With rosters for the upcoming World Junior tournament released in the next few weeks, Bob McKenzie of TSN took a look at the potential names for Team USA. The club is expected to be one of the favorites after taking home the gold medal last season at both the U20 and U18 events. McKenzie figures the top line to be a trio of Casey Mittelstadt–Logan Brown–Kailer Yamamoto, a group that would likely hold their own in the NHL let alone a junior tournament. Brown and Yamamoto both played in the NHL this season, while Mittelstadt is starring at the University of Minnesota.
One player McKenzie doesn’t mention is Sean Dhooghe, the 5’2″ forward that earned the respect of his teammates at San Jose prospect camp this summer. Dhooghe isn’t one to overlook because of his size though, as he has eight points in 17 games as an undrafted freshman for the University of Wisconsin, and led the U18 team in scoring at last year’s tournament. Dhooghe, 18, could also attend next year if he’s not selected this time around, as there is plenty of talent to choose from for this year’s tournament. It will be held in Buffalo starting December 26th.
- The NHL Department of Player Safety handed out $5,000 fines to both Patrick Kane and Mathew Dumba for their respective incidents last night, the maximum allowable under the CBA. Kane two-handed Anaheim Ducks forward Nick Ritchie as he went towards the bench and was assessed a minor penalty, while Dumba squirted water from the bench at Winnipeg Jets forward Joel Armia. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen fines handed out for water bottle antics, as Steven Stamkos and others were disciplined earlier in the year.
- Casey DeSmith was called up earlier today to fill in for Matt Murray in Pittsburgh, but it wasn’t clear how long the Penguins’ starting goaltender would be out. Turns out he’ll be out on a week-to-week basis, leaving the team with two rookies to fill the crease for the next while. Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette caught up with GM Jim Rutherford to ask if he’d be going after another goaltending option, but he seemed okay to trust Tristan Jarry and DeSmith for the time being. “Obviously now we’ll keep a closer watch on it. [Adding a veteran backup] is not something I’m trying to do right now,” said Rutherford, who is also involved in many rumors about defenseman Ian Cole. The Penguins aren’t a perfect hockey team at the moment, and Rutherford has long been known for his willingness to make trades when necessary. It will be interesting to see when (and if) he decides this is one of those times.
Lol losing 5k for squirting a guy with water, what a joke.
The question is, what “could” be in the water? I know that I wouldn’t want to be squirted anywhere near my face with someone else’s water & neither would most people in the world.
Plus, getting squirted in the eyes during a hockey game could be dangerous in so many different ways. This could interfere with someone’s concentration, take their thoughts away from the game & then they could get their head taken off. And, if you have ever played hockey, concentration is so important to the sport because it is easy to get hurt in so many ways. Giving up five thousand dollars might wake some of these guys up & teach them a bit of respect.
It was my understanding that this happened post whistle when Armia was returning to the bench after a whistle, which would practically take away any risk of being blindsided as it was during a whistle and the player could easily return to the bench and have the trainer tend to him if the water got into his eyes. Sure there may be some bad blood but players get mad at each other all the time, hockey’s one of the few sports where fighting is actually allowed.
It doesn’t take much to pass on any type of infection these days, so this should be the starting point. Hockey players are known to have volatile tempers so the league just doesn’t want anything as simple as squirting water into someone’s face carrying over into another game.
If only one player is given a break on this, everybody else will try the same thing. In the old days, if someone pulled this crap, it would set off a major bench clearing brawl. With the modern day NHL, they are trying to remove fighting altogether. Squirting water into someone’s face is disrespectful & is akin to spitting into the face of a fellow player. They are supposed to be brothers, all connected & bonded by the great sport of hockey.
I’ll try to give you an example of how this works. When I played many years ago, I got squirted in the face by a water bottle, late in a game. It was too late to do anything because the game was almost over. But, I made sure that I knew who squirted the water in my eyes. Every time that we played that team for the rest of the year & then the following year, I went right for the guy that did it.
This kind of crap takes away from the best game in the world. This not only hurt my team but also my game. What I did was hurt the team, fans & also myself.
Hockey players have long memories & “will” get even at the first chance. This is just the tip of the iceberg about what could happen if the league let’s this go.
It is more about disrespect than anything else but something as simple as this could lead to worse things in the future.
I’m not being ignorant with you Brother, but what would you do if somebody disrespected you by squirting you in the face with water that he had been drinking? Would you let yourself be disrespected by anyone or would you stand up for yourself?
It is so true that you have to earn respect but also give respect in return. Good luck to you Tyler. By the way, which team or teams are you a fan of? Me? I am a die-hard fan of the Red Wings. Keep posting on here because there just isn’t that many fans of hockey out there. This is a great way to learn about what’s going on with hockey from another fans point of view & opinion.
I hope that I explained this well enough for you.
Nice book, you should publish it.
I’m a Pens fan, and I’m also a player of the game. I will admit that I was one of the more edgy players, the kind that the other team hated to play against, and I would go after anybody who would have squirted water at me. But in my opinion that’s how the game is played. You get under the skin of one player and it starts a heated one on one rivalry that both teams feed off of and then you have a scrappy, intense game. That’s the best kind of hockey to watch imo.
What’s wrong with a face wash with a nasty hockey glove? It serves the same purpose. Hey Row, it has already been published, except in a shorter format.