Blueland Guest Goalie: Goalie Gumbo, Back Up Special!

Still haven't completed the retrieval of my pictures off of my old hard drive, so once again, I've 1/2 assed some pictures together for another post!


Today is Labor Day so I thought it would be a good idea to take a look at some of the hardest working guys in the NHL, some unsung heroes, back up goalies. Some back up goalies get a lot more work than others, but regardless, it's an important role. Whether you get a steady 30+ games a season or barely hit the ice, the back up goalie plays an integral part on the team. You know I love back ups, my favorite player in the NHL, Johan Hedberg, is a back up.


It's a pretty well known fact that if you are backing up New Jersey's Marty Brodeur, you need to get comfortable on the bench. Marty likes to play, and being that he's one of the best goalies to ever hit the ice, he gets his wish. In the 2008-09 season Marty went down with a bizarre elbow injury and was going to miss most of the season. Back up Kevin Weekes was given the opportunity to carry the team, it didn't work out. The Devils' AHL goalie, Scott Clemmensen, was called up and he ran away with the season. When Marty came back late in the season the Devils showed Scott their appreciation by...sending him back to the AHL. WTF?? Fortunately Scott's excellent play caught the attention of the Florida Panthers and on July 1, 2009 he signed a 3 year contract with the Panthers.



Scott Lee Clemmensen was born on July 23, 1977 in Des Moines, Iowa. Scott is the first person born in Iowa to play in the NHL. Scott took the college route to the NHL playing 4 seasons with Boston College. Clemmensen earned Hockey East All-Rookie Team honors in 1997-98 and league All-Tournament Team accolades in 1999 and 2001. He backstopped Boston College to Hockey East Tournament titles three times - in 1998, 1999 and 2001. In the 1997 NHL Entry Draft, Scott was selected in the 8th round (215th overall) by the New Jersey Devils.



On January 20, 2004, Scott made his NHL debut against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Scott spent 6 seasons in the Devils system playing for the Albany River Rats, The New Jersey Devils and the Lowell Devils.



In 2007 Scott got a taste of non-Jersey NHL hockey for the first time when as an unrestricted free agent he signed a one year contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Again, Scott spent most of his time in the AHL with the Marlies.



The next season Scott once again signed with the Devils. It looked like it was going to be another season as usual for Scott, playing most of his games in the AHL. Then on December 1, 2008 in a game against the Atlanta Thrashers, Marty Brodeur went down with the infamous "bruised elbow." Scott was called up and played so well that he signed his contract with Florida the next season.


Mathieu Garon - St. Louis Blues


Garon caught my eye when he was with the Penguins, basically because he's hot. Then I saw this:

Wowzers. Garon came through the with the Blue Jackets in November of 2009 when the Jackets beat the Thrashers 4 to 3.


Mathieu was born on January 9, 1978 in Chandler, Quebec. He started his pro career in 1995 in the QMJHL with the Victoriaville Tigres. In the 1996 NHL Entry Draft, Mathieu was drafted in the 2nd round (44th overall) by the Montreal Canadiens.



On October 6, 2000, Mathieu made his NHL debut in a relief appearance against the New Jersey Devils. Though Mathieu was in the Canadiens system for 6 seasons, he only saw action in 43 NHL games, spending most of him time in the AHL. One fun statistic..On November 23, 2000 Garon got his first NHL shut out...against the Atlanta Thrashers!



In 2004, Mathieu was traded (with a 3rd round pick) to the LA Kings for Radek Bonk and Cristobal Huet. During the lockout of the 2004-05 season, Garon played in the NHL for the Manchester Monarchs. Garon played the next 2 seasons with the LA Kings.



In July of 2007 Garon became a free agent and was signed by the Edmonton Oilers. Garon put up good numbers and took the starting job away from Dwayne Roloson. After suffering an ankle injury late in the season, Rollie took over again. The 2007-08 season was a good one for Garon, he was the top shoot out goalie in the league. He stopped 30 of 32 shoot out attempts for a perfect 10-0.



In January 2009 in a very fortunate (for Mathieu) trade, Garon was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins who would later win the Stanley Cup that season. Garon only appeared in 4 regular season games, but did appear in a play off game when he had to replace Fleury in that disastrous game 5. Fleury gave up 5 goals, Garon did not give up any. That summer Mathieu signed a 2 year deal with the Columbus Blue Jackets.



Ty Conklin - St. Louis Blues
Conks is arguably the best back up out there today, except Moose of course :) He is a true journeyman, having played for six NHL teams. He also holds the distinction of having played in three of the four outdoor games held by the NHL.

• He was in net for the Edmonton Oilers when they lost to the Canadiens, 4-3 in the Heritage Classic on November 22, 2003.
• He was the goaltender for the Pittsburgh Penguins in their 2–1 shootout victory over the Sabres in the 2008 Winter Classic.
• Thanks to Chris Osgood having a groin injury, he was in goal for the Detroit Red Wings' 6–4 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2009 Winter Classic. After allowing three goals in the first period, he shut out the Blackhawks for nearly forty minutes, before yielding a goal with ten seconds left in the game.

When asked about participating in these historic games, Conks said:

“I count myself very lucky," he said of the opportunity. "There’s not a guy in this league who wouldn’t like to play in these games.”

Ty Curtis Conklin was born on March 30, 1976 in Phoenix, Arizona. Ty grew up in Anchorage, Alaska and an early recruit and graduate of the now-famed Minnesota hockey prep school, Shattuck-St.Mary's. Later, he played in the United States Hockey League, seeing some time with the Green Bay Gamblers.



Ty decided to get his learn on and started the 1998-1999 season with University of New Hampshire. Conks had a remarkable college career.

• Named captain of the UNH Wildcats, October 5, 2000
• Elected by his teammates, he was the first goaltender to captain the Wildcats since 1961
• NCAA East First All-American Team, 2001
• NCAA East Second All-American Team, 2000
• Top Ten finalist for the Hobey Baker award
• Left the University of New Hampshire holding eight goaltending records

Despite having a fantastic college career, Conks went undrafted. A self described "late bloomer" he spent his draft eligible years off of the radar in either post-graduate at Shattuck or his time with Green Bay. On April 18, 2000 Ty was signed as a free agent by the Edmonton Oilers.



Conks spent most of his first two seasons in the AHL playing for the Oilers affiliate (shared with Montreal), the Hamilton Bulldogs. While there he played in the longest game in AHL history against the Houston Aeros. This quadruple over time game went for 134 minute and 56 seconds. That night Ty also set the records for most saves in a game by making 83 saves in their 2-1 win over the Aeros.



In 2006 Conks signed as an unrestricted free agents with the Blue Jackets, but was traded to Buffalo in the same season. In 2007, Conks signed a one year contract with Pittsburgh, and the next season a one year contract with Detroit. Ty found a little bit more stability the next season when in 2009 he signed a two year contract with St. Louis...again!


Good luck Ty! It's always a pleasure to watch you play.


Conks also has a nasty Lady Gaga habit that I totally support!

Puck Tracks Episode 7: Ty Conklin from Greg Wyshynski on Vimeo.

Blueland Guest Goalie: Goalie Gumbo

The summer is mercifully coming to an end, but I still have about 6 weeks before training camp, longer before the season starts. I have 5 goalies left with enough pictures to do a full focus on. So I decided to take some of the goalies I had a few pics of, but not enough for a full focus and do a "goalie gumbo." Kind of a hodge-podge of a few goalies.

First up, Jose Theodore of the Washington Capitals. It's a shame I don't have more pics of him, he's smoking hot.




Jose Theodore
Jose Nicholas Theodore was born on September 13, 1976 in Laval, Quebec. He played his junior hockey in the QMJHL (St. Jean Lynx and Hull Olympiques). In the 1994 NHL Entry Draft, Jose was drafted in the second round (44th overall) by the Montreal Canadiens. Jose came to the Canadiens full time in 1999. Originally sharing starting duties with Jeff Hacket, by his second season he had stolen the spotlight. Jose emerged as a world class goalie in 2001-02 with a 30-24-1 record, 2.11 GAA and .931 SV% and also winning the Vezina and the Hart Memorial Trophy. It was kind of all down hill after that as his numbers declined. In 2006 he was traded to the Colorado Avalanche.

At the time of the trade, Jose was injured, but managed to play 5 games. The numbers from those games combined with his stats from the Canadiens that year gave him the lowest GAA of his career. Even with those stats, he was designated as the starting goalie for Colorado for the 2006-07 season. Theodore's play did not see much improvement the following season, in 2006–07, as he lost the starting role to Peter Budaj with a 13-15-1 record, 3.26 GAA and .891 save percentage. He saw a resurgence in 2007–08, however, and re-assumed the starting role with a 2.40 GAA and .910 save percentage.

Jose left the Avalanche during the off season and signed with the Washington Capitals. Washington had tons of young talent and together with Jose, they grabbed the division title and entered the 2009 playoffs in the second seed. Jose was pulled for Simeon Varlamov after letting in 4 goals in a game one loss to New York.

Some fun stuff about Jose:

* he's hot

* During a game on January 2, 2001, Theodore became the sixth goaltender to directly score a goal when he attempted to clear the puck from the defensive zone against the New York Islanders and scored into the empty net, which was vacated by John Vanbiesbrouck for the extra attacker. He also became just the second goaltender to score a goal and record a shutout in the same game, as the Canadiens beat the Islanders 3–0
* In 2006 Jose flunked a drug test. No he wasn't partying...he was trying to do something about his bald spot (you don't have one! You look fine! Ryan Getzlaff should be taking something, not you). Apparently Jose was taking propecia, which contains the drug Finasteride which can be used as a masking agent for the performance enhancing drug Nandrolone. Jose didn't face any trouble with the NHL as he had applied for and recieved a therapeutic use exception. He was banned from international competition for 2 years.

Jose has been struggling and I wish him the best. I'd love to see him recapture some glory. I'm always pulling for the goalie!

------------------------------------------------------

Joey MacDonald

Joey was born on February 7, 1980 in Pictou, Nova Scotia. Joey started his junior hockey with the Halifax Mooseheads of the QMJHL, but played the remaining 3 seasons for the OHL's Peterborough Petes. Joey was undrafted and spent a season in the ECHL before being picked up as a free agent by the Detroit Red Wings on January 15, 2002. Joey spent 4 season with Detroit's AHL Affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins. In the 2006-07 season, he did make 8 appearances with the Red Wings.

The 2006-07 saw Joey bouncing around between Detroit and the AHL before Boston claimed him on waivers on February 24, 2007. Later that year on July 5, 2007 the New York Islanders signed him as an unrestricted free agent.

Joey spent most of the 2007-08 season with the Islanders' AHL affiliate, The Bridgeport Sound Tigers, but did play 2 games with the Islanders. In 2008-09 with the Islanders' super star, super (SUPER) hot goalie, Rick DiPietro was still out with injuries, Joey was called on to pretty much be the starter for the Islanders. The Islanders had an ABYSMAL season (hello Tavares). This (of course) can't be all blamed on Joey Mac.

Joey became a UFA this summer. Good luck to you, Joey!

----------------------------------------------------

Cam Ward

I will never have good pictures of Cam Ward because I'll never go take pictures on that side because...well because they are Carolina and while there are teams I dislike more than them, my Thrashers aren't one of them.

I'm still sickened about the Playoffs for my Bruins and Devils thanks to Cam and his Canes.

Cam Ward is a goalie phenom who exploded on the scene winning the Conn Smythe and whose play is still fantastic. Yeah, he plays his ass off.

Cam Ward is smoking hot. I mean hey, even though I curse him he was in the Top 5 of my hottest goalies.

Cam Ward you ruined my playoff dreams, fuck you.

blah blah, okay okay...I never really HATE any goalies, but Cam is about as close as it comes. I mean come on, I'm a goalie girl and he's a fantastic hot goalie.

So blah blah junior hockey blah blah Red Deer Rebels for 4 seasons. A season with the Lowell Lock Monsters, yack yack. Hello Hurricanes and Stanley cup.

NEXT

-------------------------------------------------------

Ryan Miller

Oh Ryan, how I want to like you. You have the nicest emo hair and you are really cute AND you like photography. You are also a good goalie and you made a funny commercial. You are the perfect man for me. Too bad you play for Buffalo. Actually it's not Buffalo I have a problem with , it's their fans that tend to show up at our arena. COMPLETE ASSHOLES. And before you start defending yourselves...BULLSHIT.




Ryan Miller was born on July 17, 1980 in East Lansing, Michigan (Go USA!). Ryan got his learn on and played hockey for Michigan State University. In the 1999 NHL Entry Draft, Ryan was selected in the 5th round (138th overall) by the Buffalo Sabres.

After three seasons with Michigan State, Miller moved to the American Hockey League, where he played for the Sabres affiliate the Rochester Americans in 2002–03. During that season he played 15 regular season games for Buffalo. He has spent most of his career as the starting goalie for the Americans winning 41 games and tying Gerry Cheevers' record. By the end of the 2005-06 season, Ryan had won the starting position with Buffalo.

At the beginning of the 2006-07 season, Ryan showed why he had the starting position. Miller and his team (yeah I guess they helped) won the first 10 games in a row. Miller was voted in as the starting goalie for the East at the 2007 NHL All Star game. In 63 games, Miller posted a 0.911 SVP and a 2.73 GAA. Ryan led his team to the conference finals that year. The Sabres didn't make the playoffs for the 2007-08 season, but Ryans numbers were good with a 2.53 GAA and a .918 SV%

My favorite thing about Ryan Miller is the back of his mask. It says "Matt Man" on the back in remembrance of his cousin who battled cancer. In a game on October 11, 2007, that I don't mind we lost, the Sabres beat the Atlanta Thrashers 6-0 (ouch) in the first game of their season. Ryan got a shutout in the game which was played only a few days after his cousin Matt died due to complications that arose from a bone marrow transplant.

Ryan also owns a clothing store in Michigan. Check it out if you have $300 to drop on some jeans: http://www.shoptherefinery.com/

Ryan and his dad also started a charity to help families dealing with cancer: http://thesteadfastfoundation.com/

What a sweetie!

So...what do you think of the goalie gumbo? It's hard for me to condense some info down, especially for Jose when there is a ton of info.