New NHL/ Rookies in the NHL

bjackets · Post by **bjackets** » Fri Nov 18, 2005 10:53 am

Men,

I'm really loving the new NHL and I'm especially excited about all the young talent we're getting to see. Lots of very electric young players. I got to see two of the best within the last week on High Def and WOW these guys are even better than advertised.

First was Alexander Ovechkin (Capitols). With the capitols trailing by 1 goal with 3 minutes left to play, Ovechkin would just not be denied with relentless offensive pressure and tied the game up. He then scored the the game winning goal in a shoot out. I've watched this guy a few times this year and will continue to do so every chance I get. He is worth the price of admission himself. He's a lot better than I would have ever guessed.

Secondly, I've seen Crosby a couple times and what a treat he's been as well. Just the other night in a real intrastate rivalry dogfight with Philly, Crosby takes a nasty hit and facial by bad boy intimidator Kevin Hatcher that forces Crosby to the dressing room in the 3rd period. Crosby returns to the ice only to get a beautiful breakaway game winning goal in OT. Sweet justice! What great way to step up to the plate and send a message.

There are lots of other great young players kicking ass as well. It's a great time to be an NHL fan.

ohiost

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Fri Nov 18, 2005 11:13 am

Agreed.

Someone from DSP -- sorry, too lazy to look! -- mentioned Phaneuf from Calgary as a good rookie, and I agree.

I also like defenseman Danny Syvret, who was recalled to Edmonton when Marc-Andre Bergeron was hurt but has stuck with the team even after Bergeron returned.

Stavos in Colorado, Steen in Toronto and Vorobiev in Chicago also have made nice impacts as rookies. And what about LaBarbera in goal for L.A.? He's good! Hard to overlook Richards and Carter in Philly, either.

And I must agree with Don Cherry about Kyle Wellwood in Toronto -- Pat Quinn needs to give this rookie more ice time. Every time he's on the ice, good things seem to happen for the Leafs.

GREAT win for the Oil last night against Detroit, second victory in two games against the Wings this season.

McGrattan fought again last night for Ottawa. That guy is nuts -- he brawls almost every game and is the new heavyweight champ of the NHL.

Take care,
PK

Feanor · Post by **Feanor** » Fri Nov 18, 2005 3:30 pm

As pk500 said, the Flyers have two good rookies in Carter and Richards. Carter had a slow start to the season due to having mono this summer. I had mono in 2002 when I was 24 and it's really awful. I didn't eat for a week and lost 15 pounds.

Crosby will be a better player once he gets his first suspension for diving which can't be too far away now.

Gangrel · Post by **Gangrel** » Fri Nov 18, 2005 3:47 pm

pk500 wrote: McGrattan fought again last night for Ottawa. That guy is nuts -- he brawls almost every game and is the new heavyweight champ of the NHL.

Take care,
PK

I was at the Sens game last night. It was a doozy of a fight! Started off slow, then he popped Cairns (i think) and Cairns started flailing around and fell to the ice.

It was also scary to see the Ottawa offense dormant for 2 periods (though Luongo was AWESOME) and then bang, 4 goals in the 3rd.

The rest of the league should be scared.........

Diablo25 · Post by **Diablo25** » Fri Nov 18, 2005 3:47 pm

I love Richards on the Flyers...he is gonna be captain of that team someday. Carter is also solid but I really think Richards is gonna be the soul of the team 2 or 3 years from now.

bjackets · Post by **bjackets** » Fri Nov 18, 2005 3:50 pm

I've seen the guys from Philly and Calgary but haven't had the cahnce to see a lot of the other guys PK mentioned although I've seen them mentioned in stuff I read. Looking forward to checking those guys out.

PK,

That was a very big victory for The Oil. I was looking at the standings and they are hanging in there. Haven't had a chance to see them yet this year but from what I gather they are full of speed which is a huge plus these days. (Damn I knew I shoud have gotten Open Ice, might still sign up)

Any chance they can keep it together the rest of the way and make it to the playoffs?

ohiost

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Fri Nov 18, 2005 4:15 pm

pk500 wrote:Agreed.

Someone from DSP -- sorry, too lazy to look! -- mentioned Phaneuf from Calgary as a good rookie, and I agree.

Take care,
PK

That was me, and this guy impressed me so much after watching him only a few games back. He's a typical Suter player, aggresive, strong, not afraid to get his nose dirty and he can HIT. He's logging already an average of 20 minutes per game, and with him CAL seems to be on a roll lately, unlike DET.

Can't wait to watch WAS-PIT coming up, (I got my newborn on 1 hand now) anyone can check? I mean since when we root to watch 2 bad teams going at each other.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Fri Nov 18, 2005 4:44 pm

bjackets wrote:Any chance they can keep it together the rest of the way and make it to the playoffs?

Absolutely. Four solid but not spectacular forward lines and two solid defensive pairings. Goalie still remains the big question mark.

Take care,
PK

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Fri Nov 18, 2005 4:46 pm

10spro wrote:Can't wait to watch WAS-PIT coming up, (I got my newborn on 1 hand now) anyone can check? I mean since when we root to watch 2 bad teams going at each other.

Washington at Pittsburgh, Tuesday, Nov. 22, 7:30 p.m. (EST).

Take care,
PK

bjackets · Post by **bjackets** » Fri Nov 18, 2005 6:22 pm

Goalie still remains the big question mark.

Take care,
PK[/quote]

Boy,

Isn't it nerve wracking when you don't know what you are going to get from nite to nite in net?

The Jackets suffer from that AND the fact that they can't score to save their ass. Lethal combination that may end up costing McClean his job. I really do like him and I'm in the minority right now here in Columbus, but I have to admit he has been the king of making excuses the last 2 years.

ohiost

Leebo33 · Post by **Leebo33** » Fri Nov 18, 2005 9:43 pm

Feanor wrote:Crosby will be a better player once he gets his first suspension for diving which can't be too far away now.

Ah, Flyer fans crying about diving from a Penguins superstar player. How jealous are you guys going to be when this kid wins his Cups just like Mario and Jagr did? I just hope he's in Pittsburgh when it happens

It seems kind of silly to make a diving comment right after a player gets bashed in the face a couple times without a call.

Feanor · Post by **Feanor** » Fri Nov 18, 2005 11:20 pm

The guy's been diving all season, not just in one game.

Leebo33 · Post by **Leebo33** » Sat Nov 19, 2005 9:48 am

Feanor wrote:The guy's been diving all season, not just in one game.

All I'm saying is if the Flyers win the Crosby lottery, those aren't considered dives.

It's the same thing in basketball. Allen Iverson is probably the biggest "diver" in pro basketball. But you know what? He gets the s*** beat out of him a lot of times when they *don't* make a call...plus he's on "my" team

snaz16 · Post by **snaz16** » Sat Nov 19, 2005 10:45 am

And of course I have to chime in about the Lightning. Grahme actually looked good in net Thurs against the Islanders. And Marty St Louis,thought to be out 2 to 4 weeks with a broken finger,is back after 1 game,and scores the winning goal

Its still early,the Bolts will be a factor this season.

Feanor · Post by **Feanor** » Sat Nov 19, 2005 8:26 pm

Leebo33 wrote:
Feanor wrote:The guy's been diving all season, not just in one game.
All I'm saying is if the Flyers win the Crosby lottery, those aren't considered dives.

It's the same thing in basketball. Allen Iverson is probably the biggest "diver" in pro basketball. But you know what? He gets the s*** beat out of him a lot of times when they *don't* make a call...plus he's on "my" team

I think you're a little wrong in that Bob Clarke is still the Flyers GM, and he wouldn't let Crosby dive as much as some other teams would.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Sat Nov 19, 2005 9:44 pm

Feanor wrote:I think you're a little wrong in that Bob Clarke is still the Flyers GM, and he wouldn't let Crosby dive as much as some other teams would.

Come on, Feanor. If Crosby had 24 points after 20 games for Philly, Clarke would let him do f*cking Swan Lake on the ice if he wanted.

Take care,
PK

Sully · Post by **Sully** » Sat Nov 19, 2005 10:07 pm

pk500 wrote:
Feanor wrote:I think you're a little wrong in that Bob Clarke is still the Flyers GM, and he wouldn't let Crosby dive as much as some other teams would.
Come on, Feanor. If Crosby had 24 points after 20 games for Philly, Clarke would let him do f*cking Swan Lake on the ice if he wanted.

Take care,
PK

If we only had Crosby...

If anyone is watching tonight's game, there's no denying that Crosby took a dive on the Rathje penalty in the 2nd period. Forsberg even had some words with the kid.

Naples39 · Post by **Naples39** » Sat Nov 19, 2005 10:18 pm

Crosby better watch it because his reputation for diving stretches beyond Philadelphia. Leebo is right to some extent though, because Crosby surely is learning from an old hand at the art, Mark Recchi.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Sat Nov 19, 2005 10:26 pm

Naples39 wrote:Crosby better watch it because his reputation for diving stretches beyond Philadelphia. Leebo is right to some extent though, because Crosby surely is learning from an old hand at the art, Mark Recchi.

Crosby also knows he can get away with it until the refs call it. Any player who takes a run at Sid the Kid for diving will get his head ripped off on the next shift by one of Crosby's teammates.

Take care,
PK

ZXLT · Post by **ZXLT** » Sat Nov 19, 2005 10:30 pm

Sully wrote:
pk500 wrote:
Feanor wrote:I think you're a little wrong in that Bob Clarke is still the Flyers GM, and he wouldn't let Crosby dive as much as some other teams would.
Come on, Feanor. If Crosby had 24 points after 20 games for Philly, Clarke would let him do f*cking Swan Lake on the ice if he wanted.

Take care,
PK
If we only had Crosby...
If anyone is watching tonight's game, there's no denying that Crosby took a dive on the Rathje penalty in the 2nd period. Forsberg even had some words with the kid.

Yes, that was a blatant dive. And then he got in Forsberg's face.

Sully · Post by **Sully** » Sat Nov 19, 2005 10:57 pm

Crosby, Richards, and Carter all scored tonight. Man, just imagine this rivalry in 5 years...

Hopefully the Penguins are still in Pittsburgh.

Leebo33 · Post by **Leebo33** » Sat Nov 19, 2005 11:08 pm

Naples39 wrote:Crosby better watch it because his reputation for diving stretches beyond Philadelphia.

So what? What's the worst thing that is going to happen to him? I heard the same thing about Mario for years, especially in his early years, and also Jagr and they both ended up with 2 rings and countless awards.

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Sat Nov 19, 2005 11:25 pm

Hey, when it comes to acting in Hockey every forward has done it at one point or the other including the early years of #99, but perhaps it wasn't noticed as much because you had an enforcer next to you if you touched the star players. Now it's a matter of who can sell the job of diving better to the refs.

Leebo33 · Post by **Leebo33** » Sun Nov 20, 2005 12:22 am

10spro wrote:Hey, when it comes to acting in Hockey every forward has done it at one point or the other including the early years of #99, but perhaps it wasn't noticed as much because you had an enforcer next to you if you touched the star players. Now it's a matter of who can sell the job of diving better to the refs.

True. Plus, I guarantee it evens out. For every dive there is at least one penalty that isn't called on a superstar player. I haven't been able to watch the last couple Flyers/Pens games in their entirety, but I remember at least a few instances where Crosby received an obvious high stick or other infraction that wasn't called.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Sun Nov 20, 2005 12:43 am

10spro wrote:Hey, when it comes to acting in Hockey every forward has done it at one point or the other including the early years of #99, but perhaps it wasn't noticed as much because you had an enforcer next to you if you touched the star players. Now it's a matter of who can sell the job of diving better to the refs.

So true about Gretz. Nobody hit him, and he got away with stuff because guys like Semenko, McSorley and McClelland would beat the f*cking tar out of anyone who tried to nail 99. Gretz's uncanny lateral movement helped, too ...

Take care,
PK