Calder Trophy predictions

It's time to list the best Calder Trophy candidates among the 2008-09 rookie crop. I hope this list helps you pick a few sleepers in your hockey pools.

1. Steven Stamkos TB C 82 games 32 G 35 A 67 points (Should have a Kane-like season)
2. Kyle Turris PHX C 77 games 25 G 35 A 60 points (Will center the Yotes 2nd line)
3. Nikita Filatov CBS LW 75 games 27 G 30 A 57 points (Has lot of upside, but he has to make the team first)
4. Kyle Okposo NYI RW 76 games 23 G 31 A 54 points (Will have plenty of ice-time, but on a low scoring team)
5. TJ Oshie STL C 80 games 20 G 33 A 53 points (Will center the Blues 2nd line)
6. Jakub Voracek CBS RW 80 games 17 G 35 52 points (Very talented winger, will likely play on the 2nd line with Brassard)
7. Mikkel Boedker PHX RW 80 games 20 G 30 A 50 points (Meshed well with Turris in traning camp, should they play together he'll hit 50 points)
8. Kevin Porter PHX RW 82 games 25 G 23 A 48 points (Should play on the 2nd or 3rd line)
9. Fabian Bunnstrom DAL RW 77 games 15 G 33 A 48 points (Late bloomer, should play top-6 minutes)
10. Claude Giroux PHI RW 70 games 22 G 25 A 47 points (Should start on the 3rd line and will not get much PP time)
11. Bobby Ryan ANA RW 75 games 25 G 20 A 45 points (Will play on the Ducks 2nd line, his 1st full-season)
12. Patrick Hornqvist NSH RW 77 games 23 G 22 A 45 points (Will take Radulov's on the 2nd line)
13. Shawn Matthias FLA C 77 games 20 G 23 A 43 points (Will center the Panthers 2nd line, but on a low scoring team)
14. Janne Pesonen PIT LW 72 games 17 G 25 A 42 points (Should he play with Malkin, his upside will be through the roof)
15. Pettri Kontiola CHI C 72 games 10 G 30 A 40 points (Should center the 2nd line now that Lang got traded)
16. Nikolai Kulemin TOR LW 75 games 22 G 17 A 39 points (A good goal scorer who will plenty of ice-time with the Leafs)
17. Derrick Brassard CBS C 70 games 15 G 23 A 38 points (If he can avoid the injury bug, he'll have a great rookie year)
18. Ville Leino DET LW 66 games 12 G 25 A 37 points (Detroit's depth will affect his offensive statistics)
19. Jack Hillen NYI D 75 games 7 G 30 A 37 points (Should be a top-4 d-man with NYI, and play on the 2nd PP unit)
20. Patrick Berglund STL C 78 games 16 G 20 A 36 points (Will center the Blues 3rd line and get some PP time)
21. Teddy Purcell LA RW 75 games 10 G 19 A 34 points (Will get top-6 minutes in LA, but on a low scoring team)
22. Michael Frolik FLA RW 65 games 12 G 20 A 32 points (Will have every chance to make the Panthers on theird 3rd line)
23. Brian Lee OTT D 78 games 7 G 21 A 28 points (Redden's departure will allow Lee to get more ice time, especially on the PP)
24. Drew Doughty LA D 80 games 6 G 20 A 26 points (If he makes the Kings, he'll log pklenty of ice time)
25. Zack Bogosian ATL D 77 games 5 G 19 A 24 points (The Thrashers being very thin on the blue line, they will need a strong season from him)

Other rookies worth mentioning: Bryan Boyle LA, Erik Ersberg LA, Alex Pietrangelo STL, Alex Goligoski PIT, Jack Skille CHI, Alex Nikulin OTT, Brandon Sutter CAR, Ryan Parent PHI, Cody Bass OTT, Karl Azner WSH, Thomas Hickey LA, Blake Wheeler BOS, Jonathan Bernier LA, Nathan Gerbe BUF, Jesse Winchester OTT, Drayson Bowman CAR, Cody Hodgson VAN

Feel free to comment on this list as it's not perfect.

Jakub Voracek should stick with Jackets

The Columbus Blue Jackets took part in the 8-team prospects Tournament in Traverse City that just ended.

Right winger Jake Voracek, as expected, was arguably the best player in the tournament.

Voracek, 20, is expected to make the Blue Jackets' roster out of training camp, so the decision was made to rest him the last two games of the tournament. Voracek will now head to the Jackets big camp and will try impress Hitchcock and Howson in order to stay start the season in Columbus.

The right winger is an explosive skater, with dynamic offensive ability. He recorded 101 points in 53 games with the Halifax Mooseheads last season in the QMJHL.

Schenn and Leaf Prospects Wrap up Tourney

The Leafs concluded their mini-tournament today beating the Panthers 4-0, ending with an overall record of 1-2.

Luke Schenn, 2008 1st rounder, impressed with solid play and a tussle against Florida's David Brine. As well as showing maturity beyond his years...

“In the first game, there was a little bit of nervousness but in game two I felt better and today I felt better as well,” Schenn said. “As long as there’s progression and I keep getting better, I’m just happy to keep working hard.”

Full Story Here.

Video of games vs SENS and PENS.

Let's Hit The Ice...

Following a weekend long camp the prospects of the Vancouver Canucks take to the ice this evening in Camrose Alberta. The Canuck hopefuls will face the Calgary Flames prospect tonight and the Edmonton Oilers contingent of youngsters on Tuesday evening.

As for some notables from the Canucks camp...

It appears that coach Alain Vigneault is very impressed with 18-year-old Cody Hodgson. One report from camp even indicated that Vigneault is going to push to have the youngster start the season with the big club.

Also battling to make an impression is 2006 1st rounder Michael Grabner who came to Vancouver early this summer to begin his off-season training as well as goaltender Cory Schneider who may be looking to impress some scouts outside the Canucks organization.

For those that are interested you may catch the tournament on Canucks TV. Check out http://www.canucks.com/ and follow the links.

Wilson on Hockeycentral

Leaf head coach Ron Wilson was on the Fan today talking With Daren Millard and Nick Kypreos about the Toronto media, developing young players and Sundin.

He was also on "The Bill Watters Show" today discussing subjects like Jeff Finger, Mark Bell and Luke Schenn.

Maple Leafs Workout shows some promise!

I was at the Maple Leafs practice facility today watching an informal workout and saw that Kulemin and Hagman were playing very well together.

Kulemin went up the center of the ice split the D and back passed between Coliacovos legs to Hagman and Hagman busted the puck of Riemers shoulder.

GREAT PLAY!!

Anyways I just wanted to say that Wilson was there messing with some line possibilities I asked him what we could see with line combos and he said this.

"Well T**** I think after that play you can expect those 2 together. I asked about young Luke Schenn and he said what Fletcher has been saying he'll get every chance to make that team just like everyone else.

These were some of the line combos out there today:

Bell Stajan Mayers
Hagman Grabovski Kulemin

Thats really all I could see Joseph was the other goalie playing in the scrimmage things look good chemistry wise so far.

The Source

Season preview: Washington Capitals

Roster:

Forwards:
8 Alexander Ovechkin
10 Matt Bradley
14 Eric Fehr
15 Boyd Gordon
17 Chris Clark
19 Nicklas Backstrom
21 Brooks Laich
25 Viktor Kozlov
28 Alexander Semin
37 Keith Aucoin
39 Dave Steckel
43 Tomas Fleischmann
53 Quintin Laing
56 Chris Bourque
87 Donald Brashear
91 Sergei Fedorov
92 Michael Nylander

Defense:
2 Brian Pothier
3 Tom Poti
4 John Erskine
23 Milan Jurcina
26 Shaone Morrison
42 Sami Lepisto
47 Karl Azner
52 Mike Green
55 Jeff Schulz

Goalies:
1 Brent Johnson
40 Simeon Varlamov
60 Jose Thoedore

Outlook:
Coming off a surprising season, where they barely made the playoffs, the Washington Capitals are full hope for 2008-09. Playing in a weak South East Division, the Caps are the favorites to win their division. A much improved Lightning team and an always dangerous, but unpredictable Hurricanes team might challenge the Caps for the division title, but the very young Atlanta Thrashers and the enigmatic Florida Panthers will be hard pressed to even make the series.

The biggest question mark the Capitals face is their new netminder Jose Theodore, who was signed as a UFA to replace veteran Olaf Kolzig (now with TB) and deadline acquisition Cristobal Huet (now with Chicago). Theodore had a strong season with the Avs last year, but he struggled at times since they acquired him from Montreal in exchange for David Aebischer.

The defensive corps is young and underrated. Mike Green is a budding superstar and Tom Poti is a savvy veteran presence. Both players are surrounded by versatile players like Shaone Morrison, Milan Jurcina and Brian Pothier. The latter, however, will likely start the season on the LTIR, due to concussion problems, clearing a spot for rookie Karl Alzner, who is almost 100% of making the team, unless he has a horrendous traning camp.

Up front, the Capitals can compete with anyone in the league. The face of the franchise, Alex Ovechkin is getter better every year and he will be very well surrounded this season with veterans like Michael Nylander (back from a serious injury), Viktor Kozlov and deadline acquisition Sergei Fedorov. Not to mention youngters like Nicklas Backstrom, Alexander Semin and Brooks Laich who should all improve last year numbers. Finally, don't forget Chris Clark who only played 18 games last season due to injuries. Clark scored 30 goals in 2006-07 with a very weak Washington team.
Expect Ovechkin to reach 120 pts and Backstrom 100 points. Players like Nylander and Semin should reach the 70-point mark easily barring they stay healthy.

Prediction:
The Capitals will finish between the 3rd and the 6th place in the Eastern Conference.

6 Teams: Montreal Canadiens

Roster:

Forwards:
22 Steve Begin
28 Kyle Chipchura
21 Christopher Higgins
11 Saku Koivu
46 Andrei Kostitsyn
74 Sergei Kostitsyn
6 Tom Kostopoulos
27 Alex Kovalev
40 Maxime Lapierre
17 George Laraque
84 Guillaume Latendresse
14 Tomas Plekanec
41 Alex Tanguay

Defense:
51 Francis Bouillon
25 Mathieu Dandenault
26 Josh Gorges
44 Roma Hamrlik
8 Mike Komisarek
79 Andrei Markov
3 Ryan O'Byrne

Goalies:
1 Marc Denis
41 Jaroslav Halak
31 Carey Price

Outlook:
As much as it pains me to say this the Canadiens are the team to beat in the East this year they added toughness in Laraque and speed in Tanguay. The Canadiens are celebrating there 100th year in the NHL and will be looking to win the Stanley Cup a record 25th time. They must do it this year as this would mark the 1st time the Canadiens would have failed to win the cup in every decade since its creation. While a lot of people unjustly voted the Canadiens out of the playoffs last year they surprised all by finishing in the top 3 of the East and making the Eastern Semi-Finals only to be beat by the Philadelphia Flyers. The Canadiens will wear a plethra of different jerseys this season to commemerate there 100th season which everyone should look forward to seeing. The only question mark the Canadiens really have is G Carey Price who collapsed in the playoffs and the last half of the season he will be the make or break player of the Canadiens roster this year. I could easily see Halak taking that #1 spot away if Price seems to be struggling at anytime this year. The 1st line should easily be the K's and Tanguay which could be an extremely dominate line! Higgins and Kovalev will quarterback the second line with Koivu possibly centering that line or the 3rd line. This team should be fun to watch!

Rumors:
Mats Sundin is all we've been hearing but recently Gainey seems to be less optimistic about obtaining the 37 year old centerman as Mats can't seem to decide anything. There have also been rumblings that a Edmonton/ Montreal trade could take place but don't put any stock in it as Horcoff seems to be the rumored name and he is Edmontons best center.

Prediction:
The Canadiens will win the East in my opinion and more than likely go to the Stanley Cup finals.

The Sources Prediction:
4th to 1st in the East

6 Teams: Ottawa Senators

Roster:

Forwards:
11 Daniel Alfredsson
58 Cody Bass
10 Shean Donovan
12 Mike Fisher
71 Nick Foligno
15 Dany Heatley
36 Joshua Hennessey
27 Brad Isbister
22 Chris Kelly
14 Chris Mauldin
37 Dean McCammond
25 Chris Neil
42 Jim O'Brien
37 Jarkko Ruutu
26 Ryan Shannon
19 Jason Spezza
20 Antoine Vermette

Defense:
6 Brendan Bell
71 Filip Kuba
55 Brian Lee
4 Chris Philips
2 Alexandre Picard
5 Christoph Schubert
21 Jason Smith
24 Anton Volchenkov

Goalies:
29 Martin Gerber
1 Alex Auld

Outlook
NOT GOOD!! The Senators are slowly starting to slide from the upper echelon of the Eastern Conference and being replaced by fellow North East division team the Montreal Canadiens. Now don't get me the Senators still have a solid list of forwards........................ Oops nope 3 solid forwards namely Dany Heatley, Jason Spezza, Daniel Alfredsson argue if you must but this is a one line team. They combined last year for 114 goals there isn't another line combo on this team that came close to that. The Senators also returned to there classic choke fest that is the playoffs for this team losing in 4 to the Penguins. I don't see much happening for this team but another early round exit from the playoffs. They have however added some grit in Jason Smith which will bring a nice presence to there defense and should help them fix that physical part of there game the Sens have been missing for the last few forevers.

Predictions
I don't see a top 5 finish for the Sens this year and they could miss the playoffs all together which is doubtful but possible. They have finaly come back to reality which became evident in the playoffs last year and losing the season series to the Maple Leafs something that hasn't happened in some time.

Sources Prediction
12th to 6th place for the Senators

Andrej Meszaros Wanted Out

There is a good read in the Ottawa Sun today about Andrej Meszaros and how messy that trade was. Here it is....

While the 22-year-old defenceman told Sun Media Sunday he wanted to stay in Ottawa, Murray said Meszaros' agent Ritch Winter complained that Jason Smith wasn't going to be a good enough partner for his client.

After dealing Meszaros to the Tampa Bay Lightning Friday in exchange for Filip Kuba, Alexandre Picard and a No. 1 draft pick, Murray was still steaming yesterday.

"I'm certainly satisfied with the deal at the end of the day, but I'm not happy with the way it came down," said Murray. "I'm not happy they asked me for $4.5 (million) all the way through, they threatened an offer sheet, which they had going on Friday. The choice I had after talking to (owner Eugene Melnyk) was: 'Do we overpay (to keep) this guy?'

"As much as it has been written he wanted to be in Ottawa ... he didn't want to be in Ottawa. He wanted to move on. I was told his (defensive) partner wouldn't be good enough for him and lots of other stuff. So we just decided at the end that if we could get value, we'd just make the deal and that would be it."

Murray confirmed a Sun Media report he offered Meszaros a five-year deal at $3.5- million per season. He also "offered a little higher than that" at the last minute. Meszaros accepted a six-year, $24-million deal from the Bolts.

"I was told at the last minute if I offered $4 million that maybe (Winter) could take it to his client. He signed for $4 million in one day with Tampa, but I was also assured an offer sheet was coming and I'm pretty sure there was," said Murray. "If it was an offer sheet we were going to be short on the blue line. Just as important was the fact that I felt it would have a tremendous effect on the rest of the NHL when you pay Andrej Meszaros ($5.2) million or more. I called (Tampa GM) Brian Lawton and I said, 'If you want this player, there are two options: Make the offer sheet or this is the trade I want to make with you.' It took all day to agree to do this."

By BRUCE GARRIOCH, SUN MEDIA

6 Teams In 6 Days: Montreal and Ottawa postponed till Monday!

I apologize for not being able to do Montreal and Ottawa till Monday and Tuesday because of some family issues. I will be able to finish on those 2 days so stay tuned.

The Source

Lines According to Mike Babcock

The wait is over! According to Craig Custance of The Sporting News, Mike Babcock has prepared line combinations to start the 2008-2009 campaign. They are as follows:



Holmstrom - Datsyuk - Hossa

Franzen - Zetterberg - Hudler

Cleary - Filppula - Samuelsson

Maltby - Draper - Kopecky

Downey/McCarty/Helm/Abdelkader as the 13th



These lines absolutely make me salivate. I can't even predict what the PP units will be, because they would be ridiculous. However, I'm personally wondering what Mike Babcock is doing with Filppula being the pivot between Cleary and Samuelsson. The Red Wings' brass just signed Valtteri to a 5 year, 15 million dollar deal based on his potential to be a second line center. Though having Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Draper, and Filppula down the middle is pretty solid, Valtteri will never produce the amount of points being the center for Cleary and Samuelsson as he would for another pair. I would much rather see line combinations of:



Holmstrom - Datsyuk - Zetterberg

Franzen - Filppula - Hossa



With the tear Franzen was on in during the latter stages of the regular and post seasons, I believe Filppula will be more productive (points-wise) with these skilled players as opposed to Cleary and Samuelsson. But alas, I'm not a Stanley Cup winning coach, so I'll let Mike do his job.

6 Teams In 6 Days: Toronto Maple Leafs

Roster

Forwards:
80 Nik Antropov
9 Mark Bell
55 Jason Blake
22 Boyd Devereaux
54 Mikhail Grabovski
51 Nik Hagman
44 Ryan Hollweg
21 Jamal Mayers
19 Dominic Moore
23 Alexei Ponikarovsky
14 Matt Stajan
10 Alex Steen
11 Jiri Tlusty
41 Nik Kulemin

Defense:
8 Carlo Coliacovo
6 Jeff Finger
24 Jonas Frogren
15 Tomas Kaberle
31 Pavel Kubina
36 Anton Stralman
7 Ian White

Unknown:
13 Mats Sundin
24 Bryan McCabe

Outlook:
Argue all you want but "NO" team has a bigger fan base then the Toronto Maple Leafs unfortunately for that fan base we haven't seen a Stanley Cup in 41 years and things don't look to be changing this year either. However the thing that a lot of people are not taking into account is that the Leafs were still in the top 10 for scoring in the league. The problem wasn't that! It was keeping the puck out of there own net something they have seemingly rectified this past off season. Also people aren't realizing that the Leafs really haven't lost any talent from last years team minus Sundin of course. The only people they lost were people who weren't producing (I.E. Tucker, Wellwood) The Leafs have arguably a top 10 goaltending tandem in the East in Joseph and Toskala which should help them out. Lets not forget that Toskala still had good numbers for such a poorly defensive team in front of him. The Leafs will be better defensivly and have gotten younger and faster with the additions of Kulemin and Hagman and Grabovski. I think we will be surprised with where the Leafs will finish.

Rumors:
Man where should I start? Several rumors have been bantied about in Leaf nation this summer and we've heard some big names involved. Of course nothing has come of any of it! I don't have time to make a list but I have heard Marleau, Bouwmeester, Kovalchuk, Van Ryn, Booth, and the list goes on. Obviously names as big as Kovalchuk are far fetched (Which may not be the case after this season as he may be choosing to hit the road). Also tonight I have heard that the Leafs may have been the team that offered Mezaros the offer sheet (Which I find hard to believe without that 2nd rounder)

Prediction:
The Leafs haven't been given a fair chance again this off season and after speaking with Coliacovo yesterday at Lakeshore he thinks that's a good thing as it takes pressure off the team to perform. Although some people may feel this a biased I think the Leafs could finish top 7 in the East.

The Sources Prediction:
Its a toss up with the Buds I will say 12th to 4th

6 Teams In 6 Days: Calgary Flames

Roster

Forwards:
12 Jarome Iginla
22 Daymond Langkow
13 Mike Cammaleri
7 Todd Bertuzzi
18 Matthew Lombardi
19 Wayne Primeau
17 Rene Bourque
20 Curtis Glencross
24 Craig Conroy
26 Marcus Nilson
41 Dustin Boyd
23 Eric Nystrom
25 David Moss
27 Andre Roy
37 Brandon Prust

Defense:
3 Dion Phaneuf
28 Robyn Regehr
33 Adrian Aucoin
6 Cory Sarich
44 Rhett Warrener
4 Jim Vandemeer
8 Anders Eriksson
5 Mark Giordano

Goaltending:
34 Mikka Kiprusoff
31 Curtis McElhinney

Outlook:
Has there been a season when the guys from TSN or Sportsnet or heck even The Hockey News hasn't predicted the Calgary Flames to be competing for the Stanley Cup? Its seems to me that they are continuously disappointed! The Flames have some great power up the middle and on the wings with the likes of Craig Conroy, Jarome Iginla, and Curtis Glencross who had amazing season last year with the Oilers (not point wise but being a present on the ice.) I feel the Flames will easily compete with the additions they've made this year Todd Bertuzzi, and Mike Cammaleri should bring a little bit more to the table then last years roster. The addition of Bertuzzi was a sour one in Calgary but I think he should be given a chance to make something of this opportunity. The last time he played in Canada he was dominate on one of the best lines in hockey (Naslund, Morrisson, Bertuzzi.) The Flames defense is scary powerful and will only continue to get better as Phaneuf goes so do the Flames. Adrian Aucoin can still produce at his age and so can Cory Sarich this team should once again be set on the backend.

Rumors:
None coming out of Calgary this season and it doesn't look there will be any changes before training camp look for the Flames to start the season as is.

Prediction:
The Flames will compete with the Oilers for that North West title it should really go down to the wire with this team and should be a great year for the likes of Iginla and Glencross.

The Sources Prediction:
Same as Oilers anywhere in the top 8 but if they can steal that top spot away from Edmonton I could see a 3rd place finish.

6 Teams in 6 Days: Edmonton Oilers

Roster

5 Ladislav Smid
10 Shawn Horcoff
12 Robert Nilsson
13 Andrew Cogliano
18 Ethan Moreau
21 Ryan Potulny
24 Steve Staios
26 Erik Cole
27 Dustin Penner
32 Mathieu Garon
34 Fernando Pisani
35 Dwayne Roloson
36 Mathieu Roy
37 Denis Grebeshkov
43 Jason Strudwick
44 Sheldon Souray
46 Zack Stortini
51 Kyle Brodziak
67 Gilbert Brule
71 Lubomir Visnovsky
77 Tom Gilbert
78 Marc Pouliot
83 Ales Hemsky
88 Rob Schremp
89 Sam Gagner

Outlook
The Oilers have been adding a lot of pieces to there very young puzzle this summer with the additions of Cole, Visnovsky, and Brule. They do have questions in goal with Garon but he had a very good season last year and will look to improve on that this year. There is a lot of promise in young Gagner (13 Goals, 36 Assists for 49 pts) and Cogliano (18 Goals, 27 Assists for 45 pts) A lot of people including Oiler legend Wayne Gretzky believe these 2 young players can bring the Oilers back to the days of old when they were winning Stanley Cups. The addition of Visnovsky should make the backend produce and Cole should bring a side of grit that only Moreau to this point was capable of bringing.

Rumors
There aren't many rumors coming out of Edmonton right now there were whirrings of a Gomez deal or maybe Gionta but they have since been proven as false.

Prediction
I could see the Oilers winning the Northwest this year as its a very open division. They should score more goals then last year and they should be a lot more solid on the backend Garon may be the only question mark going forward.

The Sources Prediction
I will say anywhere between 8th and 3rd

6 teams in 6 days: Vancouver Canucks

Team Roster:

Forwards
18 Steve Bernier 14 Alexandre Burrows 20 Jeff Cowen
38 Pavol Demitra
24 Darcy Hordichuk
10 Ryan Johnson
17 Ryan Kesler
25 Matt Pettinger
9 Taylor Pyatt
21 Mason Raymond
22 Daniel Sedin
33 Henrik Sedin
42 Kyle Wellwood

Defense
44 Nolan Baumgartner
3 Kevin Bieksa
4 Rob Davison
23 Alexander Edler
5 Lukas Krajicek
8 Willie Mitchell
2 Mattias Ohlund
6 Sami Salo

Goalies
1 Roberto Luongo
41 Curtis Sanford

Sources Take
While on paper the Canucks seem to be strong its there injuries on defense that kill them every year. I'm not sure how many man games lost there were for this team but I know it was a lot. The team has been rebuilt this summer with a little more sandpaper and speed with the additions of Bernier and Demitra and gritty forward Hordichuk. Roberto Luongo should have a better season in him this time around as he looks to rebound from last years seemingly human performance.

Rumors
Not much to report on the Vancouver front except the off and on tales of Mats Sundin. GM Mike Gillis has reportedly offered him a 2 year $20,000,000 deal something that most NHL'ers would never pass up. Other rumors continue to circulate about Kevin Bieksa but I wouldn't put to much thinking on that one. He is a great Dman who will continue to be the cornerstone of the Canucks defence.

Prediction
While I can see where Canuck fans are coming from when they say they have a very solid goalie the problem is he can't carry the team on his back like we saw last season. If the Canucks can manage to stay healthy they might squeak into a playoff spot but my prediction is with the china doll that is Ohlund on the back end they may just fall short again.

Sources Prediction
12th place to 7th place