Coyotes Rookie Camp and My Own Top 30 Hockey Hotties

I went to rookie camp yesterday and then at home saw a video a girl put together with her top 25 hockey guys that she thought were hot. I was inspired…

First up, Rookie Camp.

Wow oh wow. Our future is going to be a-maz-ing. There are some really talented kids there. And after just a week, they are really starting to get a great feel for each other. Porter and Kolarik already have it, but Turris, MacLean, and Tikhonov were great together.

Ross and Summers kept catching my eye. They are going to be some great dmen in a year or two. It sounds like Maloney is keeping an eye on Ross and we might see him on the big team for a look-see.

Gistedt was fun to watch. He has a lot of talent too. Tordjman was great, as usual. Darling was funny to watch. He is sooooo tall (6’6), he looks almost awkward in net. He has a tendency to slide very far when crossing the net I noticed. That could be a problem if he gives up a lot of rebounds and can’t recover quickly enough.

There was a small group (besides the goalies) who arrived earlier and worked on their skating. MacLean and Staal were some of them. I wish I would have written this right after camp, as now I can’t remember everything I wanted to say. I took a few pictures. I haven’t uploaded them yet, but when I do, maybe I will post a few (if they are any good, I was having difficulties yesterday morning).

I am getting so excited for the season. 3 more weeks and the schedule comes out! End of August is the unofficial camp and then its training camp and preseason games in September! Man-oh-man, the summer cannot go fast enough.

Ok, so this girl made a youtube video of her top 25 hot players. She was obviously a Pens fan, as the list was dominated by Pens players. I disagreed with a lot of her choices (Malkin, Zetterburg, Staal etc). So I decided to try and put together a top 30 and get one player from each team and rank them. Feel free to discuss and disagree as looks are totally subjective.

So here is my list of the Top 30 Hockey Hotties (with a few honorable mentions at the end):

1.Daniel Carcillo – Phoenix Coyotes
2.Ryan Suter – Nashville Predators
3. Taylor Pyatt – Vancouver Canucks
4. Vincent Lecavalier – Tampa Bay Lighning
5. Keith Ballard – Florida Panthers
6. Ilya Kovalchik – Atlanta Thrashers
7. Derek Roy – Buffalo Sabres
8. Rick DiPietro – New York Islanders
9. Carey Price – Montreal Canadiens
10. Henrik Lundqvist – New York Rangers
11. RJ Umberger – Columbus Bluejackets
12. Jason Spezza – Ottawa Senators
13. David Steckel – Washington Capitals
14. Dustin Penner – Edmonton Oilers
15. Cam Ward – Carolina Hurricanes
16. Grant Stevenson – Calgary Flames
17. Andreas Lilja – Detroit Red Wings
18. Jose Theodore – Colorado Avalanche
19. Eric Ersberg – Los Angeles Kings
20. Scottie Upshall – Philadelphia
21. Adam Burish – Chicago Blackhawks
22. Nolan Schaefer – Minnesota Wild/Houston Aeros
23. Ryan Getzlaf – Anaheim Ducks
24. Milan Lucic – Boston Bruins
25. Brooks Orpik – Pittsburgh Penguins
26. David Clarkson – New Jersey Devils
27. BJ Crombeen – Dallas Stars
28. Marcel Goc – San Jose Sharks
29. I honestly could not find any good pics to make a decision – St. Louis Blues
30. Vesa Toskala – Toronto Maple Leafs

And a few honorable mentions:
Ray Emery – Currently with no team
Jim Slater and Tobias Enstrom – Atlanta Thrashers
Martin Gelinas and Dan Ellis – Nashville Predators
Fredrik Sjostrom – New York Rangers
Mike Green and Jeff Schultz – Washington Capitals
Kyle Brodziak – Edmonton Oilers
Eric Lindros – Retired (my first hockey love, I had to include him)
Mark Smith – Calgary Flames
John-Michael Liles – Colorado Avalanche
Chris Conner – Dallas Stars
Zach Parise and Brian Gionta – New Jersey Devils
Dominic Moore – Toronto Maple Leafs

This ended up being a lot harder than I thought. Some teams definitely have the better looking players! And some teams are really homely. Also, it’s a lot easier to spot a hottie in person rather then looking at their mug shoots and then googling to see if they are good looking. I welcome any and all suggestions! I’m sure there are players I missed.

I started trying to rank them by hottness but it ended up being random after about number 14. Even then some of the earlier ones can be switched around, so really this list is in no particular order!

Some Random Updates/Rumors

Ok, in my fervor over Ballard, I forgot a few other important updates.

The Predators have signed Ryan Suter. He got 14 million for four years.
From the article on the Predators website: “Ryan has established himself as an integral part of our team and one of our core players moving forward,” Poile said. “He has shown the ability to play in all key situations, including both special teams units.” He is a good dman and I will continue to follow him while he is in the NHL.

Also, the Preds trade goalie Chris Mason to St. Louis and resign Dan Ellis! It looks like they signed him to two years, 3.5 million. A nice quote from the Preds site (apparently he just turned 28): "For this to fall on my birthday is pretty special. I got the call from my agent last night, so that made yesterday one the better birthdays I've had and definitely one that'll remember for quite some time."

Ray Emery cleared waivers. Look for him to resign elsewhere (Spector’s mentioned Kings, which I wouldn’t mind). Teams are in desperate need of goalies and he has admitted he had some personal problems this last season. He can (and will) bounce back. He is too good of a goalie to not go anywhere. Maybe this was his plan all along. He gets bought out by Ottawa and then resigns elsewhere? Nice way to get out of Ottawa and make a little extra cash in the meantime!

According to Spector’s, Avery may be let loose by the Rangers. I also saw on there where he may go to Dallas. Do the stars really need a player like Avery? Do we really want Avery back in the West? I liked him just fine with the Rangers, we don’t have to see him all the freaking time and he seems to leave Doan alone!

Spector’s also says Hossa is still interested in Boston. I think he would be too expensive for us anyway. Not necessarily money wise, but terms wise. He would probably want a 5 year deal or something. Maloney isn’t one to hand out much more than 3 years.

This week is rookie camp. Unfortunately, my work will not let me have anytime off this week so I will be going only to the Saturday public practice. I will also be going to the signing on Wednesday night. As far as I can tell, the schedule has not been released yet, but I will post it when I get it.

The preseason schedule is out now. Again, there are three home games here and one in Winnipeg. Here is the schedule (from the Yotes website):

09/22/08 at Los Angeles Kings 7:30PM
09/24/08 (Winnipeg home game) Calgary Flames 5:30PM
09/25/08 at Calgary Flames 6:00PM
09/27/08 Anaheim Ducks at Jobing.com Arena 7:00PM
09/29/08 San Jose Sharks at Jobing.com Arena 7:00PM
09/30/08 at San Jose Sharks 7:30PM
10/03/08 at Anaheim Ducks 7:00PM
10/04/08 Los Angeles Kings at Jobing.com Arena 7:00PM

It looks pretty boring this year. Same damn teams we see all the freaking time. No home game until September 27?!? I may not make it that long...

The regular season schedule should come out sometime next month (fingers crossed). Once that comes out, I have some trips to plan. I also need to figure out when all my girls can come visit and take in a hockey game or two! We are so stoked about their visits already.

Well, I think that is about it for today.

One of the saddest days of my life...

Last night was the first two rounds of the NHL 2008 Entry Draft. It took place up in Ottawa while I was at the Coyotes draft party in Scottsdale. Hey Wayne, there was way more than 9-10 fans there! Our group alone was 9-10 people. But it was nice to hear a shout out from the Great One. *edit* I guess Gretzky actually said 910 am or something similar. He needs to work on his enunciation. That and we were all clapping and cheering for our team, so it was difficult to hear.

So before the draft even started a trade was announced. When I saw the first part of the trade, I was happy. We were all screaming and clapping. Then I noticed what we gave up and I was just in shock. We traded Keith Ballard, Nick Boynton and I believe the 49th (or 39the) pick to Florida Panthers for Olli Jokinen.

Ok, so we got a great center. His stats from last year:
GP G A Pts +/- PIM GWG Shots
82 34 37 71 -19 67 5 341

Ok, so he has a lot of points and he shoots a lot. But what about that -19? That worries me a little bit as the Coyotes expect their offense to be defensive minded too. And what else worries me, now we only have 2.5 true NHL defensemen. (I count Jovo only as a half, as he is not the most defensive defenseman. He tends to have a lot of turnovers). We have DMo and Z. Then there is Jones and Yandle. No way in hell do I want those two on the team full time next year!

I keep going between emotions on this trade. I am not upset about Boynton, even though I like him. I am just so upset to see Ballard go. I will miss his hipchecks. I’m glad I got my pic and autograph. I will probably be upset again come training camp and preseason. We will be missing an important aspect of the team.

So, leading up to the draft Maloney talked a lot about we were going to draft defense. Instead we trade away two d and draft a forward with our 8th pick! Granted all that was left was Myers and no way in hell did we want him but what the hell. Are we just going to spend more time in the other team’s zone? Yah, we may score a lot more goals but with no defense, we are going to let the other team score a lot more!

Maloney better have something up his sleeve, either another trade or a big UFA defenseman signing. And it better not be Campbell. He did jack for the sharks this year. I am hoping for Orpik. The guy’s a checking machine. We will need at least two more defensemen though. We don’t have enough NHL ready defensemen in our closet! I don’t think Ross is ready, maybe the Swede, maybe Stephenson.

It looks like we drafted three d in the later rounds. They definitely won’t be NHL ready this year. They may never be NHL ready. We also took the last of the Staal brothers.

Probably the Best Hockey Game I Have EVER Watched!

Holy shit, what an amazing Game 5! I was literally on the edge of my seat after the third period! The pens were up 2-1 and the wings made it 3-2. I was pretty sure the game was over and the cup was going to make its way to the ice. Watching the clock count down the final minute of the game, I was surprised to see the puck go in with about 25 seconds left. I sat straight up and screamed. Did that actually go in? Did I see that right? It did! Holy shit holy shit the pens had tied the game!

I sat nervously through the first two overtimes. Could the pens really pull this off? Could they force a game 6? I was praying to the hockey gods to send this series back to Pittsburgh. Finally, about half way through the 3rd I saw the puck going in the net. I know it wasn’t actually in slow motion, but I swear I saw it going in in slow motion. It was just amazing. I couldn’t believe the Pens had just pulled off the win. Wow.

This game 5 had the highest TV audience for a game 5 since 2002. Wow, that has got to be good for the sport. Unfortunately there are people like Tiger Woods who say unintelligent things like, “I didn’t know anyone still watched hockey”. To that I say, go to hell Tiger Woods. If I was a golf fan, I’d no longer support you. I hope you get bad. And by the way WHO THE HELL WATCHES GOLF?!?!?!?!?!? That has got to be one of the most boring sports to watch on TV. Do they even get a good TV audience for that?

Rumors:

From Ek - Spezza and the LA Kings is still out there, but don't rule out the Calgary Flames who may make a bold move for Spezza if they fail to land Jokinen.

Why the fuck would Spezza go to LA? If he does, at least I will see him more often but the kings? Jesus.

Not much else, Spector reports the Avs may resign Jose and shop Budaj.

Well, I am going to finish watching game 6. I’m hoping the Pens pull out the win and force game 7. It’s not looking like that’s going to happen. They couldn’t get anything going for a 5 on 3 and Detroit is up 1-0 in the second. C’mon Pens!

Stanley Cup Finals, Wheeler is UFA and Rumors

Four games down in the Stanley Cup Finals. Detroit is up 3-1.

Detroit came out strong in the first two games. The Penguins entered unfamiliar territory at Joe Louis Arena. These teams did not meet once this season (I am so glad the schedule is changing next year) and the Penguins were definitely not prepared for the Wings. Crosby and Malkin were invisible the first game. Crosby came back in the second, but going into the fifth game, Malkin is still pretty much MIA. He is not the force he was during the season.

Osgood denied the Pens any goals those first two games. And he also did some damn good acting (Holstrom did some pretty good acting too)! Once at home the Pens seemed to wake up. Their first home game, they played a physical game and really beat down the wings. They were able to solve Osgood and pull of the win. The second home game for the Pens wasn’t nearly as pretty. They got the first goal, played physical and then died. They can not keep up with the Wings for a full 60 minutes (not many teams could this season).

The series moves back to Detroit. Based on what I have seen, the Pens just aren’t going to be able to pull this off. I would love to see this go to seven games and the Pens win, but that’s not going to happen.

Brooks Orpik is a monster. He has hit any wings player that moves. I swear to god. I have actually found someone on the Pens that I enjoy watching. I also like his name. I read on nhl.com that his dad wanted to name his Herb (after Herb Brooks) but his mama vetoed it and they settled on Brooks. That is just a cool story!

In Coyotes news…Wheeler has opted for free agency instead of signing with the Coyotes. It seems he wants his choice of where to play and not the money (as Coyotes are the one team that can offer him a ton of money because of the old CBA). A lot of people are very angry about this and hoping that he gets his ass kicked. I just hope he doesn’t go to a division rival and end up being an amazing player in a year or too. A lot of people also think he wants to go to the Wild. From what I have read that is just speculation since he is from Minnesota. Other speculation is he wants to go to a worse team the Coyotes in order to have a shot at the NHL right away. Here he would have a lot of competition and have to fight for a spot with the big club. I would have loved to have seen Wheeler in a Yotes uniform but I guess that won’t be happening. L I wish him well and hope this turns out to be the right decision for him.

There was an open house the other night. The usuals were there, DMo and Fuhr. I went but only to check out some stuff at the den and talk hockey with some people. I was going to talk to Ryan about my season tickets, but that boy is always busy! He is definitely one of the more popular ticket reps, along with Neils. I didn’t get a chance to say Hi to him either. I did get a free pop, hot dog and popcorn though! I was about to fall over by the time I got there.

Here is good article. It’s an “as told to” by Daniel Carcillo. So, fighting in his own words!
http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=414297#start_comments

Some Rumors that interest me:

Looks like the Preds may have another fire sale this summer…(from Eklund, not the most reliable):
Dan Ellis The Senators are the likely team that will sign Ellis who is quite the commodity right now...so much so that the Preds may be out of the bidding soon. Don't rule out the Red Wings as well who got a very good look at Ellis these playoffs.Shea Weber or Gary Suter Speaking of the Preds......Shea Weber talks are very heated reportedly. I do expect the Preds will get Shea signed, but if they can't long term look for them to trade his rights prior to July 1. If Shea is signed, the Preds will likely move Suter....

I’m thinking he means Ryan, not Gary. Gary would be Ryan’s uncle, similar style but different players. Ellis was phenomenal for the Preds this year (I would die if he became a wing! I could handle a senator but then I’d never see him). I would love to see him stay there. And Ryan should stay too unless he comes to Phoenix!

OTTAWA SUN: Bruce Garrioch reports the Senators could buy out goalie Ray Emery as soon as within 48 hours of the end of the Stanley Cup playoffs but if they pass on that would have to wait until the buyout period of June 15-30, and because he won't be 26 until September, Emery's buyout would be at one-third the remaining value rather than two-thirds. Garrioch cites sources claiming the Sens have tried to shop him but received only mild interest from one or two teams and it's doubtful any club will take his full current salary.
SPECTOR'S NOTE: It'll be surprising if the Senators don't avail themselves of the opportunity to buy him out for one-third his remaining value of his contract. No team will take him off their hands right now.

I would like them to buy Ray out, have another team give him a small contract and see what he can do. He may just have had an off year because of his wrist surgery and apparently some personal problems were involved too.

BOSTON GLOBE: Kevin Paul Dupont reports the impressive physical play of Penguins defenseman Brooks Orpik could make him an attractive target in this summer's UFA market by teams seeking a physical presence on their blueline. Dupont suggests the Penguins might not be able to re-sign him and Orpik could command up to $5 million per season on the open market.
SPECTOR'S NOTE: At 42 Roberts could opt for retirement, and if the Penguins win the Cup I believe he will retire, preferring to go out a winner.Orpik is in the prime of his career and will attract a lot of attention as a UFA this summer. It doesn't appear as though he'll be re-signed as it's believed he's clashed at time with head coach Michel Therrien.

Holy crap, if we can’t get Suter maybe we can get Brooks! That is too funny that I found that after espousing my new found love for him!

Playoffs

Well, it’s been awhile since I’ve written about the playoffs. I skipped a whole round!

It is Detroit and Pittsburgh in the finals. The first game is Saturday. I am not sure if I will watch it. I’ve got something going on that afternoon and am not sure what time it will be done. I will be recording it though, as this promises to be a really good series.

Detroit is the veterans while Pittsburgh is the young guys. Detroit has the dirty players while Pittsburgh has the whiners and divers. I think this will go all seven games. If it does, I will have to beg my dad to record it since I will be busy that day and not able to watch it.

The Detroit/Dallas series was very good. Turco played his little heart out. He was probably one of the best players for Dallas. He definitely got them out of the first round and the second round. If his teammates had been able to muster up the offense, he could have gotten them into the finals. I’m not going to go on and on about these series because they are over.

Pittsburgh and Philadelphia was a sad series. Philadelphia looked like a completely different team then the previous games. They did lose a lot of players to injuries but that should have made the other players step up. Briere did exactly what I thought he would. Disappeared.

Roster for next season

Let’s start with the obvious, Doan, Mueller, Hanzal and Turris are all under contract and will certainly be back next season. Rhino is under contract but I could see him involved in a trade. He’s still got a little bit left in him (could last season have just been an off year?). Or if he stays, a trade deadline deal.

Bryz will get to try his hand at a full season as starter and Telly will be the back up I don’t want Tordjy or Montoya to sit that much, they could be NHL goalies and need to play as much as possible. I could see Telly going at deadline if there is a good offer out there.

I’ve discussed the D a lot already, so in summary Jovo’s not going anywhere (doubt any would take that contract and he seems to be a favorite). Ballard, Z and Morris aren’t going anywhere. They are a good foundation. If Maloney gets an offer for Boynton, I’d say he’s gone. Some people said he wasn’t good last season, but he did great for having to pair with the revolving door of Jones and Yandle. I think Yandle will really need to step up his game to make the big club. If the Yotes draft a dman, he may have some competition, or if one of the other young guys step up.

Lisin, Winnik, MacLean, Porter and Kolarik are all going to have to have a great camp and fight for that roster spot. Lisin and Winnik have the advantage of playing in the big club last year. Porter and Kolarik have great chemistry together and I would think that if the yotes are smart, they keep them together at first. MacLean could make the big club out of camp but I’m not 100% sure on him. Sure he put up amazing numbers this season, but that doesn’t automatically mean he does well in the NHL. I think he’d benefit from some time in SA and then earn a call up and see how he does.

Carcillo, Perrault, Hossa and Jones are our big RFAs. Carcillo will definitely earn a new contract. Management and fans love him. Maybe they should put a clause in their where as he will lose money if he opens his mouth between the whistle. I think Maloney could negotiate that! Hossa I think will be signed just because he didn’t have much of a chance last year. He was coming off an injury and then traded. He didn’t step up, but I did see moments of great defensive play. Perrault will probably get a two way. I doubt he makes the big team next year with all the incoming talent at center. I like Perrault but can see he’s not as talented as others we have coming in. Jones will probably be resigned, especially if we don’t have anyone for that 6th dman spot. Frankly, I could care less if he was resigned. I believe Z4 pointed out that he hasn’t been able to create a niche for himself. He is not offensively great and he’s not as mean as say Ballard.

I can’t really comment on those in SA or the sundogs, as I haven’t followed them closely. I have read a few things but not enough to feel I could offer an educated analysis. RFAs include Montoya (I’m sure he will be resigned), Kaigordov (I doubt anything is done with him) and Redenbach (don’t know enough about him).

Now for the UFAs. I would like to see both Kapanen and Tjarnqvist resigned. Kapanen may be out because of all the young guys. But he is quick and has a lot of skill. My only knock to him is his size. He gets pushed off the puck a lot but when he’s got the puck; he can handle it and make some great plays. He did really well with Carcillo this year; maybe because Carcillo will hit anything on skates? Tjarnqvist is just too good on the PK that we can’t afford to lose him yet. Unless Ziggy makes the big club next year, we will need at least on decent forward for the PK and Tjarnqvist is that. Vrbata should be resigned as long as it’s a reasonable price and contract length. It’s looking more and more like he won’t be resigned. If that’s the case, I wish him well. I really liked him and hope he can do well elsewhere. Weller should be resigned to a two-way. He brings a needed toughness and also can bang the puck in. He is good at screening goalies, but needs to do it more often. He may be pushed out by one of the kids, but he could also do well for SA. York is gone. No need to discuss any more. As far as the minors, there is Durno, Paddock and Spina. I have followed Spina a little closer, as he is an Arizona native. He deserves another contract. He’s got speed and had pretty good numbers in SA. My only knock is the same for Kapanen, he is a tiny guy. Bell, Caldwell and Helmer are our D UFAs. I don’t know anything about Caldwell and Helmer but I don’t see Bell as an NHLer. Maybe resign him for SA, maybe on a two way. He had a pretty good year in SA.

RFAs from SA are DiSalvatore, Murley, Thomas, Vandermeer and Reese. Thomas will be gone. He just took a huge step backwards. I was expecting a lot more from him at camp and he just plain sucked! I don’t know anything about DiSalvatore and Murley. I did notice Reese at training camp and I would like to see him resigned. I think he’s got some good upside, maybe a career in the A. I have a feeling Vandermeer will be back. It seems like management likes him. Hell, they called him up a couple of times and he’s worse than Carcillo in PIMs and doesn’t have ¼ of the skill Carcill does.

There are a few prospects that need to be signed this summer: Wheeler, Latal, Bendfeld and Engassar. A preliminary offer has been made to Wheeler. I hope we get him signed. He could do well for us in the A and then get a call up to the big club during the season. The rest of them I don’t really know anything about, so I can not comment.

Ok, well there is my opinion.

Next up I will write a little on the playoffs. I've got a lot to say there but just haven't had the time to update with all the games, seeing my friends and working out!