words like “over-hyped” and “bust” and I have two major issues with that.
Tags: anaheim, bust, ducks, goaltending, justin, Leafs, pogge, toronto, trade
I’m planning to do a number of scouting reports on goaltenders who have yet to make the NHL, this summer. Goaltending is the position I know best, so as much as I’d love to analyse skaters, I just don’t think I would do a good job at it.
My first installment is on Swedish netminder Jonas Gustavsson. He’s been highly touted as the “best goaltender outside of the NHL” and has been rumoured to be coming over to the NHL to play next season. The 24 year-old has apparently been in contact with the Maple Leafs, Avalanche, Sharks, and Stars. We still don’t know where he’s going to end up, and it’s almost July 1st. Now, I’ve watched as much tape as I could possibly scrounge up on the internet on this guy, and I think I’m ready to give you the facts about Jonas Gustavsson. Is he the real deal? Read on to find out…
Tags: avalanche, goaltending, jonas gustavsson, Leafs, scouting report, sharks, stars
The past few weeks I posted what I thought were going to be the top ten draft picks come this Friday. Now I thought I’d share with you, the rest of the first round. I won’t go into detail about why I picked these players, but I assure you, I had a system and tried to select who I thought was best for each team, based on who was available, and the information I had. I don’t know how accurate it will be, but I guess we’ll find out on Friday! If you feel that I’m way off base on any of the picks, feel free to drop a comment, I’d love to hear your opinion. So without further ado, I give you, the first round of the 2009 NHL entry draft:
1. NYI – John Tavares
2. TB – Victor Hedman
3. COL – Matt Duchene
4. ATL – Jared Cowan
5. LA – Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson
6. PHX – Brayden Schenn
7. TOR – Evander Kane
8. DAL – Oliver Ekman-Larsson
9. OTT – Nazem Kadri
10. EDM – Jacob Josefson
11. NSH – Jordan Schroeder
12. MIN – Simon Despres
13. BUF – Scott Glennie
14. FLA – John Moore
15. ANA – David Rundblad
16. CLB – Zack Kassian
17. STL – Carl Klingberg
18. MTL – Ryan Ellis
19. NYR – Carter Ashton
20. PHX(From CGY Conditionally) – Olivier Roy
21. PHI – Peter Holland
22. VAN – Dmitry Kulikov
23. NJ – Louis Leblanc
24. WSH – Nick Leddy
25. BOS – Kyle Palmieri
26. NYI(From SJ) – Calvin De Haan
27. CAR – Chris Kreider
28. CHI – Marcus Johansson
29. DET – Stefan Elliott
30. PIT – Tim Erixon
A few notes of interest, the number 20 pick is conditional. Phoenix can either choose to use Calgary’s first round pick this year, or next year, and will wait until the pick comes up to decide. I have a strong feeling that they will choose to use it this year, based on Calgary’s poor playoff performance (they now have a somewhat lower pick) so they may think that this is the best pick they can get. Also, they are desparate for a goaltending prospect, so I think the time would be right to select Olivier Roy. He’s not neccesarily first round talent, but he’s my #1 ranked goalie, and I think they would be willing to take a stab at him, especially since they also have the #6 pick.
Tags: canadiens, draft, hedman, Leafs, mock draft, NHL, penguins, preview, rangers, red wings, tavares
Everyone roots for their favourite team to get into the playoffs, but at this time of year if your favourite team has clinched a spot, or is way out of it, we also root for other teams to make it in. My team, the Devils, have clinched. Here’s how I hope things end up in both conferences:
The East:
I really do not want the Rangers to make it in, but looks like they will sneak in, in either the 7th or 8th spot. If they stay away from a first round matchup with the Devils, I’ll be a bit happier, but I feel safest if they don’t make it in at all. There’s something about playing the Devils that changes the Rangers’ game. Suddenly the team with the second-least amount of goals in the east (196, better than only the Islanders) goes on a scoring tear and makes Marty look like a career AHLer and not the all time wins leader (Woo hoo!) In the Rangers place I would like to see the Panthers. They are far less menacing, in my opinion, and I want to see fans get excited in Florida once again. We haven’t seen real excitement there since the 1996 playoffs when they reached the finals. The team is full of hard-working, and deserving guys. Stillman, Bouwmeester, Vokoun. If the Panthers make the playoffs it sure makes Bouwmeester’s contract situation interesting. Does he decide that maybe Florida is getting better, and chooses to stay? That’s all I would change, Florida in, NYR out. I want Montreal in because it would calm some of the fans down, plus who doesn’t want to see more Canadian teams in the playoffs. Nobody rocks harder in the playoffs than Canadiens fans.
The West:
I’m really happy seeing Columbus sitting in 6th place as we enter these final few weeks. It seems like they’ve tried everything to get in, but it has never worked. I’m not sure how Steve Mason will fare in the playoffs, but it makes for some interesting stories for sure. I like that Anaheim is out. Part of me wants them to get in, to prove to everyone that teams can succeed without Brian Burke, but I really want another team to get in. I was shocked to see St. Louis so far up the standings at this time of the year. Not much has been said about that little team from Missouri, but they are making a real case. I’m not sure how far they can ride Chris Mason in the playoffs (Come on, the guy was scored on by Wade Belak of all people), but they have some really good, young talent that should be fun to watch. Guys like Brad Boyes and Dave Perron. Oh, they also did all of this without the services of Eric Brewer, one of their top d-men. And they made a pretty nice pickup when they acquired Carlo Colaiacovo and Alexander Steen for spare-parts forward Lee Stempniak. By the way Leafs fans, Colaiacovo has more points than Stempniak does since the trade (Stempniak is 10 + 16 and Colaiacovo is 3 + 25). I’m sure ol’ Burkie is thanking trader Cliff for that one!
Things are gearing up in the NHL. I love this time of year, with baseball starting and hockey games that mean so much every night. Get ready for an intense few weeks, hockey fans!
Tags: blue jackets, blues, brodeur, devils, ducks, Leafs, panthers, playoffs, rangers
Preseason has concluded for the Toronto Maple Leafs. After 9 games of juggling line-ups and testing their young guns, the Leafs have finished with a 2-6-1 record. However, this blog does not have the objective to bash the Leafs and bring the fan base to a heaving sigh. Instead, let’s take a different approach. Let’s go into the season with our heads high. Let’s go into the season with an optimistic state of mind. Let’s go into the season to watch some hockey!
These warm-up sessions have long been a deceiving affair. That’s not to say the Leafs won’t struggle like they have these past few weeks, but putting too much merit into these match-ups would be a mistake. After all, the intensity that engulfs the game of hockey is toned down in preseason. This alone affects the flow of the game, ultimately altering the final outcome.
Another important factor to consider is the Leafs’ revamped line-up. Nearly half the roster is new faces, so chemistry has yet to be established at a comfortable level. That, and the Leafs are considerably younger than years past, so some adjusting may be in need.
While in the end goaltender Vesa Toskala will be praising his new defense, he too, like the rest of the club, is going to have to adjust to the new defensive system put in place by head coach Ron Wilson. At first glimpse, the Leafs appear to have learnt nothing, but a pattern has been followed throughout the past few weeks. One that has fought with the franchise many times in the past, and that is 3rd period collapses. When the Leafs learn to contain leads, they will change their fortunes dramatically. If the Leafs were graded after 2 periods of play, consistency would describe them more often than not. However, things aren’t that simple for the 41-year Cup-less franchise, so some work will have to be done by Wilson and co.
Instead of moping over the possibility of an Ottawa Senators playoff quality team, let’s go into the season with our minds open. If Wilson could sell the defensive system to the players, the playoffs are not a far cry. Achieving the fallow goal wouldn’t snub the rebuilding plan either, as some valuable experience would be had from the wide-range of youngsters.
On the other hand, a season full of L’s on the calendar would assure a quality prospect in a draft pool that is expected to be strong. This would further to the new era of promising youngsters that is beginning to re-ignite this fallen club.
No matter what the outcome, some interesting stories will be developing throughout the course of this season. And no matter what hardships the Leafs endure, it’s refreshing to see a legitimate rebuilding plan in motion.
Let’s enjoy this season, not only because it’s hockey, but because it’s a new page for a franchise in dire need of one.
Subscribe RSS Feed