NHLPA has other plans.....

Hey everyone, I have reached 3000 hits, so I just want to thank each and everyone of you who has taken the time to ride my blogs. I wasn't planning on writing today, but as you know the hockey world never rests, and last night was no different; As I was watching the Sabres new, the news broke that the National Hockey League Players Association, had rejected the leagues realignment plans for next season. Now I am neither here no there on the realignment issues; if it happens, that's great I'm fine with it, I happen to like the new system. If it doesn't change, it's no biggie, the current system has worked for years, it will continue to. The part I have a issue with, is the possibility of an NHL LOCKOUT next season!


The NHL was planning on moving from 2 conferences, to 4. Moving the teams depending on where their location is in relation to their opponents.  Then 4 teams from each conference make the playoffs, those teams then battle between the other teams from his conference. Full recap is right here; Realigmment.
But after weeks of negations and talking with the union, waiting for the approval, but it never came; NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly had this to say about the situation; “It is unfortunate that the NHLPA has unreasonably refused to approve a plan that an overwhelming majority of our clubs voted to support, and that has received such widespread support from our fans and other members of the hockey community, including players,” So where does this issue leave the NHL right now? Well right now there is a war between the NHLPA (Donald Fehr) vs. the NHL (Garry Bettman. But unfortunety for Fehr (head of the NHLPA) Gary Bettman doesn't take no for an answer very often, and he isn't about to let this issue go. Daly released this statement, which obviously stems from Bettman; “We believe the union acted unreasonably in violation of the league’s rights,” he said. “We intend to evaluate all of our available legal options and to pursue adequate remedies, as appropriate.” Meaning the NHL is looking to take legal action against the NHLPA, trying to prove that the NHLPA acted unreasonably. If the NHL is successful, they can over turn the NHLPA decision, and invoke the new realignment for the 2013-2014 season.
So what's going on? Donald Fehr is showing the league, that him and the rest of the NHLPA is not going to be bullied and shoved around by league.


Here are some of the issues the NHLPA had; 2 conferences are going to have 8 teams while the other 2 have 7 teams. They think it is unfair on who makes the post season; truth be told, if the teams aren't in the top for of their conferences, they don't really belong in the playoffs! They were also not very big on the idea of the added travel; as each team will play each other 2 times, in addition to facing each team in their conferences 6 times. I guess highly overpaid athletes, don't want to fly in luxury private planes and stay in 5 star hotels; wonder how the would feel about not receive absurd amounts of money! The NHL made a "secret" deadline of January 6th in order to get a yes or now and make up the new schedule for next season; the NHLP said they would have been willing to disscuss and bargain with the NHL on the realignment, but because of the deadline had no choice but to turn the realignment idea down.

Now to the issue of the lockout, if this turns into a spiting match between Fehr and Bettman, you can kiss the 2012-2013 season goodbye. Well the NHL and the NHLPA, which is a union (so unneeded) have to just added a very negative tone to the CBA talks over the salaries and such. The current CBA ends September 15th, if Bettman has enough of Fehr's ego, he can stop cooperating and lock out the players at any moment. So because some pampered over paid over rated hockey players, that don't want to spend a couple extra hours in a plane, we may be facing another lockout. Now I can't say I fully blame the NHLPA for turning down the realignment plan, when I first heard the news I was really upset at the NHLPA. But then you hear the details of why they denied it;  Gary Bettman refused to work with the NHLPA, he gave them the realignment idea, and stuck it down their throats!  The NHLPA asked for a new schedule, for time to bargain/discuss the realignment, and Bettman refused to cooperate. Bettman has been quoted as saying he doesn't need the CBA, and he can do whatever he wants.


So I don't know who to entirely blame this whole situation on; both sides could have handled it better, and it is now looking more than ever, that there will be a lockout next season. Fehr is not the right guy to run the NHLPA, he will just drive Bettman crazy, forcing Bettman to force lockouts and ruin the game for the fans! I hope things get worked out between Fehr and Bettman, but I don't believe they will anytime soon!

NHLPA has other plans.....

Hey everyone, I have reached 3000 hits, so I just want to thank each and everyone of you who has taken the time to ride my blogs. I wasn't planning on writing today, but as you know the hockey world never rests, and last night was no different; As I was watching the Sabres new, the news broke that the National Hockey League Players Association, had rejected the leagues realignment plans for next season. Now I am neither here no there on the realignment issues; if it happens, that's great I'm fine with it, I happen to like the new system. If it doesn't change, it's no biggie, the current system has worked for years, it will continue to. The part I have a issue with, is the possibility of an NHL LOCKOUT next season!


The NHL was planning on moving from 2 conferences, to 4. Moving the teams depending on where their location is in relation to their opponents.  Then 4 teams from each conference make the playoffs, those teams then battle between the other teams from his conference. Full recap is right here; Realigmment.
But after weeks of negations and talking with the union, waiting for the approval, but it never came; NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly had this to say about the situation; “It is unfortunate that the NHLPA has unreasonably refused to approve a plan that an overwhelming majority of our clubs voted to support, and that has received such widespread support from our fans and other members of the hockey community, including players,” So where does this issue leave the NHL right now? Well right now there is a war between the NHLPA (Donald Fehr) vs. the NHL (Garry Bettman. But unfortunety for Fehr (head of the NHLPA) Gary Bettman doesn't take no for an answer very often, and he isn't about to let this issue go. Daly released this statement, which obviously stems from Bettman; “We believe the union acted unreasonably in violation of the league’s rights,” he said. “We intend to evaluate all of our available legal options and to pursue adequate remedies, as appropriate.” Meaning the NHL is looking to take legal action against the NHLPA, trying to prove that the NHLPA acted unreasonably. If the NHL is successful, they can over turn the NHLPA decision, and invoke the new realignment for the 2013-2014 season.
So what's going on? Donald Fehr is showing the league, that him and the rest of the NHLPA is not going to be bullied and shoved around by league.


Here are some of the issues the NHLPA had; 2 conferences are going to have 8 teams while the other 2 have 7 teams. They think it is unfair on who makes the post season; truth be told, if the teams aren't in the top for of their conferences, they don't really belong in the playoffs! They were also not very big on the idea of the added travel; as each team will play each other 2 times, in addition to facing each team in their conferences 6 times. I guess highly overpaid athletes, don't want to fly in luxury private planes and stay in 5 star hotels; wonder how the would feel about not receive absurd amounts of money! The NHL made a "secret" deadline of January 6th in order to get a yes or now and make up the new schedule for next season; the NHLP said they would have been willing to disscuss and bargain with the NHL on the realignment, but because of the deadline had no choice but to turn the realignment idea down.

Now to the issue of the lockout, if this turns into a spiting match between Fehr and Bettman, you can kiss the 2012-2013 season goodbye. Well the NHL and the NHLPA, which is a union (so unneeded) have to just added a very negative tone to the CBA talks over the salaries and such. The current CBA ends September 15th, if Bettman has enough of Fehr's ego, he can stop cooperating and lock out the players at any moment. So because some pampered over paid over rated hockey players, that don't want to spend a couple extra hours in a plane, we may be facing another lockout. Now I can't say I fully blame the NHLPA for turning down the realignment plan, when I first heard the news I was really upset at the NHLPA. But then you hear the details of why they denied it;  Gary Bettman refused to work with the NHLPA, he gave them the realignment idea, and stuck it down their throats!  The NHLPA asked for a new schedule, for time to bargain/discuss the realignment, and Bettman refused to cooperate. Bettman has been quoted as saying he doesn't need the CBA, and he can do whatever he wants.


So I don't know who to entirely blame this whole situation on; both sides could have handled it better, and it is now looking more than ever, that there will be a lockout next season. Fehr is not the right guy to run the NHLPA, he will just drive Bettman crazy, forcing Bettman to force lockouts and ruin the game for the fans! I hope things get worked out between Fehr and Bettman, but I don't believe they will anytime soon!

Crazy Week

Hey everyone, welcome to the first Friday of 2012. Hope 2012 has been treating you well thus far.
This is just going to be a quick update of what has gone down in the NHL over the past week, those of you who read some of my earlier posts, know I like to do these on Fridays during the summer. But a lot has happened this week around the NHL; From the Winter Classic, to racial slur I'm going to cover it all, including some world junior highlights. I'm going to do my best to keep this blog short and sweet.


The fifth edition of the Winter Classic kicked off in Philadelphia on Monday afternoon, a game that saw the Rangers beat the Flyers 3-2. It was a great game from the second period on; Lundqvist came up big for the Rangers and ultimately kept them in the game early on, Brayden Schenn got his first career NHL goal, and the Rangers found an unlikely hero in Michael Rupp. Sorry if you want the full in depth recap you can read my, Winter Classic 2012 blog. Unfortunately, fans didn't buy into the who Rangers vs. Flyers rivalry and this edition of the Winter classic became the lowest rated edition; it earned a 2.4, which is lower than Gretzky's last game and was watched by just 3.74 million people. Some reasons for the event not being successful; The game got moved from it's usual Jan. 1, to Jan 2. which is not an actual holiday in the states, the game started 2hrs late, and their wasn't enough hype about the game. Whatever the reason, the NHL will want to reconsider some things, before the 2013 Winter Classic in Detroit.

Next up, I'll wrap up the World Junior tournament; Canada was able to work together as a team and kick some Finnish butt, to win the bronze medal. Canada beat the Fins, 4-0 goals by; Scheifele, Pearson and Howden (2) helped seal the win for Canada. But let's not forget the amazing play of Visentin, who really stood on his head, to record a 27 shot shutout, despite not facing a huge number of shots, Visentin faced  difficult shots. His best save of the tournament, perhaps of his whole career, came when the puck bounced up, then rolled down the back of his jersey and landed in Visentin's catching mitt tangled behind his back. Here is the link to the save; epic save! Good job boys, way to bring home a medal!
So the gold medal game did not involve Canada for the first time in 4 years, so instead it showcased Russia and Sweden. Russia was looking to repeat, as they won the tournament last year, and Sweden hadn't won gold in 31 years. It was a fantastic game, that ended in a 0-0 tie at the end of 60 minutes, in those 60 minutes Sweden dominated Russia, who only managed 18 shots all game, Russian goalie Andrei Makarov played fantastic, managing to keep Russia in the game, Makarov made 57 saves. I the third period each team had chances to break the 0-0 dead lock but neither capitalized; a shot from the point found it's way behind Makarov, hit the post and then hit Makarov's rump, then narrowly missed the other post. Russia had a chance with 30 seconds left, on a phenomenal pass, but Swedish goalie Johan Gustafsson stood his ground and denied to point blank shot forcing the game into OT. Then 10:09 into the extra period, Mika Zibanejad came streaking in off the right wing, after a Russia mishandled the puck, Zibanejad then made a beautiful back-hand that finally broke the scoreless game. The drought is over, 31 years later Sweden has won a gold medal! It was a great game but Sweden deserved to win, as they played a much better game than Russia. Congratulations to everyone who got to play for their countries at this years tournament, and I wish you all the best with your pro careers!

In case you missed the announcement, 6 players have automatically been voted into the All-Star game in   Ottawa. Now 4 of them are Senators, which proves that 1) home town stuffed the ballot. 2) fans shouldnot be given the right to vote; there were far more worthy players. I could understand 1 or 2 Sens, but 4?! Non the less; here are your starting 6; Jason Spezza, Erik Karlsson, Daniel Alfredsson and Milan Michalek. Joining them will be; Toronto Maple Leaf defenceman Dion Phaneuf and Vezina and Stanley Cup winning goalie Tim Thomas of the Boston Bruins. I agree with having Thomas, Karlsson and Michalek, The rest I'm not too sure about, it just proves that fans can not be trusted with the vote. If you want to see the Senators play, go to a stinking Senators game!


Next up, Brian Burke; When they mode those commercials for the most interesting man in the world, I think it was modelled after Burkie! The GM who can pull off blockbuster deals, find players that no one else wants, Strike a deal that mainly benefits the Leafs, can call a hockey player a rat and hold a press conference with his tie off and hanging around his neck. Burke was visible upset after having to demote  Colton Orr to the Toronto Marlies; “When a player the character of Colton Orr can’t contribute in this league, I’m not sure I like where the league is going.” “I know the Greenpeace folks will be happy with this,” Burke said, “but I wonder where we’re going when [NHL vice-president of discipline] Brendan Shanahan’s got six hearings every two days.” “if we don’t have the guys looking after each other, then the rats will take this game over.” There will be, in his words, “no checks and balances.” Sadly enough I have to agree with Burke, there is no accountability or respect in the game anymore, players now know they can hit/hurt someone and not have to fight or be gang tackled anymore. The worst that happens is a 6 game suspension. The game we all know and love is taking a dangerous turn for the worse! I for one will not watch a hockey in which hitting and fighting are not allowed, but the way the game has turned players like Colton Orr who fight and stand up for teammates, no longer have a spot on the roster. 

I've gone long enough without a single mention of the Buffalo Sabres in a blog, so I must end this madness. Tonight the Sabres will get a much needed player returning to the Lineup, Tyler Myers will return from wrist surgery tonight agains the Hurricanes. Sabres have had some struggles on their blue-line lately, and getting the veteran Myers back could help and some stability, and even help ol' Miller out between the pipes. Myers missed 19 games after undergoing surgery on his wrist.


I'll wrap things up with a quick update on any and all suspensions from this week;
Let's start off with Rene Bourque, who received a 5 game suspension for delivering a chicken wing elbow to the head of Capital's Nicklas Backstrom.
Next up is Dan Carcillo, who has just been suspended for the 5th time in his NHL Career and the third time this season; Carcillo received 7 games for driving Oilers Tom Gilbert into the boards. Both Carcillo and Gibert left the game with knee injuries. 
Krys Barch received 1 game for alleged racial slurs made to Montreal defenceman P.K Subban. 

Hope you all enjoyed this blog, there were too many mini stories that I wanted to briefly touch upon so I thought this was the easiest way to do so! 

Crazy Week

Hey everyone, welcome to the first Friday of 2012. Hope 2012 has been treating you well thus far.
This is just going to be a quick update of what has gone down in the NHL over the past week, those of you who read some of my earlier posts, know I like to do these on Fridays during the summer. But a lot has happened this week around the NHL; From the Winter Classic, to racial slur I'm going to cover it all, including some world junior highlights. I'm going to do my best to keep this blog short and sweet.


The fifth edition of the Winter Classic kicked off in Philadelphia on Monday afternoon, a game that saw the Rangers beat the Flyers 3-2. It was a great game from the second period on; Lundqvist came up big for the Rangers and ultimately kept them in the game early on, Brayden Schenn got his first career NHL goal, and the Rangers found an unlikely hero in Michael Rupp. Sorry if you want the full in depth recap you can read my, Winter Classic 2012 blog. Unfortunately, fans didn't buy into the who Rangers vs. Flyers rivalry and this edition of the Winter classic became the lowest rated edition; it earned a 2.4, which is lower than Gretzky's last game and was watched by just 3.74 million people. Some reasons for the event not being successful; The game got moved from it's usual Jan. 1, to Jan 2. which is not an actual holiday in the states, the game started 2hrs late, and their wasn't enough hype about the game. Whatever the reason, the NHL will want to reconsider some things, before the 2013 Winter Classic in Detroit.

Next up, I'll wrap up the World Junior tournament; Canada was able to work together as a team and kick some Finnish butt, to win the bronze medal. Canada beat the Fins, 4-0 goals by; Scheifele, Pearson and Howden (2) helped seal the win for Canada. But let's not forget the amazing play of Visentin, who really stood on his head, to record a 27 shot shutout, despite not facing a huge number of shots, Visentin faced  difficult shots. His best save of the tournament, perhaps of his whole career, came when the puck bounced up, then rolled down the back of his jersey and landed in Visentin's catching mitt tangled behind his back. Here is the link to the save; epic save! Good job boys, way to bring home a medal!
So the gold medal game did not involve Canada for the first time in 4 years, so instead it showcased Russia and Sweden. Russia was looking to repeat, as they won the tournament last year, and Sweden hadn't won gold in 31 years. It was a fantastic game, that ended in a 0-0 tie at the end of 60 minutes, in those 60 minutes Sweden dominated Russia, who only managed 18 shots all game, Russian goalie Andrei Makarov played fantastic, managing to keep Russia in the game, Makarov made 57 saves. I the third period each team had chances to break the 0-0 dead lock but neither capitalized; a shot from the point found it's way behind Makarov, hit the post and then hit Makarov's rump, then narrowly missed the other post. Russia had a chance with 30 seconds left, on a phenomenal pass, but Swedish goalie Johan Gustafsson stood his ground and denied to point blank shot forcing the game into OT. Then 10:09 into the extra period, Mika Zibanejad came streaking in off the right wing, after a Russia mishandled the puck, Zibanejad then made a beautiful back-hand that finally broke the scoreless game. The drought is over, 31 years later Sweden has won a gold medal! It was a great game but Sweden deserved to win, as they played a much better game than Russia. Congratulations to everyone who got to play for their countries at this years tournament, and I wish you all the best with your pro careers!

In case you missed the announcement, 6 players have automatically been voted into the All-Star game in   Ottawa. Now 4 of them are Senators, which proves that 1) home town stuffed the ballot. 2) fans shouldnot be given the right to vote; there were far more worthy players. I could understand 1 or 2 Sens, but 4?! Non the less; here are your starting 6; Jason Spezza, Erik Karlsson, Daniel Alfredsson and Milan Michalek. Joining them will be; Toronto Maple Leaf defenceman Dion Phaneuf and Vezina and Stanley Cup winning goalie Tim Thomas of the Boston Bruins. I agree with having Thomas, Karlsson and Michalek, The rest I'm not too sure about, it just proves that fans can not be trusted with the vote. If you want to see the Senators play, go to a stinking Senators game!


Next up, Brian Burke; When they mode those commercials for the most interesting man in the world, I think it was modelled after Burkie! The GM who can pull off blockbuster deals, find players that no one else wants, Strike a deal that mainly benefits the Leafs, can call a hockey player a rat and hold a press conference with his tie off and hanging around his neck. Burke was visible upset after having to demote  Colton Orr to the Toronto Marlies; “When a player the character of Colton Orr can’t contribute in this league, I’m not sure I like where the league is going.” “I know the Greenpeace folks will be happy with this,” Burke said, “but I wonder where we’re going when [NHL vice-president of discipline] Brendan Shanahan’s got six hearings every two days.” “if we don’t have the guys looking after each other, then the rats will take this game over.” There will be, in his words, “no checks and balances.” Sadly enough I have to agree with Burke, there is no accountability or respect in the game anymore, players now know they can hit/hurt someone and not have to fight or be gang tackled anymore. The worst that happens is a 6 game suspension. The game we all know and love is taking a dangerous turn for the worse! I for one will not watch a hockey in which hitting and fighting are not allowed, but the way the game has turned players like Colton Orr who fight and stand up for teammates, no longer have a spot on the roster. 

I've gone long enough without a single mention of the Buffalo Sabres in a blog, so I must end this madness. Tonight the Sabres will get a much needed player returning to the Lineup, Tyler Myers will return from wrist surgery tonight agains the Hurricanes. Sabres have had some struggles on their blue-line lately, and getting the veteran Myers back could help and some stability, and even help ol' Miller out between the pipes. Myers missed 19 games after undergoing surgery on his wrist.


I'll wrap things up with a quick update on any and all suspensions from this week;
Let's start off with Rene Bourque, who received a 5 game suspension for delivering a chicken wing elbow to the head of Capital's Nicklas Backstrom.
Next up is Dan Carcillo, who has just been suspended for the 5th time in his NHL Career and the third time this season; Carcillo received 7 games for driving Oilers Tom Gilbert into the boards. Both Carcillo and Gibert left the game with knee injuries. 
Krys Barch received 1 game for alleged racial slurs made to Montreal defenceman P.K Subban. 

Hope you all enjoyed this blog, there were too many mini stories that I wanted to briefly touch upon so I thought this was the easiest way to do so! 

The Comeback

Well I wasn't planning on writing another blog till Friday, after Team Canada won the gold at the World Juniors, or at least that was the plan; But as team Canada forward Brendan Gallagher said; "that won't happen anymore". Team Canada was defeated for the second year in a row by Russia, losing 6-5 on Tuesday evening. But despite the loss, it was quite the game, one that will not soon be forgotten, and needless to say, I'm happy I didn't go to bed after the second period.



My hockey viewing last night started off with me watching the end of the Leaf game with my dad; then as the clock struck 9, I fired up my laptop and followed the World Junior game on twitter, where I quickly learned that Russia was beating Canada 2-0. I though it was a mis-tweet at first, maybe the person that tweeted the score got confused. But after the Leaf game ended, we flipped to the World Junior game, and I quickly saw for myself that Canada was down by 2. I was stunned to see Canada losing by 2, so early in the game, but then the lone bright spark for Canada early in the game, was when, Brett Connolly arguable the best forward for the tournament, scored to cut the lead in half. It was 2-1 team Canada had hope, the crowd got excited again, we saw the comeback happening. Then after a weak call on Gallagher, Russian's

Evgeni Kuznetsov scored his 2nd goal of the evening, then shortly after notched his 3rd goal, giving him a hat trick and making it 4-1. After the goal team Canada goaltender Scott Wedgewood, was barrelled over, by a Russian player, and laid flat on the ice, that put an end to Wedgewood's night. Cue Mark Visentin, who blew the 3 goal lead in last year's World Junior gold medal game, to who other than the Russians. But it just wasn't going to happen; as Russia scored their 5th goal on just the second shot Visentin faced. It was 5-1 at that point,  and it just didn't seem like it was Canada's night. Before the start of the third, my dad asked me if I was really going to stay up much longer, since Canada, obviously wasn't going to win. But I told him I had to stay up just a little longer, I didn't want to miss an amazing once in a lifetime kind of comeback from team Canada. (yes those where my exact words before the 3rd period even started.) I had a feeling in my gut, that Canada wasn't going to just rollover, but then on a delayed penalty in the 3rd period, Canada's Nathan Beaulieu decided to argue the call with the referee instead of skating hard on the back-check, the lack of Beaulieu being in the play gave the Russians plenty of time to finish off a passing play that made it 6-1. 

Not going to lie, after the 6th goal, I was extremely worried that Canada wouldn't be able to overcome the deficit. Especially against the Russian goaltender who had been standing on his head all night, despite only being 17. But then something clicked, the light turned on and the machine known as the team Canada world junior team, started to work together; 2 quick goals by Dougie Hamilton and Canada's captain Jaden Schwartz, made it 6-3, and the deficit didn't seem so large anymore, there was hope, fans were on their feet again and cheering loudly, and the players looked excited and energized again, ready to close the gap. The my favourite baby faced player Brendan Gallagher scored making it 6-4, and then Brandon Gormley potted one making it 6-5, and the deficit was cut to one! Canada made an epic 
come-back in the third period, scoring 4 goals in a little over 5 minutes! It got excited and the Russians got scared, after already using their timeout, Russia's coach went on a gut feeling and decided to pull the 17 year old starting goaltender Andrei Vasilevski, and replace him with 20 year old veteran goaltender, Andrei Makarov in order to slow Canada's momentum. The gut feeling worked and Russia was able to handle the onslaught of the Canadians in the final 2 minutes. It came oh so close, as the game of inches played a factor when Ryan Strome hit the goal post in the dieing seconds of the game. It was a heartbreaking loss for team Canada, who for a second straight year, had their dreams crushed by Russia, and for the 3rd straight year will not be taking home a gold medal from the World Junior tournament.


So how and why did Team Canada lose? 3 simple factors that make all the difference, in these crucial games, is how.

Goaltending; Team Canada hasn't had a decent goalie that they can rely heavily on, since Carey Price back in 2007, that's 5 years of rocky goaltending. Although Edgewood let in 4 goals on 13 shots, you can't place all the blame on him, he had no chance on at least 3 of the goals, his own teammate Ryan Murray scored on him 3 times, by deflecting Russian shots. Yes sadly enough Ryan Murray deflected 3 straight goals into his own net, he make history and be talked about for years, unfortunately not in the way he would like. Then there is Mark Visentin, who I have not liked/trusted in net since blowing that 3 goal lead to Russia last year, costing us the gold medal. I don't think he takes it seriously enough, if you look at his reaction after the 6th Russian goal, he was smiling/laughing; your team is down 6-1 and not going to make it to the finals and you're smiling? So I was quite happy when Wedgewood was chosen to start this game over the lacklustre Visentin. Sadly enough neither of the two goaltenders for team Canada were good enough to win the gold, wheather you like it or not, it's true.
Second reason we lost; undisciplined selfish penalties taken by guys who should know better. Boone Jenner received a 5 minute major and a game misconduct for spearing Kuznetsov. Now on any normal occasion, that penalty would have been stupid anyway, but team Canada was already getting a much needed 2 minute power play, after Kuznetsov had, clotheslined Jenner. Another thing that really bugs me about this play; Kuznetsov came over to see if Jenner was okay! That's the only reason he was there! It was a dumb selfish move by Jenner, who should have just accepted the apology and skated to the bench. If that wasn't bad enough; Jonathan Huberdeau decided he didn't like the call from the referees and showed it, by banging his stick on the ice earning him an extra 10 minute misconduct. Another selfish, dumb penalty by Canada. We sank down to Russia's level, or dirty cheap hockey, and we can't beat them at their own game. The fact of the matter is, these guys are just teenagers, and with teenagers tempers rise, and then you mix the emotion of representing your country, and getting beat by the Russian again, a few of the players just couldn't handle it, and lashed out/voiced their displeasure. And the last reason, was the play of the Russian goaltender Andrei Vasilevski who had to face 56 shots! For a goalie 56 shots is a ton, it's roughly what an NHL goalie will face in 2 full games! (30 + 26) Not to mention he stopped 51 of those shots, from the skilled Canadian snipers. Team Canada was just out goaltended in the game, Russia wanted to win more than the Canadian squad.


But Let's end this evaluation of the game and tournament of a positive note; The best players from Tuesday nights match.

For Team Canada; One of the top players is my favourite Brendan Gallagher, he is literally the heart and soul of this Canadian team! last night he was extremely instrumental in the comeback, scoring a goal and adding two assists! Despite of being 5 foot 8, 178 pounds; Gallagher goes all out and doesn't worry about being the smallest person on the ice; In the game against the US, Gallagher even knocked over a 6 foot 2, 220 pound defenceman. “I’ve always been told I was too small,” Gallagher said in an interview with the Montreal Gazette. “I was always the smallest guy out there. I learned to deal with it at a young age. It’s something that never really bothered me. I was always able to do what I wanted to do. “
Gallagher is not afraid of anyone when playing, he'll drive the net hard no matter who is in his way.
Another impressive player from the tournament was Brett Connolly; the Tampa Bay Lightning forward on lone for the World Juniors. Despite being under much scrutiny during the selection camp; due to a hit of teammate Quinton Howden and vastly underperforming, but after that debacle, Connolly was named an Alternete captain and had quite the tournament; in 5 games Connolly scored 4 goals and added an assist, not mention he was a +5 for the tournament. Then there was Mark Stone, who barely missed tying the game up on Tuesday. Stone scored 7 times though Canada's first 4 games. 

We'll wrap things up with talking about Russia's best players from Tuesday nights match;
Evgeni Kuznetsov; who managed a hat trick plus an assist dominated the game for the Russians. Not only was his presence felt in the game, but the whole tournament had Kuznetsov finding the back of the net; this was his second hat trick of the tournament. Kuznetsov is a former firs round pick of the Capitals, and one of their top prospects. So far the Capitals prospect has 6 goals and 13 points in the tournament, and still has another game to play,.
Nail Yakupov, who is rumoured to be the first overall pick at the 2012 draft. He finished Tuesdays match with 4 assists. "We didn't finish strong, but we scored six goals and we beat Canada," said Russian forward Nail Yakupov. "Russia's better than Canada." One thing the Russians were extremely good, at was making enemies with the Team Canada fans, they'd laugh and make faces at fans in front of the boards, and encouraged all the boo's; this year Yakupov is correct Russia beat us, making them the better team!

Good Job boys, keep your head held high, you went out with class and amassed a near comeback that will go down in history! keep your spirits high and come out ready to win the Bronze medal! It's a little disheartening hearing that, this is the first time in 11 years Canada will not be apart of gold medal game.
But to be honest we didn't deserve to be there, especially the way we started the game against Russia. Poorly played 40 minutes of hockey!

The Comeback

Well I wasn't planning on writing another blog till Friday, after Team Canada won the gold at the World Juniors, or at least that was the plan; But as team Canada forward Brendan Gallagher said; "that won't happen anymore". Team Canada was defeated for the second year in a row by Russia, losing 6-5 on Tuesday evening. But despite the loss, it was quite the game, one that will not soon be forgotten, and needless to say, I'm happy I didn't go to bed after the second period.



My hockey viewing last night started off with me watching the end of the Leaf game with my dad; then as the clock struck 9, I fired up my laptop and followed the World Junior game on twitter, where I quickly learned that Russia was beating Canada 2-0. I though it was a mis-tweet at first, maybe the person that tweeted the score got confused. But after the Leaf game ended, we flipped to the World Junior game, and I quickly saw for myself that Canada was down by 2. I was stunned to see Canada losing by 2, so early in the game, but then the lone bright spark for Canada early in the game, was when, Brett Connolly arguable the best forward for the tournament, scored to cut the lead in half. It was 2-1 team Canada had hope, the crowd got excited again, we saw the comeback happening. Then after a weak call on Gallagher, Russian's

Evgeni Kuznetsov scored his 2nd goal of the evening, then shortly after notched his 3rd goal, giving him a hat trick and making it 4-1. After the goal team Canada goaltender Scott Wedgewood, was barrelled over, by a Russian player, and laid flat on the ice, that put an end to Wedgewood's night. Cue Mark Visentin, who blew the 3 goal lead in last year's World Junior gold medal game, to who other than the Russians. But it just wasn't going to happen; as Russia scored their 5th goal on just the second shot Visentin faced. It was 5-1 at that point,  and it just didn't seem like it was Canada's night. Before the start of the third, my dad asked me if I was really going to stay up much longer, since Canada, obviously wasn't going to win. But I told him I had to stay up just a little longer, I didn't want to miss an amazing once in a lifetime kind of comeback from team Canada. (yes those where my exact words before the 3rd period even started.) I had a feeling in my gut, that Canada wasn't going to just rollover, but then on a delayed penalty in the 3rd period, Canada's Nathan Beaulieu decided to argue the call with the referee instead of skating hard on the back-check, the lack of Beaulieu being in the play gave the Russians plenty of time to finish off a passing play that made it 6-1. 

Not going to lie, after the 6th goal, I was extremely worried that Canada wouldn't be able to overcome the deficit. Especially against the Russian goaltender who had been standing on his head all night, despite only being 17. But then something clicked, the light turned on and the machine known as the team Canada world junior team, started to work together; 2 quick goals by Dougie Hamilton and Canada's captain Jaden Schwartz, made it 6-3, and the deficit didn't seem so large anymore, there was hope, fans were on their feet again and cheering loudly, and the players looked excited and energized again, ready to close the gap. The my favourite baby faced player Brendan Gallagher scored making it 6-4, and then Brandon Gormley potted one making it 6-5, and the deficit was cut to one! Canada made an epic 
come-back in the third period, scoring 4 goals in a little over 5 minutes! It got excited and the Russians got scared, after already using their timeout, Russia's coach went on a gut feeling and decided to pull the 17 year old starting goaltender Andrei Vasilevski, and replace him with 20 year old veteran goaltender, Andrei Makarov in order to slow Canada's momentum. The gut feeling worked and Russia was able to handle the onslaught of the Canadians in the final 2 minutes. It came oh so close, as the game of inches played a factor when Ryan Strome hit the goal post in the dieing seconds of the game. It was a heartbreaking loss for team Canada, who for a second straight year, had their dreams crushed by Russia, and for the 3rd straight year will not be taking home a gold medal from the World Junior tournament.


So how and why did Team Canada lose? 3 simple factors that make all the difference, in these crucial games, is how.

Goaltending; Team Canada hasn't had a decent goalie that they can rely heavily on, since Carey Price back in 2007, that's 5 years of rocky goaltending. Although Edgewood let in 4 goals on 13 shots, you can't place all the blame on him, he had no chance on at least 3 of the goals, his own teammate Ryan Murray scored on him 3 times, by deflecting Russian shots. Yes sadly enough Ryan Murray deflected 3 straight goals into his own net, he make history and be talked about for years, unfortunately not in the way he would like. Then there is Mark Visentin, who I have not liked/trusted in net since blowing that 3 goal lead to Russia last year, costing us the gold medal. I don't think he takes it seriously enough, if you look at his reaction after the 6th Russian goal, he was smiling/laughing; your team is down 6-1 and not going to make it to the finals and you're smiling? So I was quite happy when Wedgewood was chosen to start this game over the lacklustre Visentin. Sadly enough neither of the two goaltenders for team Canada were good enough to win the gold, wheather you like it or not, it's true.
Second reason we lost; undisciplined selfish penalties taken by guys who should know better. Boone Jenner received a 5 minute major and a game misconduct for spearing Kuznetsov. Now on any normal occasion, that penalty would have been stupid anyway, but team Canada was already getting a much needed 2 minute power play, after Kuznetsov had, clotheslined Jenner. Another thing that really bugs me about this play; Kuznetsov came over to see if Jenner was okay! That's the only reason he was there! It was a dumb selfish move by Jenner, who should have just accepted the apology and skated to the bench. If that wasn't bad enough; Jonathan Huberdeau decided he didn't like the call from the referees and showed it, by banging his stick on the ice earning him an extra 10 minute misconduct. Another selfish, dumb penalty by Canada. We sank down to Russia's level, or dirty cheap hockey, and we can't beat them at their own game. The fact of the matter is, these guys are just teenagers, and with teenagers tempers rise, and then you mix the emotion of representing your country, and getting beat by the Russian again, a few of the players just couldn't handle it, and lashed out/voiced their displeasure. And the last reason, was the play of the Russian goaltender Andrei Vasilevski who had to face 56 shots! For a goalie 56 shots is a ton, it's roughly what an NHL goalie will face in 2 full games! (30 + 26) Not to mention he stopped 51 of those shots, from the skilled Canadian snipers. Team Canada was just out goaltended in the game, Russia wanted to win more than the Canadian squad.


But Let's end this evaluation of the game and tournament of a positive note; The best players from Tuesday nights match.

For Team Canada; One of the top players is my favourite Brendan Gallagher, he is literally the heart and soul of this Canadian team! last night he was extremely instrumental in the comeback, scoring a goal and adding two assists! Despite of being 5 foot 8, 178 pounds; Gallagher goes all out and doesn't worry about being the smallest person on the ice; In the game against the US, Gallagher even knocked over a 6 foot 2, 220 pound defenceman. “I’ve always been told I was too small,” Gallagher said in an interview with the Montreal Gazette. “I was always the smallest guy out there. I learned to deal with it at a young age. It’s something that never really bothered me. I was always able to do what I wanted to do. “
Gallagher is not afraid of anyone when playing, he'll drive the net hard no matter who is in his way.
Another impressive player from the tournament was Brett Connolly; the Tampa Bay Lightning forward on lone for the World Juniors. Despite being under much scrutiny during the selection camp; due to a hit of teammate Quinton Howden and vastly underperforming, but after that debacle, Connolly was named an Alternete captain and had quite the tournament; in 5 games Connolly scored 4 goals and added an assist, not mention he was a +5 for the tournament. Then there was Mark Stone, who barely missed tying the game up on Tuesday. Stone scored 7 times though Canada's first 4 games. 

We'll wrap things up with talking about Russia's best players from Tuesday nights match;
Evgeni Kuznetsov; who managed a hat trick plus an assist dominated the game for the Russians. Not only was his presence felt in the game, but the whole tournament had Kuznetsov finding the back of the net; this was his second hat trick of the tournament. Kuznetsov is a former firs round pick of the Capitals, and one of their top prospects. So far the Capitals prospect has 6 goals and 13 points in the tournament, and still has another game to play,.
Nail Yakupov, who is rumoured to be the first overall pick at the 2012 draft. He finished Tuesdays match with 4 assists. "We didn't finish strong, but we scored six goals and we beat Canada," said Russian forward Nail Yakupov. "Russia's better than Canada." One thing the Russians were extremely good, at was making enemies with the Team Canada fans, they'd laugh and make faces at fans in front of the boards, and encouraged all the boo's; this year Yakupov is correct Russia beat us, making them the better team!

Good Job boys, keep your head held high, you went out with class and amassed a near comeback that will go down in history! keep your spirits high and come out ready to win the Bronze medal! It's a little disheartening hearing that, this is the first time in 11 years Canada will not be apart of gold medal game.
But to be honest we didn't deserve to be there, especially the way we started the game against Russia. Poorly played 40 minutes of hockey!