Canadian World Junior Hockey Camp Opens

[KenP]

If they feel he is stagnating at Cornell they may want to light the fire under him and throw him into tougher (professional) competition.

[RatushnyFan]

So it's the first since Lenny in '02 and prior to that Ryan Hughes in '92 and Manderville/Ratushny in both '90-'91 (The Big Red What refuses to list Ratushny even though I've emailed them........a travesty!!).  Great news for Cornell and Sasha.  Have we ever had a player close to making the U.S. world junior team?

[evilnaturedrobot]

[Q]Tub(a) Wrote:

 [Q2]evilnaturedrobot Wrote:

 [Q2]Robb Wrote:

 [Q2]calgARI '07 Wrote:  It will be very interesting to see how he performs when he comes back to Cornell which appears to be more in the future than most of us originally anticipated.[/Q]
Is there a word missing from this sentence?  If anything, I would think that this camp (whether he's picked for the team or not) makes it LESS likely that Pokulok will return to Cornell next fall.[/Q]
I don't think we really have to worry about loosing Sasha next year.  You have to remember that The Capitals had 13 picks in the 2004 draft, including 3 first rounders.  Of those 13 picks 3 have already been signed (Ovechkin and Bourque and Green) and 2 are NCAA guys who the caps will hold the rights too untill they graduate.  That leaves 8 guys that the capitals will have to sign this summer before they loose they're rights.  Remember that the NHL now limits each organization to 50 players under contract.  Finding 9 free spots isn't going to be easy.  It wouldn't really make sense for the Caps to sign Sasha when they're probably going to have trouble making room for all the guys the have to sign, especially when you consider that, up to now, he's had a disapointing season.  

Edit:  Now that I think about it, the new rule stipulating that a team can only hold a European's rights for 2 years might not apply to players drafted before the new CBA.  So the Capitals may no have to sign all those picks.  Regardless I think the Caps would still rather let Sasha play in Ithaca for free than pay him to take up a contract, considering the rediculous amount of picks that they've had over the last two years.



Edited 3 times. Last edit at 12/16/05 01:35PM by evilnaturedrobot.[/Q]
The Caps GM said he was going to try to sign Sasha right after the draft. They will probably make at least a moderate effort after this season to get him signed, and his appearance on the Canadian WJC team will only increase their desire.[/q]


Well, I always thought Mcphee was a bit of an idiot, and that would be another poor move.  Up until this camp Sasha has done nothing to show that he could handle the AHL.  It's a huge step from the ECAC to the AHL, just look at what's happened to Jessiman.  

[calgARI '07]

I think there would be a decent chance of Pokuluk signing and then going to the CHL a la Pelletier.

[Liz '05]

[Q]evilnaturedrobot Wrote:

It's a huge step from the ECAC to the AHL, just look at what's happened to Jessiman.  [/q]

Jessiman, in the AHL?  Ha!  I saw him play in Pensacola (ECHL) just this past Saturday, moseying around the ice for the most part - certainly nothing spectacular, despite the assist he got.

(edited to quote only pertinent stuff.)

[evilnaturedrobot]

[Q]Liz '05 Wrote:

 [Q2]evilnaturedrobot Wrote:

It's a huge step from the ECAC to the AHL, just look at what's happened to Jessiman.  [/Q]
Jessiman, in the AHL?  Ha!  I saw him play in Pensacola (ECHL) just this past Saturday, moseying around the ice for the most part - certainly nothing spectacular, despite the assist he got.

(edited to quote only pertinent stuff.)



Edited 1 times. Last edit at 12/16/05 04:00PM by Liz '05.[/q]


That was exactly my point.  He played about 8 games with the wolfpack and then got sent down.

[Liz '05]

[Q]evilnaturedrobot Wrote:

 [Q2]Liz '05 Wrote:

 [Q2]evilnaturedrobot Wrote:

It's a huge step from the ECAC to the AHL, just look at what's happened to Jessiman.  [/Q]
Jessiman, in the AHL?  Ha!  I saw him play in Pensacola (ECHL) just this past Saturday, moseying around the ice for the most part - certainly nothing spectacular, despite the assist he got.

(edited to quote only pertinent stuff.)



Edited 1 times. Last edit at 12/16/05 04:00PM by Liz '05.[/Q]
That was exactly my point.  He played about 8 games with the wolfpack and then got sent down.[/q]

Understood.  I meant to agree - just didn't do it very clearly.  Ooops.  I got distracted my the arrival of my jersey

[RichH]

[Q]RatushnyFan Wrote:

(The Big Red What refuses to list Ratushny even though I've emailed them........a travesty!!). [/q]

"Them."  Ha.  :-D

[RichH]

[Q]KenP Wrote:

 If they feel he is stagnating at Cornell they may want to light the fire under him and throw him into tougher (professional) competition.[/q]

Well, not only that, but I'm sure there's a desire to get highly valued draft picks under their own coaching and development umbrella.  Of course Coach Schafer doesn't want to see his players injured, but he certainly has a different agenda and different goals than Captials' management.  Wasington may want to work with Sasha to turn him into a player that will fit their puzzle rather than Cornell's, considering they've already invested a first-round pick and intend to invest money in him.  The risk of injury at the hands of someone outside the organization is another big concern.

[ursusminor]

[Q]RichH Wrote:

 [Q2]KenP Wrote:

 If they feel he is stagnating at Cornell they may want to light the fire under him and throw him into tougher (professional) competition.[/Q]
Well, not only that, but I'm sure there's a desire to get highly valued draft picks under their own coaching and development umbrella.  Of course Coach Schafer doesn't want to see his players injured, but he certainly has a different agenda and different goals than Captials' management.  [/q] The Caps have goals and an agenda? You could have fooled me? :-P

[2tkCornell]

Interesting News from Pre-Competition Camp:

-Bolland and Boyd (Forwards) went down with minor injuries and Bourdon (Defenseman) has the flu.

-Sutter called-up defenseman Logan Stephenson, who was one of the last players to be cut.

-Also, Sutter stated that if Stephenson plays well and someone's play drops off he has no hesitation to cut them.

[Doug '08]

I'm thrilled for Sasha and Cornell, this is obviously tremendous.  However like the rest of you, Sasha continues to baffle me.  Apparently he really impressed at the tryouts, something he hasn't done much of in NCAA play so far.  For me, he is perhaps the biggest individual disappointment thus far!  He has had sloppy puck handling, poor passing, and a timid, "scared" style of play all year if you ask me.

Again, lets hope this is the turning point for this kid!  Although I sure wish we had him in Florida... too bad he can't be in two places at once!

[2tkCornell]

So Logan Stephenson came into the pre-competition camp after the final cuts were made to replace a d-man that got the flu.  His purpose was supposedly only mainly to be a filler in practice.  However, I am watching the Czech Republic vs. Canada exhibition and there is a big controversy because Stephenson is still on the team and is playing in the game.  Brent Sutter said that the team is not set yet and Stephenson is still battling for a spot.  TSN announcers have said that it is between Pokulok and Stephenson for the last spot.  Bob McKenzie and James Duthie were just talking about it and they believe Sutter is going about this the wrong way.  Sutter is ruthless, and will win at any costs - he wants to create TENSION among the players to bring out their best.  However, McKenzie believes that Sutter should not have made final cuts and then bring Stephenson back.  Instead, he should not have made final cuts and left Stephenson in camp to create that tension.  Duthie stated that if he was Pokulok and was cut, he would be really bitter, and deservedly so.  Personally, I would be irrate.  This is not the way to conduct a camp - make a team and then bring someone in.  Hopefully, Pokulok makes it, but my respect for Sutter just went down a few notches.

Anyways, here are some things of note about Pokulok during the game:

(1) Jumped in on the rush, lost the puck and fell down, causing a 3-on-2 rush for the Czech's - but nothing materialized.

(2) Stephenson and Pokulok are paired together and both got beat on an offside two line pass by the Czechs.

(3) Pokulok had a big hit behind the Canadian net, took the puck off him, and quickly got it up the ice.

I'll keep you updated.

[jtwcornell91]

2tkCornell Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> This is not the way to conduct a camp -
> make a team and then bring someone in.

Didn't Herb Brooks do the same thing with the 1980 Olympic team?  Or was that just in the movie?

[2tkCornell]

Ya, but that was different though, because it was a really long camp (6 months).  It wasn't 6 days before the tournament starts.

Also, not sure if that actually happened or just in the movie - can someone confirm that?