Alumni in the Playoffs - 2010

From the ECAC website Vesce called up to the Sharks. Not to play, but to be ready in case he is needed. I wonder which pay scale he gets?

Jim Hyla
From the ECAC website Vesce called up to the Sharks. Not to play, but to be ready in case he is needed. I wonder which pay scale he gets?

It's my understanding that the players aren't paid in the playoffs. All of the salaries are based on the number of days in the regular season and are paid during the regular season. Somebody correct me if I'm wrong...

Also, Flyers win in 7!

Flyers1037

Jim Hyla
From the ECAC website Vesce called up to the Sharks. Not to play, but to be ready in case he is needed. I wonder which pay scale he gets?

It's my understanding that the players aren't paid in the playoffs. All of the salaries are based on the number of days in the regular season and are paid during the regular season. Somebody correct me if I'm wrong...

Also, Flyers win in 7!

Don't worry, they will.

Updates:

(Spoiler alert: It was a rough weekend for the Cornell alumni left in the playoffs, so if you don't like ready bad news, you should just skip this post.)

Douglas Murray and the Sharks lost a close game to the Blackhawks in the first game of the Western Conference finals. Jason Demers gave the Sharks an early lead with a power play goal, his first of the playoffs, midway through the first period. Unfortunately for the Sharks, Antti Niemi, the game's first star, shut the door on the Sharks after that, making 18 saves in the second period and another 14 in the third. Former Vermont Catamount Patrick Sharp tied the game in the second, and Dustin Byfuglien scored the winner in the third. Evgeni Nabokov made 38 saves in a losing effort for the Sharks. Murray was -1 (on the ice for the tying goal) with no shots, points or penalties. Game 2 will be played Tuesday night in San Jose.

Ryan O'Byrne was (perhaps fortunately) out of the lineup while his Canadiens took a 6-0 thumping last night at the hands of the Flyers. Six different players scored for Philadelphia; journeyman goalie Michael Leighton, who took over when Brian Boucher was injured during Philadelphia's last series, made 28 saves and was named the game's first star. Canadiens starter Jaroslav Halak was pulled midway through the second period after allowing four goals on the 14 shots he faced, and backup Carey Price allowed another two on 11 shots. The series continues with game 2 in Philadelphia on Tuesday night.

Raymond Sawada's Texas Stars are in a 2-0 hole against the Hamilton Bulldogs in the AHL's Western Conference finals. The Stars lost the first game 3-2 in overtime on Friday night; former Denver Pioneer Brock Trotter scored the winner on the power play just 14 seconds into the overtime, after the Stars were assessed a too many men on the ice penalty late in the third. Jamie Benn scored both goals for Texas. Sawada was -1 (on the ice for the game's only even-strength goal, scored by the Bulldogs late in the first period) with no points or penalties and two shots on goal. The Bulldogs extended their series lead to 2-0 with a 3-1 win yesterday afternoon. Trotter assisted on the Bulldogs' first two goals and was named the game's first star. Sawada was again -1 (on the ice for Hamilton's second goal) with no points, shots or penalties. The Stars will look to get back into the series with home games on Wednesday, Friday and (if necessary) Saturday nights.

Finally, the Cincinnati Cyclones lead the ECHL's Kelly Cup finals 2-0 after notching road wins against the Idaho Steelheads Friday and Saturday nights. On Friday, the Cyclones won 3-2; Evan Barlow (the game's second star) and Mark McCutcheon scored the Steelheads' goals less then four minutes apart in the first period, but nobody else was able to score for Idaho. Quinnipiac alum Reid Cashman tied the game for the Cyclones with a power play goal in the second, and Notre Dame alum Mark Van Guilder scored the winner, his second of the game, on the power play with just 49 seconds left in the third. The Steelheads were victimized by a late goal in the second game of the series on Saturday night; former Princeton Tiger Dustin Sproat scored the game's only goal with just 20 seconds left in the third period. 20-year-old Robert Mayer made 18 saves to record the shutout. Barlow was -1 with 3 shots on goal; McCutcheon had one shot on goal and three minor penalties. Doug Krantz was not in the Cyclones' lineup for either game. The series continues with games in Cincinnati tomorrow, Thursday and (if necessary) Friday nights.

I'm sure it's been noted before but, these updates are OUTSTANDING. Thank you very much for all the work, it is appreciated.

ECAC Website has article on P. C. Drouin leading the Ft. Wayne Komets to the IHL title with 2 goals.

Jim Hyla
ECAC Website has article on P. C. Drouin leading the Ft. Wayne Komets to the IHL title with 2 goals.

P.C. is still scoring a lot. How watered down is the IHL versus what it used to be? P.C. has 74, 98 and 82 points over the last three regular seasons with Fort Wayne. Well done P.C.

Jim Hyla
ECAC Website has article on P. C. Drouin leading the Ft. Wayne Komets to the IHL title with 2 goals.

Wow, did I ever miss him entirely. When I was looking through rosters to see who was still bouncing around the minors, I didn't even think to look that far back. Serves me right! Drouin led the Komets in scoring with 98 points as a 34-year-old in 2008-09, and was second on the team with 82 points this year; he also led the team with 18 points (5 G, 13 A) in 12 playoff games this season. Drouin and the Komets have actually won the IHL championship each of the last three years. His teammates there include Dartmouth alum and eLynah "favorite" Nick Boucher. Incidentally, Parris Duffus, who lives in Fort Wayne and is a firefighter, played 31 seconds as an emergency backup goalie for the Komets earlier this season; Duffus retired from professional hockey after his final season with the Komets in 2002-03.

To answer RatushnyFan's question about how "watered-down" the IHL is, it's not the same league as the IHL that existed until 2001 and played at about the same level as the AHL. Rather, it's a seven-team league with all teams located in Michigan, Indiana, Illinois and Ohio, and it's the same league that used to be called the UHL until 2007. It's a third-tier league, comparable to the CHL (where David McKee was playing this year) and probably a small step down from the ECHL.

The Habs have been justly punished again for sitting O'Byrne. Meanwhile DougLAS is touching a lot of puck early.

There is more to gritty Sharks defenceman Douglas Murray than meets the eye.

amerks127
There is more to gritty Sharks defenceman Douglas Murray than meets the eye.

Maybe he has sleep apnea?

Jim Hyla

amerks127
There is more to gritty Sharks defenceman Douglas Murray than meets the eye.

Maybe he has sleep apnea?

Don't know but I did want to say that Douglas was gong all out at the end of the game last night trying to get some offense going. He doesn't usually skate the puck into the zone but last night he was dragging the puck along the boards and knocking down people who got in his way. That is not the usual approach to offensive puck control but it seemed to be working. He helped generate some decent chances.

Roy 82

Jim Hyla

amerks127
There is more to gritty Sharks defenceman Douglas Murray than meets the eye.

Maybe he has sleep apnea?

Don't know but I did want to say that Douglas was gong all out at the end of the game last night trying to get some offense going. He doesn't usually skate the puck into the zone but last night he was dragging the puck along the boards and knocking down people who got in his way. That is not the usual approach to offensive puck control but it seemed to be working. He helped generate some decent chances.

I love watching him break out of the defensive zone. It often appears that he purposely waits an extra fraction of a second to get rid of the puck so that he can obliterate the forechecker who thinks he's going to get a shot in on Murray.

Roy 82

Jim Hyla

amerks127
There is more to gritty Sharks defenceman Douglas Murray than meets the eye.

Maybe he has sleep apnea?

Don't know but I did want to say that Douglas was gong all out at the end of the game last night trying to get some offense going. He doesn't usually skate the puck into the zone but last night he was dragging the puck along the boards and knocking down people who got in his way. That is not the usual approach to offensive puck control but it seemed to be working. He helped generate some decent chances.

You can say that again.

As per Darren Dreger, O'Byrne will be back in the lineup.

Updates:

The prospect of a Murray-O'Byrne matchup in the Stanley Cup finals aren't looking so hot right now. The Sharks lost their second consecutive home game to open up their series against the Blackhawks 4-2, and now trail the series 2-0. Murray was +1 (on the ice for Patrick Marleau's late goal to make it 4-2) with 3 shots on goal and a roughing minor (during which UND product Jonathan Toews scored Chicago's third goal). Games 3 and 4 are in Chicago tomorrow night and Sunday afternoon.

Ryan O'Byrne was again out of the lineup as the Canadiens also fell behind 2-0 in their series against the Flyers, losing 3-0 on Tuesday night. Ville Leino led the Flyers with two points (1 G, 1 A) and Michael Leighton continued his hot play, stopping all 30 shots he saw. The series heads to Montreal for games 3 and 4 tonight and Saturday afternoon.

Raymond Sawada and the Texas Stars needed overtime to do it, but cut the deficit in their AHL Western Conference finals to 2-1 with a 5-4 win over the Hamilton Bulldogs in Austin last night. The Stars led 3-1 late in the second period, and again 4-3 late in the third, but Ryan Russell's power play goal at 18:27 of the third tied it up before Michigan State alum Ethan Graham won the game for the Stars 2:13 into overtime. Graham's fellow Spartan Andrew Hutchinson led the Stars with three assists including the primary assist on the game-winner. Sawada had an assist on Warren Peters's goal that gave the Stars a 4-3 lead, and was +2 (he was also on the ice for the overtime goal). The Stars will have a chance to take a lead in the series with games in front of their home crowd tomorrow and Saturday nights.

Finally, the Idaho Steelheads hope to be on the comeback trail in the ECHL's Kelly Cup finals against the Cincinnati Cyclones; after losing the first two games at home, they closed the gap to one game with a 4-3 win in double overtime in Cincinnati on Tuesday night. The Steelheads looked set to win in regulation, until Notre Dame grad Mark Van Guilder tied the score with a power play goal with about three and a half minutes left to play. Evan Barlow was the game's first star, scoring two goals including the winner 48 seconds into the second overtime. Mark McCutcheon had an assist on St. Cloud State alum John Swanson's goal that opened the scoring 13:51 into the first period. Doug Krantz was once again out of the lineup for the Cyclones. Games 4 and 5 are in Cincinnati tonight and tomorrow night. (For what it's worth, though I should've mentioned this sooner, there's free online audio and video through B2 for all the ECHL playoff games.)

Trotsky
I'm sure it's been noted before but, these updates are OUTSTANDING. Thank you very much for all the work, it is appreciated.

My pleasure. I'm keeping tabs on these guys anyway, and this is about the outer limit of my sportswriting acumen, so the two seem to have dovetailed nicely.

Jim Hyla

Roy 82

Jim Hyla

amerks127
There is more to gritty Sharks defenceman Douglas Murray than meets the eye.

Maybe he has sleep apnea?

Don't know but I did want to say that Douglas was gong all out at the end of the game last night trying to get some offense going. He doesn't usually skate the puck into the zone but last night he was dragging the puck along the boards and knocking down people who got in his way. That is not the usual approach to offensive puck control but it seemed to be working. He helped generate some decent chances.

You can say that again.

Indeed.

He also took a few nice Freudian slappers near the end.

Matt Moulson tours the NHL offices and meets Gary.

[islanders.nhl.tv]

I should add that both McCutcheon and Barlow are among the top scorers in the ECHL playoffs. McCutcheon is tied with Cincinnati Cyclone/former Princeton Tiger Dustin Sproat for third with 18 points, one point back of Stockton Thunder/RPI grad Oren Eizenman. Barlow is one point back at 17, tied with Cincinnati Cyclone/former Niagara Purple Eagle Barret Ehgoetz and Stockton Thunder/Quinnipiac grad Jamie Bates. (There are a lot of former NCAA players in the ECHL, if you couldn't tell; the leading scorer in the playoffs, with 24 points, is Reading Royal Ryan Cruthers, who played two years for Army and then transferred to Robert Morris for his last two.) It's worth noting that McCutcheon and Barlow have played significantly fewer games than most of the other guys, though, because the Steelheads, who had the best regular season record in the league, had a bye into the second round of the playoffs. For instance, they've both played 13 games, whereas the two guys on the Cyclones have played 22.

ebilmes
Matt Moulson tours the NHL offices and meets Gary.

[islanders.nhl.tv]

Good stuff, thanks.

Meets Bettman -- "ah a fellow alum." Gary introduces him to a guy who went to Dartmouth.... "ah, I hate Dartmouth!"

ECAC writes that Jon Gleed has been signed by the Belfast Giants.

Updates:

Unfortunately it was a bit of a bloodbath for our guys this weekend, so you might want to avert your eyes if you don't want to read bad news...

Douglas Murray and the San Jose Sharks were swept by the Chicago Blackhawks in the Western Conference finals. The Hawks finished out the sweep by taking games 3 and 4 in Chicago, 3-2 in overtime on Friday night and 4-2 yesterday afternoon. Murray was -2 in Friday night's game, on the ice for both even-strength goals Chicago scored. Yesterday, he had an assist on Logan Couture's goal that opened the scoring, but was even overall; I think he might've been on the ice for Kris Versteeg's empty-netter that provided the final margin of victory. Murray looked to get more involved in the offense late in the game with the Sharks trying to tie it at 3, but was unable to sway the outcome. For what it's worth, while people will doubtless try to fit this into the "Sharks choke in the playoffs" narrative, I'm not sure I see it that way; the Hawks finished just one point behind the Sharks in the regular season, and got some phenomenal performances from goalie Antti Niemi (note: not the same guy as the soccer goalkeeper) in this series. And in the context of what the Caps and Bruins and Pens did in this postseason, it doesn't seem that bad; sometimes one good team just loses to another good team.

Speaking of the Caps and the Pens, the team that upset them is on the brink of being eliminated from the playoffs themselves; Ryan O'Byrne and the Canadiens trail 3-1 in their series against the Philadelphia Flyers. The Habs closed the deficit to one game with a 5-1 win last Thursday night, but were unable to knot the series on Saturday, losing 3-0. O'Byrne returned to the lineup for both games, but played just 1:34 in game 3 (an early penalty for putting the puck over the glass couldn't have helped his case), and 4:45 in game 4. The Flyers will attempt to close out the series in at home at the Wachovia Center tonight; if they're unable to do so, the series will return to Montreal for game 6 on Wednesday night.

Raymond Sawada and the Texas Stars trail 3-2 in their conference finals series against the Hamilton Bulldogs. The Stars evened the series with a 2-1 overtime win on Friday night, but the Bulldogs rebounded with a 3-0 win on Saturday night to bring the series back to Ontario with two chances to close out the Stars. Sawada was even with one shot on goal and two minors in Friday's penalty-filled contest; Jamie Benn scored both Stars goals, tying the game 24 seconds into the third period and winning it 5:52 into overtime. On Saturday, Sawada had the same individual stat line; Curtis Sanford made 23 saves to record the shutout for the Bulldogs, who were led offensively by a goal and an assist from David Desharnais. Game 6 is tonight in Hamilton; if the Stars can fight off elimination, the teams will play once more for all the marbles on Wednesday night.

Congratulations to the Cincinnati Cyclones on winning the Kelly Cup on Friday night, their second championship in the last three seasons. The Cyclones finished off the Idaho Steelheads with a 3-2 win on Thursday night and a 2-1 win on Friday. The Steelheads led game 4 1-0 and again 2-1 (with Evan Barlow assisting on Marty Flichel's second period power play goal to take the 2-1 lead), but Quinnipiac alum Reid Cashman knotted it at 2 with a power play goal 5:44 into the third period, and the Cyclones took the lead when Princeton alum Dustin Sproat scored just 53 seconds later. Sproat and Mercyhurst grad Brett Robinson netted for the Cyclones in the clincher, sandwiched around a tying goal for the Steelheads by Minnesota-Duluth alum Matt McKnight. Robert Mayer made 22 saves in goal to earn the victory; he and the Cyclones' other goalie, Jeremy Smith, were named co-MVPs of the ECHL playoffs. Doug Krantz, unfortunately, didn't dress for the Cyclones in any of the games in the finals; he's probably in this on-ice team celebration photo from the Cincinnati Enquirer, but I can't find him.

Well heck, why wait? Updates, a little from column A and a little from column B...

Ryan O'Byrne and the Canadiens were eliminated from the NHL playoffs by the Philadelphia Flyers earlier tonight, losing the Eastern Conference final in five games. Michael Leighton continued his successful playoff run, stopping 25 of 27 shots. Mike Richards led the Flyers with a shorthanded goal and two assists; Scott Gomez and BC alum Brian Gionta each had a goal and an assist for the Habs. O'Byrne, apparently in the lineup in name only as a seventh defenseman, saw just 2:24 of ice time, including 2:13 of PK and 0:11 even strength that presumably came at the tail end of a PK. Meanwhile, Marc-Andre Bergeron, who sucks, played 13 minutes. If Jacques Martin is still the coach of the Canadiens next year (which presumably he will be after an unexpectedly successful playoff run), then I hope O'Byrne finds his way to another team where he might get a better shot at more ice time. The Flyers will take on the Blackhawks in the Stanley Cup finals starting Saturday evening; the Hawks have home ice advantage for the series. Go Hawks.

In better news, Raymond Sawada and the Texas Stars beat the Hamilton Bulldogs in overtime earlier tonight; the win means that their AHL Western Conference final series will end with a decisive game 7 in Hamilton on Wednesday night, with the winner to face the Hershey Bears in the Calder Cup finals. Sawada had no points, shots or penalties and was -1. Aaron Gagnon was named the game's first star after he scored the winner 18:32 into the overtime period, but for me the real star of the game was Bemidji State alum Matt Climie, who made an incredible 51 saves in the Stars' victory. Jamie Benn and Minnesota State - Mankato alum Travis Morin each had two assists for the Stars. For what it's worth, Sawada's line has started the game for the Stars most of the series, so while he's not contributing a lot of offense, I'd guess he's playing an important role as a defensive forward. Go Stars, or else I'll be out of things to post in this thread.

Josh '99
Go Stars, or else I'll be out of things to post in this thread.

Early NHL camps begin when, June?

Josh, thanks for the updates. I have enjoyed them very much .

Trotsky

Josh '99
Go Stars, or else I'll be out of things to post in this thread.

Early NHL camps begin when, June?

I think they actually started about three weeks ago for the teams that missed the playoffs.

Updates! Or, I guess, "update" singular...

Raymond Sawada and the Texas Stars improbably came from behind to win their AHL Western Conference final series against the Hamilton Bulldogs, taking game 7 on the road in Hamilton by a 4-2 final score. The Bulldogs led 2-0 mid-2nd behind goals from David Desharnais and former Michigan Wolverine Max Pacioretty, but scored four unanswered goals starting at 14:38 of the second including three goals in the third period. Perttu Lindgren (who, incidentally, was Charlie Cook's teammate with Lukko Rauma in Finland last season) had assists on the Stars' first two goals and scored the third; Jamie Benn added an insurance tally with 1:27 to play in the third, his AHL-best 14th of the playoffs. Bemidji State grad Matt Climie made 41 saves in the victory, and kept the game within reach with 18 saves in a second period that saw the Stars outshot 19-6. Sawada was -1 (he was on the ice for Pacioretty's goal) and went to the box for tripping early in the third. The Stars are the first team since 2002 to reach the Calder Cup finals in their first year in the league. Fortunately, they'll have plenty of time to recover, as the finals don't start until next Thursday night; they'll take on the Hershey Bears, who wrapped up the Eastern Conference championship on Saturday.

From the Dallas Stars, via the ECAC website, article on Sawada. Also from the ECAC, Bern Reaches Agreement with Krueger.

Jim Hyla
Also from the ECAC, Bern Reaches Agreement with Krueger.

Too bad my last attempt to order SCB merch went so badly.

jtwcornell91

Jim Hyla
Also from the ECAC, Bern Reaches Agreement with Krueger.

Too bad my last attempt to order SCB merch went so badly.

I went to the Hershey-Texas Stars game tonight. The Stars won 2-1 and took a 1-0 lead in the series. Raymond Sawada was unimpressive. He didn't figure in the scoring. In fact, he often seemed to be lagging behind the play. Not the player that we watched for four years in Ithaca. I don't know if he has some nagging injury that slowed him. If the series goes 6 or 7 games, I hope to make one more game in Hershey.

Not in the playoffs, but from the ECAC website, Pokulok to play for Nethery in Germany.

Washington Capitals Twitter Feed
Ray Sawada puts the Stars ahead 3-1 late in the 1st on a nice 2 on 1 play. Long breakout pass beats a pinching Carlson at the red line.

I'm a little conflicted here. I'm a Bears fan since I'm from DC and they are, of course, the AHL affiliate of the Caps, but it's Sawada and seeing his name made me smile a little.

Edit: Not so conflicted now that the Bears have had 5 unanswered goals in a row.

Well, it's been a while, hasn't it?

Congratulations to the Chicago Blackhawks, who won their first Stanley Cup since 1961. Former NCAA players who lifted the Cup this week included Duncan Keith (Michigan State), Jonathan Toews (North Dakota), Patrick Sharp (Vermont), John Madden (Michigan), Jordan Hendry (Alaska-Fairbanks) and Adam Burish (Wisconsin).

In ongoing action, Raymond Sawada and the Texas Stars are tied with the Hershey Bears 2-2 in the Calder Cup finals. The Stars jumped out to a 2-0 series lead on the road, winning 2-1 and 4-3 in Hershey, but the Bears came back to tie the series with 6-3 and 4-2 wins in Texas. Sawada scored a goal, his third of the playoffs, in the Stars' game 3 loss, giving his team a 3-1 lead late in the first period before the Bears scored five unanswered to provide the final margin; overall for the series, he has the one point, and is -1 with 5 shots on goal and no penalties. Game 5 will be played tonight in Texas; the series will return to Pennsylvania for game 6 on Monday night and (if necessary) game 7 on Wednesday night.

Guess it fits in here. Was out on Thursday night with some friends and saw a bus escorted by police coming down the street. Jonathan Toews stuck his head out the window and I followed as they stopped two blocks down to go to some club with the Stanley Cup in tow. I snapped a few pics. It looks like the Blackhawks had a pretty good Thursday night.

Updates, part the last:

Last night the Hershey Bears won their second consecutive Calder Cup and third in the last five years, defeating Raymond Sawada's Texas Stars in six games. It seemed all but a foregone conclusion after the Bears won game 5 on the road last Friday night, 2-1 in overtime; they clinched the championship with a 4-0 win on home ice, in which they outshot the Stars 36-22 (including 17-4 in the first period). Sawada didn't have a point in either game. Chris Bourque, son of NHL Hall of Famer Ray Bourque and briefly a former Boston University player (if I recall correctly, supposedly he left because he couldn't handle the academics; how dumb must that kid be?), won the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy as the MVP of the Calder Cup playoffs; Bourque led the AHL in playoff scoring with 27 points (7 G, 20 A).

So I guess that's it for now. There's some sort of soccer tournament going on, you should go check that out.

Josh '99
Updates, part the last:

Last night the Hershey Bears won their second consecutive Calder Cup and third in the last five years, defeating Raymond Sawada's Texas Stars in six games. It seemed all but a foregone conclusion after the Bears won game 5 on the road last Friday night, 2-1 in overtime; they clinched the championship with a 4-0 win on home ice, in which they outshot the Stars 36-22 (including 17-4 in the first period). Sawada didn't have a point in either game. Chris Bourque, son of NHL Hall of Famer Ray Bourque and briefly a former Boston University player (if I recall correctly, supposedly he left because he couldn't handle the academics; how dumb must that kid be?), won the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy as the MVP of the Calder Cup playoffs; Bourque led the AHL in playoff scoring with 27 points (7 G, 20 A).

So I guess that's it for now. There's some sort of soccer tournament going on, you should go check that out.

Especially for those who worry that some of these no-nothing hockey (and lacrosse) decision makers are ruining the games with the changes they propose (and make). At least they don't change the hockey puck or lacrosse ball.In recent times that is.

Jim Hyla

Josh '99
Updates, part the last:

Last night the Hershey Bears won their second consecutive Calder Cup and third in the last five years, defeating Raymond Sawada's Texas Stars in six games. It seemed all but a foregone conclusion after the Bears won game 5 on the road last Friday night, 2-1 in overtime; they clinched the championship with a 4-0 win on home ice, in which they outshot the Stars 36-22 (including 17-4 in the first period). Sawada didn't have a point in either game. Chris Bourque, son of NHL Hall of Famer Ray Bourque and briefly a former Boston University player (if I recall correctly, supposedly he left because he couldn't handle the academics; how dumb must that kid be?), won the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy as the MVP of the Calder Cup playoffs; Bourque led the AHL in playoff scoring with 27 points (7 G, 20 A).

So I guess that's it for now. There's some sort of soccer tournament going on, you should go check that out.

Especially for those who worry that some of these no-nothing hockey (and lacrosse) decision makers are ruining the games with the changes they propose (and make). At least they don't change the hockey puck or lacrosse ball.In recent times that is.

Here's hoping RPI stays with the Thundersticks for the Big Red Freakout and doesn't give away vuvuzelas!

Rita

Here's hoping RPI stays with the Thundersticks for the Big Red Freakout and doesn't give away vuvuzelas!

Too late, I'm guessing. The page I'm linking here lists the "gift" (aka "bribe for showing up" ) for 1983 and 1987 as a "horn" and I can't think of any other americanized description for the now world-famous vuvuzelas.

[www.augenblick.org]

and note: "...this game is best known for producing the NCAA "RPI Rule" which prohibits artificial noisemakers from being used during a game. The 1987 game versus Brown, which saw horns given out as the gift, was the impetus for the rule."

From ECAC Website. Dallas Extends Qualifying Offer to Sawada.

Interesting blog by The Hockey News, via ECAC website, on Nieuwendyk's chances to get first round election to the Hall of Fame.

I think you have to appreciate face off % (and the enormous importance of winning face offs), shooting percentage and overall leadership to be an advocate for Joe's HOF candidacy. Others with similar/lower career numbers (per game) - Joe Mullen, Glenn Anderson, Cam Neely, Steve Shutt, Lanny MacDonald.

There's no way that Calgary or Dallas win the Stanley Cup without him. The Devils might have, but he certainly had a big impact before he was hurt. Injuries are part of the game but probably hurt him far more than most, he lost a lot of games/points from '94-'00 during the height of his career.

He would certainly fit in the HOF, I hope he makes it but I can understand the debate.

RatushnyFan
I think you have to appreciate face off % (and the enormous importance of winning face offs), shooting percentage and overall leadership to be an advocate for Joe's HOF candidacy. Others with similar/lower career numbers (per game) - Joe Mullen, Glenn Anderson, Cam Neely, Steve Shutt, Lanny MacDonald.

There's no way that Calgary or Dallas win the Stanley Cup without him. The Devils might have, but he certainly had a big impact before he was hurt. Injuries are part of the game but probably hurt him far more than most, he lost a lot of games/points from '94-'00 during the height of his career.

He would certainly fit in the HOF, I hope he makes it but I can understand the debate.

Fit? FIT?

He belongs, period. He's the 20th leading goal scorer in NHL history. That alone makes him worthy, before you even consider that he captained a Cup winner, won the Conn Smythe for a second team, then became the first player to win 3 cups with 3 different teams, won a gold medal, kicked the crap out of all comers at the faceoff dots for years, etc. The ONLY debate is whether he's first ballot or not, and that depends as much on who else is eligible as it does on his absolute merit.

RatushnyFan

There's no way that Calgary or Dallas win the Stanley Cup without him. The Devils might have, but he certainly had a big impact before he was hurt. Injuries are part of the game but probably hurt him far more than most, he lost a lot of games/points from '94-'00 during the height of his career.

Devils won the last five games in 2003 (game 7 against Ottawa and the entire finals) without him, but there's no way they win their first three against Ottawa and maybe even the previous round or two without him. Don't forget the previous year they lost to Carolina in the first round. The major offseason moves involved getting rid of Sykora for Friesen, McKay and Arnott (who's now back!) for Joe and Langenbrunner. Suffice to say all three acquisitions were way better than that loser Ilya Kovalchuk. Sorry got a little bit off topic, but the point is, the Devils wouldn't have gotten anywhere near the cup that year without Nieuwendyk.

But it's also irrelevant to the HOF discussion, since he's in by the numbers anyway.

Robb

RatushnyFan
I think you have to appreciate face off % (and the enormous importance of winning face offs), shooting percentage and overall leadership to be an advocate for Joe's HOF candidacy. Others with similar/lower career numbers (per game) - Joe Mullen, Glenn Anderson, Cam Neely, Steve Shutt, Lanny MacDonald.

There's no way that Calgary or Dallas win the Stanley Cup without him. The Devils might have, but he certainly had a big impact before he was hurt. Injuries are part of the game but probably hurt him far more than most, he lost a lot of games/points from '94-'00 during the height of his career.

He would certainly fit in the HOF, I hope he makes it but I can understand the debate.

Fit? FIT?

He belongs, period. He's the 20th leading goal scorer in NHL history. That alone makes him worthy, before you even consider that he captained a Cup winner, won the Conn Smythe for a second team, then became the first player to win 3 cups with 3 different teams, won a gold medal, kicked the crap out of all comers at the faceoff dots for years, etc. The ONLY debate is whether he's first ballot or not, and that depends as much on who else is eligible as it does on his absolute merit.

Technically Claude Lemieux did it first.

I hope he makes it too, but I don't know that the goals/numbers alone make it a slam dunk. What about Adam Oates, Doug Gilmour, Dino Ciccarelli, Dave Andreychuk, Phil Housley? Not that many Cups, maybe that is the distinction for most HOF votes, but these guys also had great numbers and careers. No Cup for Oates, but he was a phenomenal playermaker with approx 300 more points and more playoff points. Gilmour had a Cup with Joe in Calgary and had more goals and points than Joe during the playoffs that year. He also had more playoff points across his career including 63 points in two playoff seasons with Toronto in the early '90's where in my mind he willed those teams to respectable playoff performances, with some help but a lot was on his back. Off-ice come into play for Doug most likely, I don't really have a view on those issues.

I'm a big Devils fan, but I don't see Joe's role on the '02-'03 Devils the way that some here do. A good player, yes, but he was playing 15 minutes a game and not quite himself. They won the first two series four games to one and against Ottawa he had two goals and two assists in six games, a solid producer for sure but it wasn't like he was carrying the team that year (he had 9 points in 17 games).

Sure I think Joe's leadership and three Cups on three teams should put him over the top. We'll see, and I hope you're right. I'm just a little nervous perhaps.

Robb
The ONLY debate is whether he's first ballot or not, and that depends as much on who else is eligible as it does on his absolute merit.

My thought exactly.

It's official... Nieuwendyk is not in the HOF Class of 2010.

An opinion:

[starsblog.dallasnews.com]

Here's hoping Joe makes it next year. I really think that there should be a place in the HOF for Doug Gilmour and Adam Oates eventually as well. Glad to see there's a place for Cammi Granato and Angela James too. Most of all, probably for homer reasons, I was hoping that there would be a spot for Pat Burns this year. I take it the vote doesn't become public.....

RatushnyFan
I take it the vote doesn't become public.....

Not supposed to, no.

As the Dallas Morning News article points out, Joe is in some pretty good company in not being selected. Took Ciccarelli 8 years to get in and he had 600 goals. With 41 players now in the 500-goal club (compared to 28 ten years ago, 15 twenty years ago, and 8 thirty years ago), including a fair number of players who make this hockey fan think "very good but not all-time-great" (Pat Verbeek, Petr Bondra, Keith Tkachuk, Joe Mullen), I don't think you can simply say "500 goals, 1000 points, automatic induction" at this point like you might have in 1985. It parallels what's going on in baseball with 500 home runs pretty nicely.

Josh '99
"very good but not all-time-great" (Pat Verbeek, Petr Bondra, Keith Tkachuk, Joe Mullen)

Joe Mullen was inducted into the HOF in 2000. Joe Mullen Profile

A point a game player with 3 Stanley Cups. Actually played 182 games in the CHL post Boston College before he stuck in the NHL. Good analogy for Joe's candidacy as I mentioned in my original post. Would Joe Mullen make the hockey HOF in 2010?

Ryan Vesce has signed with Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod of the KHL

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