AJC > Sports > Thrashers > Blog > Archives > 2008 > September
September 2008
Little working with second line
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Bryan Little is centering the second line today, with Slava Kozlov and Colby Armstrong on the wings. Todd White had been with that group.
The rink is a lot less crowded today. They’re down to 17 forwards and 10 defensemen. Among the missing: forwards Jordan LaVallee, Junior Lessard, Joe Motzko. I don’t know who’s hurt and who’s cut. I’ll ask.
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Thrashers-Red Wings live blog
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Your starters for the Thrashers this afternoon:
Kovalchuk-Stevenson-Williams
Enstrom-Bogosian
Lehtonen
Bogosian is wearing the No. 4 he wore in juniors and not the No. 44 he has worn since prospect camp.
Your alternate captains tonight: Kovy, Resoner, and Havelid.
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Salary cap helps Thrashers improve
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
In a league without salary caps Mathieu Schneider would never have become a Thrashers defenseman. But the NHL does have a cap, and the Anaheim Ducks couldn’t handle Schneider’s $5.625 million salary, and neither, it appears could a lot of other teams.
“It’s proven to be more difficult to move players than I envisioned,” Ducks general manager Brian Burke told reporters on Friday. “You’re talking about a good hockey player in Mathieu Schneider, a good person. But getting teams to take on that salary was difficult. So, to me, it’s a relief. And it’s the right thing to do for Mathieu. I wasn’t comfortable making him swing in the wind. I don’t like that a player’s fate hung in the balance for a few days like that. At least now there’s some certainty in his life as far as what happens next. It was a good day.”
Even the Thrashers, who eventually grabbed Schneider, were patient enough not to claim him off waivers and instead wait until they could not only acquire him but ship players, and their salaries, to Anaheim. The waivers opportunity came up last week, and even after that the trade talk wasn’t instant.
“Atlanta just came into the picture in the last couple of days,” Schneider said.
Schneider hasn’t been working out with the Ducks. He never reported to camp, at Burke’s request. But Schneider said that won’t be an issue and that he has plenty of time to be ready for the regular season. “I’ve been skating for a few weeks,” he said. “It’s not really a concern of mine.”
There’s not much doubt he would have preferred to stay with the Ducks, but that was never an option, not in this day of the salary cap, with the Ducks needing to make space for Teemu Selanne.
“It’s been a real interesting summer,” Schneider said. “I’ve known for some time I was going to be moved. … We all have to live with the [salary cap] system. I was one of the players who voted for it.”
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Schneider comes with no down side
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I’m re-topping what I wrote earlier to put the focus squarely on the big story. The acquisition of Mathieu Schneider comes with basically no down side (of course, I’m not the guy writing the paychecks).
The trade looks like a three-for-one in name only. Really, the key part was Schneider’s one year at $5.6 million for Ken Klee’s one year at $1.25 million. The Thrashers actually have more flexibility after the deal than they did before it; they don’t have to worry about the $40.7 million payroll floor, and they still are well under the cap of $56.7 million.
In the best case, Schneider plays like he did two and three years ago (50-point seasons). In the worst case, he figures to be substantially more productive than Klee, who is only two years younger.
The Thrashers have plenty of players who can fill Brad Larsen’s role, which very well might have been in Chicago, and that means more ice time for someone younger who could help them down the road. Chad Painchaud did well in prospect games this fall but still isn’t likely to have the kind of up side that could make the Thrashers regret this deal.
OK, what follows is what I wrote earlier …
Boris Valabik told me today he doesn’t know why he drew the 10-minute misconduct penalty last night in Nashville. Maybe he’ll get an explanation tonight, when the same group of refs works the game in St. Louis.
“I was surprised, but I can’t do anything about it,” Valabik said. “I just got punched, and there was a scrum right after that, and I was the only guy who wound up with 10 minutes. That’s alright. It’s part of the game.
“I have no idea what the call was. I can’t do anything about it.”
Tonight’s lines:
Stuart-White-Thorburn
Sterling-Esposito-Armstrong
Boulton-Holzapfel-Machacek
LaVallee-Little-Hoffman
Stevenson might play in place of one of those guys; there’s some kind of potential issue with an injury.
On defense:
Hainsey-Lewis
Oystrick-Rivers
Valabik-Exelby
Hedberg to start in net, with Pavelec backing him up.
I was asked on the previous post my impressions of some of the players from last night. I had positive impressions of Grant Lewis, who struck me as willing and able to play the body aggressively but also showed some finesse. I thought the cross-check by Valabik that drew a penalty was gratuitous, but I spoke with John Anderson about it today and he sounded as if he saw it somewhat differently. Hainsey struck me as one of those guys who knows where to be and what to do and makes it look as if this game isn’t all that difficult.
I don’t have a whole lot of impressions beyond that, for a couple of reasons: It has been a long time since I have covered hockey, so I’m slower to trust my eyes and gut than I will be a month from now; and I was so busy trying to make sure I didn’t flop on my first game story that I probably wasn’t thinking all that straight.
About Matthieu Schneider: I was going to ask Don Waddell about that today at the skate, but he’s not here. He was in Nashville last night, and I’m told he’s in some other city scouting tonight. (The Ducks are playing in San Jose, and though Schneider has not been on the ice lately if there’s a multi-player deal in the works that’s one place Waddell could be, to look at other potential parts of a trade.)
I did ask Waddell about Schneider only a week ago, and he gave a two-part answer as to why the Thrashers didn’t claim Schneider off waivers: Too big a salary, and not a good fit. Of course, Waddell also told me about Alexei Zhitnik’s key role in the Thrashers’ future, then bought out Zhitnik’s contract.
That’s all until tonight.
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Greetings from Nashville
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Thrashers-Predators is about to start. Starting lineup for the Thrash:
Brett Sterling, Marty Reasoner and Chris Thorburn are your forwards. Ron Hainsey and Boris Valabik are on defense. Ondrej Pavelec is in net, though the PA announcer just said Kari Lehtonen was. Lehtonen is in Atlanta tonight, not here.
Lots of empty seats. Not mine, though. I’m ready for the puck to drop.
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Good news on Christensen
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Erik Christensen’s MRI turned up negative, which is a big positive for the Thrashers. Christensen, who will be given a chance to center the first line, hurt his shoulder in an intrasquad game on Tuesday. On Wednesday, coach John Anderson said Christensen is day to day. Christensen won’t be traveling to games Thursday at Nashville and Friday at St. Louis.
Also, forward Brad Larsen is day to day with an abdominal strain.
Zach Bogosian (hip) practiced today; he practiced during the first session on Tuesday. He won’t make the trip to Nashville and St. Louis.
Eric Perrin centered the line with Ilya Kovalchuk and Jason Williams today (Wednesday).
Another line is Colby Armstrong and Slava Kozlov centered by Todd White.
About a dozen of the young guys are gone.
The six defensemen working on this sheet of ice (they’re using both rinks) are Tobias Enstrom and Ken Klee, Bogosian and Boris Valabik, and Niclas Havelid and Grant Lewis. Lewis is the interesting guy in that mix; if it’s not a random addition, it could mean coach John Anderson wants to give him a good look.
There are a couple of lines made up of guys who also might be getting a fair look to see where they fit: Joe Motzko, Rylan Kaip and Jordan LaVallee is one; Chad Painchaud, Riley Holzapfel and Spencer Machacek is the other.
I don’t yet know who is making the trip to Nashville and St. Louis. I’ll let you know when I find out.
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Good day for Thorburn, White
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I wrote the injury news (shoulder problem for Erik Christensen, return to the ice for Zach Bogosian) in my story on our Thrashers page. I also wrote about Joe Motzko there.
So here I’ll tell you about a couple of good news items from Tuesday’s intrasquad game. One was Chris Thorburn attacking the net. He scored on a beautiful two-on-one with Marty Reasoner, Thorburn-to-Reasoner-to-Thorburn for an easy shot into an open side of the net. He drew a penalty from Ken Klee on another drive to the net. And he scored the decisive goal in the shootout.
White made the shot of the day, blasting the puck home from a very tight angle. Anderson was watching from directly above, from the Breakaway Grill, and he was happy with what he saw.
“I was bugging Todd White since the start of training camp to drive the puck when he shoots it. He was 10 feet inside and he really drove it. It was like, bing, right away and hard. He didn’t give the goalie a chance to move across,” Anderson said.
Anderson liked what he saw on Day 4 in general. “I thought our passing was way better, our grasp of what we wanted to do was a lot better,” he said.
OK, so back to the Christensen injury. If he’s out for awhile, what would you do with the No. 1 center spot in the meantime? Jason Williams? White? Bryan Little?
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Kovalchuk wins it; prospects win, too
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The second half of Monday’s Thrashers training camp practice was an intrasquad game, and not surprisingly Ilya Kovalchuk looked like the best player on the ice.
He scored twice, on a penalty shot during the game (they use penalty shots in lieu of two-minute minors) and in the shootout after the game (while the goalies came out on top in the shootout against Brett Sterling, Colby Armstrong, Jason Williams, Slava Kozlov and Bryan Little). Kozlov scored the other regulation goal.
Erik Christensen got a couple of breakaways during the game but converted neither. He did deliver a hit that lived up to his “Crusher” nickname; he flattened Junior Lessard in what looked like a heck of a check.
Another big spill: Todd White dropping to a hit by Ken Klee. The refs called a penalty on Klee, but teammates ribbed White before and during his ensuing penalty shot.
There’s more to getting ready for the season than learning the new coach’s system and getting your game back up to speed. You’ve got to get your tools of the trade ordered, too. Several Thrashers players visited with Kirk Smith, the southeast representative for Easton, to discuss their sticks.
“They want to change the curve,” Smith said. “They think the flex is too high or too low.”
One change: Eric Perrin is going to a wider stick.
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Day 1 impressions
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Any of you who were at the season’s first practice might wonder the reasoning behind the way John Anderson divided the players into two groups. I certainly did.
Think of the message Anderson sent when camp opened with Ilya Kovalchuk, Slava Kozlov, Erik Christensen, Tobias Enstrom, Colby Armstrong and Bryan Little working out on one ice surface and Anderson teaching on the other. (The groups switched ice surfaces midway through, and the coaches stayed in place.)
And imagine the impression Anderson made by putting top players like Ron Hainsey, Eric Perrin, Jason Williams, Niclas Havelid and Todd White in the non-Kovalchuk group.
Anderson is clearly not playing favorites or focusing on the top guys to the exclusion of the kids who have an outside shot at best of making the team. (“Team Two,” the Kovalchuk group, does have most of the scorers, or so it appears.)
Saturday was about beginning to install Anderson’s system. Don’t look for lines to emerge until after the third exhibiton game, which is Sunday at Detroit. If you’re curious, though, here is who worked with whom on the first day:
“Team One”
Eric Boulton-Eric Perrin-Spencer Machacek
Toomas Pospisil-Todd White-Joey Crabb
Brett Sterling-Jim Slater-Chris Thorburn
Brad Larsen-Grant Stevenson-Matt Anderson
Chad Painchaud-Ryan Kaip-Jason Williams
Defensemen: Ron Hainsey, Niclas Havelid, Ken Klee, Nathan Oystrick, Boris Valabik, Paul Postma, Arturs Kulda
“Team Two”
Ilya Kovalchuk-Riley Holzapfel-Myles Stoesz
Slava Kozlov-Angelo Esposito-Matt Siddall
Colin Stuart-Bryan Little-Colby Armstrong
Jordan LaVallee-Erik Christense-Danick Paquette
Joe Motzko-Marty Reasoner-Matt Hoffman
Defensemen: Garnet Exelby, Tobias Enstrom, Zach Bogosan (sat out with a hip flexor strain), Jamie Rivers, Scott Lehman, Grant Lewis, Chad Denny
Goalies: Dan Turple, Kari Lehtonen, Chris Carrozzi
BTW, Matt Anderson, who played in Chicago last season, replaced Carter Bancks on the camp roster. Bancks, a junior player who was on a tryout agreement, earned the camp invitation by the way he played in Traverse City but couldn’t take advantage of it because he broke his foot.
Everybody reported for camp at an acceptable weight and performed up to standard on preseason physical tests and measurements, Anderson said. Among the highlights: 6-foot-3 defenseman Chad Denny had a 31 1/2-inch vertical leap, Anderson said. In VO2max, a measure of fitness/endurance, Kozlov had a 69, Anderson said. Maximum oxygen uptake is measured in mililiters/kilogram/minute, and a 69 is similar to what you’d see in an elite bicyclist, swimmer, speed skater or rower.
The Thrashers also measure players’ flexibility and count how many pushups and pull-ups they can do. Eric Perrin did 80 pushups in a minute.
Anderson gave a lot of credit to former Thrashers coach Bob Hartley for emphasizing conditioning and fitness so much that it had become part of the team’s culture.
He added his own novelty to the team culture, a team dinner on the eve of the opening of camp. There will be other team-building functions, too, as Anderson tries to make sure the players don’t go their separate ways every time they get off a plane. One carryover from his days as coach of the Chicago Wolves: There will be a pig roast, with assistant coach Todd Nelson as chef.
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Two prospects added to camp roster
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Forward Carter Bancks and defenseman Scott Marchesi did well enough at the Traverse City Prospect Evaluation Tournament to earn invitations to the Thrashers’ preseason camp, general manager Don Waddell said Thursday.
Bancks, 19, plays left wing for Lethbridge of the Western Hockey League, where he scored 15 goals and had 30 assists last season. Marchesi, 25, played with the Gwinnett Gladiators at the tail end of last season after finishing his college career at Sacred Heart in Connecticut.
In other news:
The Thrashers, who had one of the worst defenses in the NHL last season, passed on a chance to claim Anaheim Ducks defenseman Mathieu Schneider off waivers. Every other NHL team passed, too, most likely because Schneider is due $5.75 million.
“We just felt at this point in his career, he’s a good player, but that’s a lot of salary,” Waddell said. “Obviously, 28 other teams probably looked at it the same way. It just wasn’t the fit.”
So, I asked, is this all about a 39-year-old not being a good fit for your team at this stage?
“Age isn’t a big factor,” Waddell said. “We’ve got very good young players competing for a job this year. Under different circumstances, we could have looked at it, but we just didn’t think it was a good fit.”
Seen in the locker room: Colby Armstrong breaking in new skates after learning the NHL would not allow players to wear ThermaBlades, the heated skates that improve on-ice performance by reducing friction between the skate and the playing surface.
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Prospects lose in tourney final
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Dallas pulled away from a 3-3 tie second-period tie for an 8-3 victory over the Thrashers Wednesday night in the final of the Traverse City Prospect Evaluation Tournament.
Zach Bogosian, Angelo Esposito and Danick Paquette scored for the Thrashers, who finished the tournament 3-1. Spencer Machacek averaged a point a game to lead the team, with two goals and two assists.
The game will be televised Thursday at 10 p.m. on the NHL Network.
Also Thursday, Thrashers general manager Don Waddell and coach John Anderson will address the media about the upcoming season. I’ll report to you from that Thursday afternoon.
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Prospects earn championship berth
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Thrashers play the Dallas Stars for the title Wednesday night at 6:30 in the Traverse City Prospect Evaluation Tournament. Atlanta beat Detroit Tuesday night 3-2 in a shootout. The Thrashers have won all three of their games.
Riley Holzapfel scored a shorthanded goal, and Spencer Machacek scored on the power play. Machacek and Matt Lyall scored in the shootout. Chris Carrozzi saved 29 of 31 shots he faced. The Thrashers’ first two victories were shutouts.
Zach Bogosian is blogging about the experience.
Here’s another telling of the amazing story about former Thrasher Glen Metropolit and his brother. One brother is an NHL player, now with the Flyers. The other is in jail for carjacking and is awaiting tril on a murder charge.
John Anderson’s son has found a new team. The Waterloo Region Record says Spencer Anderson wanted out of Kitchener.
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NCAA rules spoil things for prospect
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Thrashers seventh-round draft choice Zach Redmond was looking forward to playing in the Traverse City Prospect Evaluation Tournament. Traverse City is his hometown.
But this story in the Traverse City newspaper says his college coach informed Redmond he couldn’t play in the tournament and retain his eligibility. Redmond plays for Ferris State.
It’s a weird situation. College players, Redmond included, could attend the prospects camp in Atlanta this summer as long as they paid their own way. I think the dividing line here is the difference between doing drills at a prospects camp and competing in games, regardless of whether the games mean anything.
Here, I think, is the NCAA rule that comes into play:
12.2.3.2 Competition with Professionals. An individual shall not be eligible for intercollegiate athletics in a sport if the individual ever competed on a professional team (per Bylaw 12.02.4) in that sport. However, an individual may compete on a tennis, golf, two-person sand volleyball or two-person synchronized diving team with persons who are competing for cash or a comparable prize, provided the individual does not receive payment of any kind for such participation.
It’s too bad. Clearly, if Redmond could compete in this tournament without missing class time, it would be good for him, and it’s hard to see how if he weren’t paid this would compromise his amateur status. The NCAA, obviously, sees it differently.
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Training camp roster released
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Thrashers have invited 49 players to their camp, or just over twice as many as the Thrashers will keep on their 23-man roster. Camp starts Sept. 20 (physicals on Sept. 19).
FORWARDS (30)
No. Player Ht. Wt. S Born Birthplace Acquired
20 Armstrong, Colby 6-2 190 R 11/23/82 Llodminster, Saskatchewan Trade w/ PIT (2/26/08)
36 Boulton, Eric 6-1 220 L 8/17/76 Halifax, Nova Scotia Free Agent (8/8/05)
9 Christensen, Erik 6-1 210 L 12/17/83 Edmonton, Alberta Trade w/ PIT (2/26/08)
42 Crabb, Joey 6-1 190 R 4/3/83 Anchorage, Alaska Free Agent (8/31/06)
57 Esposito, Angelo 6-1 180 L 2/20/89 Montreal, Quebec Trade w/ PIT (2/26/08)
45 Hoffman, Mike 6-5 240 R 9/20/80 Weymouth, Massachussetts Free Agent (7/9/08)
43 Holzapfel, Riley 6-0 185 L 8/18/88 Regina, Saskatchewan Draft ’06 (2nd Rd, 43rd Over)
53 Kaip, Rylan 6-1 185 L 3/19/84 Wilcox, Saskatchewan Draft ’03 (9th Rd, 269th Over)
17 Kovalchuk, Ilya 6-1 220 R 4/15/83 Tver, Russia Draft ’01 (1st Rd, 1st Over)
13 Kozlov, Vyacheslav 5-10 190 L 5/3/72 Voskresensk, Russia Trade w/BUF (6/22/02)
29 Larsen, Brad 6-0 210 L 6/28/77 Nakusp, British Columbia Waivers from COL (2/25/04)
50 LaVallee, Jordan 6-3 225 L 5/11/86 Corvallis, Oregon Draft ’05 (4th Rd, 113th Over)
38 Lessard, Junior 6-0 195 R 5/26/80 St-Joseph-de-Beauce, Que. Free Agent (7/9/08)
10 Little, Bryan 5-11 190 R 11/12/87 Edmonton, Alberta Draft ’06 (1st Rd, 12th Over)
46 Machacek, Spencer 6-1 195 R 10/14/88 Lethbridge, Alberta Draft ’07 (3rd Rd, 67th Over)
41 Motzko, Joe 6-0 185 R 3/14/80 Bemidji, Minnesota Trade w/ WSH (2/26/08)
59 Paquette, Danick* 6-0 210 R 7/17/90 Montreal, Quebec Draft ’08 (3rd Rd, 64th Over)
54 Painchaud, Chad 6-1 185 L 5/27/86 Mississauga, Ontario Draft ’04 (4th Rd, 104th Over)
11 Perrin, Eric 5-9 180 L 11/1/75 Laval, Quebec Free Agent (7/1/07)
56 Pospisil, Tomas 6-0 180 R 8/25/87 Sumperk, Czech Republic Draft ’05 (5th Rd, 135th Over)
19 Reasoner, Marty 6-1 200 L 2/26/77 Honeoye Falls, New York Free Agent (7/17/08)
63 Siddall, Matt 6-1 210 R 9/24/84 North Vancouver, B.C. Draft ’04 (9th Rd, 270th Over)
23 Slater, Jim 6-0 195 L 12/9/82 Petoskey, Michigan Draft ’02 (1st Rd, 30th Over)
21 Sterling, Brett 5-7 180 L 4/24/84 Pasadena, California Draft ’03 (5th Rd, 145th Over)
40 Stevenson, Grant 5-11 170 R 10/15/81 Spruce Grove, Alberta Free Agent (7/9/08)
61 Stoesz, Myles 6-2 215 R 2/15/87 Steinbach, Manitoba Draft ’05 (7th Rd, 207th Over)
49 Stuart, Colin 6-2 205 L 7/8/82 Rochester, Minnesota Draft ’01 (5th Rd, 135th Over)
27 Thorburn, Chris 6-3 225 R 6/3/83 Sault St. Marie, Ontario Trade w/ PIT (6/22/07)
12 White, Todd 5-10 195 L 5/21/75 Kanata, Ontario Free Agent (7/1/07)
14 Williams, Jason 5-11 195 R 8/11/80 London, Ontario Free Agent (7/14/08)
DEFENSEMEN (14)
No. Player Ht. Wt. S Born Birthplace Acquired
44 Bogosian, Zach 6-2 200 L 7/15/90 Massena, New York Draft ’08 (1st Rd, 3rd Over)
55 Denny, Chad 6-3 230 L 3/27/87 Sydney, Nova Scotia Draft ’05 (2nd Rd, 49th Over)
39 Enstrom, Tobias 5-10 175 L 11/5/84 Nordingra, Sweden Draft ’03 (8th Rd, 239th Over)
2 Exelby, Garnet 6-1 210 L 8/16/81 Ste. Anne, Manitoba Draft ’99 (8th Rd, 217th Over)
6 Hainsey, Ron 6-3 210 L 3/24/81 Bolton, Connecticut Free Agent (7/2/08)
28 Havelid, Niclas 6-0 200 L 4/12/73 Stockholm, Sweden Trade w/ANA (6/26/04)
22 Klee, Ken 6-1 210 R 4/24/71 Indianapolis, Indiana Free Agent (7/2/07)
62 Kulda, Arturs 6-2 195 L 7/25/88 Riga, Latvia Draft ’06 (7th Rd, 200th Over)
51 Lehman, Scott 6-1 200 L 1/5/86 Windsor, Ontario Draft ’04 (3rd Rd, 76th Over)
52 Lewis, Grant 6-3 200 R 1/20/85 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Draft ’04 (2nd Rd, 40th Over)
47 Oystrick, Nathan 6-0 215 L 10/17/82 Regina, Saskatchewan Draft ’02 (7th Rd, 198th Over)
60 Postma, Paul* 6-3 175 R 2/22/89 Red Deer, Alberta Draft ’04 (4th Rd, 205th Over)
25 Rivers, Jamie** 6-1 205 L 3/16/78 Ottawa, Ontario N/A
48 Valabik, Boris 6-7 240 L 2/14/86 Nitra, Slovakia Draft ’04 (1st Rd, 10th Over)
GOALTENDERS (5)
No. Player Ht. Wt. C Born Birthplace Acquired
35 Carrozzi, Chris* 6-3 185 L 3/2/90 Ottawa, Ontario Draft ’08 (6th Rd, 154th Over)
1 Hedberg, Johan 6-0 185 L 5/5/73 Leksand, Sweden Free Agent (7/1/06)
32 Lehtonen, Kari 6-4 205 L 11/16/83 Helsinki, Finland Draft ’02 (1st Rd, 2nd Over)
33 Pavelec, Ondrej 6-2 200 L 8/31/87 Kladno, Czech Republic Draft ’05 (2nd Rd, 41st Over)
30 Turple, Dan 6-6 210 L 1/1/85 Hamilton, Ontario Draft ’04 (6th Rd, 186th Over)
- Unsigned players drafted by Atlanta
** - Signed to an American Hockey League contract by the Chicago Wolves
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Shootout talent looks strong
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
NHL.com has a review of which players perform best in the shootout. Top of the list is Slava Kozlov, who has scored 17 shootout goals in his career. He’s 17 for 32 (.531) all-time, considerably better than the 2007-08 league average success rate of .325.
Thrashers fans probably knew about Kozlov. But did you also know about Erik Christensen, who is 15 for 26 in his career?
According to NHLshootouts.com, the Thrashers were second in most shootouts won last season (nine), tied for third in most shootouts (15) and eighth in shootout winning percentage (.600).
Forgive me if you’ve seen these numbers before, but here is how the Thrashers ranked in various shootout categories last season:
Goals scored
Erik Christensen, tied for third, 6
Slava Kozlov, tied for fifth, 5
Ilya Kovalchuk, tied for 18th, 4
Eric Perrin, tied for 54th, 2
Among players who scored more than one shootout goal, the leaders in percentage scored included:
Erik Christensen, 28th, .545
Eric Perrin, tied for 34th, .500
Ilya Kovalchuk, tied for 60th, .400
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Players working out in Duluth
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Fifteen Thrashers players worked out today (Friday) at the IceForum, from veterans like Ken Klee to young guys like Angelo Esposito and Zach Bogosian.
The list: Goalies Kari Lehtonen and Johan Hedberg, defensemen Garnet Exelby, Niclas Havelid, Klee and Bogosian, forwards Erik Christensen, Bryan Little, Eric Perrin, Todd White, Slava Kozlov, Chris Thorburn, Brad Larsen, Eric Boulton and Esposito. Jake Anderson, son of Thrashers coach John Anderson, also worked out with the group.
“This is when the guys start rolling , especially guys with houses, guys with kids,” said Perrin, whose daughter is in first grade. “Every day we try to work on something different, whether it’s conditioning, skills, …” he said after today’s workout, which included full-ice scrimmages and cross-ice three-on-threes.
The elder Anderson can’t direct workouts until Sept. 20, but he is keeping busy, too. There’s a tentative plan for who will travel to the two prospect games against the Predators in Nashville Sept. 22 and 23, in which the Thrashers plan to use 15 skaters. There’s a tentative list of the 30 players who will make the trip to the exhibition games in Nashville Sept. 25, St. Louis Sept. 26 and Detroit Sept. 28. Injuries aren’t the only things that could change those tentative lists. Players can earn their way onto them. “We hope there’s some surprises,” Anderson said.
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Bogosian signing moves team one step further
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Thursday’s news of the signing of Zach Bogosian puts the Thrashers one step closer to being ready for the season to open. There wasn’t a whole lot of suspense — after all, the NHL’s collective bargaining agreement sets strict limits for entry-level contracts — but it has to be good for all concerned that management and Bogosian got this out of the way before the prospect evaluation tournament in Traverse City, Mich., Sept. 13-17. You don’t want anything distracting your young future star from his hockey.
On another topic, here’s an interesting story about former Thrashers player Darcy Hordichuk.
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Prospect tournament begins next week
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
September finally has arrived, and with it comes the return of hockey season, or at least hockey practice. For the Thrashers’ prospects, things get going Sept. 13 in Traverse City, Mich.
New coach John Anderson told me he plans to be at the Prospect Evaluation Tournament for the first couple of days. Here’s the schedule, in case you plan a trip to Michigan:
Thrashers Traverse City Prospect Evaluation Tournament Schedule:
Saturday, Sept. 13
Practice (8:30-9:15 a.m.); Game vs. Tampa Bay (3 p.m.)
Sunday, Sept. 14
Practice (9:30-10:15 a.m.); Game vs. NY Rangers (2:30 p.m.)
Monday, Sept. 15
Practice (10:45-11:45 a.m.)
Tuesday, Sept. 16
Practice (11:30 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.); Game vs. Detroit (7 p.m.)
Wednesday, Sept. 17
7th Place Game (2 p.m.)
5th Place Game (2:30 p.m.)
3rd Place Game (6 p.m.)
Championship Game (6:30 p.m.)
The Thrashers will be coached by Don Granato, coach of the Chicago Wolves, and Jeff Pyle, coach of the Gwinnett Gladiators. Anderson, though, suggested there’s more evaluation going on than coaching.
“They have one practice and they’re into a game,” he said. “Coaching is a broad term. It’s more like opening the door and letting them out.”
Defenseman Zach Bogosian is the featured player, but you never know who will impress. Anderson said he plans to open the Thrashers camp Sept. 20 with about 55 players.
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