Updates from around the hockey world.



  • Alexander Radulov of Ufa Salavat currently has more assists than any other player even has points in the Kontinental League. His 24 helpers are one more than second place Roman Cervenka has points. Radulov's 5 goals give him 29 points in 18 games, 6 ahead of Cervenka, and 7 clear of third place Mattias Weinhandl.

  • Other notables in the Russian circuit are Pavol Demitra with 19 points in fifth place and defenseman Sandis Ozolinsh right behind with 17 assists and 19 points in 20 games. Another ex-NHL D-man, Deron Quint has 9 goals and 1 assist in 17 games for Traktor Chelyabinsk to sit a mere 4 off the overall league goal lead.

  • In Canadian major junior, Florida fourth round pick in 2009 Garrett Wilson is off to an insane start. He has 16 goals and 24 points in 12 games for Owen Sound after scoring 36 last season. Three top contenders to go early in the 2011 entry draft are having terrific starts as well. Kitchener defender, Ryan Murphy has 7 goals and 19 points in 12 games. In the QMJHL, Sean Couturier has 11 goals and 24 points in 17 games while out west Ryan Nugent-Hopkins of Red Deer has 3 goals and 20 points in 14 games.

  • Staying in the "Dub", the Vancouver Giants duo of Craig Cunningham and Brendan Gallagher are on a tear. Boston draftee Cunningham leads in points with 31 in 15 games and Montreal pick Gallagher is second with 26. His 15 goals is tops in the loop. The fact that they are 5'9" and 5'8" respectively does not seem to be hindering them down one bit.

  • Back across the pond in the Swiss League, ex-Red Wing and Wild Stacy Roest is on an early tear. His 28 points in 18 games leads by 7 over second place Niklas Nordgren. Roest is in his in his eighth season for Rapperswil-Jona.

  • At the opposite end of the scoring scale is this year's Swedish Elite League where only one player in the entire circuit has over a point per game. With 14 points in 13 games, Skelleftea's Joakim Lindstrom tops the league ahead of three guys with 13 points, three with 12, three with 11 and six players with 10 points. 16 players within four points at the top of the leader board, a log jam indeed.

  • A name to keep in mind for the 2011 NHL draft is Sam Mellor a 17 year old with the Trail Smoke Eaters in the BCJHL. He will most likely be one of the highest rated of the Tier II players and is currently leading the BC league with 21 goals in 19 games, his 35 points put him second overall behind 20 year old undrafted Bradley McGowan.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Team Canada 1972, What Might have Been

Image
Guy Lafleur, if he had played in the 72 Summit Series "No way. Can you imagine what our fans would say if we allowed Bobby Orr and Phil Esposito to play for Canada in that series and either...suffered an injury that might prevent them from playing with us for a year or more?" This was the concern of Weston Adams Jr, president of the Boston Bruins as quoted on April 20, 1972. After being speculated and discussed since February 1972 at the Olympics in Sapporo Japan, the series was set to go. Early on however, controversy stirred as to who exactly would be representing Canada. Bruins GM, Milt Schmidt agreed with his boss saying, "My only interest would be to see the Russians play the Bruins for the world championship...or whatever team wins the Stanley Cup." In the Vancouver Sun a few days later, the legendary Jim Coleman responds to the American naysayers suggesting that Team Canada should be made up strictly of players from Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal
Read more

WHA Ottawa Civics, The Two Week Franchise

Image
Tom Earl, Daryl Maggs, Mark Lomenda, Gary MacGregor, Garry Swain "Please let the fans make up their own minds," Henry Feller told a press gathering. "Let them decide if they want pro hockey here. We have to average 7,000 or 8,000 in the remaining 19 home games for a break-even point." Feller was a director of the Founders Club who had interest in buying the WHA's Denver Spurs club. Ivan Mullinex, owner of the Spurs had brought his team to Ottawa in an attempt to drum up interest and save his investment. The date was January 2, 1976 and Mullinex was in debt to a Denver bank to the tune of $1 million dollars. This same day, the newly christened Civics lost their first game under the new moniker by a score of 2-1 at Cincinnati. Star of the team, Ralph Backstrom said after the game, "Our first official notice of the move hit us when we entered the Cincinnati rink and the names on the big scoreboard read: Stingers and Civics. Until that moment we were un
Read more

Ron Hextall and the stolen Conn Smythe Trophy

Image
Ron Hextall did not deserve the Conn Smythe Trophy in 1987....there, I said it. I recently caught game seven of the '87 finals on ESPN Classic, where the Oilers beat the Flyers 3-1. Hextall was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy to the disdain and boos of the Northlands Coliseum. Hextall was (and remains) the fourth player to win the trophy in a losing cause. Even as a teenager following these playoffs as they happened, I thought this was an injustice. Upon further inspection, I believe he only won because he was a rookie, and was the "sexy" pick as opposed to the proper pick. When looking at his numbers, it's hard to figure why he won. Hextall finished with 15 wins, 11 losses and a GAA of 2.77. Oilers, Grant Fuhr went 14 and 5 with an average of 2.46. I realize that stats cannot tell the whole story, but even if we dig further the award doesn't seem justified. His .908 Save Pct was the same as Fuhr's and tied for third behind Ken Wregget and Kelly Hrudey. Also,
Read more