Let's Meet Our New Thrashers!

Kovy is gone and that is sad. We will miss him. We have some new guys though, so let's meet them.


First we have Nicklas Bergfors. Nicklas was born in Södertälje, Sweden in 1987. The 22 year old right winger was the first round draft pick for the New Jersey Devils in 2005, chosen 23rd over all. He also represented Sweden in 2006 in the World Junior Championship. This year, Nicklas has played in 54 games for the Devils and has scored 13 goals and 14 assists.

Hockey's Future said this about Nicklas:

Bergfors is a well rounded player, and is more than willing to compete hard at both ends of the rink, a trait that is quite important for a player that gets drafted into the Devils organization. Bergfors sees the ice very well, possessing above average hockey sense that keeps him one step ahead of everyone else. He is a responsible defensive player and is not afraid to play physical style of game. His overall offensive skill set is impressive as Bergfors has great speed, agility and stick handling ability. Add in the fact that he is tough to knock off the puck and you have a player that is able to create a lot for his teammates and for himself in the offensive zone. Bergfors is equally adept at setting up as he is finishing as he has a good shooting arsenal and touch around the goal.

You can read more here:
http://www.hockeysfuture.com/prospects/niklas_bergfors





What I am most excited about is Johnny Oduya...or as I sometimes refer to him, Swedish Hot Chocolate. Yum! I became a big fan of his 2 years ago when I couldn't hear his name without laughing. What a great last name. Plus, he wears my favorite number, 29.
Johnny is also Swedish (his dad is Kenyan), he was born in Stockholm in 1981. The 28 year old defenseman was drafted in the 7th round of the NHL draft, 221st overall by the Washington Capitals. According to Hockeydraft.ca:

At 6 feet tall and 200 pounds, Oduya is an aggressive, puck-moving defenseman who displays strong offensive skills. On the other hand, he needs to avoid making defensive mistakes and make better offensive decisions if he wants to thrive as a top six defenseman.

Johnny has struggled this season with the Devils. He has played 40 games with the Devils this season so far and has 2 goals, 2 assists and is a +2. Compare this to last season when in 82 games he had 7 goals, 22 assists and finished the season at a +21! Maybe Johnny can get his groove back in Atlanta!





Another great thing about Johnny...he grows a great play off beard!


The third player we received for Kovalchuk is prospect Patrice Cormier


You might remember Patrice from the World Juniors this year when he put a nasty elbow on Anton Rodin of Team Sweden while going to the bench.


What he's really become known for lately is this savage hit on Mikael Tam of the Quebec Remparts. This little infraction got him suspended for the rest of the season from the QMJHL.


I wonder what we can do with Cormier at the moment. He's too young to go to the AHL.

We also received a first round draft pick from the New Jersey Devils. With the way they are playing this year, that will be like 30th overall.

So there are our news guys, make them feel welcome!