AJC > Sports > Thrashers > Blog > Archives > 2007 > November > 06 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USMellanby visits the Thrashers
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
No big changes in the lineup tonight as the Thrashers try to earn their second win of the season at home. Like I mentioned yesterday, Pavelec will get the start in goal tonight. I spoke to both Steve McCarthy and Garnet Exelby, and Exelby is still considered a gametime decision. McCarthy will take warmups tonight and depending on how Exelby feels, things will go from there.
Exelby said he took the puck off his ankle near the end of the game against Tampa. He said the moment the puck was shot, he knew it was going to hit him, and he hoped it wouldn’t hit him in the ankle. But he said that he knew he was screening Pavelec, so getting out of the way wasn’t an option. The good thing for Exelby is that the injury is a bruise, so it’s not like he can make it worse by playing tonight.
It was good to see Scott Mellanby this morning, who is in town for some golf and dropped by the morning skate. Don Waddell joked that he asked Mel if he was in playing shape. He did some golfing yesterday and played again today. If I were making decisions for the Thrashers, I wouldn’t let him leave town until he agreed to be an assistant coach through the end of the season. Then I’d just end the snail-like coaching search, and either let Waddell or McCrimmon finish the season as head coach and resume the search for a coach in the summer when the pool of candidates is bigger. But that’s just me.
Here’s what Don Waddell said when I asked if Mellanby was only in town for golf: “Yeah, yeah, I had a nice visit with him this morning. He played a couple rounds, played yesterday, played today. That’s all that was behind that… I asked him what kind of shape he was in and he said certainly not playing shape. I think we ruled that one out.”
As for the Caps, who didn’t practice this morning after playing last night, they called up Chris Bourque, Ray Bourque’s son and he’s expected to make his NHL debut tonight. Washington gave up a hat trick to Cory Stillman last night in a 5-0 loss to the Hurricanes, so maybe Kovalchuk can do it again tonight. Three hat tricks, in three games? Is that possible? According to the Washington Times, Washington will be without Alexander Semin, who has a sprained ankle, Chris Clark, Steve Eminger, Eric Fehr and Tom Poti is questionable.
Comments
By GaVaHokie
November 6, 2007 2:11 PM | Link to this
First?
By GaVaHokie
November 6, 2007 2:15 PM | Link to this
Nice, we get to play a beaten and battered Washington team… great start to this 8 game Southeast stand.
By Brian
November 6, 2007 2:21 PM | Link to this
Thank you Hokie, we got a shot tonight now…
By Buzilla Baby Blues
November 6, 2007 2:32 PM | Link to this
Hokie,
you going to the game tonight? Matt may have an extra ticket
By Jay Bird
November 6, 2007 2:40 PM | Link to this
I posted this on the other blog but not sure anyone saw it. This is an interesting stat I found about Kovalchuk. He has scored more goals than any player in the NHL since 2001-02 with 214.
By Craig Custance
November 6, 2007 2:45 PM | Link to this
Three Thrashers are on the All-Star fan ballot: Kovalchuk, Hossa and Kozlov.
By Brian
November 6, 2007 2:55 PM | Link to this
Craig - so what you’re saying is that Kovy will be the only one playing in front of the home crowd???
By Buzilla Baby Blues
November 6, 2007 2:59 PM | Link to this
Craig, do you know when they are going to release the All-Star jersey’s?
By GaVaHokie
November 6, 2007 3:02 PM | Link to this
Buzz… if you get an extra from Matt, I’ll go… absolutely.
By GaVaHokie
November 6, 2007 3:04 PM | Link to this
Jay Bird… another interesting stat. Daniel Alfredsson just scored his 300th goal at age 34. Kovalchuk has 214 at age 24.
He should be well over 500 by the time he reaches Alfredsson’s age.
By hockeyfan
November 6, 2007 3:09 PM | Link to this
Somebody is holding the all-star jerseys hostage? Quick call Jimmy Carter and see if he knows about this. See if the Dalai Lama can help us out, too…
Like I have said before, let the Beast coach the rest of the year so that he has a chance to impress the next GM.
By Jay Bird
November 6, 2007 3:11 PM | Link to this
GaVaHokie, that is interesting. Ilya had the advantage of starting his career in the NHL at 18 years old. How old was Alfredsson? Just curious. I believe the stat shows that Ilya doesn’t get nearly as much credit as he should.
By Brian
November 6, 2007 3:14 PM | Link to this
Hokie - is Alfredson really the benchmark you want to use though? Besides, if you do the math, he had 214 in just a little more than 6 years. By that pace he should be at 500 by 30, not 34. Let’s see him be in the top 3 at 36.
By Jim
November 6, 2007 3:14 PM | Link to this
Not a bad thought to throw Mel into the coaching consideration mix. He certainly knows the league and is well respected everywhere. As captain, he was expected to lead. Also, was a tough cookie in his hey dey.
By Russ
November 6, 2007 3:16 PM | Link to this
Buzilla, I don’t know when the all-star jerseys come out, but when they do I think we should all chip in and get a #11 Vigier jersey for Ranallo. He’d get as much use out of it as I would with an instructional DVD “How to succeed in Professional sports management” featuring Don Waddell.
GO THRASHERS!!!!!
By Brian
November 6, 2007 3:20 PM | Link to this
hockeyfan - if McCrimmon does something that is impressive, it will mean we are winning, and thus a good team will have been assembled. Therefore, why does your logic say that there will be a “next GM”? Afterall, McCrimmon will be impressing people with the current talent…
By Brian
November 6, 2007 3:25 PM | Link to this
Jim - there is no way Mellanby, with zero coaching experience, leapfrogs over Brad McCrimmon & John Anderson, let alone all the coaches outside the organization…
By GaVaHokie
November 6, 2007 3:29 PM | Link to this
Buzz… meet you at Gorin’s!
Brian… Alfredsson was the first name that popped to mind, because he just scored 300… figured I’d see what pace Kovy was on to reach 300.
And wow, Bobby Holik actually has more goals than Alfredsson
JayBird- Alfredsson was 22 when he started.
By GaVaHokie
November 6, 2007 3:32 PM | Link to this
Gretzky math problem… Kovalchuk would have to average 45 goals a season and play until he’s 39 to beat Gretzky’s goal record of 894.
By GaVaHokie
November 6, 2007 3:36 PM | Link to this
Sorry, the link is a dud… try this. http://hockeydb.com/ihdb/records/index.html
Click on Goals than click on NHL to the right of it.
By R. Stroz
November 6, 2007 3:47 PM | Link to this
Craig - Thanks for the All-Star ballot update.
Time to start write in votes for Little & Enstrom.
By Craig Custance
November 6, 2007 3:48 PM | Link to this
Brian: Not if Hossa gets hot.
By MB
November 6, 2007 3:55 PM | Link to this
Gotta admit I’m surprised by the support for McCrimmon as head coach.
Hasn’t he been the defense coach for the past three seasons, and hasn’t that been the weakest part of the Thrashers game?
By kracker
November 6, 2007 3:56 PM | Link to this
Kovy deserves a hat trick of consecutive hat tricks once in his career!
KOVALCHUK for CAPTAIN!
By ranallo10
November 6, 2007 4:01 PM | Link to this
I like the statistics class we’re getting today, keep it up Jaybird and Hokie.
Russ, thanks for the consideration, I’m sure the jersey would be about as useful to me as JP on the PK…it would sit in the corner, face the wrong way, never move, and get beaten whenever someone felt the urge.
Come to think of it, DO IT…I could use the letters for winter kindling and keep the purty new uniform for myself!
By GaVaHokie
November 6, 2007 4:01 PM | Link to this
I hate that they make the ballots so early in the season… that’s how guys like Ryan Miller and Mike Modano make the All-Star team.
By GSU-Lee
November 6, 2007 4:07 PM | Link to this
If Kovy gets three tonight I think Holik should hand over the “C”
By Russ
November 6, 2007 4:20 PM | Link to this
Holik needs to hand over the “C” and about $2.5 million of his salary.
By Craig Custance
November 6, 2007 4:24 PM | Link to this
MB: I asked one of the players the same thing. Let’s put it this way, I don’t think McCrimmon was allowed a ton of freedom to coach the defense the way he preferred under Bob Hartley.
By GaVaHokie
November 6, 2007 4:28 PM | Link to this
Kovalchuk is on pace for 70 goals this year (111 points)… just makes Gretzky 100 goal (back to back) seasons that much more impressive.
By MB
November 6, 2007 4:30 PM | Link to this
CC, thanks for that. It’s good to hear, at least regarding McCrimmon.
Can I read into that that those same players support him as a good option to take over?
By Tony C.
November 6, 2007 4:39 PM | Link to this
CC Nice insight on the difference in flexibility for Beast.
Why not just name him coach? I mean C’mon!
It’s worth it just for the soundbites (not to mention the motivational effect he’s had this year). Think about it:
“Coach Beast is really showing fatih in the youngster tonight” (Yes, that would be a DE line)
Think about the player quotes-almost but not quite as funny as hiBob’s car analogies.
Also, as far as #17 catching The Great One…didn’t Gretzky have good-to-great linemates for the bulk of his most productive years? When has #17 enjoyed a line that is as solid as Semetko/Gretzky/Kuri???
#17 OWNS YOU
GO BLUE !!!
By Tony C.
November 6, 2007 4:43 PM | Link to this
Not saying that #17 is better than Gretzky, just that Glen Sather knew what he had in Gretzky and made the team work around him. #17 has kind of made the team work in spite of Coaching/Management’s designs.
By GaVaHokie
November 6, 2007 4:46 PM | Link to this
When did Kovy enjoy playing in a league with less goalie padding and no “butterfly” style?
However, Kovy gets the luxury of playing in a league with no clutching and grabbing.
I’ll never down-play what Gretzky did. :)
By Alan
November 6, 2007 5:08 PM | Link to this
If Kovalchuk scores another hat trick tonight, he will be the first player in NHL history to do it, according to TSN.ca:
“Tonight, Kovalchuk has a chance to become the first player in NHL history to record three hat tricks in a row.” http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/scores/preview/?id=8683
By Russ
November 6, 2007 5:11 PM | Link to this
Prediction for tonight: Thrashers win 4-2 with the fourth line chipping in a goal.
By Craig Custance
November 6, 2007 6:34 PM | Link to this
MB - Yeah, I don’t think the players would be too disappointed if McCrimmon got the job.
By puckjunque
November 6, 2007 6:39 PM | Link to this
Alan, Russ, you must believe in the power of positive thinking, 5-3 Atlanta wins, and Kovy the King gets his crown…Go Thrashers!!
By Tony C.
November 6, 2007 7:13 PM | Link to this
uhm why isn’t the game on TV?
WTF!??!??
By B. Thenet
November 6, 2007 7:59 PM | Link to this
The game is not on TV due to it being one of Versus options for tonight. Versus decided to take the NYR-NYI game, so nobody gets to watch the Thrashers-Caps.
I don’t think Mellanby is going to give up his cake gig of talking hockey on one of the HNIC segments. That is the path to immortality in Canada, just ask Don Cherry.
The Thrashers out to their usual strong start, but Pavelec has kept them in it so far.
By B. Thenet
November 6, 2007 7:59 PM | Link to this
The game is not on TV due to it being one of Versus options for tonight. Versus decided to take the NYR-NYI game, so nobody gets to watch the Thrashers-Caps.
I don’t think Mellanby is going to give up his cake gig of talking hockey on one of the HNIC segments. That is the path to immortality in Canada, just ask Don Cherry.
The Thrashers out to their usual strong start, but Pavelec has kept them in it so far.
By Russian
November 6, 2007 8:01 PM | Link to this
After first period 0:0, but SOG was suck - 16:6 Capitals. I got sick and seat at home listen radio. :-(
By Darren
November 6, 2007 8:11 PM | Link to this
One down, two to go…
By Tony C.
November 6, 2007 8:24 PM | Link to this
Now it’s the 2nd period…Now This is a Hockey!!!
Could Even St. Patrick in ‘96 stop #17 right now?
GO BLUE !!! #17 OWNS YOU
By Russian
November 6, 2007 8:33 PM | Link to this
After second 0:1 Atlanta. PPG by KOVY. What is happend with Kovy? Did he get hurt?
By Tom
November 6, 2007 8:34 PM | Link to this
Any word on what happened to Ilya? I tried to look closely at the radio but I could not see what happened…
By Tony C.
November 6, 2007 8:39 PM | Link to this
Oh and I found this in the “rumors” section of espn -that might not work if you’re not an “insider”…
Nov 2 - Even though the team has struggled early, Thrashers F Marian Hossa tells the Ottawa Sun that he has instructed his agent to negotiate a contract extension with Atlanta. “I know that my agent is still holding discussions with [Thrashers GM-coach Don Waddell],” Hossa told the Sun. “I’d like to stay in Atlanta. I’ve enjoyed it here and that’s my focus to help this team be successful. That’s where I am at right now.”
Howabout that?
Let’s Hope #17 is OK
By thefan
November 6, 2007 8:39 PM | Link to this
Trade Bobby Holik .He did not show me anything this season yet.
By GSU-Lee
November 6, 2007 8:40 PM | Link to this
Great post Tom
By Craig Custance
November 6, 2007 8:42 PM | Link to this
Kovalchuk has been out since 10:36 in the second after hurting himself on a slapshot. I don’t want to speculate, so I’ll let you know as soon as I hear something.
By Craig Custance
November 6, 2007 8:48 PM | Link to this
Kovalchuk’s injury: Just got word — it’s back spasms, and he may return.
By Tony C.
November 6, 2007 8:54 PM | Link to this
They say #17 is back on the bench…
I just hope he didn’t take a shot or something crazy to get back there. As much as it would suck, I’d rather he sit out for a week than go out and hurt himself worse playing through something he shouldn’t
GO BLUE !!!
P.S. Betcha Kari The Kid gets more and more motivated the more Pavelec stonewalls A-O
By Jay Bird
November 6, 2007 8:56 PM | Link to this
Nice penalty, Holik!
By LAC
November 6, 2007 8:56 PM | Link to this
Please, Please Get RID of holik… He is Killing us !
By Russian
November 6, 2007 8:59 PM | Link to this
Damn. They scored 1:1. :-(
By Tom
November 6, 2007 9:03 PM | Link to this
Thanks Craig. I will send him to my Chiropractor… :)
We need him back.
By Tom
November 6, 2007 9:06 PM | Link to this
Do you think that Kari is going to start calling Pavelec
“Bob from Account-Temps”?
Waddell on the phone: Kari, take your time recovering from your groin injury, Pavelec from Goalie-Temps is here and things are running great.
By B. Thenet
November 6, 2007 9:35 PM | Link to this
Who signed this bum White…oh, the coach did.
Big win vs. a struggling team.
By Michael Shapiro
November 6, 2007 9:54 PM | Link to this
WTF with Holik? Takes a lousy penalty and costs us the shutout and we have to go to OT. Thanks to Pavelec, White and Kozzy for pulling our fannies out of the fire, but we gave the Caps 1 point they didn’t need to get (of course they earned it the way the played in the 1st and 3rd periods). Hope Kovy is ok. Wish that Hossa would figure out which end of his stick is the right end. Maybe he needs to sign an extension before he remembers how to score, but I’m not sure how I feel about that. Also wish that Slates (who I like) would catch some press box splinters and Haydar would get some ice time.
Go Blue!
By Brian
November 6, 2007 10:52 PM | Link to this
B. Thenet - Ok, I recovered from the heart attack after seeing Kovy go down. Back spasms is something that scares the heck out of me. I thought he got hit with a stick (too fast to tell). But are back spasms going to be a recurring thing like Kari’s groin?
Pavelec was fantastic.
I couldn’t believe that goal by White. Top shelf where Mama hides the cookies. I thought it was Kozzy at first, but almost fell over when I saw it was White. I saw a fan in a section above me who made the call. Right before OT started, he made the “Y” shape with his arms, but it wasn’t the letter “Y”, it was short for “WHI-te”. Amazing call by that Todd White fan in section 210 or 211 I believe…
By Hockeyfan
November 6, 2007 10:58 PM | Link to this
*Free the All-Star Jerseys! Free the All-Star Jerseys! Free the All-Star Jerseys! Free the All-Star Jerseys! *
By GSU-Lee
November 6, 2007 11:18 PM | Link to this
TO ALL, it is a crying shame that there are not replays available for Kovy’s goal tonight. If you were at the game then you know what I mean. I am sure Craig will attest to it, it was SICK. An unbelievable move followed by an unbelievable shot. Kovy IS the Thrashers.
By Geneen
November 6, 2007 11:46 PM | Link to this
Darren Eliot called Kovalchuk an artist. His goal tonight proved that — and then some. Beautiful!
By Nix
November 6, 2007 11:55 PM | Link to this
I completely agree, Lee. Kovy’s goal was a thing of beauty, created out of the sheer force of his will. I am in awe of the man. I hope he’s back on the ice soon, in full health, b/c he’s not only good for the team, he’s a joy to watch.
By R. Stroz
November 7, 2007 12:23 AM | Link to this
*Brendan * - Are you out there lurking or on vacation?
By Tony C.
November 7, 2007 5:35 AM | Link to this
They showed the #17 goal on On The Fly…NHL channel. (ranallo-they poked a little fun @ Kamal’s call as well) After seeing it WOW, the only that can stop #17 is…#17 (unfortunately). I liked the fact that the team didn’t turtle up after he went down and they Caps tied the game. Still it sounded like the Caps were carrying the play in the 3rd. Good to see we can raly back, now it’s time to learn how to win. AS far as the breakaway- it’s a slow sports night, ESPN might even put it in the top 10…oh wait no, NYI vs. NYR tonight.
oh yeah, and it’s hockey
By GaVaHokie
November 7, 2007 8:33 AM | Link to this
I got to see Ray Bourque last night… he passed right by Buzz and I in the concourse. He was there to watch his son play his first game for the Caps.
By Christy
November 7, 2007 9:04 AM | Link to this
Good Morning all.
just a quick comment on the Holik boarding penalty - no replay of course and the guys upstairs may have seen it differently, but to me and a few downstairs it was a baaaaddd call on Bobby. Just my opinion.
And the checking line and the 4th line in particular did their jobs VERY well last night. Thorburn was a menace to anything in a white uniform seemed to me.
By Hockeyfan
November 7, 2007 9:36 AM | Link to this
Craig I know I am a few weeks late with this, but next time you on Puck Podcast can you tell them that Kamal is not pronounced like the animal that has a hump or two and walks through the desert?
By Brendan
November 7, 2007 12:25 PM | Link to this
Well, Waddell is 6-3 behind the bench. If the team continued to win at this 2/3rds clip, it would take 97 of the available 146-points left. And finish with 109 for the season. Sorry, that was “wishful thinking” talking there.
I caught the highlights of last night’s game on the NHL channel. They gave Kovalchuk decent accolades, but teased Kamal on his call, a bit. The highlights were paired with Kamal’s radio call, and it all came out rather fuzzy. If you’ve got Comcast, and you have the “Digital Preferred” package, you get all the channels in the 200’s, including Channel #296, which is the NHL channel.
In case anyone’s curious, it features things like Top 10 goals from a given year, nightly summaries of all the NHL games, and, perhaps best of all, playoff highlights from previous years.
Recently, they’ve featured Calgary vs. Edmonton from 1985 and 1986, both full Game 7 coverage (2 hours). The Blues vs. the Northstars from 1986, the whole series. The 1992 Blackhawks vs. the St. Louis Blues, all six games. Montreal vs. Hartford, from 1992, I think. Buffalo vs. Boston, all seven games, from 1992. And Game 5 of the best-of-three between the NY Islanders and NY Rangers, from 1984. That was the Isles “Drive for Five” straight Cups. Ken Morrow, a U.S. Olympian that year, had the OT winner for the Islanders.
So, if you’re a certified “puckhead,” this is a perfect companion to your Center Ice package, which I think can still be had for $149.00. If you wait for mid-December, I think they drop the price to $129.00 for the rest of the season.
By ranallo10
November 7, 2007 1:42 PM | Link to this
$169.00 before Tony’s help…
By Thrasher Ryan
November 7, 2007 1:50 PM | Link to this
Well, I guess we now know where Brendan has been.
By David
November 7, 2007 4:18 PM | Link to this
Was at the game last night - First period was pretty awful, but we somehow managed to come away 0-0 after taking 4 penalties and getting outshot 16-6.
Second Period was actually really good. Kovy made one of the best (if not the best) move I’ve ever seen him make and then ripped an amazing wrist shot to beat Johnson. It was sweet. For those who didn’t see it, you may have missed the play of the year. Seeing him go down was hard, but I think the team stepped it up a notch when he was off the ice.
Third period was mainly just solid defense. Bad goal to give up, but I thought it was still a solid period.
Overtime was, well you know how it was ;).
Good things I saw from the game - The Dupuis, Little, Perrin line was on fire. God those guys can skate.
Holik, Kozlov (besides a great saucer pass in OT), and Hossa were horrible all game. They each looked horribly slow and sluggish. I’m not sure what their deal is, but wow. Hossa made mistake after mistake…is he trying to get traded? I love the guy, but wow. Kozlov just looks old and slow right now and Holik….i dunno.
Slater is looking like a bee…lots of moving, not really doing anything.
Enstrom..wow does he have a killer slap shot.
Sorry to type so much, but just thought i’d give my two cents since the game wasn’t on tv.
By Josh
November 7, 2007 5:07 PM | Link to this
Is this the same Scott Mellanby that was probably the worst player on our team last year and then recently trashed Thrashers ownership and the organization as a whole…yea that Scott Mellanby