Canada edges Russians for berth in Semi

The Canadians juniors suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of the Russians in the 2012 WJHC but got sweet revenge this time around, this time defeating the former Soviet Union in their native land. Malcolm Subban once again narrated brilliance out on the ice, while outdueling surprise starter in my mind, that being Andrey Makarov.

This game wasn’t one that would appeal to fans who prefer higher scoring affairs, but it was a tight checking, at times stale battle that some would argue fits right into Canada’s strategical philosophy. This morning’s tilt may be a prudent wake-up call to Oiler first overall pick Nail Yakupov as he certainly wouldn’t have seen anything close to Canada’s calibre of defence in the KHL, which has the reputation of being on par with pond hockey. I sense we will see a Canada-Russia 2 in the final, so as long as the Canadians don’t let this victory get to their head we should be in for absolute classic next weekend.

So upfront, the Canadians as a whole couldn’t muster much offence, but luckily not much was needed due to a stellar collective performance from the defence. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins was an absolute beast out on the ice, by far turning in his best performance. Some might say because he compiled five points versus the Germans, that was his best effort to date, but thus we remember we are talking about the lowly Germans. He looked as if he had oodles of more energy tonight and for the first time in a while he was dictating the pace of play. It was a pleasure to watch him play this morning as he tore apart an at times rumbustious Russian defence. A line switch promoting Jonathan Drouin to the top unit sure made an obvious for the draft eligible Moosehead, but I hope to the general viewing audience it was obvious that he was the benefactor to playing alongside a player that when this tournament is all said and done, may be considered one of the all time World Junior Hockey Championship greats, that being RNH. Mark Schiefele’s defensive zone mistake led to the Russian goal, but overall he gets a B- grade in my books. The new second line(well I guess all lines were new due to the reinstation of Boone Jenner) of Ryan Strome, Jonathan Huberdeau and Ty Rattie was good, but could be better. Ryan Strome’s penchant for taking petty, undisciplined penalties is reportedly becoming a concern for coach Steve Spott, and if this continues he could see his minutes being reduced. Ty Rattie was physically outmatched at times by a towering Russian blue line, but on a couple of occasions used his blazing speed to his advantage and broke out to some odd man rushes. Huberdeau will be in the National Hockey League shortly, there’s no doubt, but as the tournament has progressed his play has declined. In the first game, I felt he was the one who carried Nugent-Hopkins to his five point night, but I’m seeing a lack of emotion right now. Does he have a hunch that there is an imminent end to the lockout? Is he physically not 100%? The answer may be never be known, but his added offence would be much appreciated. Boone Jenner returned and it took him all of a period to get his legs under him, afterwards he was dynamite. His penalty killing prowess in the third period was remniscient to what Casey Cizikas did in the third period against the Swedes in the 2011 tournament opener. Nothing was going to knock him off the puck, he was a possessed man late in that game. Brett Ritchie could’ve of taken his demotion to the third line poorly, but he bought in to the team first concept and embraced the grinding role to a T. He and Jenner brought an interesting dynamic because they were matched up with a player in Yakupov and they met the challenge in spades. If you didn’t know any better, you would’ve thought  Nail was a late round draft pick. Philip Danault did enough but I wasn’t completely satisfied. On a couple of PK points in the game, he was getting easily beat through the neutral zone and seeing things like that makes me question whether he is the right fit on the penalty kill.  Anthony Camara and Mark McNeill were awesome out there(and McNeill’s rank will prove this). Arguably, along with Nathan MacKinnon this was Canada’s most electric  and consistent line throughout the entire game.  These are three big boys who use their size as well, but don’t let their level of skill go over your head. McNeill could’ve easily netted two goals and spent the majority of the game in Russia’s end. To finish out the forwards, when given the ice time J.C Lipon shockingly stayed out of the box and successfully killed off a few penalties.

Griffin Reinhart continues to improve. The older brother of stud Kootenay Ice Sam Reinhart, started slow(both figuratively and literally), but has improved remarkably through the round robin. The coaching staff had no problem throwing him on the ice when Yakupov and Grigorenko jumped over the boards and that added personal confidence should continue to grow for him. Is it humanly possible for Ryan Murphy to start a rush and not lose the puck near the opposing blue line. He needs to slow down his thought process and if he can do this, he has the natural skill level that COULD make him Canada’s best defenceman going forward. I’ve been tough on Xavier Ouellet in the last couple of entries, but there was a marginal difference with him this morning. Spott has continued to allow him substantial Power Play time, and for the first time he was actually properly quarterbacking the second unit, finding the open guy without firing everything on net. Moose Jaw Warrior Morgan Rielly had about as much success this morning as his Warrior’s did on Saturday night. None. He was getting pushed around and beat in the corners from the likes of Grigorenko, something that has scared NHL scouts even prior to his NHL draft. I guess that all that truly matters is the viewpoint that the Leaf general manager has, being Brian Burke. From all reports, he is smitten with the way Morgan plays the game. Dougie Hamilton had a bounce back game and he was Canada’s best all around defenceman. I may have made a similar comparison, but that shot today was not Al MacInnis-esque, even better yet it was Al Lafratre-esque. Hamilton’s partner Scott Harrington didn’t have his best effort today. Harrington coughed up the puck a couple of times in his zone and was thankfully bailed out by Malcolm Subban. What I saw was a player who was trying to be too cutie petutie with the puck and is best served to get back to the basics. The Basics are why the Pittsburgh Penguins made the selection on the London Knight captain. Tyler Wotherspoon was shaken up after  a vicious hit in the first period, and although he came back he wasn’t the same player. I highly question if he was 100% afterwards and I wouldn’t be surprised if a  future report came out ruling him out for the pending semi-final against either U.S.A or the Czech Republic.

Thank-you for checking in and have a happy new year!

 

Now for the infamous rankings…….

 

1.Ryan Nugent-Hopkins

2.Mark McNeill

3.Dougie Hamilton

4.Ryan Strome

5.Griffin Reinhart

6.Boone Jenner

7.Brett Ritchie

8.Xavier Ouellet

9.Scott Harrington

10.Jonathan Drouin

11.Anthony Camara

12.Ty Rattie

13.Mark Scheifele

14.Jonathan Huberdeau

15.Ryan Murphy

16.Nathan MacKinnon

17.Tyler Wotherspoon

18.J.C Lipon

19.Philip Danault

20.Morgan Rielly

Canada/U.S.A Observations

Malcolm Subban stole the show this morning as the Canadians beat their rivals south of the border 2-1, in what was a crucial win in terms of seeding placement going forward. Although Subban will certainly steal the limelight from this victory, there were others as well who deserve recognition based on their effort.

I want to start out by pointing out the fact that for the little ice time that Moosehead Nathan MacKinnon is receiving, he is making the most out of every shift. In the hyped battle between next year’s two top draft prospects, MacKinnon and American defenceman Seth Jones, MacKinnon outshone on this night in UFA, and even though the Americans relied on Jones in all facets of the game, big number 23 made the most out of his chances and downright dominated at times playing alongside Jon Drouin and Ryan Strome. His speed was evident, and what I love most about his game is that he`s able to create the unthinkable while possessing Darren Helm speed. He was great, but even more spectacular was the effort of Ryan Strome. Coming into this tournament my view on Strome was that he had Jordan Eberle type hands, but had a Bantam hockey level of strength. Even though he`ll never be confused with the likes of Milan Lucic and Todd Bertuzzi, his hockey IQ is through the roof, never more apparent than this morning. While cycling the puck down low, he`s always in the right position and has a penchant to always find the open space. The Islanders have  a gem in this one. To round out that line, I thought Drouin was just OK. Sometimes I think we have to take a step back and remember he is only seventeen  years of age because today he looked very overwhelmed against a veteran American defence corpse. If it wasn’t for a couple of ginormous saves by John Gibson,the “Nuge” would of likely had a couple more goals tonight. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins vision with the puck is uncanny for his age and his combination of creativity and smarts reflects that of a 10 year NHL vet, not a nineteen year old kid. Will the 6’1 Jonathan Huberdeau please stand up? Not criticising the way he performed today but I’m starting to form the opinion that if he used his body more effectively he could be even more daunting then he already is. The size and speed of Huberdeau, the vision of Nugent-Hopkins and the Brett Hull-esque shot of Mark Scheifele was good today and I fully expect that as the chemistry continues to develop, the more productive they will be. The Russians should be on notice because this is unarguably the most potent line in this tournament. The controversial suspension to J.C Lipon handed out  in the Slovakia game, controversial because that very same SlBretovak came back and scored in the same period, has allowed Ty Rattie into a more fulfilling role with Team Canada. Did he ever deliver as this was by far his best game.  Actually, not only was this Rattie’s best effort, but late substitute Mark McNeill was brilliant on the PK and for the first time it looked like he truly felt he belonged on this world class stage. Their battery mate on the third line was Philip Danault, and he complimented those two well and even found himself initiating scrums on a couple of occasions. That added pesky-ness is something that will serve coach Steve Spott well as he will need to deliver a similar approach against quite possibly the best individual player in the tournament, that title belonging to Russian Nail Yakupov. Today, they were able to shut down Rocco Grimaldi and Alex Galchenyuk, and something can be said about that, but anyone who feels there’s even a slight comparability between those two and Yakupov needs to get their eyes checked. Rounding out the forward group are Anthony Camara and Brett Ritchie. It’s becoming noticeable that Spott is using Ritchie in a floating second/fourth line role where he jumps onto the second line when the time for a physical element is needed and goes down to the fourth line when more offense needs to be supplied. Camara didn’t do anything of any significance versus the Americans but while saying that, he’s shown a great deal of reliability as he has made very few mistakes.

Ray Ferraro of TSN on one occasion today made the statement that he felt this was Dougie Hamilton’s best effort by miles. I’m not so sure I agree with this assessment because what I saw was a player who was pinching at the wrong times and struggled making a crisp outlet pass. This could be partly due to U.S.A’s aggressive fore check but a player of that skill level should be accustomed to tangling through high octane systems. Pure speculation here, but I’m assuming Ferraro said what he said because even though there were visible struggles, Dougie also made some plays out there that prove why the Boston Bruins made the choice they did in the 2011 NHL draft.  I’m not saying he was a liability out there, but there is no question in my mind that he had more noteworthy outings versus the Germans and Slovaks. For every bad pinch that Hamilton attempted, his partner in crime Scott Harrington was in the right position to save the day. In the past I’ve read scouting reports that suggested his foot speed should be a cause for concern, but I have yet to see a problem. He’ll never put up huge point totals because you’ll rarely see him deep in the offensive zone, but every team needs a stay at home rock like Harrington. The WHL’ers on defence stepped up in a big way today. The Power Play at times has been anemic and it puzzles me to why Tyler Wotherspoon doesn’t get more PP opportunity. He isn’t flashy and by no means the most creative defenceman they have on the roster, but his shot is hard and accurate and he is an extremely good passer. If Pierre McGuire was still involved with TSN broadcasts, I could almost guaranteed he would’ve already coined Griffin Reinhart as the “Human Eraser 2”, or something along those lines as there is an eerily similar comparison to the way he plays the game to that of Luke Schenn. This may not translate well to the National Hockey League level as Schenn has definitely had his share of struggles, but as a junior defenceman he can be physically imposing.  One of the issues that Griffin has faced in this tournament is a lack of discipline, taking a few careless penalties. There is an obvious adjustment period for the North Americans, getting used to way international referees officiate a game. We are through game three already and these are the best juniors in the world, adjustments should not take this long! For a third straight game, I have the same concerns with Xavier Ouellet. Patience. Patience.Patience. The Detroit Red Wing prospect is ultra talented as if he wasn’t he wouldn’t of been named to this squad, but the rushed decisions that have become common place are actually leading to odd man rushes the other way. A personal theory on my part, but maybe because the coaching staff has yet to settle on a permanent partner for Xavier, that has prevented him from gaining trust with others and has led to him doing too much too quickly. The pairing of Morgan Rielly and Ryan Murphy looked lost, and their performance against the Slovaks compared to day was night and day. Far too many times today did Murphy attempt a breakout that was thwarted after he crossed center. The Coaching staff has to hammer down to Murphy that he needs to use his teammates better and if doesn’t start to listen, his minutes should be drastically cut. It was nearly impossible to get a fair read off of Morgan Rielly. Was he actually struggling? Or, did his lack of success and effectiveness go hand in hand with a sub par Ryan Murphy. The one critique of Rielly this morning is that I’d like him to be a little more physical in the corners. I realize that’s not what he does best, but in a tournament such as the WJHC, sometimes it is necessary to step outside your comfort zone. The perplexing part is that once Rielly has control of the puck he is very good, so like I was mentioning, if he were to be a little more cagey in the corners it would allow him more puck possession, which is a win-win for Canada.

 

I hope you enjoyed this read, and have enjoyed the previous reads as I will once again stress the importance of getting more exposure to this blog. Anyone who is reading this, I would very much appreciate if you could do everything in your power to get this blog out in the public eye.

 

Now for my game rankings…….

1.       Ryan Strome

2.       Tyler Wotherspoon

3.       Ryan Nugent-Hopkins

4.       Nathan MacKinnon

5.       Scott Harrington

6.       Ty Rattie

7.       Mark McNeill

8.       Jonathan Huberdeau

9.       Griffin Reinhart

10.   Mark Scheifele

11.   Dougie Hamilton

12.   Brett Ritchie

13.   Philip Danault

14.   Morgan Rielly

15.   Anthony Camara

16.   Xavier Ouellet

17.   Jonathan Drouin

18.   Ryan Murphy

Canada triumphs over Slovakia

Didn’t have the time to publish a report for the Canada/Slovakia tilt.  I will however, provide my individual player rankings on the Canadian side for the game.

1.Morgan Rielly

2.Ryan Strome

3.Jonathan Huberdeau

4.Mark Schiefele

5.Dougie Hamilton

6.Jonathan Drouin

7.Tyler Wotherspoon

8.Brett Ritchie

9.Ty Rattie

10.Philip Danault

11.Scott Harrington

12.Ryan Nugent-Hopkins

13.Mark McNeill

14.Xavier Ouellet

15.Nathan MacKinnon

16.Ryan Murphy

17.Anthony Camara

18.Griffin Reinhart

19.J.C Lipon

Canada/Germany game observations

What I am going to attempt to do is publish a report/summary of the most recent Team Canada game at the World Junior Hockey Championship. Earlier this morning, Canada started this tournament off on the right foot by beating the Germans 9-3.

Although this game was dominated mainly by the Red and White, there is no question that Germany had their chances to keep it close in large part due to a couple of costly turnovers. What has impressed me today, and has impressed me even throughout the exhibition portion of the tournament, is the blazing speed that the Canadians possess. During the selection camp, a lot was made about Ryan Murphy’s risk and reward brand of hockey, but today the rewards undoubtedly outweighed the risks as he was an offensive threat every time he touched the rubber. His speed is noticeable, and the strategical decision to pair up the aforementioned Murphy with Moose Jaw Warrior standout Morgan Rielly was ingenious by coach Steve Spott. The concern of pairing up two ”petit” defenceman, such as Rielly and Murphy worked today because Germany lacked a lot of size up front allowing those two stalwarts to easily skate past them without any issue of getting pushed around like other teams in their pool will attempt to do. Aside from those two, who I was completely enamoured with, the rest of the defence in my opinion had admirable efforts today. Dougie Hamilton is clearly NHL ready and will be in a Boston Bruins uniform as soon as the lockout has ceased. His shot is Al MacInnis-esque providing fear towards opposing netminders. There were however a couple of instances that his lack of foot speed allowed the Germans to skate to odd man rushes and if it wasn’t for shot blocking machine Scott Harrington, a couple more pucks may have slid past Belleville Bull and fellow B’s prospect Malcolm Subban. Based on today’s effort alone, Tyler Wotherspoon deserves a larger role on the back end. He wasn’t flashy today but the common theme was that he was never out of position and always made the intelligent play. Probably the smartest defenceman(although if memory serves me correct, Dougie Hamilton was the reigning OHL scholastic player of the year) on this squad. The defenceman who I thought played the weakest game out of the bunch, even though he potted a goal was France born Xavier Ouellet. There was a point in this game when the score was around 5-1, and his play was becoming unnecessarily reckless. I’ll preface my opinion on Ouellet by saying that prior to the tournament I wasn’t overly familiar with his style of play, but so far he gets a failing grade in my books. Patience is a virtue, and it’s something Ouellet will have to acquire to reach the next level  in his career, that being the National Hockey League. To round out the defence, Griffin Reinhart did what he did best, that being not having his name mentioned once in the broadcast. Earlier, I labelled Wotherspoon as not being flashy, but Reinhart takes that moniker to a whole another level.

You score nine goals upfront so you should be satisfied,right? For the most part, it was a satisfactory offensive splurge against perhaps the weakest team in the WJHC. Canada’s top forward line,consisting of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Jonathan Huberdeau, and Mark Schiefele was absolutely stellar. Even though RNH was given player of the game honours after his five point performance, I felt that the best forward today was that of Jonathan Huberdeau. The South Beach bound Saint John Sea Dog was ferocious with the puck, and his combination of size and finesse makes him Canada’s MOST dangerous player. Taking nothing away from Nugent-Hopkins five point performance, but his lack of physicality in the corners has always been something that has concerned me about the former #1 overall pick, and I have questions whether  he’ll be able to create the kind of space needed against teams like U.S.A and Russia. The more I watch Mark Schiefele play, the more I am in awe of his sick wrister. Not the fastest guy on foot but when you have a wrist shot that is reminiscent of Brett Hull in his prime, you’re always going to be a force. One thing that didn’t sit well with me was the play of the second line, I didn’t sense  there was any chemistry between the three, what I noticed was three talented individuals playing selfish hockey. On multiple occasions I witnessed Ryan Strome with primo opportunities to dish the puck instead electing to try an individual dangle that failed miserably. The onus is on Steve Spott to potentially tinker with this line, and maybe the time has come to promote Nathan MacKinnon up to that second line, reuniting him with his Halifax Moosehead line mate Jonathan Drouin. I salivate at the thought of seeing Drouin and MacKinnon flanked in the middle by Ryan Strome, while putting Brett Ritchie into a checking role, a role for which I foresee him being more comfortable handling. The “third”line(although I’m not so sure how much a of a third line it really was, more like “3a”, and “3b”), was unfortunately subpar. J.C Lipon and Mark McNeill I’m sorry to say had very poor efforts today. Nerves? Unwavering excitement? I’m not sure what I can amount it too, but Lipon and McNeill did not look themselves and in doing so, they made Philip Danault, who didn’t make any obvious mistakes today, look like a Midget AAA player playing alongside those two. On two out of the three goals scored against Canada, J.C and Mark were individually responsible for them. I’ve seen McNeill play countless times for Prince Albert while visiting Regina and not once have I seen him this timid with his decisions. The fourth line was alright at times. I was thoroughly impressed with the energy that Anthony Camara brought, who prior to the selection camp had the resemblance of a family member from Duck Dynasty(google Camara’s beard). Ty Rattie, and I hate to keep ragging on WHL’ers here had a tough effort aswell. These are all uber talented players on their respective club teams, and while I realize this tournament is all about adjusting to different roles, it shouldn’t change a player’s skill level. I’d love to see Rattie let loose in the Power Play to restore his confidence. My last critique of the forwards applies to the lack of the success on the PP. Too many times today were they too passive and there wasn’t enough traffic in front of the German goaltender.Big bodied Nathan MacKinnon wasn’t used much today, and maybe sticking him in front of the net is worth the try. This kind of role also may be well suited for Oshawa General Boone Jenner when he is reinstated from suspension.

To end off each summary, I will create a list(excluding goaltenders), ranking players on how I thought they stood after each game. I realize this list will be completely subjective especially since I will ranking forwards with defenceman, the purpose of this list is to individually rank the players on how I thought they played while creating water cooler discussion

1Jonathan Huberdeau

2.Scott Harrington

3.Ryan Nugent-Hopkins

4.Morgan Rielly

5.Mark Schiefele

6.Jonathan Drouin

7.Dougie Hamilton

8.Ryan Murphy

9.Anthony Camara

10.Tyler Wotherspoon

11.Philip Danault

12.Brett Ritchie

13.Nathan MacKinnon

14.Griffin Reinhart

15.Ryan Strome

16.Ty Rattie

17.Xavier Ouellet

18.Mark McNeill

19.J.C Lipon

Did the Blue Jays "Knuckle" under the pressure?

Huge news in the T-dot today as the Blue Jays have reportedly agreed in principle to a deal that would send reigning N.L Cy Young winner R.A Dickey to the Jays. In exchange for Dickey’s services, the Blue Jays will send veteran catcher John Buck back to New York, along with two prospects that are rated first and third in the farm system, that being catcher Travis D’Arnaud and Noah Syndergaard. The Blue Jays are acquiring a front of the rotation pitcher, but on a team that it’s safe to say now has plenty of starting pitching depth, was this deal really necessary? Secondary to that, if you’re of the opinion that this deal is good for the Jays, at what point do “prospects” get over valued when it comes to building a successful on-field major league winning product?

So on the surface, Jays supporters should be rejoicing over the fact that they have reeled in a cy young calibre pitcher, right? I’m just wondering whether this is just the first pylon to get knocked over in a series of elaborate moves that pertains to restructuring this pitching staff. As it stands right now(and we should keep in mind that this reported deal is contingent on Dickey and Anthopoulos agreeing to an extension), the Jays rotation will consist of Brandon Morrow, Josh Johnson, Dickey, Mark Buehrle, and Ricky Romero finishing it out. Are they really going into April with last year’s supposed ace as the number five guy?? My theory is the following, and keep in mind this is just a theory is that Mark Buehrle may be getting shopped behind the scenes. It was originally thought that due to the Ontario government’s law stipulating that homeowners in Ontario cannot possess Pitt bull’s, and that Buehrle is the owner of one, that him coming to Toronto may not be a match made in heaven. In all media interviews conducted with him since the trade, he’s put on a brave face and has said all the right things, but who really knows how pressing of an issue the, what I will now refer to as “Pitt Bull gate” really is behind closed doors. I look at their depth chart and see a gaping hole, holes actually in the bullpen. Who really is the closer? Are Jays fans really going to have to endure through another campaign with incumbent Sergio Santos as the ninth inning general?  I wouldn’t support that however I wouldn’t be opposed to giving the closing reigns to either Casey Janssen or Jason Frasor, two pitchers who in my eyes have proved more than capable to handle such a post. Another wild idea that bench boss John Gibbons could explore is attempting Romero as closer especially if there isn’t going to be any future movement with the rotation. I believe Romero has the velocity to handle such an assignment and his services would be better utilized in this role compared to him rotting away in the number five slot.

So as previously discussed, the necessity of the deal could come into question, but what I really wanted to talk about was fan’s concerns of shipping away prospects at the expense of bringing in established talent.  This deal has risk written all over it, but once again give credit to Anthopoulos as he is putting his neck out on the line to provide the city of Toronto with a winner, something it has craved for nearly twenty years. We must engage in the philosophical debate of whether it is justified to trade away prospects who may or may not be ready for the big leagues for two or three years , basically ignoring the long term outlook for immediate short term gain. Over the years, Jays management could be accused of always looking out for the future, and  never doing enough to make sure the team was competitive for that year. I’ll never forget when they hired J.P Ricciardi, he was adamant in stating that he had in a five year plan in place. The problem was however that It seemed every year we would hear excuses aplenty and the so called” five year plan” was stagnant and we were always in year one of the five year cycle. Ricciardi was an excellent talent evaluator and to this day the Blue Jays are reaping the benefits of a flourished farm system that has allowed the team to sacrifice some of these cherished pieces to the likes of the Miami Marlins, and now the New York Mets. The team brass is confident enough that even this trade won’t empty the cupboards and the Blue Jays still have an above average farm system. People on message boards have been crying in disbelief that D’Arnaud is on the move, some referring to his talent comparability with the likes of Joe Mauer and Buster Posey. This is simply a projection, and although he had a great year in AAA, knocking out sixteen homers and hitting for a stellar .333 average that doesn’t guarantee major league success. For every Mauer and Posey out there, there’s always going to be a few Matt Bush’s and Rich Ankiel’s floating around. The bottom line is that the Jays may suffer long term but so what! The time is now and as evidenced from the Marlins blockbuster, Anthopoulos isn’t scared to ruffle a few feathers and think outside the box. I for one am personally excited that for the first time in what seems an eternity the Blue Jays are EXPECTED to win, something no Canadian baseball fan has said since 1993! I hope it works out but even if it doesn’t, even though the media will scrutinize the decisions that were made this off-season I would ask that we all take a step back and appreciate the boldness for which Alex has displayed and appreciating his willingness to put Toronto baseball back on the map.

That’s all for now, and I truly hope that you are all enjoying these entries and I am crossing my fingers that as this evolves, my reader base will continue to expand.

MLB's Off-Season Yay's and Nay's

Major League Baseball`s off-season is well underway and as per usual we have seen our share of lucrative contract signings. Over the last month, we`ve seen B.J Upton bolt the Rays to similarly warmer pastures in Hotlanta. The top pitching commodity on the market was Zack Greinke, and he ended up choosing the confines of Los Angeles even though it has been reported that he suffers from a social anxiety disorder and claims discomfort from pitching in a large metropolis.  His destination of choice has me wondering if all this talk about his large market trepidation has been over exaggerated as their aren`t many bigger markets then Hollywood itself. And lastly, but certainly not least, The Angels reeled in arguably the biggest fish, Josh Hamilton, prying him away from their American League West divisional foe the Texas Rangers. So who were the big winners and losers from this offseason? My entry will examine.

 

Winners:

Toronto Blue Jays- John Farrell leaves. No manager, no positive outlook. On one gloomy November evening, this all changed with the Jays pulling off a mega deal with the AAA calibre Miami Marlins. Long term outlook aside, the Jays acquired proven winners with the likes of Mark Buehrle and borderline superstars in pitcher Josh Johnson and shortstop Jose Reyes. These deals have elevated new(old) manager John Gibbons and the Bluebirds  to potential elite level status joining basically every other team in the division who will allow the American league east to regain it’s reputation as the toughest division in baseball. The deal will define Anthopoulos’ legacy in Toronto.

Kansas City Royals- The Roy-als with cheese(to steal a line from an anonymous employee from ‘The Score’ network, the Royals are filled with young boisterous talent who needed some established veteran leadership to shift from pretenders to contenders in the AL central. They already had the foundation in place with young stars, although underperforming stars in Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustaskas. Maybe the acquisition of James Shields who I believe is one of the most underrated starters in the bigs, can provide that reassurance that these youngens are approaching their development the right way as Shields was involved in a similar project with Tampa a few years back. That, compounded by the acquisition of Ervin Santana sets up a formidable front line rotation involving the aforementioned Shields and Santana with Missouri stalwart Luke Hochevar. In the Central, with every team aside from the Tigers fighting consistency issues, a surprise 2013 campaign may be in store.

Los Angeles of Anaheim Angels- What’s not to like about a possible Hamilton-Pujols combination in the middle of the order? This has the making to be one of the most, if not the most potent duos to ever have it’s presence graced in Major League Baseball. The Angels were never views as a serious front runner for Hamilton’s services, but they did an outstanding job keeping their cards close to their vests and looking back it all makes sense now when some experts questioned their decision to let now Washington National Dan Haren walk. An abundance of riches could be viewed as problematic for manager Mike Scioscia in trying to find ways to keep all of these stars happy. The Angels also addressed their bottom of the rotation issues by bringing in Joe Blanton and Tommy Hanson making them one of my offseason winners.

Losers:

Pittsburgh Pirates- For a Pirates ball club that was on the cusp of contending in 2012 before it’s annual August implosion, the pressure was on from the fans for General Manager Neal Huntingdon to add the necessary pieces to field a serious contender this upcoming season. Unless he truly felt adding someone who can now be considered a journeyman in Russell Martin was the missing link, the Pirates have done nothing noteworthy to elevate themselves to respectable status. With the Steelers a perennial powerhouse, and Sid the Kid in place with the Penguins for the foreseeable future, at what point does the ownership feel the pressure to field a winning ball team? I’m getting the impression that this a money making endeavour and winning is becoming second fiddle. This must be driving mega star Andrew McCutchen bonkers!

Texas Rangers- For a team that prior to the 2012 season had registered consecutive world series appearances, it is remarkable how inactive the Rangers have been this winter. Although their name has come up a lot in rumours concerning top notch free agents, they haven’t been able to lock down anyone significant. Striking out on Hamilton and Greinke are obviously a blow, but where are the depth signings? I look at the depth chart as it stands today, and adding a player, to use an example of Tommy Hanson, would’ve been just what the doctor ordered. Other than Japanese sensation Yu Darvish, I have ginormous concerns if the likes of Derek Holland and Alexi Ogando can handle the load come September-October impact baseball.I’m not ruling out the possibility that Nolan Ryan and the boys have closed the door on trade possibilities, but with a lot of trade assets already changing addresses, even that market is thinning out.

Miami Marllins-To explore this from a less serious angle,yes the trade with the Blue Jays is a step back for this organization, but what really makes them a loser from my perspective was the signing of Juan Pierre. Anyone that knows me will understand my distain for Pierre. A couple of years back while playing MLB. Com’s Beat the Streak, I was leading the contest and on the verge and two weeks away(or so I like to think) of becoming a multi-millionaire. It was Juan Pierre who ended it for me, and for that the Miami Marlins get a losing grade in my report card.

The Raptors not to be confused as a defensive powerhouse

The Toronto Raptors began the 2012-2013 campaign with renewed optimism based on the off-season acquisitions that were consummated by general manager Bryan Colangelo.  Simply put, everything that could of possibly gone wrong has. From inconsistencies surrounding former # 1 overall pick Andrea Bargnani to  a long term injury to newbie Landry Fields and compounded by, who I will now refer to as “Mighty Mouse Jr.”, paying homage to Raptor great Damon Stoudemire, Kyle Lowry, who just recently inserted himself back in the lineup after also missing a handful of games due to injury. This season’s campaign would have been an optimal season for the Raps to flourish because they essentially have the Toronto professional sport market to themselves because of the lingering NHL lockout affecting the Leafs. Instead, the Raps haven’t flourished, having sputtered to a 4-17 start. So what can be changed in order for the Canada’s team to finally become relevant in the National Basketball Association?

For starters, this team has absolutely no identity contrary to what Colangelo would’ve liked you to believe when he hired ex-Mav Dwayne Casey prior to the 2011-2012 season, who had the rep for being a defensive stalwart. There is no one doubting Casey’s defensive brilliance because he was instrumental in implementing the Mavs smothering defence that went on to win the league title in his last year as an assistant. I think the problem more than anything is that the team personnel does not coincide with Casey’s coaching strengths. I’ll put it to you this way, when your supposed ”franchise” player(although the  word franchise will be used very loosely in this context) is Andrea Bargnani, the same Bargnani that the Fan 590’s Bob McCown once questioned if he even had the ability to guard the coach on the sidelines, you may have an issue. I myself found this comical but I am well aware that the die hard Raptor fan doesn’t view this the same way. So if the team is hell bent on instilling a defense first approach, is a bold move in order? With the Minnesota Timberwolves reportedly shopping former Arizona Wildcat great Derrick Williams, who is known as a blocking forward who can provide a sprinkle of offence, a trade involving him and Bargnani could perhaps be in order. Williams provides a toughness and drive that Andrea never will. As much as I’m critical of Bargnani, my same criticisms cannot be applied to the former Houston Rocket Kyle Lowry. Best point guard since the Mighty Mouse himself? Absolutely. Lowry’s competitiveness is second to none and his fearless brand of basketball endears himself to fans like myself. You get the sense from watching on the tube that this poorish start is eating away at Kyle, one of the few that provide any physical emotion when the going gets tough. Due to where the Raptors are in their organizational structure, there is no other point guard I’d want as commander at this present time. You may be procrastinating, “no other point guard”???? I’m not for a minute suggesting he’s the most talented guard in the NBA, but I believe you’d be hard pressed to find a point guard who provides better leadership and a drive to win right now in the current era.

So defensive awareness, as discussed above is a pressing concern. On the court, that is how they’re going to have a greater total of W’s in the long haul. However, to be relevant, one must be marketable. TSN and Sportsnet have split rights to the Raps and that in itself creates a problem due to the multiple colour commentators that are used throughout the course of the season. I`m going to use the comparison between the Raptors and the Blue Jays. During the mid nineties into the early two thousands,the Jays split rights between the CBC/Sportsnet/TSN disallowing any flow and consistency to the broadcasts, and with the multitude of colour commentators, and even at times the musical chairs of play by play commentators, it didn’t allow the viewers to get comfortable with one set team. Speaking of the current model with the Blue Jays, the main provider Sportsnet has done a wonderful job having a permanent twosome including Buck Martinez and Pat Tabler. To get this back on the Raptors, if Sportsnet and TSN could ever somehow agree to allow Jack Armstrong to work alongside both networks, it would be a win-win situation. A little less Leo Rautins and a little More Jack will lead to increased viewership. I would absolutely love to see TSN at least attempt one of their more underrated personalities, that being James Cybulski into the permanent play by play role. Matt Devlin doesn’t provide enough excitement for a team that at the best of times can be a sight for sore eyes. For a team that Sir Charles Barkley argued would have a tough time defeating the Kentucky Wildcats, excitement from a media standpoint is an absolute must.

Toronto is a professional sports market. The Leafs will be always be a staple, the Blue Jays have recently made some monster acquisitions to become relevant in America’s pastime. The Raptors have been third in T.O far too long and the time is now for Colangelo and company to step up to the plate and provide the GTA the winner it has long craved.

World Junior time: Canadian holiday tradition

It’s that time of year again, TSN’s bread and butter, that being the World Junior Hockey Championships. It’s a Canadian Christmas tradition, and it’s something that I’ve made sure has been a point of interest for myself personally since 1995. Throughout that time, I’ve had the luxury of witnessing pure domination, ala the 2005 dream team that Bob McKenzie pinpointed as the greatest team in world junior history. I’ve also had the misfortune of tuning into the 1999 heartbreaker where the Russians edged the Canadians in overtime where Roberto Luongo had his coming out party. Everybody has a favourite memory from the tournament, and frankly there are a plethora of possibilities to choose from. Being from Regina, it’s an obvious choice for me, that being Jordan Eberle’s heroics, or as Pierre McGuire so eloquently put it, John Tavares’ magical hands in the 2009 tournament. Remember people, destiny doesn’t panic with 5.4 seconds left. So exactly at what state is the tournament at right now? I will entail below.

The World Junior Championships, as discussed above is an instant view for the majority of Canadian hockey fans. It’s considered religion in this great country. Unfortunately however, if it’s considered religion here, it’s an afterthought everywhere else. The million dollar question is what can be changed or improved upon to make this a holiday tradition anywhere else in the world? I think first and foremost, the competitiveness of the tournament can be a little lacklustre. Every year, we approach the tournament knowing that the four main contenders for the elusive gold medal are the Canadians, the Russians, the Americans, and the strengthened as of late Swedish U20 program. Hockey Canada, the capitalistic giant that they are, would be wise to dip some of that revenue into the developing programs such as the Danes, and the Latvians etc etc. The more teams that truly could go into this tournament and contend for a medal, the more compelling this tournament becomes. I fear that the World Juniors is heading down a path that is eerily similar to that of Women’s hockey. There was a point where up to six teams had a chance, and that number continues to drop to a point where I have to pose the question if we’re heading to a point that we’ll see the same final four for many coming years? From an internal perspective, I also ponder whether team’s constant need to run up the score(I realize this is a tie-breaking criteria) is discouraging the players on the lesser teams, and the programs from strengthening and evolving. Beating teams 15-0(Canada France 2002) does no team any favours. This can be simply rectified by the IIHF ridding themselves of the goal differential tiebreaker. I won’t get into too much of the formatting, as this will be looked into in a proceeding paragraph. The other point I wanted to divulge in terms of competitiveness is that of player availability going into the tournament. To use this year’s tournament as a blue print, how can the IIHF possibly expect to field a competitive event when the Ottawa Senators among other teams elect to not make Europeans available.  The player in question was Swedish sensation Mika Zibanajed. You know for a fact that Zibenejad was Canadian the Senators would of made him available yesterday. On a personal level, I believe it should be mandated that if a player WANTS to play, which Zibanajed reportedly does, and the player who is playing pro hockey should have the choice and not have to rely on their respective club team. This isn’t the first time North American professional teams have chosen not to release players for the tournament, with Adam Larsson and Gabriel Landeskog being two prime examples.  The common denominator is that they are all Europeans, specifically Swedes. The Czech Republicans take it to a completely different level as in the past they have elected to not invite players playing in the Canadian Hockey League as if to enforce a penalty for that player deporting to Canadian major junior. This has to stop for tournament fairness and for player development.

The second point that needs to be analyzed is the tournament format. Throughout the years, the IIHF has tinkered with the format making subtle changes. The most recent change will take into effect for the 2014 tournament. They are going back to the no-bye format. In the quarterfinals, the one seed in the “A” group will play the fourth seeded team from the “B group” and vice versa. Is this format reversion really for the better and does it actually penalize top teams? I most certainly think it does. Why is it right that a team that goes 4-0 throughout the round robin could be out of a medal game after one loss to team that hypothetically may have went 1-3,2-2 during the preliminary stage? In the current format that will cease after this year, the one seed got a bye directly into the semi-finals which in turn guaranteed them a spot in a medal game. This format promotes strong play through the preliminaries while the proposed new format renders the round robin pointless. This is hockey, and on any given day the fourth seed could EASILY knock off the top dog. Now, media pendants will argue that this format is T.V friendly which each game being a knock-out event. I suppose from that point of view it’s a  sensible idea however the tournament is a cash cow for the main television provider, that being TSN and I’m pretty sure they’re not going to gain ratings just because the quarter-finals have now gained two games. The format I propose, to be different from the original is and to completely innovative is to have two groups. The “A” group would consist of the top five ranked teams with the “B” group  consisting of the bottom five teams. Each team in the group would play each team  in the round robin with the last place team in the “A” group playing the second place team in the “B”group in a one game knockout. The top team in the “A”group would directly advance to the finals. The winner of the last place team in the A and second place team in the B would then play the team that won the B group. This gauntlet style format would then see the winner of the previous game play the 2nd place team in the group with the ¾ seeds playing one another in the other quarter. The two winners would play-off with the winner earning the privilege of playing the top horse in the final derby. Different? Yes. Innovative? Yes. This format could captivate the David v Goliath story as networks can build up the fact that a bottom feeder could run the table with the chance to meet Goliath in the final.

Before I sign off, enjoy this special time of year as the world juniors is something I know can be celebrated  by all us Canadians.

 

P.S,  can TSN please bring back Paul Romaniuk??

That is all, hope you’re enjoying these entries!!!

NCAA-CHL Feud. Where the rich get richer

So headlining the circles of junior hockey this past week was the shocking news that was delivered to the Western Hockey League`s Portland Winterhawks.  League commissioner Ron Robison came down extremely hard on the `Hawks by stripping them of their first five draft picks in the upcoming bantam draft while also forcing them to hand over their first round picks for the next five drafts. It doesn`t end there, as the owner`s wallet was hit hard with the unprecedented fine of $200,000!!! This whole punishment stems from apparent illegal recruitment violations which span across the last five hockey seasons.  The violations enlisted in the league statement include providing cellphones to past team captains, flying families down to have the ability to watch their son play live, and aiding summer training programs. Was the punishment delivered justified or over the top? What actions can take place to ensure the league stays on top? We’ll examine below.

 

So, first we must analyze whether the punishment fits the crime. The head honchos at the league office made it perfectly clear that absolutely NO educational or monetary violations were committed. Even from a quick gander, one could form the theory that what was delivered to Portland was over-kill for what could be considered petty mis-demeanors in the hockey world. Providing cellphones for a team captain isn’t something the league would carry forward a thorough investigation to inquire into the team’s culpability. Flying families into the community isn’t anything out of the ordinary as this has  become  a common practice for most programs, especially in the NCAA. Essentially, I’m of the opinion that if a program doesn’t delve into these practices, they will already be behind the eight ball in trying to land the services of the particular player. And as far aiding training programs throughout the summer, last time I checked most teams across the Canadian Hockey League authorize training programs to be followed by their players at the team’s expense. Basically, although it has become blatantly clear that the WHL or the Portland Winterhawks will not be commenting any further on the matter, the crime does NOT fit the punishment and something else was violated that either side is not willing to publicly disclose.

By divulging the seriousness of the “crimes” committed, the CHL, if it’s not careful, may find themselves swimming in murky waters shortly. The Canadian Hockey League, as explained in a previous post is a developmental league. As much as that holds true, one cannot question that what the fans come to see, the same people who drive the league’s revenue, aren’t attending the games to watch third and fourth liners, they are their to see the top end players, the same players who usually are in the midst pf the NCAA/CHL recruiting war. If Canadian wide commissioner David Branch, along with the respective league commissioners are going to be hell-bent on coming down hard on “petty” infractions, they could be at risk at the NCAA’s gain. Not to sound like a conspiracy theorist , but don’t you think that if the QMJHL would of embarked on the thorough investigation on the handling of super Nova Scotian prospect Nathan MacKinnon, who happens to currently suit up for the Halifax Moosheads, might we see Nathan MacKinnon pursuing the college avenue. To refresh people’s memory, MacKinnon, who some labeled s the next Sidney Crosby was selected first overall by the Baie-Comeau Drakkar, a team by which MacKinnon showed no interest in playing for. After his respective bantam draft, he threatened to pursue the NCAA angle. Conveniently, his rights were trades shortly after to his home province Moosheads. You have to wonder how much of that trade was Baie-Comeau’s doing, who if memory served me correct didn’t want to make the move, or how much the QMJHL ponied up and used their authority to protect a coveted asset. The point I’m trying to make is that it’s not about what acts were committed by the teams , it’s about who those acts effect. Let’s face the facts here, it has been no secret over the years that the Canadian Hockey League has an influence when it comes to bettering their Canadian markets for financial gain and not caring less about their markets in the U.S. The reason for this that has been bantered about for the last few years is because the league’s titles sponsor is Mastercard, a Canadian company who wouldn’t receive the same kind of financial gain it would from a successful American market. Conspiracy theorists have also correlated my aforementioned point with the reason why ever since Mastercard has came on board that not ONE U.S market has been awarded as the host team for the Memorial Cup.

 

Furthering my point on the murky waters the Canadian Hockey League is swimming in, it’s important that we truly connect the never more important battle between the NCAA-CHL, and in what ways the CHL needs to improve to be the National Hockey League’s #1 talent provider. I’m sure most of you are privy to what went on with the now debunked, or at least close to it, CHLPA. The CHLPA, or at least those who weren’t convicted felons, fought tooth and nails to force the Canadian Hockey League to pay it’s players minimum wage. We can argue all day and night the necessity of that due to what the kids get at the expense of getting minimum wage, but something may have to be improved upon to compete with the ever growing empire, the NCAA. In a world full of grey, the league needs to become more black and white when it comes to enforcing it’s rules. For starters, it needs to examine the necessity of the rule that dictates that a player becomes ineligible to play NCAA sports the minute that player dresses in a exhibition game. How is it even remotely fair that a 14-15 year old is put in a position of having to choose what the next five-six years of their life must look like? Life`s full of decisions and it`s not at all right that we`re denying our kids the freedom of choice when they are not even yet adults. This policy needs to soften, and at the benefit of both parties, working together on this matter is most definitely a  win-win situation. Prospective young men choose between the two leagues for a variety of reasons and in a business where their motto`s are eerily similar, doesn`t it defeat the purpose and the objective of protecting the student athletes of holding a `student athlete` hostage.

 

Getting back to what was I was saying earlier, and referencing the Winterhawk`s situation again, if the NCAA-CHL feud was cleaned up, it would completely erase the need for teams like the Hawks, or the OHL`s Windsor Spitfires from having to bend the rules to accommodate the top players(who I might add I find ridiculous that the Spitfires were handed lesser punishment for their violation, and they reportedly paid a player a half mill.) The problem there again is in my opinion the CHL looking the other way to a lesser degree compared to their friends south of the border in Portland. Give kids a choice and provide the parents with the time to make an informed decision, because ultimately each family has it`s own reasons for making the choice they feel is the best for their child.