Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Linkorama

I'm sure this will go over well. I point out that the top four scorers in the NCAA all come from the same state.

You can read Scott Parse's Tuesdays at the Rink chat here.

On the high school front, St. Cloud Cathedral's Nate Schmidt is injured. Here's an article on Edina's version of the Fab Five. There's definitely some names to remember in there.

Virg Foss of the Grand Forks Herald wrote an article about former North Dakota coach Dean Blais possibly returning to college hockey(I don't have a link, since you need to register, but if you go to the GFH website and search for "Dean Blais," you can find it pretty easily.) Given Blais' track record in college hockey, it's probably only a matter of time before he gets another head coaching. It's just a matter of him finding the right situation.

It's up for debate how much validity there is in what Foss writes, but when he does write, people listen. He certainly ruffled some feathers with the WCHA after his piece slamming WCHA officiating this week.

Speaking of officiating, this article really bothered me. WCHA Commish Bruce McLeod said the NCAA isn't in any rush to adopt rules like the NHL. Said McLeod:
"We tightened up the obstruction penalties before the NHL, and certainly the NHL has gone beyond that - and way past us. We haven't done it in a quantum jump like the NHL, and I think we'll probably continue with that. Some people think the NHL has gone too far, and others love the way it is. We'll just have to wait and see."
Who goes to a hockey game to see the subtle beauty of a fourth-liner partially hooking a faster player to keep up with him? The NHL may be struggling right now, but don't you think it helps them that scoring has gone way up due to the new rules enforcement? Phoenix drew a sellout the other night when Pittsburgh came to town. I have a feeling those people showed up to see Sidney Crosby score goals, not see Jarkko Ruutu hook somebody.

Here's some discussion about hockey bloggers getting press credentials. I'm happy to say that all of my experiences in regards to trying to be a "real press guy" have been 100% positive, which I think speaks very well of the people that are involved in this sport.

LSSU gets a commitment from an Ontario kid.

Some results from The USHL Skills Competition.

USHL Central Scouting features two more '91 birthdates in John Ramage and Jordan Mayer.

A profile on Northern Michigan University.

22 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is what the NHL should be doing...I don't see people booing or getting up to leave.

Now this is HOCKEY and a HOCKEY PLAYER.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEltpSMTDPM

Anonymous said...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUEvIjfeyX0&mode=related&search=


another video showing that fans hate fighting.

Anonymous said...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgG2WPq1qpA&mode=related&search=


Sounds like everyone is booing in the back ground.

Anonymous said...

ALL 9 games are sold out to watch 4th liners. Wow to think a 4th liner can sell out a 19,000 seat area. Ya lets get rid of the tough guys.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfSB-v-Vy2g



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuC-RCm57JQ&mode=related&search=

This game was also sold-out.

Anonymous said...

Now this is Hockey!

Great Vids!

Chris said...

People cheer at Monster Truck Rallies and WWE events too. I don't think the NHL should market itself as UFC on ice.

It may seem like people like fighting, but interest in the NHL declined greatly in the late 70's because the WHA diluted the talent pool and games devolved to nothing but a bunch of fights.

Interest in the NHL rose again in the 80's with the success of the Oilers. Do you think all those people started tuning in to see the Oilers for Gretzky or Semenko?

Anonymous said...

Don't kid yourself. Semenko was a HUGE part of that team.

Would Gretzky have put up the same #s without Semenko/McSorley. No one even touched Wayne.
Or Would he have the same head injurys Lafontaine had. Talk to him (Pat) he'll tell you he wishs he'd of had a bodyguard.

Plus the fights I gave you are from the late 80's and 90's.

And YES we should have more fights in hockey.

Tell you didn't get pumped watching Wendel Clark in that video.

Anonymous said...

Oh ya who signed the top fighter in the NHL this offseason?

Georges Laraque


Good old Wayne knows you got to have a tough guy.

Donald Dunlop said...

Chris:
Um .. did you know your a day in the future? Well at least your blog is. Does that mean I'm commenting tomorrow? Or conversely, since I'm reading this today could it be that I'm stuck in the past?

Holy Paradox Batman!

Anonymous said...

Chris--

I think there's a place in hockey for fighting. Read Ross Bernstein's book on the subject. He has some pretty open comments from guys on the role that enforcers play in the sport.

And I can say that based on what I've read in that book, guys like Gretzky and Lemieux and others have players like McSorley and Semenko to thank for the fact that they had the room they had to make plays, and for the fact that people hardly ever took cheap shots at them. They didn't because they knew the designated enforcer would make them pay dearly for their sins.

Chris said...

I've got no problem with there being checks and balances on the ice, but only so far as they make it easier for the best players to play the game.

It's the skill players that will make hockey popular, not the grinders and fighters.

Anonymous said...

I agree with Chris.

Though, I would not be in favor of banning fighting in the NHL, I'm all for making it tougher to justify keeping a guy in the lineup whose only good quality is fighting.

Some of the links are rather interesting but the one on Wendell Clark kinda doesn't fit the sarcastic approach because Clark, though a heavy hitter and a great fighter, isn't a true enforcer. He could score goals, setup goals, play decent at both ends of the ice and, yeah, I noticed the letters on his jersey didn't you? How many true enforcers have an A or C on their jersey? So, sorry, but Clark enforces my argument, not the one that supports enforcers.

If a player can't score or help prevent the other team from scoring, why is he in the NHL? It is a waste of roster space.

Get a guy who is solid defensively or at least offensively and then look for qualities that show he can act as an enforcer. Clark and Scott Stevens were examples in their own right.

Scott Parker, Tie Domi, Georges Laraque, Derek Boogaard, and so on are basically thrown away roster spots. Yeah, they are/were good in a fight and did well in the enforcer role, but they are otherwise worthless for the most part if there isn't a fight to be made.

Anonymous said...

Nice to see Edina making a nice come back!!

Go Hornets!

Anonymous said...

Time to move those State of Hockey Signs. LOL

Anonymous said...

How many Michigan natives were selected in the first round of the NHL draft this year? Is that what you mean by quantity over quality?

The approach in Michigan narrows down opportunities and promotes a relatively small number of players.

Minnesota on the other hand has a grass roots approach which enables the largest number of kids the opportunity to play and advance. No other state has the youth infrastructure and high school competition that Minnesota does. The results speak for themselves. The largest number of players to advance to D-1 programs come from Minnesota. Probably similar numbers in D-3 too.

The best part is that kids have choices. If a kid is good enough to compete at the D-1 level, he won't go unnoticed playing high school hockey in Minnesota. He can still play high school hockey with the kids he grew up with and still have a bright future and great memories.

The ultimate goal is to enable the largest number of Minnesota players to get a college education due in part to their hockey efforts and abilities. Whether or not they make it to the pro level is icing on the cake.

Anonymous said...

http://calsun.canoe.ca/Sports/Hockey/2007/01/29/3473482-sun.html


Go Canada!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Oh Pinkwing,

Probert wore a "A" also. Clark was a good player along with being tough. But thats also my point that even players like him are not allowed to play tough under the new lame rules.

Clark is LOVED by Maple Leaf fans not because he scored 50-60 goals, but because he ran over 150-160 bodys on his ways to scoring 15-20 goals.

Anonymous said...

Scott Parker, Tie Domi, Georges Laraque, Derek Boogaard

You just named off 4 of the most fan fav's on there team.

Anonymous said...

Another college boy jumps ship.

Mike Cichy left USA.

Halifax-QMJHL has his rights.

He was the highest drafted US player in the Q draft last season.

Anonymous said...

Taking fighting out of hockey is yet another bastardization of hockey with it's roots in Europe. Does anyone remember what the concern was in bringing European players into the NHL?

No fighting in Europe equated to more stick work. European players didn't fight but they were more than willing to give you a "zipper" with their stick.

The cheap stick work that the Europeans brought along is alive and well in the NHL today. Too many guys in the league pull way too much without the consequenses they would have faced in the past.

Face masks are part of the problem too. Too much instant courage when you are wearing a mask. I liked it better in the past when someones face wasn't behind a mask. They usually weren't nearly as tough or willing to cheap shot someone.

Enforcers such as Dave Semenko, Ted Harris, Jack Carlson, Dirk Graham, Al McAdam and Brad Maxwell made it easier for skilled players to play. They also had skills other than their abilities to fight.

In pro hockey it's all about selling tickets. I'll take the NHL as it was in the past with colorful characters and an occasional fight over what the game has evolved to.

The bastardization of a great North American game, to conform to the weinie sensibilities of Europeans and their admirers, are what is currently on display in the new NHL.

Anonymous said...

Did you know if you rearrange the letters of Tie Domi you get Me Idiot?

Anonymous said...

Personally, I think "I do time" would be a much more fitting anagram, especially in the context of the discussion.