sport-scan daily brief - nhl.compenguins.nhl.com/v2/ext/media/pdf/10 14 2012.pdfsport-scan daily...

SPORT-SCAN DAILY BRIEF NHL 10/14/2012

Chicago Blackhawks 642262 Wolves tip IceHogs 1-0 in shootout 642263 Befitting honor of a lifetime for Olczyk 642264 Wolves’ opening victory has big Blackhawks presence 642265 IceHogs, full of Hawks, shut out in season opener 642266 McDonough gets Salute to Leadership Award from USO of

Illinois 642267 UC dark on what should have been Hawks' opener

Colorado Avalanche 642268 Adam Foote's work with ice hockey never done

Dallas Stars 642269 Gary Bettman, NHL gambling that fans will return after

second lockout 642270 NHL labor talks might resume Tuesday

Detroit Red Wings 642271 Brandstatter learned about hockey from Lynch 642272 Family, friends pay respects to Red Wings legend Budd

Lynch; funeral service today 642273 Hundreds bid farewell to Red Wings announcer Budd Lynch

at funeral 642274 Friends, family pay final respects to Budd Lynch at funeral of

Red Wings legendary announcer 642275 All quiet on the hockey front 4 weeks into lockout

Edmonton Oilers 642276 Oklahoma City Barons redeem themselves in rematch

Minnesota Wild 642277 Reusse: NHL lockout leaves void for St. Paul businesses,

too 642278 Chart: What we've missed so far during NHL lockout

Nashville Predators 642279 Nashville Predators fans wait and wait

NHL 642280 Cleveland’s rich NHL history often forgotten 642281 NHL-ready Markham arena could turn into space of empty

threats

Ottawa Senators 642282 While millionaires and billionaires squabble over NHL fans’

hard-earned money 642283 Swedish trio propels Binghamton Senators to win on

opening night

Philadelphia Flyers 642284 Inside the Flyers: Flyers fans remaining loyal despite lockout 642285 No Flyers, Penguins? Penn State hockey makes its long-

awaited debut 642286 NHL Notes: Russian stars may stay in KHL 642287 Giroux & Briere shine in debuts in Germany 642288 Zolnierczyk making the best of AHL stint 642289 Callahan: NHL players cause hardships overseas

Pittsburgh Penguins 642290 Crosby sees greatness 642291 NHL labor talks could resume Tuesday 642292 Pittsburgh Penguins: Junior passion

Tampa Bay Lightning 642293 Possible stadium site? Bolts owner buys land near Forum

Toronto Maple Leafs 642294 NHL prospects: Ottawa 67’s co-captain Sean Monahan

embraces leadership role 642295 Toronto Marlies open season with 3-1 win over Rochester

Americans: Cox 642296 Just what did Bettman whisper in Burke's ear? 642297 We want our hockey!

Vancouver Canucks 642298 Edler injury revelation a troubling one

Washington Capitals 642299 Top Five: Postseason losses by D.C. teams over the last 20

years

Websites 642307 YAHOO SPORTS /Oilers' young stars embrace AHL

experience as NHL lockout drags on

Winnipeg Jets 642300 The big 4-0 642301 A concession-stand view of Jets' return season 642302 NHL lockout Day 29 642303 Original words of wit & wisdom 642304 Scheifele chugging along 642305 CHECKING IN ON THE KIDS 642306 IceCaps drop opener SPORT-SCAN, INC. 941-284-4129 642262 Chicago Blackhawks

Wolves tip IceHogs 1-0 in shootout

Lack notches victory in goal game filled with NHL-ready players because of NHL lockout

By Paul LaTour, Special to the Tribune

11:17 p.m. CDT, October 13, 2012

It didn't happen through 65 minutes, but the Wolves finally found a way to put some pucks behind Carter Hutton.

The Wolves scored three times in the shootout to escape with a 1-0 victory over Rockford on Saturday night before a crowd of 14,505 at Allstate Arena. Jordan Schroeder, Bill Sweatt and Darren Haydar had the shootout goals as Scott Arniel won in his Wolves coaching debut.

Eddie Lack finished with 25 saves and stopped another three of four in the shootout. Hutton was even better, stopping 31 shots through the overtime.

"Both goaltenders were the stars of the game," said Arniel, who replaced Craig MacTavish in the offseason. "It was a little bit sloppy at both ends of the rink. We probably created some of our messes with turnovers. But ... a win's a win."

With a host of new players — many playing with the Wolves because of the NHL lockout — the opener was viewed with guarded optimism. Much of that has to do with having to face the IceHogs again Sunday.

"We've got some things to work on, but for the most part it was pretty good," Schroeder said. "Everyone is kind of new together this year, and it's our first game. We got the win and that's all that matters."

Lack's performance was the main reason for that, especially since the Wolves failed to capitalize on six power plays. He kept it scoreless with a pad save on a partial breakaway by Brandon Pirri late in the third and made quality stops throughout.

"I didn't get my first shootout win until January last year, so this a little different to get it in the first game," said Lack, who improved to 3-3 in shootouts with the Wolves after losing his first three. "It was a pretty good start for me and the team."

Hutton also made some huge saves to thwart the Wolves. None was bigger than when he robbed Kevin Connauton on a one-timer with a sliding save midway through the third period.

But losing in a shootout clearly frustrated Hutton.

"You play 65 minutes of structured hockey and it kind of goes to a skills competition," Hutton said. "They had my number. It's one of those ones you obviously try to do everything you can to win. It can go one of two ways in a shootout. It's frustrating. We wanted the two points, but we're happy to get a point and build on that."

Chicago Tribune LOADED: 10.14.2012

642263 Chicago Blackhawks

Befitting honor of a lifetime for Olczyk

Newest U.S. Hockey Hall of Famer always conscious of enduring Chicago roots

By Chris Kuc, Chicago Tribune reporter

October 14, 2012

Standing in the doorway leading to the rink where it all began, the memories came flooding back to Eddie Olczyk.

The 46-year-old former NHL player and coach and the current TV analyst for the Blackhawks and NBC was again just Eddie from Niles, 6 years old, wearing $20 worth of equipment purchased from a neighbor and about to take the ice for the first time.

"I took that first step and I didn't go very far before I was down on the ice," Olczyk reminisced not far from a banner bearing his name that hangs high on the wall at the IceLand Skate Complex, previously known as Ballard Ice Arena. "I got to my knees and was crying and wanted to come off and my mom said 'Give it a chance.'"

Olczyk persevered and those first stumbling moves turned out to be the beginning of a journey that has taken him from the North Side to the South Side of Chicago, to locales around the world playing for the United States in international competition, through a 16-season NHL career that began and ended with the Hawks — the team he idolized as a child — and finally to Dallas, where on Monday night he will be inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame.

"It's hard to believe it was 40 years ago," Olczyk said quietly while scanning the surroundings of the rink about 11/2 miles from his boyhood home in Niles. "It started in the fall of 1972. I was at Nelson Elementary and I brought home a flier from school that said 'learn to skate.'"

Soon, Olczyk and his brothers Randy and Ricky had turned the front room of their home into a makeshift hockey rink that often featured an unlikely goaltender.

"We almost had the layout of "The Brady Bunch" where it was the stairs that came down in the front room," Eddie Olczyk said. "It was empty and that was our room to shoot. That's where my mom (Diana) became a goaltender."

His voice faltering and his eyes wet with tears, Olczyk then recalled the memory that perhaps was the true launching pad to a Hall-of-Fame career.

"We'd run down the stairs and my mom would sing 'Here come the Hawks' and I just kind of fell in love with it," he said.

Chicago's very own

Look up Olczyk's career on the Internet and his hometown often is listed as Palos Heights (he was actually born in Chicago). A move to the south suburb came when he was in the 8th Grade and he later attended Brother Rice. In 1984Olczyk was named to the U.S. Olympic hockey team at 17, one of nine times he represented his country in international competition.

No matter where his travels took him, he always let it be known he was a Chicago kid.

"I just always would take great pride in letting people know where I was from,'' Olczyk said. "There weren't a lot of guys who grew up playing here that eventually made it. I wanted to help and open up some doors and allow people to say, 'Hey, you know what? There are some opportunities there.' I couldn't be prouder to be from here."

Said Ricky Olczyk, now assistant general manager of the Oilers: "He always has bled for Chicago. He wears it on his heart and sleeve."

It was also in '84 that Olczyk had his dream of playing in the NHL realized, and it came when the Hawks traded up in the draft to select him third overall.

"Growing up a Blackhawks fan I would be looking through the glass onto the ice at the old (Chicago) Stadium and just dreaming about playing and the next thing you know there I am, coming up the stairs and then looking through the glass into the stands and having my folks there," Olczyk said. "It's what I wanted my whole life and it came to fruition."

During his career, Olczyk appeared in 1,031 regular-season games, scoring 342 goals and adding 452 assists while playing with the Hawks, Maple Leafs, Jets, Rangers, Kings and Penguins (with whom he later coached for 11/2 seasons). He won a Stanley Cup with the Rangers in '94.

'Best in game'

As impressive as his playing career turned out, Olczyk has made perhaps as big an impact as an announcer. Paired locally with Pat Foley and nationally with Mike "Doc" Emrick, Olczyk has risen to the top of his profession.

"Not to downplay a terrific playing career, but certainly the impact he has had with a microphone has been dramatic," Foley said. "Anybody who listens closely is going to know more about the game when the broadcast is finished than when they started watching it. He's the best broadcaster in the game."

Coupled with his TV job with the Hawks are Olczyk's many contributions to youth hockey through camps and speaking engagements.

"It's what I'm supposed to do," Olczyk said. "I don't know a whole heck of a lot, but one thing I do know is hockey. And hockey is about life skills. I learned from my mom and dad (Ed) that there's always someone who is a little less fortunate. It's talking to young people and hoping that I can help one kid in any situation regardless of what it is."

The desire to better the lives of others while remaining grounded is genuine, according to Hawks President John McDonough.

"It's remarkable — the more successful Eddie has become the more humble he is," McDonough said. "He's completely unaffected or jaded by any of his success. It's almost like somebody forgot to tell him that his accomplishments are so astonishing. He's a terrific representative of this organization."

In good company

Olczyk will be inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame with former Stars player Mike Modano and longtime Devils executive Lou Lamoriello. On hand will be many members of the Hawks organization along with Olczyk's parents, brothers, wife Diana and children Eddie, Tommy, Nicholas and Alexandra.

"None of this would be possible without the people who helped me along the way — my family and all the different teammates, teams and coaches," Olczyk said. "I wanted this so bad for the longest time and it hadn't happened and I think it was just, 'You know what? Maybe it's not going to happen.' Then when I got the call it was just kind of like, 'Wow.'"

Chicago Tribune LOADED: 10.14.2012


Wolves’ opening victory has big Blackhawks presence

By Tim Sassone

They should have been playing in another building a few miles east with another team, but for Blackhawks Nick Leddy, Andrew Shaw and Marcus Kruger it was the Allstate Arena and the Rockford IceHogs that had to do Saturday night.

With general manager Stan Bowman and coach Joel Quenneville watching from the press box on the same night they should have been at the United Center for the Hawks’ season opener against Columbus, they instead saw Rockford open its season with a 1-0 loss in a shootout to the Chicago Wolves before a healthy crowd of 14,505.

For everyone missing hockey because of the lockout in the NHL, which includes Quenneville, the consensus was it was great to be at an actual arena again.

“It was good to get back and play a real game,” Kruger said. “You have to make the best of it that you can.

“I think all the boys are doing that. Of course, I get updates, but I have to focus on the games here. It’s good that I have something to focus on and don’t have to think about that every day.”

Jordan Schroeder, Bill Sweatt and Darren Haydar scored in the shootout for the Wolves to give goalie Eddie Lack the shutout win.

Leddy, Kruger and Shaw were among the 10 players in the Rockford lineup who appeared in at least one game last season with the Hawks.

Goalie Carter Hutton was recalled by the Hawks last season but never got in a game. Maybe he should have based on his play in a scoreless first period when he stopped all 9 shots he faced from the Wolves with an acrobatic display of goaltending.

Hutton made 29 saves through overtime.

“Huts played amazing in the net,” Kruger said. “I’m sorry we didn’t get a win for him.”

At the other end, Lack had a relatively easy first period until the final seconds when Kruger hit the crossbar in a scramble.

Jimmy Hayes, Brandon Bollig, Ben Smith, Jeremy Morin, Dylan Olsen, Brandon Pirri and Brandon Saad were the other IceHogs who played in at least one game with the Hawks last season.

“You’ve got to play where you’ve got to play; it’s part of being a pro,” Hayes said. “You have to be ready to play no matter where you play.”

Shaw doesn’t consider that he had a roster spot secured with the Hawks.

“I’d rather be playing than not playing,” Shaw said. “But I could be sent down at any time. I’ve got to keep working for my spot and keep improving and play a team game.”

Bollig made a strong move to the net in the second period but was denied by Lack as he was being slashed from behind by Chris Tanev.

Andrew Shaw drew a late boarding penalty, showing some of the spunk he displayed with the Hawks last season.

•The Wolves on Saturday named veteran Darren Haydar team captain for the season.

“Darren knows what it takes to wear that letter,” said Wolves coach Scott Arniel. “He is held in the highest regards by his teammates and the coaching staff, and I feel confident he can lead this team.”

Daily Herald Times LOADED: 10.14.2012


IceHogs, full of Hawks, shut out in season opener

JEREMY LYNN

There was much ado over the Chicago Wolves and Rockford IceHogs being the only game in town on Saturday.

But much like the Blackhawks, there was a whole lot of nothing going on. For 65 minutes both teams were held scoreless and required a shootout to settle matters.

However, in the breakaway contest, three Wolves in the first four shooters beat IceHogs goalie Carter Hutton and only one IceHog beat Wolves goalie Eddie Lack as Rockford fell 1-0 in their season opener at Allstate Arena.

Hutton stopped all 31 shots he faced before through regulation and overtime before Jordan Schroeder, former Blackhawks prospect Bill Sweatt and Darren Haydar found the back of the net in the shootout.

Meanwhile, a Rockford team full of players with NHL experience with the Hawks couldn't score once in regulation or overtime and managed only one goal in four shooters in the shootout. Brandon Pirri beat Lack, but Brandon Saad, Brandon Bollig and Peter LeBlanc came up empty.

Rockford fired 25 shots on goal, led by five from Pirri.

The same two teams meet again in a Sunday matinee at 3:00 p.m. at Allstate Arena.

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 10.14.2012


McDonough gets Salute to Leadership Award from USO of Illinois

TRACEY MYERS

Blackhawks president John McDonough was aware of where he could’ve been on Saturday night, when he was honored at the USO of Illinois Star-Spangled Salute.

“I thought tonight, with our Blackhawks schedule, it might be a bit of a conflict. Right now, probably be toward the end of the first period,” McDonough told the audience on the night the Blackhawks were supposed to open their 2012-13 season against the Columbus Blue Jackets. “But I’m certainly standing in a very enviable position.”

McDonough was presented the USA Salute to Leadership Award at this year’s Salute, which was held at the Navy Pier’s grand ballroom. The award is given to a civic or community leader in special recognition for his or her distinguished personal and professional efforts in the support of the U.S. Armed Forces. The Blackhawks have done much to honor the military, including honoring one active duty military member and one retired service member during the national anthem.

“It’s great recognition for the Blackhawks,” McDonough said prior to the ceremony. “Every night, 21,000 people stand and applaud, and they, the players and the coaches recognize what (the military’s) contributions have been. It’s very heartwarming. It’s become a trend across the league. But at the United Center, with everybody from the start of the game with the national anthem, it’s a very huge part of our game presentation and very, very meaningful.”

McDonough was humbled by the evening.

“I’m surrounded by heroes and leaders tonight that are far more deserving than I,” he told the audience. “The freedom we enjoy is not an entitlement, but a commitment from our armed forces. Every night in the United Cente, we’re guaranteed at least one heartfelt standing ovation. It’s not necessarily for a brilliant save or an overtime goal. (It’s) the appreciation of 21,000 people, including every member of both teams, acknowledging the presence of greatness and true dedication to our military.”



UC dark on what should have been Hawks' opener

TRACEY MYERS

The United Center should have been hopping tonight. The Chicago Blackhawks should have been launching their 2012-13 regular-season schedule, hosting the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The place would have been boisterous. Jim Cornelison would’ve been in fine voice for his always rousing national anthem. Captain Jonathan Toews would’ve had that glare in his eyes, the one that never lessens from Game 1 to 82. And Viktor Stalberg, who seemingly scored every time he had the puck against the Blue Jackets last season, may have recorded a hat trick tonight.

But none of that will happen. The United Center will be dark. Maybe the floor will be bare, or perhaps it will be already set up for the gymnastics event slated there for Sunday.

Regardless, there will be no hockey tonight. And since the NHL and NHLPA are making progress like a snail maneuvering through molasses, there will probably be no hockey for some time.

This wasn’t supposed to happen. Not for the second time in less than a decade. Both sides were supposed to learn from the mistakes of the past, or at least build off of what they established after the last lockout. But instead of talks there is silence; and instead of hockey there are canceled games. Right now, two weeks’ worth of NHL games have been nixed. How many more are on the horizon?

It doesn’t matter who’s side you’re on in hockey’s latest Hatfield-and-McCoy saga. As Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith put it on Wednesday, the lockout is “just embarrassing for everybody.”

But hey, true hockey fans in Chicago, take heart. There is still hockey happening here tonight. Just trek northwest to Allstate Arena, where the Rockford IceHogs and Chicago Wolves will do their best to rekindle the rivalry of their parent clubs, the Blackhawks and Vancouver Canucks. Some Rockford faces will be very familiar, as Andrew Shaw and Jimmy Hayes made splashes and Nick Leddy played the entire campaign here last season.

No, it won’t be quite the same as Blackhawks-Blue Jackets. It won’t be Dave Bolland’s line checking the likes of Rick Nash (sorry, he’s gone. Make that RJ Umberger). But it’s hockey, and it’s season-opening hockey as close to Chicago as you’ll get.

The United Center will be quiet tonight. Hopefully the cacophony of noise that would’ve filled its walls are present at Allstate tonight. Hopefully fans who attend the IceHogs-Wolves contest treat it like any Blackhawks game. Hopefully the future Blackhawks and Canucks hone their games en route to becoming Blackhawks and Canucks.

And hopefully the deafening silence in NHL arenas this weekend gets both the NHL and NHLPA talking. A lot.


642268 Colorado Avalanche

Adam Foote's work with ice hockey never done

By Terry Frei

When Adam Foote was a young defenseman in the Avalanche's first season in Denver, 1995-96, his neighbor at the Breakers Apartments in Denver was Rockies manager Don Baylor.

"I think I saw him once," Foote recalled with a laugh last week. "That shows you how busy those baseball guys are."

Last week, Foote and Baylor were among the six selections for the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame's Class of 2013. They, plus golfer Steve Jones, former big-league pitcher Stan Williams, former Broncos safety Steve Atwater and longtime Cleveland Browns kicker Don Cockroft will be inducted at the organization's April 18 banquet.

"It's a great group of guys who are already in there, and to go in with the others selected, it's awesome,"

Foote's 14-year-old son, Cal, skates at Thunderbirds practice. "I'm really dialed in with these kids," says Foote, a two-time NHL champion. John Leyba, The Denver Post

Foote said.

Because Foote, 41, has continued living in the Denver area with his family — wife Jennifer and sons Cal and Nolan — since his 2011 retirement, the

former Avalanche captain won't have far to travel to the banquet. In fact, he resides among many Colorado athletic glitterati in the Cherry Hills Village area. Foote and his wife are from the Toronto area, but the decision to remain in Colorado wasn't difficult.

"We love it here," he said. "The kids were born here and I've spent most of my adult life here. My wife too. It's just a great place to live."

He's the guy with the rink in his backyard, in full-ice operation for as much as three months of the year as a recreational outlet for his sons, their friends and other members of the Colorado hockey community. Otherwise, he's spending much of his time — more than he could have envisioned, in fact — coaching Cal's bantam team in the Colorado Thunderbirds program. The team travels for tournaments and Foote frequently sees, and coaches against, other former NHL players coaching their sons.

"I've got to get back working out soon," he said. "I'm really into the coaching. Jen came into my office and said, 'You're not being paid for this,' and I said, 'I know,' but I like it. I'm really dialed in with these kids."

Foote said he wouldn't mind getting back into the NHL, perhaps with the Avalanche, in some role and he is pondering business possibilities. But in a way, he's still winding down after walking away following a 19-season career as a physical, cornerstone defenseman.

"It was just healing from a long career and the injuries, and the mental part of going through that 20-year grind," Foote said. "But dealing with retirement blindsided me. I didn't see that coming. I thought I'd be so happy, saying, 'Let's go to the mountains, let's do this, let's do that,' and all I wanted to do was go play hockey. I missed it that much.

"It took me until January or February to get over that. You miss the battles, you miss going into the locker room and joking around with the guys. You don't realize it's such a huge part of your life, it's all you know."

Did he quit too soon?

"No, no, no," he said. "I needed my legs every night. I had those one-on-one battles the way I played. I didn't like the way the NHL didn't want players over 35 to play, but now I see why. You do lose a bit. It might slow the game down if you have too many of us in there. I wouldn't have admitted that before, but it was time."

Foote went through two lockouts as a player — in 1994 and 2004-05 — and he's a frustrated bystander this time, with the NHL still dark and two weeks of regular-season games already canceled.

"The last one, it was sad that we missed a season," he said. "I don't think it had to happen. It's easy to say that looking back, but what a waste. This one, I think the players are working with (the league), I really do. And I don't know how you sign these guys to $100 million deals. I'm happy for the players, but are they going to be motivated? I was motivated to get the next deal, to keep my job.

"I think we have to get to where baseball is and do some revenue sharing. You've got some of those top owners who don't want to share, and that's where it's at."

Terry Frei: 303-954-1895, [email protected] or twitter.com/terryfreidenver

Foote file

Born: July 10, 1971, in Toronto.

Played 19 seasons in the NHL

With Quebec-Colorado for first 13 seasons, then spent two-plus seasons with Columbus before returning to the Avalanche in a February 2008 trade.

Finished up with Colorado, retiring after the 2010-11 season.

Played on two Stanley Cup championship teams and on Canada's 2002 gold medal- winning Olympic team. Also played for Canada in the 1998 and 2006 Olympics.

NHL regular-season statistics: 1,154 games, 66 goals, 242 assists, 308 points, 1,534 penalty minutes.

NHL playoff statistics: 170 games, seven goals, 35 assists, 42 points, 298 penalty minutes.

Wife: Jennifer.

Sons: Cal (14), Nolan (12). They were born in the U.S. and are considered Americans for international hockey competition.

Denver Post: LOADED: 10.14.2012

642269 Dallas Stars

Gary Bettman, NHL gambling that fans will return after second lockout

New York Times Service

Published: 14 October 2012 01:42 AM

Last season, the NHL generated $3.3 billion, the seventh straight season of record revenue. But on Wednesday, the day before what would have been the opening night for a new season with continued bright prospects for growth, teams stood idle.

Players remained locked out by the owners and Commissioner Gary Bettman, and instead of the flash and clanging of hockey in boisterous rinks across North America, the only thing to anticipate was the dull spectacle of a negotiating session in New York.

League and union negotiators met in two sessions Wednesday, their first official meeting since Friday, but they remained focused on secondary issues like player safety rather than how to divide league revenue. Bill Daly, the deputy commissioner, estimated the NHL had lost as much as $250 million in revenue because of the cancellation of the exhibition season and the first two weeks of the regular season.

''We felt that over the last seven years we've built up a lot of momentum in the business, we've had a lot of growth," Daly said. "Who knows what a work stoppage like this will do to that momentum?"

Daly was talking about what he saw as the union's reluctance to accept a settlement, but he could just as easily have been describing the calculation league management was making in calling the lockout.

Before this season, the NHL had twice faced the risk of work stoppages under Bettman, weighing the pluses of gaining a more advantageous labor deal against the minuses of angering fans and derailing momentum. Despite the risks, the lure of clawing back hundreds of millions of dollars from the players made the owners willing to lock them out.

Part of that strategy was the owners' belief that the NHL could bounce back from lockouts with increased attendance and improved television ratings.

''We recovered last time because we have the world's greatest fans," Bettman said in August.

Although Major League Baseball saw attendance drop 26 percent after the 1994 strike, the NHL had modest attendance gains in the immediate aftermath of its previous lockouts. Average attendance rose from 15,512 in the 1993-94 season to 15,867 in the lockout-shortened 1995 season, and from 16,549 the year before the 2004-05 lockout to 16,954 the year after.

The majority of the NHL ticket base comes from season-ticket holders rather than single-game sales, helping to ensure that attendance will not drop dramatically.

The NBA's experience after its lockout last season is also persuasive evidence for NHL owners. Despite shortening its regular season by 16 games, the NBA set records for television viewership and traffic on its online properties. Teams sold more than 90 percent of their tickets on average for the seventh consecutive season. Sales of licensed merchandise at the league's online store grew by 17 percent, while the NBA Store in New York saw revenue on a per-square-foot basis more than double.The NHL owners' choice was easy in the 2004-05 lockout. Bettman had long built the case that the league was losing money and needed to sharply reduce players' wages. The NHL was struggling from a variety of ills, ranging from stagnant play to frequent franchise relocation, and its status in the U.S. was headed to that of a niche sport. Sacrificing an entire season was a simple call, and it paid off when the owners won concessions from the players that included a salary cap and a 24 percent pay cut.

In 1994-95, the choice was more difficult. The NHL had momentum, coming off Stanley Cup finals that featured Wayne Gretzky's Los Angeles Kings in 1993 and the victory of Mark Messier's New York Rangers in 1994. On top of that, the Disney Corp. was set to join the league with the Mighty Ducks of

Anaheim. The headline on the cover of Sports Illustrated in June 1994 read "Why the NHL's Hot and the NBA's Not."

Yet Bettman and the owners, intent on trying to reduce players' wages, opted to delay the start of the next season with a lockout.

''Everyone was feeling pretty good about the NHL, and there was a lot of momentum coming off the Rangers' win that the league could take advantage of," said Bob Gutkowski, Madison Square Garden's president at the time. "The owners understood that and the other negatives surrounding a lockout, but the ultimate decision was that we had to change the business model."

Neil Smith, the general manager of the Rangers in 1994, said the lockout caused serious damage to the NHL's momentum.

''The league never got as close again to the NBA as it was at the time of that lockout," said Smith, now a hockey commentator for Canadian television. "When we came back from the lockout, we were further behind the NBA than we were prior, and the NBA picked it up from there and we couldn't make up the ground. There was a real opportunity for us, but we couldn't get it back."

The NHL started to get it back only after the 2004-05 lockout, and last season it generated about 83 percent of the revenue of the NBA.

But once again Bettman and the owners are risking momentum. The last five Stanley Cup winners came from Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago, Pittsburgh and Detroit, all big U.S. markets. In the aftermath of the 2004-05 lockout, the NHL failed to secure a lucrative TV contract, but it signed a 10-year, $2 billion contract with NBC last year.

''They've really grown the last few years," Smith said. "But with this lockout, they're going to lose momentum, no matter what."

But ultimately what the NHL may be sacrificing cannot be measured solely in lower attendance or revenue. Sooner or later, the league will find out what opportunity has been lost in this latest lockout.

Dallas Morning News LOADED: 10.14.2012

642270 Dallas Stars

NHL labor talks might resume Tuesday

Staff Report

Labor negotiations between the NHL and the locked-out players' association could resume Tuesday after a four-day break.

The location and the agenda have yet to be determined. The sides held two days of talks this week without discussion of hockey-related revenue -- the core economic issue that has prevented the NHL regular season from starting on time.

"Nothing firm. There is a potential for Tuesday," NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly told The Associated Press by e-mail.

The 28-day lockout has already wiped out the entire preseason and the first three days of the regular season. The NHL announced last week that all games have been canceled through Oct. 24.

A deal will have to be struck soon to prevent more cancellations and provide an opportunity to make up lost games and have a 82-game season.

Daly estimated the NHL lost $100 million from the cancellation of the preseason and would be out another $140 million to $150 million with the regular-season losses.

Star-Telegram LOADED: 10.14.2012

642271 Detroit Red Wings

Brandstatter learned about hockey from Lynch

By Mike Brudenell

Jim Brandstatter knew football when he started his broadcasting career. Not so much hockey, he says.

Brandstatter, an offensive tackle at the University of Michigan under Bo Schembechler in 1969-72, went straight to the source to brush up on the Red Wings and the NHL -- Budd Lynch, the legendary team play-by-play caller and public-address announcer for the Wings.

"I learned so much from him," said Brandstatter of Lynch, who died Tuesday at 95 and was laid to rest Saturday. "When I had questions as a young broadcaster, Budd was so generous in helping me understand the game a bit more. He gave me an appreciation of hockey -- the color and the players who made it up."

Brandstatter, radio color analyst for the Wolverines and Lions, said Lynch educated him about hockey greats such as Maurice (Rocket) Richard, Bill Gadsby and Gordie Howe.

"Budd told me about the Howe versus Lou Fontinato fight," Brandstatter said. "I guess Gordie rearranged Lou's nose. I was a sponge and Budd gave me all the info I wanted on the game. He became a dear friend."

Brandstatter said he'll never forget the sacrifice Lynch gave, fighting with the Canadian army in World War II. Lynch lost his right arm and shoulder in a rocket attack.

"Budd was part of the greatest generation," Brandstatter said. "He put himself in harm's way. He never looked at it as heroic -- just his duty. He served for the better good of humanity."

Detroit Free Press LOADED: 10.14.2012


Family, friends pay respects to Red Wings legend Budd Lynch; funeral service today

By Mike Brudenell

A 2004 photo shows Red Wings public address announcer Budd Lynch. The Detroit Red Wings said Tuesday, Oct. 9, 2012, the team's longtime public address announcer Budd Lynch has died. He was 95.

Lary was among a large number of friends, relatives and colleagues who gathered to pay their respects today in Wyandotte to Lynch, the legendary Red Wings broadcaster and public-address announcer, who died Tuesday at 95.

Outside the R.J. Nixon Funeral Home, Lary, a 27-year-old former Dearborn resident who moved to San Diego 10 years ago, smiled as he recalled his grandfather’s love of people, the game of hockey and his secret method of shaving under atrocious conditions while serving as a member of the Canadian Army’s Essex Scottish Regiment, which landed on the beaches of Normandy, France, on D-Day — June 6, 1944.

Lynch, who would lose his right arm and shoulder in a rocket attack a month later, was a great story teller and his shaving yarn wasn’t wasted on Lary.

“Grandpa taught me how to shave with a glass bottle,” Lary grinned. “When I came home with a mustache, Budd gave me a hard time about using a razor and buzzer. He told me I had to break a bottle and shave in my pencil-thin mustache. He said people were always jealous of his mustache in the army and he’d never tell them how he kept it. He said the secret was using the glass bottle shaving method.”

Lary described his grandfather as a man who taught him “how to do the right thing” and “someone who was always there for his grandkids and daughters — he made sure he was part of us.”

Lary said Lynch would attend his football games at high school and that he never turned his back on a stranger.

“Grandpa always asked you questions,” Lary said. “He wanted to find out who you were as a human being. He always gave you that option.”

Jim Brandstatter, longtime color analyst for the U-M football team and Detroit Lions, learned much from Lynch, he said.

“He was one of the most unforgettable characters I ever met,” Brandstatter said at Lynch’s visitation. “He was an unabashed supporter of the city of Detroit and the game of hockey.

“When you heard him and listened to him on the radio, you got to like him. When you got to meet him, you liked him even more. The loss of Bud Lynch has left a big hole in the fabric and history of hockey. It’s sad we won’t have those stories any more from Bud’s lips, because nobody told them better.”

A funeral Mass will be held at 11 a.m. today at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, 344 Elm, in Wyandotte.

Detroit Free Press LOADED: 10.14.2012


Hundreds bid farewell to Red Wings announcer Budd Lynch at funeral

By Lauren Abdel-Razzaq

Wyandotte — Last minute of play in this period.

Those words, made famous by longtime Detroit Red Wings public address announcer Budd Lynch, echoed throughout the St. Joseph Catholic Church Saturday at his funeral.

Lynch, who was with the Red Wings organization for 63 years, died Tuesday at the age of 95.

"We will all miss him very much, but if we listen very, very carefully, we can hear his words right now in echoing in Heaven," said Janice Ruffino, the eldest of Lynch's six daughters, as a recording of his iconic phrase was played over the church's sound system.

More than 300 family members, friends and fans attended, including retired Red Wing great Gordie Howe and team owner Marian Ilitch.

"Budd went into a career that put him in the Hockey Hall of Fame and the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame. But most of all, he was a hall of famer to his family, a hall of famer to his friends," said Deacon Bill Jamieson, who said he has been friends with Lynch for more than 30 years. "It's a legacy to be imitated."

Lynch's casket was wheeled into the church accompanied by a bagpiper. On a table close by sat a framed photo of a smiling Lynch, a glass microphone statue and a bobble head doll of his likeness.

"He was an incredible ambassador for our team," said Red Wings General Manager Ken Holland after the funeral service. "He loved hockey. For 63 years, he was associated with the Detroit Red Wings and he touched everyone's life around him."

Lynch served as the Wings' announcer since 1985, the same year he received the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award from the Hockey Hall of Fame for outstanding contributions as a hockey broadcaster. He was inducted into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame in 2005 and received the Ty Tyson Award for Excellence in Sports Broadcasting issued by the Detroit Sports Broadcasters Association.

Born in Windsor on Aug. 7, 1917, Frank Joseph James Lynch lived in Wyandotte before his family moved to Hamilton, Ontario.

Lynch began his radio career out of high school. He was hired on with Windsor radio giant CKLW in 1939, before he headed off to Europe as a volunteer in the Canadian Army's Essex Scottish Regiment, an infantry unit.

He was on the shores of Normandy at Juno Beach on D-Day, June 6, 1944, and six weeks later lost his shoulder, scapula and right arm after being hit with a three-inch rocket.

He was part of the WWJ team that first started broadcasting Red Wings games in the 1960s and moved to the team's publicity office in 1975.

Outside of his involvement with the hockey team, Lynch was known for his work with children and the physically impaired through the Guidance Center, raising money for the Budd Lynch Endowment Fund for Children.

"I never knew him not to make time for young children, amputees, the physically challenged or respectfully acknowledge and pay tribute to an

active duty solider or veteran," said Lynch's eldest grandson Joe Schimizzi during the service.

Schimizzi also told a story about St. Patrick's Day 12 years ago when he was a student at Michigan State University. His grandfather called him and invited him to come to the Red Wings game. He agreed to drive to Detroit, but had every intention of heading back to campus for the festivities later in the night.

"Now what actually happened was, the invite to the game that evening was a disguise for me to actually be a designated driver for my youthful, 83-year-old grandfather and (his late wife) Thelma as we went from pub to pub on St. Patrick's Day — 11 pubs in total that evening," he said amid laughter.

"Budd Lynch, my grandfather, was the only grandfather who could take an MSU student on St. Patrick's Day, make me an unannounced designated driver and we had one heck of a time together."

But most of all, Schimizzi said, the family will remember Lynch for his love of life.

"While some people may remember him for his coined phrase 'last minute of play in this period' or 'he shoots, he scores,' I will remember him for this phrase that I think so accurately depicts our grandfather: 'it is a privilege to grow old. Many are denied the privilege.'"

Detroit News LOADED: 10.14.2012


Friends, family pay final respects to Budd Lynch at funeral of Red Wings legendary announcer

The Associated Press By The Associated Press

WYANDOTTE -- The legacy of longtime Detroit Red Wings public address announcer Budd Lynch was celebrated and remembered during his visitation and funeral Saturday.

Family and friends gathered at a funeral home and St. Joseph Catholic Church in Wyandotte.

Lynch, 95, died Tuesday following a brief illness at a Detroit-area rehabilitation centre. He worked for the Red Wings for 63 years -- the longest tenured employee in the NHL club's history.

University of Michigan football and Detroit Lions broadcaster Jim Brandstatter called Lynch "one of the most unforgettable characters" he ever met, according to the Detroit Free Press.

"He was an unabashed supporter of the city of Detroit and the game of hockey," Brandstatter said during Lynch's visitation. "When you heard him and listened to him on the radio, you got to like him. When you got to meet him, you liked him even more.

"The loss of Budd Lynch has left a big hole in the fabric and history of hockey. It's sad we won't have those stories any more from Budd's lips, because nobody told them better."

Lynch began broadcasting in 1936. He served in the Canadian Army, losing his right arm and shoulder in a rocket attack following the World War II D-Day invasion of Normandy.

Beginning in the 1949-50 National Hockey League season, Lynch began calling televised Red Wings games for WWJ in Detroit. He became the play-by-play announcer for the Red Wings on the radio starting in 1960 and held the job for the next 15 years.

He then served as the team's director of publicity and became the public address announcer at Joe Louis Arena in 1982.

Lynch was honoured in 1985 by the NHL Broadcasters Association with the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award at the Hockey Hall of Fame and was enshrined nine years later in the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame.

He is survived by his daughters: Janis, Valerie, Mary, Francey, Patricia and Lori.

Michigan Live LOADED: 10.14.2012


All quiet on the hockey front 4 weeks into lockout

By IRA PODELL

AP Sports Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman still hasn’t spoken to players’ union chief Donald Fehr since a brief meeting Wednesday, but negotiators on both sides are back in contact as the lockout drags on.

There was no meeting Friday, after two straight days of negotiations at the league’s New York office, and there are no current plans for more bargaining to take place.

“We’ve talked. There is nothing scheduled,” NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly told The Associated Press in an email.

Frustration is building on both sides as the lockout approaches its fifth week. The first regular-season games were missed Thursday night — one week after the first 82 contests were wiped out — and Staples Center in Los Angeles will have to wait for the Kings’ Stanley Cup championship banner to be raised to the rafters.

The Kings were supposed to honor their first title-winning club Friday night before hosting the New York Rangers.

All games through Oct. 24 have been called off, and more cuts are expected soon with no new labor deal in sight.

The sides finished two days of negotiations Thursday that again centered on secondary issues such as drug testing, contracts and other legal things, instead of talks about the core economics of the sport that is fueling the lockout.

The league and the union did little to close the gap keeping them from a deal, and the likelihood of any hockey being played in October is quickly fading.

After five hours of talks at the league office on Wednesday, the sides got back together for nearly as long — in two sessions — on Thursday.

Daly estimated the NHL lost $100 million from the cancellation of the entire preseason and would be out another $140 million to $150 million with the regular-season losses.

The NHL still says it is waiting for a new proposal from the union, with the owners adamant players accept a significant drop from the 57 percent of revenue they received under the salary cap in the last contract. The players don’t want what they consider massive cuts at a time when the overall revenue pot reached record numbers ($3.3 billion) last year.

Macomb Daily LOADED: 10.14.2012

642276 Edmonton Oilers

Oklahoma City Barons redeem themselves in rematch

By Joanne Ireland, Edmonton Journal October 13, 2012

Cleveland – On paper, there might not be a better power-play unit in the American Hockey League.

On the ice, the Oklahoma City Barons fab five is still a work in progress.

The Barons had 12 minutes of power-play time in the second period of their rematch with the Lake Erie Monsters, almost eight of it in succession, so there was no shortage of ice time for Jordan Eberle, Ryan-Nugent Hopkins, Teemu Hartikainen, Justin Schultz and Magnus Paajarvi. They didn’t, couldn’t capitalize.

What the team did do, at least, was secure a 3-2 victory.

“It wasn’t pretty. It was quite ugly actually,” said Barons head coach Todd Nelson. “From the middle of the second period until the end of the game, I felt like I was in a bad dream.

“But we found a way to win, and sometimes you need these greasy wins to develop your character.”

After losing 2-1 in their season-opener against the Lake Erie Monsters, the Barons, just 15 hours later, were back in Quicken Loans Arena for a Saturday matinee.

Forty-two seconds after the puck dropped, captain Josh Green scored his first of the season, then defenceman Martin Marincin banked in a shot off Monsters defenceman Thomas Pock to give the visitors a 2-0 first-intermission lead.

But the Barons power play was again unable to turn opportunity into an advantage on the scoresheet, opening the door for the dogged Monsters, who scored twice with man advantage.

Tyson Barrie beat Olivier Roy in the second, then the Monsters’ special teams struck again at 14:04 of the third when Dane Byers was sent off to serve a slashing penalty and Paul Carey evened the score.

The Barons power play was one-for-seven in the opener with the lone goal coming on a five-on-three.

Enter Schultz, who whipped in his first goal as a pro, far side, to salvage an opening-weekend split for the Barons.

“I just waited for him to freeze, then I just tried to get it on net,” said the rookie defenceman. “Probably the last two years I’ve had a lot of goals like that, usually on the power play. Our power play was not good tonight. We just need to work on getting it set up.”

“It wasn’t very good at all, and that’s being polite,” said Nelson. “Against a team that pressures, we have to win loose-puck battles. Puck retrieval is imperative. It starts from the draws. We have to help win those battles so it’s not a conditioning drill where they dump it down the ice all the time. I thought our entries weren’t as crisp tonight. The chances we did have, we didn’t bear down on.

“I think we’re just trying to be too fancy. We just have to keep it simple and get pucks going to the net.

“Once those goals go in the pretty stuff will open up.”

Both teams started their backup goaltenders, which meant Roy got the net for Oklahoma City and turned away 37 shots, while Calvin Pickard faced 32 shots for the Colorado Avalanche’s farm team. Nelson also sent out Edmonton Oil Kings grad Kristians Pelss to play his first pro game, along with defenceman Dan Ringwald and forward Tanner House. Alex Plante, Curtis Hamilton and Chris VandeVelde were scratched.

“We had lots of chances to put them away with the power play but we couldn’t do it,” said Green. “We slowly let them back in the game and that’s what happens when you don’t take advantage of your opportunities, when you don’t stomp on them when they’re down.

“It would have been a much easier game for us if we would have got that third goal (on the power play). Give them credit, they battled back.”

Oil spills: This was the Barons’ only trip to Cleveland this season. They will meet the Monsters again next week in Oklahoma City and then the teams do not meet again for the remainder of the season … The Barons open at home on Friday against the San Antonio Rampage.

Edmonton Journal: LOADED: 10.14.2012

642277 Minnesota Wild

Reusse: NHL lockout leaves void for St. Paul businesses, too

Article by: PATRICK REUSSE , Star Tribune

Gentlemen named Diego and Filippo were working long Saturday hours to transform a sizable space into a first-of-its-kind Italian pastry shop in St. Paul. Thus, they were not sharing in the gloom that could be found

elsewhere on West 7th Street that there would be no season opener on this night for the Minnesota Wild, as noted on the NHL's original schedule.

Dave Cossetta has undertaken an enormous expansion of his eatery, including a "pasticerria" that was purchased whole from Italy and shipped over in pieces. Diego and Filippo came along to put those pieces and machines together and guarantee the authenticity of the pastry shop.

The new area housing the famed Cossetta buffet line opened this weekend, and the line was so long at 3 p.m. that a couple of managers had to be reminded that the Wild's opener with the Columbus Blue Jackets had been canceled by the owners' lockout of the players.

That was not the case across the street, where the Eagle Street Grille, Burger Moe's and Tom Reid's Hockey City Pub are three of the bar/restaurants that came into existence because of the presence of the Wild and Xcel Energy Center at the intersection of West 7th and Kellogg Boulevard.

Here's the compulsory notation that Reid was a long-time North Star and serves as the radio analyst for the Wild. On Saturday, he was having a late lunch with Wild original Wes Walz and Wild assistant GM Brent Flahr.

"We took over the space in 1999 and opened the day before the Wild's first exhibition in 2000," Reid said. "This is our second lockout. I think we're a little better situated than we were during the first one in 2004-05.

"We're still the hockey bar in St. Paul, but the Wild are scheduled for 45 games a year. Forty-five days out of 365 ... you figure it out. After the last lockout, we went to work upgrading our product: better food, craft beers.

"The customers noticed. Business is much better on non-hockey days."

That said, Reid's would have been jammed for several hours starting at midafternoon on a hockey Saturday, with three or four bartenders and a half-dozen servers. Instead, there was one bartender and one server scheduled for Saturday night.

Burger Moe's is a few yards down the street from Reid's. Owner Moe Sharif tried putting several restaurants in the space before settling on a burger, beer and spirit joint that is in its third year of business.

There were a fair number of folks wolfing burgers on Saturday afternoon. "We have good food and lots of beers, and we also have parking," manager Tony DeGross said. "I think that helps us a lot with the parking crunch on West 7th."

Again, the staffing situation at Burger Moe's was far different than if this had been opening night: two bartenders rather than seven, three servers rather than 10.

There's no place more reliant than the Eagle Street Grille on events at Xcel Energy Center. It is located directly across from the arena's West 7th entrance.

There was a smattering of customers -- several wearing maroon-and-gold clothing and sad faces -- in the main level of the bar at 3 p.m. Owner Joe Kasel was asked when the Wild crowd would arrive for a Saturday game.

"Right now," he said. "We'd be full easy. And we'd have two bartenders in here, three in the next room, one downstairs and nine servers. Instead, we'll have one bartender and two servers tonight.

Kasel shook his head. "Words can't explain the excitement when the Wild signed [Zach] Parise and [Ryan] Suter," he said. "For weeks, anyone who came in here, that's what they wanted to talk about ... how they couldn't wait for the hockey season.

"Now this."

Kasel estimated that 40 percent of his gross is based on Wild crowds -- then refigured in his head and kicked it up to 50 percent.

Mark and Joan Thompson from Eagan were having a beer at Tom Reid's. Both were wearing Wild gear.

"I think there should be a law against owners and players shutting down a sport, because they aren't the ones who can't pay their bills," Mark said. "It's the people working in the arena, the people working up and down West 7th, that get hurt the most."

Except for Diego and Filippo -- still working hell-bent for world-class cannolis as the Saturday afternoon slipped away quietly.

Star Tribune LOADED: 10.14.2012

642278 Minnesota Wild

Chart: What we've missed so far during NHL lockout

Article by: PATRICK REUSSE , Star Tribune

WHAT WE'VE MISSED

Thursday: Opening night. Four games were scheduled, including Boston at Philadelphia.

Friday: Five more games were wiped out. The Los Angeles Kings would have raised their first Stanley Cup championship banner to the rafters.

Saturday: Day 3 of the season (12 games) and the Wild's season opener, at home against Colorado. Plus no debut of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter in Wild sweaters.

Star Tribune LOADED: 10.14.2012

642279 Nashville Predators

Nashville Predators fans wait and wait

Home opener day passes with lockout still in place

Written by

Josh Cooper

NHL LOCKOUT AT A GLANCE

• Day: 28.

• Last negotiations: Thursday in New York.

• Next

negotiations: Potentially Tuesday at a location yet to be determined.

• Games lost: 82 (all games through Oct. 24).

• What was missed: On what was to be the busiest day of the young season, Saturday’s 12-game slate was wiped out — leaving all 30 teams with at least one missed game three days into the season. The most anticipated game lost on Saturday was the opener at home for Minnesota against the Colorado Avalanche, which would have been the debut of the Wild’s top free-agent acquisitions, forward Zach Parise and defenseman Ryan Suter.

Ben Butzbach was going to watch the iconic hockey film “Slap Shot” on Saturday night. He was thinking about watching it again today, along with a few other hockey movie favorites.

That’s not the way Butzbach, who most Predators fans call Big Ben, wanted to spend the second Saturday in October.

He much rather prefer to paint his stomach with inspirational messages, go to Bridgestone Arena and flash his gut to the crowd at a key point of the Predators-Blues game.

But with the NHL’s decision to cancel the first two weeks of the regular season — the league locked out the players on Sept. 15 in the absence of a new labor deal — fans such as Butzbach were forced to alter their weekend plans. Nashville’s scheduled home opener was wiped out.

“It’s going to be disappointing knowing we’re not going to be at the arena,” Butzbach said Friday. “Since May I’ve been looking forward to the season opening.”

The home opener is one of the key moments of the season — anticipation, hope, promise — and the Predators had a lot to sell to their fans.

They have a young core led by defenseman Shea Weber and goaltender Pekka Rinne. They advanced to the second round of the playoffs the past two seasons. Some prognostications predicted more success this season,

despite All-Star defenseman Ryan Suter’s departure to sign with the Minnesota Wild.

The past two home openers were sellouts.

“Opening night is always a big night,” said Dirk Hoag, who runs the Predators fan website ontheforecheck.com.

The absence of Predators hockey from Bridgestone Arena gives some fans more time to think about their feelings toward the NHL and NHL Players’ Association. The two sides negotiated smaller issues last Wednesday and Thursday but do not appear closer to reaching a new collective-bargaining agreement.

“Fans are angry and they’re upset, but what I think is notable is they’re angry at the league and not the Predators,” Hoag said. “I think they are supportive and understand and they see what the Predators are trying to do to maintain interest.”

On Saturday, the team held a party outside the arena and an open skate and movie night inside. The team has bolstered its community outreach efforts.

It also scheduled an exhibition game between the Southern Professional Hockey League’s Huntsville Havoc and Knoxville Ice Bears on Oct. 20. It’s nowhere near the quality of NHL hockey, but fans understand the gesture.

“I think they appreciate that they’re at least bringing the two minor league teams,” Hoag said.

There’s also the question of whether fans would be interested in hockey at this point of the year even if the NHL hadn’t locked out its players. Often, the Predators work to schedule home games late in the season in order to avoid competing with college and pro football as well as baseball playoffs in the fall.

“There are so many other things to get engaged with that general fans aren’t missing much,” Hoag said. “The diehards are much more upset.”

But in most sports, the diehard fans do come back. It’s the newer fans that could lose interest without NHL hockey being played.

And in the past two seasons, the Predators successes have picked up more visibility in the area.

“If they cancel any more (games), even if it’s a week more, you’re asking quite a bit for those fringe fans,” said Jeremy Gover, managing editor of the Predators fan blog section303.com. “Here in Nashville, they put the team in the black.”

Tennessean LOADED: 10.14.2012

642280 NHL

Cleveland’s rich NHL history often forgotten

More from Sean Fitz-Gerald | @SeanFitz_Gerald

CLEVELAND — Bonnie Johnson, the president of the Cleveland Hockey Booster Club, loves her sport even when it does not love her back. At Halloween, she has mixed pocket schedules from the local team in with the candy she gives to trick-or-treaters, and she has a bus-driving friend who has been known to hand out those same schedules to riders.

Her group, which began 63 years ago and has about 100 members, cajoles local media to dedicate More Coverage to their team, which, since 2007, has been the American Hockey League’s Lake Erie Monsters.

“We smother people, to a point,” Johnson said.

And still, hockey remains the fourth sport in a three-sport town. The Cleveland Browns, a football team without a title since 1964, dominate the local landscape. The baseball team (Indians) and the basketball team (Cavaliers) jockey for position close behind.

“We’re trying,” Johnson said. “A lot of people say, ‘Who are the Monsters?’ They look at you like you have four heads: ‘Who are you?’ ”

And yet as long as the National Hockey League continues to lock out its players, Johnson and her band of loyal Cleveland fans will bear witness to

the best the game has to offer in North America. The Monsters opened their regular season at home against the Oklahoma City Barons on Friday, hosting a roster dotted with current and future NHL regulars.

And that is not for the first time, either, in Cleveland.

Cleveland has a surprisingly rich history in the game. The city was home to nine Calder Cup champions when the Cleveland Barons dominated the AHL around the time of the Second World War, and it has hosted teams from many major pro leagues, including the NHL.

Yes, the NHL.

“I do get that a lot,” retired NHL forward Dennis Maruk said with a laugh. “When people who are not of my age — they’re a lot younger — they’ve never heard of it: ‘What do you mean Cleveland had an NHL team?’ ”

Maruk, 56, was barely out of his teens when the California Seals moved into Cleveland to start the 1976 season. The AHL team had already moved and been replaced by a WHA team, which had also shriveled on the vine.

The Barons did not fare much better.

“It was frustrating,” Maruk said. “As pro hockey players, you’re playing in the National Hockey League, and you’ve got to perform. You’ve got to go out and hope that things get turned around and people start turning out. But that did not happen.”

Unlike the AHL’s Barons, which played in an arena downtown during their heyday, the NHL team was dropped into the middle of the wilderness south of town. At the Richfield Coliseum, there was plenty of parking, but not many highway exits.

Frank Sinatra opened the arena. Traffic snarled so badly that people had to abandon their cars on the highway and walk the rest of the way in their suits and evening gowns. “We did see people pulled over on the side of the road and everything,” said Sue Marton, a hockey fan who was one of the lucky ones to make it as far as the parking lot that night.

Traffic was never that bad for the NHL team, but it was never great. And neither was the weather.

“Cleveland had its two worst winters ever back in ’77 and ’78,” said Gene Kiczek, who has written two books on hockey in Cleveland. “It was terrible, the blizzards. It was the worst weather. There was a 30-inch snowfall.”

The team changed hands after its first season in Cleveland. According to a report in The New York Times, the outgoing owner, Mel Swig, was so ecstatic to have the burden off his shoulders: “He burst out of the decisive meeting with the [NHL] board of governors and mistakenly walked straight into a ladies restroom.”

After the following season, the NHL was gone. The Barons merged with the Minnesota North Stars. Cleveland became a black hole for hockey, for more than a dozen years.

“I never saw anybody play hockey before,” said Mike Rupp, a New York Rangers winger who grew up in a Cleveland suburb. “None of my friends did, no one at school did. But my neighbour, two doors down, he played. And he was on the driveway, shooting the tennis ball against the garage.”

Rupp began to play. And he began to excel. As he climbed the ladder, inching closer to the NHL, he was often reminded of where he began, and not in a flattering way.

“It gave me a little chip on my shoulder,” Rupp said. “Because I’m from Cleveland, I was considered early on like, ‘He’s only making it because he’s big, or because he’s a big guy who can skate.’ And that bothered me, because I’m like, there’s some good hockey in Cleveland.”

According to USA Hockey, more than 14,000 players had registered to play the game in Ohio last year, more than Connecticut (13,344). According to those statistics, Ohio has about a quarter the number of players seen in traditional hockey states such as Michigan and Minnesota.

Retired forward Bryan Smolinski (Toledo) is the state’s most successful NHL player, with 651 career points, but a handful of players, including Rupp and retired defenceman Dave Ellett, have roots in Cleveland.

“Every time I get back to the area, I hear of these high schools that are getting teams and these rinks that I’ve never heard of,” Rupp said. “It’s good to see because, obviously, there’s some issues in Ohio with the economy. And it seems like hockey’s one of those sports that sometimes gets squeezed out in situations like that, but it seems to be growing.”

The Cleveland Hockey Booster Club is trying to help. It offers modest scholarships to high school hockey players. It helps to cover the cost of books when the players head off to college. Part of the process requires the players to write an essay about what hockey means to them.

It means plenty to Bonnie Johnson. The Monsters finished third in AHL attendance last season and were anticipating a big crowd for their opener on Friday. Johnson has done her part, even if it meant convincing her boss’s daughter to go to a game.

The boss’s daughter, she said, is now a hockey fan.

“Even if it’s two people,” Johnson said, “it’s something.”

National Post LOADED: 10.14.2012

642281 NHL

NHL-ready Markham arena could turn into space of empty threats

Scott Stinson | Oct 13, 2012 8:00 AM ET

The staff report filed with Markham city council in April that recommended taking on $325-million in debt to build an arena that could theoretically host an NHL team has a section titled “Economic Impact Review.”

The report cites research it commissioned from two economists based in Edmonton who have studied arena financing. Though the review itself was not released — as is the case with work conducted by other outside consultants on the project — the staff report notes the economists said “their research indicates that building such an event facility does not generate tangible benefits for cities.” But the report also said the economists indicated “that there will likely be an increase in property values” and that the arena “would provide substantial intangible benefits” estimated at between $28-million and $56-million. Leaving aside the curious question of how one would put a price tag on intangible benefits, Markham’s summary of the economists’ research suggests their project was given a sunny review.

Brad Humphreys, a professor of economics at the University of Alberta, is one of the authors of that review. I spoke with him this week, and asked what he thought of the way Markham characterized his recommendations.

“I think they wanted to take some of my advice, but not all of my advice,” he said. “They wanted to cherry-pick it.”

The sticking point, he says, is that the city wants to proceed with the arena — half of which would be paid for by a private-sector group led by businessman Graeme Roustan and half of which would be funded through money raised by Markham — even though it lacks an anchor tenant.

On the question of economic viability, Humphreys said, you can’t evaluate an arena without taking into account its tenants, or lack of same. “Without an anchor tenant, it’s a lot more difficult to make an economic case,” he said. “I certainly told them in my report that it’s not a good idea to build the arena without a team in place.” He said he hasn’t heard from anyone with the city since April.

Roustan has said he is confident he can easily fill out the arena’s calendar with concerts, conventions and other one-off shows. He has also said there have been early discussions with possible minor league sports franchises. And Roustan and the arena’s supporters on council have acknowledged that if Markham has a 20,000-seat arena in place, the NHL just might come calling.

But the problem with that approach, Humphreys said, “is you set yourself up to be the place everybody threatens to move to.” Examples of major-league franchises using the existence of an empty stadium somewhere else to wrangle a new facility out of their current home are legion — witness Edmonton Oilers owner Daryl Katz’s recent sojourn to Seattle just as he’s trying to get a bigger taxpayer subsidy for his hockey team’s planned new arena. Humphreys points to the city of St. Petersburg, Fla., which built a ballpark then watched as the Chicago White Sox leveraged it into a new, publicly funded stadium in Chicago.

Humphreys noted the more analogous case for Markham, located about 40 kilometres from downtown Toronto, is that of Hoffman Estates, a suburb about 40 kilometres from downtown Chicago. Sears Centre Arena — it even has the Canadian spelling for some reason — was built there in 2006.

At a more modest 11,000 seats, it had plans to lure concerts and host minor-league sports — about the same business case as Markham’s proposed GTA Centre, even though the latter will be much larger and more expensive to build.

Sears Centre Arena lost boatloads of money and, according to The Chicago Tribune, was on the verge of foreclosure in 2009 before the village of Hoffman Estates stepped in to keep it afloat. Its roster of former tenants includes the Chicago Hounds of the United Hockey League, the Chicago Storm of something called the Xtreme Soccer League and the Chicago Bliss of the Lingerie Football League. An ECHL team, the Chicago Express, played there in 2012 but was last in league attendance at fewer than 3,000 fans per game. The franchise folded in April. Sears Centre Arena’s current tenants are the Chicago Slaughter of the Indoor Football League and the Chicago Soul of the Major Indoor Soccer League. The latter is an expansion team, and so far its first coach resigned before the team began play.

In addition to the Soul’s home dates, the arena’s calendar for the next several months includes a concert by Alan Jackson, a few dates for the state “Cheerleading and Poms Competition,” a bull-riding championship and a concert by Mexican singer/songwriter Joan Sebastian.

This is probably not the kind of schedule that Markham, or the arena’s developers, have in mind for the GTA Centre. But it’s the one they might end up getting. Maybe the NHL will fall into its lap, but don’t count on it.

“The franchises always end up using that empty arena as a negotiating tactic,” Humphreys said. “You don’t have to look far to find examples.”

National Post LOADED: 10.14.2012

642282 Ottawa Senators

While millionaires and billionaires squabble over NHL fans’ hard-earned money

Wayne Scanlan scours the city for the soul of the game.

The Ottawa Citizen October 13, 2012

Glen Bradley turned away from NHL hockey long before it became trendy during this lockout.

“Amateur sport is my thing, I’m not much into professional,” says Bradley, a fixture at Barbara Ann Scott Arena, as any visitor to the rink over the past 35 years could attest.

Today Bradley is assistant general manager of the Jr. B Ottawa West Golden Knights of the EOJHL, owned, coached and managed by Steve Sundin. Since the 1970s, Bradley has coached minor hockey up to the midget age, and he succeeded Glen Richardson, Luke’s father, as GM of the Jr. B club in 1993. His roots in minor baseball run even deeper, with nearly 40 years on local ball diamonds in various capacities.

Why does amateur sport fire passions that NHL hockey does not?

“These kids weren’t born with a silver spoon in their mouth,” Bradley says, warming to the topic. “They had to work hard to get where they are. They go out there every night and have fun, and hopefully the coaching staff can be good mentors and develop them, but they just play for the love of the game.

“I’m afraid to say the professionals have forgotten where they came from, and that was from the street, playing street hockey and pond hockey, whatever. That’s where they learned their skills. They learned by playing on the street, playing with their friends and just enjoying the game.”

The pro game, he says, “is about greed … how much can you get out of it.”

A stocky man with a fondness for stylish caps, Bradley can be seen during Knights games at the corner glass of BAS, coffee in hand, prone to pace, mumble and occasionally curse at a bad call, as his own grandkids were astonished to learn.

Away from the rink, Bradley is an easy-going type. Junior hockey gets him going.

“It’s fun to watch, to see these players grow up and become men and move on to other careers,” he says.

JUNIOR BANG FOR BUCK

In any other year, we would be so deep in Senators talk that a shovel might be necessary. With the home opener at Scotiabank Place just hours away, according to an optimistic, now obsolete NHL schedule, the Senators would be heading into a game against the Washington Capitals either 1-0 (bring on the Cup!) or 0-1 (what is wrong with this team?!?) after Thursday’s alleged season opener in Montreal.

Instead, while SBP is dark and forlorn for NHL competition, it is playing host to the OHL’s Ottawa 67’s this season and next while Lansdowne Park and the Civic Centre undergo massive renovations.

At dozens of other junior and minor hockey arenas in the region, buildings are alive with the sights and sounds of competitive (B to AAA), house-league hockey and ringette, alongside the lingering taste of early morning coffee and the energy of impromptu parental hot stove sessions in the stands and lobbies.

In other words, it’s business as usual. Practices. Clinics. Initiation and learn-to-skate programs. Away from the Hockey Night In Canada glare, hockey in the capital has a pulse. The game’s lifeblood is thriving.

What better time to check it out?

Peter Goulet, head coach of the Nepean Raiders of the Jr. A CCHL, was noting a lockout impact to his players just the other day.

“I said, ‘Hey, guys, there’s more people in the stands,’ ” Goulet says, relating the story. “Maybe we have a bit more of a following from our run last year, but I would assume a lot of is from the NHL lockout, which is great for us because, as you know it’s hard for city teams to draw fans with so much to do in the city. There’s definitely more fans in Nepean. Not a huge number, but, instead of 75, it’s maybe 100 or 125.”

Like Bradley’s EOJHL, Goulet’s CCHL is a going concern, highly competitive from Smith Falls and Cornwall up the Valley to the always-strong Pembroke Lumber Kings.

“It’s a great league, and, if you look at the standings, it’s really tight,” Goulet says. “All our owners, coaches and general managers do a great job, putting an exciting product on the ice.”

Like few other centres in Canada, the National Capital Region is swimming in hockey leagues, including: two major junior teams, the 67’s and the Gatineau Olympiques of the QMJHL; the Jr. A Central Canadian Hockey League (CCHL), a feeder league for NCAA schools and major-junior; the Jr. B Eastern Ontario Junior Hockey League league (EOJHL) and the Jr. C National Capital Junior Hockey League (NCJHL).

The heart and soul of the game never was found at the highest level, anyway, but in the neighbourhood rinks that provided NHL players and mere hockey mortals with their first chance to experience organized hockey. This week, when NHL games would have dominated sports sections and monopolized water cooler discussion, is an especially busy time in the amateur ranks.

GAME ON

To name a few events:

Care to keep track of future Senators? Then you’ll want to follow the Binghamton Senators as they open their 2012-13 AHL season at home Saturday night against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. During the lockout, Ottawa’s farm club is loaded with prospects like Jared Cowen, Robin Lehner, Mika Zibanejad, Mark Stone and Jacob Silfverberg.

After an impressive victory in Niagara on Thursday and then a Friday game in Mississauga, the 67’s are back home Sunday afternoon at Scotiabank Place to face the Kitchener Rangers.

The EOJHL Jr. B showcase in Arnprior this weekend. All 22 Jr. B teams in the region will participate in games at the Nick Smith Centre. Plenty of junior hockey scouts will be on hand to survey the action and find the next gem to come out of local Jr. B.

World Girls Hockey Weekend. This IIHF event provides an opportunity for girls around the globe to give hockey a try. Dozens of activities are planned throughout North America. Close to home, girls will be on the ice all over the city and Valley. Among the events, Nepean girls are staging an on-ice practice for their mothers.

GIRL POWER

The female game is flourishing here, as a visit to the Ottawa District Women’s Hockey Association website will prove. Just Friday afternoon, the Ottawa Ice midget A team was in Cornwall for a tournament, part of a busy weekend in women’s hockey.

In April, Ottawa will play host to the women’s world hockey championships, as it once did for the original women’s world event in 1990, when pink jerseys and Angela James were in vogue. At that time, there were 8,000 registered female hockey players in Canada. Today, the total approaches 90,000.

I asked current national team defenceman Tessa Bonhomme, in Ottawa to promote the world championship, where she expected the women’s game to be 20-plus years from now.

“Twenty years from now, I really hope we have a fully functioning (pro) league,” Bonhomme said, “one that not only has the high level competition that we do now, but that has packed rinks, like the Ottawa 67’s do, and the Ottawa Senators do, and the Maple Leafs do in Toronto.

“Hopefully, maybe even for some little girl playing street hockey in her driveway, it won’t just be a dream to get drafted into the NHL and play hockey for a living, it’s something that she can do. Get drafted first overall in the CWHL and play hockey for a living.”

Meanwhile, millions of girls, boys, adults and oldtimers will play the game for fun, lockout-free.

“Amateur sport is about development and enjoying the game that they play, whether it’s baseball, hockey, soccer, football, no matter what it is,” Bradley says. “It’s just love of the game.”

[email protected]

Ottawa Citizen LOADED: 10.14.2012

642283 Ottawa Senators

Swedish trio propels Binghamton Senators to win on opening night

Jonathan Bombulie, Special to the Ottawa Sun

BINGHAMTON — Luke Richardson had a message for the Senators scouting staff after his first game as coach of the Binghamton Senators on Saturday night.

Keep scouting Sweden.

Jakob Silfverberg scored a third-period goal, Mika Zibanejad created a handful of scoring chances and Robin Lehner made 35 saves as the B-Sens defeated the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins 2-1 in their American Hockey League season opener.

“The old kind of stereotype of a European player or a Swedish player is they’re not real aggressive, but I liked our Swedish players (Saturday night), that’s for sure. All of them,” Richardson said. “We need to keep bringing them over, wherever we’re finding them.”

The 21-year-old Lehner, who led the B-Sens to the Calder Cup championship in 2011, made 17 saves in the first period to keep the game scoreless.

“Robin really found pucks,” Richardson said. “He battled to find pucks (Saturday night), especially on screened shots. That gave us a chance to get through this game and get a big win in the division.”

The only blemish on Lehner’s record came through little fault of his own. Trevor Smith, an Ottawa native, picked off an errant pass in the neutral zone, and as he crossed the blue line, B-Sens defenseman Andre Benoit fell down, creating what was essentially a three-on-none break. Smith kept it himself and scored from the right faceoff dot with 6:52 left in the second period.

The B-Sens took the lead with goals 75 seconds apart early in the third period.

A Jared Cowen slap shot from the left circle was blocked and bounced around in the slot until Silfverberg pounced on it and fired a shot along the ice past goalie Jeff Zatkoff at 6:16.

Mike Hoffman forced a turnover on the forecheck in the left-wing corner and centered to Hugh Jessiman at the right hash marks for a goal at 7:31.

A potential game-tying goal for the Penguins was waved off with 1:21 left when referee Dave Lewis ruled winger Eric Tangradi made incidental contact with Lehner.

“It’s real easy to come apart as a team when you’ve got a lot of offensive talent and everyone’s going to go on their own page and figure out how they’re going to win it,” Richardson said. “We didn’t. We stayed with it.”

Zibanejad and Silfverberg skated with 19-year-old centre Jean-Gabriel Pageau, an Ottawa native, on what could be one of the youngest lines in the AHL this season. All three, as well as Cowen, saw plenty of time on special teams.

Zibanejad was especially effective, creating a handful of scoring chances.

“Zibanejad was real good,” Richardson said. “He created himself opportunities. Dangerous all night.”

The Senators’ commitment to getting prime ice time for their AHL prospects was plainly evident all over the ice.

Of the 20 players dressed, 13 were Senators draft picks and three others were undrafted free agents signed out of the junior or college ranks. By way of comparison, only six of the 20 players on the ice for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton were Pittsburgh draft picks.

Ottawa Sun LOADED: 10.14.2012

642284 Philadelphia Flyers

Inside the Flyers: Flyers fans remaining loyal despite lockout

By Sam Carchidi

The Flyers have sold 18,200 season tickets for 2012-13. Twelve people have canceled their tickets because of the lockout.

That's 0.066 percent.

You can look at it two ways:

1. Flyers fans are extremely loyal.

2. Flyers fans are loyal to a fault.

Rick Trier, a 57-year-old car salesman from Southampton, said he falls into the first category. Trier's family has had season tickets since the franchise started in 1967. Including the playoffs, he said, he pays more than $13,000, total, for two very good seats. When the season isn't held up because greedy grown-ups can't figure out how to divide $3.3 billion in revenue, Trier said he can afford to go to only about 10 to 15 games, so he sells the majority of his tickets.

Still, he refuses to part with his season-ticket plan - and it has nothing to do with the 2 percent interest the Flyers are giving him for the money he has paid.

"I've been going to games since I'm 12. It's in my blood," he said.

Trier said it would be almost sacrilegious for him to walk away from the sport. He talked with excitement about being there for the long-ago Stanley Cup championships and even the Finals that ended in disappointment, most recently in 2010. He talks proudly about being there when St. Louis' Red Berenson scored six goals against the Flyers in a 1968 game, and when Chicago hammered the Flyers, 12-0, in a 1969 contest.

If you are a fan, he says, you are there for the good and the bad.

Even a lockout.

"I would never do that," he said when asked if he would turn in his tickets and say goodbye to hockey. "My oldest son is 20, and these seats will go to him eventually. My dad got seats in '67 and turned them over to me in '85."

Trier, who said he owned an interior-design business for 30 years before the economy forced him to close down, sides with the owners. Sort of.

He said they take all the risks and deserve to have a percentage advantage in sharing the revenue, but he also blamed them for giving outlandishly high contracts "in a bad economy" and then trying to renege on the deals.

There has been too much expansion during commissioner Gary Bettman's tenure, Trier said, and that has played a major role in the latest labor dispute. Trier makes sense when he says the NHL should get rid of the three or four teams that "aren't drawing and are dragging down the rest of the league."

Instead, the players' union, wanting to save franchises and jobs, is trying to increase revenue-sharing, with the haves (the Flyers among them) paying more to help support the have-nots.

Trier said the best part about hockey is the way it connects generations, and he worries that those ties will be severed if this pattern - work stoppages each of the last three times the collective-bargaining agreement has expired - continues.

"I love that I can tell my kids that I was there when Ron Hextall scored the first [goalie] goal, that I was there when Bob Kelly dragged Steve Durbano across the ice. I try to find video of those games and show my kids," he said.

He is hooked on the sport - though he would like to see the regular season reduced from 82 to 50 games - and, unknowingly, has become an ambassador of the game.

Perhaps if more season-ticket holders canceled their tickets, the NHL wouldn't be so quick to have a work stoppage whenever the CBA expired. Perhaps that would send a message that enough is enough.

From here, the NHL takes its fans for granted.

"Maybe," said Greg Croce, a 64-year-old Woodstown, N.J., resident who also has had season tickets since 1967 - and still shares them with his ex-wife. "I'm disgusted with these lockouts."

But Croce, a computer network engineer, conceded he won't cancel his tickets. Like Trier, he thinks the regular season is too long - and would welcome a shortened season that starts about Dec. 1.

If the NHL and players' union come to an agreement and resume the season a little after Thanksgiving (and save the Winter Classic), a lot of fans would be satisfied. They would get to see a 50-game season and would save money from the canceled games, including the exhibition contests that season-ticket holders are forced to purchase.

"Maybe I should give the tickets up, but it's a hassle because I'd have to distribute the money back to the people I share them with - and then have to collect the money again if the season starts up and we go back," Croce said.

Trier said he gave his youngest son, Austin, a synopsis of the labor situation and why he cannot go to Flyers games this October - and perhaps beyond.

"He said to me, 'Why don't they just compromise?' " Trier said. "When you have a 10-year-old saying that, it shows that younger kids are smarter than the adults."

Amen.

Philadelphia Inquirer / Daily News LOADED: 10.14.2012


No Flyers, Penguins? Penn State hockey makes its long-awaited debut

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — Penn State's Division I ice hockey program went live in Happy Valley Friday night.

In front of a sold-out crowd, the Nittany Lions debuted under coach Guy Gadowsky. Amid all the pomp and circumstance, there was a game to be played, and though Penn State dropped a 3-2 decision to American International in overtime, it's clear the program is headed in the right direction.

"Actually, I'm thrilled right now. I thought we played great. We had no idea what we had," Gadowsky said. "We didn't know if we'd be completely overmatched. We had no idea. And I thought we played tremendous.

"This was just so fun I really felt alive. To see the student section and what they were doing, I loved it. I know we lost but I look forward to this year and I look forward to the future like you can't believe."

There was atmosphere aplenty in the Greenberg Ice Pavilion, as 1,300 fans packed the stands and lined the balconies above the ice to watch the new squad. The long-awaited day was made possible with the help of energy company executive Terry Pegula, who owns the NHL's Buffalo Sabres and who made a $102 million donation to the program and his alma mater in 2010.

Penn State freshman Casey Bailey scored the program's first goal at the 4:37 mark of the second period, but American International junior Jon Puskar scored with 21 seconds remaining in overtime to break a 2-2 tie.

"I knew the place was going to be rocking," senior Ben Meisner, American International's goalie, said. "The fans were right on top of us. It's always fun as the visiting team to go out there and silence them."

Overall, though, the loss did not dampen an opening night to remember.

"The fans were unbelievable. It was pretty awesome the students were standing the whole game. We couldn't have asked for anything more," Penn State junior Taylor Holstrom said. "We knew it was going to be sold out. The way they were — the standing, the constant cheering — I was hoping it'd be just like the student sections at football games.

"So, that was pretty cool."

Pegula's donation also funded a new arena that will open in 2013, just in time for the first season of the Big Ten hockey conference. For now, the Greenberg will have to do as the Nittany Lions play a full season as independent. With the addition of Penn State to Division I, there are now 59 schools around the country with that designation.

The last school to establish Division I before Penn State, was Robert Morris.

Delaware County Times LOADED: 10.14.2012


NHL Notes: Russian stars may stay in KHL

MIKE WISNIEWSKI

For those who aren’t leaving North America to play overseas, the AHL is providing young hockey players an opportunity to develop during the lockout.

Harry Zolnierczyk, who may have challenged for a forward spot on the Flyers’ roster this season, will be one of those players taking advantage of that opportunity when the Phantoms open their season Saturday night (see story).

Meanwhile, in their first games with their new German team, the Berlin Bears, Danny Briere and Claude Giroux had impressive debuts (see story).

Here’s a look at what is going on around the hockey world as the NHL lockout drones on:

Will Russian players return?

Without an NHL team to play for, many Russian stars have returned to their homeland to play in the KHL during the lockout. It begs the question: If the new CBA isn’t as favorable to the players as the last one and these Russian players get comfortable back at home, will they return?

Sergei Gonchar warns they may not.

According to ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun, Gonchar suggested that players as high-profile as Alex Ovechkin may opt not to come back.

“If the guys feel like it’s not fair what’s on the table, they might ask [NHLPA executive director] Don [Fehr] to put something in the new CBA to allow them to stay back home,” Gonchar said. “I mean, why not? We don’t know where it’s going with that new CBA. Everything is possible. That’s why I think there is a chance that a guy like Alex might stay back home.”

As ProHockeyTalk points out, Ovechkin’s nine years remaining on his 13-year, $124 million contract may make it less likely he’ll leave. And there’s also the understanding between the KHL and NHL to respect each other league’s contracts.

Delays in Ontario for new NHL-sized arena

According to the Toronto Star, the city council of Markham, Ont., is second-guessing its approval of a 20,000-seat arena that would require the city to pick up half of the $325 million bill.

The 300,000 person suburb of Toronto first gave the OK for an arena proposal in April.

“I have a lot of concerns,” Councillor Valerie Burke said. “With everything else we discuss in council, we are give very detailed reports. But with this we have just been given a rosy picture. We are not being given all the details of the deal.”

As ProHockeyTalk suggests, the saga currently plaguing Glendale, Ariz. — where the city is seeking a 30-day extension for the league to continue running Jobing.com Arena — could be influencing Markham’s concerns.

If we weren’t in a lockout…

… L.A. would’ve raised its first Stanley Cup championship banner Friday night at the Staples Center. The Kings were originally scheduled to host the Rangers in their season opener.

“We certainly feel bad for our fans, as they have been eagerly awaiting the opportunity to see us culminate our first Stanley Cup championship by raising a banner into the rafters at Staples Center,” Kings president of business operations Luc Robitaille told the Los Angeles Times.

“We know one day this will eventually take place, and we remain hopeful that it is sooner rather than later.”

It’s hard to imagine that a celebration of the franchise’s first title will have as much energy after a potential year-long lockout — and the NHL’s third in 18 years — as it would have had Friday night.



Giroux & Briere shine in debuts in Germany

NHL players continue to flock to various teams in Europe. Last week Danny Briere and Claude Giroux went to the same German professional hockey team, Eisbarën Berlin (Berlin Bears). They made their debuts Friday night.

Briere and Giroux combined for six points in the 6-5 loss, including a game-tying goal by Giroux six minutes into the third period.

To offer some background into this team, they were founded in 1954 and captured titles in 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2012.

The current coach of the Bears is Don Jackson, who hails from Minnesota. Jackson played in the NHL, earning two Stanley Cup rings in 1984 and 1985.

By all accounts Giroux and Briere have chosen the best situation for them while this lockout drags on.

The NHL and the players' association are expected to resume talks on Tuesday, but it is still unclear whether or not core economic issues will be discussed.

The likelihood of hockey in North America in 2012-2013 is looking bleak at best.



Zolnierczyk making the best of AHL stint

Staff Report

It is what it is.

But a player like Harry Zolnierczyk is left wondering about many "what ifs" once this NHL lockout ends.

What if, for instance, there had not been a lockout, and training camp opened on time and Harry Z got to compete against Eric Wellwood, Tom Sestito and Zac Rinaldo for a shot at the two open forward spots on the Flyers' roster?

Instead, he’ll dress Saturday night in Glens Falls for the Phantoms who host Portland in their AHL opener.

“I almost think it is the opposite for me to be in that position,” Zolnierczyk said. “There are a handful of NHLers down there, and there will be a handful that go up once this ends. I know the competition with guys for my position is huge. But I have a chance to play and maybe outplay guys to find my spot.”

He can work on both the offensive and defensive parts of his game.

“With the amount of players on our team like him, Wellwood, Sestito and Zac, there are guys down there who are NHL players or on the cusp,” said Flyers assistant general manager John Paddock.

“Sure, it'd be better if he were in the NHL but it’s a pretty good situation for him to go down there and play with the kind of players he can play with. And with Murph [Terry Murray] coaching him, it should be good for him.”

That’s the attitude Harry Z took with him when Phantoms camp broke this past week. He was eager to see where he stood after a grueling summer of workouts in Foxboro, Mass., under noted strength coach Brian McDonough.

Rangers forward Brian Boyle, a close friend of Zolnierczyk's, was also part of that workout group.

“The entire summer I was working on my game,” Zolnierczyk said. “Strength-wise, everything on ice and building yourself up to get your confidence back so when you get the chance with the NHL, you’re ready.

“Being able to play here now in the minors during the lockout is something I can benefit from. Full stride when league gets going.”

The 25-year-old Zolnierczyk, who came into last season from Brown University, was a recall player for the Flyers last year with three goals and six points in 37 games.

“It was a good experience for me in my first year of pro coming from college,” he said. “You’d love it end that way instead of battling to stay up here. To get a taste of the league, and know you can play in the league, is a huge confidence builder coming into the second year. You take that 37 games and build off them. I wanted to make the big team off the start.”

He had very limited ice time with the Flyers on a fourth line, averaging 7:42 a game. Yet it’s the minus-11 plus/minus that gives him pause, because the truth is, Harry Z isn’t a bad defensive player. He just got caught in unfortunate situations.

“I found there were a few games where I became a quick minus-3,” he said.

Like the game last winter against the Rangers in Madison Square Garden when he went minus-2 after going minus-3 a few days earlier at Tampa Bay.

Hop off the bench for your shift and there's a quick goal before you even touch the puck. It happens.

“I remember that Rangers game in New York, I was out there with two tip-in’s from the goal line on shots from way outside,” he recalled. "I wouldn’t say that reflects my game by any means. I don’t consider myself a player who would be on the minus side on a good team like the Flyers. That is something I have to improve on.

“But you never know if that is something that [the organization] holds against you. You never want to be in that spot where you are that far behind everyone else. It’s a fresh start this year for me to stay on the positive side.”

Paddock had a pretty good read on that plus/minus stat.

“While I think there is something to plus/minus, when you are a player who falls into the category of playing 5-8 minutes of ice time, you are not playing with [Claude] Giroux or someone who is scoring or getting into the flow,” Paddock said.

“Everybody is on ice for goals over a period of time. So how many goals will you be on the ice for? There are certain types of guys who are going to score that you are playing with. I don’t read too much into that.

“Harry is what he is and we like him. He came out and played the same kind of game we envisioned for him from college. Speed and energy. He scored more in college, but he is asked to do something different with us.”

Zolnierczyk averaged 32 points his final two years at Brown. He had 21 points last season in 39 games with the Phantoms. As a Flyer, he’s a fourth liner and situational player.

What separates him from Wellwood is that Wellwood might be the fastest player in the organization and generates more offensive chances but doesn’t finish.

Still, Wellwood got the call-up over Zolnierczyk during the playoffs.

“It was a numbers thing,” Paddock said. “You need to keep playing. He is what he is. He brings speed and the energy and some fearlessness going to the net. That is the kind of player he is and what he has to do.

“It’s not anything sometimes but who the coach can put in the lineup and if you are not going to play much – a few minutes – you are better off playing down here.”

For now, that’s where Harry Z will be during this lockout.



Callahan: NHL players cause hardships overseas

Written by

Kevin

Callahan

The game sure sounded like the NHL.

After all, ESPN2 announcers Steve Levy and Barry Melrose were calling the Tuesday matinee matchup.

The uniforms definitely looked different. Most of the names sounded funny. A few names were recognizable such as Alex Ovechkin and Zdeno Chara.

Yes, ESPN televised hockey last week like the old days before the NHL moved to the Outdoor Network. Only it wasn’t the NHL, but the KHL — the Russian-based Kontinental Hockey League.

You might recall the NHL regular season was supposed to start last week. The Flyers were scheduled to play the Bruins in the season opener Thursday night at the Wells Fargo Center.

Of course, the NHL is on strike. Or, is it a lockout? Or is it a work stoppage?

Really, does any fan care what they say the latest beef between the owners and the players is called? Or what both sides say it is about? We already know the bottom line is about the money.

Well, ESPN needs to make some more mountains of money, too, so the network sent its NHL talkers over to Prague to do this KHL game.

Again, it is hockey, but not NHL hockey. For Ovechkin, he really doesn’t overly care because the ESPN guys said he is happy to be playing on Dynamo Moscow because it’s a championship team — unlike his Capitals.

Ovechkin is drawing a paycheck, so he is probably happy playing with his old pro team in Russia. He has a right to be happy, play hockey and get paid for it. For Chara, the big defenseman was back playing closer to home and not in Philly on Thursday night playing for Boston.

There are other NHL guys playing in various leagues across the Atlantic Ocean, too. The Flyers’ Danny Briere and Claude Giroux made their debut Friday in Germany. There are five other Flyers playing in Europe. All have the right to be happy, play hockey and get paid. For them, there is little downside to the NHL season being on ice except they aren’t being paid as much money to play a game.

Sure, there is the risk of getting injured for these guys, but there is in the NHL, too.

Jake Voracek, who signed a four-year, $17 million deal with the Flyers in July, suffered a knee injury with his KHL team. He is expected to be out about a month, which means he could be back in Orange and Black for the start of the NHL season around Thanksgiving — if sanity suddenly rules.

So, other than getting paid a few less rubles for playing in the KHL and risking injury, the NHL guys playing in exotic cities such as Prague and Moscow are doing more than OK.

However, there is another down side, besides injury, of playing overseas. The NHL players are taking roster spots of lower-level players. That means they are taking money out of the pockets of players — and their families — who were certainly depending on the income this winter.

But, that is American capitalism at its best. Once again, some of our NHL millionaires remind the rest of the world how Wall Street works.

Thankfully, not all of them chose this route.

Last week, I was talking to Bobby Ryan, who was back home visiting in Cherry Hill. Ryan, the Anaheim Ducks winger, decided against playing in Europe or Russia because he didn’t want to take another guy’s job. I really salute Ryan and other NHL players who chose to stay home. They see the big picture.

Really, the NHL players could work if they chose to accept the latest Collective Bargaining Agreement. The guy whose job was taken by an NHL player overseas didn’t choose not to work. He lost his job to a guy who wants more money.

This is just a real-life example how the NHL lockout or work stoppage or strike or whatever it’s called hurts more than the fans, whom we all know are the big losers. Not only are they missing out on hockey, but the prices of their seats eventually will increase to pay for the owners and players making more money.

There are other losers we never hear about. Like a friend of mine who lost his importing business the last time the NHL shut itself down. You see, he got a big deal to provide hockey-related gift bags and merchandise for a company, so naturally he loaded his inventory with hockey items.

However, since the 2004-05 season was cancelled, so were his orders. He told me he still has all the inventory that never sold — and never will — in some warehouse.

So, as some NHL players choose to play hockey elsewhere, others are losing their jobs to them and even more are losing money because of them back home.

But, hey, at least the games are on ESPN.

Courier-Post LOADED: 10.14.2012

642290 Pittsburgh Penguins

Crosby sees greatness

By Josh Yohe

ERIE — Sidney Crosby doesn’t ordinarily spend time watching highlights of other hockey players.

But even the face of the NHL has checked out footage of hockey’s freshest face.

Like everyone else, Crosby is blown away by 15-year-old Connor McDavid, whose reputation as a wunderkind during his formative years outside of Toronto is being fortified in Erie. Too young to drive, McDavid is taking the Ontario Hockey League by storm.

“He looks like he’s got it all,” Crosby said. “When I watched him play, he reminded me of myself.”

The natural

Comparing 15-year-olds with icons of Crosby’s stature often isn’t becoming, but then, it was Crosby who made the comment.

McDavid only sounds his age when speaking of his “hero.”

“I can’t believe Sidney Crosby said that about me,” McDavid said. “I mean, that’s my childhood hero. I’m a Pens fan because of him. I’m totally speechless. I’m amazed.”

Crosby brings out a clear modesty in McDavid. Although the Erie Otters’ center comes across as humble in every conceivable setting, he has known from a young age that his talent is special. Like Crosby, McDavid did interviews while in grade school and has been a quasi-celebrity in Canada for years.

McDavid is only the third player to receive “exceptional status,” allowing him into the OHL at age 15. John Tavares, an eventual first overall pick by the New York Islanders in the 2009, was the first person to receive exceptional status.

“I was 8 when that happened,” McDavid said. “And I said to myself at the time that I wanted to be good enough to get into the OHL early. I always wanted that.”

The comparison

McDavid doesn’t just love Crosby, but he also seems to emulate his game. Crosby, when assessing McDavid’s game, sees immediate similarities.

They are both left-handed centers, and both wear the number of the year in which they were born. Ten years Crosby’s junior, McDavid wears No. 97.

But there is more.

McDavid seems to possess that rare ability to always locate the open player, his passes during the Otters’ home opener Friday in Erie throwing the crowd into a frenzy on multiple occasions.

“I like the way he distributes the puck,” Crosby said. “He seems to have all the tools.”

McDavid stands 5-foot-11, just like Crosby, and showcases the ability to accelerate through the neutral zone at warp speed like the Penguins’ captain.

“He’s so good,” Brampton Battalion forward Derek Froats said. “And he’s only 15. Wow.”

A special debut

The Otters have struggled in recent years, both in the standings and in ticket sales. McDavid might change everything.

Playing before a near-sellout in his first game in Erie on Oct. 5, McDavid scored two pretty goals on odd-man rushes. On the first, McDavid slid to his knees, knocking in a pass from ice level. He received a standing ovation before and after the game. Some of the fans made the two-hour drive from Pittsburgh, hungry to see live hockey during the NHL lockout.

“I’m pretty happy with the start I’ve had,” he said. “And even more than that, just the way Erie has welcomed me. I’m far away from home, but the city of Erie has made me feel so comfortable.”

McDavid has produced nine points in seven games, hardly looking like a child playing against players ages 16-20.

In his second game, he burned touted Penguins’ prospects Scott Harrington and Olli Maatta on the same rush, scoring an early goal against the London Knights.

Harrington and Maatta, considered among the OHL’s best defensive defensemen, had difficulty with McDavid throughout the night.

“He was impressive,” Harrington said. “You can see he’s going to be very, very good.”

The Future

McDavid, already projected by many scouts to be the first player selected in the 2015 NHL Draft, will play the next three seasons in Erie. The Erie Insurance Arena is under renovation, and for good reason: McDavid figures to fill seats there for all of his years with the Otters.

On the night of his second home game, many members of the Penguins organization were on hand to watch Harrington and Maatta. Of course, they couldn’t help but notice the kid who was giving their respective draft picks fits.

Coach Dan Bylsma, when asked about the prodigy, could only shake his head and smile.

“Not bad for 15,” he said.

With the NHL locked out, junior hockey figures to receive more attention.

And when you apply for “exceptional status,” pressure is certain to follow.

McDavid’s hero always had the ability to handle attention and pressure, even at the youngest of ages. This appears yet another trait he shares with Crosby.

“I know there will be pressure,” McDavid said. “And I’m OK with that. It’s what people play hockey for, to be ‘The Guy.’ I love when the arena is full. The more people that come out, the better. I actually sort of like the pressure.”

Josh Yohe is a staff writer for Trib Total Media.

Tribune Review LOADED: 10.14.2012


NHL labor talks could resume Tuesday

By Rob Rossi

The NHL and the players’ union tentatively will meet Tuesday.

The location of and agenda for the meeting could be determined Monday.

“Nothing (is) firmed yet,” NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said in an email.

A lockout, instituted by the NHL when the most recent collective bargaining agreement expired Sept. 15, forced the cancellation of regular-season games, which were set to begin Thursday. The Penguins’ opening six games were canceled, including the scheduled home opener Friday.

The NHL has canceled 82 games in all, but it is possible a full 82-game schedule can be played if the sides make headway on a new CBA. The sides remain at odds over revenue. Players received 57 percent of the share on the last CBA, but owners are seeking a higher percentage in their favor.

The league and union have met often since July, but neither has negotiated off a proposal from the other and recent meetings have not focused on the core economic issue.

Owners are not permitted to comment about the lockout, but players have expressed doubt about a quick resolution. However, the Penguins’ Sidney Crosby said he didn’t expect the season to be canceled.

Rob Rossi is a staff writer for Trib Total Media.

Tribune Review LOADED: 10.14.2012


Pittsburgh Penguins: Junior passion

By Shelly Anderson / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

ERIE, Pa. -- Sherry Bassin, the enthusiastic general manager of the Erie Otters, is nearly six decades older than star center Connor McDavid, and yet he has no trouble getting as giddy over the 15-year-old as if he were in the same age bracket.

"I don't want to put a label on him, like the next [Sidney] Crosby or the next this, but I'll tell you what -- he's got a lot of characteristics, and he's a special person," Bassin gushed recently. "So there's a real comparison."

McDavid, who will be eligible for the 2015 NHL draft, had four goals, nine points in seven games entering the weekend. He's already 5 feet 11, 170

pounds. He's crafty and quick, playing with and against guys up to 20 years old.

He's a big name already across Canada, where you can regularly watch his highlights. Reporters from his native country have been regularly visiting Otters games -- something Penguins fans can do with an easy drive north during the NHL lockout.

"If Connor McDavid was playing basketball, this whole country would know about him," Bassin said. "You have to understand -- he's coast to coast in Canada. It's like when [LeBron] James was coming up in basketball, everybody knew him in the country."

At 73, Bassin has seen a lot of phenoms come through major junior hockey. Erie is in the prestigious Ontario Hockey League, and Bassin has been the GM since the club's inception in 1996.

He has a wide and varied past -- "I'm really a retired professor," he said -- but is as closely aligned with North American junior hockey as anyone over the past several decades.

Bassin dipped his toes in at the NHL level for a short time -- two seasons as assistant GM with the Quebec Nordiques -- but junior hockey has been his calling, at least as far as his sports career.

As a coach or GM, he has won two gold medals for Canada at the junior world championships, five league championships, a Memorial Cup in six trips to that junior title tournament, numerous individual management awards and has even done some color commentary on TV.

Along the way, he's developed an infectious personality and a knack for storytelling. Longtime Penguins fans might relate to this: Bassin could be called the Eddie Johnston of junior hockey.

In fact, Bassin has a favorite story about Johnston, a former goalie, coach and general manager in the NHL.

"I get on the [hotel] elevator in Detroit -- I don't know what game I was there for -- and he's on the floor in the elevator packing his suitcase," Bassin said, barely able to get the words out through laughter.

"I said, 'What the hell?' He said, 'I'm late.' This is before the airport security. He said, 'My plane's leaving in an hour,' and he's finishing packing on the elevator. Only him. I just love him to death. That's what's so good about our game. There's so many good people like Eddie Johnston."

And Bassin.

This is a son of Russian immigrants who grew up in rural Saskatchewan long before the Internet, video games or even much in the way of television.

"If you didn't play hockey, you died of boredom. Let's be honest," he said.

His parents insisted he pursue an education, and he reached a point where he agreed.

"That was when there were only six [NHL] teams," Bassin said. "The good thing is, when I got to a certain age, I realized I wasn't that good so I had better get an education."

He has a pharmacy degree, a master's in hospital administration and a law doctorate. He taught law and management in college in Canada.

"My students, when they didn't think they were well prepared, they would ask a hockey question about four minutes into class, and that would take about 20 minutes so we wouldn't get to cover all the material," Bassin said.

But there has always been hockey, and Bassin learned long ago how to manage teams of predominantly teenagers.

"We have only four rules on our team -- don't embarrass the team, don't embarrass the community, don't embarrass your family, don't embarrass yourself," he said. "You break one of those four rules, you get a see-me call, and I'm not happy even when I'm happy."

That last statement is a bit tough to believe when you encounter Bassin while he is wearing his junior hockey ambassador attire.

He just wishes the competitive nature of major junior hockey was better understood across the United States.

"They hear that Connor McDavid is here playing junior hockey, they think we've got sticks upside down," Bassin said. "That's the connotation."

For the real story, you only have to ask Bassin.

A hockey fix?

• Team: Erie Otters, members of the Ontario Hockey League major junior circuit.

• Players: Ages 16-20.

• Home: Erie Insurance Arena. Tickets range from $10-$16.50.

Post Gazette LOADED: 10.14.2012

642293 Tampa Bay Lightning

Possible stadium site? Bolts owner buys land near Forum

By RICHARD MULLINS, MICHAEL SASSO | Tbo.com

TAMPA --

A company tied to Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeff Vinik has bought another large swath of land north of the Forum where many believe a baseball stadium could one day sit.

The transaction happened two weeks ago and includes a half-dozen contiguous parcels north of Channelside Drive purchased for $9.5 million, according to county records.

The seller was a legal entity tied to the Italiano family of Tampa. The buyer is Crestline Acquisitions Group LLC of Greenwood Village Colo., a company related to Michael and Ray Baker. Last year, they directed the purchase of 7 acres across from the Forum immediately to the west for $6.8 million.

Ray Baker is the longtime chairman of the Denver Metropolitan Major League Baseball Stadium District, which owns Coors Field. He helped pull together public financing for the ballpark that is home to the Colorado Rockies.

The parcel in Tampa that sold two weeks ago is also about 7 acres and stretches from Channelside Drive on the south to East Finley Street on the north, and it is bordered on either side by South Caesar Street and just before South Meridian Avenue.

Officials with the Lighting confirmed the deal and noted that Vinik is involved in the property as a part owner, but they said there are no plans for the land. For years, the Lightning and Forum operators have used land north of the Forum for employee parking and to store the scores of trucks that often come in for concerts and shows.

"As one of the economic hubs of the Channelside District, we remain interested in what is happening in the neighborhood," the Lightning said in a statement. "There are no short- or long-term plans for the property at this point, other than creating increased parking options for Lightning hockey games, Storm football games and other Times Forum events."

The transaction comes just as the Tampa Bay Rays baseball stadium becomes a hot political topic again. On Thursday, the owners of the baseball team wrote to the mayor of St. Petersburg, Bill Foster, saying they'd like to explore locations for a new stadium in both Pinellas and Hillsborough County — a move Foster has staunchly opposed.

Not wanting to be an illegal suitor, Hillsborough County and Tampa politicians have shied away from overtly wooing the team to change locations — though Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn has characterized the area north of Channelside Drive as perfect for a stadium.

Tampa Tribune LOADED: 10.14.2012

642294 Toronto Maple Leafs

NHL prospects: Ottawa 67’s co-captain Sean Monahan embraces leadership role

Daniel Girard

Sean Monahan already had a lot on his mind this season.

The Ottawa 67’s centre is, after all, in his NHL draft year and, at the outset, is pegged as a high, first-round pick come June in New Jersey. There’s also the matter of needing to have a good start to get himself into the mix for selection to Canada for the World Junior Hockey Championship in Russia.

Despite those personal goals, Monahan, a Brampton, Ont., native who turned 18 on Friday, was quick to embrace the job of 67’s co-captain when head coach Chris Byrne tapped him, and Ottawa Senators 2012 first-round draft pick Cody Ceci, for that leadership role as the season was beginning.

Far from a burden, Monahan sees it as something that will make him better.

“Obviously, it’s an honour and I think it’s good for me,” said Monahan, who is one of the OHL’s youngest captains. “It’s going to help me stay focused to play the right way and lead by example.

“Being a leader means you can’t take nights off, you’ve always got guys on the team looking up to you, so I think that will help me be a better player and I think that’s going to be a benefit to the team.”

Such a response is among the very reasons Byrne gave the job to Monahan. He will wear the “A” at home and the “C” on the road, switching that order with Ceci, an 18-year-old defenceman, after Christmas.

“He’s obviously a high-end player but also a really good character kid,” Byrne said of Monahan, a former member of the Mississauga Rebels Minor Midget AAA team. “He’ll have a good, long (pro) career based on how he handles himself and prepares and how serious and focused he is.”

So far, Byrne is pleased with his choice, saying Monahan, in his third OHL season, “has taken it to another level of competing and focus and desire.”

Monahan credits his stint with “the high-end guys and good leaders” he played with in the 2012 Canada-Russia Challenge in August for giving him momentum coming into the OHL season. He was one of the top forwards for the winning Canadians, scoring twice and adding an assist in four games.

“It was great being around them, seeing what they do on and off the ice to be good,” said Monahan, who has a scoring touch and a solid two-way game.

Two years ago, as a rookie, Monahan rebounded from a wrist injury in training camp to notch 47 points in 65 games. In 2011-12, he had 78 points in 62 games. Over the two campaigns, he was a combined plus-49.

Despite it being his draft year and admitting that’s “always going to be in my head, obviously,” Monahan’s approach isn’t going to change this year.

“I just like to look at hockey as hockey, something I enjoy doing,” he said. “I just play the game, have a good time and work hard to try and get better everyday.

“I guess there might just be a few more people watching and keeping an eye on me. I think that’s pretty cool.”

Sean Monahan

Born: Oct. 12, 1994

Hometown: Brampton

Height: 6-foot-2

Weight: 193 pounds

2012-13 stats

GP: 8

Goals: 4

Assists: 8

Points: 12

PIM: 0

Plus/minus: -7

Career Highlights

• Member of Canadian team at 2012 Canada-Russia Challenge in August

• Youngest player on the roster for Super Series game between OHL and Russian juniors, November 2011

• Won gold with Canada at Ivan Hlinka tourney, August 2011

• Won gold with Team Ontario at World U-17 Hockey Challenge, January 2011

Toronto Star LOADED: 10.14.2012


Toronto Marlies open season with 3-1 win over Rochester Americans: Cox

By Damien Cox Sports Columnist

Four months since we last saw them and not much has changed for the Toronto Marlies.

Eight years after they first started, however, the world has changed.

They’re still the only winning pro sports team in Toronto — the Blue Jays, Argos and Toronto FC couldn’t make it a group of two since the Marlies were last on the ice — and still the most successful sporting department of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment.

A 3-1 win in their season opener over the Rochester Americans on Saturday wasn’t exactly picking up where they left off, since they lost their last four games last spring while being swept in the Calder Cup final.

But in a larger sense, it was a continuation. The same strong team, the same NHL-ready head coach and largely the same cast of characters courtesy of the NHL lockout. With strong goaltending, a mobile defence corps and a solid team concept, even the presence of loads of NHL players on other AHL rosters isn’t likely to alter the fact the Marlies will again be one of the teams to beat in the AHL.

The Amerks, after all, had lots of NHL-quality talent themselves, from Cody Hodgson to Marcus Foligno to Luke Adam, but they were badly outshot and competitive for only one of three periods at the Ricoh Coliseum after playing the night before.

But while it’s largely status quo for the Marlies in terms of where they sit in the AHL, eight years of trying appears to have finally brought about a decisive turnaround in the profile of the organization to the point they are both a known commodity in the city and a highly regarded one.

It’s not apples to apples because of the lockout, but a sellout crowd of 7,921 showed up Saturday, compared to an opening night audience last year of 6,084. That’s a 30 per cent increase in one year, and it wasn’t because lots of ACC platinum seat holders descended upon the Ricoh demanding sushi.

Eight years ago, the notion that the Marlies would be a solid draw rather than just another ignored hockey team in this town would have seemed fanciful.

But it has happened, at least to the degree to which any minor-league team can make it happen in the GTA.

Beyond that, this has become a model AHL franchise, arguably the best. Free agents Keith Aucoin and Mike Kostka evidently thought so when they left their clubs for Toronto during the summer, and anyone who knows the AHL can confirm the quality of facilities enjoyed by the Marlies and the way in which they basically operate as a pseudo-NHL franchise has created a unique environment.

That, plus they can put on a show.

With Nazem Kadri flying and leading the way, demonstrating this notion that the Leaf organization has maltreated him is about the most ridiculous hockey idea out there, the Marlies entertained the packed crowd and scored some pretty goals. Kadri set up Jake Gardiner for the first one, captain Ryan Hamilton finished off a pretty three-way passing play with Joe Colborne and Mike Zigomanis for the second and Hamilton also potted the third on a strong power move.

The Amerks, driven to distraction by newcomer Leo Komarov all game long, did get to within 2-1, and after their goal by Foligno they followed up with a breakaway attempt by Maxime Legault that Ben Scrivens turned away but could have made for a very different game.

Kadri, his separated left shoulder from the playoffs healed, is anything but unhappy or in a sulk after his much-celebrated body fat imbroglio at training camp.

“I have confidence in myself,” he said. “I feel I can be a dominant player here and in the NHL.”

He said he has no problem with head coach Dallas Eakins leaning on him to improve his fitness and his overall game.

“This is nothing. I was raised by my dad, who could be really tough,” said Kadri. “This? I can take this all day.”

The 22-year-old centre with the magical hands got the loudest cheer in the pre-game introductions, and he suggested there’s an awareness now of the Marlies that wasn’t there before last spring’s playoff run.

“Ever since the playoffs there’s been this incredible buzz,” he said. “You put a winning product out there and people keep coming.”

A top ticket of $45 in a market in which hockey tickets passed “obscene” on the affordability meter a decade ago is helpful, plus the easy access to the Ricoh and reasonable parking.

Roll it all together — the entertainment, the affordability, the presence of NHL-quality players and, yes, the winning — and the Marlies are something of a unique commodity in this town.

Eight years after they started, it must feel nice to be appreciated.

Toronto Star LOADED: 10.14.2012


Just what did Bettman whisper in Burke's ear?

By Steve Simmons ,Toronto Sun

TORONTO -

In the most inactive summer of Brian Burke’s time running the Maple Leafs, you have to wonder: What did his friend, Gary Bettman, tell him about the coming season?

And can Burke’s quiet approach to making over the Leafs be attributed in any way to a belief there will not be an NHL season?

Burke never went out an acquired the veteran goaltender he said he wasn’t going to get at the end of last season. He wasn’t in any way aggressive in the free agent market, which is understandable considering the mistakes made in the past. He never found the first-line centre he hoped for — and has this odd belief that James vanRiemsdyk, a winger with talent and marginal success, can be that centre.

The biggest names on the Leafs — Dion Phaneuf, Phil Kessel, James Reimer — are not playing overseas, getting ready for a season that might not be.

Without playing this season, the Leafs don’t have to account for the final years on the contracts of players such as Tim Connolly, Matthew Lombardi, Clarke MacArthur and Tyler Bozak, which frees up $13 million in salaries for starting over post-lockout. A chance to begin anew with youngsters like Morgan Rielly not that far away.

You wonder: What was Burke told about this season? You wonder, with his closeness to the league and his friendship with Bettman, what he’s known all along.

THIS AND THAT

Baseball has always been about karma, maybe more than any other sport. And there was Drew Storen on the mound Friday night, the former Montreal Expos batboy, unable to close, unable hold a lead for the Washington Nationals team which used to be the Expos. It was like worlds were colliding and heroes whose names we barely know — Daniel Descalso and

Pete Kozma — were eliminating the used-to-be Expos and the batboy closer ... George Kottaras was nine-years-old and living in Markham when the Blue Jays won their first World Series. The Jays haven’t been to the playoffs in 19 years. but Kottaras, the Canadian catcher, has been part of three big-league teams, Oakland, Milwaukee and Boston. All three teams went to the playoffs in his five major league seasons ... Jerry Sandusky got a 30-year sentence, which is essentially life in prision. Graham James received a two-year sentence. Canadian justice, please explain ... The new Ottawa CFL team won’t be called the Rough Riders, which is a shame for those of us who loved the fact that Roughriders and Rough Riders could compete against each other in the same league. Here’s hoping they dress in the traditional black, though ... Could Jim Barker, on the last year of his contract, end up as GM of the Ottawa expansion franchise? Could be.

HEAR AND THERE

A former NHL star, whose views I value, said this about his experience in losing a full season to lockout: “In the last lockout, we were told we would not give in to a salary cap and we were willing to fight for that principle, no matter what. We wound up losing an entire season and gave in on the salary cap. I lost $3 million in that fight, $3 million I’ll never get back. Looking back, you wonder what were you fighting for?” ... Director Daniel Gordon’s documentary on Ben Johnson and the 1988 gold-medal race was must-see television. If you missed it the first time, TSN2 will be replaying it tonight at 9 p.m. It’s a remarkable piece of work, definitely worth seeing ... One more retort regarding the documentary named 9.79: If you didn’t believe Carl Lewis was a smug and dishonest creep before, you will witness it first hand here. And somewhat creepier than Lewis: His manager at the time, Joe Douglas, who came across as one of those bad guys from an Austin Powers movie ... The retirement of Dominik Hasek comes with an active discussion over who is the best goaltender of all time. The subject is purely subjective, but it is rich. The best I’ve ever seen, in no particular order: Hasek, Patrick Roy, Martin Brodeur, Terry Sawchuk, Jacques Plante, Glenn Hall. Just missing the list: Ken Dryden ... What I’d love to see: Game 7, Tigers and Yankees, CC Sabathia versus Justin Verlander ... Has playoff baseball ever been better than it has in the past week? Nine games in the division series settled in the ninth inning.

SCENE AND HEARD

I can predict with absolute certainty that the World Series-winning manager will be a former catcher. The reason that’s certain: Jim Leyland, Joe Girardi, Mike Matheny and Brucy Bochy all played catcher ... Another reason to wonder about John Farrell, the former pitcher. No pitcher has won a World Series as manager since Tommy Lasorda, back in 1988 ... This actually happened in a golf tournament — a two-man scramble — on Thursday. My partner, a kid who should be tested for steroids, drove the green on a 340-yard Par 4. Five putts later (three of them mine) we ended up with a six ... Why playoff baseball is amazing and nonsensical: Jim Johnson, who saved 51 of 54 attempts for the Orioles, basically cost Baltimore two games and maybe the series against the Yankees ... What Blue Jay could you see doing the Raul Ibanez thing and coming off the bench for pinch hit home runs in the post-season? Ed Sprague maybe. Who today? ... The Jays will be watching Tigers’ starter Anibal Sanchez closely though the post-season. They have their eyes on him come free agency ... The Sunday essay question: Who dresses Gregg Zaun?

AND ANOTHER THING

Christine Sinclair had to know it was coming. The question was: How long a punishment? Sinclair will likely become the first to win Canada’s athlete of the year while under suspension. But at least her suspension won’t affect any Canadian games that truly matter, like the coming World Cup ... Is Anthony Calvillo really starting to show the signs of age or is he just victim of the first lousy football team he has been on in years? This Sunday afternoon game at home is huge for the Argos if they truly want to be Grey Cup contenders ... When Chris Rudge says the Grey Cup is sold out, he’s really not kidding. “I wish we had 70,000 seats available,” said the Argos’ president. “We could have sold that many seats.” ... Why you can’t really take pre-season basketball seriously: You hear things like Ed Davis played well .... It may be just me but I miss hearing Tim Micallef doing CIS football games on The Score ... At what point did all of sports media turn to political punditry? Imagine a group of serious political writers tweeting play by play of a sporting event the way so many managed on the U.S. vice-presidential debate ... In the end, all the Stephen Strasburg talk amounted to what? The Nationals are still playing today if they could have held a six-run lead against St. Louis ... Happy birthday to Sylvain Lefebvre (45), Girardi (48), Tom Kurvers (50), Dave (the Hammer) Schultz (63), Zac Henderson (57), Willie Mays Aikens (58), Al Oliver (66) and Stacy Keibler (33) ... And hey, whatever became of Otis Nixon?

FARRELL’S DOUBLESPEAK

What John Farrell doesn’t say is often more important than what he does say.

In his recent interview with MLB-TV, Farrell sounded as though he was waiting for the call to become manager of the Boston Red Sox, even if his words indicated otherwise.

When asked about the situation, he said: “Nothing has been communicated to me as far as if the Red Sox have contacted Alex (Anthopoulos). I’m unaware of that. So where it stands is what I said — manager of the Blue Jays.”

To date, neither Jays president Paul Beeston nor GM Anthopoulos have been absolute in Farrell’s future in Toronto.

They could have been definitive in saying he isn’t going anywhere and they are signing him long-term. That would have put an end to the story. They haven’t done that.

My interpretation: Farrell wants to take the Red Sox job, the Jays would like to be well compensated for it, and both sides are letting this play out.

AWESTRUCK ORIOLES?

If you were a Baltimore Orioles player, matched up against the big, rich New York Yankees, you probably didn’t know whether to play the game or ask somebody for an autograph.

Consider this: The team the Orioles went the distance with had in its lineup, Derek Jeter, Hall of Famer; Ichiro Suzuki, Hall of Famer; Alex Rodriguez, pretty certain Hall of Famer; Mark Teixeira and Robinson Cano, quite possibly Hall of Famers. Not to mention long-time all-stars like Andy Pettitte and CC Sabathia on the mound. And sitting in the dugout in uniform, Mariano Rivera, greatest closer of all-time, a Hall of Fame lock. The odds are, not a single Orioles player from this team will ever make the Hall of Fame. So imagine years from now, they will be able to tell the story of how they went 162 games head to head with the Yankees, and then five more in a memorable playoff series they could have won. It was that close.

NHL ENTHUSIASM DYING

Whatever enthusiasm and excitement I once had for the National Hockey League is slowly being beaten out of me by the grim and unnecessary lockout of players.

And I suspect I am not alone.

If I could understand the damage both sides are willing to be party to in the name of hardline stances by both the league’s owners and the Players’ Association, then maybe my view would change.

But all I see is ownership, contadicting itself by pushing for salary rollbacks and percentage of league revenue, asking for far too much, far too quickly.

And all I see are players, the most entitled in history, unwilling to budge in any kind of give back, living off unrealistic numbers of 57% of hockey-related revenue. Obviously, there is a solution here, although none apparent.

With two sides holding their breath, turning blue in the face, the page is turning, the season is going and the worst part, disinterest can be contagious.

Toronto Sun LOADED: 10.14.2012


We want our hockey!

By Tom Godfrey ,Toronto Sun

TORONTO -

More than a dozen noisy fans rallied outside the Air Canada Centre Saturday calling for the return of NHL hockey and the revenue it brings to local businesses.

The fans erected signs and handed out flyers to hockey-thirsty area residents at the corner of York St. and Bremner Blvd. on Saturday night.

“Businesses and people around here are hurting,” said organizer Matteo Codispoti. “We want hockey back in this city.”

He said the downtown intersection would normally have been packed with fans attending what would have been the Maple Leafs home opener.

“It’s the owners versus the players and the fans are suffering most,” he said on Saturday. “The owners are still wealthy and many players are still playing competitive hockey abroad.”

He said the event will help bring fans together to help share the pain of hockey withdrawal.

Organizer Dante Martella said some businesses that cater to the hockey crowd are laying off workers.

“Our aim is to support local businesses that are suffering from the lack of NHL hockey,” Martella said. “Nothing compares to a packed Saturday night full of puck on Hockey Night in Canada.”

Superfan Scott Wheeler said the event will help raise awareness of the plight of businesses.

“Enough is enough,” Wheeler said. “We want our hockey back.”

Leafs fan MJ Boorn said she’s spending her spare time playing the sport.

“I like playing the game better,” Boorn said. “It will also be nice to watch some games on TV.”

They’ve created a website wewantacup.com so fans can help pass away their hockey blues.

Toronto Sun LOADED: 10.14.2012

642298 Vancouver Canucks

Edler injury revelation a troubling one

Back issues raise alarm bells as extension negotiations begin

By Jason Botchford

There are two key questions that rolled out of the Alex Edler reveal last week.

At No. 1, with a bullet, is should there be long-term concern about news he is rehabbing a bulging disc under team supervision?

The obvious answer is obvious: of course.

Edler underwent surgery, because of a bulging disc, in January 2011. He continued to experience back spasms throughout the next season. He missed practices and was forced to leave a game in December. And he just happens now to be looking for an extension that would make him the Canucks’ highest-paid defenceman.

That’s enough for at least mild concern, even if the Canucks brass says it has none, believing his current back issue is temporary.

“After consultation with our doctors and the back specialist, they think it’s something which will correct itself,” Canucks assistant GM Laurence Gilman said.

But even if we assume this isn’t another Cody Hodgson situation and the doctors and specialist are spot on this time, it raises alarm bells. Is this problem one that will recur throughout Edler’s career?

Even without the back injury in the equation, the Edler negotiation hasn’t been an easy one. He’s asking for the type of money you pay a No. 1 blueliner, and he’s the second best, sometimes third, defenceman on the team.

The Canucks have carefully crafted an internal salary cap and are not anxious to blow it up for the inconsistent Edler.

So, you can understand then why the Canucks are choosing, and it was a choice, to pay his, and closely monitor this back with their own medical

staff, the same back they were trying to invest heavily in before the CBA expired.

And that leads us to question No. 2.

Will the decision to keep Edler on the payroll during this labour standoff help when the negotiations to re-sign him resume?

The more sinister among us have suggested ponying up now for Edler is some quid pro quo. He gets paid during a lockout, and later gives the Canucks a sweetheart, hometown discount contract when the NHL resumes.

Gilman dismissed this notion as ludicrous and pointed out the team is doing the same thing for Jason Garrison, who has been hobbled by a nagging groin injury. Garrison is signed for the next six years.

And really, it’s a huge leap.

If the NHL and the NHLPA agree to a deal in the next month, the money Edler will have been paid won’t be significant when you consider he’s talking about an extension worth more than $30 million.

His back issue fit under the Canucks’ broad interpretation of “hockey-related injuries” that allow teams to continue to pay players during the lockout who have been deemed unfit to play.

Essentially, if a player is injured during his employment as a hockey player, he shall receive his salary for as long as he is unable to perform.

A club physician would be the one to decide whether to clear a player.

Different teams have different definitions. The Florida Panthers’ blue-chip defenceman Erik Gudbranson had shoulder surgery after sustaining an injury during offseason training. He isn’t scheduled to be back until January. But the Panthers concluded it wasn’t hockey-related because it didn’t happen during the season. They decided to lock him out with the rest of their non-injured players.

The Canucks went the other way, and it feeds the narrative that they often make decisions from the players’ perspective. That narrative has been one of the reasons the Canucks have been able to sign some players to deals considered discounts.

“If [Edler] wiped out water skiing and then started complaining about back pain, it would be a little different,” Gilman said. “That’s obviously not a hockey-related injury.

“The thing about it is, if you take the position that, if the guy who gets injured in the offseason is on his own time and his own responsibility, you may not have a player lift a weight once the season is over.

“You could argue Sami Salo was doing his own thing when he was playing floorball in the summer. But if you take that position with the guy, your players aren’t going to do anything in the offseason except sit on their butts.

“Alex was fine. He was skating with our players and he began to suffer some pain following the skates. If that’s not a hockey-related injury, I don’t know what is.”

Vancouver Province: LOADED: 10.14.2012

642299 Washington Capitals

Top Five: Postseason losses by D.C. teams over the last 20 years

Brian McNally

There are sports fans who wrap themselves in misery like a security blanket. It begins to define certain teams -- or in some cases, when the losing spreads across sports, entire towns. Cleveland and Buffalo come to mind. But in the 20-plus years since the Redskins won their last Super Bowl on Jan. 26, 1992, Washington isn't far behind. Here are the five most crushing postseason defeats:

5. May 1, 1992: Penguins 3, Capitals 1 (Stanley Cup playoffs, first round, Game 7, Capital Centre) » The Caps have blown plenty of 3-1 series leads

in the playoffs. But this time it happened against a Penguins team that not only went on to win its second title in a row but whose players still claim that this was by far their toughest series.

4. April 28, 2010: Canadiens 2, Capitals 1 (Stanley Cup playoffs, first round, Game 7, Verizon Center) » The Caps led the NHL in goals, won 14 games in a row at one point and finished with the NHL's best record. None of it mattered after they blew a 3-1 series lead to No. 8 seed Montreal. Fans still remember an Alex Ovechkin goal 24 seconds into the third period being waved off because Mike Knuble was ruled in the goal crease.

3. Jan. 15, 2000: Buccaneers 14, Redskins 13 (NFC divisional playoff, Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Fla.) » The Redskins have made the playoffs only four times since 1991, but this team seemed legitimate after winning the NFC East with a 10-6 record. They led 13-0 late in the third quarter but gave up two touchdowns, and then a bad snap prevented them from getting off a potential game-winning 52-yard field goal with 1:17 left.

2. March 31, 2001: Duke 95, Maryland 84 (NCAA Final Four, Metrodome, Minneapolis) » After building from the rubble of NCAA probation in the early 1990s, the Terrapins not only had made it to the Final Four for the first time, but they were crushing their most hated rival in the process. But a 22-point first-half lead in a national semifinal evaporated, and Duke went on to win the game and the national title.

1. Oct. 12, 2012: Cardinal 9, Nationals 7 (National League Division Series, Game 5, Nationals Park) » It might be because it's so fresh, but this has to top the list. The Nats finished with the best record in the majors, took a 6-0 lead in the deciding Game 5 of an NL Division Series and blew a 7-5 lead in the ninth.

Washington Examiner LOADED: 10.14.2012

642300 Winnipeg Jets

The big 4-0

Winnipeg, current team owe much to original Jets of 1972

By: Geoff Kirbyson

‘MCDONALD has scored for Winnipeg!"

The call signalling the first-ever goal for the inaugural version of the Winnipeg Jets in 1972 will never be confused with Paul Henderson's famous marker just a couple of weeks earlier.

Back in the old days

The 1972-73 Winnipeg Jets finished first in the WHA's Western Division with a record of 43-31-4 for 90 points. They finished ahead of the Houston Aeros, the Los Angeles Sharks, the Minnesota Fighting Saints, the Alberta Oilers and the Chicago Cougars.

They beat the Fighting Saints in five games in the opening round of the playoffs, followed that up by sweeping the Aeros before being dispatched by the New England Whalers in five games

Despite playing just 63 games, Bobby Hull was the team's leading scorer with 51 goals and 52 assists for 103 points, along with Norm Beaudin, who scored 38 goals and had 65 assists.

Along with Chris Bordeleau, who was right behind with 101 points, they formed "The Luxury Line."

Hull was prevented from suiting up for the first 15 games of the season because he was battling his former team, the Chicago Black Hawks, in court. On Nov. 8, Philadelphia judge A. Leon Higginbotham, issued a 100-page report upholding the WHA's legal claim on players.

The five major banks in Winnipeg owned a total of 16 season tickets that year.

There was a heavy Manitoba flavour to the Jets roster.

Dan Johnson (C) - Winnipegosis

Ab McDonald (C) - Winnipeg

Milt Black (RW) - St. Boniface

Wally Boyer (C) - Cowan

Joe Daley (G) - East Kildonan

Dunc Rousseau (LW) - Bissett

Bob Ash (D) - Brandon

Freeman (Duke) Asmundson (RW) - Vita

Bob Woytowich (D) - Winnipeg

Gord Tumilson (G) - Winnipeg

Ernie Wakely (G) - Flin Flon

Defeating the powerful Soviets in the Summit Series has gone down in hockey lore as one of this country's greatest sporting accomplishments, despite the fact that most of the team -- and country, for that matter -- thought the eight-game series would be a cakewalk for Phil Esposito and the rest of Team Canada.

But in Winnipeg, Ab McDonald's goal against the New York Raiders on Oct. 12 in Madison Square Garden signalled the beginning of a emotional roller-coaster ride that took local fans to the highest of highs and the lowest of lows and back again.

Without Ben Hatskin, the owner who wouldn't take "no" for an answer, Bobby Hull, the superstar he signed away from the Chicago Blackhawks, and the rest of the 1972 Jets, it's hard to imagine Winnipeggers standing around watercoolers discussing Mark Chipman, Andrew Ladd and Evander Kane.

Joe Daley, the only Jet to play all seven seasons in the WHA, said he first entertained thoughts of jumping to the rebel league while playing for the Detroit Red Wings in 1971-72.

"I had struggled with management in Detroit in the second half of the year. We had discussions amongst ourselves about the possibility of some league opening up, but we didn't have a lot of information. Once I was contacted by Winnipeg and asked if I would be interested in coming home to play, I didn't think twice. This was a great opportunity for me to do something that I didn't think I'd be able to do in my lifetime, which was play professional hockey in my hometown," he said.

Daley's leap of faith is even more remarkable when you consider he signed before Hull, the league's marquee name and face.

"When Bobby signed, that was my insurance policy. I'd signed a three-year deal, so I thought there was a good chance we'd get through those three years," he said.

"I came in fully confident we were going to get (the league) off the ground. The more guys that signed, the more I thought this wasn't something that somebody had written down on the back of a napkin, although that is how it got started."

The other big name on the team was Ab McDonald, who won four Stanley Cups in the late 1950s and early '60s with the Montreal Canadiens and Chicago Blackhawks and was named the Jets first captain. Born and bred in Winnipeg, the Jets represented a chance to come home and extend his playing days for another couple of years.

"It was great for me. I was 36 years old and it was the end of my career. I probably would have said that was it (if the Jets hadn't come along)," he said.

The original Jets are well aware of their significance in Winnipeg's hockey history. Without them, the chances of Winnipeg gaining entry into the NHL in 1979 and then re-entry in 2012 would have been slim at best.

The one thing that hasn't changed over the years, the first captain said, is Winnipeg's status as a hockey town.

"If it wasn't for the guys coming here in '72, they might not have built the MTS Centre or they might have started something different," he said. "It's about having pro hockey in Winnipeg. We're a hockey town. We should have pro hockey here. Look how (Jets fans) are supporting (the new team)."

Dunc Rousseau, a left-winger who scored 16 goals in that inaugural campaign, said it's nice that the trailblazers are being remembered, although it may be a little overdue.

"Here are the guys that took a pretty giant leap in their careers back in 1972 and they haven't really been recognized for it. It's so long ago, but it's still part of what has come about (with the return of the NHL to Winnipeg)," he said.

Aside from Hull, however, that first Jets team didn't have any superstars. For the most part, the supporting cast was made up of journeymen, minor leaguers and past-their-prime players looking for one last paycheque before starting real life.

Duke Asmundson, who spent the previous five seasons in the IHL, saw the WHA as a step up from where he'd been and an opportunity to see how he matched up with some of the best -- not to mention toughest -- in the game.

"It was an advancement chance. It worked out for a few years. Bobby coming gave Winnipeg instant credibility and I always had a lot of respect for Ab. He played the game when there were only six teams (in the NHL)."

There was also the not insignificant matter of earning a larger paycheque. Asmundson's first contract with the Jets paid him a whopping sum of $18,000 annually. It was supplemented by a $10,000 bonus when the Jets made it to the first AVCO Cup final, losing to the New England Whalers.

"The pay was better playing hockey than working for a living. In the minors, you made half of that, maybe even a little less," he said.

The billion-dollar game that has evolved in the intervening years is enough to make Asmundson's head spin.

"I went to the Jets' opening game against Montreal last year. When I see $200 per ticket, with all due respect to the players and owners, it's a little ridiculous. When I played in the WHA, if you were benched, the fan sitting next to you (in the front row next to the end of the bench) was paying $25 per game," he said.

Darren Ford, who oversaw the jetsowner.com website for years to keep alive the fans' dream of the NHL returning to Winnipeg after the Jets left for Phoenix in 1996, feels Winnipeggers owe a debt of gratitude to the original Jets squad. He singled out Hatskin for his all-important role.

"He was the visionary. I've always felt he's a forgotten hero in the city. Guys with those kinds of guts don't exist very often. The first millionaire athlete came from Winnipeg, which nobody would have ever suspected," he said, referring to Hull's groundbreaking contract.

"We don't get into the NHL without that WHA team. We may have had a team in the WHA with a different owner, but we wouldn't have gained the notoriety that we did with the team (Hatskin) put together."

And without that inaugural group, there wouldn't have been the powerhouses -- featuring Anders Hedberg, Ulf Nilsson, Lars-Erik Sjoberg, Kent Nilsson, Morris Lukowich and Willy Lindstrom -- that followed, winning three AVCO cups in the league's final four years.

"(Former Edmonton Oilers' general manager) Glen Sather has said many times that he fashioned the mid-'80s Oilers after the Jets. Maybe that team wouldn't have occurred without the Jets," Ford said.

The members of that first squad aren't planning any formal get-togethers to commemorate their home opener. McDonald said he runs into Asmundson and Rousseau from time to time.

"I see Joe (Daley) once a month because I go down into that area (near Polo Park Shopping Centre, where Daley has a memorabilia shop) and get a haircut," he said.

But there's no question that those first Jets were close. How could you not be when you got dressed in some dressing rooms that were so cramped you bumped heads with another player if you both bent down to tie up your skates at the same time?

In other rinks, mesh wire took the place of Plexiglas, so it wasn't uncommon for a Jet to go into the corner looking for the puck and leave with a face full of beer.

The common comeback was "that's not my brand," Rousseau said.

The team's coaches were pretty lax with curfews and it wasn't uncommon for singalongs to break out on the road or at a player's home after games.

"I think it was (centre) Garth Rizzuto who brought out a guitar. He was quite a character. There's a picture of him standing on his head one game while the national anthem is being played," Rousseau said.

"I wasn't a very good singer but some of the guys probably thought they were. It probably depended on how many beers they had."

Winnipeg Free Press LOADED 10.14.2012


A concession-stand view of Jets' return season

By Wayne Tefs

Winnipeg's appetite for all things Jets has proven to be insatiable.

There have been all the navy blue jerseys, the ubiquitous licence plates, the inexplicable toasters and even 82 games, so far, to whip up a city, a province, a country and even a hockey world that starved for the game to return to a righteous arena.

So why not a literary look back at the eventful return of the National Hockey League to a city that waited 15 years for a belly full of the sport's signature brand?

That's the theory behind On the Fly, a sometimes wistful game-by-game look back at the season by Winnipeg novelist Wayne Tefs.

If hockey fans would rather get their analysis of the Jets by someone who has won a Lady Byng instead of a Margaret Laurence, as Tefs has done, don't fret.

He's a Winnipegger, after all, so he has a lifetime of actually playing and coaching the game. On top of that, he's a longtime season-ticket holder, so he's got the seat cred.

One of the hurdles Tefs struggles with is the source material. Sure, the NHL's return to Winnipeg after so many barren years was momentous, but the team's performance, looking back without the prism of nostalgia, was only so-so.

The euphoria of the team's emergence quickly gives way to the relative drudgery of wins and losses, pleasant surprises and pitfalls.

The Jets finished nine points short of the playoffs, and as Tefs recalls, many of the team's problems that fans noticed in October when the season started remained problems in April when it ended.

Whereas novels can usually build to a climax, On the Fly has no such luxury. Tefs tries to build some suspense, just as the Jets did in February, but their Titanic will hit the iceberg, just you wait and read.

It's easy to give in to the temptation to look ahead to chapters describing events that come quickly to mind. Be warned, however. What one person thinks was an intense battle royal -- a 2-1 Jets victory over the Wild in December is an example -- can come across as a tight-checking bore to someone else. Tefs notes this well, as his wife, his son, his seat neighbours or his beer-league teammates weigh in on the Jets' shortcomings or their successes.

Tefs does break up the monotony of all those games, and all those descriptions of the games that begin to blend together, with personal vignettes of his hockey life, such as it is.

These short stories become the book's strength; reading of some long ago moment that has stuck in Tefs' memory is like a good power play compared to the neutral-zone trap of fans hollering at Nik Antropov for the umpteenth time.

On the Fly's detachment from the stars on the ice also is striking. Many sports books try to give you the inside scoop about a player or team. Tefs takes you no closer than the concession stand, and that certainly provides a different point of view.

On the Fly might get fans' minds off the NHL lockout, but like the 2011-12 edition of the Jets, the team's fans will imagine what life might read like if the team, and therefore a novelist's reflections, might be with a winner.

Alan Small is a Winnipeg Free Press assistant city editor and Jets season-ticket holder.



NHL lockout Day 29

By: Staff Writer

BLAKE IN ACTION

Winnipeg Jets winger Blake Wheeler will play in a charity game featuring 20-plus NHLers at the University of Minnesota, his alma mater, on Oct. 28.

Wheeler will be part of a crew suiting up to raise funds for 'Defending the Blue Line', an organization that helps kids of military families participate in the game.

Among the star-studded cast: Zach Parise, Ryan Suter, Keith Ballard, Kyle Okposo, James Van Riemsdyk and Erik Johnson.

Dustin Byfuglien, who has been practising with that crew in Minneapolis, was not listed among those scheduled to play.

QUOTABLE

"If you just want to bury your head and just go to the rink and play hockey and do nothing else, you're missing a world of the behind the scenes of what really goes into a CBA, what goes into the makeup of the league, how the league operates." -- Vancouver Canucks forward Manny Malhotra, who has been active in participating in the NHL/NHLPA CBA talks.

ON THE MOVE

Notable NHL player movement, some rumoured, some confirmed:

Deryk Engelland, Pittsburgh, Rosenborg (Norway)

Kyle Quincey, Detroit, Denver Cutthroats (Central Hockey League)

David Schlemko, Phoenix, Arizona Sundogs (Central Hockey League)

LEGIT TALK?

PURE BS?

NEGOTIATING PLOY?

Interesting thoughts from Sergei Gonchar of the Ottawa Senators in a chat with ESPN.com's Pierre LeBrun. Gonchar wonders out loud if, at the end of the lockout, some Russian-born players may opt to stay home in the KHL.

"If the guys feel like it's not fair what's on the table, they might ask (NHLPA boss) Don (Fehr) to put something in the new CBA to allow them to stay back home," Gonchar said. "I mean, why not? We don't know where it's going with that new CBA. Everything is possible. That's why I think there is a chance that a guy like Alex (Ovechkin) might stay back home."

MEANWHILE...

The KHL set an attendance record on Tuesday when 16,304 packed Prague's O2 Arena to watch Zdeno Chara and Lev Praha vs. Alex Ovechkin and Dynamo Moscow. The old record was 16,100, set last February in Krasnoyarsk.

GET YOUR FIX... SORT OF

Web Sim Hockey, an online hockey simulation game, is simulating the 2012-13 season in an attempt -- according to their press release -- to 'satisfy hockey fans' thirst for everything that is ice, goals, and stats.' Check out their website at http://websimhockey.com/lockout.

FYI

If you're into artists' renderings and fancy-schmancy videos, check out this peek at what Quebec City's new rink might look like here:

-- compiled by Ed Tait



Original words of wit & wisdom

By: Geoff Kirbyson

Here are some comments from five original Winnipeg Jets during an informal chat at the Winnipeg Free Press News Cafe on Thursday evening.

Ab McDonald: (On playing an old-timers game in Russia against some of the former Summit Series players in 1982): "They had a sellout there and a lot of the dignitaries, a lot of the top Russians were there to watch the game. Sasha Kharlamov, (son of Soviet hockey legend, Valeri Kharlamov, who had been killed in a car accident two years earlier) was on my shoulders. I skated around the rink and got a standing ovation. They tell me the dignitaries had tears in their eyes after that. When we first went over here, the Canadian embassy didn't even want to recognize that we were there. After we played that game, they said, 'these guys are doing great for Canada. They've done better than we have in 24 years. They come here and play one game and we're talking to the Russians.' Does it take the diplomats to do the greatest good? I think in one game, we did more for Canada. Then they invited us to the Canadian embassy and said, 'you guys can have all the beer you want now, Canadian beer. The Russian beer wasn't very good.' "

Duke Asmundson: (On the large number of Manitobans on the team)

"You put your pants on one leg at a time. That was the camaraderie that was developed in Winnipeg. We had our training camp in Kenora and that got everybody together and it seemed to meld. It doesn't matter who you are and what you've done, it's where you're from. We all know where we're from."

Joe Daley: (On the legacy of the 1972-73 team.) There's no doubt in my mind that without the start in '72 that we wouldn't be gathering here to talk about any kind of hockey, NHL or otherwise. There's no way that the NHL would have looked at Winnipeg for a franchise anywhere down the line. We are all, in a humble way, pretty proud of the fact that we got something started that we can all enjoy today.

Dunc Rousseau: (On fighting Jerry "King Kong" Korab in the minors.) "I thought 'I'll throw a couple of quick ones and then hang on.' I did that and I was pretty successful. But I was holding on tight and I thought, 'geez, I can't keep doing this, I gotta get him on the ice.' So I grabbed his pants and went to lift up but he didn't move and his pants ripped. I thought, 'oh, oh, hang on!'"

Bill Sutherland: "We had 23 guys who would do anything to win a game. And if we didn't play well with the Jets, we could always (fall back) on our guitar club. We lead the WHA with guitars. Ab (McDonald) was our singer."

Joe Daley: "Ab was the captain of the team so all of the parties were at Ab's place. We even had the Guess Who there, so I think we were pretty powerful at that time. They were hockey fans, too. Big-time. They didn't play, though. They weren't as good as Ab."



Scheifele chugging along

Life in OHL not the ultimate, but top pick making best of things

By: Ed Tait

Winnipeg Jets prospect Mark Scheifele is working at adding elements to his game with the Barrie Colts of the OHL.

The uniform colours and nicknames aren't what he pictured in those moments when he daydreams. And the road-trip itineraries were to feature luxury dining on a chartered airplane, not sub sandwiches and a Greyhound bus.

But Mark Scheifele is hardly complaining.

He had a game in Oshawa right in front of him Friday night; an 8-5 win over Saginaw from Thursday fading in the rear-view mirror.

Still, not a day goes by without the Winnipeg Jets' first-round pick from 2011 dreaming about what could have been, save for this blasted lockout. It could have been, should have been, a home opener Saturday at a sold-out MTS Centre against the Carolina Hurricanes followed by date with Jonathan Toews and the Chicago Blackhawks next Tuesday and a Washington-Philadelphia road trip after that.

All as part of a lifelong National Hockey League dream he had hoped by now would be realized.

"I'm like everybody else: I hope the lockout can sort itself out soon," said Scheifele in a telephone interview Friday.

"But to have a spot to play really helps. You can still work on your game, you can still develop. So it's definitely a silver lining to this whole thing."

The Scheifele question -- is he ready for the NHL? -- would have been one of the key storylines to monitor if the Jets had gone to training camp. Still could be, if and when the NHL and the NHL Players' Association can stop their posturing, roll up their sleeves and get a deal done.

And, make no mistake, as much as Jets management doesn't want to rush him to the pros, Scheifele still wanted to force their hand -- just as he was doing last year when he led the team in scoring during the preseason before being sent back to junior after seven NHL games.

"I definitely wanted to be there for main camp and do what I did last year and work my hardest to do whatever I could to make the team," Scheifele said.

"It's tough not to be there and I think about it a lot, but you have to think about the other positives.

"If you start thinking only about that... you need to stay with what's directly in front of you and work on that. But it's always in the back of your mind, the NHL. All you can try to do is block it out as much as you can."

Scheifele is leading a solid Colts team -- first in the OHL's Central Division -- with four goals and eight assists (heading into Friday's action), totals which have him tied for third overall in the scoring race. But it's not just about goals and assists for the big Kitchener, Ont., product.

The Jets want him to develop more layers to his game, including work in the defensive zone and in the face-off circle. And his coach with the Colts, none other than Jets legend Dale Hawerchuk, has been stressing another aspect that is critical: to just let the game come to him rather than try to create a highlight-of-the-night goal on every shift.

"Dale talks to me a lot about that," Scheifele said.

"He always says, 'live for another moment.' It means you don't have make every shift one where you are trying to score a goal. Sometimes it's, 'don't get scored on, play your game and don't worry so much about getting a goal. If it's not happening for the first 30 seconds, get off and then go at it for the next shift.' It's something I'm working on and Dale has really helped me with it.

"The biggest thing is being able to handle what happens at a pro game: pushing the pace, working in the defensive zone and on the penalty kill."

And it's here where Scheifele finishes his thought with the latest in a series of comments since he was first drafted that has Jet brass beaming and fans already getting his name and number 55 stitched on new jerseys.

"I'm maturing overall as a player," he explained.

"The key is, I want to be able to do it all. I don't want to be known as one-dimensional."



CHECKING IN ON THE KIDS

A quick glance at how the Jet draft picks over the last two years are developing:

Staff Report

THE 2012 DRAFT CLASS

NAME ROUND/OVERALL POS TEAM

Jacob Trouba 1/9 D Michigan Wolverines

Solid debut for the Wolverines with a goal and an assist in a loss Thursday; expected to be a big-time component to the American squad at the world junior.

Lukas Sutter 2/39 C Saskatoon Blades

Has one goal and one assist through eight games and is a minus-4, but still on the radar screen for Canada at the WJHC.

Scott Kosmachuk 3/70 RW Guelph Storm

Pure sniper had 30 goals in 67 games a year ago and already has five in seven this year.

Connor Hellebuyck 5/130 GU Mass-Lowell Riverhawks

His school opened their season Friday against Vermont as an early-season favourite (ranked 6th); but Hellebuyck -- the co-rookie and co-goaltender of the year last season with the Odessa Jackalopes of the NAHL -- will have to fight for work in the Riverhawks net as a freshman.

Ryan Olsen 6/160 C Kelowna Rockets

Off to a solid start with the Rockets with five goals -- three of them on the power play -- and seven points in eight games

Jamie Phillips 7/190 G Michigan Tech Huskies

Now in college after playing Junior A last year with the Toronto Jr. Canadiens; did not play in their season-opening loss to Lake Superior State on Thursday.

So much expected of him, but his game is developing. Scoring touch still there with four goals and eight assists through first eight.

Adam Lowry 3/67 LW Swift Current Broncos

Still-growing power forward (he's now listed at 6-5, 201) leads the Broncos in goals (5) and points (9).

Brennan Serville 3/78 D Michigan Wolverines

More will be asked of the smooth-skating defender now that he is a sophomore.

Zach Yuen 4/119 D Tri-City Americans

A stay-at-home D-man who last year tied for the WHL's best plus/minus rating with a plus-45. Has a goal and two assists (minus-1 rating) through eight games this year.

Austen Brassard 5/149 RW Belleville Bulls

Not exactly lighting it up yet. Was a minus-4 in one game in late September and has three goals in seven games.

Jason Kasdorf 6/157 G RPI Engineers

One of three netminders at RPI, the freshman will have to battle two older puck stoppers for work this year. Open this weekend against Ferris State.

Aaron Harstad 7/187 D Colorado College Tigers

The team's top rookie a year ago, Harstad will play a key role this year for CC. They open this weekend against Clarkson.

-- Tait



IceCaps drop opener

Winnipeg Sun

The St. John’s IceCaps got their American Hockey League season off to a rocky start Saturday night.

Brandon product Matt Calvert and Tomas Kubalik each chipped in a goal and an assists as the Springfield Falcons defeated the IceCaps 4-2 in Springfield, Mass.

The IceCaps opened the scoring in the first period thanks to a power play marker from Carl Klingberg. But they would give up three unanswered goals to trail 3-1 after two.

Hunter Tremblay got the ’Caps to within one in the third period before Kubalik iced it for the Falcons at the 15:15 mark.

IceCaps goalie Eddie Pasquale made 29 saves in a losing effort while Curtis McElhinney turned aside 23 shots for the Falcons.

Derek Meech and Spencer Machacek added assists for St. John’s.

Winnipeg Sun LOADED 10.14.2012

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YAHOO SPORTS /Oilers' young stars embrace AHL experience as NHL lockout drags on

CLEVELAND – They should have been in Vancouver. They should have arrived on a charter plane, gone out to a nice restaurant and slept in a luxury hotel. They should have been preparing to open the season with the Edmonton Oilers – to play the Canucks in a sold-out Rogers Arena on "Hockey Night in Canada."

Jordan Eberle and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins made their season debut in the minors instead of the NHL. (Getty)But, well, you know.

"I'm not thinking about that too much," Ryan Nugent-Hopkins said. "Not at all, actually."

"To be honest, I don't really want to think about it," Jordan Eberle said. "I'm excited to be here and play hockey and get things going."

Eberle and Nugent-Hopkins couldn't have been classier about it. But let's be honest: They couldn't afford to think about it. The excitement was relative, at best. Here meant Cleveland. Playing hockey meant playing in the American Hockey League. Getting things going meant opening the season with the Oklahoma City Barons, losing to the Lake Erie Monsters, 2-1, on Friday night in a half- to three-quarters-full Quicken Loans Arena.

Playing in the A at the Q equals an L. Even if the Barons had gotten a W, it would have equaled an L – L for the NHL lockout, L for the loss of lots of money, L for the loss of precious time from their boyhood dreams-come-true.

[Also: What we lost when the NHL lost 'Opening Night']

They don't belong here. Eberle led the Oilers in scoring last season and tied for 16th in the NHL. He played in the All-Star Game. He was a finalist for the Lady Byng Trophy, which is awarded for sportsmanship and performance. Nugent-Hopkins was the No. 1 overall pick in the draft last year and a finalist for the Calder Trophy, which goes to the rookie of the year. (Soon they will be joined by Taylor Hall, the No. 1 pick in the draft two years ago.)

Ohio residents and Oilers fans Steve Cieslak and son Matthew had the chance to meet an NHL star. (Y! Sports)They are here only because the NHL and the NHL Players' Association are still in a stalemate – and

because they are on entry-level contracts that say they can go to the minors and make five figures instead of seven.

All they can do is make the best of it, for themselves and for others. As Nugent-Hopkins left the rink after Friday's morning skate, he was stopped by a handful of autograph hounds.

Steve Cieslak, 41, of Aurora, Ohio, has been an Oilers fan all his life. He wore a Wayne Gretzky hat, while his 8-year-old son, Matthew, wore a Monsters sweatshirt. They took a picture with Nugent-Hopkins, who signed some photos Matthew had brought in a binder.

Who would have thought Cieslak would be able to take his son to see the Oilers right here in his hometown?

"He's only seen them on TV," Cieslak said.

*

They do not fly on charter planes in the AHL. They fly commercial, and they connect. The players have to stand in security lines, wait at the gate and go through all the travel hassles the rest of us do.

When the Barons flew from Oklahoma City to Cleveland on Wednesday, they connected in Dallas. They landed at Terminal C, took a tram to Terminal D, grabbed some lunch, found out their gate had been changed, scurried back to the tram and went back to Terminal C.

"Well, welcome to the American League," Barons general manager Bill Scott said to Eberle. "It's a little bit different."

Eberle just laughed. He laughed again when reminded the schedule had the Barons playing at 7:30 p.m. Friday, then 1 p.m. Saturday against the same team in the same rink, something that would never happen in the NHL.

[More: Trending Topics: Fan protests won't solve the lockout, but there are other options]

The key here is that Eberle and Nugent-Hopkins are still young. Eberle is 22, Nugent-Hopkins 19. This is a step down from the NHL, but in terms of day-to-day team business, it's like going from first class to economy comfort – and it's still a step up from junior, and they were in junior not that long ago.

"I'm used to busing 12 hours everywhere and stuff," Nugent-Hopkins said. "It’s not a huge change for me. Obviously it's a little different than the NHL, but it's nothing that you can complain about for sure."

This is not the minor leagues of "Slap Shot," unless you count the Mullet Brothers, the Hanson Brothers lookalikes who shovel the ice during Monsters games. The Barons bus to only three cities: Houston, Austin and San Antonio. They stay in good hotels, like Hyatts and Hiltons and Marriotts. They receive a healthy per diem on the road: $67 a day, unless some is subtracted because of team-provided meals. No one is suffering.

The Oilers' future stars will toil in the minors until the NHL lockout is over. (Getty)Many of the cities are big-league cities. Many of the arenas are big-league arenas. Sometimes they're just NBA cities and NBA arenas, like Cleveland and the Q. The game presentation was on par with anything in the NHL on Friday night, from the music selection to the scoreboard effects. Yeah, there were cheerleaders, but aren't there cheerleaders in Edmonton, too? Yeah, there were empty seats – and there would have been more, had it not been opening night – but aren't there empty seats in a lot of NHL rinks? This could have been Oilers-Blue Jackets on an average night in Columbus.

At home in Oklahoma City, Eberle and Nugent-Hopkins are renting apartments downtown, walking distance to the rink. They aren't recognized much, if at all, but that isn't so bad when you're a Canadian hockey star who has been in the public eye for years already.

"Really, it's a good life," Scott said. "It's not as tough as people make it out to be."

Then again, the game is tougher than people make it out to be. The Barons are supposed to be the best team in North America as long as there's a lockout, with Eberle and Nugent-Hopkins in the lineup and Hall on the way, plus other top prospects like Justin Schultz and Magnus Paajarvi. But they weren't dominant Friday night (partly because Eberle and Nugent-Hopkins were playing their first hockey since April, not having skated in a preseason game). They couldn't connect on the power play. They couldn't bury their chances.

The NHL lockout has strengthened other teams. The Barons will be circled on every schedule. And when you're a highly skilled player, it's better to play in a highly skilled league, where others think and execute at your level. Excellent hockey sense can work against you. Maybe you go to a spot and the pass never comes, or the pass isn’t on your tape. Maybe an opponent does something you don't expect – screwing up, but screwing you up at the same time.

"This level might be a little bit harder," Scott said. "Things won't come as easy at this level for them."

*

They aren't like the other guys, and they know it. Eberle and Nugent-Hopkins each treated some teammates to dinner in Cleveland. But they're about the same age as most of their teammates, and they're trying to blend in. "They don't have an elitist attitude at all," Barons coach Todd Nelson said.

And that's why this could help make them truly elite someday. They need to do what players like Jason Spezza, Patrice Bergeron, Eric Staal and Nathan Horton did during the 2004-05 lockout. "They're still young enough that they can get a lot out of this experience," Scott said.

[Watch: Krys Barch's Twitter rant gets musical treatment]

Eberle can work on his defensive game. Nugent-Hopkins can work on his faceoffs, and he can keep strengthening that slender body. They can develop their skills while developing chemistry with some of their future teammates, learning to set a high standard, learning to live up to the billing.

"That's something we've said to them," Scott said. " 'Be the best player in the league. Everyone's going to think you should be, but make sure you maintain that level of competitiveness and drive while you're here. Don't take it easy, because you need to pull everyone else up. They're going to try to play up to your level, but if you start to come down, then they're going to go down with you.' "

Make the best of it.

"I think it's pretty easy to do," Eberle said. "I mean, we're playing in the best league in North America. I think this league is definitely underappreciated, doesn't get enough credit for how good the talent is here. There's for sure a handful of guys on each team that could be playing in the National League. So for me, it's just a case of coming down here, improving my game, getting to play some hockey.

"It definitely beats waiting around."

Nicholas J. Cotsonika

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