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Monday, August 4, 2008
Thrashers prospects return to ice
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Defenseman Zach Bogosian, the third pick overall in the 2008 draft, is one of five Thrashers prospects expected to play Tuesday when candidates for the U.S. team in the 2009 World Junior Championship take on teams from Sweden and Finland at Lake Placid, N.Y.
The U.S. roster of under-20 players also includes forwards John Albert (sixth-round pick in 2007) and Vinny Saponari (fourth-round pick this year). The Swedish roster includes Nicklas Lasu (fifth round, 2008) and the Finnish roster includes Niclas Lucenius (fourth round, 2007).
More info is available here.
The World Juniors are Dec. 26-Jan. 5 at Ottawa.
On other subjects:
—The Thrashers still have a couple of players to sign (including Bogosian) and aren’t all that far from the league minimum payroll of $40.7 million. This breakdown has them at $38.226 million. This one has very similar numbers.
—Bogosian can get no more than $875,000 per year under the league’s rules for first-year players, but the contract can include substantial performance bonuses. No. 1 overall pick Steven Stamkos can earn as much as $8.55 million in bonuses over the course of his three-year deal with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
—I spoke with Johan Hedberg this morning. He’s in Sweden, enjoying time in a cabin by a lake, going boating and taking the kids tubing behind the boat. Hedberg comes back to Atlanta Aug. 13, but he’s already getting ready for the season. “Hopefully, I can get a few hours in [on the ice] this week and then get on the ice a couple of times next week,” Hedberg said.
—New Thrashers player Marty Reasoner was a pioneer of sorts last season. Reasoner used high tech skates with battery-powered heaters to warm the blades to the ideal temperature (about 41 degrees Fahrenheit) to decrease starting and gliding resistance. The equipment, made by Thermablade, has a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $299.99. Reasoner is quoted in a company news release saying the skates “gave me a real advantage.”
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