AJC > Sports > Thrashers > Blog > Archives > 2007 > May > 07
Monday, May 7, 2007
Off to see the future of the Thrashers
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It’s playoff time, so I’m packing my bags tonight for a trip to watch some playoff hockey. Nope, I’m not headed to Anaheim or Ottawa or Buffalo — I’m going to Chicago. It’s time to get familiar with the future of the Thrashers, and the Wolves are making a nice run in the Calder Cup playoffs.
So sometime Tuesday morning, I’m packing the family minivan, grabbing the wife and kid, the two dogs and we’re headed up I-75. First for a stop in Detroit, where I’m hoping to catch Game 7 of the San Jose/Detroit series on Wednesday (assuming the Wings don’t finish things tonight) - then to Chicago where the Wolves will be playing against Iowa (assuming they don’t finish things in Iowa).
It’s a hockey road trip, and it should be fun. But really, I’m interested in getting a look at some of these Thrashers prospects. We know the Thrashers will be considerably younger next season and I’m curious to find out if they have the horses in their AHL team to make the successful transition. We’ll be doing feature stories sometime in the next couple weeks on guys like Mark Popovic, Nathan Oystrick, Boris Valabik, Bryan Little and Brett Sterling.
As usual, I’m curious to hear what you guys think. Of those players, who do you think will make the biggest impact on the Thrashers next season? What about five years down the road?
World Championship update: So how are the Thrashers doing over in Moscow? Well, since the last blog, Ilya Kovalchuk had a big game in Russia’s 3-0 win over Italy. Kovalchuk has six points in five games, so he’s seems to be playing pretty well. Kari Lehtonen allowed a weak goal in Sweden’s 1-0 win over Finland on Sunday. Marian Hossa has 1 goal and four assists in five games for Slovakia.
Other interesting reading
Defense a priority for the Thrashers during the offseason, writes Lee Wilson at Bleacher Report.com.
- Those who gave up prospects and picks for rentals like Keith Tkachuk, Ryan Smyth and Peter Forsberg, still have their jobs… for now, writes Eric Francis in Slam.com.
Responding to your responses:
Brendan: I agree with your concerns that hockey fans and season ticket holders deserve to know the length of the contracts for the GM and coach. Ownership says that contract length isn’t important, but at the very least, it signals the confidence ownership has in its key execs. The Thrashers extending Bob Hartley for one season versus five seasons sends two totally different messages.
ZAvalanche: After talking to the agents of some of the Thrashers potential free agents, it seems like it’s a little early yet for contract extension talk. In most cases, Waddell hasn’t contacted the agents yet, which may have everything to do with the fact that he’s in Moscow. Bruce Levenson said he expects Waddell to give him an idea of his offseason plans in early June. I’d expect some contract extensions around that time.
