Alumni in the Pros - February 2009

JDeafv
Shane Hynes is back at Cornell finishing his degree, his professional hockey career is over.

Did something happen to him, or did he just decide to try and make it elsewhere?

Knee injury. [elf.elynah.com]

Ah, thanks! That's weird, I did a search, but my eyes must have skipped over it.

Josh '99

Rita

sah67
San Jose and Edmonton are currently in the second period tied at 2, and Douglas Murray picked up an assist on Patrick Marleau's game-tying goal.

That was also Marleau's 600 career goal.

600th career point, you mean.

Oops. I know Marleau has been playing awhile and a more than decent offensive player, but not that good.

Btw, that was Murray's 6th assist of the season (and 20th NHL point).

KenP
Knee injury. [elf.elynah.com]

That 2005 knee injury knocked him out for the balance of the 2005-2006 season. He came back and played the following year before suffering an injury, and again in 2007-2008. My compliments to him for returning to school! It also explains why he doesn't show up in the alumni directory. (You don't have to graduate to be in the alumni directory.)

I know it's not the pros, but I caught a Fort McMurray Oil Barons Vs. St. Albert Steel game last week, and saw our friend Jordan Berk

Ray Sawada has been recalled to the Stars:

[starsblog.dallasnews.com]

RatushnyFan
'08-'09: This year at various points we've had Moulson, Vesce (per the article above), Bitz, Murray and O'Byrne. That's 5. Hopefully Iggulden gets a shot. 6 would be the record.

pfibiger
Ray Sawada has been recalled to the Stars:

[starsblog.dallasnews.com]

That's 6. Come on NYI, make it 7!

Not a bad birthday gift for Ray.

Hopefully a nice gift for Dallas, too. They've been hit big time by the injury bug. Sawada may not be Brendan Morrow or Brad Richards, but players in their first game as a Star have had some incredible performances lately (Fabian Brunnstrom, Mark Parrish, Richards, etc.). Best of luck to him. I've been wearing his jersey at Cornell games for four years now.

ugarte

RatushnyFan
'08-'09: This year at various points we've had Moulson, Vesce (per the article above), Bitz, Murray and O'Byrne. That's 5. Hopefully Iggulden gets a shot. 6 would be the record.

pfibiger
Ray Sawada has been recalled to the Stars:

[starsblog.dallasnews.com]

That's 6. Come on NYI, make it 7!

You forgot the important part, Happy B-Day Raymond!

Great first shift by Ray - what a birthday present. Always a thrill to see Cornell players living the dream!!!

SCORE!!!!!!!!!!! Ray scores for Dallas on a nice backhand shot. Even a better birthday present in his first NHL game.

Way to go Ray. Dallas is just decimated with injuries, who would have thought that 5 AHL goals in 48 games would have justified a ticket to Dallas? I wasn't thinking that he'd be the next alumnus (happy?) called up. Congrats, I hope he sticks.

Larry72
SCORE!!!!!!!!!!! Ray scores for Dallas on a nice backhand shot. Even a better birthday present in his first NHL game.

Worked out a lot better than Ross Lemon's birthday.

jtwcornell91

Larry72
SCORE!!!!!!!!!!! Ray scores for Dallas on a nice backhand shot. Even a better birthday present in his first NHL game.

Worked out a lot better than Ross Lemon's birthday.

Thanks for the bad memory.

Larry72
SCORE!!!!!!!!!!! Ray scores for Dallas on a nice backhand shot. Even a better birthday present in his first NHL game.

And the Dallas Stars "Star of the Game" with 1 G, 1 Block shot, and 3 hits.

A happy birthday indeed.

Rita

A happy birthday indeed.

I guess so. Check out this reaction.

[espn.go.com]

And he even gets to wear his old number IIRC.

RatushnyFan
Way to go Ray. Dallas is just decimated with injuries, who would have thought that 5 AHL goals in 48 games would have justified a ticket to Dallas? I wasn't thinking that he'd be the next alumnus (happy?) called up. Congrats, I hope he sticks.

When looking to promote an AHL player to be a 4th-line winger, scoring goals in the AHL isn't the first criterion I'd use. I'd rather have someone who could play a physical game, win the battles along the wall, and be responsible defensively. Like Byron Bitz, Raymond Sawada has these attributes. I think they are both better suited to be 4th liners in the NHL than 1st liners in college.

ugarte

RatushnyFan
'08-'09: This year at various points we've had Moulson, Vesce (per the article above), Bitz, Murray and O'Byrne. That's 5. Hopefully Iggulden gets a shot. 6 would be the record.

pfibiger
Ray Sawada has been recalled to the Stars:

[starsblog.dallasnews.com]

That's 6. Come on NYI, make it 7!

Richard Park's injury will open a spot on the Islanders' 3rd or 4th line. Mike Iggulden would fit the bill for that role. Unfortunately, from what I have heard, Iggulden isn't high on Garth Snow's radar screen.

Raymond Sawada got promoted today because the recently recalled Chris Conner (Michigan Tech) had to return to Peoria to be with his pregnant wife.

The AP recap of tonight's game has some quotes from Raymond and his new coach.

cbuckser
The AP recap of tonight's game has some quotes from Raymond and his new coach.

and a nice video of his goal, good backhand.

what does this look like if one shows the number of players by cornell team to play in the nhl?

bernie
what does this look like if one shows the number of players by cornell team to play in the nhl?

Huh? I'm guessing you're looking for some sort of year-by-year chart showing the percentage of players from that CU roster to eventually play in the NHL. Or maybe a bar graph showing the number of CU alumni in the NHL each year? Either way, I'm that's some data the venerable TBRW? cabal can work on.

bernie
what does this look like if one shows the number of players by cornell team to play in the nhl?

Hmm...

cbuckser

ugarte

RatushnyFan
'08-'09: This year at various points we've had Moulson, Vesce (per the article above), Bitz, Murray and O'Byrne. That's 5. Hopefully Iggulden gets a shot. 6 would be the record.

pfibiger
Ray Sawada has been recalled to the Stars:

[starsblog.dallasnews.com]

That's 6. Come on NYI, make it 7!

Richard Park's injury will open a spot on the Islanders' 3rd or 4th line. Mike Iggulden would fit the bill for that role. Unfortunately, from what I have heard, Iggulden isn't high on Garth Snow's radar screen.

Why not? He is leading the team in points and is second in goals. Is it his D? I see that he's had a couple of pretty ugly +/- years in the AHL.

ugarte

cbuckser

ugarte

RatushnyFan
'08-'09: This year at various points we've had Moulson, Vesce (per the article above), Bitz, Murray and O'Byrne. That's 5. Hopefully Iggulden gets a shot. 6 would be the record.

pfibiger
Ray Sawada has been recalled to the Stars:

[starsblog.dallasnews.com]

That's 6. Come on NYI, make it 7!

Richard Park's injury will open a spot on the Islanders' 3rd or 4th line. Mike Iggulden would fit the bill for that role. Unfortunately, from what I have heard, Iggulden isn't high on Garth Snow's radar screen.

Why not? He is leading the team in points and is second in goals. Is it his D? I see that he's had a couple of pretty ugly +/- years in the AHL.

I have no idea. I assume he is still responsible defensively; he mastered that skill in college. His age (26) works against him being in the long-term plans, but I am confident he can contribute to the Islanders for the next couple of years.

If he doesn't get a chance this season, I expect he'll play for another organization next season.

ugarte

cbuckser
Richard Park's injury will open a spot on the Islanders' 3rd or 4th line. Mike Iggulden would fit the bill for that role. Unfortunately, from what I have heard, Iggulden isn't high on Garth Snow's radar screen.

Why not? He is leading the team in points and is second in goals. Is it his D? I see that he's had a couple of pretty ugly +/- years in the AHL.

Come on, we're talking about the guy who signed DP to a 15 year deal and, well, this guy...

CowbellGuy

ugarte

cbuckser
Richard Park's injury will open a spot on the Islanders' 3rd or 4th line. Mike Iggulden would fit the bill for that role. Unfortunately, from what I have heard, Iggulden isn't high on Garth Snow's radar screen.

Why not? He is leading the team in points and is second in goals. Is it his D? I see that he's had a couple of pretty ugly +/- years in the AHL.

Come on, we're talking about the guy who signed DP to a 15 year deal and, well, this guy...

g2ru6.jpg

Seems to me that guy's pretty good at creating scoring opportunities.

Amright or amiright??

ftyuv

CowbellGuy

ugarte

cbuckser
Richard Park's injury will open a spot on the Islanders' 3rd or 4th line. Mike Iggulden would fit the bill for that role. Unfortunately, from what I have heard, Iggulden isn't high on Garth Snow's radar screen.

Why not? He is leading the team in points and is second in goals. Is it his D? I see that he's had a couple of pretty ugly +/- years in the AHL.

Come on, we're talking about the guy who signed DP to a 15 year deal and, well, this guy...

g2ru6.jpg

Seems to me that guy's pretty good at creating scoring opportunities.

Amright or amiright??

That is certainly what military pilots would call a "target rich environment."

CowbellGuy

ugarte

cbuckser
Richard Park's injury will open a spot on the Islanders' 3rd or 4th line. Mike Iggulden would fit the bill for that role. Unfortunately, from what I have heard, Iggulden isn't high on Garth Snow's radar screen.

Why not? He is leading the team in points and is second in goals. Is it his D? I see that he's had a couple of pretty ugly +/- years in the AHL.

Come on, we're talking about the guy who signed DP to a 15 year deal...

In short, because he's a moron.

Link (because the site won't let me embed it).

ftyuv
Seems to me that guy's pretty good at creating scoring opportunities.

Amright or amiright??

Given his numbers as a goalie, that was true on both fronts.

jtwcornell91

Larry72
SCORE!!!!!!!!!!! Ray scores for Dallas on a nice backhand shot. Even a better birthday present in his first NHL game.

Worked out a lot better than Ross Lemon's birthday.

Ouch.

cbuckser

RatushnyFan
Way to go Ray. Dallas is just decimated with injuries, who would have thought that 5 AHL goals in 48 games would have justified a ticket to Dallas? I wasn't thinking that he'd be the next alumnus (happy?) called up. Congrats, I hope he sticks.

When looking to promote an AHL player to be a 4th-line winger, scoring goals in the AHL isn't the first criterion I'd use. I'd rather have someone who could play a physical game, win the battles along the wall, and be responsible defensively. Like Byron Bitz, Raymond Sawada has these attributes. I think they are both better suited to be 4th liners in the NHL than 1st liners in college.

You're definitely right in many cases. Jed Ortmeyer (Michigan) is similar.

Robb
That is certainly what military pilots would call a "target rich environment."

The CDC has another name for it.

tailhook?

Caught David LeNeveu played for the Iowa Chops at the Houston Aeros on Saturday night. Lenny played pretty well. Gave up just one goal as the Chops lost in the shootout. His one goal came with a hard slapshot from the right face-off circle beat him stick-side (might have gone between the elbow). I don't remember the shoot out goals very well, but he had a number of saves.

Matt Moulson scored his second pro hat trick in Manchester's 7-2 rout of Lowell on Saturday night.

Sharks @ Stars tonight (Mon. 2/23) at 8 EST on Versus.
Here's an article on Sawada's debut:
[theahl.com]

After two, Boston is up 3-1 on Florida after Byron Bitz's 2nd NHL goal, a a deflection of a Stephane Yelle shot.

sah67
After two, Boston is up 3-1 on Florida after Byron Bitz's 2nd NHL goal, a a deflection of a Stephane Yelle shot.

Bitz is on FIRE! He just got his 3rd NHL goal on a fat, juicy rebound.

Rita

sah67
After two, Boston is up 3-1 on Florida after Byron Bitz's 2nd NHL goal, a a deflection of a Stephane Yelle shot.

Bitz is on FIRE! He just got his 3rd goal on a fat, juicy rebound.

I think you mean 2nd No hat trick...yet

Rita

Bitz is on FIRE! He just got his 3rd goal on a fat, juicy rebound.

Bitz made the pass to send Yelle down the middle, so he did the work to set up that "juicy rebound" of Yelle's shot.

sah67

Rita

sah67
After two, Boston is up 3-1 on Florida after Byron Bitz's 2nd NHL goal, a a deflection of a Stephane Yelle shot.

Bitz is on FIRE! He just got his 3rd goal on a fat, juicy rebound.

I think you mean 2nd No hat trick...yet

I think he meant third total (in the NHL).

Boston crowd chanting "we want Bitz" with 1 minute left and a 6-1 lead, hoping that he'd get a chance for the hat trick. Julien sent him out to a big ovation, but he didn't get a chance. He's become a bit of a cult hero out here.

With just over a minute left, the crowd was chanting "We want Bitz" so he'd have a final chance for a hat trick. He did come on as they were chanting, but settled for a two goal game.

The Bruins radio broadcast named Bitz as #1 star after his 2-goal effort tonight. He also gave a nice interview, although the interviewer called him "Bitsy" a number of times (I know some don't care for that particular nickname).

I didn't catch the game, but there should be some good highlights on local TV tonight.

ftyuv

sah67

Rita

sah67
After two, Boston is up 3-1 on Florida after Byron Bitz's 2nd NHL goal, a a deflection of a Stephane Yelle shot.

Bitz is on FIRE! He just got his 3rd goal on a fat, juicy rebound.

I think you mean 2nd No hat trick...yet

I think he meant third total (in the NHL).

Whoops, good call...my bad.

"Grinder Bitz nets two as Bruins dismantle Panthers"


I added the emphasis. I think we will take a headline like this about a Cornell alum any day.

[espn.go.com]

"Bit by Bitz, The True Story behind the Saskatchewan Sex Symbol"

[en.wikipedia.org]

cth95
"Grinder Bitz nets two as Bruins dismantle Panthers"


I added the emphasis. I think we will take a headline like this about a Cornell alum any day.

Not a bad night for a "roll" player.

Okay, not an alum, but Ithaca native and LA King player Dustin Brown missed tonight's Kings @ Wild game for a good reason. His wife gave birth to their second child today.

LA did ok without Brown and defeated Minnesota in a Shoot-out.

Al DeFlorio

cth95
"Grinder Bitz nets two as Bruins dismantle Panthers"


I added the emphasis. I think we will take a headline like this about a Cornell alum any day.

Not a bad night for a "roll" player.

If he hopes to be dressing for the NHL squad regularly, he'll need to caesar every opportunity.

jkahn
With just over a minute left, the crowd was chanting "We want Bitz" so he'd have a final chance for a hat trick. He did come on as they were chanting, but settled for a two goal game.

It was a pretty loud chant too, and the crowd roared in response when he jumped over the boards. I saw him even getting a little powerplay time late. Jack and Brick were pretty much singing his praises all night, and commenting how no Florida defenders seemed to want to deal with him in front of the net.

For anyone who follows the B's I don't think it's a stretch to say that the Bitz-Thornton-Yelle line has been Boston's best for the last month. They come to play every night, and just out work every line that is put up against them.

I agree oceanst41 -- at least, they've been the most consistent. Bitz fits into the Boston system very well, and from what I've read and seen, he's well liked among the team too. I expect to see him play through the season (even taking into account trades), and at this rate, I wouldn't be surprised if he'd be back in Boston next year as well.

It wasn't the first time Byron Bitz had a big crowd chanting his name. It had been a while, though.

The rookie fourth-liner scored his second and third NHL goals Tuesday night, leading the struggling Bruins to a 6-1 win over the Florida Panthers in the opener of Boston's six-game homestand.

Bitz's performance had the fans buzzing, just like he used to in his days at Cornell.

"Couple times in college - but 20,000 people's different than 4,000, so it was pretty cool," he said.

[www.nhl.com]

ebilmes
"Bit by Bitz, The True Story behind the Saskatchewan Sex Symbol"

[en.wikipedia.org]

Stupid Wikipedia party poopers reverted it.

Coach talking about Bitz: [link.brightcove.com]

And Bitz talking about himself: [link.brightcove.com]

ftyuv
Coach talking about Bitz: [link.brightcove.com]

And Bitz talking about himself: [link.brightcove.com]

...and now Marc Savard talking about Byron Bitz (among other things) on a morning radio show here in Boston:

[wzlx.com]

There's a young lady in a red Cornell sweatshirt (or sweater) seated along the glass in the section just to the players' right of the Bruins' bench tonight - there to show her support for Byron.

Bitz gets another in the clutch and turns a shaky 5-0 3rd period lead into a comfortable 6-0.

jkahn
There's a young lady in a red Cornell sweatshirt (or sweater) seated along the glass in the section just to the players' right of the Bruins' bench tonight - there to show her support for Byron.

And cheer for him after his 4th NHL goal.

Edit: Also got his first time on the PK tonight as far as I know. Julien is giving him more and more responsibility.

Bitz scores on a great effort, fighting off Scott Niedermayer.

jkahn
Bitz scores on a great effort, fighting off Scott Niedermayer.

It might be time to stuff another ballot box, Bitz for B's player of the week!!

Rita

jkahn
Bitz scores on a great effort, fighting off Scott Niedermayer.

It might be time to stuff another ballot box, Bitz for B's player of the week!!

I'm not so sure we'll even need to stuff the ballot.

Humiliating effort for the Ducks. Niedermayer is a -4 (and make it -7 combined for the family). Ouch. My Michigan rookie friend Matt Hunwick gets an assist on Bitz's goal and a goal of his own after coming back up to the B's from the minors.

ftyuv

Rita

jkahn
Bitz scores on a great effort, fighting off Scott Niedermayer.

It might be time to stuff another ballot box, Bitz for B's player of the week!!

I'm not so sure we'll even need to stuff the ballot.

Apparently not; Bitz is currently sitting at ~64%.

More on Byron... with a nice Cornell Shoutout...

Bitz at Bruins website

We want Bitz!

ugarte

ftyuv

Rita

jkahn
Bitz scores on a great effort, fighting off Scott Niedermayer.

It might be time to stuff another ballot box, Bitz for B's player of the week!!

I'm not so sure we'll even need to stuff the ballot.

Apparently not; Bitz is currently sitting at ~64%.

He finished at 69% and beat out Savard and Ryder for the weekly honors.

The pregame talk was all about how well he's transitioned, done what was asked of him, and rounded out the B's 4th line.

Sawada's a healthy scratch in Dallas today.

Bitz just got a small feature on Coach's Corner between during the 1st intermission in tonight's SJ/Mon game. Cherry talking about how he plays the game "right".

Flyers1037
Cherry talking about how he plays the game "right".

Read: He is not European.

Josh '99

Flyers1037
Cherry talking about how he plays the game "right".

Read: He is not European.

I was going to make a comment to that effect but was too lazy.

Jacob '06

Josh '99

Flyers1037
Cherry talking about how he plays the game "right".

Read: He is not European.

I was going to make a comment to that effect but was too lazy.

Same here. Verbatim.

Jacob '06

Josh '99

Flyers1037
Cherry talking about how he plays the game "right".

Read: He is not European.

I was going to make a comment to that effect but was too lazy.

Lazy like a European hockey player, circling back in the neutral zone with the puck instead of dumping it in and taking the hit like a man.

Josh '99

Jacob '06

Josh '99

Flyers1037
Cherry talking about how he plays the game "right".

Read: He is not European.

I was going to make a comment to that effect but was too lazy.

Lazy like a European hockey player, circling back in the neutral zone with the puck instead of dumping it in and taking the hit like a man.

And cheating by with dirty stick work.

Sawada was sent back to the AHL today to make room for the Avery recall waiver move. Even though Avery will never play for Dallas again they still need to make room so Ray was sent to Manitoba. Word is, he's still on the team plane headed to San Jose for the game tomorrow and might play on their road trip this week still.

Psst... it's March...

O'Byrne called up to the Habs today

[canadiens.nhl.com]