Fantasy Draft Around the Corner
September 30, 2005
The Hockey Blog All Stars league is filling up! We have 7 teams right now and I want to get at least more so we can avoid having bye weeks. I’m looking forward to trying out Yahoo’s FHL system and drafting my team. I’m in a keeper league on ESPN, but it was somewhat annoying that to have all the quality players unavailable in the draft.
If anyone is interested in joining us in the fantasy league, here’s the info to join. I plan on posting league updates and taunts in the blog all season long.
In order to join the league, follow the link above or go to game front page, click the “Sign Up Now” or “Get Another Team” button and follow the links to “Join a Custom League”. When prompted, enter the League ID# and password below.
League ID#: 54499
Password: dropthepuck
Rangers Trade for Hossa
September 30, 2005
No, not Marian Hossa, Marcel Hossa. Just read on TSN that the Rangers traded the recently demoted Garth Murray to the Canadiens for Hossa. I’ve never been a big Garth Murray fan and I remember Hossa being a very skilled player so it seems like a good more for the Rangers.
What’s interested about this trade is why it happened. Under the new CBA, a player with an AHL contract over $75k must clear waivers before he sent down from the NHL. If another team picks him up, his original team must foot half the contract. This effectively created an AHL salary cap, but it also causes situations like this. Montreal decided to keep Guillaume Latendresse instead of sending him down to juniors and rather than take the risk that Hossa would get picked up on waivers when they demoted him they get whatever they can for him.
With Peter Worrell in training camp with the Wolfpack, the Rangers had enough coverage in the fisticuffs department. Gaining another young scorer is a good move. The only question I have is if the Rangers are able to send him to the AHL without clearing waivers as part of the trade or if they’ll be in the same boat when he gets to New York. I’d hate to see a more deserving Ranger prospect demoted just because Hossa won’t clear waivers. I also wonder what this means about the future of Jozef Balej. The Rangers seem to be above their quota of bleach blond Slovaks.
More on Mihaly
September 30, 2005
I mentioned last week how Arpad Mihaly was missing from training camp and had been dissed by the Senators. Now I know why. The Press & Sun had a nice article about the signing of Jeff Heerema:
Someone has to score goals for Binghamton, and it may as well be Heerema, who’s demonstrated that knack before. Although he’s never duplicated his breakout year for the Lowell Lock Monsters, he did tally 14 goals last season despite playing more of a defensive role for the forward-rich Manitoba Moose.
The Senators have never been a big budget franchise and one of their strategies has been taking chances with prospects that have had some bad fortune. Arpad Mihaly has great hustle and size, but has yet to show the ability to have a chance at the NHL. Heerema on the other hand has shown the skill, but suffered a set back from an injury. Given a more prominent role on the B-Sens and with the new rules in place, there’s a good chance that he could return to form and be back on the track to the NHL.
Jed Ortmeyer
September 30, 2005
When the Rangers purged the team at the end of the 2003/04 season, I didn’t watch many games and preferred to watch the Senators playoff run and see some of my Bingo players in the NHL. As a result, I missed out on seeing some of the kids play. I’m making up for that lost time by watching them in preseason. I see many things I like, but none more than Jed Ortmeyer. This kid is the represents everything I love about hockey. He is the ultimate blue collar player and is all hustle. The Rangers have had other players like this in the last 7 seasons, but they always got traded for some veteran who would come to town, score a few goals, and coast to another early start to summer. This time around the Rangers are being smart (I hope) and Ortmeyer will be around for a long time.
Hockey Night in New York
September 30, 2005
I was watching the Rangers-Islanders game last night when I saw the most amazing announcement…MSG is going to being Hockey Night in New York next Thursday night! Over the past couple season the Rangers, Islanders, and Devils have shared channels and had their own satellite hot stove with the announcers from the three teams. The extra coverage was nice, but somewhat confused. Now they are going to dedicate one night a week to NY hockey. I’m thrilled and I think the fans will really love it. Rangers home opener is Thursday and my TiVo will be locked a loaded to record all the coverage.
Great Goal
September 26, 2005
Going through some more old files and found this clip of Mikael Samuelsson scoring one helluva goal for the Rangers.
Clint Malarchuk
September 26, 2005
I’ll never forget seeing the blood pump through Malarchuk’s fingers with each heartbeat. The injury occurred when a player fell in the crease in a scrum and his skate swung up and caught Malarchuk in the throat. After this incident goalies wear throat protectors. Here is the rest of the story along with pictures and a video clip from the game:
“I did think I was done,” said Malarchuk 13 years later, “Somewhere I’d heard that if you cut your jugular vein you’ve got a matter of minutes, like three minutes. I was going through the minutes preparing to die. I thought I had just three minutes to live and I’ve got a lot of repenting to do in three minutes.”
The sight was so grizzly that 2 spectators suffered heart attacks and 3 of Malarchuk’s teammates vomited while still on the ice.
It was estimated that if the skate hit 1/8 inch higher on Malarchuk’s jugular, he would have been dead within 2 minutes. In the dressing room and on his way to the hospital, doctors spent 90 minutes and used over 300 stitches to close the wound.
But Malarchuk’s story did not stop there. In only 3 months, Malarchuk returned to a standing ovation.
Arpad Mihaly
September 25, 2005
The Press & Sun had an update on Mihaly this morning. The Sens had told him they planned to re-sign him over the summer, but changed their mind before training camp began. Right now he is in training camp with Wilkes-Barre Scranton. I feel bad for him, but it is understandable the teams are making likes of changes with the new rules and so many free agents available. No one knows exactly what kind of player will excel in the new rule system. Some teams, like the Flyers, stocked up on big guys that would have suited the old system better, but others like the Rangers went for fast, skilled European players who know how to play without the red line. Will be interesting to see who made the right moves. Hopefully Arpad finds a spot on the Pens roster and we’ll get many chances to see him see season.
Alumni Report
September 24, 2005
I tracked down a few more of our Binghamton Alumni:
Pete Vandermeer signed with Montreal this season and is in NHL camp.
Chris Grenville is back with Laredo in the CHL where he led the team and scoring and helped them win the President’s Cup in 2004.
Dieter Kochan has apparently signed with the Sibir Novosibirsk of the Russian League. Most likely a victim of the new AHL salary cap.
While trying to track down Alex Andreyev I learned that he was struck in the face with a puck last season, breaking his orbital bone and possibly damaging his eye. It doesn’t look like Alex came back that season. Here’s the story from the Jackals site:
Andreyev underwent tests to his injured right eye Wednesday at Rochester General Hospital. The 6’4” 235 lbs defenseman suffered a horrific injury when a puck struck his eye in a game against the Danbury Trashers on Saturday January 22nd at the First Arena.
“The doctors are still waiting for the pressure and swelling to go down,” said Coach Brost. “There is a chance that he might get his vision back, which is positive news.”The Riga, Latvia native is expected to need various surgeries to repair the damage to his lens and the broken bones around the eye.
Sens 3 - Pens 0
September 24, 2005
The Dominator was in great form as he shutdown the Penguins for 33 minutes and helped lead the Sens to a 3-0 win. I was extremely impressed with how well Hasek played. He showed no signs of rust as he made key save after save during the multitude of penalties the Senators took early in the game.
As good as Hasek was in goal, the offense could best be described as hesitant. I think the players are still adjusting to the new rules and the warm arena certainly didn’t help ice conditions. Lots of trouble puck handling and passing, but both teams maintained a high intensity. Lots of clean hits and for the first time in ages I did not see a single player go water skiiing with a hook on an opponent.
Great performances for the Sens:
Hasek - Already mentioned how good he looked in goal. I also should mention that I saw him play the puck in the no-no zone on several occasions without getting a penalty. Seemed like he realized it after he was in the corners and would sheepishly return to net. Refs gave him a break.
Heatley! What a great trade that was. Dany flashed moments of brilliance and his goal was the fastest one timer I’ve ever seen in the arena. Give him, Spezza, and Bochenski a few more weeks to gel and they will be a formidable line.
Chara - Lots of talk before the season about how the big man will do with the cut down on obstruction. I didn’t agree with those nay-sayers and Chara’s play backed me up. He handled the puck smoothly, got off a lot of shots, handled the point on the power play well, and even wore the C to boot.
Neil - Love this guy. Tough as nails and a good skater too. He’s one enforcer that won’t lose any minutes with the new rules.
Bubble Boys - Kelly and Hamel continued to make strong cases for why they should make the NHL. Great hustle by both. Kelly is an absolute pest on the PK and stole the puck several times.
Steve Martins - I’m so glad he’ll be back in Bingo this season. He showed us again what a spark plug he can be. Great hustle and nice checks. Plus it was comical to see him next to Chara. I think Chara’s stick is taller than Martins.
It’s too bad the Pens didn’t bring more vets, but it was still an exciting game. The pace of the game was pretty fast, but the game wasn’t more wide open. No big break aways. Was just nice to see very little clutching and grabbing and more hits. As the players adjust their game, the pace should pick up. This is going to be one exciting season.
