I love that there isn't an obvious bust among them. You'd think that at least one of them would underperform but everyone is either where they should be or better as of now.
Plenty of time to change all that but props to Steve Y and his team
Crunch GM BriseBois said defenseman Landry will be heading back to Florida of the ECHL today.
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Landry expendable because Aulie will start practicing this week and could play this weekend. Also, Vladdy working out but not yet practicing
Slater Koekkoek didn't make the list for Canada's wjc selection camp. I think the consensus is he wouldn't have made the team this year, but some including Bob Mckenzie thought he would at least be given an invite.
Tampa Bay held a stealth celebration in Syracuse on Monday night, a team party/reunion to hand out Calder Cup rings from the 2011-12 season.
Fifteen of the recipients currently play for Syracuse, although the rings were earned in Norfolk, the previous home of the Lightning's AHL affiliate. Tampa Bay general manager Steve Yzerman was on hand to help pay tribute to 23 players who pulled off the greatest single-season in AHL history.
Crunch general manager Julien BriseBois said only forward Alex Picard and goalie Jaroslav Janus, both of whom are playing overseas, were absent.
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The rings were designed by Tampa Bay and Norfolk officials, as well as head coach Jon Cooper and the players. They are white gold with a total of .12 carats in the design.
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The Lightning kept the gathering secret out of respect for Norfolk, which lost the affiliate to Syracuse last summer in a move that had been in the works for much of last season.
"We had a nice little party. I don't want to get into too many details,'' BriseBois said. "It looked like a team party except we handed out rings.''
Literally the first time Ive been here in a couple months. Lockout has me in a deep hockey state of depression. Also have not followed the development of any of our guys (unfortunately). But is this -23 from koekkoek alarming? If anyone can shed some light as to why he is struggling so bad with the +/- thatd be much appreciated! I really want him to come on strong and develop into the top d-men he was drafted to be. Also saw he was not picked up for the Canada worlds team so thats another thing that caught my eye..
Literally the first time Ive been here in a couple months. Lockout has me in a deep hockey state of depression. Also have not followed the development of any of our guys (unfortunately). But is this -23 from koekkoek alarming? If anyone can shed some light as to why he is struggling so bad with the +/- thatd be much appreciated! I really want him to come on strong and develop into the top d-men he was drafted to be. Also saw he was not picked up for the Canada worlds team so thats another thing that caught my eye..
I haven't been following as closely as many others have been, but I think it has to do with being on one of, if not the worst, team in the OHL. Correct me if I'm wrong fellas
That -23 is a concern. I would say part of it is from him being on the worst team in the OHL, 72gf-118ga. Part of it is from his strong desire to score, he ends up pinching too often and too deeply. Part of it is his D work does need improvement, 1st line forwards are beating him 1 on 1.
The team's star players demanded to be traded which left the team in bad shape. The coach is probably afraid to demand Koekkoek cool it with the pinching, not wanting him to demand a trade also.
I haven't been following as closely as many others have been, but I think it has to do with being on one of, if not the worst, team in the OHL. Correct me if I'm wrong fellas
Yeah, you're correct. He plays the most minutes of any Pete player (30+ every night) on the worst OHL team that scores almost the least amount of goals. That's what happens. I'm not really concerned. I've never been a big supporter of the +/- stat. example: Malik
Because of the bad situation he is in, he can be expected to have numbers that look like his. With a 1st round pick though, you kind of hope for numbers that look better than expected given the situation. Koekkoek does have a ton of talent though, he'll be fine long term.
I couldn't help but feel a little giddy as our small group followed Jim through the winding maze of halls and concourses inside War Memorial. First stop was the locker room, complete with new, professional-grade lockers, a gorgeous Crunchman carpet, and that smell that is just uniquely hockey. The walls were painted blue, though Jim told us Coach Cooper wanted them to be black. He didn't get his way there, but he did in his office. I had never been in the locker room before, so from a fan aspect, that was just pretty cool.
