Moving Up

The news of the past week is that the Plymouth Whalers will be changing hands, meaning Peter Karmanos, who also owns the NHL's Carolina Hurricanes, is selling to Rolf Nilsen, owner of IMS Hockey Corporation.  The deal is pending approval of the OHL Board of Governors, and once approved, it will not only end the 30-year ownership run of Karmanos, but will also signal the end of the Plymouth Whalers franchise.  The team is moving to Flint, MI next season, meaning the team will be moving an hour north to start play in Perani Arena.  Whether the team will be still known as the Whalers is not known at this time.

Erie Examiner: Where They Belong

Last week, the Erie Otters found themselves in a spot they have been accustomed to for many weeks: perfect.  Wednesday, the Otters were able to hold off Plymouth in an early home game by a 4-3 score.  Friday and Saturday, they dominated Sarnia and Saginaw by identical 7-1 scores.  And earlier this week, the Otters acquired Buffalo Sabres prospect Nicholas Baptiste from Sudbury for draft picks, which means the Otters are all in this season, and it should make the Otters a tougher team to stop.  The only shoe left to drop is Connor McDavid, who is expected back after holiday break.

This week, the Otters have three games in three days, with a home game on Thanksgiving against Mississauga, a road trip to London on Friday, and will wrap up by welcoming Belleville on Saturday.

Erie Examiner: Still Winning

If you're keeping score, the Erie Otters have still only lost once this season (in a shootout at London).  That is fourteen games played so far and thirteen of them have been wins, including this past week.  Thursday, the Otters had a fairly easy time with the Plymouth Whalers in a 5-2 win that saw Dylan Strome's point streak end and Connor McDavid notching his 200th point in the OHL (and counting).  The Otters continued to score in bunches on Saturday, as they would defeat Ottawa 7-4 in a game where Travis Wood and TJ Fergus scored their first OHL goals.  To date, Alex DeBrincat leads the league in goals (15) while McDavid leads the league in points (42) and +/- (+30).  Amazingly, He also leads his team in PIM with 19 minutes.  That is a tie for 60th in the league.

The Otters look to continue their winning ways, as they travel to St. Catharines, ON for a match against Niagara before coming home to take on Sarnia on Friday and Saginaw on Saturday.

Erie Report: A Hot Start

The Erie Otters kicked off the 2014-15 season on Wednesday, and they didn't show too much rust in their opening game at Saginaw.  Despite the Spirit opening the scoring, the Otters would put up a 7-spot en route to a 7-1 win.  Dylan Strome and Nick Betz had four points apiece and Mason Marchment had three points.  Friday, the Otters traveled to Windsor and while they found themselves down two goals to start, the Otters came through once again, this time, with five unanswered goals in a 5-2 win.  Connor McDavid scored four points and Taylor Raddysh scored his first OHL goal in the game.  Saturday was a little shakier, as the Plymouth Whalers led 2-0 after one period and were up 3-2 after the second period.  However, McDavid forced overtime with a goal in the third period and Darren Raddysh would score the game winner in a 5-4 overtime win for the Otters.  The Otters have their home opener in a Saturday tilt with the Sarnia Sting.

Team Orr Takes It

Photo by Brad Watson

Last night, 40 of the Canadian Hockey League's players took part in the Top Prospects Game and given that there would be people in the NHL watching this game, expectations were certainly high for the potential first round picks.  Team Orr took home the 4-3 win over Team Cherry and Jared McCann of Sault Ste. Marie took home player of the game honors, as he scored the game winner for Team Orr.

The top ranked player in the NHL Central Scouting midterm ranking amongst North American skaters Sam Bennett of Kingston did not participate in the game due to injury.  However, his teammates Roland McKeown and Spencer Watson did participate, with each player on opposite teams.  Chase De Leo (ranked 26th) hopes to make it five straight years in which a Portland Winterhawks player has been drafted in the first round, and his lone contribution to the game was two penalty minutes.  Peterborough's Nicholas Ritchie also played in the Top Prospects Game, and he ranks seventh in the most recent NHL Central Scouting rankings amongst North American skaters.  He hopes to follow in the footsteps of Jordan Staal (2006), Zach Bogosian (2008), Zack Kassian (2009), Austin Watson (2010), Matt Puepmel (2011), and Slater Koekkoek (2012) as recent first round picks to have come from Peterborough.  The QMJHL breaks into that category at number 12 with Moncton's Ivan Barbashev, who also participated in the game.  As for North American goalies, Alex Nedeljkovic of Plymouth is the top ranked of the Canadian Hockey League at this point in the season.

Clearly, at this point in the season, it looks like it will be neck and neck between the OHL and the WHL as to who will be best represented at the NHL Draft in June, and don't be surprised if it also happens for the first overall pick.

The OHL Goes Outdoors

Photo: Rena Laverty

With the NHL Winter Classic tomorrow in Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, MI, the past few days have provided a perfect opportunity for the state of Michigan to show the world how it celebrates the sport.  With the ice in Comerica Park in Detroit for a couple of events, including the Alumni game between former stars of the Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs, the OHL and AHL got into the act.

Today's focus is on the OHL, as there were two games happening on Sunday, with the Plymouth Whalers taking on the London Knights and the Saginaw Spirit facing the Windsor Spitfires.  The Whalers/Knights matchup didn't do anything special in terms of uniforms, so that won't be mentioned much, other than Plymouth won the game.  As for the Windsor/Saginaw match, both teams broke out special uniforms for the game.  Both teams went with a vintage look, with the Spits reaching back into their history for their look while the Spirit did well despite a brief history in the OHL compared to the Spits.  Both looks were good, and the game was even better, as Windsor would pull out a 6-5 win.

Winterhawks Weekly: Importing Players

The title of today's piece is somewhat misleading, as this is about more than just the Winterhawks.  Before I get to the happenings of the CHL Import Draft, however, let's get to the news of the Winterhawks.

First, the trade: the Winterhawks have acquired Shane McColgan from Saskatoon in exchange for a couple of draft picks.  With 66 points in 69 games last season, McColgan will be one overager on next year's squad, as Joey Baker will pursue educational opportunities next season and Ty Rattie and Tyler Wotherspoon are expected to turn pro (teams are allowed three overaged players).  As for the other roster move, that happened in the Import Draft, as the Winterhawks picked 60th and took defenseman Anton Cederholm.  Since teams are only allowed two import players, that meant Kiril Vorobev was cut loose, as Oliver Bjorkstrand is expected to return.

Speaking of the Import Draft, there were a few NHL players that were taken in the Import Draft, which will allow teams to see what they're getting.  Andre Burakovsky headlines this group, as he will be watched by the Washington Capitals as he tries to add to an Erie Otters team that doesn't have much beyond Connor McDavid and Oscar Dansk.  Other players drafted by NHL teams to be taken in the Import Draft were Matej Paulovic (Dallas prospect by Peterborough), Jacob de la Rose (Montreal prospect by Windsor), Dmitry Sinitsyn (Dallas/Regina), Viktor Crus Rydberg (NY Islanders/Plymouth), Fabrice Herzog (Toronto/Quebec), Cederholm (Vancouver/Portland), and Artturi Lehkonen (Montreal/Kootenay).  This year's Import Draft also marks the last year a European goaltender can be taken, as the Draft will be limited to skaters starting next season.  Daniel Gibl will be the last European goaltender selected, as he was taken 47th overall by Barrie.

Father and Son...On the Same Team

Earlier today, a little history was made on the KalPa Kuopio team in the SM-liiga in Finland, as Sami Kapanen and his son Kasperi suited up for a game.  The elder Kapanen (Sami) played in the NHL for Hartford, Carolina, and Philadelphia, carving out a nice career defined by his versatility and effort.  He was one of the better skaters whose moment was defined by a hit he took in the 2004 playoffs from Darcy Tucker (Flyers vs. Maple Leafs) and made it back to the bench moments before Philadelphia scored the game winner.  Small things like that will endear you to your teammates, and Kapanen was one of the more underappreciated players in his time in the NHL.  As for right now, Kapanen has a share in the KalPa Kuopio team, which helped in getting Kasperi to join the team.  Expect the younger Kapanen to make a similar impact in the future, wherever he ends up, whether it's the NHL, KHL, or another league in Europe.

Time for Winds of Change?

This guy you see in the snazzy suit and tie is Paul Maurice, and he is the head coach of the Carolina Hurricanes.  How long he remains as head coach is something that will be determined in the next few days.  Currently, if the New York Islanders didn't stink up the joint, the Hurricanes would be in last place in the Eastern Conference, and there are rumors that Maurice could be the guy to take the fall.  Like the Columbus Blue Jackets situation, all blame should not go on the head coach, but on the higher ups in the organization.  However, Maurice has had two stints as head coach in the Hurricanes organization, only making the playoffs in three of those season (1999, 2002, and 2009).  In normal situations, this would be enough to get a coach fired, let alone twice, but given that the General Manager is Jim Rutherford, who has been the GM since the Hartford Whalers days, you begin to see why this is more than just a coaching problem.  The entire organization is suffering, and it is showing up on the ice, as Eric Staal hasn't lived up to the big contract he signed a few years back, Tomas Kaberle has not been anywhere near his former self since leaving Toronto, and Cam Ward hasn't been lights out.  Is it time for a change?  Yes, but who will implement it if the owner is too stubborn and is living off of the few successes that the franchise has had?

Howe and Howe

Tonight, four players who had distinguished careers in the NHL (and WHA, in one case) will be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto.  The main person that I would like to talk about today is the son of Mr. Hockey.  It took Mark Howe 13 years (that's the years since his first year of eligibility) to finally get the call from the Hall, but he will be inducted and not only will he be around to enjoy it, so will his father Gordie, who was the face of the Detroit Red Wings (the last team Mark played for before retiring), as well as the holder of the record for most goals in a career (before Wayne Gretzky broke it in 1994).  Mark began his professional career in Houston of the WHA, but would be in a Whalers uniform by the time the league folded.  The Hartford Whalers were his first team in the NHL (and Gordie's last NHL team, ironically) and though he struggled to find his niche early on, it would be with the Philadelphia Flyers that he would find his game and position, as he moved from left wing to become one of the more underrated defensemen in the league.  He would eventually finish his career in 1995 with Detroit.

Mark Howe never won the Norris Trophy, a product of playing in the same era as Ray Bourque and Paul Coffey, among others, and reached the Stanley Cup Finals three times, falling short in all three.  As a current scout for the Red Wings, he has four Stanley Cup rings to his name, a credit to his mental acumen in his playing days.  It took a while for Mark Howe to get to the Hall of Fame, but there is no chance that he would have traded the Howe name for anything in the world.

Peter Sidorkiewicz

Today's trek to Poland takes us to the more recent times of the late 80's and early 90's, and to a goalie named Peter Sidorkiewicz.  Born in the small town of Dabrowa Bialostocka, Poland, he would move with his parents to Oshawa, ON, where he would play his junior hockey.  Drafted by the Washington Capitals in 1981, he would not suit up for the parent club, and he would eventually be traded to Hartford in 1985.  In fact, he would not see NHL action until the 1987-88 season.  He would become a regular the following season, and would be the undisputed starter the season after.  In 1992, he would be claimed by the Ottawa Senators in the Expansion Draft, but only play one season with the team.  Though he was an All-Star in his only season with Ottawa, he was also in most of the games when Ottawa had its worst season ever, with Sidorkiewicz being on the hook for 46 of the losses and a 4.43 GAA.  He would be traded to New Jersey in 1993, but would only see four games in the rest of his career (3 in 1993-94 and one more in 1997-98), as most of his time was spent in the minors.

Hall of Fame Class of 2011

Yesterday afternoon, four players were announced to be a part of the Hockey Hall of Fame, and as you can see from the picture above, three of those players played for the Toronto Maple Leafs at one point in their respective careers.  Coincidence or not, those three (from left to right: Ed Belfour, Doug Gilmour, and Joe Nieuwendyk) and Mark Howe all have their reasons for being in the Hall of Fame.

Belfour was never the elite goaltender in his time.  Of course, playing in the same era with the likes of Dominik Hasek, Patrick Roy, and Martin Brodeur have something to do with it.  However, Belfour put up similar numbers and won a Stanley Cup with Dallas in 1999.  He has also won the Vezina Trophy twice, been a Calder Trophy recipient, and is third in wins all time.  All of that means he gets into the Hall on the first ballot.

Having fallen short on his first ballot last year, Nieuwendyk is quite possibly the quietest player to have reached 500 goals in his career.  By quiet, I mean he never got the recognition that the likes of Theo Fleury, Mike Modano, or Brett Hull got in their careers.  Despite all that, he managed to win the Calder Trophy and was a part of three Stanley Cup teams (Calgary in '89, Dallas in '99, and New Jersey in '03).  In short, he was a winner.

"Killer" has been on the ballot since 2006, and should have been in the Hall last year.  Gilmour was a Stanley Cup winner in '89, and has won the Selke Trophy for best defensive forward.  The most well-rounded player of the four going into the Hall this year and the face of the Maple Leafs in the 90's.

The man with the longest wait of the four was Mark Howe.  On the ballot since 1998, Mark Howe didn't do so badly for being the son of Mr. Hockey Gordie Howe.  405 goals in his career while playing in the WHA and NHL isn't a bad number, until you realize that he was a defenseman.  While not on the same level as Mr. Hockey, Mark Howe carved out his own legacy and can say that he played on the same line as Mr. Hockey, having done so with the Hartford Whalers in the WHA.