Arctic Ice Hockey

Altitude Check: Thursday, May 17, 2012 Winnipeg Jets News Headlines

2012-05-17T15:17:34Z

Hey all! Here is our feature running Monday through Friday that will bring you up to date on what's going on in the media pertaining to the Winnipeg Jets and elsewhere in the NHL.

Here is what's in the news for Thursday, May 17, 2012:

Winnipeg Jets' young gun Evander Kane managed scored a goal and team Canada lost. Overall, Kaner had a pretty good showing. He was tied for the team lead in goals and was 6th on the squad in TIO. It will be nice to see what he can do as a first line player in Winnipeg next year. Jets Captain Andrew Ladd was Canada's player of the game in the loss. [IIHF]

Speaking of Winnipeg, the folks at TSN put together an in depth Off-Season Game Plan for our team. They look at needs, cap numbers, prospects, draft projections and they even source behindthenet.ca. Good stuff! [TSN]

Speaking of prospects, Hockey's Future breaks down Jets' prospects and the impact of extended playoff runs on their development. I have been hearing some great things about Patrice Cormier. There is more and more talk about him being NHL ready. [HF]

The 2012 Young Stars Tournament has been cancelled. It was very excited to see that first glimpse of our Jets last year. Hopefully this is the only hockey that is cancelled next year. [Edmonton Journal]

The Ice Caps are not expected to win their upcoming series, it will be nice to see if they can pull it out. Here is a bit of a preview. [The Telegram]

More Ice Caps intel including High praises for Pasquale and Zinger. [Ice Flow]

Follow the Jump for more awesomeness!!

More Awesomeness!!

NHL Numbers put together a consensus Top 100 players for the NHL draft. [NHL Numbers]

Wednesday Night Three Stars

1. David Clarkson (NJD) 1G, GWG - He was solid all game.

2. Ilya Kovalchuk (NJD) 1G - He continues to rack up points.

3. Martin Brodeur (NJD) .920 SV%, 23 - Saves and an unlucky bounce.

Calder Cup brings out best (and worst) in IceCaps

2012-05-17T14:06:14Z

Tonight the IceCaps will kick off their round three series against the extremely tough Admirals in Norfolk. After defeating the WBS Penguins in game seven this past Saturday, the team was given a few days off before perhaps the toughest test they'll face since, well, the last time they played Norfolk.

The Admirals are really something. Though they've managed to lose three games so far in these playoffs, they finished the regular season on a run that saw the team lose only 2 games since January. That's not a typo.

January record: 6-5-1-0

February: 11-2-0-0

March: 12-0-0-0

April: 6-0-0-0

That happened.

I figure perhaps this is the best time to weigh in on a few players and their playoff performances so far, especially since I've finally been able to make it to a lot of games in-person recently. I won't cover any veterans or AHL mainstays because, frankly, that's not really that interesting for Jets fans.

Carl Klingberg

Nobody can really figure what's going on with this guy. Myself and a few other fans think he has to be injured, because his play has slipped big time recently - to the point where he was scratched for Game 7 against the Baby Penguins. Klingberg is having trouble settling the puck down, creating any chances (though he did have a nice goal on a setup from Scheifele in round one), and he simply refuses to finish any checks.

The lack of physicality has me believing injury, but then again he's been so-so since a hot start to the season, so who knows.

Paul Postma

Again, possible injury. Well, lingering injury.

Postma missed a number of games at season's end, but he's been relied on, along with Meech, to be the IceCaps' primary puck carrier this postseason. He's looked himself most of the time, but other times he's looking a little scatterbrained. His physical game isn't there, but he's had trouble consistently putting that together anyway.

One thing to note on Postma: at the end of Game 6 against WBS, Jason King (who must be a mouthpiece on the ice) got his face basically punched in to the glass by Penguins' tough guy Bortuzzo. Postma, who's the tallest dude on St. John's, stood up and watched, chewed his nails, took a nap, etc. This is a huge no-no for me, especially at the end of the game where a powerplay wasn't going to mean a thing.

Postma's play has been nonchalant at times and if he wants to get out of AHL to NHL purgatory, it can't be.

Patrice Cormier

The legend.

After Bortuzzo's little fit and Jason King beatdown in Game 6, when everyone else stood around, Cormier decided, from the bench I suppose, to carry a bit of anger in to the next game.

Result: Bortuzzo made it only a few minutes in to the first period in Game 7 before having to leave. He didn't come back. Why? Because Cormier basically smashed every bone in his body on a hit behind the Penguins' net. You never have to worry about this guy finishing checks.

Cormier and Machacek (who's now hurt, apparently), as Jeff on Twitter points out, have been solid:

Machacek would be a big loss. Hasn't scored in playoffs yet, but he and Cormier have been driving play every shift

It's true. They have. Machacek has just been on the unlucky side.

I also noticed Cormier break up a number of plays in his own zone that would have been prime scoring chances during the Penguins series. A player lacking defensive awareness would have easily been sucked in to mistakes on a few of the plays, but that certainly isn't Cormier. This guy is in the game.

If you have him pegged as a bust because he doesn't put up huge numbers, keep in mind his play on the other side of the puck. I still think he has a scoring touch to be honest, but either way, this guy will do anything to make sure the puck is going the other way and that likely translates in to him becoming an ideal checking center with the Jets. With another year left before RFA, next season is a big one for Cormier.

Mark Scheifele

Not much to say. Only watched him in a pair of games since he's been in the pressbox since the team came back from WBS last week. Some people point to injury, poor play, and even exhaustion as the reason for him sitting.

Personally I thought, from what I did see, that he's easily the most skilled player the IceCaps can put on the ice. And I guess this is where the term "raw skill" comes in, because he didn't consistently play at AHL speed, but when he does get looks, there's no other player I'd rather see have the puck on his stick.

~~My guess is Scheifele plays a fair chunk of time in St. John's next year.~~ Or not, he isn't eligible. It will be interesting to see if he can do enough this summer to make the Jets.

If you want to listen to the game in Norfolk tonight, check out thisisnewfoundlandandlabrador.ca or find the link on the official IceCaps website. Enjoy.

Email ryanfancey@gmail.com and follow on twitter @rfancey3.

Pilot's Logbook 2011-12: Andrew Ladd

2012-05-17T12:00:02Z

The Pilot's Logbook looks at the performances of regular Jets players over the course of 2011-12, primarily through time on-ice and Gabe's player performance charts.

Finally, we come to one of our TOI monsters in Andrew Ladd. Deployed in all situations, Ladd experienced a bit of regression from 2010-11's numbers (29 G, 30 A, 59 PTS), although considering it was his assist total that regressed it might have been the luck of his teammates that took a little downturn. That said, this edition of the logbook will give us a good look at what a full-minutes forward looks like...

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPP	SHP	SOG	5v5 TOI/60 (Fwd Rk)	5v4 TOI	4v5 TOI
2011 - Andrew Ladd	82	28	22	50	-8	64	12	0	265	14.88 (3rd)	2.45 (3rd)	1.52 (5th)

Sure, the guy took annoying penalties in the offensive zone, and it always seemed like he was the guy blowing good scoring chances by missing the net, but he and the rest of Ladd's Little Wheeler took their minutes and played some plus hockey.

Those are definitely some important minutes. One thing I'd like to call attention to was the late season spike in 4v5 time, and that Ladd's minutes did not follow the spike. At that point in the season, Ladd's Little Wheeler was getting increased 5v5 minutes and I think the rationale was why burn our top 5v5 line in shorthanded situations when we can dump those minutes on the stellar defence of GST. Hey, I didn't say the rationale made sense...

via behindthenet.ca

Turns out that, despite the plus hockey Ladd's Little Wheeler was playing, Ladd's PDO suffered a bit thanks to fairly low on-ice shooting (7.55%, lowest of our top 6 forwards) and the fact that Ondrej Pavelec and Chris Mason turned up the suck to 11 when LLW was on the ice (89.9% save percentage at 5v5? yuck).

Performance/Usage Grade: B+

To be fair, though LLW handled the second toughest competition behind GST they still received pretty favorable zone starts, which helped bump their shot stats a bit. Assuming then that they received average top 6 minutes, I'd say 28 goals out of Ladd is pretty nice, as is the solidly positive shot ratio. At the same time, it's not elite performance out of that situation, which is certainly possible since it's a common usage among top-liners.

Performance/Contract Grade: B+

After mulling over what I'd hope a $4.4m forward would do for us, I can appreciate the fact that he was a solid player at evens and on the kill (though marginal on the powerplay), and I think he gets pretty darn close to matching what we should be getting for the money. Keep in mind, though, that that wouldn't put a player in "A" territory for me. On the bright side, if he can repeat this kind of contribution near the end of his contract, we will definitely getting more than what we paid for.

Jets 1.0 / 2.0 Comparables: Dustin Byfuglien – Big Buff’s Big Year

2012-05-16T18:00:12Z

While I drew the ire of a few readers by suggesting there was a link between the Jets of old and the Jets of new, I do intend to continue with the comparisons. Before I get rolling I would like to reiterate that this is not an attempt to claim ownership of the "official records" that rest in Phoenix. This is simply number munching from another perspective. The intention here is to provide a statistical record that allows easy comparisons between the players that people saw 15+ years ago and what they are seeing now.

This is about Winnipeg hockey history and offering a more info to the fans; it isn’t any bigger than that.

Today we take a look at Dustin Byfuglien and how his 2011-12 production compares to Jets players of the past. I am also going to include all-time Atl / Jets 2.0 tables for comparison sake, hopefully this ensures that nobody yells at me.

Lets get at it!

The first table shows the top 25 all-time Jets seasons (defensemen by points) filtered by PTS / GM.

Jets All Time Seasons by Defensemen (Points/GM)

RNK

Player

Season

Age

PTS

+/-

PTS/GM

Phil Housley

1992-93

-14

1.21

Phil Housley

1991-92

-5

1.16

Phil Housley

1990-91

-13

0.97

Dave Babych

1982-83

-10

0.94

Dave Babych

1983-84

-31

0.86

Dave Babych

1981-82

-11

0.86

Dave Ellett

1987-88

-8

0.85

Fredrik Olausson

1992-93

-4

0.84

Fredrik Olausson

1988-89

0.83

Fredrik Olausson

1991-92

-31

0.81

Dustin Byfuglien

2011-12

-8

0.80

Lars-Erik Sjoberg

1974-75

0.80

Dave Babych

1984-85

-16

0.79

Randy Carlyle

1987-88

-20

0.76

Larry Hornung

1972-73

0.75

Moe Mantha

1983-84

-14

0.75

Dave Ellett

1988-89

-18

0.75

Teppo Numminen

1995-96

-4

0.73

Randy Carlyle

1985-86

-12

0.72

Randy Carlyle

1984-85

0.72

Fredrik Olausson

1989-90

-1

0.71

Mike Ford

1975-76

0.69

Barry Long

1976-77

-1

0.66

Mario Marois

1987-88

0.65

Lars-Erik Sjoberg

1977-78

0.64

Buff’s 2011-12 season sits in 11^th on the list and that is without adjusting for era. That is big time production! While I’m sure Winnipegers were aware that Buff was putting up big numbers, I’m not sure they realised just how productive he was. If we look at all defensemen since the lockout; only 10 players have put up more points per game over the course of a season.

Other notes:

There are a number of players on that list who were far more minus that our Big Bustin was this year. Did Housley and Babych receive similar criticism for their defensive lapses? I am too young to recall.

The WHA teams look to have had a far better goal differentials than pretty much every Jets 1.0 squad.

Let’s take a look at the all-time Thrashers. Data has been sorted the same way.

Thrashers All Time Seasons by Defensemen (Points/GM)

RNK

Player

Season

Age

PTS

+/-

PTS/GM

Dustin Byfuglien

2011-12

-8

0.80

Tobias Enstrom

2010-11

-10

0.71

Dustin Byfuglien

2010-11

-2

0.65

Tobias Enstrom

2009-10

-5

0.61

Tobias Enstrom

2011-12

0.52

Pavel Kubina

2009-10

0.50

Ron Hainsey

2008-09

-16

0.48

Jaroslav Modry

2005-06

-9

0.48

Tobias Enstrom

2007-08

-5

0.46

Zach Bogosian

2011-12

-3

0.46

Frantisek Kaberle

2003-04

0.43

Greg de Vries

2005-06

0.43

Yannick Tremblay

1999-00

-42

0.41

Frantisek Kaberle

2001-02

-11

0.41

Yannick Tremblay

2002-03

-27

0.40

Niclas Havelid

2005-06

0.39

Tobias Enstrom

2008-09

0.39

Yannick Tremblay

2001-02

-15

0.36

Frantisek Kaberle

2002-03

-19

0.33

Andy Sutton

2005-06

0.33

Ron Hainsey

2009-10

-6

0.33

Andy Sutton

2003-04

0.32

Steve Staios

2000-01

-23

0.31

Greg de Vries

2006-07

-3

0.29

Zach Bogosian

2009-10

-18

0.28

Buff already owns the top two point totals in franchise history and he has recorded two of the top three points per game numbers. His +/- numbers really aren’t that bad in comparison to his teammates either.

Other notes:

Until recently the Thrash really hadn’t received much production form their defensemen. Eight of the top ten seasons (PTS/GM) were from players who are currently with the team and a third of those totals were from last year. There will not be nearly as many familiar names when we look at forwards.

This table also offers some justification Ron Hainsey’s big money deal. Production from the back end was a long standing issue with this team. Hainsey was brought in to rectify that and he kinda did. The 39 points Hainsey put up in 2008-09 were a franchise record at the time, but the emergence of Toby and trade for Buff forced him into a different role.

Now, let’s take a look at the old time Jets career marks with Buff’s 2011-12 season in the mix.

RNK

Player

From

PTS

+/-

Fredrik Olausson

1987

1994

NHL

496

249

335

-55

Dave Babych

1981

1986

NHL

390

248

321

-130

Randy Carlyle

1984

1993

NHL

564

226

306

-18

Dave Ellett

1985

1991

NHL

475

204

299

-44

Teppo Numminen

1989

1996

NHL

547

212

265

-26

Phil Housley

1991

1993

NHL

232

195

259

-32

Lars-Erik Sjoberg

1975

1980

WHA / NHL

374

196

228

122

Moe Mantha

1981

1992

NHL

318

125

156

-69

Barry Long

1977

1979

WHA / NHL

299

117

144

-41

Larry Hornung

1973

1978

WHA

292

111

139

-6

Mario Marois

1986

1992

NHL

255

116

133

-32

Tim Watters

1982

1988

NHL

438

101

122

Thommie Bergman

1975

1978

WHA

234

119

Mike Ford

1975

1979

WHA

179

107

Perry Miller

1975

1977

WHA

188

Ted Green

1976

1979

WHA

242

Freeman Asmundson

1973

1978

WHA

258

-2

Robert Picard

1984

1986

NHL

160

Don Spring

1981

1984

NHL

259

-58

Dustin Byfuglien

2012

NHL

-8

Dave Manson

1994

1996

NHL

139

-22

Joe Zanussi

1973

1975

WHA

149

Stephane Quintal

1994

1995

NHL

124

-25

Igor Ulanov

1992

1995

NHL

176

-2

Heikki Riihiranta

1975

1977

WHA

187

-41

If all Jets’ history was amalgamated, Buff would have already worked his way into the top 20. At his current rate of production, it would only take 3 seasons to move into the top 10.

Other notes:

Post WHA, there aren’t very many pluses in the +/- column.

The all-time numbers for defensemen aren’t that far out of reach. Either Buff or Bogo could conceivably match Olausson’s 335 points if they stick around long enough.

…and the all-time Thrash / Jets career totals.

RNK

Player

From

PTS

+/-

Tobias Enstrom

2008

2012

380

171

203

Yannick Tremblay

2000

2004

300

107

-103

Dustin Byfuglien

2011

2012

147

106

-10

Frantisek Kaberle

2000

2004

272

102

-30

Ron Hainsey

2009

2012

299

-10

Zach Bogosian

2009

2012

264

-37

Andy Sutton

2002

2007

273

Niclas Havelid

2006

2009

303

Greg de Vries

2006

2007

164

-2

Daniel Tjarnqvist

2002

2004

218

-46

Chris Tamer

2000

2004

339

-63

Garnet Exelby

2003

2009

357

-20

Johnny Oduya

2010

2012

172

-18

Pavel Kubina

2010

Jaroslav Modry

2006

-9

Steve McCarthy

2006

2008

117

-19

Jiri Slegr

2001

2002

-22

Gord Murphy

2000

2001

-37

Alexei Zhitnik

2007

2008

-4

Steve Staios

2001

-23

Petr Buzek

2000

2002

-24

Darryl Shannon

2000

-14

Mark Stuart

2011

2012

103

-12

Mathieu Schneider

2009

-10

Shane Hnidy

2006

2007

138

Big Buff is already ranked third. This table further illustrates the long running ineptitude of the Atlanta blue liners. If management decides to move Toby at the deadline, Buff could very easily take over all of the career marks and he should be able to do it without signing another contract.

Other notes:

Toby owns pretty much every record and by the middle of next year the top four point getters will be Toby, Buff, Bogo and Hainsey.

Shane Hnidy still owns the franchise record for +/-.

Final Thoughts:

Buff had a beast of a season in 2012. It is hard to argue that it was one of the best in the history of Winnipeg hockey. Buff's year was quite clearly the most productive seasons in Alt/Jets 2.0 history. If Buff isn't in jail next year he will be shooting up the record books. Who's record book you put him in is up to you.

Which comparisons do you guys find more interesting?

Altitude Check: Wednesday, May 16, 2012 Winnipeg Jets News Headlines

2012-05-16T16:00:31Z

Hey all! Here is our feature running Monday through Friday that will bring you up to date on what's going on in the media pertaining to the Winnipeg Jets and elsewhere in the NHL.

Here is what's in the news for Wednesday, May 16, 2012:

Kevin Cheveldayoff takes readers through Winnipeg's preparaion for the upcoming NHL Draft and also touches on the different challenges management will face as compared to last years draft. [WFP]

What might have been had the Phoenix Coyotes relocated to Winnipeg almost one year ago. [Winnipeg Sun]

John Albert has quietly been a solid performer for the St. John's IceCaps during their Calder Cup run. [The Telegram]

Getting to know Ray Sawada. [IceCaps.com]

... and assistant coach Mark Morrison. [IceCaps.com]

... and finally, the baby-faced Eddy Pasquale. [IceCaps.com]

The Los Angeles Kings dismantled the Phoenix Coyotes for the second time in two games. Jeff Carter notched a hat-trick while Jonathan Quick held the Yotes scoreless. [Jewels from the Crown, Five For Howling]

Will Shane Doan be suspended for his hit on Trevor Lewis? [YouTube]

The story of Dewayne Hankins, the man behind the Kings Twitter feed. [Puck Daddy]

Leo Komarov has signed his ELC with the Toronto Maple Leafs. [Leaf Nation]

Alexander Semin may or may not have played his final game as a Washington Capital. [SB Nation]

Russian Machine Never Breaks interviews Alexander Semin (in Russian) [RNMB]

Really cool that Tomas Vokoun could be the starting goaltender for the new Yaroslavl Lokomotiv team... [RMNB]

... but according to his agent, he's still looking at resigning in the NHL. [SB Nation]

~~Gabe Desjardins makes an appearance in Elliotte Friedman's 30 Thoughts this week. [CBC]~~ Ed. Note: The article in question has since been removed from CBC's site. We will update today's headlines if it reappears.

Finally, the movement to anoint Scott Hartnell as the NHL 13 cover athlete continues into the next round of voting. #Hartnelldown! [Backhand Shelf]

Tuesday Night Three Stars

1. Jeff Carter (LAK) 3G, 3PTS

2. Jonathan Quick (LAK) 24SV, 0GA, 1.000SV%, W, SO

3. Dwight King (LAK) 1G, GWG

What Scouts Said About the 1988 Draft Class

2012-05-16T12:00:04Z

I hate to throw out another of these on the impression that I'll have them all into the 1990s; admittedly, I only have the goods for this draft class and the previous one. The goods in question this time come from The Globe & Mail again, out of Saturday's edition June 11th, 1988.

Keep in mind that, because this is the sequel, it won't be nearly as good...kind of like the 1988 NHL Draft Class, except not really because (according to my measure of "success," aka 500+ NHL games) NHL teams batted .800 in the first 10 picks. Wowsers. In fact, 7 of the top 10 played 1,000+ NHL games. Ay carumba.

To quote Meet Joe Black, now you're going to pee some more: the #10 pick, Teemu Selanne, has played more NHL games than the following 11 picks combined. Apparently they didn't think too highly of 4th round picks Mark Recchi, Tony Amonte, or Rob Blake. No, they wanted Reggie Savage, Kory Kocur, and Winnipeg's own Kevin Cheveldayoff. The bums.

Oh, you're going to love what they said about Mike Modano and Jeremy Roenick...

To reiterate, I focus on the positive portions of the scouting report for players that played less than 500 NHL games, and the negative for those who played 500+. Players listed are those considered the top 21 players available for the 1988 NHL Draft by scouts at the NHL's Central Scouting Bureau (CSB) - I included their actual draft positions as well.

1. Mike Modano, C (actual pick: MNS, 1st overall - 1,499 career NHL games)

"...[Modano has] a lack of aggressiveness, doesn't check."

"'Doesn't come to play every night,' said a scout, 'He's an American kid. He hasn't learned yet what it takes to play consistently. But he was smart enough to leave home and play where mommy and daddy weren't going to watch him every game.'"

Seriously, who talks like that? Incidentally, Mike Modano was one of the best two-way players in the NHL in his time...think Pavel Datsyuk.

2. Trevor Linden, RW (VAN, 2nd overall - 1,372 NHL games)

"Needs to put on 10 to 15 pounds to be a power forward in NHL."

"Co-ordination hasn't caught up with height."

"Won't be a superstar. Said a scout, 'He'll be a very good NHL player, but not a great NHL player.'"

Incidentally, I found that assessment to be remarkably astute.

3. Curtis Leschyshyn, D (QUE, 3rd overall - 1,033 NHL games)

"Missed last year's draft by six days, so he's considerably older than most prospects."

"Has limited offensive skills."

"Most scouts say he's not as talented as last year's Glen Wesley..."

Apparently not as good as Glen Wesley but still good enough to be considered the number three overall prospect. Uh...

4. Darrin Shannon, LW (PIT, 4th overall - 506 NHL games)

"Lacks quickness and acceleration."

"'He won't be a 40- or 50-goal scorer in the NHL,' a scout said. 'Can be a 60- to 70-point man.'"

5. Daniel Dore, RW (QUE, 5th overall - 17 NHL games)

"A big, strong winger, the toughest of the top five prospects. Good in the corners. 'He's the kind of player a lot of teams would like to have because he'll make them better on the road,' said a scout."

"Plays aggressively, very physical and will fight."

And there's your first bust. Two top 5 picks for Quebec, and they get a stay-at-home defenceman and a guy who could only goon outside of the Q. He wasn't even good when he played in Roller Hockey International (in 1994, 1995, or 1996).

6. Scott Pearson, LW,C (TOR, 6th overall - 292 NHL games)

"A strong skater and very disciplined. An up-and-down winger."

"A character player."

7. Corey Foster, D (NJD, 12th overall - 45 NHL games)

"Strong..."

"...has a great shot, very good skater with excellent mobility. Big strength is his shot, which scouts compare to the Calgary Flames' Al MacInnis."

For the record, Corey Pronman over at HP hates these kinds of comparables. I'm inclined to agree.

8. Martin Gelinas, LW (LAK, 7th overall - 1,273 NHL games)

"[Small] size."

"Some wonder how long he will last in the NHL, given the way he plays."

"Floats sometimes, careless defensively."

Not only would Gelinas be a key cog in the Wayne Gretzky trade, but he would turn out to be a fine two-way player.

9. Francois Leroux, D (EDM, 19th overall - 249 NHL games)

"In a word, Leroux has potential. 'He's a project,' said a scout. 'He tries hard, works hard. A team could have a player in three years. But you have to wait on him. He still has to learn and he really wants to play.'"

That sounds like the kind of scouting report my mom would have written for me.

10. Chris Govedaris, LW (HTD, 11th overall - 45 NHL games)

"An offensive player, is consistently on the puck."

11. Serge Anglehart, D (DET, 38th overall - 0 NHL games)

"Not flashy, but does a fairly good job, has some offensive skills."

Um, are we sure we're talking about the 11th best player on the board? "Yeah, pick him, he does a fairly good job in juniors...what was that? Oh yeah, offence, he's got some of that..."

12. Jeremy Roenick, C (CHI, 8th overall - 1,363 NHL games)

"Needs more size."

"Some scouts say his success has affected his personality and he has an unrealistic view of his abilities."

Jeremy Roenick, an unrealistic view of his abilities? Nahhh...

13. Adrien Plavsic, D (STL, 30th overall - 214 NHL games)

"Has good size."

"A stay-at-home type of player, good puckhandling skills."

"...improved as year went on."

"Skates well and could be a good NHL player in two years."

I spit out my drink somewhere between "13" and "Plavsic."

14. Paul Holden, D (LAK, 28th overall - 0 NHL games)

"A good skater, a stay-at-home type, aggressive."

"Fair offensive skills."

At this point, I'm thinking it was a good thing that NHL teams didn't seem to be buying what CSB was selling.

15. Eric Charron, D (MTL, 20th overall - 130 NHL games)

"A potentially big, strong defenceman."

"Steady, but not offensively inclined."

16. Joel Savage, RW (BUF, 13th overall - 3 NHL games)

"A spirited and aggressive player. A hitter."

"Fearless, chippy, works hard and good skater."

17. Cory Keenan, D (HTD, 120th overall - 0 NHL games)

"A smaller, offensive-type defenceman. Smart with puck, intelligent hockey player."

"Good bloodlines; his father Larry Keenan played in NHL."

Wow on a number of counts. Wow that he fell so far (Somebody know why? Did he shank somebody at a pre-Draft party?), wow that he got ranked below so many defensive defencemen, and wow that he completely justified going 120th overall.

18. Tim Taylor, C (WSH, 36th overall - 749 NHL games)

"He's small and not physical."

Not mentioned: excellent faceoff ability. Turned out to be a solid 3rd line centre.

19. Claude Boivin, LW (PHI, 14th overall - 132 NHL games)

"Big, tough, up-and-down winger. Good in the corners, mixes it up."

"Similar to Dore, but has better hands."

Yet if I would have proposed that he might be as good as Dore, these guys would've jumped on me.

20. Rod Brind'Amour, C (STL, 9th overall - 1,484 NHL games)

"Lacks quickness."

Not mentioned: his bod. Have to give credit to the Blues for bumping him up their list past such luminaries as Plavsic and Boivin.

21. Robert Cimetta, LW (BOS, 18th overall - 103 NHL games)

"Very smart with the puck, fairly aggressive, good offensive skills."

This con is pretty fun, too: "Scouts say he's a little lazy." But I thought that was only Russians...

Here's another fun one on Stephane Fiset, considered by CSB as the #2 available goaltender (he ended up playing pretty good hockey across 390 NHL games):

"A flopper. Relies on quickness."

Yeah, I heard nobody could make that work in the 1990s and 2000s NHL.

Compared to the 1987 scouting reports, I found these downright depressing. Really, this many guys who you'd actually project as defensive defencemen ranked so high? Notice they weren't yet in the habit of putting European players anywhere on this kind of list, though it was agreed in the article that Teemu Selanne would (and should) fall within the top 10 picks. Yet again we see all these guys who had mediocre careers being described as "good skaters," which I'm now taking as code for "this guy is boring as hell, but I better throw the NHL teams a bone because they're paying for my Wendy's."

Seriously, I don't care if they paid for IHOP, Ponderosa, and Red Robin, I would have never parked my ass on a cold arena bench to watch Adrien Plavsic dick around in the defensive zone. Great skater, that one.

10 Wild Stats Through the First Two Rounds

2012-05-15T18:00:03Z

The first two rounds of this year's playoffs are over and round 3 has just begun. With this being the midway point of the playoffs, I figured this might be a good time to take a look at some of the stats so far. While I'm sure there there are plenty of other crazy stats, these 10 just happened to jump out at me. Note that I tried to stay away from the really obvious ones (e.g. Marc-Andre Fleury sucks!), although a couple were just too impressive to leave out.

81.7% - Derek Stepan's Sedin-esque offensive zone start percentage through 14 playoff games. A number of players who played in just one or two games have higher zone start ratios than Stepan, and Tomas Holmstrom even has 86.4% (in 5 games), but while doing it in just a few games is one thing, being constantly deployed in the offensive zone that much over a long period of time is pretty incredible.

16.4% - Sean Couturier's offensive zone start percentage through his team's 11 playoff games. Again, a handful of other players have more extreme numbers, including Manny Malhotra's 7% (in 5 games) and Couturier's linemate Max Talbot's 11.7%, but to put up a number like 16.4% offensive zone starts as a rookie in the playoffs is nothing short of spectacular. It shows what an incredible amount of confidence the Flyers' coaching staff has in him too.

22.33 - Marc Staal's 5-on-5 ice time per 60 minutes. This is up from Staal's regular season average of 16.96 minutes/60 at 5-on-5, which was 3rd on the team. Stall played more than 3 minutes/60 fewer than Dan Girardi and Ryan McDonagh during the regular season and was slightly ahead of Michael Del Zotto. In the playoffs though, Staal's 5-on-5 ice time is second among all players remaining in the playoffs (McDonagh is first), more than a minute higher than Dan Girardi's 5-on-5 average, and almost 6 minutes higher than Michael Del Zotto's 5-on-5 TOI/60. When the chips are down, we know who Tortorella trusts. It's McDonagh and Staal. Or, for those more cynical than I, maybe it's just not Michael Del Zotto and Anton Stralman. And definitely not Stu Bickel.

54% - The percentage of 5-on-5 goals against (not including empty net goals) that Chris Kreider has been on the ice for. The Rangers have given up 13 such goals since Kreider joined the lineup and Kreider has been on the ice for 7 of them. And he's managed to do it with a TOI/60 of just 11.41 through 12 games and a 73.8% offensive zone start ratio. Talented kid, but the Kreider hype might have been a bit premature.

4.07 - Dustin Penner's points per 60 minutes at 5-on-5 through the first two rounds of the playoffs, the highest of any player remaining in the playoffs and more than triple his regular season average of 1.25.

10 - The number of points Dustin Penner needs in order to equal his entire regular season production. Not to pick on Penner too much, but if the Kings reach the Stanley Cup Finals Penner has a very real chance of surpassing his season totals.

4 - The number of Phoenix Coyotes with a positive Corsi On rating. Marc-Antoine Pouliot and Gilbert Brule, two former Oilers who have become NHL journeymen, lead the way with Corsi ratings of 15.65 and 14.94, shredding the easy minutes. Daymond Langkow (3.27) and Kyle Chichura (0.69) are the other two. The Coyotes' Fenwick scores tells more or less the same story, so it's not like they're just blocking a ton of shots. With numbers like that it's pretty amazing that this team is in the conference finals.

94.7% - Jonathan Quick's overall save percentage. As if that wasn't impressive enough on its own, it's also his shorthanded save percentage. Wowsers. Mike Smith sports a .946 save percentage both overall and on the penalty kill too. The only goalie better than them was Cory Schneider, who somehow managed to lose two out of the three games he started despite only letting in four goals.

8.6 - The amount of time per game that the L.A. Kings spent playing 5-on-4, over 12% more than the next closest team. The Kings' opponent in round 3, the Phoenix Coyotes, average just 5.1 minutes/game at 5-on-4.

8.6 - Roman Hamrlik's relative corsi rating, best among Capitals' defensemen. Hamrlik was on the ice for 11 goals for at even strength compared to just 3 goals against. Hamrlik's only been playing second tough competition and second tough zone starts, and yeah his PDO is pretty high, but c'mon...the old man's still got it.

Altitude Check: Tuesday, May 15, 2012 Winnipeg Jets News Headlines

2012-05-15T16:00:29Z

Hey all! Here is our feature running Monday through Friday that will bring you up to date on what's going on in the media pertaining to the Winnipeg Jets and elsewhere in the NHL.

Here is what's in the news for Tuesday, May 15, 2012:

Congrats to the St. John's IceCaps who have advanced to the AHL's Eastern Conference Finals after a Game 7 win over the Wilkes-Barre Penguins.[The Telegram]

The Conference Finals schedule. Game 1 goes Thursday night in Norfolk. Keep in mind that the AHL functions on a 2-3-2 playoff format. [IceCaps.com]

The view from a St. John's perspective. [Winnipeg Sun]

And from a Norfolk perspective. [Pilot Online]

Sigh, looks like idiocy is still alive and well with some Jets fans. Meet Tim Gillis and Chris Nault, two upstanding young men I'm sure will go far. Gentlemen, why don't you take the wads of cash you apparently have and throw it over the flames. That's essentially what you're doing in the first place. Dolts. (video) [Winnipeg Sun]

News and notes on the Winnipeg Jets at the World Championships. [WFP]

Canada defeated Belarus 5-1 this morning, clinching first place in their pool. Andrew Ladd finished the game with two assists, Evander Kane had one. [IIHF]

Manitoba Finance Minister Stan Struthers apologizes for lying about his involvement in accepting free Jets tickets. [CBC]

More on the aftermath of TIcketGate. [CBC]

Henrik Lundqvist stole the show as the New York Rangers shutout the New Jersey Devils in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Dan Girardi had tonight's winner. [Blueshirt Banter, In Lou We Trust]

Tickets for tonights Rangers v. Devils game were going for up to $900.00. [New York Times]

Dale Hunter has stepped down as head coach of the Washington Capitals: "I’m going back to the farm, the team and family." [Washington Post]

Eulogizing the Washington Capitals. [Puck Daddy]

Nikita Filatov has re-signed with Salavat Yulaev of the KHL. [TSN]

Patrick Kane: party animal. (NSFW) [Deadspin]

Ellen Etchingham on the return of the two-minute major. Thoughts? [Backhand Shelf]

Finally, check out DJ Steve Porter's mash-up of John Tortorella press conferences. (video) [Chris Kreider (NYR) 1G, 1A, 2PTS