The Rest of the Draft 2010

Draft day has come and gone and we have a bunch of new baby birds in the nest! I've been out of touch with the hockey world lately with my 9 year old niece in town. I'm not sure why I am bothering to do this since there have been 20 put out already. I got a lot from it last season, even if no one else did so I decided to go ahead. We know about Alexcander Burmistrov, Atlanta's first round pick of the 2010 draft, let's learn some more about the rest of our new guys!

Julian Melchiori (D)
Richmond Hill, Ontario
6'3 186 lbs
3rd round, 87th overall


Julian moved up in the draft 16 spots from what he was ranked mid-term. In the 2009-10 season, Julian played for the New Market Hurricanes of the CCHL. Julian is a big strong skater. Though he is defensive minded, he can chip-in offensively. He will be heading to college next year, attending University of Massachusetts-Lowell.


Interesting fact about Julian, his uncle is Mike Murphy, former NHL player, coach and current NHL vice-president of hockey operations.


You can see Julian talking about being a Thrasher here:



Ivan Telegin(C)
Novokuznetsk, Russia
6'2'' 194 lbs
4th Round, 101 overall

In the 4th round, the Thrashers took another Russian! Ivan led all Spirit rookies with 26 goals and 44 points in 51 games in 2009-10. His coach calls him "Drago." You kids of the 80's will remember that as the name of the large frightening Russian that Rocky fought in Rocky IV. Ivan isn't as nasty as Ivan Drago from the film, but he's got some good size on him. One scout said:

"He's a big, strong kid who is really good on the cycle. He's not afraid to stand in front of the net and take abuse and tip pucks. There's a lot of Michal Handzus to his game."

He is not very defensively aware and is expected to play wing at the highest level.
He was rated 33rd in North American skaters in Central Scouting's final rankings. Hockey's Future expects him to be a second or third liner in the NHL and says that though he has good size and skates fairly well, he is not as dynamic as the stereotypical Russian forward.



Fredrik Pettersson-Wentzel(G)
Uppsala, Sweden
6'1" 169lbs
5th Round, 128th overall


Woo Hoo! A subject near and dear to my heart, Swedish Goalies! Thank you, Thrashers! Fredrik was the top-ranked Swedish netminder available for selection in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, and was rated second among European goaltenders in Central Scouting's final rankings.
He plays for Almtuna, in the Allsvenskan League. Last season Fredrik, posted a 1.85 GAA (best in the league) and .924 save percentage in 37 games. Fredrik was not on the midterm rankings list, so congrats on having a great last part of the season and playoff performance.
Scouts say he has a very projectable frame but will need to add more muscle mass in the coming years in order to maximize his prospect potential.



Yasin Cisse (pronounced See-Say) (RW)
Westmount, Quebec
6'3" 210lbs
5th Round, 150 overall

Wild Card! Yasin spent the last 2 seasons with the Des Moines Buccaneers of the USHL where he played in 18 games racking up 19 points with 13 goals and 6 assists before he had a season ending injury (torn tendon in his ankle). Scouts say he has great size and plenty of power-forward potential, but injuries are a concern. He has committed to attend Boston University in either 2010-11 or 2011-12.


In 2009, Yassin scored a hat trick, you can see it here:


Kendall McFaull (pronounced Mic-Fall) (D)
Rosetown, Saskatchewan
6'2" 187lbs
6th Round, 155th overall

As a WHL rookie in 2009-10, Kendall produced 10 points, a plus-1 rating and 70 penalty minutes for the Warriors. He is an aggressive defenseman with a very projectable frame and some shutdown upside. He is willing to block shots and can play a steady game from the back end. He was rated 71st among North American skaters in Central Scouting's final rankings, 22 spots higher than in their mid-season rankings. Some scouts think he lacks high-end skill.

I looked up McFaull on youtube and immediately found several fights. Our boy can be a brawler!



Tanner Lane (C)
Detroit Lakes, Minnesota
6'2'' 172lbs
6th Round, 160th overall
Tanner has been playing for the Detroit Lake Lakers of the USHS league. In the opening two weeks of the 2009-10 season, Tanner had 10 goals in 4 games! According to his coach, Lane has “great size, speed and hands. He uses all these things to his advantage, especially in one-on-one battles. His work ethic is second to none, which makes him a dynamic player when you combine his skill with his determination.”

You can read a Q&A with Tanner here:
http://www.mnhockeyhub.com/news_article/show/39453?referrer_id=52175




Sebastian Owuya (D)
Stockholm, Sweden
6'3'' 201lbs
6th Round, 169th overall

Are you sitting down?? The Thrashers have drafted a black Swedish defenceman...and his last name is Owuya. SERIOUSLY?? How cool would it be if Oduya and Owuya ever got to play together?? So back to Sebastian...he is a big and strong defensive defenseman. Very solid. Good positioning. Somewhat limited offensive awareness, but a good team player that can play the body well. Does a good job in front of the crease.

Another cool thing about Sebastian...he has a brother who is a goalie!!! Okay, that's enough cool points to rock my world, but add on top of that, his brother Mark fancies himself a rapper! Check it out:



Peter Stoykewych (D)
Winnipeg, Manitoba
6'3'' 188lbs
7th Round, 199 overall

Peter played with the Winnipeg South Blues of the MJHL for the last two seasons and is expected to head to Colorado College next season.

Sorry for the lack up updates!

My niece is visiting from Connecticut so I've been preoccupied. I had to take her with me to the draft party. As you can tell from the picture below, she was very excited.

Actually she was VERY good and found some friends to play with. Hope to get back to more posting soon!

Welcome to Blueland, Alex Burmistrov!

With their first round draft pick Atlanta has chosen from the Barrie Colts, center Alex Burmistrov. Alex could be the play making center that we've lacked since Marc Savard left. He's a hard worker and has lots of speed and talent. He's also very competitive and has good hockey sense. Alex's role model is Pavel Datsyuk and he hopes to play like him. He is already being compared to Max Afinogenov.

The one knock on him is is size. He's listed at 160, but that's being generous. One scout said:

"You have to see this kid in his UnderArmour to understand what he needs to do." I don't care how dynamic you are, he's 146lbs and he's built like Gilligan. But I love his compete level."

Another worry is his nationality. With no agreements in place with the KHL, teams are sometimes hesitant to draft Russians. The Alexander Radulov saga with Nashville is still fresh in some minds. Thrasher fans have also been through some Russian turmoil with Ilya Nikulin. TSN had a video about the possibility of Burmistrov heading for the homeland and the KHL:


Alex put fears at rest by saying he hates the KHL, it's a league for old men and it's not for him! Let's hope not. I can't wait to see Alex at prospect camp.

More Action! Thrashers to Name Coach and Assistant Coach

TSN is reporting that the Thrashers will be naming Craig Ramsay as the head coach and John Torchetti as the assistant coach.

http://www.tsn.ca/story/?id=325516

Dustin Byfuglien Deal Update...throw in the Crabber

Well the Byfuglien deal is official! There is one more person the Thrashers is losing though, Joey Crabb! We didn't see much of Joey this season, but he played 29 games with us last season (2008-09)


So the final deal stands as Marty Reasoner, prospect Jeremy Morin, Joey Crabb, a first round pick from the Devils (thanks Kovy) 24th overall, and a 2nd round pick (54th overall) also from the Devils to Chicago. In return we get Dustin Byfuglien, Ben Eager, Brent Soppel and prospect Akim Ailu.


Good luck, Joey! You will be missed.

The 2010 NHL Awards

The NHL Awards were tonight and I was super excited as always to see them. Of course in the middle of summer I am always excited to see anything hockey related. The awards were once again held in Las Vegas. The NHL tried to add a bit of flavor this year with a comedian host, a few bands and various entertainers as presenters. Some were okay, some were just FAILs.

1. Fuck Jay Mohr.

Seriously, who hired this asshole? He's said on several occasions that he didn't like hockey.
One jack ass comment from Fox Sports:

Hockey sucks too. I can’t root for a guy whose name on the back of his jersey has no vowels. I also don’t think a sport is legitimate if its inception depended on the weather.

Trying to be funny again...TRYING being the key word.
Another quote from an interview with Jets Insider:

I love the Yankees. I've never been into hockey and sadly I'm a Knicks fan.

More good times from when he was a columnist at SI:

I am frequently asked who my favorite teams are, and I always give the same response: "Yankees, Knicks, Jets and screw hockey."

Screw hockey? Fuck you Jay Mohr, you are now on my Tiger Woods list of celebs that talk shit about hockey. You can read a full article on Puck Daddy about this:
http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/NHL-hires-comedian-Jay-Hockey-Sucks-Mohr-to-ho?urn=nhl,248992

2. Snoop D-O-double G.
Win! I love Snoop even if he IS a bit of a whore lately. And hey, at least it wasn't Chakka Khan again.



3. And the award for "WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT" goes to....
Seriously? Cirque du Soliel, the Beatles version? Yeah, I know it's in Vegas, but so were Siegfried and Roy and nobody brought white tigers on stage. They couldn't even come up with some kind of hockey themed version of flipping and spinning?




4. Absolute epic win! The NHL should have more stuff like this and less bullshit comedians.


Okay, so let's get to some winners!

Martin St. Louis finally won the Lady Byng.



No surprise to see Ryan Miller take home the Vezina Award.



Tyler Myers took home the Calder Trophy after a great season in Buffalo.



Pavel Datsyuk won the Selke award. He should get an award for adorably slaughtering the English language. (is this REALLY the best picture I could find of him??)



What will losing seven teeth get you? Well if you are Duncan Keith, it will get you a Stanley Cup and the Norris Trophy.



Jose Theodore emotionally accepted the Masterton award. Almost a year ago to the day Jose's son was born prematurely. He later died of respiratory complications due to being born premature. Jose set up the charity "Saves for Kids" to benefit the NICU where he was treated.



Saving the best for last, Henrik Sedin took home the Hart Trophy!


Dave Tippet won the Jack Adams Trophy, but I didn't have a pic.

Congrats to all the winners, including a few not listed.

Big Buff is Coming to Atlanta

Welcome to Atlanta, Byfuglien!!!!!!! Oh yeah, and the others as well. I'm thrilled to have all of the new Thrashers, but if you follow this blog, you know I am a HUGE Buff fan...and he's mine(ours) now!!! Did you hear that? That sound is Roberto Luongo saying prayers of thanks.


In this trade Atlanta gets Dustin Byfuglien, Ben Eager, Brent Soppel and prospect Akem Ailu.


Now for the sad part :(

We traded Marty Reasoner. I love Marty Reasoner. He's awesome. I was thinking he might make a nice captain. Farewell Marty, you will always have fans here.



Also lost in this trade is Jeremy Morin. While I feel sad to see Marty go because I like him, I'm sad to see Morin go because I think he's got a good future. He had a great season and helped lead Team USA to a gold medal in the World Juniors.

Thrashers Year Book: Ron Hainsey

For this week's edition of Thrashers Year Book, I've rounded up my favorite pictures of Atlanta Thrasher's Defenseman, Ron Hainsey. Kerry, you are welcome!


Ron waiting for Casino Night festivities to begin.



Ron loved clearing the pucks out of the net during warm ups this season. Unfortunately there were a few times he actually caused the puck to go INTO our net. Over all though, Ron had a much better season. He was downright awesome when pared with Johnny Oduya.



Warm Ups



Practicing Dman stuff during a road trip to Nashville.



More net clearing.



Taking a few shots on net.



Hainsey helps Moose tell Blake Wheeler "NO!"



Moose and Hainsey have a discussion.



Hainsey hard at work.



Same opponent, different game! Hainsey helps Pavs defend the net against the Bruins.



Hainsey in front of the net.



During one of the Pre Season Prospect Games, Hainsey and Eric Boulton came to watch. Boultsie brought his boys. When one needed to go potty (I'm assuming that is why they left for a few minutes) Uncle Ronsey helped out.



Ron signing autographs in the parking lot. He was driving a blue Hummer for a while. Now he has a hot little Ferrari. During training camp I almost ran over one of the prospects because I was trying to wedge between Hainsey's Hummer and Pavs' Saab.



Ron has crazy puck eyes.



Ron at the final game "Shirt Off Of Our Backs."


I took this picture, but not with my camera. Kerry and his favorite player!



I love this picture because it's right before the above-picture was taken. Kerry motioned for Ron to come over...and he actually did!! Ron Hainsey Rocks!!!

The 2010-11 Schedule is up!

And I think it sucks. You can see it here:
http://thrashers.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=532288&navid=DL|ATL|home

What jumps out at me:

1. After opening night, we have to wait almost 3 weeks for another home game.
2. No exciting western opponents. I love seeing teams we don't get to see much, Detroit, St. Louis, Columbus, Nashville and Colorado do not count. Here is Vancouver? How about the Ducks again?
3. No possibility of a big Nasvhille Road Trip.

One good thing, seems to be more weekend games. What do you guys think? Like or Dislike?

Super Star Tuesday: Martin Biron

Since I featured Dwayne Roloson I thought I would feature his co-netminder from last season, Marty Biron, in Super Star Tuesday. I've always loved Marty, okay most of it is because of his amazing eyes. The other part is because he's a chatty goalie.


It was starting to look like I'd never get to take pictures of Marty actually playing. In the 2008-09 season, he was with the Philadelphia Flyers, his back up was Antero Niittymaki. If there is one thing that is certain, if Niitty is with a team against the Thrashers, he's gonna play. He has a career 16-0 record against the Thrashers. When the Islanders came to town, I was hoping I'd get to see Marty play, but alas Roli was in net. When they came through again, Roli started. UGH! Well we chased Roli from the net pretty early and in came Biron! FINALLY! So I went over board with pictures on this post.




Marty catching up with his old friend, Eric Boulton (they played in Buffalo together)





Marty and his stick.





A nice shot of his gorgeous eyes.





An even better shot.





Marty looking confused.





Seeing some shots.





Seeing some rubber.





Catching up with another Buffalo buddy, Max Afinogenov.





More net time.





Coming out of the crease.





Finally! Marty in the net.





Even from a distance you can see his eyes.





More action.





Marty tracking the puck.





Thank the post later Marty, that didn't go in.





Deflecting one off to the side.





Preventing Army from getting one in the net.