The World's Tiniest Violin Plays Just For John Tavares

photo courtesy Jeff McIntosh

Poor John Tavares.

Because his birthday is September 20th, the young hockey standout won't qualify for the 2008 NHL Entry Draft---he'll be five days short of his 18th birthday on the league's qualification date of September 15th and therefore ineligible.

Sure he's still just 16, and yeah, it's conceivable that his development as a top-tier hockey player has barely even begun, but Tavares wants to be drafted NOW. He just can't handle the idea of having to wait like anyone else in his position.

"I'm seeing all my peers get drafted and get experience at NHL camps and learning and getting better,'' he said. ''For me, I've still got to wait two years with players who haven't yet played a game in the OHL or the CHL yet."

How horrible it must be to have to endure those pathetic plebes who fill the junior ranks simply because they had the misfortune of being a couple of years behind Tavares. Those pathetic children aren't fit to clean his skates.

To free him of the horrible confines of the junior leagues, Tavares' agent Bryan Deasley is seeking for his client an exception to the NHL Draft rules. If granted, Tavares will be allowed to enter the 2008 NHL Draft, a year earlier than anyone else with his birth date.

But don't be fooled into thinking that Tavares and his agent want to help other players with the same birthday-related misfortune as him make an early Draft appearance as well. No no. They just want special treatment for John.

''We are not looking for anything other than an exceptional status consideration from the league,'' [Deasley] said. ''Every once in a while a player comes along that compels us to look at things more clearly and differently - outside the box.''

And in case you're slow, that rare player is none other than Tavares, of course.

Now, I understand that John Tavares is a good hockey player, and he could one day be truly great. But the little brat is just 16, and has a long way to go until he starts taking Chris Pronger elbows to the head. He's still a kid, and obviously a bratty one at that. Having to wait a couple more years before cashing in his first big signing bonus won't kill him.

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That's Not Really Saying Much

Very little to post about today, but I thought I'd comment on this headline:

"Turris Impresses At Coyotes Camp"

All Kyle Turris really needs to impress the Coyotes is a steady pulse and a birthday after 1965.

. . .

The Avalanche still have a decent amount of money but have not made a move toward any remaining free agents, and they're clearly not going to re-sign Mark Rycroft, Ossi Vaananen or Patrice Brisebois, all of whom remain on the unrestricted free agent market. There's also still no confirmation of former-Hab Sheldon Souray's future home. Word on the street suggests he'll go to Jersey. I feel sorry for him if those rumors turn out to be true.

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Fellow Avalanche Fans Should Keep A Lower Profile

It doesn't make me feel good to say it, but Avalanche fans should probably keep a low profile in public these days. In case you didn't hear, our team didn't make the playoffs last season. Sure, it was the first time in more than a decade, and sure, they only missed it by one point, and sure, they had the highest point total of any non-playoff team. But they missed the playoffs, and among hockey fans, that's the ultimate sin.

So, knowing this, you'd think most Avalanche fans would have the foresight to minimize their public "footprint" when attending hockey-related events. Unless it's an actual Avalanche game, leaving the Avs jersey at home is probably not a bad idea. Also not a bad idea: not carrying around a "Red Wings Suck" sign at the NHL Draft in Columbus during a concert by Yellowcard, the bassist of which is from Detroit:

Toward the later half of the concert, a Colorado Avalanche fan made his way through the crowd holding a sign reading “RED WINGS SUCK” with a bunch of photographs glued on. After seeing that sign, the lead singer tells Ryan [the bassist-DLS] to look at that sign. Ryan, who hadn’t said a word all concert, steps up to the microphone and says something like this…

"Hey 'Red Wings Sucks' guy, how did your Avs do in the playoffs? 2nd round? Oh, that’s right. They didn’t even make the playoffs."

The entire crowd that had booed Red Wings fans at the start of the concert goes “Ohhh” much to the dismay of this Avs fan.

Hey, genius, why ask for abuse? I totally understand the argument that we Avalanche fans should be proud of our team and should never resist the urge to support our boys in public, but really, why invite the wrath of a guy with a microphone and the attention of a large crowd? Just put the sign down, blend in, and patiently wait for next season with the rest of us.

Better yet, anonymously sit behind a computer and toss insults at the Dead Wings from the safety of your own home like I do. Always the safest option.

Red Wings Suck.

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Patrick Kane Embraces Chicago's Proud Tradition Of Failure

Photo courtesy Jerry Lai/AP

Patrick Kane, drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks as the first overall pick in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, threw out the first pitch as the Chicago Cubs faced the Colorado Rockies at Wrigley Field last night. The Cubs blew a five run lead in the top of the ninth inning but barely managed to rally in the bottom and win by one run. They still remain three games under .500 with a record of 36-39.

If wearing a Cubs jersey wasn’t bad enough (disclaimer: I like the Cubs), Kane will be forced to represent another once-proud Chicago sports franchise now reduced to chronic mediocrity by misguided management, the Blackhawks, for at least the first few years of his NHL career. At least the food there is good.

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Colorado Draft Pick Recap, Saturday Blog Post Orgy Continues

With all seven rounds of the draft now over, nine new players have joined the Colorado Avalanche system. Most of them will play more time in their local beer leagues than in the National Hockey League. Statistically speaking, only a small number of the 200 or more young players chosen in the NHL Entry Draft every year actually make it to the NHL, and even fewer become stars. The majority play most of their careers in the minor leagues and then unceremoniously retire while still fairly young. Such is life in all professional sports, not just hockey.

Since fame and notoriety will likely escape most of them, it's my duty to give these young players at minimum the glory of a Dear Lord Stanley blog post, so I'll run down the list of new Avalanche prospects one at a time. Hopefully their mothers, at least, will be proud.



I already profiled first round pick Kevin Shattenkirk here. The rest are as follows:

Second Round

Colby Cohen, D - 45th Overall: Another offensive defenseman in the style of John Michael-Liles, a kind of player the Avalanche just can't seem to get enough of. Has decent size at 6-2 and 200 pounds, and was a major scoring threat from the blue line for the Lincoln Stars in the USHL this past season. Cites Chris Pronger as his main hockey influence, so Cohen's likely an asshole.

Trevor Cann, G - 49th Overall: Put up modest numbers in goal for a lousy Peterborough Petes team in the OHL, but gained notoriety by shutting out team USA in the final game of the World Under-18 Championships, securing the gold medal for Team Canada. Has inspired favorable scouting reports so far.

TJ Galiardi, F - 55th Overall: Had a good past season playing for Dartmouth, scored well with linemate and fellow Avalanche prospect David Jones. Is fast and has good puck-handling abilities. Now out of college, is seeking an assignment with the Lake Erie Monsters this coming season.

Fourth Round

Brad Malone, F - 105th Overall: Though listed as a center in the draft, Malone has played right wing for the Sioux Falls Stampede of the USHL and has committed to playing for the University of North Dakota next season. Is a tall power forward with average offensive abilities.

Kent Patterson, G - 113th Overall: Ranked 12th among all goalies in this year's draft class by NHL Central Scouting, is of slightly above-average height and has strong athletic ability. Played for Cedar Rapids Rough Riders of the USHL this past season.

Fifth Round

Paul Carey, F - 135th Overall: Played well for Connecticut high school Salisbury, leading them to the Division I prep school championship. Is fast on his skates and idolizes Sergei Fedorov (hopefully the Fedorov of 1997, not 2007).

Sixth Round

Jens Hellgren, D - 155th Overall: A tall, still-growing defenseman from Sweden with decent offensive ability but inconsistent defensive play. Will likely stay in Sweden.

Seventh Round

Johan Alcen, F - 195th Overall: Another inconsistent Swede, this time a forward. Is considered talented but fails to shoot the puck often enough. Will also likely not find his way out of Sweden.


What's really interesting is that, out of nine total picks, the Avalanche chose three current USHL players and two Swedes. The USHL is comprised of teams from mostly western and mid-western US towns and cities. Also, one Colorado pick plays for a US university and two have already committed to one. In other words, the Avalanche generally avoided the Canadian junior ranks with the exception of goalie Trevor Cann and focused their recruiting in the geographic area surrounding Denver. Very much a regional strategy, it appears.

Now it's up to the players to prove themselves in elite junior hockey or the varsity leagues over the next couple of years if they want a shot at the NHL. Most will fall short, but there could be a sleeper superstar among the above names.

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Avs Draft Defenseman In First Round, Surprise Nobody

photo courtesy Jay LePrete/AP

With a noticeable lack of depth in defensive prospects, the Avalanche surprised no one by picking a defenseman in the first round of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft. The lucky young man? None other than captain of the silver medal US under-18 team, Kevin Shattenkirk. Shattenkirk hails from Greenwich, Connecticut and has been compared to current Avalanche d-man (and fellow American) John-Michael Liles.

Shattenkirk is 5-11, 193 pounds, so he's not exactly tall but he has a solid build. His style of play is offensively-geared, which is not quite what the Avalanche are most in need of at the moment. The team still lacks a physical, stay-at-home blueliner with hitting ability and a mean streak. Shattenkirk is not that guy. The Avs passed on Nicholas Petrecki, a high-ranking defenseman who is that guy, in favor of more offense, something the team hasn't lacked in years. Petrecki was eventually chosen 28th by the San Jose Sharks.

But, draft picks rarely make an immediate transition into the NHL. Petrecki won't be ready to play at hockey's top level for some time, so the Avs didn't exactly blow a huge opportunity. Shattenkirk is young and should develop well, and by the time he's ready to enter the lineup, offensive d-men like Liles and/or Jordan Leopold could be long gone. He will play for hockey superpower Boston University next year, a great place to hone his skills. The Avalanche could have done much worse with their first pick.

With three picks in the second round and three more over the next five after that, the Avalanche still have the opportunity to increase their defensive depth. They should probably pick up a goalie while they're at it, too.

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Mock Drafts: Hockey Journalists Just Make Stuff Up

For hockey journalists, there is no bigger cop-out than running a "mock draft" just prior to the actual NHL Entry Draft. It's about as complicated as pulling names out of a hat and writing a quick blurb to the effect of "this great player would be good on this team because..." A mock draft article is not exactly Pulitzer material, obviously.

Any top quality hockey player is good for any hockey team, even if they don't need that player to actually play, just stand still, look pretty and be traded somewhere for somebody they do need. Sure, the teams try to find prospects that will potentially fill projected future needs, but sometimes they just pick the best guy available at the moment and hope they figure out what to do with him later on. It's not an exact science.

So a mock draft is just barely more ridiculous than the actual draft itself, which is exactly why sports media outlets like ESPN and TSN can't resist them. And that's why bloggers---we non-journalists---love them too. Nothing fills pixel space like wild speculation.

So, as for the mock drafts themselves, who are the projected picks for the Colorado Avalanche, the little team that almost could, the once-great former powerhouse desperately in need of some punch on the blueline in the absence of Adam Foote and Rob Blake?


ESPN: Ryan McDonagh, the reigning Mr. Hockey in Minnesota, who has committed to playing for the University of Wisconsin next season. He's a defenseman, obviously, since that's what the Avs need. According to ESPN, "his complete array of skills and size will have the Avalanche giddy over the selection." Except that he's only 6-1 and 200 pounds. That's not exactly "size" in the NHL. But whatever.

TSN: Kevin Shattenkirk, another young defenseman. TSN isn't very specific about why the Avs would pick him, just that they'd rather have chosen Mikael Backlund, a center, who they project the Maple Leafs grabbing. Ummm, okay. Anyway, TSN thinks the Avs would choose a d-man even smaller than McDonagh, in that Shattenkirk is shorter and weighs less. Yeah, a tiny defenseman. Awesome. Good pick, TSN.

Sports Illustrated: Mikael Backlund, that mysterious center TSN also wanted to pick for the Avs. What's Backlund's strong point? He's still recovering from a serious knee injury. Great. And he's a center, of which the Avalanche system is stuffed full. This is getting silly.

Hockey's Future: Jonathan Blum, a defenseman from the Vancouver Giants, the WHL team that won the Memorial Cup this season. Blum would make sense as a good pick except that he's 6-0 and 163 pounds. 163? Seriously? Guys in the AHL could crack his sternum just by looking his way. He'd have to go on an immediate diet of raw egg yolks and protein shakes, not to mention some growth hormone.


So, like all wild speculation, these mock drafts have about as much use as an NHL defenseman that weighs 163 pounds or a star center with a leg injury. Hopefully the Avs avoid everybody but Ryan McDonagh, who might be good as long as he's not done growing. Somebody go buy some eggs.

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The NHL Entry Draft: Why Even Bother?

My illustrious Avalanche blogging colleague InTheCheapSeats doesn't care about the upcoming NHL entry draft. Why? He lists the reasons, and they consist of the players themselves. In the entire decade of the 1990s, only a couple dozen first-round players went on to respectable NHL careers. The rest struggled briefly or never made it at all. Many eventual stars were chosen in the late rounds, far behind others whose names nobody remembers today. In sum, just about every draft of the '90s was a crap shoot at best.

This trend continued into the new century, with only one real exception: the class of 2003. Maybe you've heard of Marc-Andre Fleury, Eric Staal, Nikolai Zherdev, Thomas Vanek, Milan Michalek, Dion Phaneuf, Zach Parise, Ryan Getzlaf, Patrick Eaves and Corey Parey. Not a bad group of players by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, as for ice-time, only one player in the entire first round has failed to play at least one game in the NHL: Brian Boyle, chosen 26th by the LA Kings. Granted, not all the players ended up as full-time NHL players, and not all of the guys I listed are stars or even potential stars, but they are all solid professionals who have specific roles on their respective teams. What more could an NHL team ask for from its draft picks?

But anyway, ITCS is right. Despite all the scouting money can buy, all the projections and all the stat crunching, the NHL draft has always been and will always be a shot in the dark with a half-loaded pistol. Sometimes you score big, but most of the time you end up with a bunch of minor league short-timers.

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The Avalanche Is Looking For A Few Good Frat Boys

Traditionally, NHL players have not been big on education, at least not education of the post-secondary type. Throughout the history of the league, teams have picked their draftees from the ranks of Canadian junior hockey, whose teams have no direct affiliation with academic institutions. Typical Canadian players, still the vast majority in the NHL, play junior hockey in high school and then go on to the minor leagues without cracking a single textbook again.

According to CSTV, however, the Avalanche has been the most successful team at breaking that tradition:

The Colorado Avalanche was the biggest drafter of college players in the 2001-05 drafts, selecting 21 players from the college ranks (this includes junior hockey players who later played college hockey).

Not only that, but while the Avs have not signed many underclassmen (those below their senior year of college), the two they have signed are working out well so far. David Jones, a junior at Dartmouth, just signed his first NHL contract and the other guy, somebody named Stastny, is a nominee for the Calder Trophy.

With other top university students like TJ Hensick and Ryan Stoa still working their way up into the pros, the Avs' willingness to target collegiate players seems to be paying off.

Not that guys from the juniors aren't successful. Sidney Crosby didn't waste any time sitting in college classes, that's for sure...

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Hot Hockey Prospect Man Meat

The NHL Draft is coming up, and the top prospects are being put through their paces in the annual combine. On June 22-23, they'll be picked by the teams in Columbus, OH and then begin what could be a long, frustrating minor league career. Or they'll finish college, or maybe even play in the NHL someday. It's all up in the air with draft picks---they're so unpredictable.

But if stat sheets and scout summaries just don't fulfill your raw lust for sweet hockey prospect ass, look no further than the Edmonton Oilers website. Now, for the first time, you can download and watch the NHL Central Scouting's videos of each top player for yourself! Oh baby, grab some popcorn or maybe some tissues, because this is going to be a long night!

(via On Frozen Blog)

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Dance Monkey! Dance!

It's that time of year again: the NHL is now holding its annual Draft Combine to test the physical and mental abilities of the young players eligible for this year's entry draft. Top prospects from North America and elsewhere have converged in Toronto to perform once more for the league's top scouts.

TSN.ca is keeping a diary, starting today. They also have a quick video report available on the site.

Some interesting tidbits so far:

--Jakub Voracek, a sure-fire first-rounder who weighs around 190, struggled to bench press 150 pounds. Looks like he won't be putting any brutal body checks on anybody soon.

--Stefan Legein, ranked 13th by NHL Central Scouting, won the fastest skater competition.

--And surprising to no one, defensive giant Alex Plante is dominating in the strength categories. He better, since he's 6-3 and 225 pounds. Maybe that will make up for his lousy skating.

--Finally, Akim Aliu may speak Russian---to everyone's surprise---but he's got the worst hair ever. Watch the video and see what I mean.


And speaking of prospects, NHL.com is running profiles of a few top prospects, including one yesterday of Tommy Cross, a young defenseman from Connecticut, who could be on the Avalanche radar come draft day. He's committed to playing for Boston College next year.

And if you just can't get enough of all this prime young man-meat, NHL.com has set up blogs for a number of the prospects expected to go high in the draft on June 22-23. Read along and enjoy as a bunch of hockey jocks struggle with the written word. Fun!

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Avalanche Drafting

It's no secret that the Avalanche will be looking for a solid defenseman in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft in a couple of months. The team drew the 14th pick in the lottery and are poised to claim a talented player in a relatively talented field. While this year's draft isn't quite as stacked with phenoms as the past few have been (think Crosby, Ovechkin, Malkin, Stastny, Kopitar, Phaneuf, etc.), it's not terrible, either.

As far as defensemen go, however, the field is limited. Only three blueliners can be found in the final top 15 of the ISS prospect rankings.

One of them, coincidentally ranked 14th and therefore likely still available when the Avalanche get their pick in the first round, is Nick Petrecki. A 6-3, 213-pounder from New York, Petrecki plays with the USHL junior team Omaha Lancers. He plays a big, physical game and throws his weight around. His scoring is in the 20-30 point range, but his real strengths are his super-hard slap shot and his super-hard body checks. Considering the Avalanche have one of the least-physical defensive pools in the NHL, a prospect like Petrecki could really prove useful in a few years.

According to a glowing profile at SI.com:

"He intimidates. He creates a lot of time and space for other players," (his coach Mike) Hastings says. "[Opposing] players have a tendency to look to see where he's at and not because they want to stand next to him. He sometimes looks like that kid in peewees who had that growth spurt that nobody else had yet -- a man among boys."

Petrecki will attend Boston College next year, where their elite program will no doubt benefit his development into an NHL-caliber defenseman.

All that aside, the Avalanche will pick the most talented player still available when their draft number comes up---as they always have---whether it's a defenseman or forward. Though the team suffers from a glut of forwards at the moment, a talented center or winger taken now could easily be used to pad a trade for some other talented defenseman later on. Any skilled player can be used as a bargaining chip, so they don't have to grab the best d-man still available in the draft when it's their turn to pick.

Petrecki could be an asset to the team if he is indeed chosen by the Avs. It will be interesting, regardless, to see who the Avs pick.

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You Can Pick Your Friends...

The Avalanche get the 14th pick in the 2007 NHL Lottery Draft

Other notable #14 picks:

1964 - Ken Dryden
1973 - Rick Middleton
1979 - Brian Propp
1990 - Brad May
1992 - Sergei Gonchar

To be honest, other than Dryden, the 14th pick hasn't historically been all that great. Decent players here and there, but hardly any real stars or legends in the bunch.

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