- What did Chilliwack Bruins head coach Marc Habscheid say to his troops after back-to-back losses to the Rockets in early October? Since those humbling losses the Bruins have a record of 2-0-1-2 in their last five games. Going undefeated would be impressive, but recording points in five straight games ain't bad!
- Am I the only one outside of Portland happy to see the Winterhawks winning hockey games? This is a good team with a solid coach. It's amazing how stability off the ice translates into success on it.
- How did the Hawks pull 17 year-old Nino Niederreiter out of Switzerland? Was this just blindly throwing a dart at a board or should the organization receive credit for making a well calculated find? My hope is the Hawks targeted this player and were right on the money. The CHL Euro Draft is such a crap shoot with many of the players coming over to North American falling well short of expectations.
- Any player, no matter what age is considered a rookie in the WHL if he is in his first season of junior hockey. Chuck Kobasew was considered a rookie when he scored 41 goals for the Rockets as a 19 year-olds in 2001-2002. That said, its the 16 year-olds that put up big numbers in their first season of junior eligibility that should be considered for the rookie of the year honors at the end of the season. Red Deer's Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Kelowna's Shane McColgan are two sensational 16 year-old rookies worth watching. I would hate to see a phenomenal first year player being edged out by a 19 year-old rookie who decided to leave U-S college hockey to play major junior.
- You won't find him among the top 20 point getters in the WHL, but pay attention to Swift Current Broncos forward Cody Eakin. Nine goals in 12 games is a strong start for a player who scored 24 goals last season. Eakin scores goals in bunches with 3-two goal games so far this season.
- What's in the water in Moose Jaw? Four players are in the top 13 in league scoring. Wow. How about this fact. Since the start of the 2002-03 season the Warriors have had a player in the top ten in scoring at seasons end, excluding only the 2008-09 campaign. That's a top ten scorer in 6 of the last 7 seasons. Those players are David Bararuk, Kyle Brodziak, Kenndal McArdle, Tory Brouwer, Riley Holzapfel and Jordon Knackstedt.
- Ian Duval is enjoying his first season of Canadian college hockey at the University of Manitoba. The former Rocket has 0+4=4 in 6 games with the Bisons, which is good for second in Canada-West rookie scoring.
- Where is Tyler Spurgeon hanging his hat these days? Spurgeon was not offered a contract by the NHL's Edmonton Oilers this fall but has since landed in the ECHL with the Idaho Steelheads. Spurgeon, who captained the Rockets to a WHL title in 2005, has 1+4=5 in just three games, which is good for the team scoring lead. Spurgeon is playing with former Rockets forward Marty Flichel.
- Where is Tysen Dowzak? The oldest player from last years Rockets championship team has just been set to the Central Hockey League's Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs.
- I may be a little biased here, but does Prospera Place have the best off-ice staff in the WHL? I think so. A pain of glass needed to be installed creating a stoppage in play Saturday night. How long did it take? Four minutes on the nose. Impressive.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Things that make me go hmm...
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11 comments:
hey regan any chance will trade for a defenceman really need one
If Bruce Hamilton can find one. They are always hard to acquire because the good ones are not available or come at a high price. I am still under the belief that once Barrie returns, the need for a d-man won't be so pressing.
I doubt Habby said much... the 5 or so trades he made after those games pretty much said it all!
Regan, have you seen Borejko, Bowman, Chapman, Jobke play D? How can the need not be pressing no matter who returns. Lets be honest, Gogol is an adequate 5th or 6th guy and right now he is the number 1 or 2 guy. Borejko and Jobke have been awful that past few games.
I am not saying life will be grand when Barrie returns, but it's premature to hammer on two d-men that are essentially rookies. Borejko is a second year guy, but hardly played last season. Jobke has played pretty well for a 17 year-old. Remember Shea Weber when he was 17? After 10 games he was a -1 and had 2 points. Yet he played in 70 games in his rookie season. Short term pain for long term gain worked with him.
Is there something wrong with Bowman? Easily the worst showing of all the D-men the last 2 games...
Hey Regan, do the Rockets have any older D-men on their protected list that could possibly join the Rockets roster this year? Is Nick Pryor (University of Maine) on the Rockets protected list?
I have to agree that once Barrie does return, he will help but there's just not enough depth on the blueline, so we'd best get some soon, there must be a veteran available somewhere, even if it costs us a draft pick & a young player, were just too young back there right now!!
Kelowna had/has two older D-men on their protected list - Jake Gardiner (Wisconsin) and Colin Dueck (Yale), but it seems unlikely that they'll be joining the Rockets.
Nick Pryor was/is on Prince George's list.
I agree Bowman is struggling right now but it can't be good for his confidence to be continually overlooked for quality powerplay time. His skating looks labored this year for sure. As for the rest of the D the kids have been pressed into service early with a lot of minutes but you do not build a team trading for other teams marginal players at the risk of ignoring what you have drafted. Gogol and Verdino are two solid dmen with a physical side non of the rookies have displayed, or some of the vets. Let's see where the team is at Christmas. Losing so many NHL draft picks in one year is reason to be happy with a winning record right now.
hey J.S i totally agree with you i think that with a few more stops from Brown our record would have i or 2 wins. he is ok but some goals looked suspect to say the least...Anyhow they are trying hard and that is what counts especially at home.
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