Any hockey fans here?

[falcon]

Guess! LOL

 

[islandgirl10]

Right there with ya Falcon...

Even though I live right next door to Enemy Territory!!

 

[Sandrock74]

Red Wings fan. Really thou, I like the NHL in general, but I have to go with my hometown team.

 

[Artoo]

I'm guessing you mean Ice Hockey, as opposed to Hockey Hockey...

If it's Ice Hockey, then yes - I've been a big fan of Coventry Blaze in the UK league for about 5 years.

Of course, Unicycle Hockey tops them all. 😀

 

[Soda Bobinski]

hehehee

Cool.


Me am hockey fan , also. Go Sabres of Buffalo!

 

[falcon]

Right there with ya Falcon...

Even though I live right next door to Enemy Territory!!

AWESOME!! I'M NOT ALONE!!!

 

[Carsomyr]

If it's Ice Hockey, then yes - I've been a big fan of Coventry Blaze in the UK league for about 5 years.

Really? I'm such a hopeless hockey fanatic that I'm following as many leagues as I can - including the British one. Have you seen Tony Hand play a lot? (He currently plays for Manchester Phoenix I believe) He's actually one of my favorite players! 😀

 

[ticklingfeet4fu]

The Great Martin Brodeur returns tonight at home against Colorado. The Rock will be rocking tonight.

 

[Skinfan87]

All this talk about hockey and no mention of the best player in the game right now....*has duct taped and hogtied any female Pens fans here*

I'm talking about #8, from my Washington Capitals, Alex Ovechkin!

UNLEASH THE FURY!!!

 

[Carsomyr]

All this talk about hockey and no mention of the best player in the game right now....*has duct taped and hogtied any female Pens fans here*

I'm talking about #8, from my Washington Capitals, Alex Ovechkin!

UNLEASH THE FURY!!!

Greetings, fellow Caps fan! 😀 I agree with you on Ovey, although I'm biased in more ways than one since I never liked Geno or Crosby... (no rational reason, really) Dats is probably up there too, although he isn't as flashy as the "big three".

None of these guys will ever be as great as Forsberg though, haha! Not that I ever like the Avs...

 

[Carsomyr]

So... ummm... Anyone aside from myself who's really looking forward to the draft this year? It's supposedly one of the deepest drafts in history. I'm a bit tired of all the Tavares and Hedman-talk, but I love speculating about the guys who come after those two. Do you have any favorite prospects that you hope your team will be able to pick, come draft day?

Seen with somewhat patriotic eyes, this is a really good year for Sweden, too. There are about 10-15 players from our 91-born crop who have the potential of getting picked in the first round, and I'd say at least 6 or 7 of them are already locks to do so. Those are extremely good numbers for such a small country.

 

[gargoyleofdusk]

The Bruins are the reason I got most into hockey - but the Flames are my home team.
I hope the draft is mostly Canadian and Finnish..

 

[Tickle Touch]

Desert dog in LA

It's not easy being a Phoenix fan, but there it is. Man, what we Coyotes watchers wouldn't give to make the all-star break disappear this season...

 

[Carsomyr]

I hope the draft is mostly Canadian and Finnish..

Don Cherry weeps for you, little Canadian 😛

 

[Carsomyr]

Any oilers fans out there? Here is a little treat just for you:

You guys had quite a steal in the 4th round of the 2007 NHL entry draft. I am talking about 22-year-old Linus Omark. He was 3rd in scoring in the SEL regular season this year (23G - 22A - 55TP in 53 games), and is likely to sign with Edmonton very soon.

Relatively small (5'9, 176 lbs) leftwinger, but VERY skilled offensively. Almost impossible to take the puck from, and he doesn't shy away from the physical play. The size issue shouldn't be a problem; over the season he has played for the national team against the best opposition in Europe, and he has been one of our best players. Only question mark remaining is how well his game will translate to the smaller ice in NA, but I think he will do great.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fX-YXwFV1XU
The clip above is his pennalty shot from a friendly game against Switzerland that was finished just hours ago. This is so typical for Omark, he pulls stuff like this all the time, and amazingly enough it always seems to work out for him. Luck or skill? I have to say both, but obviously he's not afraid to do the unexpected.

For those interested, here is an Omark Highlight Reel from the 08/09 season. That's right, this is all from ONE season! That is pretty dominant for an SEL player.

The coolest highlights in the clip are at 3:48 and 3:58, if you can't be arsed to look at the whole thing. If you don't feel like waiting for the video to load then the 3:58 highlight can be found by itself here.

How good is Omark going to be? I don't know, but he's likely not a first line talent. Maybe a 60 point player on the 2nd line with the potential to hit 80 points in his prime? I suck at judging player potential though, but at any rate... Congratulations to Edmonton for having this guy!

 

[Snail Shell]

Born out near Vancouver.

Live in Toronto.

My team? The Ottawa Senators. 😀

Snail Shell

 

[Carsomyr]

My team? The Ottawa Senators. 😀

Then you might find this article rather interesting! 🙂 It is an interview with Sens GM Bryan Murray... I'm mainly thinking of this last part, concerning the upcoming draft:

If you don't make the playoffs, this late season strong showing will actually hurt because it would put you out of the John Tavares sweepstakes. Do you think about that?

Murray: I think getting Tavares and (Viktor) Hedman would have been great because they are franchise-style players. But this little run gives the organization some credibility and the fans some hope. That's why we want to keep winning.

Does this run alter your thinking about offseason moves?

Murray: We had won about three in a row, and my head scout Pierre Dorion came back from a scouting trip and told me, "I'd better go see some different guys." So he flew over to Europe to see a guy who is later in the draft.

Did he like the player he saw?

Murray: We think there might be another defenseman who could better than Hedman. He's not as ready, but we think he could end up being better.

Who is that?

Murray (chuckling): I can't tell you.

If you want my humble opinion on the matter, he is talking about Oliver Ekman-Larsson, a really talented Swedish D-man who lead his senior mens league (SEL2) in +/- this year, as a mere 17-year-old! He is not ready, in the sense that he needs to fill out. He is 6'2 but only 176 lbs... Real lightweight right now!

It's difficult to say for sure though, I don't know much about the other European prospects, but I know Sweden has a LOT of good D-men in this draft... I could think of a couple of others that are "sleepers" and who might be on the rise... but OEL has been underrated for a very long time so I'm pretty sure it's him.

OEL also happens to play for my favorite team, so I've seen him play a lot! 😀 He's awesome.

 

[Snail Shell]

Biased. lol

Snail Shell

 

[Carsomyr]

Biased. lol

Snail Shell

Probably, but I'm pretty sure that's the guy. Granted, my "expertise" is mainly limited to Scandinavians when it comes to undrafted Euro-players, but the thing is that this is an extremely weak draft year for the other countries over here while it may very well be the strongest crop EVER to come out of vikingland. I love speculating, but we'll see what happens come draft day. My wood-chips are on OEL for the sens in any case.

On another note, when I read that article I was tempted to say "I didn't know Tavares switched to D and moved to Europe" 😛 but I felt a legitimate guess would be more appreciated for the curious fan! 😀 For the record: Last year I bet the Sens would draft Erik Karlsson, and so they did. Thing with them is that they have a very Sweden-biased scout, almost a la Detroit. Can't remember his name now, though...

Hmmm... The Sens really need a goalie though, don't they? Or... Snail, do you think they will be fine with Auld or whoever it is they have right now? I must admit I haven't really followed Ottawa this year, I just remember I thought it was cute when they intended to go with Gerber at the start of the season. Didn't take them long to realize that was a horrible idea! XD

 

[Snail Shell]

The Sens really need a goalie though, don't they? Or... Snail, do you think they will be fine with Auld or whoever it is they have right now? I must admit I haven't really followed Ottawa this year, I just remember I thought it was cute when they intended to go with Gerber at the start of the season. Didn't take them long to realize that was a horrible idea! XD

Nah. They've got Elliot and Pascal Leclaire. Give'em a few years and they'll have a solid 1-2 punch.

Snail Shell

 

[Carsomyr]

Nah. They've got Elliot and Pascal Leclaire. Give'em a few years and they'll have a solid 1-2 punch.

Snail Shell

Yeah ok. It looked pretty bad at the start of the season but that's good to hear! 🙂 What are the major team needs, then? That is to say, what kind of players do the Sens need to pick up in the draft, in your opinion?

 

[Snail Shell]

Yeah ok. It looked pretty bad at the start of the season but that's good to hear! 🙂 What are the major team needs, then? That is to say, what kind of players do the Sens need to pick up in the draft, in your opinion?

Solid defense that can move the puck and fire from the blue line. 🙂 That'll get pucks to the big offensive players they have.

Snail Shell

 

[Carsomyr]

Solid defense that can move the puck and fire from the blue line. 🙂 That'll get pucks to the big offensive players they have.

Snail Shell

Defensemen it is then!

Anyways...

...so I heard Mike Green is the 8th D-man in NHL history to reach 30 goals in one season!

I'm so happy for my Caps, clearly playing with 4 forwards and one defenseman works well! 😀 😛

 

[Skinfan87]

Defensemen it is then!

Anyways...

...so I heard Mike Green is the 8th D-man in NHL history to reach 30 goals in one season!

I'm so happy for my Caps, clearly playing with 4 forwards and one defenseman works well! 😀 😛

Hey hey, Green's a good defensemen regardless. But yeah, we're on a roll now with the playoffs in sight.

 

[Carsomyr]

Hey hey, Green's a good defensemen regardless. But yeah, we're on a roll now with the playoffs in sight.

Absolutely! He is the best offencive defenseman in the league right now, and quite clearly a Norris candidate. Not that I care much about rewards like that, since once the season is over the player can't live on old merits anyway... but it's always a confirmation that said player has done something right.

Anyway, go Caps!