Is the NHL the No Humor League? The Never-mind Hockey League? The Nope! Ha! League?
As a series of trades took fan vote Pacific Division Captain John Scott from the Arizona Coyotes to the Montreal Canadiens, where he was promptly sent to their AHL affiliate–the St. John’s IceCaps in Newfoundland–his eligibility for All-Star weekend has come into question.
The All-Star Game is really special to me this year. Over the summer I moved to somewhat of a hockey desert. I could rejoice in two games about three hours away, where the home team would do everything possible to keep me out, even as a resident of their state.
But, as a passionate hockey fan and hockey writer, news that the NHL approved my media credentials for All-Star weekend was like the universe rewarding me for my patience.
I’ll admit, I’m the kind of hockey fan that “hardcore” hockey fans hate. I like watching players juke through defensemen, fake a shot, then go top-shelf while everyone’s looking the other way. I like drop-passes. I live for short-handed breakaways.
Even better, I love when they mic players for games. The Road to the Winter Classic was addicting. Give me chirps. Give me elaborate, ridiculous celebrations. I’m bummed I missed Artem Anisimov‘s rifle celly and I think it’s lame he was punished. I love shootouts. There. I said it. I. Love. Shootouts.
All-Star Weekend is made for people like me. It’s entertaining. It’s over-the-top. It’s silly.
It is for the fans.
Or, at least, it should be.
This year, the NHL first did away with the fantasy draft, which was pretty solid entertainment as the fellas kicked back some drinks and picked teams on TV. Then, they turned the game into a three-on-three mini-tournament. Whatever. Fine. At least they kept the fan vote, right?
And so, fans voted. The only rules were a 10 vote per day limit–fans weren’t supplied with a limited roster to choose from. They were given freedom to select any four players, as long it was one per division.
An internet campaign pushed gritty grinder John Scott into the lead for the Pacific Division. The NHL stopped promoting the fan vote.
Rumors by way of The Sporting News’ Bob McKenzie claim both the NHL and the Coyotes encouraged Scott to drop out of the game, but still attend the festivities with his family. He declined.
John Scott was previously asked by both NHL and Arizona Coyotes to bow out of NHL All-Star Game. He refused. Trade likely takes care of that
Instead, he and his family–which includes his wife who is pregnant with twins due All-Star weekend–embraced his captainhood. So, it appears, the NHL acting like the mafia or the scary stereotypical Russian government we hear about acted on its own. They “disappeared” him. They send him to the NHL’s equivalent of Siberia: the IceCaps.
McKenzie said:
I think [Scott] feels like there’s no question in his mind—and I, really, it strains the levels of credulity to think otherwise—his inclusion in this trade, in my mind, was absolutely orchestrated to solve the All-Star issue for the league.
Sure, NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly says no decisions have been made yet regarding Scott and the All-Star festivities.
It’s just mighty coincidental timing that the hosting team, Nashville, who already went on record saying they don’t want him there, initiated a three-team trade with Scott’s team, Arizona, that ultimately sends him to another division and drops him to the AHL.
What exactly has Scott done to deserve this banishment? He’s dropped gloves and laid some hits. But, he’s no Raffi Torres.
Scott has an engineering degree from Michigan Tech, where he was a defenseman. He didn’t take on the enforcer role until he started playing professionally–and he’s been a pro for 11 years.
Sure, he’s only tallied 11 NHL points during that time, but I’m certain plenty of teammates would credit him for having their backs over the years–and dishing out large portions of his small salary as punishment for doing so.
(Two of those fines were for clocking Tim Jackman…and really, who hasn’t wanted to do that?)
He knew his role on the ice. But, when he was able to score, he took pride in it with the kind of humor NHL players and fans appreciate–like after his first goal last season.
Former Sharks teammate Joe Pavelski told Mercury News that NHLers will be disappointed if Scott is taken out of the festivities.
“I think a lot of guys would be disappointed if he doesn’t end up going, which is what it kind of looks like,” Pavelski said. “It’s one of those situations you don’t really know what happened. But I’m sure the guys in Phoenix appreciated him when he was there and the guys here, being his teammate, enjoyed him and were looking forward to him being in the All-Star Game.”
Pavelski would be a potential replacement captain, but said, “I think we wanted Johnny Scott to the captain.”
All-Star weekend gives Scott, a father of two with two more children on the way, a chance at $90,000–the winning team gets $1 million. By pushing him out of the game, the NHL is revoking that financial opportunity from a player who doesn’t have a boast-worthy league salary.
If the NHL chooses to drop Scott, they’ll be setting a new precedent. Not only are they letting down Scott and fans who voted diligently for their player of choice, they’re ignoring previous policy.
In 1990, Bernie Nicholls was traded from the Los Angeles Kings in the Campbell Conference to the New York Rangers in the Wales Conference and was still about to play for the Campbell team. In 2003, Sandis Ozolinsh was traded from the Eastern Conference Florida Panthers to the Western Conference Anaheim Ducks, but still represented the Eastern Conference for the All-Star Game.
And, look, the league has already shown they aren’t picking the best players in the division for each position. Selecting Pekka Rinne as the Central Division goalie is evidence of this. He has a .902 save percentage, which is 41st in the league–and a 2.57 goals-against average, which puts him at 29th. He’s had two shutouts. Corey Crawford, meanwhile, has a league-topping six shutouts, is sixth place with a .929 save percentage, and is 10th with a 2.17 goals-against average. Yeah, yeah, they’re giving the hosting team a perk. But, given their treatment of Scott right now, they look like the National Hypocrite League.
Nashville got what it wanted with a sub-par goalie in the Central Division’s All-Star team. Now, give the fans what they want, what they voted for, fair-and-square: Captain John Scott.
The United States shut out Team Sweden yesterday with a score of 4-0 to advance to the Finals and defend their 2015 Championship run… and guess who will be there to try and spoil their perfect tournament?
Three guesses and the first two don’t count…
That’s right, Team Canada also clinched a berth in tonight’s coveted gold medal game with a 4-0 shutout victory of their own against Russia. It should really come as no surprise; this is the 9th year running of the International Ice Hockey Federation World Women’s Under-18 Championships, and there hasn’t been a single Finals match-up that didn’t feature this classic showdown. Both the United States and Canada have 4 gold and 4 silver medals apiece in the last 8 years, so today’s game will break the tie.
These two teams already faced off earlier this week, with Team USA coming off much better – on paper anyway. You can never predict how these games will go based on previous success in the game that “doesn’t really count.” I’ve seen American squads punish their rivals in the round robin only to lose in heartbreaking fashion when the bling is on the line. The Canadians are the only team to register a (single) goal against Team USA this year, and they might have scored more had they not gotten into so much penalty trouble.
The United States and Canada are clearly at the top of the hockey world, especially when it comes to the women’s game. Any games these two played against other countries this tournament resulted in decisive victories, even in the Semifinal round. Perhaps, one day soon, women’s hockey will grow even more beyond our North American borders and we will have more competition at the top, but for now, the Semifinals were a just microcosm of the discrepancy between Team USA, Canada, and everyone else.
USA shuts out Sweden 4-0 in Semifinal match-up
Natalie Heising got the first goal of the game at 6:24 in the 1st after a turnover by Sweden in their own zone,
I remember coming out on my shift, saw the play develop, and tried to get in the passing lane. I managed to pick it off, and there was that moment where everything seemed to stop, and I realized I was alone with the goalie, and I put it away.
It would eventually turn out to be the game-winning goal, as the Americans earned a shutout on the back of goaltender Beth Larcom. She wasn’t very busy, however, as the Americans out-shot the Swedes by a whopping 43-9. Sweden netminder Ellen Jonsson was superb in the loss, stopping 39 shots and earning an incredible .907 save percentage.
Turnovers proved to be the downfall of the Swedish side when Team USA doubled their lead with a short-handed goal. The speed of Sydney Brodt was too much for Sweden as she skated in and scored on a backhander through Jonsson’s 5-hole at 13:10. But it wasn’t enough to close out the period up 2-0, and with only 10 seconds remaining in the 2nd, Emily Oden roofed a pass from Jesse Compher over Jonsson’s shoulder to make it 3-0.
Taylor Heise put the icing on the cake at 6:30 of the 3rd with a gorgeous wraparound goal, USA’s 4th of the game and 20th of the tournament.
Not to be outdone, Team Canada had a decisive victory of their own in their re-match against Russia, setting up an eerily symmetrical bracket. You can bet they’ll want revenge after losing to the Americans in the Preliminary round. And if that game’s attendance was any indication of how things will go today, you can also bet the barn in St. Catharine’s is going to be packed with maple leaf-clad supporters, heightening the atmosphere of what already promises to be a fierce battle between bitter rivals.
For those interested in watching what is sure to be a fiery game, you can catch it streaming live on NHL.com tonight at 7:30 PM Eastern.
NEW YORK (Jan. 14, 2016) – New Jersey Devils forward Jordin Tootoo has been fined $2,000 as supplementary discipline under NHL Rule 64 (Diving/Embellishment), the National Hockey League announced today.
Jordin Tootoo
NHL Rule 64 is designed to bring attention to and more seriously penalize players (and teams) who repeatedly dive and embellish in an attempt to draw penalties. Fines are assessed to players and head coaches on a graduated scale outlined below:
* For Head Coach, each FINE issued to a player on his Club counts toward total.
Citations are issued by the National Hockey League Hockey Operations Department, which tracks all games, logs all penalties for diving or embellishment and flags all plays not called on the ice that in its opinion were deserving of such a penalty. A Citation is issued once Hockey Operations, through its internal deliberations, is convinced that a player warrants sanction.
Tootoo was issued a Warning following an incident flagged by NHL Hockey Operations during NHL Game No. 75 at New York Rangers on Oct. 18. His second citation, which triggered the $2,000 fine, was issued for an
incident at 9:39 of the third period during NHL Game No. 583 against Detroit on Jan. 4.
The money goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.
When the puck dropped on Sunday at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center, the Providence Bruins were on their third game in three nights. Such is the life of the hockey player in the AHL. They are often playing all their games from Friday to Sunday. However, that third game sometimes shows the tired legs of players who have already given their all in two previous physical matches, which is often the case when Providence plays the Springfield Falcons.
Having beat the Bridgeport Sound Tigers on Friday night at “the Dunk” the PBruins traveled to Springfield for the first of the home-and-home series with one of their closest rivals. The two teams stare across at each other 14 times in the 2015-16 regular season. And when it comes to home-and-home bouts, there are definitely memories.
“Yeah, you don’t forget some of the hits you took last night or some of the battles you had. I mean, we see these guys a lot and we know that we’re going to continue to see them a lot in the future,” PBruins captain, Tommy Cross said. “So we try to make the right plays and be hard on them and you definitely don’t forgive some stuff overnight, so it kind of boils over.”
As the first period drew to a close, Springfield had outshot Providence 13-8, but Malcolm Subban kept the Falcons off the scoreboard. With the exception of a crosschecking on Frankie Simonelli, the teams remained disciplined until the last minute of the period when a tussle between Falcon Phil Lane and PBruin Anthony Camara resulted in roughing calls, with an extra two for Lane. This afforded Providence a power play that they would take into the second period, though they would not be able to capitalize on it.
Austin Czarnik (Photo: Alan Sullivan)
It would not be until 10:08 of the middle frame that either team would find the back of the net, and it would be off the stick of PBruin Austin Czarnik, with assists from Brandon DeFazio and Alexander Khokhlachev. Czarnik struck just 12 seconds into the power play from a hooking call on Ross Mauermann—who with the Providence College Friars won the NCAA Frozen Four in 2015, when Providence’s Noel Acciari was friend instead of foe.
“I think it started during intermission; [Butch Cassidy] came in and said ‘Hey we need to push ourselves,’ that we were playing too soft. And I think guys took that to heart and you know we went out there second period, picked it up, and third period we just hung with it,” Czarnik said after the game. “And obviously in overtime, big four-on-three kill, which was huge for us. It’s a good time for them to capitalize, but we were able to hang in there and stick it out and then able to get the shootout goal.”
The Falcons would not back down and would respond with their own goal just 2:02 later in the period, at even-strength, when Jordan Swzarz got his third on the season assisted by Justin Hache and Christian Thomas. The score would remain knotted at one throughout the remainder of regulation despite the Falcons consistently outshooting Providence 35-29.
The three-on-three overtime became a four-on-three power play for the Falcons with Acciari—who appears to be more comfortable in his game since returning on Sunday, January 3, from a broken jaw —getting whistled for slashing 3:33 into the extra inning.
Ultimately it would come down to a shootout with Subban denying all three of Springfield’s shooters and Providence’s Khokhlachev getting it past Niklas Treutle.
There was a lot of north and south play with little results, which certainly contributed to the low scoring game, but the power play has been improving for Providence, which is certainly something that head coach Cassidy is pleased with. He is also pleased with Acciari’s progress since returning, though the rookie is still sporting a full-face shield while his jaw continues to heal.
“I thought he was real rusty last Sunday. Yesterday was his best game, he was around the puck and scored that empty net goal, but he had some looks,” Cassidy said postgame. “Kind of a two-on-one, like he did today, a couple of shots around the front of the net. So he’s getting back to getting his chances from being heavy and hard in front of the net.”
Providence will be back in action this weekend with three home games in four days. They will take on the Albany Devils of the North Division on Friday, Jan. 15, at 7:05pm. After having Saturday off, they will have two matinees on Sunday, Jan. 17, against the Portland Pirates at 3:05 and then on Monday, Jan. 18, for the Martin Luther King holiday, against the Hartford Wolf Pack, also at 305.
ARLINGTON, Va. – The Washington Capitals will honor captain Alex Ovechkin for becoming the fifth-fastest player in NHL history to reach the 500-goal milestone with a special pre-game ceremony on Thursday, Jan. 14, when the Capitals host the Vancouver Canucks at Verizon Center. The ceremony is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.
Capitals owner Ted Leonsis, president Dick Patrick and general manager Brian MacLellan will join Ovechkin’s parents, Mikhail and Tatyana, and fiancé Nastya Shubskaya, on the ice to honor Ovechkin. The Capitals organization will present Ovechkin with a special gift to commemorate his achievement.
Ovechkin became the fifth-fastest player in NHL history to score 500 goals on Sunday, scoring his 500th NHL/Capitals goal in the second period against the Ottawa Senators at Verizon Center. Ovechkin scored his 500th career goal in his 801st NHL game, trailing Wayne Gretzky (575 games), Mario Lemieux (605), Mike Bossy (647) and Brett Hull (693) as the fastest to reach the 500-goal plateau.
Since entering the NHL at the beginning of the 2005-06 season, Ovechkin leads the NHL in goals (501), points (934), power-play goals (185), power-play points (367) and game-winning goals (85). In addition, Ovechkin leads the NHL in goals since 2001-02 despite beginning his NHL career in 2005. He is the only player in the NHL to score 30 or more goals in each season since 2005-06 and his average of 0.625 goals per game is fourth in NHL history (minimum: 300 games played), trailing only Bossy (0.762), Cy Denneny (0.755) and Lemieux (0.754).
PLYMOUTH,Mich. – USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program recently unveiled its specialty jersey design for Star Wars Night, scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 30, at USA Hockey Arena. The game will pit the U.S. National Under-18 Team against the Green Bay Gamblers of the United States Hockey League.
The jerseys will be auctioned off online at the NHL Auctions page. Bidding will commence onThursday, Feb. 4, and end on Thursday, Feb. 25, at 9 p.m. EST. Proceeds will benefit C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Last year’s auction raised over $4,500 for the hospital.
“Fundraising efforts like Star Wars Night help our Child & Family Life team at C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital provide important programs for children and their families,” said Mott community relations coordinator Byron Myer. “We are grateful for USA Hockey’s continued support of Mott.”
Among the festivities planned for Star Wars Night are appearances by characters from the beloved film franchise and extended universe, as well as a ceremonial puck drop. The Under-18 Team will wear the specially designed jerseys throughout the game. Puck-drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. EST.
Tickets to the game are available at the USA Hockey Arena box office located at 14900 Beck Road in Plymouth, Michigan, or by calling (734) 453-8400. USA Hockey is also offering special tickets that when purchased, a portion goes directly back to the hospital. The game is also available via live stream at FASTHockey.com.
ABOUT THE NTDP: In 1996, USA Hockey launched a new initiative called the National Team Development Program, originally based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. In March of 2015 the USA Hockey Foundation purchased Compuware Arena (now USA Hockey Arena) in Plymouth, Michigan, which will become the new home of the NTDP for the 2015-16 season. The goal of this full-time development program is to prepare student-athletes under the age of 18 for participation on U.S. National Teams and success in their future hockey careers. Its efforts focus not only on high-caliber participation on the ice, but creating well-rounded individuals off the ice.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – PaulDeSandro (Colorado Springs, Colo.) has been named coordinator of adult hockey, it was announced today by USA Hockey.
DeSandro, who grew up playing youth hockey in Colorado Springs, Colorado, most recently worked at The Broadmoor where he assisted in planning and hosting executive tournaments and selling properties for various corporate groups.
In his position with USA Hockey, he will assist with planning, recruitment, development and on-site administration for USA Hockey’s adult hockey programs and events.
DeSandro, who officially began his duties at USA Hockey today, is a 2010 graduate of the University of Kansas.
Fiala, 19, was their 11th pick in the 2014 Draft and while having several issues earlier in the season (getting cut from the Preds training camp roster even though he did pretty decent the season before as a late-season call up), he turned down playing to represent his country, Switzerland, in the World Junior Championship in order to stay with Milwaukee and was rewarded even though Poile added:
Poile on recalling Fiala: "I would’ve been happy to leave Kevin in Milwaukee all year, but desperate times call for desperate measures."
Fiala currently leads the Admirals with 15 assists in 34 games.
Cody Bass, 29, played his first two games for the Predators in the beginning of December against Arizona and the Panthers respectively. He’s also played for the Senators and Columbus, totaling a combined 5 points and 71 penalty minutes.
Former Canuck and Sabre, Cody Hodgson, hasn’t been a very good pickup for the Predators with only 3 goals and 5 assists in 39 games.
Predators writer Jim Diamond has been doing a Haiku for every game this season (it’s really magical and you can follow it at the hashtag #haikuall82), and I feel his offering for the game against the Coyotes (who, for some reason, the Predators historically play very bad against) is a very good microcosm of what has been happening to the Preds in this half of the season after such a promising start:
Game 42 Haiku:
Swedish D pairing
Quality shots just not there
The ship is sinking
#haikuall82
The U.S. Women’s National Under-18 Team has been enjoying a great deal of success so far at the 2016 IIHF U18 Women’s World Championship. They’ve rolled past all three of their preliminary opponents – including a 4-1 victory over their bitter rivals and toughest opponent Team Canada on Monday, and shutouts against the Czech Republic and Russia last weekend.
Team USA clinched first place in their group Monday with the win over Canada, as they improved to 3-0-0-0, securing 9 points. Team Canada had been undefeated until USA handed them their first loss of the tournament; they dropped to 2-0-0-1 with 6 points, setting up a semifinal berth against Russia while the United States will face Sweden.
Monday’s game took place before a sellout, record crowd of over 4,000 spectators. The attendance at the USA vs. Canada game raised the total number of fans at the tournament to almost 22,000, shattering the previous attendance record of 17,480, set in 2012. And being in St. Catharines, Ontario, the crowd was not exactly Yankee-friendly,
“I was a bit nervous playing in front of so many people,” said Team USA forward Natalie Snodgrass, “There was a lot of red and white, but only the seats were blue.”
She didn’t let her nerves interfere with her game, however, as she was one of the goal scorers in the win.
The Canadian squad got themselves in some penalty trouble and the Americans were quick to capitalize, scoring 3 power play goals, while goalie Alex Gulstene made 33 saves including a pad stop on the penalty kill late in the 2nd period.
The Americans came out strong in the opening period, out-shooting Canada 16-4 and scoring on 2 out of 3 power plays. Sydney Brodt opened the scoring at 5:52, hammering the loose puck home from Madeline Wethington’s shot from the point. Rebecca Gilmore doubled the lead on a one-timer that would eventually be the game-winning goal. She also would go on to score an empty-net goal, putting the exclamation mark on the score sheet and earning herself Player of the Game honors.
Team Canada garnered a little more offense in the 2nd period, but once again penalty trouble kept them from making any headway. Snodgrass scored Team USA’s third power play goal at 6:06 on a pass from Taylor Wente.
The pro-Canada crowd finally had something to cheer for with only 3:26 left in the game when Julia Edgar got her team on the board, spoiling Gulstene’s shutout. The excitement was short-lived, however, after an errant pass sent the puck out of the USA zone while Canada tried to come from behind with the goalie pulled. Gilmore was too quick for the Canadians, and iced the game with her second tally of the match.
The Americans will face-off against Sweden today at 4:00 EST. It’s obvious that Team USA has benefited from training and practices, as evidenced by their unblemished record thus-far, but they credit their accomplishments to their off-ice camaraderie just as much as on-ice skill.
“The off-ice chemistry and character of a team is paramount to its success and we’re fortunate that this group has really come together and is playing hard for one another,” said head coach Joel Johnson,
“Everyone is in this together and individual accomplishments are team accomplishments. That will be one of our strengths as we move forward.”
Defenseman Gracie Ostertag added,
“Whether it’s sharing an encouraging word or making sure we are holding each other accountable to sharing a few laughs, this group of players has a special bond that helps the group be the best it can be.”
Live streaming of the tournament is provided by FASTHockey.com
Ovechkin became the fifth-fastest player in NHL history to score 500 goals 
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