I really want to thank Paul for allowing me this stage for the last several months, and wish the gang here all the best going forward. As many of you already know, Paul is a class act, and an incredibly generous person to work with. I couldn’t believe some of the stuff he dug up, then sent along to me with a quick, ”hey, would you like to run with this?” For all of us bloggers, sometimes inspiration is hard to come by, and having a batting practice fastball lobbed down the middle for you makes for a nice booster!

Thanks to Alanah too for being so helpful as I toddled my way along here in the early going; a stats geek like myself can be a pain to deal with (”how do I get these tables presenting properly!”), but she was always quick to lend a hand.  I wish the best of luck to everyone here, and like I said earlier, I’ll see you around.

Now, just as with the profile of Chet Pickard that ran earlier in this space, I thought it would be best to get the scoop straight from someone who sees Wilson play all the time, so our guest today is Kat, better known as “Sportsgirlkat”, a prolific Boston sports writer and member of HLOG (Hockey’s Ladies of Greatness). So, without further ado, here’s Kat…

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The collective mass of Boston University hockey fans have a love-hate relationship with Colin Wilson. We love him for his talent. We hate him for the fact that he’s so immensely talented that we probably won’t have him around next year.

Wilson, the seventh overall pick in last June’s NHL Draft by the Preds, is the front runner for the Hobey Baker Award (for those unfamiliar with college hockey, it’s the game’s version of the Heisman) and is easily one of the most talented forwards in recent BU hockey history. As of February 25, he leads the team in points with 41 (14 goals, 27 assists.) He possesses the sheer power and pure hockey skill to single-handily win a game, as he did against UMass Lowell in November. Despite all of his positives, however, he has two weaknesses that Predators fans should be mindful of.

Continue reading "A pivotal Predators prospect: Colin Wilson"

Some will say this was the biggest comeback win of the season, but I’ll say it’s a tossup between this and the January 8 win over Pittsburgh, when the Preds came back from a 3-0 hole to top the Penguins.  Within the context of the playoff chase, however, this win over Chicago is particularly sweet.

Next up, the Phoenix Coyotes come to town Thursday night. Until then, enjoy the highlights…

The Northern Allied Steelers atom ‘A’ team of the Timmins Minor Hockey Association are on the road trip of a lifetime.

The team’s 14 players are headed by bus to Nashville, Tenn., to watch Steve Sullivan and the Nashville Predators in not one, but two NHL games.

The Steelers will not only be specatators, but they will also put on their own show in three games against other atom teams from the Nashville area.

Steelers coach Gary Sullivan, brother of Predators player Steve Sullivan, said it was always a goal to give local kids the opportunity to see the southern team in action.

So Mirtle, are you carrying their bags or something?  The timing here is awfully coincidental…

Brian Kobata, 38. and Kelly Calabro (memorial at team’s website), 41, both collapsed on the ice just a few hours apart and rescue attempts failed to revive them.  From the San Jose Mercury News:

“It’s a very unfortunate and tragic situation,” said Ken Arnold, senior director of communications for Silicon Valley Sports and Entertainment, which operates the facility at Tenth Street and East Alma Avenue.

Sharks Ice, which is the official practice rink for the San Jose Sharks, is home to the largest adult hockey league in the nation, with 3,000 registered players. However, the strenuous sport can be hard on older players. Arnold said ambulances are called to the rink about once every 18 months.

The cause of death has not been determined for either man, family members said.

Heidi Kobata was at the rink watching her husband skate off the ice on Sunday night when he suddenly fell. She is expecting the couple’s first child in June and said her husband had not had any health problems

As a 38 year-old beer leaguer whose best playing days were 10 years and 40 pounds ago, this story just hit home with me this morning.

It should be noted that this transaction is unrelated to the minority position formerly owned by Boots Del Biaggio, which is still tied up in bankruptcy proceedings. Wilson already has sports business ties with Preds chairman David Freeman, including the ownership of a soccer team in Britain, and the West Tenn Diamond Jaxx in minor-league baseball.

There’s no word yet as to whether this purchase involves buying out any of the current minority owners, or whether it’s simply an injection of capital to relieve some of the team’s debt load.  Of course, if he wanted to write a quick check so David Poile could go trade for Alex Kovalev and Martin St. Louis, I’m sure Nashville fans would welcome him with open arms!

UPDATE: Per John Glennon at the Tennessean, the stake involved here “would likely be less than 5 percent of the team”.

Garth Brooks (remember him? Hat? Belt buckle? Sold more albums than Elvis or the Rolling Stones?) showed up at the Tin Roof in Brentwood Sunday afternoon, only to find a “Closed” sign in the window. Thwarted on the nachos front, then, right?

Uh, no. Garth was not there for salty treats nor for cold brews, but rather to play a “thank you” concert for the Nashville Predators. And Tin Roof management was more than happy to open the place up on a Sunday.

Why thank the Preds? Every member of the team made a donation to Garth’s Teammates For Kids charity. That organization works to provide health services and education for kids who need it. After the Preds delivered for his kids, Garth decided to deliver for the Preds. And since many of the Predators enjoy hanging at the Tin Roof, the club seemed like a natural fit.

I’ll admit to being somewhat conflicted on this one, but let’s take each option one at a time…

Continue reading "To buy or not to buy? That is the question…"

Why?

‘Cause James Mirtle’s coming to town, that’s why. For those of us who complain that scribes from the Great White North misrepresent our city and team, this is a welcome opportunity for Preds fans to show what the Sommet Center experience is like, especially for a Red Wings game.

The OT winner came off the stick of Shea Weber, his first goal since January 17 and a welcome return to the scoresheet…

David Boclair of the Nashville City Paper did a better job writing it up than I ever would, though, so check out his summary.  The AP writeup featured over at USA Today also gets into Bettman’s comments debunking the talk in the Canadian press about the Predators “papering the house” in order to hit the key figure of 14,000 average paid attendance.

I’ll add that I did ask a couple questions, although my most hard-hitting moment came before the session even started, when I almost wiped out the Commish as he walked up behind me towards the podium:

1.  On whether the NHL would consider holding openers in North American non-NHL cities like Winnipeg, Kansas City, or Las Vegas.  The answer there was that since fans in those markets have access to the NHL in nearby cities or on TV, it doesn’t hold the same appeal to do that as it does to reach out to European fans who are interested in the league, but can’t follow it so easily.

2.  I asked whether Jim Balsillie’s recent sanctioning by the Ontario Securities Commission and the US SEC might inhibit his chances for NHL ownership, but he refused to bite the bait there, saying he had no reason to get into specifics about Balsillie at this time. 

To set the stage for that discussion, I first wanted to delve into the issue of which players are or aren’t helping this team win; outside of Shea Weber & Ryan Suter, nobody is outperforming offensively, but given the decent defensive performance, it’s likely that some are contributing on that end more than others.  For the purpose of this discussion I’m ignoring the goaltending, which, regardless of performance, isn’t a candidate for change via trade or promotion/demotion.

So who’s getting it done for the Preds so far?

Continue reading "First, find the problem"

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, in Nashville as part of his regular tour of League markets, will host today’s edition of NHL Hour With Commissioner Gary Bettman on SIRIUS XM Radio live from the Music City.

Members of the Nashville Predators organization scheduled to guest on today’s show include Chairman David Freeman, President of Hockey Operations and General Manager David Poile and Head Coach Barry Trotz.

NHL Hour with Commissioner Gary Bettman broadcasts live on Thursdays from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. ET on NHL Home Ice (XM Channel 204 and on SIRIUS Channel 208 as part of the “Best of XM” programming package) and NHL.com.
The show will re-air on SIRIUS XM Radio, with archived shows available for download via podcast on NHL.com.

Defenseman Ville Koistinen made his return to the Predators lineup Wednesday, but he’s not happy with his overall situation in Nashville.

The blueliner, who’d been a healthy scratch for the previous eight games, said Wednesday morning he’s hoping to be traded. Predators General Manager David Poile confirmed that the team has talked with other teams about Koistinen.

Koistinen, who will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, had an excellent rookie season last year, but has taken a step backwards, losing his spot on the depth chart to Kevin Klein.  It was hoped that he would step into Marek Zidlicky’s role on the Nashville power play, but that hasn’t worked out.

Expect Pekka Rinne to return to the Predators net tomorrow night when the St. Louis Blues come to town.  In the morning, look for an update on J.P. Dumont, who left the game in the 3rd after getting cross-checked in the back by Detroit’s Niklas Kronwall.

For a more verbose rumination on the game, check out Rachel’s summary at What the Puck.

Tennessean update: Dan Ellis gets the start in net, Radek Bonk returns (but might have difficulty with faceoffs), and Wade Belak will be scratched.  Ville Koistinen returns to action, in an attempt to bolster the Preds’ pathetic power play.

The matchups on special teams are between extremes: Nashville’s power play is 29th in the league, but Detroit’s PK is 27th. The Red Wing PP is #1, but the Preds boast the #4 PK unit.  For Nashville, I say stick Ryan Jones on the top line with Arnott & Dumont; he can crash the net so Dumont will know to just shoot the &*^!ing puck, and he’ll hopefully draw penalties from the Wings defense to boot.

Without a doubt, the fact that Steve Sullivan is skating is remarkable.

The Predators winger missed almost two full NHL seasons with back issues that necessitated multiple surgeries, months of rehabilitation, and all but paralyzed his career.

Still, on Jan. 10, he defied the injury by returning to competition. For more than a month he has injected life into the Predators’ lineup by sparking the offensive output of his teammates.

Now, it’s time for him to the take the next step by igniting his own.

This is something I addressed last week, and it’s a fine line that Barry Trotz needs to walk; Sully needs the ice time to get back into a playing groove, but in the meantime, he’s a liability in 5-on-5 action.  My suggestion would be to manage his ice time based on the score. When within a goal, use him mostly on the power play. When the gap is two goals or more, go ahead and play him.  Right now, the team can ill afford lost opportunities while waiting for Sullivan to find his scoring touch.