SB Nation - Drew Doughty

Kings-Sharks Recap: Booyah!

RudyKelly — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 06:26:05 -0000

More photos » by George Nikitin - AP

I take it all back: I love Evgeni Nabokov on the Sharks. (AP Photo/George Nikitin)

First thought: woooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

-Drew Doughty is awesome. His assist to get Kopitar off the schneid was a beautiful play. He patiently held onto the puck until the Sharks overcommitted then slid the puck between two defenders to a wide open Kopitar. His goal was just straight heat. I always thought it was kind of bullshit when he talked about how he felt more comfortable because he changed his stick blade, but maybe that actually worked.

-Ted Purcell, Anze Kopitar and Dustin Brown all broke 10+ game droughts. Good thing the Sharks had a shitty goalie in, otherwise they still might be waiting for their goal.

-You know who's good? Marc-Edouard Vlasic.

-You know who's not? Erik Ersberg.

-Michal Handzus had a pretty bad game, picking up 3 particularly brutal penalties. The Kings managed to win the special teams battle, however, and staved off the powerful San Jose power play. The Kings penalty kill still kind of sucks by the percentages, but it should be better and hopefully this game is a sign that it's going to start improving.

-The Kings have another tough game tomorrow night against the Coyotes, although Ed Jovanovski is suspended for tomorrow's game because the NHL head office still doesn't understand Pronger physics. Quick will be in for that game, so it should be a good one.

-The Kings are 3 points out of 1st in the Pacific. Just saying.

Final thought: wooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What Have You Done in Your Life?

RudyKelly — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 19:41:24 -0000

More photos » by Mark J. Terrill - AP

What's he getting for his birthday? Not alcohol. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

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Yesterday Drew Doughty played 24:46 minutes against the Calgary Flames, mostly against Jarome Iginla and Olli Jokinen.

Today he turned 20.

I feel like I need to watch Men of a Certain Age now.

Who Should Be Canada's Olympic Defenders?

Chemmy — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 19:29:45 -0000

The question is simple; who are your seven guys to play defense for Team Canada at the Olympics? The defenders invited to the Canada camp are:

Francois Beauchemin, Jay Bouwmeester, Dan Boyle, Brent Burns, Drew Doughty, Mike Green, Dan Hamhuis, Duncan Keith, Scott Niedermayer, Dion Phaneuf, Chris Pronger, Robyn Regehr, Stephane Robidas, Brent Seabrook, Marc Staal, and Shea Weber. Click a player's name for stats.

I discussed my picks with Godd Till of Zambonic Youth and PPP, check out our picks after the jump.

Chris Pronger

#20 / Defenseman / Philadelphia Flyers

Height: 6-6

Weight: 214

Born: Oct 10, 1974

	G	A	P	+/-	PIM
2009 - Chris Pronger	4	14	18	9	41

Pronger can score points, shut down talent even at age 35 and has a documented mean streak. Pronger's the grit and the jam that dominant teams need to make playing against them no fun at all.

Shea Weber

#6 / Defenseman / Nashville Predators

Height: 6-4

Weight: 230

Born: Aug 14, 1985

	G	A	P	+/-	PIM
2009 - Shea Weber	6	9	15	-4	4

Nashville's Shea Weber is an excellent defender in his own end who can also put up points. He hits as hard as your January credit card bill and isn't afraid to drop the gloves.

Duncan Keith

#2 / Defenseman / Chicago Blackhawks

Height: 6-1

Weight: 196

Born: Jul 16, 1983

	G	A	P	+/-	PIM
2009 - Duncan Keith	5	18	23	6	16

Fresh off of inking a lifetime deal that was well earned Duncan Keith is having a fantastic season. Another guy who can put up points and plays well in his own end Duncan Keith is an obvious lock for this team along with...

Brent Seabrook

#7 / Defenseman / Chicago Blackhawks

Height: 6-3

Weight: 218

Born: Apr 20, 1985

	G	A	P	+/-	PIM
2009 - Brent Seabrook	3	10	13	8	15

... his defensive partner Brent Seabrook. In addition to being an excellent player on his own, having Keith's defensive partner will give Canada an elite d-pairing that are familiar with each other. This is a huge advantage in a tournament where players are hastily thrown together.

Robyn Regehr

#28 / Defenseman / Calgary Flames

Height: 6-3

Weight: 225

Born: Apr 19, 1980

	G	A	P	+/-	PIM
2009 - Robyn Regehr	0	10	10	5	23

The definition of defensive defenseman, Regehr hits good hockey players hard and often. He's on this team to hit Ovechkin, Kessel and Parise.

Dan Boyle

#22 / Defenseman / San Jose Sharks

Height: 5-11

Weight: 190

Born: Jul 12, 1976

	G	A	P	+/-	PIM
2009 - Dan Boyle	6	19	25	4	20

Dan Boyle's our pick for puck mover / PP specialist on the back end. If you'd prefer Bouwmeester or Mike Green go ahead, I'm not too concerned with any of the three.

Drew Doughty

#8 / Defenseman / Los Angeles Kings

Height: 6-0

Weight: 211

Born: Dec 08, 1989

	G	A	P	+/-	PIM
2009 - Drew Doughty	7	15	22	9	18

Is Drew Doughty the seventh best Canadian defender in the league? Honestly he might be, but what's important here is the future. Doughty will be the seventh guy and only see action if guys get hurt. Obviously you could do a lot worse than Doughty as an injury fill in which speaks to Canada's enormous depth at defense.

I picked Doughty looking forward to 2014. Doughty will be 25 and about to hit his prime. He got an invite to Olympic camp this year based on his ability as a player and I think bringing him along to Vancouver would be a big step for a young kid in the NHL. Let him have a taste of the team he's going to need to be a big part of in four years.

Those are our picks, let us know yours in the comments.

Sens outclassed by Kings, lose 6-3

DarrenM — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 06:31:33 -0000

More photos » by Mark J. Terrill - AP

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Sens heroes: Mike Fisher, Jonathan Cheechoo
Fisher played like the Mike Fisher we saw earlier in the season, good for two goals and six shots on the night. Jonathan Cheechoo had his best game in a Senators sweater, putting up a goal and six shots, but also drawing two or three penalties through good old fashioned hard work. Cheechoo and his linemates, Chris Kelly and Jarkko Ruutu, were the only Sens players to finish on the positive side of the plus-minus statistic, each at +1.

Sens zeroes: Filip Kuba, Brian Elliott
Kuba simply played soft tonight, not punishing players physically and letting the puck bobble off his stick too frequently. Elliott made some nice stops, but he also let in far too many goals that he could've stopped.

Sens killers: Drew Doughty, Justin Williams
Not to sound like Pierre McGuire or anything, but Doughty played extremely well tonight. Not only was he strong in his own end, but he also put up a rocket of a shot for a powerplay goal. Justin Williams had two goals and an assist on the night.

Telling stat: faceoffs 32-19 Los Angeles
This is starting to be a trend. The Sens have been terrible in the faceoff circle as of late, and tonight was simply awful. Not only did the Senators frequently lose draws, but they lost them at important times when they needed to get goals. Chris Kelly did well with 58% while Jesse Winchester did spectacularly at 86%, but Fisher and Spezza need to pick it up.

Did anyone notice: Ryan Keller
Keller has now played four games. I am not sure I've noticed him in any of them, and as a forward, that's not a good thing. I have a feeling he'll be sitting while Foligno returns.

Injury alert: Alex Picard
In the first period, Picard took a clean, hard hit from Dustin Brown on the boards. He went off the ice labouring his arm/shoulder, and did not return. I expect Chris Campoli will be playing against Phoenix with Picard taking some time off.

Penalty woes: The final minutes of the first period; Phillips' dive
In the final three minutes before the first period ended, the Senators had given up a penalty shot (which Wayne Simmonds scored on) and taken three additional minor penalties, including a bizarre one where Anton Volchenkov grabbed the puck out of the air, held on for a few seconds, and then threw it with all of his might. The Senators somehow killed off the 5-on-3s, but their penalty problems didn't stop there. The Sens nearly had a powerplay in the dying minutes while only a goal down as Scott Parse held Chris Phillips' stick, but Phillips ended up getting called on a dive, so the teams played four on four instead.

Columbus Blue Jackets 2010 Olympics Preview

Mike MacLean — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 16:30:34 -0000

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SBNation is doing a series of Olympic Previews, taking a look at each team and which of their players may be suiting up for their countries in Vancouver. As a baseline, we are going to give an indication of their chances of making their team by using these arguments: "Pack Your Bags", "Nearly a Lock", "Fairly Safe Bet", and "In a Battle". The Jackets have a few players who could become Olympians, here's a look at them:

Rick Nash (Canada) - Pack Your Bags
There is almost no way, outside of injury, that Nash will not be a member of Team Canada. In fact, he is penciled in by most as the man riding shotgun to Sidney Crosby. Nash has plenty of international experience in his young career, including being a member of the 2006 Olympic Team, which failed miserably. He is a more mature and complete player now, and will look to be an offensive leader for the Canucks at home in Vancouver. My favourite Nash goal at an international tournament didn't take place at the Olympics, it was at the World Championships, but here it is anyway:

Steve Mason (Canada) - In a Battle
At least he was at the beginning of the season, that is. Before the start of the regular season this year, many experts thought that when it came to Canada's goaltenders, Roberto Luongo and Martin Brodeur were locks. The battle was for who the third goaltender was going to be. The three main contenders were Mason, Marc-Andre Fleury and Cam Ward. With Ward's injury, that made it a two-horse race. The problem is, Mase never showed up. His play this season has been downright awful. I'm not a believer in sophomore slumps, but the proof is in the pudding here. Look for Fleury- who is coming off of a Cup win and is playing great right now-to get the third goalie nod.

Kristian Huselius (Sweden) - Fairly Safe Bet
The man we call Juice may not be on the top of the list of skilled Swedish forwards, but he is a strong candidate to be on the Swedish team. His last international exoerience was at the 2002 World Championships, where the Tre Kroner won the bronze medal. He has never played in an Olympics, but he is on the Swedish short-list for 2010.

Samuel Pahlsson (Sweden) - Nearly a Lock
Sammy will almost definitely be on the Swedish team in 2010. He helped the Swedes win the Gold Medal back in 2006 in Torino, playing on a line with Freddy Modin (more on him in a minute). A dedicated checking center like Pahlsson will be very important this time around, with the Olympics being in Vancouver, the games will be played on NHL-sized ice, meaning tighter checking.

Fredrik Modin (Sweden) - In a Battle
I saw that Freddy is in a battle, not necessarily with other players trying to make the team, but with his own body. After being lauded for his amazing durability, the last couple of seasons have been near write-offs for Freddy as he has been hit with injury after injury. That said, if he is healthy I can't imagine him not playing for the Swedes, even in a fourth line role. He is after all, one of the very few players who are a member of the Triple Gold Club.

Anton Stralman (Sweden) - Nearly a Lock
Stralman is off to a great start since joining the Jackets, putting up good point totals. He is one of the main reasons the Jackets' powerplay has gone from last in the league a year ago, to best so far this season. He has played in three straight World Championships for Team Sweden, from 2007-2009. The Swedish defensive corps are a talented group, with Anton fitting in nicely. With the injury to Kronwall, Stralman may see top line duty with Nick Lidstrom.

Jakub Voracek (Czech Republic) - Nearly a Lock
The Czechs are a team that always seems to surprise at international tournaments. Look no further than the '98 Olympics, where they took home the Gold based on the amazing play of Dominik Hasek. In 2010, the Czechs are a good team, and Voracek should be a member. He likely will play a third or fourth line role, with the top six wingers likely being Jagr, Hemsky, Prospal and Hejduk/Havlat.

Rostislav Klesla (Czech Replublic) - In a Battle
Rusty is a fringe player in terms of the Olympic team. He does have international experience, but he is in tough this time around. He has to beat out the likes of Kaberle, Kubina, Rozsival, Hamrlik, Spacek and Kuba. It's not completely impossible though, and with the smaller ice a rugged player like Rusty could shine.

Jan Hejda (Czech Republic) - In a Battle
Like Rusty, Jan is fighting for a spot. He's defense-first, which may help him because the guys he is fighting for a spot against are generally puck-moving types. He has international experience, his most recent was at the 2008 Worlds. Given the play of Jaro Spacek, one of Hejda or Klesla could make the squad.

Fedor Tyutin (Russia) - Nearly a Lock
The Russians have scary forwards, plain and simple. They are the most dynamic group in the world, hands down. That said, they don't have spectacular defense. A hybrid defenseman like Tyutin will fit in very well on the Russian squad, and he could see powerplay duty with Sergei Gonchar.

Nikita Filatov (Russia) - In a Battle
Filatov wasn't at the Russians Olympic came this past summer, but he is no doubt still very much on the radar of the National Team. With his recent return to Russia, his stock has certainly risen, but he is still in tough to make the squad, given their amazing talent and depth up front.

R.J. Umberger (United States) - In a Battle
I wanted to include Umby mainly because I believe that it is wrong that he wasn't invited to the Team USA camp. He is a much better player than a handful of guys who did get the invite, but it all has to do with his history with USA GM Brian Burke. Umby didn't sign with Vancouver, who drafted him in the first round when Burke was the GM. This led to bad blood, which has clearly carried over to the Olympics. RJ's play hasn't done much to convince Burke otherwise either.

To finish things off, being a Canadian I am excited as hell to have the Olympics here in my home country. After the disappointment of Torino, I, like every other Canadian, want to see the Gold come back to Canada. Here's my prediction of the Team Canada Olympic Roster:

Rick Nash - Sidney Crosby - Jarome Iginla
Dany Heatley - Ryan Getzlaf - Corey Perry
Brendan Morrow - Mike Richards - Shane Doan
Patrick Marleau - Joe Thornton - Martin St. Louis
Steven Stamkos

HM: Jonathan Toews, Jeff Carter, Vincent Lecavalier, Brad Richards

Chris Pronger - Scott Niedermayer
Dan Boyle - Duncan Keith
Shea Weber - Jay Bouwmeester
Drew Doughty

HM: Brent Seabrook, Mike Green, Stephane Robidas

Roberto Luongo
Martin Brodeur
Marc-Andre Fleury

HM: Marty Turco

Canucks-Avalanche Game Preview

Sean Zandberg — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:00:15 -0000

GAME TIME: 7:00 PST

TV: Sportsnet Pacific

The Enemy: Mile High Hockey

UPDATE: (2:19 PM): The Avalanche will get both John-Michael Liles and TJ Galiardi back into their lineup tonight. Both have missed a fair bit of time. Adam Foote is out with a jaw injury.

UPDATE (12:24 PM): With Daniel Sedin returning to action on Sunday, the Canucks have waived Matt Pettinger. Even so, Pettingzoo will play for the Canucks tonight. Thanks for the fine, hard-nosed work out there, Matt. Appreciated! Good luck to you.

**************************

First the good news: According to the Sun it is official: Daniel Sedin skated for a full practice with his mates on Friday and felt pain-free. That being said, Dank will not play on Friday against Colorado, but is good-to-go for Sunday's game against the pesky Blackhawks. He just needs to get back into game shape. I can't wait. I strongly believe his return will have a positive impact on the whole team as Mike and I alluded to a while ago.

The long layoff has allowed the Flames to play some games and catch up to us as far as games played goes. Now they are only 1 game behind us instead of 3 or 4. They are 1-2 in the 3 bouts played this week while we sat by idly picking the crap from between our teeth.

That's about it for the good news. So let's dig in with the rest!

Alexandre Burrows has been playing with nagging groin and hip flexor issues thanks to a crushing hit from Kings' Drew Doughty on October 29th. Don't remember that hit? Check it out here.

After the Canucks destroyed the Avalanche 8-2 last weekend, Colorado and Craig Anderson responded with a 3-2 win over the Flames 3 days later. Anderson faced 36 shots (typical of the Avalanche) in that one and rebounded masterfully. The next night, Colorado faced the Oilers and put Peter Budaj in net to give Anderson a rest. Budaj faced 33 shots (see a trend there?) and allowed 5 goals against (and the Oilers scored an empty netter) to win that game 6-4. Many pundits are now wondering if it's all downhill for the Avalanche from here. I'm not one of them. I think Anderson is for real.

So now the Canucks get to face a squad that will be thirsty for revenge after the 8-2 slaughter. This after almost a 6 day layoff between games. If Vancouver comes out of the gates slow - which is quite possible - Roberto Luongo is going to have to save them until they get their legs back under them. They will have to get in Anderson's face again like last game. That was so effective.

The pressure continues to mount on Kyle Wellwood who, with Daniel still out, will most likely get another chance as a 2nd line center to break out of his terrible scoring slump.

"Sooner or later he is going to have to produce," Alain Vigneault said Wednesday. "It's a performance-based business and our injuries are coming back . . .Kyle is a bright guy, I know he is very aware of the situation. He knows that not only does he have to play well, there has to be production on his part.

"I'm sure he is aware that he is getting a second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth chance because of our personnel situation. He has to get it done."

There is also heat on the Canucks' defencemen (minus Christian Ehrhoff especially) to start putting up points. It's not necessarily scoring goals, as most team blocks shots like a bunch of kamikaze's nowadays, but to put up assists. Sami Salo risked a potential mouth injury by saying:

"Look at Ryan Johnson. Try to get the puck through him. He throws his head at the puck and those guys [shot-blockers] are the best penalty killers. They sacrifice their bodies -- and I'm not saying they didn't 10 years ago, but it's way more now. If you don't have a shooting lane, you have to shoot the puck short side and that's what we've been doing."

Still though, Sami, you have 20 shots and 2 assists in 14 games played. We need more!

Did you know:

-The Canucks have scored 60 goals this season. The D have contributed 8 to that cause. That's 13.3%

- The Canucks have tallied 104 assists so far. The D have a combined 38 assists. That's 36.5%.

-The defence has contributed 27.9% of the Canucks total points scored.

Last season the defence accounted for:

-15.2% of the team's goals scored.

-32.4% of the overall assists.

-26% of Vancouver's overall points.

Wait a minute...unless my math is off, those numbers are not so far off comparatively. Damn it forwards! Get your shit together!

***Just to throw this out there...some of us like to predict the score of the games here. So I was thinking that we should continue that trend. I'll make a little section on the left sidebar with a leaderboard to see who has the best Nostradamus skills as the year goes along. Bragging rights. Are you in? Keep in mind that nobody gets to pick the same score.

Pyorala Powers Flyers 3-2 Win Over Kings

Ben Rothenberg — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 06:57:20 -0000

More photos » by Mark J. Terrill - AP

about 1 month ago: Los Angeles Kings goalie Jonathan Quick, left, tries to stop a shot by Philadelphia Flyers left wing Daniel Carcillo, right, as Kings' Matt Greene defends during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2009, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

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[Recap] - [Boxscore] - [Complete Coverage] - [LAK Reaction]

These 10:30 PM ET start times are pretty rough. It's already an hour into Thursday here in the East, so I'm going to cut right into the bullet points:

Big Flyers fan presence in LA, as per usual. There was an enormous Flyers flag in the corner to Quick's right throughout the first, and around the rest of the arena there was a ton of visible orange. Good on the Flyers to give the faithful a win.
I'd give Brian Boucher a B+ for his performance in this game, his first win of the season. The first goal he allowed was easily the softest goal a Flyers goalie has let in all year, but he only let in one more after that, making 37 saves on 39 shots. Good numbers, but he looked far from rock solid or even steady for most of the game. But a win is a win is a win.
Speaking of shot totals, the Flyers got absolutely dominated in this category for the first time all year, almost getting doubled up by the count of 39-20, including a ridiculous 21-5 deficit in the third period. For a team that regularly breaks 40 in this category, it came out of nowhere. The Flyers did get a lot of pressure and puts down low in the Kings end, though, so the numbers are a little scarier than the reality was. And the bigger numbers, 3-2, are the ones that matter in the end.
The diving backhand Mika Pyorala netted for his first career goal is the stuff of dreams. He was playing notably better for the rest of the game, hopefully indicating that scoring a goal lifted a big weight off his shoulders and will let him regain the free flowing form he showed in the pre-season.
James van Riemsdyk is looking more and more like a legit threat to win the Calder Trophy with every game. His goal was super aware and super pretty, and he's just generally pretty super. It's been a long time since the Flyers had a guy this great out of the gate, not since Simon Gagne, at least.
Speaking of young guys, that Drew Doughty fellow they've got over there is ridiculous. Glad he's not in the East.
The shot with under 20 seconds left that snuck through Boucher's legs and squeaked along the goal line definitely took years off the life of any Flyers fan watching.
The win was the Flyers' seventh in their last eight games, which is pretty friggin' awesome.
The win also puts the Flyers in sole possession of third in the Atlantic, and only three points behind Pittsburgh with three games in hand.

After the jump, Travis' pregame questions answered, the video highlights from the game, and your comments on the win.

The Flyers have allowed only six goals in the first period, best in the league. The Kings are close though, only allowing 11 in the first period, good for fourth in the league. Does anybody take over the offensive flow early? Los Angeles controlled the offense early and often, outshooting the Flyers 11-6 in the first frame, and 39-20 overall.
How does Randy Jones play in his first game against his old team? Pretty well. He got a couple nice shots off from the point, and handled himself real well in an interview with FSN Los Angeles.
How does Brian Boucher play with something to prove after a terrible first outing? It's been awhile, so is there any rust? He was by no means great, but got the win in the end. Rust definitely looked like a factor, especially on that first goal.
Does David Laliberte come back where he left off last week as an NHLer? Laliberte was fairly invisible for most of the game, but he was during his first stint as well. Ended as a -1, but didn't have too bad of a night out there.

Comment of the Night

Pyro gonna score tonight…hopefully.

>> flyrsfrk05

Highlights:

Return of the King - Hawks 4, Kings 1

McClure — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 07:24:22 -0000

More photos » by Charles Rex Arbogast - AP

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....and I don't mean Raitis Ivanans.For the first time in two and a half weeks, the Hawks had their captain and top center back in the lineup, and it showed. On top of winning 13 of 20 draws, Jonathan Toews added the insurance goal in what ended up as a one-sided (for the last 20 minutes) affair for the Hawks.

The first period started things off at a lively pace, with both teams trading chances and both Jonathan Quick and Cristobal Huet having an answer for all of them. While the Hawks outshot the Kings only by a 13-11 margin, the ice was tilted in the Hawks' favor the majority of the time. These were clearly not the Kings of last year, favoring a more wide-open attack, particularly while boasting the league's leading scorer in Anze Kopitar.

After a scoreless first, John Madden added a tally a little over a minute into the second frame on a backhand that farted through Quick's legs that was on a rush sprung on a rush by Duncan Keith and Troy Brouwer. LA answered about 8 minutes later when Kopitar found himself untouched on Huet's doorstep to pound home a rebound of a Drew Doughty shot after the entirety of the Hawks skaters had collapsed below the top of the rings. Huet made a few key saves to survive what was left of the second, before Patrick Sharp drew an interference call with five seconds left in the period.

On the ensuing power play in the third period, it was Sharp who found himself with time and space walking out from the left half wall to fire a wrist shot at Quick which Troy Brouwer tipped home. A couple minutes later, the Kings again found themselves shorthanded, and Jonathan Toews slid a backhander past quick after finding a loose puck alone in front of the LA net. Andrew Ebbett later netted his first as a Hawk after having a puck redirect into the goal off his nipple on a broken play. From there on out, the Kings never really mounted a threat; Hawks win 4-1.

Even with Bolland out, what a difference having Toews back makes when everyone is skating (for the most part) in their proper roles
The "Versteeg-at-center" experience lasted all of two shifts before Quenneville jumbled the shit out of the lines
Since being called out by this blog, Patrick Sharp has once again been skating like he gives a shit when he's not on Patrick Kane's line.
Good god, two moments of adequacy from the power play!
It's been real nice these past couple of weeks to have Cristobal Huet's play be an afterthought to the rest of the game.
The Hawks' defensive positioning in their own zone is really something to behold these days. At least in that aspect of the game, they're already playing like it's late May.

Player of the Game

Our Boy Troy has worked his ass off for every second of ice time he's sniffed this young season, and he was finally rewarded with significant power play time and a three-point effort. He was the first star as far as the press contingent at the UC was concerned, and he's also our first star here. Well done, sir.

Scenes from the Father-Son Dinner

RudyKelly — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:22:48 -0000

The Kings took their fathers on their road trip to Phoenix this past week, capping off the festivities with a grand dinner for the 16 fathers that were on the trip. I managed to swipe a waiter's outfit and was able to catch a few snippets of conversation. Here are a few things I saw and heard. Oh, and before you read, it'd probably help to read this article, or at least look at the picture.

Tim Stoll (Jarret's Dad): So, Raitis, I'm sorry to hear your dad couldn't end up making it, but I thought he was going to.

Raitis Ivanans: Well, I guess he ran into a little problem at Customs and couldn't get into the country.

Tim Stoll: Really? What happened? Does he have a record or something?

Raitis Ivanans: My dad is actually a bear, so...

Tim Stoll: Oh.

***

Bob Scuderi (Rob's Dad): Hey, Matjaz, your son's really having a great start this year!

Matjaz Kopitar (Figure it Out): Yes, yes, my young apprentice has truly seen the power of the Dark Side.

Bob Scuderi: Yeah he rea- I'm sorry, did you say Dark Side?

Matjaz Kopitar: Yes, he thought I was mistaken but it turned out he was mistaken, about a great many things!

Bob Scuderi: Uh-huh. ...Boy, that's a pretty cool cell phone ya got there, is that one of those Droid things? I thought they weren't supposed to come out for a while?

Matjaz Kopitar: Oh, I'm afraid this cellular phone is quite operational. Now witness the firepower of this fully ARMED and OPERATIONAL phone!

Bob Scuderi: Hey, that's pretty cool!

Matjaz Kopitar: I know, I can even update my Twitter! But now I'm sorry, my pathetic Rebel friend, that the time has come; now you will DIE! Hissssss!!!!

Bob Scuderi: ...Please don't point your fingers at me, Matjaz.

Matjaz Kopitar: Hissssssssss!!!!!!!

Terry Murray: So Alexander, where's your dad, I was kinda hoping to meet him.

Alexander Frolov: *Bursts into tears

Terry Murray: *Slowly backs away

***

Jim Greene (Matt's Dad): So, Cyril, right? What is it you do?

Cyril Simmonds (Wayne's Dad): Well actually, I was a bit of a hockey player myself.

Jim Greene: Really, you're both hockey players?

Wayne Simmonds: That's right, we're black and we're hockey players. Let's not make an issue of it.

Cyril Simmonds: No one's making an issue of it, son, you're making an issue of it.

***

Paul Doughty (Drew's Dad): So son, that redesign of SBNation sure does suck, huh?

Drew Doughty: You said it, Pop.

***

Jack Johnson, Sr.: Finish the rest of that steak, son.

Jack Johnson, Jr.: I don't wanna, Dad, I'm kinda full.

Jack Johnson, Sr.: Whaddaya mean, you're full? No son of mine is going to leave a plate with food on it! C'mon you limp-wristed pussy, eat that steak!

Jack Johnson, Jr.: But Dad, I'm fu-

Jack Johnson, Sr.: *smacks him I said eat it!

Jack Johnson, Jr.: *crying Alright, fine, I'll eat it!

Jack Johnson, Sr.: Atta boy. I don't know what they're teaching you down here, but men from Michigan always finish their plates.

Jack Johnson, Jr.: I hate you, Dad! I hate you! *runs away

***

Bryan Brown: So... how are things?

Dustin Brown: ...Good. Mom?

Bryan Brown: She's fine. Kids?

Dustin Brown: Cool.

Bryan Brown: ...Yep.

Dustin Brown: ...Yep.

*Both drink at the same time

Olympics Watch: Canadians off to hot starts

James Mirtle — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 18:20:46 -0000

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Rather than take a look at the usual suspects for Team Canada at the Olympics, I figured it might be worthwhile to simply look at which Canadian players are impressing in the early going this season. I'll try and get a similar look at some of the other teams up here in the next week or so.

Goal

	Player	Team	GP	GS	W	L	OT	GAA	Sv%
1	Jose Theodore	WSH	8	7	3	2	2	2.47	0.922
2	M-A Fleury	PIT	10	10	9	1	0	2.07	0.921
3	Marty Turco	DAL	9	9	4	2	3	2.26	0.917
4	Chris Mason	STL	7	7	3	3	1	2.69	0.913
5	Martin Brodeur	NJD	10	10	6	4	0	2.57	0.909
6	D. Roloson	NYI	6	6	2	1	3	2.96	0.906
7	Ray Emery	PHI	9	9	5	3	1	2.62	0.906
8	Cam Ward	CAR	11	11	2	6	3	2.89	0.905
9	Pascal Leclaire	OTT	8	8	4	2	1	2.72	0.902
10	R. Luongo	VAN	12	12	6	6	0	2.79	0.902

Something tells me Jose Theodore's going to be out of luck when it comes time to pick the team in December, but Marc-Andre Fleury is getting a lot of attention so far given his Cup-winning performance in the spring. He's the favourite to join Marty Brodeur and Roberto Luongo, if he's healthy, on the team.

Defence

	Player	Team	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-
1	Dan Boyle	SJS	13	2	11	13	1
2	Michael Del Zotto	NYR	13	4	8	12	4
3	Drew Doughty	LAK	14	2	10	12	2
4	Mike Green	WSH	12	2	8	10	5
5	Ed Jovanovski	PHX	12	4	6	10	3
6	Dion Phaneuf	CGY	11	5	4	9	0
7	Kyle Quincey	COL	13	2	6	8	6
8	Duncan Keith	CHI	12	3	5	8	5
9	Jason Demers	SJS	13	0	8	8	5
10	Chris Pronger	PHI	10	2	6	8	4
11	Shea Weber	NSH	12	4	4	8	2

Perhaps the most interesting name here is Doughty, who has picked up his game from where he was last season as a rookie. If not these Olympics, he looks like he'll be there down the road (assuming NHLers go).

Boyle, meanwhile, is playing his way onto the team, even while playing with a broken thumb, while players like Keith and Weber continue to make their case. Picking the blueline won't be easy for the Team Canada brass given Phaneuf, Jay Bouwmeester, Robyn Regehr and Scott Niedermayer are in the running, too.

Forward

	Player	Team	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PPG	+/-
1	Brad Richards	DAL	C	10	5	10	15	1.50	7
2	Dustin Penner	EDM	R	13	9	10	19	1.46	9
3	S. Stamkos	TBL	C	10	9	5	14	1.40	3
4	Martin St. Louis	TBL	R	10	3	11	14	1.40	-3
5	Rick Nash	CBJ	R	11	6	9	15	1.36	-2
6	Patrick Marleau	SJS	C	13	10	7	17	1.31	3
7	Joe Thornton	SJS	C	13	3	14	17	1.31	-3
8	Rene Bourque	CGY	L	11	5	9	14	1.27	-2
9	Rich Peverley	ATL	C	9	5	6	11	1.22	1
10	Sidney Crosby	PIT	C	12	9	5	14	1.17	9
11	James Neal	DAL	L	12	7	7	14	1.17	7
12	Dany Heatley	SJS	L	13	8	7	15	1.15	-2
13	J.P. Dumont	NSH	R	8	3	6	9	1.12	2
14	Corey Perry	ANA	R	10	5	6	11	1.10	-1
15	Mike Richards	PHI	C	10	6	5	11	1.10	-3
16	Ryan Smyth	LAK	L	14	6	9	15	1.07	3

More interesting names. Do you take, for example, Steve Stamkos, even though he wasn't at the orientation camp? Have Brad Richards and Patrick Marleau worked themselves into the equation? And do you bring back that old standby, Captain Canada, after his hot start with the Kings?

Needless to say, it's going to be incredibly interesting who they take, as some previously unheralded candidates are making strong cases so far. It's still early, but then again, they have to pick this team in another six or seven weeks, so I imagine they're keeping an eye on this, just as we are.

I've bolded the players listed who I think are strong candidates to make the team.