Who's going to win it all (midseason predictions)

Many so called experts like to make their Stanly Cup predictions before the season starts, before they’ve even seen one game by any teams.  How do they do this?  They do it based on reputation.  The reputation of the team, the player s and the management staff in place.  Why do they do this?  Because people will read it and it helps spur conversation and attention to the game.  I like it, but have always felt it best to wait until we get a bit into the season before making these kinds of predictions.  How do I do this?  I do it based on how teams and players are playing and how they have incorporated new parts or made up for parts that are missing.  Why do I wait?  Because you never know.  You don’t know that Minnesota will be this good, or that Columbus would be this bad or teams like the Sabres would have so many injuries.  That’s why it’s best to wait … be patient and then make your predictions.

With all that being said, I think it’s pretty obvious that there are only a handful of teams that are capable of winning the Stanley Cup.  That’s not to say a dark horse won’t appear, but at this point in the cream has risen and we can see which teams have what it takes to bring Lord Stanly home.

Those teams are the: Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings.   Why you ask?  What about the Pens, NY Rangers, or Canucks or … well take your pick on any team, but whatever you may think one of the above teams will win it all.

Let’s look at them real fast to see why this is so obvious.

Boston Bruins – They are playing with the confidence of a defending champion and after a slow start have shown what a championship team at the beginning of a long dominant run looks like.  The Bruins are the toughest team to play against in the league due to their scoring depth, their size and above all else – their goaltending.  And when I say goaltending, I don’t mean Tim Thomas alone,  I mean Tim Thomas, Tukka Rask and the defensemen in front of them who are absolutely committed to stopping the puck from going into the net.  They are a league best +56 on goal differential have given up the fewest goals and have the highest goals per game.  Add to that their bruising style and this team really looks better than the one that took it all last season.  

Chicago Blackhawks – A year removed from the fire sale after their championship they have reloaded and appear to have found what every champion needs: goaltending.  Always a head case, Ray Emery is showing again that he has what it takes to lead a team to the finals.  It takes more than one goaltender though and Corey Crawford, who entered the season as the clear number 1, is more than capable to augment this duo of net minders.  None of that speaks to what currently drives the Hawks – offense and a “good enough” defense.   This team can compete with anyone and for my money they have the best captain in professional sports, the only 23-year old Jonathan Toews.   He puts leads with words, deeds and has the ability to get this team moving in the same direction. 

Detroit Red Wings – Well, that should be enough explanation, but what kind of blogger would I be if I didn’t at least offer some kind of insight into their selection.  In summary, they are probably the only team that can compete with the Bruins over a seven game series.  Tomas Holmstrom, Henrik Zetterberg, Nicklas Lidstrom and Pavel Datsyuk is what a “core” of players should look like, but as we’ve seen the past few years even this stalwarts can’t win by themselves.  For the first time in a few years they have the depth of role players playing well to again be a cup contender.  Also, if you’ve noticed a theme from the two teams mentioned above, I hold goaltending in a very high regard for a team to win it all.  The Wings have the keepers to get it done.  Jimmy Howard, is coming into his own and is backed up by the more than capable Ty Conklin, who has faced playoff pressure many times in his career.

So, now that I’ve narrowed it down to three, which team do I think will win it all?  Unfortunately, I can’t really see any team being able to compete with and beat the Bruins over a 7 game series after playing three other series just to be able to play them.  I say unfortunately, because I truly hate Boston.  Not just the Bruins, but Boston in general.  But, even my hatred for all things Beantown can’t hide the fact that this team has it all.  Looking over their roster, coaching and “intangibles” it’s not hard to figure that going back-to-back, and possibly more, is very much in the cards.  Although, they didn’t add much during the offseason, they are not the same team.  I say that because Tyler Seguin was with the team all year last season, but this season, he’s making his presence known and gives the Bruins more depth of scoring than they already had.

Are there other teams that could win it?  Sure, I’m always willing to “take the field” versus anyone but from a pure hockey sense, right now these three teams are the most likely and with the Bruins looking the most unstoppable.  Anything can happen though, that’s why the games are actually played and that’s why we all watch, because Carolina can come from nowhere to win it all.  

~ written by donmanski

Who's going to win it all (midseason predictions)

Many so called experts like to make their Stanly Cup predictions before the season starts, before they’ve even seen one game by any teams.  How do they do this?  They do it based on reputation.  The reputation of the team, the player s and the management staff in place.  Why do they do this?  Because people will read it and it helps spur conversation and attention to the game.  I like it, but have always felt it best to wait until we get a bit into the season before making these kinds of predictions.  How do I do this?  I do it based on how teams and players are playing and how they have incorporated new parts or made up for parts that are missing.  Why do I wait?  Because you never know.  You don’t know that Minnesota will be this good, or that Columbus would be this bad or teams like the Sabres would have so many injuries.  That’s why it’s best to wait … be patient and then make your predictions.

With all that being said, I think it’s pretty obvious that there are only a handful of teams that are capable of winning the Stanley Cup.  That’s not to say a dark horse won’t appear, but at this point in the cream has risen and we can see which teams have what it takes to bring Lord Stanly home.

Those teams are the: Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings.   Why you ask?  What about the Pens, NY Rangers, or Canucks or … well take your pick on any team, but whatever you may think one of the above teams will win it all.

Let’s look at them real fast to see why this is so obvious.

Boston Bruins – They are playing with the confidence of a defending champion and after a slow start have shown what a championship team at the beginning of a long dominant run looks like.  The Bruins are the toughest team to play against in the league due to their scoring depth, their size and above all else – their goaltending.  And when I say goaltending, I don’t mean Tim Thomas alone,  I mean Tim Thomas, Tukka Rask and the defensemen in front of them who are absolutely committed to stopping the puck from going into the net.  They are a league best +56 on goal differential have given up the fewest goals and have the highest goals per game.  Add to that their bruising style and this team really looks better than the one that took it all last season.  

Chicago Blackhawks – A year removed from the fire sale after their championship they have reloaded and appear to have found what every champion needs: goaltending.  Always a head case, Ray Emery is showing again that he has what it takes to lead a team to the finals.  It takes more than one goaltender though and Corey Crawford, who entered the season as the clear number 1, is more than capable to augment this duo of net minders.  None of that speaks to what currently drives the Hawks – offense and a “good enough” defense.   This team can compete with anyone and for my money they have the best captain in professional sports, the only 23-year old Jonathan Toews.   He puts leads with words, deeds and has the ability to get this team moving in the same direction. 

Detroit Red Wings – Well, that should be enough explanation, but what kind of blogger would I be if I didn’t at least offer some kind of insight into their selection.  In summary, they are probably the only team that can compete with the Bruins over a seven game series.  Tomas Holmstrom, Henrik Zetterberg, Nicklas Lidstrom and Pavel Datsyuk is what a “core” of players should look like, but as we’ve seen the past few years even this stalwarts can’t win by themselves.  For the first time in a few years they have the depth of role players playing well to again be a cup contender.  Also, if you’ve noticed a theme from the two teams mentioned above, I hold goaltending in a very high regard for a team to win it all.  The Wings have the keepers to get it done.  Jimmy Howard, is coming into his own and is backed up by the more than capable Ty Conklin, who has faced playoff pressure many times in his career.

So, now that I’ve narrowed it down to three, which team do I think will win it all?  Unfortunately, I can’t really see any team being able to compete with and beat the Bruins over a 7 game series after playing three other series just to be able to play them.  I say unfortunately, because I truly hate Boston.  Not just the Bruins, but Boston in general.  But, even my hatred for all things Beantown can’t hide the fact that this team has it all.  Looking over their roster, coaching and “intangibles” it’s not hard to figure that going back-to-back, and possibly more, is very much in the cards.  Although, they didn’t add much during the offseason, they are not the same team.  I say that because Tyler Seguin was with the team all year last season, but this season, he’s making his presence known and gives the Bruins more depth of scoring than they already had.

Are there other teams that could win it?  Sure, I’m always willing to “take the field” versus anyone but from a pure hockey sense, right now these three teams are the most likely and with the Bruins looking the most unstoppable.  Anything can happen though, that’s why the games are actually played and that’s why we all watch, because Carolina can come from nowhere to win it all.  

~ written by donmanski

Rookie's deliver

Hey everyone it is Christmas, a happy time of year so I've decided to make my last blog before Christmas a positive one. In this season of giving I am giving credit to the rookies around the NHL that have stepped up, and are continually helping their teams. To make my list of top 10 rookies so far, the rookies don't necessarily have to be scoring; many rookies have stepped up and answered the bell for ice-time, toughness and leadership. So brace yourself for a blog that will contain; no coaches, no concussions and no Sidney Crosby! Here we go!

1. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins; 13 goals, 21 assists; 34 points

Let's start with a obvious rookie, who currently sits atop the list of candidates for the Calder Trophy; The Nuge, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. This kid has been unbelievably good for the Oilers so far. Nugent-Hopkins is absolutely dominating and showing everyone that he not only deserved to be drafted 1st overall, but that he was ready to play in the show, right away! Let's look at what he has accomplished through 35 some odd games; He scored in his very first NHL game, recorded a hat trick in his 3rd game and on November 19, he became the first ever 18 year old to record 5 assists in a game. Not to mention he leads all rookies in goals, assists and points, is in the top 20 in points in the NHL and leads the Oilers in scoring! If Nugent-Hopkins can keep up this pace or even a pace similar to this, there is almost no question that he will be holding the Calder Trophy at the end of the season. But perhaps more remarkable, is the fact that Nugent-Hopkins can take a slumping Oilers team and put them back into position to be in the post-season for the first time in 5 years. Not to mention 2 of those 5 years were spent finishing at the bottom of the league. If the Oilers make the playoffs after finishing 30th in the last 2 seasons, it will be quite remarkable and may even be one for the record books. As of right now, I think i'ts safe to say, the Calder Trophy is Ryan Nugent-Hopkins to lose.

2. Adam Henrique; 8 goals, 17 assists; 25 points
Well to be fair and impartial in my list of top 10 rookies, I did some research on the rookies that are playing well right now, and I'm glad I did. I'd never even heard of this guy! Considering he is second to Ryan Nugent-Hopkins for rookie point totals and has so far been left off all "experts" charts for Calder Trophy considerations, I decided to do some research and see where Henrique came from. Henrique was drafted by the Devils 82nd overall in the 2008 draft but hadn't dressed for a game until early April last season. Despite the fact most have never heard of him, he has actually had quite a successful OHL career; He won two Memorial Cups with the Windsor Spitfires in 2009 and 2010, won the Wayne Gretzky award for OHL playoff MVP and was part of the 2010 Canadian World Junior Team that won silver. You'd think a kid who won 2 Memorial Cups and was a member of the world junior squad, would be someone I'd have known was coming. Henrique came within 1 game of snapping the Devils record for longest rookie point streak, having his streak ended at 7 games. Henrique really started to turn heads at the start of November when he began a point-per-game streak. Not only can he score, he can also handle some pretty extensive ice time, averaging over 20 minutes a night, he was runner up to Nugent-Hopkins for November's rookie of the month he had 5 goals 9 assists, while Nugent-Hopkins had 6 goals 10 assists. Flip I'm still trying to figure out how I missed this kid? In all likely-hood Henrique will finish runner-up at best to Nugent-Hopkins for the Calder Trophy.

3. Craig Smith; 8 goals, 16 assists; 24 points
Smith is currently sitting 3rd in the rookie points race, 1 point behind the mysterious Henrique. The 22 year old Smith was taken in the 4th round in the 2009 draft. Now most of us probably know Craig Smith for his inability to shoot a puck into a wide open net, yes on November 17 against the Leafs, Smith was the guy who sent the puck flying over top of the wide open net. Luckily for Smith his rookie season is going better than his open net aim! He currently leads the Predators in points, and is having quite a nice rookie season. He might not have all the flash and flair of a Nugent-Hopkins, but he is certainly in the mix for top rookie.

4. Luke Adam; 10 goals, 10 assists; 20 points
Did you really think I wasn't going to have a Sabres rookie on this list? What can I say about Luke Adam, I absolutely love this kid, and he's producing and giving it his all night in and night out. He is tied for top 4 in the rookie point totals, but he does it on less ice time than the rest of the high scoring rookies. Adam is averaging right around 13 minutes of ice time a night, some games he didn't even reach 13 minutes, but yet is still producing at a top level rate for a rookie. Plus Adam started the season on the top line playing between Vanek and Pominville, not to mention he fit in quite well and did not look out of place. I'm really starting to like Luke Adam, he is going to turn out to be a very good player for the Sabres in the future, the 22 year old from Newfoundland was drafted in the 2nd round in the 2008 draft. Through all the injuries the Sabres have and are enduring, Adam has not only stayed healthy, but is having an impact on the score sheet, forcing the Sabres to keep him in the show. Needless to say I think Adam has turned out to be a pleasant surprise for the Sabres, the kid battled hard through training camp and pre-season to prove he belongs, and hasn't let up. It's only a matter of time before he start gaining more trust from his coaches and his ice time rises. In Fact, my editor donmanski, said prior to the season, that Adam would be the number 1 new addition on the Sabres roster. So far he's right!

5. Jake Gardiner; 0 goals, 8 assists; 8 points
This is the type of guy I was referring to when talking about, not necessarily scoring, but still contributing in other ways.When Leafs training camp opened up, I knew the Leafs had something special in this kid and there was no way he was going back to the Marlies. Despite not putting the puck in a ton of points, he is 2nd in points amongst rookie defenseman. The Leafs are extremely lucky to have Gardiner, he was the Ducks 1st round pick in 2008, and came to Leafs in a trade that only Brian Burke could have made. Leafs acquired Gardiner for Francois Beauchemin. He has been a big part of the Leafs success this season, he is poised for a rookie defenseman, and is paired with veteran defensman Luke Schenn. This paring see's Gardiner getting roughly 21 minutes of ice time a night. In a sense Gardiner has "skated" his way into head coach Ron Wilson's good books, he is highly praised for his fluent skating style and his knack for skating himself out of trouble. Wilson, says it's almost like he never gets tired. Gardiner has made quite an impact with this young Leafs squad, considering he was supposed to start and perhaps finish the season in the Marlies. But so far this season Gardiner has looked anything but a rookie, and has earned high praise from coaches and teammates. Like all young defenseman he still has some rough patches ahead of him this season, but in the end could be a dark horse to win the Calder Trophy.

6. Cody Hodgson; 6 goals, 10 assists; 16 points

Heck I knew Hodgson was having a pretty decent season over in Vancouver, but when I re-looked at his stats, I realized he is have a very amazing season. I expected big things from Hodgson coming into this season, seeing him play junior hockey and play for team Canada, we all knew what he was capable of, and that he hadn't been given an opportunity to showcase his talent. When injuries puzzled the Canucks to begin the year, Hodgson was given every opportunity to excel, and excel he has. The 21 year old finally cracked the Canucks roster out of training camp after being drafted 3.5 years ago. Despite some obvious tension between Hodgson and head coach Vigneault, Hodgson has been producing and showing toughness throughout his minimal 4th line role. Like Adam, Hodgson receives minimal playing time, as he is averaging 12 minutes a game. But it is what Hodgson is doing with his time on the ice; he is producing and making a difference, which is why he finds himself on my list for top rookies. He is having in his own way a break out year, despite not putting up the points of a Nugent-Hopkins, Hodgson finds himself on pace for a 40 point season, not bad for a 3rd or 4th liner who averages minimal ice time. Do I think Hodgson can win the Calder? No, but he is still amongst the top rookies so far this season.

7. Matt Read; 11 goals, 9 assists; 20 Points
The only reason I put Matt Read so low, is because of his age, he is 25 not the normal age for a rookie, he has already had time to mature and go through a lot of trials, so he has more of a reason to be playing well, in a sense. Read was signed by the Flyers as an undrafted free agent out of college. Unlike most, Read decided to finish school, before joining the NHL, so he would have something to fall back on in case this hockey thing didn't work out. Well right now it is working out, he is tied for 4th in the rookie point race, and is quarterbacking the Flyers number 1 power play. He is helping fill a big role now that the Flyers are without Chris Pronger on the power play and penalty kill. He's played well and is among the top scorers for the Flyers despite his age and my baises he maybe deserves to be a hair higher on the list.

9. Gabriel Landeskog; 6 goals, 9 assists; 15points
Despite being the 2nd overall pick behind Nugent-Hopkins, and cracking the roster right away, I haven't been all that impressed with Landeskog. It's going to be a hard few years for him, being constantly compared to the kid who got drafted before him, but it's something he is going to have to get past. 6 points from the 2nd overall pick in 34 games, leaves me wanting more, good news is he is only going to get better, he plays all situations and sticks up for his teammates, he needs more practice at scoring goals, but other than that, he's having a decent rookie season. He's averaging roughly 8 more minutes a game than Luke Adam, shouldn't he have more goals and points? He's going to turn out to be an amazing hockey player, but needs time to develop, he is one rookie, I wouldn't have minded seeing sent down.

10. Jhonas Enroth; 2.54 GAA, .918 Save percentage and 8 wins.
The only goalie on this list, and of course a Buffalo Sabre. He leads all rookie goaltending categories with the stats listed above and played well in absence of Miller. Shoot he was even playing better than Miller when Miller got injured. He started a tiny goalie controversy early in the season, but has since fallen into place since Miller has started playing well again. Bottom line he is the top rookie goalie in the league right now. It's rare that a goalie is up for a Calder Trophy and he will not win, but his numbers earn him a spot on this list right now.

Honourable mention; Players that just didn't crack my top 10;
Adam Larsson; 2 goals, 11 assists; 13 points
Marc-Andre Gragnani; 1 goal, 8 assists; 9 points
Colin Greening: 8 goals, 8 assists; 16 points
Jared Cowen: 4 goals, 6 assists; 10 points
Zach Kassian; 3 goals 3 assists; 6 points

There you have it folks my top 10 choices for the rookie of the year award (Calder Trophy). I think the trophy is Nugent-Hopkins' to lose, as the first overall pick is cleaning house and putting up record breaking points. I think if Nugent-Hopkins wasn't around Luke Adam would have a very good chance to hold that trophy. Congrats to all the rookies who have managed to stay with their teams through 34 games this season.

Remember to vote in my poll on the right, today is the last day to do so. Merry Christmas to all have a fun and safe holidays with family and friends! See you sometime after Christmas!

Rookie's deliver

Hey everyone it is Christmas, a happy time of year so I've decided to make my last blog before Christmas a positive one. In this season of giving I am giving credit to the rookies around the NHL that have stepped up, and are continually helping their teams. To make my list of top 10 rookies so far, the rookies don't necessarily have to be scoring; many rookies have stepped up and answered the bell for ice-time, toughness and leadership. So brace yourself for a blog that will contain; no coaches, no concussions and no Sidney Crosby! Here we go!

1. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins; 13 goals, 21 assists; 34 points

Let's start with a obvious rookie, who currently sits atop the list of candidates for the Calder Trophy; The Nuge, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. This kid has been unbelievably good for the Oilers so far. Nugent-Hopkins is absolutely dominating and showing everyone that he not only deserved to be drafted 1st overall, but that he was ready to play in the show, right away! Let's look at what he has accomplished through 35 some odd games; He scored in his very first NHL game, recorded a hat trick in his 3rd game and on November 19, he became the first ever 18 year old to record 5 assists in a game. Not to mention he leads all rookies in goals, assists and points, is in the top 20 in points in the NHL and leads the Oilers in scoring! If Nugent-Hopkins can keep up this pace or even a pace similar to this, there is almost no question that he will be holding the Calder Trophy at the end of the season. But perhaps more remarkable, is the fact that Nugent-Hopkins can take a slumping Oilers team and put them back into position to be in the post-season for the first time in 5 years. Not to mention 2 of those 5 years were spent finishing at the bottom of the league. If the Oilers make the playoffs after finishing 30th in the last 2 seasons, it will be quite remarkable and may even be one for the record books. As of right now, I think i'ts safe to say, the Calder Trophy is Ryan Nugent-Hopkins to lose.

2. Adam Henrique; 8 goals, 17 assists; 25 points
Well to be fair and impartial in my list of top 10 rookies, I did some research on the rookies that are playing well right now, and I'm glad I did. I'd never even heard of this guy! Considering he is second to Ryan Nugent-Hopkins for rookie point totals and has so far been left off all "experts" charts for Calder Trophy considerations, I decided to do some research and see where Henrique came from. Henrique was drafted by the Devils 82nd overall in the 2008 draft but hadn't dressed for a game until early April last season. Despite the fact most have never heard of him, he has actually had quite a successful OHL career; He won two Memorial Cups with the Windsor Spitfires in 2009 and 2010, won the Wayne Gretzky award for OHL playoff MVP and was part of the 2010 Canadian World Junior Team that won silver. You'd think a kid who won 2 Memorial Cups and was a member of the world junior squad, would be someone I'd have known was coming. Henrique came within 1 game of snapping the Devils record for longest rookie point streak, having his streak ended at 7 games. Henrique really started to turn heads at the start of November when he began a point-per-game streak. Not only can he score, he can also handle some pretty extensive ice time, averaging over 20 minutes a night, he was runner up to Nugent-Hopkins for November's rookie of the month he had 5 goals 9 assists, while Nugent-Hopkins had 6 goals 10 assists. Flip I'm still trying to figure out how I missed this kid? In all likely-hood Henrique will finish runner-up at best to Nugent-Hopkins for the Calder Trophy.

3. Craig Smith; 8 goals, 16 assists; 24 points
Smith is currently sitting 3rd in the rookie points race, 1 point behind the mysterious Henrique. The 22 year old Smith was taken in the 4th round in the 2009 draft. Now most of us probably know Craig Smith for his inability to shoot a puck into a wide open net, yes on November 17 against the Leafs, Smith was the guy who sent the puck flying over top of the wide open net. Luckily for Smith his rookie season is going better than his open net aim! He currently leads the Predators in points, and is having quite a nice rookie season. He might not have all the flash and flair of a Nugent-Hopkins, but he is certainly in the mix for top rookie.

4. Luke Adam; 10 goals, 10 assists; 20 points
Did you really think I wasn't going to have a Sabres rookie on this list? What can I say about Luke Adam, I absolutely love this kid, and he's producing and giving it his all night in and night out. He is tied for top 4 in the rookie point totals, but he does it on less ice time than the rest of the high scoring rookies. Adam is averaging right around 13 minutes of ice time a night, some games he didn't even reach 13 minutes, but yet is still producing at a top level rate for a rookie. Plus Adam started the season on the top line playing between Vanek and Pominville, not to mention he fit in quite well and did not look out of place. I'm really starting to like Luke Adam, he is going to turn out to be a very good player for the Sabres in the future, the 22 year old from Newfoundland was drafted in the 2nd round in the 2008 draft. Through all the injuries the Sabres have and are enduring, Adam has not only stayed healthy, but is having an impact on the score sheet, forcing the Sabres to keep him in the show. Needless to say I think Adam has turned out to be a pleasant surprise for the Sabres, the kid battled hard through training camp and pre-season to prove he belongs, and hasn't let up. It's only a matter of time before he start gaining more trust from his coaches and his ice time rises. In Fact, my editor donmanski, said prior to the season, that Adam would be the number 1 new addition on the Sabres roster. So far he's right!

5. Jake Gardiner; 0 goals, 8 assists; 8 points
This is the type of guy I was referring to when talking about, not necessarily scoring, but still contributing in other ways.When Leafs training camp opened up, I knew the Leafs had something special in this kid and there was no way he was going back to the Marlies. Despite not putting the puck in a ton of points, he is 2nd in points amongst rookie defenseman. The Leafs are extremely lucky to have Gardiner, he was the Ducks 1st round pick in 2008, and came to Leafs in a trade that only Brian Burke could have made. Leafs acquired Gardiner for Francois Beauchemin. He has been a big part of the Leafs success this season, he is poised for a rookie defenseman, and is paired with veteran defensman Luke Schenn. This paring see's Gardiner getting roughly 21 minutes of ice time a night. In a sense Gardiner has "skated" his way into head coach Ron Wilson's good books, he is highly praised for his fluent skating style and his knack for skating himself out of trouble. Wilson, says it's almost like he never gets tired. Gardiner has made quite an impact with this young Leafs squad, considering he was supposed to start and perhaps finish the season in the Marlies. But so far this season Gardiner has looked anything but a rookie, and has earned high praise from coaches and teammates. Like all young defenseman he still has some rough patches ahead of him this season, but in the end could be a dark horse to win the Calder Trophy.

6. Cody Hodgson; 6 goals, 10 assists; 16 points

Heck I knew Hodgson was having a pretty decent season over in Vancouver, but when I re-looked at his stats, I realized he is have a very amazing season. I expected big things from Hodgson coming into this season, seeing him play junior hockey and play for team Canada, we all knew what he was capable of, and that he hadn't been given an opportunity to showcase his talent. When injuries puzzled the Canucks to begin the year, Hodgson was given every opportunity to excel, and excel he has. The 21 year old finally cracked the Canucks roster out of training camp after being drafted 3.5 years ago. Despite some obvious tension between Hodgson and head coach Vigneault, Hodgson has been producing and showing toughness throughout his minimal 4th line role. Like Adam, Hodgson receives minimal playing time, as he is averaging 12 minutes a game. But it is what Hodgson is doing with his time on the ice; he is producing and making a difference, which is why he finds himself on my list for top rookies. He is having in his own way a break out year, despite not putting up the points of a Nugent-Hopkins, Hodgson finds himself on pace for a 40 point season, not bad for a 3rd or 4th liner who averages minimal ice time. Do I think Hodgson can win the Calder? No, but he is still amongst the top rookies so far this season.

7. Matt Read; 11 goals, 9 assists; 20 Points
The only reason I put Matt Read so low, is because of his age, he is 25 not the normal age for a rookie, he has already had time to mature and go through a lot of trials, so he has more of a reason to be playing well, in a sense. Read was signed by the Flyers as an undrafted free agent out of college. Unlike most, Read decided to finish school, before joining the NHL, so he would have something to fall back on in case this hockey thing didn't work out. Well right now it is working out, he is tied for 4th in the rookie point race, and is quarterbacking the Flyers number 1 power play. He is helping fill a big role now that the Flyers are without Chris Pronger on the power play and penalty kill. He's played well and is among the top scorers for the Flyers despite his age and my baises he maybe deserves to be a hair higher on the list.

9. Gabriel Landeskog; 6 goals, 9 assists; 15points
Despite being the 2nd overall pick behind Nugent-Hopkins, and cracking the roster right away, I haven't been all that impressed with Landeskog. It's going to be a hard few years for him, being constantly compared to the kid who got drafted before him, but it's something he is going to have to get past. 6 points from the 2nd overall pick in 34 games, leaves me wanting more, good news is he is only going to get better, he plays all situations and sticks up for his teammates, he needs more practice at scoring goals, but other than that, he's having a decent rookie season. He's averaging roughly 8 more minutes a game than Luke Adam, shouldn't he have more goals and points? He's going to turn out to be an amazing hockey player, but needs time to develop, he is one rookie, I wouldn't have minded seeing sent down.

10. Jhonas Enroth; 2.54 GAA, .918 Save percentage and 8 wins.
The only goalie on this list, and of course a Buffalo Sabre. He leads all rookie goaltending categories with the stats listed above and played well in absence of Miller. Shoot he was even playing better than Miller when Miller got injured. He started a tiny goalie controversy early in the season, but has since fallen into place since Miller has started playing well again. Bottom line he is the top rookie goalie in the league right now. It's rare that a goalie is up for a Calder Trophy and he will not win, but his numbers earn him a spot on this list right now.

Honourable mention; Players that just didn't crack my top 10;
Adam Larsson; 2 goals, 11 assists; 13 points
Marc-Andre Gragnani; 1 goal, 8 assists; 9 points
Colin Greening: 8 goals, 8 assists; 16 points
Jared Cowen: 4 goals, 6 assists; 10 points
Zach Kassian; 3 goals 3 assists; 6 points

There you have it folks my top 10 choices for the rookie of the year award (Calder Trophy). I think the trophy is Nugent-Hopkins' to lose, as the first overall pick is cleaning house and putting up record breaking points. I think if Nugent-Hopkins wasn't around Luke Adam would have a very good chance to hold that trophy. Congrats to all the rookies who have managed to stay with their teams through 34 games this season.

Remember to vote in my poll on the right, today is the last day to do so. Merry Christmas to all have a fun and safe holidays with family and friends! See you sometime after Christmas!

Tis the season for............................... Concussions

Hey everyone, hope you're all enjoying this Christmas season, only 8 more days till the big day! So before we start just head over to the right side of my blog and answer my poll real quick. Alright so let's dive right in.
This blog is about concussions, well not just concussions, more like players in the NHL that currently or have had a concussion so far this season. (There are a lot) Since we learned in my last blog there is no such thing as "Concussion like symptoms" I will be including players who were not officially diagnosed with concussion but just "Concussion like" symptoms. There are currently 25 players out with concussions, and they are high profile players.
In the month of December alone the NHL has lost; The best player, the two best forwards, one of the best defenceman, one of the leading goal scorers and one of the brightest young players.

Well let's start off with the most obvious one; Sidney Crosby. Not going to go fully in-depth here with Crosby, because everyone knows his story and there is already enough talk about him. Anyways Crosby was concussed last January and missed 10 months, only to come back and basically be out again with concussion issues. I'm not going to fully come out and say that Crosby has a concussion, as he may be suffering from severe Post Concussion Syndrome. Crosby's latest setback came in a game against the Bruins, when he was elbowed in the head/face by David Krejci. Either way Crosby is sitting out again and there is talk that Crosby's career may be cut short due to repeated concussions, something that is not good for the Pens or the NHL. Basically the more I hear and the more I look into it, Crosby came back to early from his previous concussion, he should have waited a full year at least before returning! If the Penguins own up and say Crosby has officially sustained another concussion, he will be out at least a full year.

Earlier this week, we were informed that Flyers captain Chris Pronger will miss the remainder of the season due to severe post concussion syndrome. Pronger was injured on October 24th, missed 6 games then returned November 19 but has not played since. Not only is Pronger done for the season, there is also concern that his career may be over. This is a huge blow to the Flyers who are without their captain and best defenceman, not to mention a guy that can log 26 mins of ice time a night! But for the Flyers their concussion woes don't end there; they also announced that NHL leading scorer Claude Giroux was out with a concussion after receiving a knee to the back of the head from teammate Wayne Simmonds. Giroux currently leads the NHL with 36 points, but has been shut down by the Flyers for a little while, after his symptoms stayed persistent, there is no timetable for Giroux's return.

Next up, or out as the case may be, is Milan Michalek. The Senators leading scorer will also be missing time after he collided with teammate Erik Karlsson in a game on Tuesday night. The two players didn't see each other and collided full speed. The hit sent Michalek flying and left both players a little banged up. He has been diagnosed with a concussion and the Sens have absolutely no idea when he will be back. Michalek  had the league lead in goals and is currently tied for the lead with 19.

Canes young superstar Jeff Skinner is also missing time with a concussion. Skinner's concussion is a result of a hit from Edmonton's Andy Sutton. Skinner currently leads the Canes in scoring and is coming off an amazing rookie campaign. But like the Flyers, the Canes have 2 top notch players out with concussions; Joni Pitkanen the team's top scoring D man is also missing time with a concussion.

These players are just the latest in a list that includes- Mike Richards, Marc Staal, Marc Savard, Kris Letang, Zbynek Michalek, Brayden Schenn and Nathan Gerbe  This list doesn't inclide goalies Ryan Miller and James Reimer who were out with concussions a little earlier but have since returned to action. Although it sounds horrible these guys are actually top notch players that help to contribute for their teams every night, not just 4th liners who rarely step on the ice. Whether the NHL wants to admit it or not, the league has a problem! "It seems like someone is going down every single night now," retired NHL standout Jeremy Roenick said. "It's frustrating to watch. You don't like having your top guys out." It literally does seem like every night a different top tier player is getting injured. Now concussions were around before this season and players used to play through them however doctors didn't know much about concussions back then! We know more about them today but still not enough. At least we now know not to let players players that are suffering from concussions.

Even though there is a major problem in the league and people are calling for change, there is not much the NHL can do! A good majority of the players out with concussions got theirs from accidental contact or from their own teammates! The NHL has already implemented rule changes to penalize players who deliver head shots to an opposing player. The only official problem is that Brandan Shanahan has not been consistent enough with his suspensions and fines; the players, officials and coaches and frankly Shanahan and the rest of the NHL are all confused as to what's a dirty hit and what's not. The refs are the biggest problem, they get embarrassed when their judgement of the ice is different than Shanahan's; for example if a player elbows a player and the refs let it go, but Shanahan decides to suspend the player, the refs look bad. So now the refs are over compensating with penalties, all a player has to do is fall near the boards and the opposing team is going to the box. But other than changing the core fundamentals of the game we all love to watch and play, there isn't much the NHL can or is willing to do.

Here is what the NHL CAN do; change the equipment the players are wearing; for goodness sake a huge problem is the equipments, players are wearing elbow pads and shoulder pads with hardened plastic cups on the outside. These plastic cups are doing more harm than good, the impact being delivered by an elbow with the plastic cups is extremely sever and ultimately leading to more concussions. The game of hockey has turned into a gladiator sport; we have 6 feet tall players that weigh 200 pounds flying around the ice at an insane speed. The young players like Jeff Skinner don't stand a chance against some of the older stronger players; it's only a matter of time before they get injured; Taylor Hall although he hasn't been concussed yet, he's received injuries because he is just so much smaller than the older guys. Take Tyler Seguin of the Bruins, he's playing great right now, but last season when he first broke into the league he wasn't, and it's because he was scared! He didn't want to get hit and be hurt by the older bigger and stronger players. The way the players in juniors and minor leagues are preparing to play in ridiculous, they are being taught to hit first, and be fluent skaters, for most of these players scoring goals is the second thing they think about on the ice; everyone wants to lay the big hit to get attention. Another thing the NHL can do is widen the rinks to the Olympic ice size. I personally like this idea, maybe not widen it to full Olympic size but widen it a bit. The NHL will be a little hesitant of this option as it means less money for them as there will be fewer seats to sell for games. But widening the ice is something that will likely cut down the amount of concussions and head shots. Think about it, 10 players that are 6 feet tall and weigh 200 pounds, are bound to run into each other on the tiny ice surface they play on.

But here is something I personally find very alarming; deputy commissioner Bill Daly's take on this whole situation; "For people to suggest that the last seven to 10 days and the experience we've had and some of the names that are out should somehow materially alter our approach to this issue is ridiculous, We've probably had periods of time where we've had as many concussions, but they weren't … as high-profile players," he said. "The last thing anybody wants to do is overreact to a very short snapshot in time."
"I don't believe it's a crisis, I don't believe it's an epidemic," said Daly. "There's nothing we can do that doesn't change the game fundamentally that's going to eliminate concussions in our game. Bottom line is they're a fact of life in a contact sport — not just ours — and they continue to be a fact of life.
"As long as we understand the nature of these injuries and we're approaching it responsibly, which I would suggest we are, there's not a whole lot more we can do about it."
Mr. Daly doesn't seem to be concerned about star players being concussed and possibly having career ending injuries, but I can assure you Mr. Bettman is very concerned, if Crosby and Pronger are both gone what does that mean for the game? Lots of money and lots of fans leaving is what it means. The NHL will be set back several years (2006) when the NHL was struggling. Maybe more people are paying more attention because star players are out now (Crosby, Miller, Skinner) but those are the players fans are paying money to watch play, if the star players aren't playing likely fans won't be attending games. The Penguins were nearly bankrupt before they got Crosby from the draft. So the fact that Daly doesn't think this is a big deal and everyone is over reacting is a load of bull! The NHL has a problem and whether they like it or not; how long before one of the Sedins or Ovechkin, or Toews goes down with a concussion, and who knows when or if Crosby will be back.

One thing is for sure concussions will never be fully out of the game, they just can't, it's a contact sport people are going to get hurt, but the rate people are being concussed is what needs to change. Parents aren't going to sign their child up for a sport in which they can damage their brain and jeopardize their long term health. Pretty soon parents may not even let their children watch hockey. This is a major problem in the NHL too many star players are going down with concussions, something has to give, the players have become fearless, but at what price?

Tis the season for............................... Concussions

Hey everyone, hope you're all enjoying this Christmas season, only 8 more days till the big day! So before we start just head over to the right side of my blog and answer my poll real quick. Alright so let's dive right in.
This blog is about concussions, well not just concussions, more like players in the NHL that currently or have had a concussion so far this season. (There are a lot) Since we learned in my last blog there is no such thing as "Concussion like symptoms" I will be including players who were not officially diagnosed with concussion but just "Concussion like" symptoms. There are currently 25 players out with concussions, and they are high profile players.
In the month of December alone the NHL has lost; The best player, the two best forwards, one of the best defenceman, one of the leading goal scorers and one of the brightest young players.

Well let's start off with the most obvious one; Sidney Crosby. Not going to go fully in-depth here with Crosby, because everyone knows his story and there is already enough talk about him. Anyways Crosby was concussed last January and missed 10 months, only to come back and basically be out again with concussion issues. I'm not going to fully come out and say that Crosby has a concussion, as he may be suffering from severe Post Concussion Syndrome. Crosby's latest setback came in a game against the Bruins, when he was elbowed in the head/face by David Krejci. Either way Crosby is sitting out again and there is talk that Crosby's career may be cut short due to repeated concussions, something that is not good for the Pens or the NHL. Basically the more I hear and the more I look into it, Crosby came back to early from his previous concussion, he should have waited a full year at least before returning! If the Penguins own up and say Crosby has officially sustained another concussion, he will be out at least a full year.

Earlier this week, we were informed that Flyers captain Chris Pronger will miss the remainder of the season due to severe post concussion syndrome. Pronger was injured on October 24th, missed 6 games then returned November 19 but has not played since. Not only is Pronger done for the season, there is also concern that his career may be over. This is a huge blow to the Flyers who are without their captain and best defenceman, not to mention a guy that can log 26 mins of ice time a night! But for the Flyers their concussion woes don't end there; they also announced that NHL leading scorer Claude Giroux was out with a concussion after receiving a knee to the back of the head from teammate Wayne Simmonds. Giroux currently leads the NHL with 36 points, but has been shut down by the Flyers for a little while, after his symptoms stayed persistent, there is no timetable for Giroux's return.

Next up, or out as the case may be, is Milan Michalek. The Senators leading scorer will also be missing time after he collided with teammate Erik Karlsson in a game on Tuesday night. The two players didn't see each other and collided full speed. The hit sent Michalek flying and left both players a little banged up. He has been diagnosed with a concussion and the Sens have absolutely no idea when he will be back. Michalek  had the league lead in goals and is currently tied for the lead with 19.

Canes young superstar Jeff Skinner is also missing time with a concussion. Skinner's concussion is a result of a hit from Edmonton's Andy Sutton. Skinner currently leads the Canes in scoring and is coming off an amazing rookie campaign. But like the Flyers, the Canes have 2 top notch players out with concussions; Joni Pitkanen the team's top scoring D man is also missing time with a concussion.

These players are just the latest in a list that includes- Mike Richards, Marc Staal, Marc Savard, Kris Letang, Zbynek Michalek, Brayden Schenn and Nathan Gerbe  This list doesn't inclide goalies Ryan Miller and James Reimer who were out with concussions a little earlier but have since returned to action. Although it sounds horrible these guys are actually top notch players that help to contribute for their teams every night, not just 4th liners who rarely step on the ice. Whether the NHL wants to admit it or not, the league has a problem! "It seems like someone is going down every single night now," retired NHL standout Jeremy Roenick said. "It's frustrating to watch. You don't like having your top guys out." It literally does seem like every night a different top tier player is getting injured. Now concussions were around before this season and players used to play through them however doctors didn't know much about concussions back then! We know more about them today but still not enough. At least we now know not to let players players that are suffering from concussions.

Even though there is a major problem in the league and people are calling for change, there is not much the NHL can do! A good majority of the players out with concussions got theirs from accidental contact or from their own teammates! The NHL has already implemented rule changes to penalize players who deliver head shots to an opposing player. The only official problem is that Brandan Shanahan has not been consistent enough with his suspensions and fines; the players, officials and coaches and frankly Shanahan and the rest of the NHL are all confused as to what's a dirty hit and what's not. The refs are the biggest problem, they get embarrassed when their judgement of the ice is different than Shanahan's; for example if a player elbows a player and the refs let it go, but Shanahan decides to suspend the player, the refs look bad. So now the refs are over compensating with penalties, all a player has to do is fall near the boards and the opposing team is going to the box. But other than changing the core fundamentals of the game we all love to watch and play, there isn't much the NHL can or is willing to do.

Here is what the NHL CAN do; change the equipment the players are wearing; for goodness sake a huge problem is the equipments, players are wearing elbow pads and shoulder pads with hardened plastic cups on the outside. These plastic cups are doing more harm than good, the impact being delivered by an elbow with the plastic cups is extremely sever and ultimately leading to more concussions. The game of hockey has turned into a gladiator sport; we have 6 feet tall players that weigh 200 pounds flying around the ice at an insane speed. The young players like Jeff Skinner don't stand a chance against some of the older stronger players; it's only a matter of time before they get injured; Taylor Hall although he hasn't been concussed yet, he's received injuries because he is just so much smaller than the older guys. Take Tyler Seguin of the Bruins, he's playing great right now, but last season when he first broke into the league he wasn't, and it's because he was scared! He didn't want to get hit and be hurt by the older bigger and stronger players. The way the players in juniors and minor leagues are preparing to play in ridiculous, they are being taught to hit first, and be fluent skaters, for most of these players scoring goals is the second thing they think about on the ice; everyone wants to lay the big hit to get attention. Another thing the NHL can do is widen the rinks to the Olympic ice size. I personally like this idea, maybe not widen it to full Olympic size but widen it a bit. The NHL will be a little hesitant of this option as it means less money for them as there will be fewer seats to sell for games. But widening the ice is something that will likely cut down the amount of concussions and head shots. Think about it, 10 players that are 6 feet tall and weigh 200 pounds, are bound to run into each other on the tiny ice surface they play on.

But here is something I personally find very alarming; deputy commissioner Bill Daly's take on this whole situation; "For people to suggest that the last seven to 10 days and the experience we've had and some of the names that are out should somehow materially alter our approach to this issue is ridiculous, We've probably had periods of time where we've had as many concussions, but they weren't … as high-profile players," he said. "The last thing anybody wants to do is overreact to a very short snapshot in time."
"I don't believe it's a crisis, I don't believe it's an epidemic," said Daly. "There's nothing we can do that doesn't change the game fundamentally that's going to eliminate concussions in our game. Bottom line is they're a fact of life in a contact sport — not just ours — and they continue to be a fact of life.
"As long as we understand the nature of these injuries and we're approaching it responsibly, which I would suggest we are, there's not a whole lot more we can do about it."
Mr. Daly doesn't seem to be concerned about star players being concussed and possibly having career ending injuries, but I can assure you Mr. Bettman is very concerned, if Crosby and Pronger are both gone what does that mean for the game? Lots of money and lots of fans leaving is what it means. The NHL will be set back several years (2006) when the NHL was struggling. Maybe more people are paying more attention because star players are out now (Crosby, Miller, Skinner) but those are the players fans are paying money to watch play, if the star players aren't playing likely fans won't be attending games. The Penguins were nearly bankrupt before they got Crosby from the draft. So the fact that Daly doesn't think this is a big deal and everyone is over reacting is a load of bull! The NHL has a problem and whether they like it or not; how long before one of the Sedins or Ovechkin, or Toews goes down with a concussion, and who knows when or if Crosby will be back.

One thing is for sure concussions will never be fully out of the game, they just can't, it's a contact sport people are going to get hurt, but the rate people are being concussed is what needs to change. Parents aren't going to sign their child up for a sport in which they can damage their brain and jeopardize their long term health. Pretty soon parents may not even let their children watch hockey. This is a major problem in the NHL too many star players are going down with concussions, something has to give, the players have become fearless, but at what price?

The Crosby watch 2.0

This blog pains me to write, Sidney Crosby is hurt again and is out indefinably. The Penguins and Crosby announced earlier last week that Crosby would miss the next 2 games, for precautionary reasons. But Monday morning a practice that should have had The Kid in it, had Crosby no where to be found. Later Monday morning he held a press conference, saying that he has concussion like symptoms, and will be out again. There are 2 things I believe could be going on with Sidney; 1) It's post-concussion syndrome something most athletes get right after suffering a major concussion and being hit again. It's a nasty thing that can almost be as worse and painful as having a full blown concussion, and no one knows how long it can last, it can be days, weeks or even months. I personally went through post concussion syndrome a few years ago, it's a scary thing and feels just like another concussion. It is basically your brain not being fully healed, and is a mild type of brain injury, not as severe as a full blown concussion, but still painful and dangerous. If you receive a full blown concussion while having Post Concussion Syndrome it can be extremely dangerous be fatal. 2) Crosby has a minor concussion, with Crosby already being concussed last season in January, he's become more susceptible to concussions. Once you have one (depending on severity) any bump can send you back into the crazy world of concussions.

So as so many people state; "if he has concussion-like symptoms, why don't they just say it's a concussion?" This was the case with Leafs goalie James Reimer, heck even his mother said he was concussed. “And if you look at those films when he got hit, it was a terrible hit . . . to the head and they called it ‘concussion-like’,” Dr. Charles Tator a Toronto Western Hospital neurologist said. “They didn’t own up to the fact that he had a concussion.” So why don't teams use the "C" word when talking about head injuries; sometimes the concussions aren't serious. My most recent concussion, I was told I could start playing again in 2 weeks. So sometimes players don't need to sit out as long as they would have to if it was an "official" concussion. Another reason teams don't like concussions, is players have to sit out and take it easy. Whether the Penguins officially declare it a concussion or not (and they are not about to) this situation has many worried, that Crosby will never be the same player, or may have to end his career early. "The good news is he is taking every precautionary measure he can and he is sending the right message out that if you're injured and you've suffered a concussion, take the time to recover. What could it mean for Sidney Crosby? Well potentially, the end of this career," Howard Bloom of Sports Business News told CTV's Canada AM Tuesday morning. If this is another minor concussion this would be Crosby's 2nd concussion in less than a year, an alarming fact, no wonder he wants to take it easy for a bit and wait for his symptoms to leave. As everyone knows, Crosby had to take 10 months off after his January concussion, and remember the Penguins and Crosby didn't think his concussion from the winter classic was going to be so serious, heck he went out and played a game the next day. The problem with concussions is that there are so many unknown factors, it's hard to get a good read on the situation, it's not like a broken foot where you can actually see the break. It's more about symptoms with concussions; headaches, dizziness, nausea, energy levels etc. “And we say one or more of those symptoms make the diagnosis of concussion,” Tator said “There aren’t a lot of general comparisons dealing with individual players. Last year we had other players dealing with a concussion. They all seemed to follow different symptoms, patterns, recoveries and lengths of time. It’s tough to say we’ll treat this instance different when it comes to the player’s 100-per cent health. Getting rid of those symptoms is paramount. If anything we’ll continue with that as a way we treat the protocol for a player’s health and coming back to play,” said Penguins coach Dan Bylsma. But according to doctors you either have a concussion or you don't, there is no official medical term called "concussion- like symptoms" you either have a concussion or you don't. “There is no (clinical) term ‘concussion-like.’ said Tator of the phrase. “It’s a make-believe term that I think teams cook up to avoid the issue that a player has had a concussion.”

Crosby just returned to action November 23rd, in which he scored 2 goals and added 2 assists, and set the hockey world a buzz. But less than a month later Crosby is sitting again, one can only hope this won't be a extended absence from the NHL. Crosby says he hasn't felt "right" since December 5th when he was elbowed in the head by Bruins David Krejci. It was accidental contact, and Crosby was the one initiating the physical play, as he was heading to hit Krejci. Unfortunately for Crosby, Krejci knew Crosby was coming and spun out of the hit and nailed Crosby with an accidental elbow. Crosby has not laced up the skates for a game since then, and we won't be seeing him any time soon. Many are stating that Crosby's career could be cut short like Eric Lindross's was with too many concussions and post concussion issues. I don't think Crosby will call it career just yet, if he wanted to retire he likely would have done it after the first concussion. But it is far too early to speculate upon that; "We don't know that, but the markers indicate that this is going to be a long-term issue," hockey analyst Darren Dreger said, "Something that Crosby and the Penguins should be commended on is how forthcoming and upfront they've been in this process," he said. You know, except the part about using the make believe phrase "concussion-like" symptoms. I think it's more about Crosby wanting to play it safe and not risk anything with this whole concussion thing that has been haunting him for almost a year. Crosby knows he's a young guy and wants to play it safe therefore forcing the Penguins to sit him. The Pens don't want to lose their star player. If Crosby has to retire, the NHL could virtually be back to where it was in 2006, something the league can't afford to have happen. As Bloom of Sports Business News covering the business side of the NHL said; "It had to be a very bad day for Gary Bettman and company,".  Tator, stated; "Any blow to the head can make a difference to somebody who had had previous concussions," “The thing I worry about is that you’ll get a guy who is playing with a concussion, and he gets hit, and he dies at centre ice,” said famously concussed player Paul Kariya. Now the Penguins and Crosby took their sweet time waiting to allow Crosby back to playing in games, as they waited a good 10 months. But there is now speculation that Crosby came back a slight bit to early from his first concussion, when a concussed athlete returns to action to soon, the next hit can make the situation twice as worse. I am starting to believe that despite the 10 month layoff, Crosby made his come back a bit too early. In retrospect he should have probably taken at least a full year off of playing and step away from the game for awhile, maybe even a year and a half. I think Crosby was slightly pressured by the NHL and Penguins to come back as soon as he could.

The important thing is that Crosby is doing the right thing here, after 10 months away from the game just focusing on how his head and body feel, he knows his body better than anyone else right now. So good on him for noticing something was wrong and not wanted to "play through" the pain and what not. Something that really upset me was, the way the hockey analysts were talking about Crosby's mini two game break last week, they insisted that he was paranoid and any little hit he would want to sit out. They insisted he was over reacting. I'd like to invite these analyst people to get hit and experience the living hell Crosby went through for the last 10 months, and then to get hit in the head again, to experience headaches everyday for a year, or experience the pressure the 24 year old Crosby has by being the face of the NHL. Sometimes these analysts just need to shut up. Crosby is not paranoid and is doing the right thing by taking a break in his current situation, something not a lot of players have the brains or guts to do! Everyone is excited that Crosby's IMPACT score was pretty decent and nowhere as bad as his last concussion, but those test don't always work, concussion symptoms often come on a few days after the incident and gradually get worse later on after the incident. So these tests aren't always 100% accurate, just because you pass this test doesn't exactly mean anything! Players who “fudge it” during a concussion examination make it “hopeless” to come to an accurate diagnosis, Tator says. Probably the saddest thing about this whole situation is how Crosby is feeling about the whole situation, he is confused, frustrated, upset and frankly probably a little scared. “I don't think 'frustrating' even describes it,” Crosby told reporters. He’d returned for only eight games – and scored two goals and a dozen points – since concussion symptoms knocked him out of hockey for 10 months. “It's much different than previously going through that stuff. I'm way better off than I was dealing with this stuff 10 months ago... I just figured it was better to be cautious here and not take any chances. “I'm not (feeling) bad. And I'm not happy about watching. But I've got to make sure with these sort of things that I'm careful.” During Crosby's media speech thingy, it looked like he was trying to hide back tears and force a smile. Although I am not a fan of Crosby, I respect his talent and I feel bad for him with everything he is dealing with, It's sad and bad for the game whether you like Crosby or not.

It's like a bad dream inside of a nightmare for Sidney Crosby who just returned from a 10 month layoff due to a concussion. We need Crosby back, no question about it. Crosby is the best player in the league and is out again, if he does come back from this latest setback he will likely never be the same. I hate to say I told you so, but in my last blog about Crosby I said he would get hurt again, and he is even sooner than I thought!. I wish Crosby a speedy recovery but until then, we are on Crosby watch 2.0.

The Crosby watch 2.0

This blog pains me to write, Sidney Crosby is hurt again and is out indefinably. The Penguins and Crosby announced earlier last week that Crosby would miss the next 2 games, for precautionary reasons. But Monday morning a practice that should have had The Kid in it, had Crosby no where to be found. Later Monday morning he held a press conference, saying that he has concussion like symptoms, and will be out again. There are 2 things I believe could be going on with Sidney; 1) It's post-concussion syndrome something most athletes get right after suffering a major concussion and being hit again. It's a nasty thing that can almost be as worse and painful as having a full blown concussion, and no one knows how long it can last, it can be days, weeks or even months. I personally went through post concussion syndrome a few years ago, it's a scary thing and feels just like another concussion. It is basically your brain not being fully healed, and is a mild type of brain injury, not as severe as a full blown concussion, but still painful and dangerous. If you receive a full blown concussion while having Post Concussion Syndrome it can be extremely dangerous be fatal. 2) Crosby has a minor concussion, with Crosby already being concussed last season in January, he's become more susceptible to concussions. Once you have one (depending on severity) any bump can send you back into the crazy world of concussions.

So as so many people state; "if he has concussion-like symptoms, why don't they just say it's a concussion?" This was the case with Leafs goalie James Reimer, heck even his mother said he was concussed. “And if you look at those films when he got hit, it was a terrible hit . . . to the head and they called it ‘concussion-like’,” Dr. Charles Tator a Toronto Western Hospital neurologist said. “They didn’t own up to the fact that he had a concussion.” So why don't teams use the "C" word when talking about head injuries; sometimes the concussions aren't serious. My most recent concussion, I was told I could start playing again in 2 weeks. So sometimes players don't need to sit out as long as they would have to if it was an "official" concussion. Another reason teams don't like concussions, is players have to sit out and take it easy. Whether the Penguins officially declare it a concussion or not (and they are not about to) this situation has many worried, that Crosby will never be the same player, or may have to end his career early. "The good news is he is taking every precautionary measure he can and he is sending the right message out that if you're injured and you've suffered a concussion, take the time to recover. What could it mean for Sidney Crosby? Well potentially, the end of this career," Howard Bloom of Sports Business News told CTV's Canada AM Tuesday morning. If this is another minor concussion this would be Crosby's 2nd concussion in less than a year, an alarming fact, no wonder he wants to take it easy for a bit and wait for his symptoms to leave. As everyone knows, Crosby had to take 10 months off after his January concussion, and remember the Penguins and Crosby didn't think his concussion from the winter classic was going to be so serious, heck he went out and played a game the next day. The problem with concussions is that there are so many unknown factors, it's hard to get a good read on the situation, it's not like a broken foot where you can actually see the break. It's more about symptoms with concussions; headaches, dizziness, nausea, energy levels etc. “And we say one or more of those symptoms make the diagnosis of concussion,” Tator said “There aren’t a lot of general comparisons dealing with individual players. Last year we had other players dealing with a concussion. They all seemed to follow different symptoms, patterns, recoveries and lengths of time. It’s tough to say we’ll treat this instance different when it comes to the player’s 100-per cent health. Getting rid of those symptoms is paramount. If anything we’ll continue with that as a way we treat the protocol for a player’s health and coming back to play,” said Penguins coach Dan Bylsma. But according to doctors you either have a concussion or you don't, there is no official medical term called "concussion- like symptoms" you either have a concussion or you don't. “There is no (clinical) term ‘concussion-like.’ said Tator of the phrase. “It’s a make-believe term that I think teams cook up to avoid the issue that a player has had a concussion.”

Crosby just returned to action November 23rd, in which he scored 2 goals and added 2 assists, and set the hockey world a buzz. But less than a month later Crosby is sitting again, one can only hope this won't be a extended absence from the NHL. Crosby says he hasn't felt "right" since December 5th when he was elbowed in the head by Bruins David Krejci. It was accidental contact, and Crosby was the one initiating the physical play, as he was heading to hit Krejci. Unfortunately for Crosby, Krejci knew Crosby was coming and spun out of the hit and nailed Crosby with an accidental elbow. Crosby has not laced up the skates for a game since then, and we won't be seeing him any time soon. Many are stating that Crosby's career could be cut short like Eric Lindross's was with too many concussions and post concussion issues. I don't think Crosby will call it career just yet, if he wanted to retire he likely would have done it after the first concussion. But it is far too early to speculate upon that; "We don't know that, but the markers indicate that this is going to be a long-term issue," hockey analyst Darren Dreger said, "Something that Crosby and the Penguins should be commended on is how forthcoming and upfront they've been in this process," he said. You know, except the part about using the make believe phrase "concussion-like" symptoms. I think it's more about Crosby wanting to play it safe and not risk anything with this whole concussion thing that has been haunting him for almost a year. Crosby knows he's a young guy and wants to play it safe therefore forcing the Penguins to sit him. The Pens don't want to lose their star player. If Crosby has to retire, the NHL could virtually be back to where it was in 2006, something the league can't afford to have happen. As Bloom of Sports Business News covering the business side of the NHL said; "It had to be a very bad day for Gary Bettman and company,".  Tator, stated; "Any blow to the head can make a difference to somebody who had had previous concussions," “The thing I worry about is that you’ll get a guy who is playing with a concussion, and he gets hit, and he dies at centre ice,” said famously concussed player Paul Kariya. Now the Penguins and Crosby took their sweet time waiting to allow Crosby back to playing in games, as they waited a good 10 months. But there is now speculation that Crosby came back a slight bit to early from his first concussion, when a concussed athlete returns to action to soon, the next hit can make the situation twice as worse. I am starting to believe that despite the 10 month layoff, Crosby made his come back a bit too early. In retrospect he should have probably taken at least a full year off of playing and step away from the game for awhile, maybe even a year and a half. I think Crosby was slightly pressured by the NHL and Penguins to come back as soon as he could.

The important thing is that Crosby is doing the right thing here, after 10 months away from the game just focusing on how his head and body feel, he knows his body better than anyone else right now. So good on him for noticing something was wrong and not wanted to "play through" the pain and what not. Something that really upset me was, the way the hockey analysts were talking about Crosby's mini two game break last week, they insisted that he was paranoid and any little hit he would want to sit out. They insisted he was over reacting. I'd like to invite these analyst people to get hit and experience the living hell Crosby went through for the last 10 months, and then to get hit in the head again, to experience headaches everyday for a year, or experience the pressure the 24 year old Crosby has by being the face of the NHL. Sometimes these analysts just need to shut up. Crosby is not paranoid and is doing the right thing by taking a break in his current situation, something not a lot of players have the brains or guts to do! Everyone is excited that Crosby's IMPACT score was pretty decent and nowhere as bad as his last concussion, but those test don't always work, concussion symptoms often come on a few days after the incident and gradually get worse later on after the incident. So these tests aren't always 100% accurate, just because you pass this test doesn't exactly mean anything! Players who “fudge it” during a concussion examination make it “hopeless” to come to an accurate diagnosis, Tator says. Probably the saddest thing about this whole situation is how Crosby is feeling about the whole situation, he is confused, frustrated, upset and frankly probably a little scared. “I don't think 'frustrating' even describes it,” Crosby told reporters. He’d returned for only eight games – and scored two goals and a dozen points – since concussion symptoms knocked him out of hockey for 10 months. “It's much different than previously going through that stuff. I'm way better off than I was dealing with this stuff 10 months ago... I just figured it was better to be cautious here and not take any chances. “I'm not (feeling) bad. And I'm not happy about watching. But I've got to make sure with these sort of things that I'm careful.” During Crosby's media speech thingy, it looked like he was trying to hide back tears and force a smile. Although I am not a fan of Crosby, I respect his talent and I feel bad for him with everything he is dealing with, It's sad and bad for the game whether you like Crosby or not.

It's like a bad dream inside of a nightmare for Sidney Crosby who just returned from a 10 month layoff due to a concussion. We need Crosby back, no question about it. Crosby is the best player in the league and is out again, if he does come back from this latest setback he will likely never be the same. I hate to say I told you so, but in my last blog about Crosby I said he would get hurt again, and he is even sooner than I thought!. I wish Crosby a speedy recovery but until then, we are on Crosby watch 2.0.

The Nuge

Hey everybody, happy Monday! There really isn't any big stories to blog about, so I thought it was time for another player profile post. Plus I'm not going to lie, I didn't catch any hockey this weekend! I've been meaning to blog about the young rookie in Edmonton who is setting the hockey world a buzz, so here we go;
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is today's player profile post.

Alright let's start by taking a look at the earlier part Nugent-Hopkins career. The 18 year old kid from British Columbia was taken first overall in the 2011 NHL draft by the Edmonton Oilers. Nugent-Hopkins played his junior days for the Red Deer Rebels in the, WHL, he made his debut 2008-2009 and was the youngest player in the league, being under-age. In the 2009-2010 season Nugent-Hopkins won the WHL rookie of the year award, scoring 24 goals and adding 41 assists in 67 games. Before Nugent-Hopkins final season in junior, he was ranked 6th in depth for the 2011 NHL draft. He then went out and posted 31 goals and 75 assists for 106 points in 69 games, he quickly moved up the ranks to number 1. Interestingly enough Nugent-Hopkins only represented Canada once, in the 2010 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament, where he was the leading scorer and an alternate captain for the team. He finished the tournament with 5 goals and 2 assists during the 5 game tournament. Despite all his success throughout junior he was cut from the 2011 Canadian World Junior Championship team. Nugent-Hopkins was the Oilers 2nd straight first overall pick in the draft, with Taylor Hall being drafted first overall in the 2010 draft; Nugent-Hopkins joins an Oilers team filled with young talent; Hall, Eberle, Paajarvi, Gagner and Teubert so Nugent-Hopkins should be able to fit right into the mix. Despite his being taken first overall there was some discussion that the Oilers would keep him around or send him back to the minors. The Oilers insisted they were not going to rush Nugent-Hopkins development, by rushing him into the NHL, based on the way the Oilers were talking I thought Nugent-Hopkins would be starting the season in the minors. Despite being 6'1" he needs to hit the weight room this off season and put on some more muscle; 175 pounds isn't going to cut it for the "Nuge" as he gets shoved off the puck a little too easy, right now he is getting away with it, due to his offence and the fact that he is a rookie. But if he expects to stay around the league for the foreseeable future, he needs to put on some weight and bulk up.

On October 28th it was made official that the Oilers would keep Nugent-Hopkins up in the NHL for the remainder of his rookie season. He has not disappointed and has adapted quite well to the NHL (playing on a line with Hall and Eberle doesn't hurt either!) “Right when I came in, the guys kind of took me in and made me feel really comfortable here,” Nugent-Hopkins said. “So going to a team like this, where they do that, it really helped me out a ton. Playing with the guys I’ve been playing with, it’s just been huge for me. They make things so much easier.” Through 30 games this season, Nugent-Hopkins has put up 32 points; with 13 goals and 19 assists he leads the Oilers in goals and points. The 18 year old who has been dubbed "The Nuge" around the league, is having a pretty decent rookie season, and is on pace for a point per game season, something only Crosby, Ovechkin and Malkin have done in their rookie campaigns. Nugent-Hopkins is already being compared to the great-one who wore #99 for the Oilers, Wayne Gretzky.“When I hear them, it’s kind of funny to hear,” Nugent-Hopkins said. “Wayne Gretzky is obviously the greatest hockey player who ever played, so I don’t think you can really compare me to him, but it is nice to hear." Nugent-Hopkins is on top of the list for the Calder Trophy which is awarded to the best rookie, and is looking like a shoe in to win it. His play has helped put the Oilers back into contention for their first playoff appearance since 2006. “I’m getting a little bit more comfortable,” said Nugent-Hopkins. On top of everything that "The Nuge" has accomplished, he also has won back-to-back NHL rookie of the month awards for October and November, becoming only the 2nd player to ever do so. He has even already recorded an NHL hat trick. He is greatly responsible for bringing excitement back to the city Edmonton over their hockey team, as they are finally performing well, and my even earn themselves a spot in the post season. With the likes of Hall, Nugent-Hopkins and Eberle watching the Oilers has become exciting again. I've even found myself staying up till 11pm to watch the amazing stuff these guys can do on the ice. I've never been a big fan of the Oilers, but watching these guys is just amazing. Tom Renney was recently forced to play him on both the 1st and 2nd Power Play units in a 4-1 win over the Avalanche. The only aspect of Nugent-Hopkins game that needs a little work is his defencive play, he still plays D like he is in the juniors, Which is to say he doesn't. Right now Nugent-Hopkins is responsible for 9.70% of his teams mistakes that have lead to opposing teams having scoring chances. With all of his mistakes, he has been lucky he's basically averaging 1 goal against for every 15 mistakes. This means his defencive play needs to improve drastically by next season. It's not a huge deal at the moment, but it could cost him and the Oilers one day.

It can be extremely easy for a young kid to get lost in the NHL, with the likes of Crosby, Ovechkin and the Sedins but Nugent-Hopkins is really starting to turn heads not only with the Oilers but around the league as well; "Keep it going, kid. It's remarkable," Renney said. "He makes it looks so easy, but it's hard," captain Shawn Horcoff. Nugent-Hopkins is on pace for 90 points and the best rookies season since Sidney Crosby in 2004. Based on how #1 picks have performed and turned into franchise players; Crosby, Ovechkin, Tavares and Stamkos, it isn't that farfetched that Nugent-Hopkins would have a solid season and a solid future, but he is having an amazing rookie season, most people didn't see this coming; Heck I thought he'd be in the minors to start off the season. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is going to have quite a good career, and may even lead the Oilers back to the post-season; the most important thing for Nugent-Hopkins is to not let all the success and com parable's go to his head, he still needs to keep putting the puck in the net and racking up points, but remember we're only 30 games in, a lot can still happen. One thing for sure is that Nugent-Hopkins is going to have a an amazing career in the NHL.