Nick Ross

A new article up on Nick Ross:
http://coyotes.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=369089
"He was here tonight?" was Ross' response to a question about what it's like knowing Phoenix Coyotes General Manager Don Maloney was in the stands to watch him play in Sunday's intrasquad scrimmage at Hockey Canada's National Junior Team Evaluation Camp.
The article goes on to say that Maloney and CO. will be taking a close look at Nick Ross this pre-season. Maloney stated he still is in need of some developing, but with the loss of Ballard and Boynton, he will get a longer look.
I like Ross but I don’t think they should rush his development to cover some holes on the blueline. He looked much better at rookie camp this year. He has been working out down here. He is one that I will want to keep an eye on come training camp. If he looks ready, I say give him a chance but if he starts to struggle, send him down. Let him learn and grow as needed.
I don’t want Ross to turn into another Yandle. Yandle has a lot of potential but he didn’t live up to it at the NHL level. Even when he went back to SA for the playoffs, he didn’t improve.
This is shaping up to be quite the year. There are so many ways this season can go, so many unanswered questions.
The end of August cannot get here soon enough!

UFA Signings

Xtra910 had an interview with Maloney this afternoon after all the signings. So basically here is what was said:

Maloney stated that Fedoruk will probably average 10-12 minutes per game and he has speed and can skate well.

He emphasized Mikkel Boedker a lot. I have a feeling he will be with the big club this year. He also talked a lot about Porter being the top scorer in college hockey and how smart and fast he was.

He said the team will have a lot of skill and speed and the toughness will be vital to make sure that other teams don’t take advantage of our young guys.

He said come January/February/March he will look into replacing Vrbata if needed.

He is very happy for Weller who signed with the Wild. He said Weller wanted a one way contract and Maloney was only willing to offer a two-way.

Ross is currently in Tempe working on a professional training program. He is paying for that with his own money. Maloney said the coyotes are very excited about him but at 19 he is still very young to be a dman in the NHL. He said Ross will one day be in NHL player and his training camp this year will determine if he stays in Phoenix or goes back to his junior team.

Maloney stated that he is happy with the free agents they have signed and will continue to look for value for the blueline but will not be pursuing anyone. He said he is letting guys come to him and no guys over 33. He is looking to add skill and grit.

He was asked if Jokinen will get the A and Maloney said that is up to the Coach.

Ok, now I know Maloney didn’t promise us any elite signings, but I’m feeling a bit disappointed in what we did today. Sauer is supposed to be Bally’s replacement, but I see him more as Boynton’s. Ballard was used in a shut down roll last season and Boynton was definitely a stay at home dman (he had no choice, he was paired with Yandle). Sauer has also had a history of concussions. Great.

Fedoruk would not have been my first choice from the Wild. I would have gone with Rolston. I have never really been a fan of Fedoruk. He has gotten a lot of concussions and when he was with Dallas he tried to start fights with everyone but then failed miserable! We have Carcillo and McGrattan to fight and they can actually win.

Sounds like they wouldn’t give Vrbata 3 years (that’s what Tampa gave him, last I heard we were offering 2 years) but they give 4 to Sauer and 3 to Fedoruk? I just don’t get it. I’d rather have Vrbata then Fedoruk. I would rather have Weller than Fedoruk. Weller was a beast for us. Coyotes gave other players (Gratton, Bell etc) one ways last year and sent them to SA. Why not Weller? I wish him well, he was a great player.

Rookie Camp Signing night

My Autograph page from the night.

I see Nick Ross!!!! (second from right in red). I can't remember who the guy next to him is, but he had a cut on his lip. We asked him if he got into a fight with a hockey puck and lost. He laughed and said yah...
A shot of the table from line.
Kyle Turris and Brett Hextall (KT make my brain shut down!)
Mikkel Boedker, our first round pic.

Oh wow, the rookie camp signing night was soooo much fun. We got there early and waited in line outside but it was so worth it. We were some of the first few in line. We ended up having a seat on the cement (surprisingly warm) and had a picnic. One person took her free coyote duffel and brought us all the free hot dogs and pop. We watched the clips from last season’s games and I got a little sad every time I saw a huge Ballard hit.

Well, when we finally got to through the line I somehow ended up between Odin and Mrs. O. (I think Odin actually preferred that, he was rolling his eyes at us!) First up, I asked Mueller why he was there. I said are they punishing you? What did you do? They making you be a rookie one more time? He just laughed and said I don’t know. Mrs. O really liked Scott Darling’s last name. He thought that was quite funny.

The best was when we got to Viktor Tikhonov and she started telling him that she took Russian in college but all she can remember is “I love you”. Josh Tordjman looks up and goes, “Can you teach me how to say that so I can say it to him?” I just started cracking up. I guess Tordjman was just cracking everyone up that night.
We would also look at a name and Mrs. O would go are you American? We actually guessed most of them right! We also complimented those with 4 consonants in a row and asked Juha Uotila how to pronounce his name. Yah, I still don’t know how.

Kolarik and Porter were sitting next to each other and I said, “I’m glad you are Coyotes now. I had a hard time watching you at Michigan”. They looked at each other and went, what are you a buckeye? I got a horrified look on my face and gasped, NO, I’m a Badger! They were like oh ok.

At this point, I can’t remember much else. That was last Wednesday.

Freaking Dylan Reese. I liked the dude until he signed the page as number 2. That’s Bally’s number, you were assigned 45 for rookie camp and that’s what you should have used!

This year was a lot different from last year. There were a TON of fans there. The line took up almost the whole length of the rink. I think I had a lot more fun this year but I did miss Carcillo. He was great at Rookie Camp and Rookie Signing last year.