Snapshots: McDavid, Team North America, Team USA Preview
Connor McDavid finally knows who his linemates are. The newly minted Team North America captain will center a line with Auston Matthews and Mark Scheifele on his left and right respectively. Team North America coach Todd McLellan, who is also McDavid’s bench boss with the Oilers, finally decided on his the lines after experimenting through the exhibition games. McLellan had this to say:
“We’re still looking for combinations that will give us the best chance to win. Connor, I think, has been getting better. I thought Auston’s been one of our top forwards. Those two complement each other, Auston with his size (6-foot-2, 210 pounds) and his ability to hold onto the puck, and Connor with his speed.”
A top line that features the future superstars of the NHL provides excitement as the World Cup of Hockey begins tomorrow. North America has been tabbed as a team that could possibly push Canada and Sweden for the title of champions as they feature depth, speed, and scoring prowess. A line of Matthews-McDavid-Scheifele only guarantees that. TSN’s Ryan Kennedy continues by writing that the North American squad has gelled quickly and quotes Jack Eichel as saying that his teammates are “awesome” with similar interests. Defenseman Ryan Murray explains:
“Everyone has created some chemistry,” Murray said. “You see guys like Morgan Rielly and Aaron Ekblad, who have never played together before, and they look really good as a pair. That’s pretty rewarding to see.”
That chemistry has translated into success and placed Team North America as a much-watch team for many hockey fans. Kennedy writes that the 23 and under squad is looking forward to the challenge of the tournament as it learned some valuable lessons in just two exhibition games.
In other NHL news:
- Puck Daddy’s Sean Leahy previews Team USA before tournament play begins and a quick take for the Red, White, and Blue is a team strongest in net but weakest up front. Leahy understands the addition of irritant Ryan Kesler but wonders why Justin Abdelkader and Brandon Dubinsky are on the roster in the first place. Though they bring a physical element, goal scoring isn’t expected to come from them. Leahy notes that the United States boasts Patrick Kane, Joe Pavelski, Blake Wheeler and Max Pacioretty, the four Americans to be in the top 50 of goal scorers last season. Yet the obsession with being “tough to play against” may in fact be USA’s undoing. A complete team effort is necessary for the US to win, Leahy writes, but whether that happens is another matter.
Blue Jackets Invite Marc-Andre Bergeron To Training Camp
According to Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports, the Columbus Blue Jackets have invited former NHLer Marc-Andre Bergeron to training camp on a tryout. The former powerplay specialist has spent the last three seasons in Switzerland after failing to find an NHL job in 2013.
Now 35, Bergeron was once a deadly weapon with the man advantage, scoring double-digit goals four times in his career. While he could never quite establish himself as a two-way defenseman capable of logging 20 minutes a night, used in the right circumstances he could be effective. In Switzerland, he continued his offensive play, scoring 78 points in 135 games over three years and winning the championship in 2013-14 under head coach Marc Crawford.
The Swiss league is quickly becoming a rival to the KHL for the title of second-best hockey league in the world, with Bergeron playing last season for the Zurich Lions alongside many former NHL players like Robert Nilsson, David Rundblad and Ryan Shannon, along with first overall pick Auston Matthews. Many more NHLers have taken the leap across the ocean to suit up in the NLA as we outlined earlier this summer.
For the Blue Jackets, bringing in Bergeron is probably just to fill space as Ryan Murray, Seth Jones and Jack Johnson are all currently at the World Cup. If somehow he shows enough for the team to keep him around, it’s unlikely he’ll play much of an impact on their team this year.
Quotable: Gomez, McLellan, Babcock
Scott Gomez marked his retirement today with a post in The Players’ Tribune, and instead of simply thanking his fans, teammates and everyone that had supported him along the way, Gomez used the opportunity to share his second love: poetry. Gomez delivers a 23-stanza freestyle, expressing his love for the game he played for 32 years, and one he affectionately refers to as Mrs. Hockey.
So this is our goodbye
Damn girl, it’s finally here
The fact that you leave me
You’d bet I have tearsI will always love you
That I’ll never hide
Because of you Mrs. Hockey
I’ll always live my life with pride
Till the day I die…
Snapshots: Torres, Jokipakka, World Cup
Raffi Torres will turn 35-years old on October 8th. He hasn’t played an NHL game since April 30th, 2014 (when the Sharks were eliminated from the postseason). He has been suspended five times during his NHL career, the latest lasting 41 games. The Toronto Maple Leafs, after agreeing to acquire his rights in a deadline deal last year, immediately loaned him back to his current AHL team, not wanting any part of him in their organization.
But somehow, he’s earned a professional tryout from the Carolina Hurricanes this fall and will skate to try and snatch a spot on their fourth line. In a piece by Chip Alexander of The News & Observer today, Torres and GM Ron Francis talk about his latest (and possibly last) opportunity in the NHL.
“I know I’ve got to change. I know I say that over and over, but I’ve got to change and I can change,” says Torres when speaking about his suspensions. He admits that what he’s done over his career is wrong, and seems genuinely convinced he could offer something to the Hurricanes this season. Francis, for his part says he has “served his time” and is willing to at least give him a look this fall. If he does make the roster, he’ll be joining his eighth NHL team in 16 years. Here is more from around the league:
- Among the news that Sean Monahan is still too injured to participate in the upcoming World Cup, Wes Gilbertson of Postmedia tweeted out another interesting injury tidbit. Jyrki Jokipakka, who underwent hip surgery at the end of the season is now expected to be “good to go” for the tournament. Jokipakka was part of the return for Kris Russell this past year, and was well received in his 18 game Calgary stint. He’ll be suiting up for a Finnish team that is looking like a darkhorse candidate; Patrik Laine recently won tournament MVP at the World Championships, while the goaltending tandem of Pekka Rinne and Tuukka Rask should be among the best.
- Staying with the World Cup, Rob Vollman of NHL.com published a piece that says the possibility that the North America team wins the tournament isn’t necessarily a long-shot, due to the usual peak of physical performance around 24. Indeed, the youngster team led by Connor McDavid will have a speed advantage over the rest of the field, and can create offense at an elite level already. The one thing Vollman mentions as a weakness though, faceoff skill, was weakened today when Monahan withdrew. The Calgary centerman was clearly the best on the team in the circle, meaning players like Auston Matthews and Mark Scheifele will have to step up in the defensive end.
Maple Leafs Notes: Babcock, Matthews
Mike Babcock knows how to say the right thing. And it’s something Maple Leaf fans should love to hear. Speaking with the National Post’s Kevin Mitchell, Babcock touched on a number of issues, but there’s one in particular that Leafs fans should love. In regards to cementing his legacy should he indeed turn Toronto around, Babcock had this to say:
“It’s not if. It’s when. The second thing I’d say is yes — the Leafs opportunity is a big, big challenge. But we’re going to make it happen. It’s a great city, an unbelievable hockey market. And now we have to get the hockey team back to its rightful place.”
He wasn’t done either. Babcock expounded on the difficult position he undertook. and took another sunny, yet realistic approach:
“You’ve got to fix it quick, right? It’s painful. So you’ve got to get up every day, the sun gets up, and you get on with it — getting better, and doing your job. It’s different, depending on which team you’re with, but I think we’re going in the right direction.”
The unbridled “can-do” attitude that Babcock coaches by has propelled his career in both Anaheim and Detroit. Back in 2003, then Mighty Ducks of Anaheim general manager Bryan Murray said this about the team–an underdog guided by Babcock–as they marched to a Stanley Cup Final in impressive fashion:
“This team, great credit to Mike Babcock, has been able to focus on the task at hand since the playoffs began. Our philosophy has been: Win a series, go out for a beer and celebrate, by all means, but be ready for work the next day.”
And in Detroit, Babcock guided the Red Wings to a conference finals appearance in 2007, a Stanley Cup in 2008, and narrowly missed another Cup in 2009 when the Wings lost in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final to Pittsburgh. The standing ovation he received when he came back as the bench boss of the Maple Leafs was well deserved. It was during his introductory press conference after being named the Wings coach, though, where he set the tone early:
“I believe in leadership. I believe in being the best in the world at what I do.”
Past results indicate that he is one of the best in the world–if not the best–at it. If his words are any guide to what can be accomplished, Leaf fans should be excited. Don’t be fooled–the rebuilding plan will still take time. But with Babcock in charge, a quicker return to greatness shouldn’t be dismissed.
In other Leafs news:
- The Toronto Star’s Kevin McGran writes that Auston Matthews is excited to “get things rolling” with the Leafs. Matthews has relocated to Toronto, and “slimmed down suitcases” as he prepares for the future with Toronto. Many believe the 18-year-old to be the savior in the Leafs’ revival, and he’s honing his skills at the next level quickly. Matthews is slated to make his Toronto debut not in a Leafs jersey, but donning the colors of North America for the World Cup of Hockey. Regardless of who it’s for, Matthews is “excited” to be in Toronto, and it can surely be said a legion of Leafs fans are excited to have him there as well.
Potential 2016-17 Impact Rookies: McCarron, Chabot, Matthews, Nylander
Continuing on with Pro Hockey Rumors 2016-17 rookie profiles, we remain in the Atlantic Division. Included among today’s batch of first-year players is the most recent #1 overall draft choice, Auston Matthews. You can find the previous editions here, here and here.
Michael McCarron (Montreal) – A quick look at Montreal’s depth chart shows the Canadiens could surely use some size up front and McCarron is someone who boasts that trait in spades. At 6-foot-6 and 231 pounds. McCarron would easily be the largest forward on the ice for Montreal by a wide margin. But size isn’t the only quality he brings to the table; McCarron can also add some offense.
In his first taste of professional hockey, McCarron recorded 17 goals and 38 points for the St. John’s IceCaps in the AHL. That’s solid production for a first-year pro who played most of the season at 20-years-old.
McCarron would also get his first taste of the NHL playing 20 games with the Canadiens and scoring his first career big league goal. He also had a -10 plus-minus rating and although plus-minus ratings aren’t necessarily a good indicator of two-way prowess, it does suggest McCarron could use more polishing in the AHL. However, if he does get his chance in Montreal thi year, McCarron should at least add physicality and skill to the team’s bottom-six.
Thomas Chabot (Ottawa) – The Ottawa Senators used their first-round pick in 2015 on skilled, two-way defenseman Thomas Chabot and there is a decent chance he debuts this season in Canada’s capital. Scouting reports credit Chabot for being quick-thinking and an excellent skater; both traits that will fit well into today’s style of play in the NHL. But if Chabot wants to make an impact in the NHL he’ll have to ramp up the intensity.
Ottawa assistant GM Randy Lee felt Chabot’s performance at the team’s summer development camp was not up to par and evidently communicated that to the top prospect, as written about by Ken Warren of the Ottawa Sun.
“I thought Thomas should have been a bit more intense, I thought Thomas should have dominated. I think Thomas should look at the landscape and see we’ve got six signed defencemen (to NHL contracts) … Thomas and I have talked about it.”
Clearly the Ottawa organization has high expectations for Chabot and will give him every chance to make the team this season. The Senators do have six NHL-caliber blue liners under contract, all of whom with significant professional experience. Erik Karlsson, Cody Ceci, Marc Mathot and Dion Phaneuf should hold down spots in the club’s top-four with Mark Borowiecki and Chris Wideman forming the third pair. Of the group, Wideman has the least amount of NHL experience with just 64 games played. However he does have nearly three seasons of AHL experience under his belt as well. Chabot will have his work cut out for him if he wants to suit up for the Senators this season.
Auston Matthews (Toronto) – Matthews, the first overall choice in the June’s entry draft, will be an early favorite for the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie. He is considered a future face-of-the-franchise player and while maybe not quite on the same level with Connor McDavid, last year’s top pick, in terms of being a “generational” talent, Matthews is still an exciting prospect.
Matthews already demonstrates excellent two-way ability and at 6-foot-2, 216 pounds has the requisite size to handle the rigors of a long NHL season. Additionally, his experience playing professionally against full-grown men in Switzerland should help facilitate his transition to the NHL. The Leafs have lacked a truly elite center since Mats Sundin left the club following the 2007-2008 campaign but all signs point to Matthews quickly filling that void.
William Nylander (Toronto) – The Maple Leafs have done an excellent job of adding high-end young talent to the organization in recent years and Nylander is part of the wave of top prospects preparing to lead Toronto to the top of the standings. Nylander reached the NHL last season and held his own in 22 games scoring six goals and 13 points while averaging 16:20 of ice time per contest.
Nylander also excelled playing for the Toronto Marlies in the AHL, tallying 18 goals and 45 points in 45 regular season games. In the postseason he added seven goals in 14 contests for the Marlies. It’s expected he’ll have a spot to lose in the Leafs’ top-four to open the season and has the skill to be one of the club’s top offensive producers.
Hockey apparently runs in the Nylander family blood as William’s father Michael carved out a solid NHL career playing for seven NHL clubs over a 15-year career. Alexander Nylander, William’s brother, was drafted by the Buffalo Sabres in the first round of the 2016 entry draft.
Front Offices On Jimmy Vesey
After completing his meetings with team representatives today (which include names like John Tavares, Jonathan Toews and Auston Matthews) Jimmy Vesey will have to decide where he plays his first professional hockey game. TSN spoke with a couple of front office members about Vesey’s future, and they bring up separate but interesting points:
Brendan Shanahan, President & Alternate Governor, Toronto Maple Leafs (link):
He’s had a fabulous college career, and has earned the right to have this kind of interest from this many clubs, us being one of them. People are attracted to his leadership qualities; captain of Harvard, he’s obviously a very intelligent player on the ice and off, and he’s a guy who seems to have the ability to put the puck in the net, so when those types of players come available people line up.
Brian Burke, President of Hockey Ops, Calgary Flames (link):
If you look at the college free agents, they have made a dramatically insignificant contribution to our league. Tyler Bozak might be the best one. Of the 100 or 150 that have signed, most have very little impact. I think this player is going to play, and make a difference. I think he’s going to be a good player..but if you look at that group and the money the league has spent on their contribution, it’s a pimple on an elephant’s butt.
Back in February, when the Nashville Predators still held Vesey’s rights, GM David Poile spoke about his ability and future with the team:
We’ve had him here for our development camps each of the last two or three summers and he’s grown so much as a player and a person. Physically, he’s ready to play. As far as a college hockey player, he’s dominant in a lot of areas; one of them is his skating. Obviously, offensively he’s put up a lot of good numbers, so we truly believe that he can come in and play right away.
It’s clear that not everyone in the league is sold on Vesey’s ability to step in and be a difference maker at the NHL level, but the amount of teams that have taken meetings with him over the past few days would suggest they believe he at least will be able to step in right away. Vesey, or at least his agent Peter Fish, has only said that he’ll make a decision this weekend at some point.
Snapshots: Roy, Vesey, Oilers
When Patrick Roy suddenly resigned as head coach of the Colorado Avalanche last week the hockey world, along with GM Joe Sakic, was stunned to say the least. While Sakic said all the right things, and refused to throw his former teammate under the bus, Terry Frei from the Denver Post writes that it was how their relationship had developed that caused Roy to exit so abruptly.
In the piece, Frei writes that though Roy had a big impact on personnel and development decisions in his first three years, as someone holding a vice-president of hockey operations should, he’d been slowly edged out as Sakic gained more confidence and experience on the job. To quote Frei: “Did he quit on the Avs? Sure, he did. As coach. Because he thought he had been fired as a VP.”
The Avalanche are still looking for someone to fill the head coaching role, and as Frei reports, Sakic has indicated that none of the current assistant coaches are being considered. We profiled five candidates here who may find their phones ringing at some point, though many are already under contract with another team, if in a lesser role.
- The Jimmy Vesey sweepstakes continued today, with the final team meetings taking place. Multiple reports have current players attending the meetings in order to sway his decision, with John Tavares being one of the biggest names confirmed (via James Mirtle). Though the Islanders may still be seen as outsiders, a promised role next to Tavares is definitely something any player would have to consider, and with P.A. Parenteau currently penciled in, it wouldn’t take much to offer it. Other teams are obviously offering similar things, with Jonathan Toews (link) and Auston Matthews (link) both in Boston to meet the Harvard grad.
- In his latest column, David Staples of the Edmonton Journal posits that the Oilers will never be successful while they keep trotting out a few weak-links, despite the obvious top-end talent on the roster. In analyzing the roster, Staples references Chris Anderson and David Salley’s book “The Numbers Game: Why Everything You Know About Soccer Is Wrong“, and applies their “O-ring player” idea to some recent Oilers like Anton Lander, Mark Fayne and Mark Letestu. While a team can’t have NHL stars in every roster spot, it’s these weak-links that are holding the team back from ever capitalizing on their young stars’ success.
Roster Crunch: Atlantic Division
Over the past few days, we’ve looked at the final few spots on the roster for both the Pacific and Central divisions. This time, we’ll turn our attention to the East starting with the Atlantic. This division will be in turmoil over the next few years, with clubs like the Buffalo Sabres and Toronto Maple Leafs going through slow, deliberate rebuilds, and perennial contending squads like the Detroit Red Wings finally starting to slow down.
Florida Panthers – While the Panthers have pretty much accomplished everything they set out to do this off-season – improving the blueline with Keith Yandle and Jason Demers, getting a capable replacement for Roberto Luongo in James Reimer, and locking up their young core – they failed in one, big $5.5MM way. Dave Bolland failed his physical and therefor couldn’t be bought out. He’ll try to prove he deserves some playing time this season, but may find himself buried in the AHL to make room for Jared McCann, the prize Florida received when they dealt Erik Gudbranson to the Canucks.
Mitch Marner Has “Good Chance” At Cracking NHL Roster
While speaking to TSN’s Brent Wallace, Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Mike Babcock revealed his thoughts about top-prospect Mitch Marner, and his chances at breaking camp with the NHL team:
Well I sure think he has a good chance. Mitch has been working with our guys and really training hard. He’s eating right and doing everything he can to get stronger. To say Mitch has got to put on a bunch of weight is ridiculous. All you have to do is get stronger – you are who you are, be the best Mitch you can possibly be. He’s got a lot of summer here left, and he’ll keep working at it, but he’ll have a real good chance to make the Leafs.
Babcock is referring to the overwhelming opinion that has been floated around since his draft, that Marner is too small to play in the NHL. Standing at 5’11”, 164lbs he’s always been a light player, and while he’s been working diligently to put on weight, he’ll never be a bruising forward. Opponents of the “he’s too small” camp use examples like Patrick Kane (5’11” 177lbs) and Johnny Gaudreau (5’9″ 157lbs) as reasons why Marner will succeed at the next level, given his elite offensive ability and hockey IQ.
While Marner played center in junior with the London Knights of the OHL, and was drafted as such, these smaller players often find the most success on the wings in the NHL and his role at the current National Junior Evaluation Camp may give credence to the idea that Marner is destined to move. He suited up today on the wing of Dylan Strome, top prospect of the Arizona Coyotes, for their game against Sweden (which they lost 4-1). The Maple Leafs have multiple options down the middle for next season, with Nazem Kadri, Tyler Bozak and Peter Holland returning, while number-one choice Auston Matthews has been added to the fold. William Nylander, another top prospect who showed off his offensive ability in a short NHL stint last season, is also a center by trade, though some think he’s also destined for the wing long-term.
Babcock also talked about the huge number of young players in Leafs camp this season. When asked if it was too many, he said he’d thought about that himself:
I’ve spent a lot of time on that. Obviously I have our lineup built out with three teams for camp, two teams for exhibition, and then you get down to one. They have to solve it themselves, it’s not up to me, they decide who’s on the team. When I go through it, we have some good men, we’ve acquired good men, we have good people in our leadership group so I think we can handle some kids. Obviously we had a lot of them last year, and having a few more this year – especially high-end ones – won’t hurt us.
The Maple Leafs have built quite a prospect pool to draw from going forward, with players like Nikita Soshnikov, Zach Hyman, and Kasperi Kapanen all making their NHL debuts last season. This year will be more of the same, as Marner and Matthews try to break in.