SB Nation - Mike Van Ryn

Friday Feels Fine

blurr1974 — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 09:00:27 -0000

Finally...(via i415.photobucket.com)

Eyebleaf is back from Vegas, and he's ready for a win. Now.
Jared has an issue with PepsiCo's couch.
It's Friday, and Loser Domi has been cruising youTube, seeking the perfect tribute to Mr. Glass, Mike Van Ryn.
Far Away Leaf sees the possibility of some silver linings from all those clouds in Leaf land.
Leafs Rumination is calling all Twitterers. Time to put those "Kyle Wellwood is fat" jokes to use!
MLHS takes a trip through the rumour mill. Please let option #1 be true....
Is TSM asking questions with no answers, or are the answers just things we'd rather ignore?
Could the answer to all these losses be so simple? Frozen Leafs wants to see the Leafs forwards have some fun playing the game.
Leafs247 is doing a casting call for Leafs both past and present.
In an attempt to empty a glass that is half full, HockeyCentric wrote this post.
In preparation for Saturday afternoon (EAST COAST BIAS!!!1) Nucks Misconduct takes a shot at the Monster, and admits they just love the attention Toronto brings them.
Hockey or Die calls out a plagiarist. "It's Bleacher Report" has never been so appropriate.
Leaf and Lion previews the upcoming road trip.

How to Be a Leafs Fan - A Step by Step Guide

blurr1974 — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 09:15:10 -0000

We here at Pension Plan Puppets Amalgamated Industries and Pillow Fluffing Inc. LLC, take our jobs as Leaf fans seriously. So, when it occurred to the movers and shakers of PPPAI&PF Inc. LLC that there was no manual on how to be a Leaf fan, we tackled the project with gusto. After a nap, and six weeks in Acapulco. We just attacked it.

After thorough analysis, in depth interviews with lifers, and careful observation, we at PPPAI&PL Inc. LLC present to you, step by step, how to be a Leafs fan.

Step 1:

via 1.bp.blogspot.com

Dr. Steve is still pining for Nathan Horton. Can't say I blame him...
TSM has heard from Brian Burke, and it all sounds good. The question now is, what does he do?
As the saying goes, just because you're paranoid, doesn't mean they're not after you. The general gives you proof of concept with photographic evidence that will rock your world, and the hair follicles on your upper lip.
A (painful) day in the life of Mike Van Ryn.
Jared is writing a letter. Is it to you? No, not you, the other guy.
Bloge Salming has a copy of the rejected CBC opening night promo.
Leafs247 doesn't see anyone fit to wear the 'C' for the Leafs, and gives you a great example of what leaders can do for a team.
Truculence is Everything takes some Leaf "fans" to task.
TML Fan Fury points the finger of blame in the defense's general direction...
Frozen Leafs wonders when the Leafs are going to start doing what they get paid to do. That is, play hokey.
Hockey'sFuture gives a review of the Leafs organizational depth, position by position. You'll never guess where the Leafs are thinnest...
Not alone in our dire straights, Habs fans are feeling the pain of unfulfilled expectations to start the season. The difference being, Habs fans can't get off the bandwagon fast enough.
Leaf and Lion likes that fans don't have the choice to tank.
Canadian vs. the Yank likes the odds of the Leafs winning a game on their upcoming road trip. Time to mortgage the house and put it all on blue baby!

Poll

Being a Leaf fan requires:

Love

21 votes

Patience

33 votes

Insanity

58 votes

An Iron Liver

60 votes

Intestinal Fortitude

48 votes

220 votes | Poll has closed

Mike Van Ryn's Season Over

Chemmy — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 18:14:34 -0000

Toskala being useless? Check. Aaron Voros landing on his face? Check. Mike Van Ryn playing? Che- wait a damn minute. Wouldja look at that?

View full size photo »

Update [16/10/09 10:47am]: via TSN's Darren Dreger

Leafs D-man, Mike Van Ryn will announce he's having knee surgery.

via AM640's Greg Brady:

One of [Van Ryn's] doctors believes he should have an osteotomy. It's what Yzerman had in '02.

I immediately said "What's an osteotomy" and then waddled off to Wikipedia (in my mind I'm very fat and Wikipedia is a physical place leave me alone) where I found the following:

An osteotomy is a surgical operation whereby a bone is cut to shorten, lengthen, or change its alignment. It is sometimes performed to correct a hallux valgus, or to straighten a bone that has healed crookedly following a fracture.

Due to the serious nature of this procedure, recovery may be extensive. Careful consultation with a physician is important in order to ensure proper planning during a recovery phase. Tools exist to assist recovering patients who may have non weight bearing requirements and include bedpans, dressing sticks, long-handled shoe-horns, grabbers/reachers and specialized walkers and wheelchairs.

So apparently one of Van Ryn's bones didn't heal right and he's likely going on the shelf for the rest of the year. Personally I thought Van Ryn was a good player whose usefulness was almost entirely negated by his injury troubles which made him a constant question mark in the lineup. Luckily for Mike he'll make $2.9M USD this year so he shouldn't have too much to worry about unless his investments were with Bernie Madoff.

A sad note for Van Ryn is that he's currently 47 games short of being eligible for an NHL pension. This has to be tough for the guy to swallow: he's a UFA this summer who's had constant injury problems. Mike Van Ryn is a talented NHL player who may have played his last game. On the other hand if his knee heals he might sign somewhere cheap and hopefully play at least half a season.

Toronto Maple Leafs Announce 2009 Training Camp Roster (2X Updated)

PPP — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 23:23:05 -0000

Update September 21 10:11PM - Ice Chips has notes on the Leafs' latest cuts and it looks like Blacker is back in Windsor.

Update: I've updated the training camp roster after Burke's first round of cuts. You can find the full list of cuts here.

Thanks to Jared for posting a FanShot with news that the Toronto Maple Leafs have released their 2009 training camp roster. Here's the complete list and I'll update it as cuts are made.

Forwards		Defence		Goaltenders
Jason Allison	~~Dale Mitchell~~	Francois Beauchemin	~~Juraj Mikus~~	~~Andrew Engelage~~
~~Alex Berry~~	John Mitchell	~~Jesse Blacker~~	~~Phil Oreskovic~~	Beau Erickson
Jason Blake	~~Ben Ondrus~~	~~Josh Engel~~	~~Todd Perry~~	Jonas Gustavsson
~~Darryl Boyce~~	Colton Orr	Garnet Exelby	Andy Rogers	Joey MacDonald
Tyler Bozak	Alexei Ponikarovsky	Jeff Finger	~~Joe Ryan~~	~~James Reimer~~
Tim Brent	Wayne Primeau	Jonas Frogren	Luke Schenn	Vesa Toskala
~~Joel Champagne~~	~~Kyle Rogers~~	Carl Gunnarson	Barron Smith
Jamie Devane	Jay Rosehill	Tomas Kaberle	~~Juha Uotila~~
~~Andre Deveaux~~	Gr~~eg Scott~~	Mike Komisarek	Mike Van Ryn
~~Alex Foster~~	~~Robert Slaney~~	~~Brandon Manning~~	Ian White
~~Stefano Giliati~~	Viktor Stalberg
Mikhail Grabovski	Matt Stajan
~~Richard Greenop~~	~~Mikhail Stefanovich~~
Niklas Hagman	Lee Stempniak
~~Ryan Hamilton~~	Jiri Tlusty
Christian Hanson	Rickard Wallin
Nazem Kadri	John Kurtz
Nikolai Kulemin	Jamal Mayers

Musings of Interest: Anton Stralman

Kent Wilson — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 16:59:29 -0000

One of the "throw-in" guys in the Primeau swap, Stralman is actually a fairly interesting player - one who might make life interesting for any number of Calgary defenders on the big club's perimeter. The 23 year old already has 88 NHL games under his belt and has put up points in some good leagues this far in his career.

Stralman was a 7th round pick by the Maple Leafs back in 2005. The next year, he made the leap to the Swedish Elite League as a teenager, managing 9 points in 45 games. He stayed in Sweden for one more season, this time garnering more ice and better results:

Stralman played for Sweden in the 2005 and 2006 world junior championships before graduating to the Swedish Elite League and national team this season. He scored 10 goals and 11 assists in 53 games for Timra IK of the Swedish Elite League, earned a first team all-star berth, and was named one of the top three players for his country at the world championships last week in Moscow.

Those are some nice results for a youngster in high level surroundings.

From there, Stralman made the leap directly to the NHL, playing in 50 games and scoring 9 points. He was completely sheltered during his rookie season, averaging less than 13 minutes of ice per game, which isn't terribly unusal for really young, inexperienced defenders. It's notable that Stralman was prefered over the much older Staffan Kronwall who was also on the Leafs at the time - Kronwall appeared in just 18 games for Toronto that year.

This past season, the Leafs added Jeff Finger, Luke Schenn, Mike Van Ryn and 28 year old rookie Jonas Frogren. Stralman was pushed down the depth chart a bit as a result and only saw 38 games in the show. Nevertheless, his ES and PP ice time climbed a tad to 12:13 and 2:38 respectively. On the farm, Stralman tied for the highest scoring defenseman on the Marlies (with...Staffan Kronwall!) in terms of goals with 7, despite only playing in 36 games.

Stralman's advanced stats from last season are limited in their power given the small sample of games, but worth looking at anyways:

QofC: -0.05 (2nd easiest amongst defensemen)

QofT: 0.00 (middling)

corsi: +6.6 (best amongst defensemen, tied with Kaberle)

ESP/60: 0.94 (best)

GA/60: 2.69 (3rd best)

Some encouraging numbers for a 22 year old. His circumstances look similar to Frogren (who put up mostly inferior rates) at behindthenet, but the truth is the older and bigger player was deployed in less offense rich situations, including 19 more defensive zone than offensive zone draws. Stralman was the opposite - he got the Phaneuf/Giordano treatment with 49 more face-offs at the good end of the ice.

The immediate future for Stralman is murky, at best. The word on Stralman is he has good offensive abilities and instincts, but is still something of a liability in his own end of the ice. He's probably a step ahead of guys like Palin and Pelech due to his 88 games of NHL experience, but he's clearly behind a guy like Mark Giordano who is older, more tested and put up better advanced stats at ES last season. Adam Pardy is probably also ahead of Stralman on the Flams depth chart, although the latter might be the superior prospect owing to their relative difference in age, past results, potential ceilings, etc. Their difference in styles and the fact that Stralman's abilities are already replicated on the roster by guys like Gio and Dion Phaneuf may also swing the coaching staff's preference in favor of Pardy.

Although he may be waiver eligible according to capgeek, Stralman is also behind the aforementioned Kronwall owing to Staffan's one-way NHL contract. That said, I can't see the team balking at sending Kronwall's 500k to the farm should Stralman prove to be the superior player. Either way, the organization risks losing one (or both) of these guys to the waiver wire should the club start shuttling them between the farm and parent teams this season. That will no doubt make for a competitive pre-season between the two as well as an intricate dance when the year gets going and the first injury comes down the pipe.

Three Out of Four Maple Leafs Agree...

blurr1974 — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 09:00:14 -0000

...it's definitely Monday. In case you were wondering, the fourth Leaf in the poll was Mike Van Ryn, and it's quite possible he said it was Monday as well, but he's currently in a full body cast after a mishap with a cotton ball. He mumbled something, that's for certain.

I spent all day Sunday at the beach. So, your music Monday will be back next week. I'm burnt to a crisp.

I may or may not (may) have sunburned my feet. So, links?

Loser Domi transcribed another Leafs chat. I submit for your review, the new term for "mancrush" is "BurkeBack_Mountain."
JaredFromLondon is doing his best Eklund impression (e5) but with less fairy dust and unicorns.
MLHS has a pair of links for your perusal: the Zherdev discussion and some point predictions.
Since we're tossing around rumors and pipe dreams, Puck Daddy takes a gander at Kovalchuk's future in Atlanta.
The Hockey Writers bring back the 3 point game issue. I know it will never happen, but I'd personally prefer a system much like MLB's "games back" approach. Would it work? I don't know...

UPDATED

TSM takes us on a stroll down memory lane, with his top ten Leafs goalies of all time.

Five Questions for the Dog Days of Hockey Season

mf37 — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 19:09:26 -0000

More photos » by Mark J. Terrill - AP

Defenseman Francois Beauchemin checks the clock to see how much time is left before Leaf camp opens.

Browse more photos »

These are indeed the dog days of summer for hockey fans.

The big UFAs have been signed, execs have been fired and their replacements hired, the pre-season schedule has been announced but it seems further away than Dany Heatley doing the right thing.

Four weeks until Tomas Kaberle's trade window closes.

Nearly eight weeks until Leaf training camp opens.

Nine weeks until the first pre-season Leaf game.

Ten weeks until Van Ryn's first injury.

Twelve weeks until the puck drops on the Leafs 2009-2010 season.

After the jump, five questions to help us pass the time so there's just seven weeks and four days until the Leafs open camp...

I’m way late to this one, but it’s not like there’s much going on in the world of hockey to talk about, so let’s turn our attention to Michael Jackson and celebrity deaths.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I was never a Michael Jackson fan. To my mind, the discovery that Ola Ray (the co-star of the Thriller video) had appeared in Playboy was far more influential in my young development than anything Michael Jackson ever accomplished.

Some folks are clearly fans but, to paraphrase a review of the Smith’s Meat is Murder, "he’ll never convince me one man's nut loaf isn't another man's baked nosepickings."

If a poll was conducted on June 25 on the general public's perception of Michael Jackson, I’m guessing the results would be almost entirely negative. If that same poll were conducted on June 27, one-day after the singer's death, the findings would be the exact opposite.

Has a celebrity death ever been more transformative? Has a celebrity ever gone from alleged pedophile to saint in a shorter time-span? Such a transformation makes me wonder…

1. Who do you think the most despised NHL personality is, and if they were to pass-away, do you think their character would undergo a Michael Jacksonesque post-mortem transformation?

Would Sean Avery be known as a passionate athlete who’d do anything to win?

Bettman, a dedicated lawyer with a vision for a struggling league?

# # #

Veteran news anchor Walter Cronkite passed away last week, he was 92.

Cronkite presided over the evening news at CBS from 1962 to 1981, announcing major historical milestones from the death of President Kennedy to the moon landing. The Beatles did their first American Broadcast with him.

Media critic Howard Kurtz noted that Cronkite’s career cast such a long shadow because it came during a time of limited media channels and an overwhelming trust in the media.

Since Cronkite’s retirement in 1982, the media has become more splintered than the remains of a whittling contest and more contradictory than my mother in-law on her fourth glass of wine.

As is evidenced on this site (and so many others throughout the Barilkosphere and beyond) trust and faith in the mainstream media may be at an all-time low.

I was reading an old interview with Cronkite the other night and he admitted his real dream wasn’t to be a journalist, but rather:

I've always thought one of the great things in life would be to entertain people with songs and dances and funny sayings. But it's just a fantasy. Another Walter Mitty dream.

For those of you under 35 or who haven’t seen the classic cartoons, Walter Mitty was a fictional character created by James Thurber (one of the early contributors to the New Yorker) who spends most of his time daydreaming about adventures and triumphs. Cronkite continues:

Oh, my dreamworld personally is to just take off on that boat of mine and not have to worry anymore about the affairs of mankind, and about reporting them, and taking the slings and arrows from all sides as we do today, since we can't seem to satisfy anybody. After ten years of it here in this particular spot, it gets tiresome. I'd like to be loved, like everybody else.

2. What do you think your favourite sports journalist’s Walter Mitty moments are? Does Working Class Howard dream of driving a limo for the Dallas Cowboys? Does Damien Cox dream of a centre court triumph at Wimbledon or perhaps laying waste to MLSE and the ACC like the Joker going after Gotham General Hospital?

# # #

Sticking somewhat with the theme of death, Not Quite What I was Planning is a collection of six-word memoirs from the famous and obscure. Smith Magazine asked people to submit their own six word memoir and the magazine has collected some of the best in a book, which can be read in about forty-five minutes. Despite the slender size adn content, it demonstrates just how powerful six well chosen words can be. A small sample:

"I still make coffee for two."

"Found true love, married someone else"

"Adopted? Are you fucking shitting me?"

"Brought it to a boil, often" (Mario Batali)

"Well, I thought it was funny." (Stephen Colbert)

3. In six words or less, try to sum up your relationship with the Leafs (remember "Kerry Fraser's Hair" uses up 50% of your allotted words).

# # #

Since the trade deadline, Brian Burke has traded three players and acquired six, most of whom are known for their, ahem, sunny dispositions.

There has been loads of discussion, emails, web-rumours and hopes of adding a top six forward either through free agency or by dealing one of the 38 D-men currently on the roster.

4. Given the 50 contract limit, the potential for the cap to constrict and the need to clear lanes for developing players in the next few years, why the push for the Leafs to add another player to the mix now? Is the push for a top-six forward a sign of Leafs Nation’s impatience? Is this urge for another top six a signal a move towards winning more now or just a pragmatic solution for the log-jam on D?

# # #

I have no idea why, perhaps it’s something Chemmy or another New England Patriots fan could explain to me, but Elton John has been named the Pats' honorary captain for the NFL game in London this October. I presume it’s because Prince Edward and Boy George had other commitments.

5. With the Leafs scheduled to play the Flyers in London (Ontario), what celebrity do you think should be named honorary captain for the Leafs and who should get the nod for the Flyers?

Let's help fans out there feel the love tonight. Go Flyers.

The D Market

Clint Clark — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 21:42:03 -0000

More photos » by David Zalubowski - AP

Browse more photos »

As we get farther away from July 1st, we are entiring Scott Howson territory, "The Patient Zone." The big fish have accumulated their big money, but many players are still out in the cold, other teams are bumping with the salary cap so some players will certainly be available. One of the offseason goals was to improve the offense from the blueline. We have not yet signed any defensemen and our top six will look like this

Hejda - Commdore

Tyutin - Klesla

Methot - Russell

Is this a playoff defense that will make a serious run?...

Here is a rundown on some D-Men that may be on the market. All scouting reports are provided by sportsnet.ca

UFAs

Derek Morris, 30 years old

Contract Situation: UFA. Likely around 4.5 million per.

Assets:Possesses a well-rounded package of top-level skills, specifically an excellent skating stride and booming shot from the point. Is very strong and aggressive along the blueline.

Flaws:Has a tendency to lose his concentration in the defensive zone and give the puck away at the most inopportune moments. Must learn to better harness his aggressive nature.

Cannon's Take: Derek Morris would be an ideal player for us, but his dollars and term is likely too rich for our blood. We are not in position to commit 4+ million to another d-man for 4-5 more years. He is at the age where longterm deals become risky propositions. It would be a lot of dollars that we cannot afford.

Dennis Seidenberg, 27 years old

Contract Situation: UFA likely searching for around 3.5 million a year

Assets:Has a tendency to lose his concentration in the defensive zone and give the puck away at the most inopportune moments. Must learn to better harness his aggressive nature.

Flaws:Lacks strength despite decent size. Isn't overly physical and he needs to be in order to better handle high traffic areas.

Cannon's Take: Seidenberg looks to be a pretty good candidate on paper, but he is probably hoping to cash in off his big year. For us sinking a lot of dollars and years into a smallish left shooting may not make sense, but I can see us looking again if his price drops.

Sergei Zubov, 38 years old

Contract Situation: UFA looking for around 2.5 million a year.

Assets:Has outstanding passing skills and is extremely agile. Possesses outstanding hockey sense and usually makes the right play at the right time.

Flaws:Isn't physical at all and can be overmatched at times when opposed to big forwards in front of the net. Injuries are also a concern.

Cannon's Take: This would be a typical Howson move. He might be trying to keep this one in the back pocket. Howson would ideally not commit a lot of dollars or years to a player with the upcoming contracts that we will have to resign. We need long term pieces or short term stopgaps. Zubov could be the stop gap. He's been on of the most underrated defensement in the last 20 years and he already has a relationship with Hitch. He will also want a short-term deal which makes him attractive to us.

Trade Possibilities

In a lot of ways we may look harder at trade possibilities to deal with our glut of wingers currently on the team. We might be better off sending away a contract for a player than even signing a UFA from a business standpoint. The player most likely traded would be Chimera. He has good trade value and good assets. He is also on the books for 3 more years at 1.875 a year which could be repurposed. Of the glut of wingers he is the most attractive piece, although I'd love to move many other wings than Chewy.

Anton Babchuk, 25 years old

Contract Situation: RFA that will likely want 3.5 millionish a year.

Assets: Displays untapped offensive potential and a big shot from the point. Owns enough ability to impact the back line.

Flaws: Needs to round out his game, especially in the defensive zone, since he's still very raw. Must be more disciplined on the ice.

Cannon's Take: This guy has a slapper. He is young and he is right handed. His overall value to a team has been questioned, but he was a solid +13 this year. He is one of the youngest options on the chart and could possibly fit in long term, but the question is, at what cost? The Hurricanes have already told him that he wants too much money and that they are willing to trade him. I'd take a serious look depending on his contract demands.

Christian Erhoff, 26 years old

Contract Situation: 2 years 3.15, 3.4

Assets:Owns sound hockey sense and the ability to log big minutes on the ice. Can quarterback a power play or be used in defensive situations.

Flaws:Doesn't handle big NHL forwards too well, so he needs to start making better use of his 6-2, 200-pound frame.

Cannon's Take: An intriguing possiblity and the Sharks have to move someone, because.... they have to sign 6 more players with about 1 million dollars. San Jose has been criticised for overvaluing their own players, which usually is a fine strategy, but will need to change as their economics force their hand. Erhoff would be the most movable of their blueliners and fit real nice on our powerplay. This could be a prime example of the patience that Howson promotes

Tom Gilbert, 26 years old

Contract Situation: 5 years 3.5, 5.5, 5, 3.5, 3

Assets:Moves the puck quickly and efficiently out of the defensive zone, and can also provide his team with offense. Plays a smooth brand of defense.

Flaws:Isn't physical at all for a 6-3, 210 pounder, which limits his overall effectiveness in the defensive zone.

Cannon's Take: Gilbert is a young rightie from the Oil, who have a surplus of powerplay blueliners. I choose Gilbert because he fits with the puck moving theme and he has some offensive skill. The Oil may not be willing to move him and to be honest I'm not sure how hard I'd push him for the contract he signed, but by the end of his deal it could look like highway robbery so I put him on the list.

Michal Rozsival, 30 years old

Contract Situation: 3 more years 6, 4, 3

Assets:Has an exciting combination of passing and shooting skills from the point. Is a good-sized defender with above-average mobility.

Flaws:Needs to be more intense for an entire 82-game schedule. Should make better use of his 6-2, 210-pound frame, and is at times a little too soft.

Cannon's Take: Rozsival was one of my personal targets last offseason. For the money he got I'm glad we passed. He just got paid 7 million bucks this year so a lot of the money is already out of the way. He is a rightie, but may not work the powerplay magic like others on the list. I know many people do not want to bail out the Rangers... but if it improves OUR team, I don't really care.

Tomas Kaberle 31 years old

Contract Situation: 2 years 4.25 per

Assets:Possesses tremendous hockey smarts and the ability to find his teammates with excellent passes. A swift skater, he loves to join the attack. Defends well.

Flaws:Still makes occasional mistakes when pinching in. Could use more strength to better handle big NHL forwards. Doesn't shoot enough on the power play.

Cannon's Take: The Leafs would have been much better off trading this guy 2 years ago when his value skyrocketed and their team was diving. Kaberle didn't end the year as well as he would have liked, but still the TML his best value. He's probably still worth it, but the cost of him would be very high. I'm not sure we'd have the pieces. TML would likely want a Filatov type, but we would not touch that and we really don't have any solid offensive prospects outside of the unproven Mayorov that might interest the Leafs. Toronto will have to trade someone. They'll be best off trading Kaberle, but it will likely be to someone else for a better return than we could offer.

Mike Van Ryn, 30 years old

Contract Situation: 1 year, 3.35 mil

Assets:Moves the puck well up the ice, has a good point shot and is always willing to dish out punishment.

Flaws:Needs to become more assertive on offense, since he has the talent to produce big numbers.

Cannon's Take: The plus side would be that he and Freddy Modin could share one locker room stall since the odds of them both needing it at the same time would be nil. One of them would certainly be out of the lineup. Van Ryn would be a reasonably good gamble, but his salary makes it hard to swallow if he doesn't stay healthy. I'm not sure he would improve us enough even if he did. Tying up 3.35 million on a player that might end up staying at Chris Mizer's house would cripple our moves at the trade deadline.

John Michael Liles, 28 years old

Contract Situation: 3 years, 4.125, 4.425, 4.55

Assets:Has plenty of offensive acumen. Isn't afraid of the rough going. Plays with supreme confidence when in possession of the puck.

Flaws:His smallish frame will always be an issue at the NHL level. Needs to prove he can raise his level of play with more ice time.

Cannon's Take: Liles would be an amazing addition. After acquiring Preissing and Quincey, the Avs also have a surplus of blueliners and we will not accept Adam Foote back.... well maybe with 3 more first rounders for David Ling. Liles was another UFA darling from a year back that was certainly on my radar screen, no reason that should change now. He is from Indiana and may like to come back to midwest. The cost would be hard to measure for a player like him. Colorado would likely want youth, but then again we run into a problem of not having a lot of tier B young forwards outside of Mayorov.

Who do you like? Fire Away!

Poll

Who do you like?

Derek Morris

4 votes

Dennis Seidenberg

6 votes

Sergei Zubov

18 votes

Anton Babchuk

27 votes

Christian Erhoff

15 votes

Tom Gilbert

11 votes

Michal Rozsival

2 votes

Tomas Kaberle

13 votes

Mike Van Ryn

1 votes

John-Michael Liles

15 votes

Write-In

3 votes

115 votes | Poll has closed

David Conte at the Draft: Devils Picks Since 1994

John Fischer — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 02:03:10 -0000

The name of this blog comes after Lou Lamoriello, the general manager, team president, and CEO of the Devils, who has overseen and molded the Devils into the perennial contenders that they are today. As I understand it, Lou likes to get involved in various aspects of the organization, even to the point of stepping behind the bench. However, Lou does delegate one important task: the NHL Entry Draft. The man in charge? Director of Scouting, David Conte.

While the majority of posts within the last month or so have focused on free agents, the 2009 NHL Entry Draft is approaching and deserves attention. The Devils will be, as usual, selecting in the bottom third of the first round looking for another talented youngster in the hopes of becoming an impact player in a few years. Conte has been with the Devils for over 25 years, serving as the Director of Scouting since August 1993 according to the Devils' website.

With the 2009 Draft approaching, let's take a closer look at the demographics of the picks made since the 1994 Entry Draft, Conte's first draft as Director of Scouting. We'll take a look at who the first round picks were since 1994 - as well as who was arguably the best player from the Devils' draft. You'll find they are not always one in the same. We'll also see where the prospects played (positionally and by league) as well as their nationality. Perhaps there is a tendency or two? For reference (as well the sources for this aggregation of data), take a look at the history of the Devils' draft picks through the NHL and at Hockey DB.

First off, let's take a look at who the Devils selected in the first round since 1994. In theory, the first round prospects should be the best prospects as they are selected ahead of many others. However, in practice, some prospects selected earlier in the NHL Draft don't prosper, whereas players taken later on surprise many when their game is raised beyond anyone's expectations.

Year	First Rounder	Best Player	Honorable Mention
1994	Vadim Sharifijanov (RW, 25th)	Patrik Elias (LW, 51st)	Sheldon Souray (D, 71st) Steve Sullivan (C, 233rd)
1995	Petr Sykora (C, 18th)	Petr Sykora	Alyn McCauley (C, 79th)
1996	Lance Ward (D, 10th)	Colin White (D, 49th)	Willie Mitchell (D, 199th)
1997	J-F Damphousse (G, 24th)	Scott Clemmensen (G, 215th)	N/A
1998	Mike Van Ryn (D, 26th)	Scott Gomez (C, 27th)	Brian Gionta (RW, 82nd)
1999	Ari Ahonen (G, 27th)	Mike Commodore (D, 42nd)	N/A
2000	David Hale (D, 22th)	Paul Martin (D, 62nd)	Mike Rupp (LW, 76th)
2001	Adrian Foster (LW, 28th)	Aaron Voros (RW, 229th)	N/A
2002	No First Rounder	Cam Janssen (RW, 117th)	N/A
2003	Zach Parise (C, 17th)	Zach Parise	N/A
2004	Travis Zajac (C, 20th)	Travis Zajac	N/A
2005	Nicklas Bergfors (RW, 23rd)	N/A	N/A
2006	Matthew Corrente (D, 30th)	N/A	N/A
2007	No First Rounder	N/A	N/A
2008	Mattias Tedenby (LW, 24th)	N/A	N/A

Overall, I'd say the Devils have done OK with their first round selections. I'm not ready to judge the later rounds, but 6 of those 10 first round selections from 1994 through 2004 have made it to the NHL for significant lengths of time - and two of them have excelled or continue to excel (Sykora, Parise). Not bad at all considering they have only selected above 20th overall 3 times in Conte's tenure as Director of Scouting; and one of those involved a trade up (Parise, not sure about Sykora).

Yet, the best players from these drafts have tended to come in later rounds. Some of these draft years weren't all that successful, namely 1997, 2001, and 2002. And it may look like that some years were one-hit wonders like 2003 and 2004, though that remains to be seen. Yet, you cannot argue that the Devils don't get anything out of the draft and there's still plenty to be excited about with the more recent first rounders - and not just because they are listed high at Hockey's Future's list for the Devils. Bergfors and Corrente should have the opportunity to make it in NJ in preseason in the fall (they got long looks last year), and Tedenby is flying and pulling off sweet moves with HV71 in the SEL..

Now, Conte and his staff has made 144 picks from 1994 through 2008 and I think you'll find that positionally, you could say that the Devils will almost definitely draft at least one defensemen. There has not been a draft where the Devils do not select any defensemen; the fewest they ever drafted was one in 2003 (Zach Tarkir) and the most was eight in 1996 (out of 14) A third of the Devils' first round picks have been defensemen and just under 35% of all

Devils picks were defensemen.

If you think the Devils one type of forward over another, then I'm sorry, this chart doesn't agree with you. If you feel the Devils don't draft enough goaltenders, then this chart is your evidence. Only 11 in these drafts and only Chris Mason and Scott Clemmensen actually broke through into the NHL. Not that I'm saying Jeff Frazee has no shot at making it to New Jersey, yet it's telling that he was the last goaltender drafted by the Devils and that was back in 2005. Maybe Conte and his staff will surprise us and draft a netminder this year.

In terms of where the players come from, it seems that recent trends tend to cloud people's thinking. Earlier this decade, with the selections of Hale, Martin, Barry Tallackson, Parise, Zajac, etc., it seemed that the Devils loved to draft prospects either in college or about to go to college from Canadian Junior A leagues, US high schools. With more recent selections like Frazee, Mike Hoeffel, Brandon Burlon, and David Wohlberg, that argument holds some weight. Yet, breaking down the leagues where prospects come from since 1994, the Canadian Major Junior leagues actually have been dominant. Just over 43% (62 players) of all Devils draft picks have come from either the OHL, QMJHL, or WHL (in order of most to least). Admittedly, I'm not sure what the big differences are between the three major junior leagues; but by numbers, the Devils favor the OHL.

Interestingly enough, the Devils have made quite a few picks right out of the Junior A leagues like the BCHL and AJHL. That tells me that if they feel a player is talented enough, playing in a league below the major junior leagues is not an issue for them. Incidentally, some players stay in those leagues to retain their NCAA-eligibility as I understand it. I did notice (and did not count, oddly enough), a majority of the players selected from U.S. High Schools, the USHL, those Junior A leagues, and the USA Hockey developmental teams do go into college. If we assume that's always true, then they combine for 28.47% of all picks (41 players)

With respect to Europe, over the years, Russia has been the country of choice for the Devils with 15 players coming from Russian leagues. Finland is the second most popular with 9. Oddly, I'm trying to remember the last Russian or Finnish prospect to have made an impact and been drafted by New Jersey since 1994. Vadim Sharifijanov from 1994 is the only one I can think of for Russia, I can't think of any for Finland, and the draft history organized by Hockey DB seems to back me up. Quantity over quality so far, but that can change should Lowell Devils Vladimir Zharkov or Alexander Vasyunov step up their game. You might say that the SEL is favored with Bergfors and Tedenby seen as top prospects in the organization, but that's all from the SEL in recent drafts. They'll select someone from the SEL or Russia-2 or elsewhere if the player's talent warrants the pick; but leagues in Canada and the US have dominated the Devils drafts with a combined 71% since 1994.

Lastly, that one IHL player on the chart? That's Petr Sykora. He was drafted from the Detroit Vipers.

As the leagues are broken down as they are, it shouldn't surprise anyone that the Devils have drafted significantly more North Americans - 66 Canadians and 33 Americans. Europe represents a diverse blend of players with the Devils making picks of players born in Switzerland (Robin Leblanc), Kazakhstan (Max Birbraer), and Austria (Andre Lakos). In total, Europeans make up 45 picks, or 31.25% of all picks since 1994.

So what does all of this mean? Well, here's what I conclude:

In the past, the Devils are OK with their first round picks, but they tend to find solid players in the second and third rounds. (e.g. Elias, Gionta, Martin) Their more first round picks have turned out to be excellent and those who have yet to break through still have significant potential: Bergfors, Corrente, Tedenby. Even then, the lower round picks from those years should not be ignored, such as Vasyunov, Matt Halischuk, Burlon, and Patrice Cormier
While they have (and will) select who they feel are talented regardless of nationality and league, the Devils tend to select North American players, mostly from Canadian junior leagues.
Expect at least one defenseman to be selected in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.
Don't necessarily hold your breath for a goaltender unless Conte and his staff really likes someone.
Most of all, this doesn't tell us much about what the Devils will do in the 2009 Draft.

The New Jersey Devils are willing to trade up for players (e.g. Parise in 2003) as well as trade down for players (e.g. Tedenby in 2008). They don't necessarily follow conventional wisdom and truly try to take the best player available. When was the last time a Devils prospect jumped right into the NHL? Even Parise played another season with the University of North Dakota after he was drafted. So it makes no sense to have the first round or even the seventh round pick try and fit a current positional need.

Hopefully this has provided some background on what David Conte and the Devils' scouting staff has done since the 1994 NHL Entry Draft. With the 2009 NHL Draft approaching, now is a good idea to pursue and peruse the various mock drafts and prospect profiles out there.

Feel free to offer your thoughts on how the Devils have drafted, what you would like to see, who the Devils should draft at 23rd overall, and all other NHL Draft-related thoughts, both past and upcoming.

Maple Leafs @ Canadiens: Could a Bad Season Pick Up Some Shine?

PPP — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 16:00:09 -0000

Courtesy blue with age behind enemy lines

After the last Leafs' game it looked like the continuing feud between Mikhail Grabovski and the younger Kostitsyn sister would be the primary storyline since the playoffs would be a sure thing for the Canadiens and the Leafs would be playing out the string. Oh how times change. Since then the Montreal Canadiens have plummeted down the standings. So much so that the following picture is much more representative of the Habs' season:

The Leafs roll into Montreal tonight poised to send the Habs faithful (as many as are left) into riot-mode. The coach that guided them to the Eastern Conference regular season title last year has been thrown overboard because he was audacious enough to see the truth: Jaroslav Halak better than Jim Carey Price. At the end of their careers that might not be true but this season and especially since the All-Star break it has absolutely been true:

	GP	MIN	W	L	T	EGA	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
2008 - Jaroslav Halak	30	1693	16	12	1	0	81	2.87	954	873	.915	1

	GP	MIN	W	L	T	EGA	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
2008 - Carey Price	45	2609	20	14	8	4	123	2.83	1285	1162	.904	1

While the numbers look close it's really in the consistency department that Jim Carey Price is struggling. He's definitely not engendering confidence in HF29:

The sky is falling - We don't even know where to start. How about stupid, ill-timed penalties? That seems to be a theme for this team lately. We only had two penalties, but for some reason it seemed like more. Maybe 'cause the Sens scored on both. How about a shaky (at best) Carey Price? He seemed to have come around a couple of weeks ago, now he seems to have regressed. Getting yanked after giving up four goals on 15 shots was not pretty. We know Panger would say he's only 21, but his brain may be permanently scarred.

The pressure of expectations seems to be weighing heavily on the young netminder. But he's not the only one that seems to be cracking:

So here we are today the 20th day of March 2009, Two weeks after the firing of the coach and into a dismal slide out of the playoffs and the talking heads are still talking as if the Dynasty still existed. IT DOESN'T. I remember back to the day when Houle, Tremblay and Cournoyer were named to lead the team. I remember saying that that decision was like putting, goofy, mini and mickey mouse in charge of the Disney Franchise. We've been through 5 coaches in the last 10 years. This team has become a joke. The leading scorer on the team is a defense man. We have two 20 goal scorer, a captain who has done nothing in the way of winning (minus his personal health and injury battles) A bunch of Russian mafia types (that's a play on the media hype that turned out to be nothing involving a few of the Russian players). We have an over hyped, over his head 21 year old goalie. And a bunch of other guys that nobody else in any town outside of Quebec could name.

Amen. Looks like Robbie's hit acceptance and probably only 10 years before his fellow fans. Robert L has written about how he thinks that fans of both teams have a lot more in common than they would care to admit. He also seems to understand what most analysts that chose the Habs to win the Cup did not care to learn - the Habs flatter to deceive:

The Habs of late have been a story underlined by chaos, identity, confusion, and cohesion. All their most recent silver linings - few as they've been - have just been grey areas to the colour blind. They have deceived fans with occasional bursts of synchronicity, only to leave us feelings foolish for once again believing.

Robert is an eternal optimist so he sees the Habs' latest loss not as a false dawn but as a sign of things to come. A quick look at the Habs' special teams over the past three seasons would have showed anyone with any sort of analytical mind that they were papering over massive cracks. The cutest thing from the comments in Robert's article is with the fans associating their desire to see the team blown up as some sort of characteristic unique to Leafs fans. It's more a sign that you've finally opened your eyes. Congratulations!

The one problem with Robert's plan is that he assumes that Gainey will start Halak the rest of the way. This is the GM whose previous stint behind the bench came after he canned Claude Julien for daring to sit the last masked saviour Jose Theodore. Last season Gainey had such confidence in Jim Carey Price that he traded Cristobal Huet to the Washington Capitals for a 2nd round pick at the deadline and handed the reins to the rookie. After surviving a scary first round matchup with the Bruins Price fell apart against the Flyers and had his glove hand exposed as a weakness. I would have said that a home game against a non-playoff team is the best time for Jim Carey Price to get back in the saddle.

However, Bob Gainey is playing the hypocrite and is going to try to re-arrange the deck chairs by going with Jaroslav Halak (french link). Gainey might go all out in his desperation and deprive the game of all Kostitsyns and all-star (laff) Mike Komisarek. I wonder what song will be played as this ship sinks? It should probably be this one:

Kulemin should be back in the lineup with Deveaux back on his way to Toronto while Tomas Kaberle might make his return tonight.

Anyway, how have the Habs done against the Leafs this year?

Previous Matchups

Final - 2.7.2009	1	2	3	Total
Toronto Maple Leafs	1	1	3	5
Montreal Canadiens	0	1	1	2

Complete Coverage >

At home Jim Carey Price sees four of five Leafs goals fly past his supect glove hand as the Leaf fans in attendance (and not me despite previous plans) erupt into ecstasy. Price does have the privilege of being the answer to a trivia question: Who was victimised for Hall of Fame defenceman Luke Schenn's first career NHL goal?

Here's a visual recap of the game:

Final - 1.8.2009	1	2	3	Total
Toronto Maple Leafs	1	0	1	2
Montreal Canadiens	3	2	1	6

Complete Coverage >

Jaroslav Halak made 30 saves on 32 shots and showed Carey Price how to beat the Leafs.

Final - 11.8.2008	1	2	3	Total
Montreal Canadiens	0	3	0	3
Toronto Maple Leafs	1	3	2	6

Complete Coverage >

Something kind of big happened in this game. Click 'complete coverage' to refresh your memory. Along with Tom Kostopoulos' vicious assault for which he has not come close to paying an equal penitence (Paging Mssrs May, Ondrus, and Mayers) the Leafs, inspired by the actions of our nation's heroes, showed once again that good can triumph over evil.

Final - 10.11.2008	1	2	3	Total
Montreal Canadiens	2	4	0	6
Toronto Maple Leafs	0	1	0	1

Complete Coverage >

It was a little hard for the Leafs to get up for the first of six meetings with the lowly Canadiens after starting the year off by punking the defending Stanley Cup Champions on the night that they raised their championship banner.

So which Leafs team will show up tonight? I said it before the team's last visit to Montreal and it's, sadly, true again: my plans to attend this game had to be put on hold so I fully expect the Leafs to punish me by killing the Habs. If that happens the next deck chair to be re-arranged on the HMCS Habs might be Bob Gainey himself.