nhLOL: I can't get away from him

Oh Benoit. Why you gotta go be on a team I give a shit about?

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Nightly wrap-up and whatnot

So, I was kinda dreading the Aeros game last night. I mean really. That Rockford series was like a weeklong thumb in the eye. But last night was good. Nice way to leave things before they run off for like 3 weeks of no home games. It was also nice to not be playing Rockford. I'm so over that big red pig.

Plus, it's never a bad night when Kassian scores, amiright? I'm guessing he would agree, either direction you wanna go with that.

At one point, I said, "Dubie's playing really well" and John about fell out of his chair. Yes, I can be objective. Even about goalies. Even about goalies I don't like. That said, he wasn't as good in the third. So there.

Up in Trenton, things were even rosier in goal, at least for the Everblades, for whom Brusty was fantastic, stopping 25 of 26 for a really solid win. And the one goal against was a power play goal that was poorly played by the defenseman covering the back door. But other than that, the team played pretty well in front of him, so muchas gracias for that.

Anyway, the big goalie took home first star honors, which is full of win and awesome and well deserved for sure.

This was his third straight start for the Blades and now they head back to lusty Florida for the All Star Break. They face Trenton 3 more times again before the month is out. Soooo, sick of them by February? Yeah, I figure that's a big affirmative.

BTW, here's videos from the shootout of Friday's game in Trenton. Good stuff.

Meanwhile, the Wild in Arizona. How about those Yotes, my friends? What a great story they have going this season. What's going on really though? I'm gonna say a lot of this is just plain better coaching. Imagine if Gretsky had bowed out 3 years ago and let someone else coach this club.

But of course, there's the whole "us against the world" factor that brings a group of guys together.

Back to the Wild, though, Latendresse! Name a trade that's been so mutually beneficial in the history of trades in any sport. I'm not kidding. 6 goals and one assist in 11 games for Benny, and frankly (more importantly) a huge smile on his face every time I see him. I love that.

And Latendresse is virtually unrecognizable, he's such a new man. Look at this:

In almost equal games, from scoring to PIM to +/- to shots on goal, the guy has gone from Clark Kent to Superman. Seems some Habs fans are still cranky with him, and I guess that's fair to some extent. Like, "where was that when we had you?" but I sure don't feel that way about Pouliot.

What's interesting is that they're praising Pouly up and down up there for going to the net and getting his nose dirty, when that's exactly what he wouldn't do for the Wild. You have to wonder if there was a certain mental block after all he'd been through with the Wild.

Maybe it wasn't so much a reluctance to do that stuff at all, but to do it for the Wild. Not consciously, I don't think, but you really have to be committed to play like that, and it's hard to be committed to a team you don't feel is really committed to you, right?

Ohhh, I thought the psychoanalysis of Benny would go away when he finally got traded. That's probably the last of it. But it is pretty fascinating.

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Tonight is supposed to be my only game of the week, but I've asked Scott to sub for me. My knee is still aching badly and I'm back coughing again (this shit will just not go away), so I think my body is saying it's time to take advantage of not playing Monday or Tuesday and also take Sunday off to really rest everything.

We'll see if he's up for it. I hate missing a game, but I've never missed a weekend of games and NOT come back fresher and better for it. Still. :( I hate missing a game.

Thinking I'll go get a good massage and see if Cheryl can work on my IT band and hamstrings so I can do some good stretching this week.

I was sitting on the edge of my bed the other day and held both my legs out in front of me (okay, I admit I was doing it to admire my wicked quads) and I couldn't straighten my left leg out completely without a ton of tightness. So there's definitely a kink in the works.

Hope I can get in though. The Houston Marathon is today and many of her clients are runners who will likely be seeking relief this week.

I should go out this morning and cheer for our friends who are running, but meh. I've done my marathon and watching people at Mile 21 where I live brings back not the fondest memories. Have I mentioned how much I don't miss that shit? I hope to god I never look back on playing hockey the way look back on that.

Not that I regret it, because it gave me a ton of courage to do the things I'm doing now, but man was that a helluva lot of time doing something not remotely fun and entirely painful.

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Got Poulioted

Forgot to mention in my stick and puck report the other day that I actually got Poulioted by one of those punk kids.

Like this (except this goalie had a fighting chance of getting a glove on it):


I know other people do this move, but I'd never seen anything like it until I saw Pouly do it. And when there's no defense to contend with, I don't think there's a prettier, more graceful skater out there.

I was just thinking about this today as questions of whether he'll get re-signed by the Wild (he's an RFA) are starting to get floated. I'll tackle that over at T3I when the Aeros are done for the season.

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Quick hits: Random Me-Stuff; Pouliot article; Hab talk

Any guesses as to how many times I've watched the video from my previous post today?

Okay, like 5x and I giggled every time, but it's still not enough to make me less irritable about not getting to go skate today at lunch time. :( But I'll strap on the gear and do up and downs later. Gonna toy with my toe ties (say that fast 10 times) to see if I can get a scheme going that works better for pad rotation.

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Pouly got some press in the Strib today. I'm just going to quit paying any attention to what he says to the media and let his play speak for itself. I didn't think his words matched his effort lately on the ice, but fortunately it's going the right way for a change.

He sounds much more blasé about it in the paper than he looks during games. Normally he says all the right things but then the effort on the ice is paltry. I prefer this way.

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Finally someone else is talking sense about Carey Price and the rest of Les Bad Habit-ants. (ZOMG, look at the quad muscles on those boys! You can see how they had trouble getting to Foster's femur through that stuff.)

And Stu Hackel over at NYT: Slap Shot blog mentions today how there's talk of divisiveness in the Habs room and the elder Koivu seems to be on the outside looking in. Much has been said of his free agent status this summer, and how both Koivus have said that playing together in Minnesota might be something they'd be cool with. Perhaps if the rumors from Montreal are true, the stage for Koivu's departure after all these years and a Koivu reunion in St. Paul is being set. Stranger things have happened.

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Aeros v. Iowa Chops - Game 54

I haven't watched the whole game, so I'll just comment on the highlights. Sunday's home game is so close I can taste it and watching on AHL Live, as nice as it is (particularly the Chops games, as they do a great job with their broadcast), is getting really old. It's just so hard to judge the tempo and intensity of the game that way.

Anyway...

Pouliot started the scoring with a shorthanded goal. He just picked the pocket of the Chops player out at the far point on the PP, jetted up the boards with Locke keeping the pace on the other side providing a passing threat. With only one defenseman and one goalie, who couldn't be happy to see what was coming at him, Pouly just wristed one right under the crossbar from the circle. Good, simple hockey. Didn't dick around, didn't give and go, just shot the puck. Love it.

Not to be outdone, later in the first, Foxy Chop Drew Miller nabbed the puck on an Aeros PP and beat Rogers and Noreau to rocket one past Schaefer. The Chops scored again with about one minute left in the period in a goal mouth scramble that found Schaefer out of his net and a rebound going in behind him.

Apart from one minor penalty per team, both teams just battled the second period out without a change in the 2-1 score (which means I'm not watching it), but midway through the third, Rogers tied it up.

Then with Earl and the Chops' Evans in the box for coincidental penalties, Pouliot showed he's more than just hot in a suit when he smoked the Chops D with Rosa coming up the middle a step behind him. Pouly passed to the middle and Rosa got a stick on it and just banged it past LeNeveu.

I gotta tell ya, much has been made this week in the interviews with Aeros folks about how professionally Pouly has handled his demotion and while I'm not around the guys, I feel like I can see it. He smiles more, his face looks relaxed, his body language is confident, he's playing like he's not afraid. I'm just completely impressed. Keep it up, Ben.

The insurance goal came less than a minute later on a power play ignited by a Kolanos breakaway that drew a tripping call. Noreau took a hard shot that rebounded off Rosa (not before leaving him pretty gimpy) and then Schultz banged it in. Seems like Rosa should have gotten an assist for pain and suffering.

Amazingly, not a single point for Kolanos, but some nights, his best and highest use is as a decoy, drawing penalties with his speed, etc. It's nice to have a game here and there where he isn't the hero. Definitely gives the team a better sense of balance when he's not involved in every goal.

Scotty's thumb was well enough to play, so it looks like Alby got the "Foster Scratch" for the game. I believe Mojzis is injured, and of course Irmen and Madsen are still out with bum ankles. Kilpatrick was scratched as well, but if Rosa's injury at the end of the game is still smarting today, I would assume he'll get in the game tonight.

So, what's up with this crazy team anyway? This getting behind and then locking down in the second and then scoring in the third happens too often to be a coincidence, right? My theory is that they don't like playing with a lead because they tend to choke them away. So if you play 75% of the game a point or two down, and THEN bring the noise, there's no time for the other team to hit back.

Plausible? What do you think?

Either way, happy for the win. The game got increasingly chippy as the evening progressed, so it will be interesting to see how tonight goes. With four games against each other in two weeks, this puppy is likely to blow at some point.

Happy Valentine's Day, lovelies!

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Farm Team Shuffle

Do you think Pouliot's snickering to himself a little today, knowing that hot shot Krys Kolanos, who took his job just a couple of weeks ago up in Minnesota, is headed back to the minors with him?

But maybe not so much, knowing on the flip side that Peter Olvecky got the call to replace Kolanos.

All in all, it's a shifting of minor leaguers that I can't argue with. Olvecky has had a good season and really found his niche as a gritty playmaker supporting Locke, Rosa, Schultz, and Kolanos. He's hustled his buns off and done what was asked of him and didn't home to Europe in a snit when he was sent down after camp, unlike SOME people. He's earned this cuppa and I couldn't be more delighted for him.

And I couldn't be more delighted to get Krys back. The ice seems little bigger when he's on it and it will be VERY interesting to see if he and Pouliot could possibly get some chemistry. I know... I'm reaching, but if you've seen them both play in person, in the AHL, you understand what I'm talking about. What AHL defensemen pairing is going to shut BOTH of those guys down if they're out together? And it's not like doing that would put all our scorers on one line. There's still Locke, Schultz, and Rosa.

It will be interesting to see if those guys miss Olvecky though.

Some folks have said, "Why not Locke?" Russo sheds some light on that:

Speaking of unlocked, Corey Locke isn’t. He’s having a great offensive season down in Houston and just starred in the All-Star Game, yet he’s not getting a sniff yet. From what I’ve heard from people inside the organization at times, Locke, who once starred in junior with a fella named Matt Foy, is super-skilled but has a tendency to score goals at both ends of the rink if you catch my drift. His size is also a bit of an issue.

I actually haven't had an issue with Locker's defensive play, considering his skill set and size. I'd love for him to get a shot, just to yay or nay the questions about whether he's got the skill to overcome his size limitations. He's clearly got a special nose for the net.

But he is a whispy little thing, for sure. Still, he can take abuse and keep going without a flinch, and he's adapted pretty well to find ways to deal with his size and even make it an asset. He can carve through defensemen pretty handily and is so quick, they don't have a chance. But those are AHL d-men... and quality of defense is the biggest difference between the NHL and AHL.

Anyway, always good to have a little mid-week excitement and pot stirring to make sure everyone is awake.

Of course, the thing I didn't mention is that Kolanos is actually having to go through waivers to get sent to Houston. Someone COULD pick him up. If I'm a GM with an offensively challenged team that plays with less emphasis on the center being a third d-man, maybe I look at that. He really is instant offense... just add ice.

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Aeros v. Peoria Rivermen - Game 47

The Prediction Brothers to my left on press row said, "You're going to write nice things about Ben tonight." I said, "Only if I see him in a suit."

But alas, Benny proved them right. I didn't even see him in a suit. But here goes:

Pouliot had a very good game. I mean, really good. Really physical. Yeah, I said physical. He hit (a LOT), he held on to the puck under defensive pressure, he drew a penalty, he scored a goal.

He still had a few Bad Benny moments, but many more "Why is Stoner Wearing Pouliot's Sweater?" moments. Seriously, he outhit everyone on the team. Sit and think about that for a moment.

Dare I say, he was one of the most dangerous players on the ice tonight. Now, if he can just play like that AND get his shots within 5 feet of the net, I guarantee there's a warm bed in the Twin Cities waiting for him.

He had two or three breakaway opportunities that were literally breathtaking. He's got to be the prettiest skater I've ever seen, at least in person. I forgot how extraordinary it is to watch him fly down the ice. And once, he actually broke through a couple of defensemen, who were putting physical pressure on him, and he not only stood up to the pressure but he hung on to the puck and got a shot off. I'm not sure I've EVER seen him do that.

But of course, it leaves me wanting more, and I find myself back to using my "bad boyfriend" analogy for him: He's like the guy who is really a jerk and you know you can do better in almost every way, but he's SO good in bed, you just keep going back to him in moments of weakness. Of course, you regret it every single time, because he's not going to change and you know it, but damn does he have some sick skills and soft hands.

*sigh* What a tease Benny is. I've been burned enough to know the hustle won't last, but I do appreciate him playing like that tonight. It was a bit of a silver lining around a cloud of a 3-2 loss to Peoria.



And what a cloud it was. My distinct sense during the game was that yesterday's game was so lovely and goals came so easily, that they thought it was always going to be that way. Sorry, boys. Not the case. Yesterday, their legs were moving, passing was clicking, they were simply dominant.

But tonight, it was bouncing pucks, bad passes, and many, MANY brain farts. I can think of at least 3 instances where the puck was just left sitting unattended on the ice by an Aeros player, begging for a swarm of Rivermen to take it and go. Just lots of empty-headed play. John Scott had a bad game and, IMO, failed Schaefer on a couple of those goals against.

I see from reading Royal's blog that Constantine felt the same way.

Locke got the second goal to get the game within one goal with just under 4 minutes left in the third, but he then got a cross-checking penalty with just over 2 minutes left in the game. This, of course, prevented the Aeros from being able to pull Schaefer for the extra man. Given the level of "uh-oh" hustle in the third, I think they had a chance of tying it up if it weren't for that.

As such, I'm not fond of his selection as the third star. It should have been... wait for it... Pouliot. Yeah, I said it. And I mean it. And it's got nothing to do with how ripping hot he is in a suit.

Also, can we undo the Hamilton/Earl trade? Pretty please? I'm trying to be patient. I'm not doing very well. So far, he seems to have no nose for the net and a significant deficit in the "hockey sense" department.

Alright. That's all. Link to Andrew's Chron article here. Royal is linked above. Next up is Locke and Brusty at that ASG Sunday afternoon and Monday night. Go get 'em boys.

ETA: One more thing... I know they don't keep stats about this, but I'd LOVE to know what the Aeros record is when they're wearing a new jersey. The boys were wearing the big charity auction jersey for the first time tonight. They're nice enough. I've seen far worse. But it seems like those are always losing games. Here are some photos from the game.

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Quick hits: Jimmy's smokin'; Cal-to-Pouliot heart transplant; ASG Breakaway competition goalie

I'm feeling a little cranky this afternoon, but then this bit of magical loveliness floated into my Google Reader and put a smile on my face.

Here's James Shepperd and his perfect face talking about his all star break plans. Am I the only one who is always a little surprised by how deep his voice is? Rawr.

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Mike Toth of Sportsnet.ca looks back at his pre-season predictions to see how they're coming along at mid-season.

Prediction:
3. The perfect hockey transplant? Removing the heart of Cal Clutterbuck and placing it inside the body of Benoit Pouliot. The Minnesota Wild selected the gifted Pouliot fourth overall in the 2005 NHL draft. But since then, he's only played a handful of games at the NHL level and has spent much of his AHL apprenticeship skating around in a fog. Clutterbuck, on the other hand, is the epitome of making the most out of limited ability and the former Oshawa General has a chance of cracking the Minnesota roster as a fourth line energy player. Wild officials say that because Pouliot is so talented, he's never had to sweat like the Clutterbuck's of the world. However, if the light bulb finally goes on, it would play a major role in solving Minnesota's search for a sniper to complement Marian Gaborik.

Reflection:
Top shelf: While we're on that subject, let's turn our attention to a pair of prospects with the Minnesota Wild. "Too bad you couldn't place the heart of Cal Clutterbuck inside the body of Benoit Pouliot", we wrote. Lo and behold, Pouliot is in danger of being a first round flop, as he was recently returned to the minors. Clutterbuck, on the other hand, is making a real name for himself. (Which isn't that difficult when you've got a perfect hockey handle like "Clutterbuck".) Living up to our claims that he'd crack the roster, Clutterbuck has displayed a knack for chipping in with some big goals and is fast becoming one of the NHL's most annoying super-pests. Heck! He's even had Wayne Gretzky screaming at him a couple of times from the Coyotes bench, as The Great One wished he could deploy Dave Semenko to teach Clutterbuck a lesson.

Yep. Mr. Toth has been paying attention.

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Finally, this post from Puck Daddy today vis-a-vis the goalie who will be taking the shots during the Breakaway competition at the All Star Game:

Gone are the all-star goalies with pride on the line; according the League, the current plan is for the goalie in the competition to be a "junior level guy from the Montreal-area" that (as of this morning) has not been selected. Maybe League officials will drive up to a rink in an unmarked van, put a bag over some random goalie's head, and he wakes up between the pipes in Montreal ...

Wysh nails the mental visuals again. Funny stuff. And he's got some good suggestions for alternatives. It's worth a read.

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Oh, and a few other things...

Criminy... I tried to go to bed and still couldn't sleep. I'm WIDE AWAKE and it's 4:22 as I type this. Ugh. Tomorrow (today) is going to Suuuuuuck.

Anyway, for anybody who thinks I'm a huge bitch about Pouliot, take a gander at the Houston reaction. Now, granted, the IA forum is often overly negative, IMO, so grain of salt, but still. It ain't just me who's prickly about the guy.

Blessedly, the John Scott bashing has died to a trickle there. I finally had to take the site out of my regular rotation and just check in occasionally, it was fouling my mood up so bad.

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My knees hurt. That's actually a good "sign of progress" thing.

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I can't even express how much I want a greasy cheeseburger right now. That bowl of frosted mini-wheats I just had was so unsatisfying.

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We live in a 3-story house, and I've been taking the stairs two at a time lately because that seems to work similar muscles to the ones I use when I'm getting up off the ice. I think it helped. I wasn't AS sucky in that regard tonight.

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The dog is snoring LOUDLY on the couch here next to me. Adorable.

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I'm wondering if confidence might be a bad thing when I have a good warm-up. Warm-ups are always just one puck, one shooter, which I'm ok with. It's when they get me moving, either by passing or setting up in a way where a pass could easily burn me, that it all goes to hell and I can't decide what to do.

I also let in my first totally screened goal tonight. It was one of Stinky's. My d-man scooted right in front of me and the guy has a pretty quick release and it just went through both our feet. Where was my stick? Not on the ice, I can tell you that. Dammit.

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Okay, I'm putting On The Fly on and gonna see if I can work up some ZZZZZs like the dog is knocking out here next to me.

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There's gotta be a redneck joke in getting lit up like this...

It's amazing to me how I can just get completely lit up as a goalie and still have about a bazillion times more fun and satisfaction than when I played out.

I mean, at both positions, there's a period of time where you're just gonna suck because you don't have the skillz and you don't know what the hell you're doing. As a skater, that was a period of intense un-fun for me.

As a goalie, even though I got lit up pretty much all night at practice, as long as I can talk about it a bit with Scott TFCG or the coaches, I can let it go and be happy before I'm even on 249 (for the non-locals, that's the freeway the rink is on).

I guess life sort of builds up to certain challenges and you learn the things you need to learn to face them with relative stability. If you can't tell, I'm feeling obnoxiously zen right now. I'll give the touchy-feely a rest for a minute.

It was a practice this week and Scott TFCG came out in his awesome Quebec Nordiques jersey to work with me and the other goalie (who is several months ahead of me), so we did some positioning drills and then the players did some drills around the net and shot on me.

Apparently I have an issue with turning perpendicular to the net. I don't even realize I'm doing it, so it's going to take a while to fix that.

Honesty Time #1: Practices are kinda like eating steamed broccoli. There's a bit of pleasure from the virtuous feeling of doing something good for you, but really, you're never sitting there thinking, "Oh yeah, this is desert island food right here, baby. I want this shit All. The. Time." I don't mean to be all Allen Iverson about it, but there ya go. Admitting you have a problem is the first step, right?



On the other hand, games are like a big bowl of chips and queso. And if you're making some nice saves and your team is playing good defense, add a margarita to wash it all down. It's the nectar of the gods. I'll spend all week looking forward to Sunday since it's a game week.

I'm still having an issue of not getting into the game fast enough. Just like last week, the first three shots on me during the scrimmage went in. I'm not sure what it's going to take for me to get over that, but I'm more irritated about that than just about anything else. I hate putting my team in a hole from the start. :(

And can I just say, MAN are these teams out of balance. Holy crap. The green team is so much better in just about every way than the red team. And it's not even so much the red defense as the red forwards who don't backcheck or forecheck with any kind of intensity. They're clearly intimidated and outmatched by the green team and it was really frustrating to watch. They're more true novice though, so it's understandable and I don't mean to be a bitch about it, but it's a really stark contrast to the green team.

Also, I'm such a "heart" person when it comes to hockey, it almost feels like a bit of a betrayal for the green team to be shooting on me! Damn them. And Stinky especially, though I did stop his first shot on me and he was all, "Oh, damn. I'm stinky AND I got stopped by the sucky goalie!" and I was all, "HA! HA! Suck on that, Stinky!" But then he got two more past me at which point I was full of rage and wanting to hurt him with my stick.

Honesty time #2: You know why he really bugs me, other than for stealing the puck off my stick that time, is that his aesthetic is very similar to Pouliot's. Obviously, he's not that good, but he's got a long, pretty stride and sort of a dangling, dekeing style. I think he may even tuck his jersey. So... you know, I'm hating that. Luckily, he does get the puck poked away quite a bit because he keeps it so far away from his body. He's lucky he's ON the green team because their D wouldn't let that happen if he played against them.

Anyway, what else? I'm rambling a bit. My high is wearing off, too, and I'm starting to feel "ugh" but that's okay. It's part of the process. I'll feel better tomorrow. By Wednesday, I'll be wishing it was Sunday.

To end on a good note, I'm still in awe of how supportive and kind everyone is. I know it has to be frustrating to have a goalie you can't trust between the pipes for you, so it means a lot for folks to continue to have my back. And of course, Scotty, I know you want me to hate you, but really, you're the best. You're not Mr. Awesome, because I gave Aeros photographer Fred Trask that title, but you're darn close. Thank you. Sincerely. Sorry for the F-bombs lobbed your way tonight. (Stinky, I'm not sorry for the ones I lobbed at you.)

Oh and I had a couple of Stars of the Game: Steve gets the #1 star for roughing Scotty up during the scrimmage. Stick tap for that, man. That was sweet. Dave S. gets the #2 star for helping out with the drills and mostly missing the net, and also for taking it easy on me during the scrimmage (and for getting after Stinky about playing like a hot shot... which I don't mind so much as that's just real hockey, but I'll take whatever concessions and protection anyone is willing to throw my way right now).

Okay, so next week is a game and I'm gonna try and have one goal: Square to the puck.

No wait: SQUARE TO THE F**KING PUCK, GODDAMMIT!

Yeah, that's more like it.

Let's go into the week with some Tragically Hip and "The Lonely End of the Rink":

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Ms. Conduct finds religion

Dear Hockey Gods,

Your messenger, Mike Russo, delivered unto us some news tonight that I'm having difficulty coming to terms with.

See, I know sending Ben back to Houston is your will and I understand the reasoning. He's just not ready for the NHL and is too expensive to sit in the press box night after night.

But... Blessed Ones... we've been so good in Houston. We've tried hard and have a bunch of nice guys who seem to get along and are building good chemistry on the ice and are "on the same page."

And we've sacrificed! Oh how we've sacrificed! We gave the Wild our biggest, third-handsomest defenseman during our nastiest road trip. We gave you our beloved Clutterbuck, who is possessed with your spirit unlike any other. We even sent you our strange-but-fierce Kolanos, who was so pivotal to our worship services at the Toyota Center.

*sigh*

But I understand that this is our cross to bear. I just ask for your help in keeping the darkness out of our hearts as we learn to accept the hand we've been dealt.

In the name of Gretzky, Orr, and the ghost of Sawchuk. Amen.

~Ms. Conduct

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Kolanos' Wild Ride

How great was that Wild game against Boston last night? I enjoyed every minute of it.

But what I got most out of it was the solidification of a story line that's been developing for two or three seasons now. Russo mentions in his post-game blog what a great comeback story Kolanos is turning out to be. No doubt. But I think it's made even more crisp when you throw the parallel story of Benoit Pouliot into the mix, and maybe a dash of Gaborik.

The story begins in Houston with Aeros fans plodding through 2 seasons of Pouliot's coasting and lack of passion. The first season was a bust for the team as a whole and he was a rookie, so he got a pass. The second, he showed flashes of brilliance with the puck -- flashes of brilliance this low-scoring team desperately needed on a regular basis if they were to compete.

But 95% of the time, he brought none of the heart to match the talent in his limbs, nor did he show much in the way of the hockey sense you want to see in a star forward. Never the less, he could have been a hero on such a low-scoring team. But he just didn't have the maturity or the fire or the stones or whatever it is (maybe all three) to be the guy they needed him to be.

On the year, he contributed four fewer points than Steve Kelly, who only played two more games than Pouly. Those aren't numbers that get you a guaranteed spot in the NHL, my friends.

And yet, because the Wild were desperate for scoring and centers, Pouly was handed a spot on the Wild this season basically by virtue of his one good year in juniors, his high draft status (4th overall pick in 2005) and an okay late-season call-up last year.

So, up he goes this season. And struggle he does. He makes Pierre-Marc Bouchard look like Chuck Norris, he's so weak on the puck and averse to physical contact. And Lemaire makes no bones about it, basically saying in the media that he's coasting on his talent and that won't fly in the NHL. He's been given a gift of an NHL roster spot, again on a team desperate for scoring, and he plays like he's afraid of breaking a nail.

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Meanwhile, in Houston, where nobody I've talked to is missing Pouliot, there's this guy called Krys Kolanos making everyone else on the ice look like rec leaguers. Basically doing what most thought Pouliot COULD have done if he's shown an ounce of gumption.

Now, you'll recall that when the season started, I wasn't sold on Kolanos. They signed him and I started doing some research: I see that the Aeros are his NINTH team since the lockout, I hear from Quad City Flames fans (with whom he had an AHL contract last season) that he's lazy, won't play in his own end, cherry picks, is bad with fans, bad in the room, bad with media... bad bad bad. Take your goals and go elsewhere, TYVM.

So I'm thinking, "Uh oh, this is going to be a train wreck."

But then he scored. And then he scored again. And he doesn't just score. He scores on from these crazy sharp angles around the net, or on blistering wrap-arounds, or on wristers lasered in from the slot. And he's doing it almost on his own, with one, two, or sometimes three defensemen on his heels or on his back or flanking him, trying to push him off the puck.

Even without knowing his back-story, he's looking very much like a man who believes he belongs in the NHL and is hell bent to prove it. What's more, he's leading the team in +/-! What the...?

And yet, there IS this amazing back-story of a severe concussion in January of his rookie year with Phoenix in 2002. He was their first round draft pick, made the team out of camp in 2001, was NHL Rookie of the Month in November, and had been selected to play in the Young Stars game of the NHL All Star weekend. He was a guy who clearly had potential and was going places.

But a second concussion during a pre-season game the following Fall kept him out the rest of that season and kicked off a 6 year journey bouncing around the NHL, AHL, and European leagues trying to recouperate, looking for his game, and maybe looking for his marbles a little. You can read a terrific article about that period of his life here.

(And BTW, I have to interject that I love that his story spreads the word about Active Release Therapy. I had similar treatment called Graston Therapy that fixed my Achillies Tendinitis a couple of years ago and I'm a HUGE believer in it for soft tissue injuries. Every sports trainer or sports physician should be on top of what's going on in that field these days, but I think it was still fairly new back when he had his injuries.)

Anyway, as Kolanos was becoming a shiny blonde rock star in Houston (ohhh, there's that squee-worthy photo again! Thank you Fred!), he was getting a call-up here and there but not getting much out of it beyond probably a better per diem and bigger paycheck. He either was getting benched or was just looking out of place when he did play.

But in his last and most recent call up, Lemaire, fed up with Pouliot's halfassery, saw it as an opportunity to enroll Benny in How to Make It in the NHL 101 (Professor Jacques Lemaire with Teaching Assistant Krys Kolanos). He scratched Ben and put Kolanos in his spot. And Kolanos brought every bit of the noise he said he was going to this time around.

He's winning most of his face-offs, he's getting quality scoring chances, he's getting points, showing incredible hockey sense, playing a team game, playing physical, finishing his checks, defending his zone, getting singled out for praise by Lemaire and winning over Wild fans left and right. His tenacity and talent and williness to do whatever he had to do to ressurect his ailing career is paying off a little more with every game, and he is looking now like a man who has proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that he belongs in the NHL.

The hot topic in the Wild Kingdom is whether the team should re-sign Backstrom.

It's a highly debateable and complex discussion, but here's what isn't complex or debateable in my mind:

The Wild are losing Gaborik, their 2000 first round draft pick, to free agency and getting nothing in return, and right under their noses is another 2000 first round draft pick in Kolanos.

I'm not saying Kolanos fills the hole that Gaborik leaves but the symmetry is awfully hard to dismiss. It's painfully clear that Pouliot isn't going to be this team's savior, and in fact, I think they'd trade him in a heartbeat if they could find a team willing to gamble that his maturity and passion level will some day catch up to his talent. And Sheppard and Gillies are going to be great NHLers some day but don't show the elite knack for the net that guys like Gaborik, Kolanos, and (sometimes) Pouliot have.

I'm not saying Kolanos doesn't have some dings in his record. You have to figure where there's smoke, there's fire, and there's been lots of smoke around his eccentric personality. And you can't ignore the concussion history, which could really come back to bite a team if he gets another one.

Never the less, I contend that the Wild have an elite offensive stud on their hands who, unlike some guys on the Wild roster, has shown heart and tenacity and love of the game beyond most peoples' expectations.

I suspect the Wild could lock him up for a relative song if they act sooner than later, and I for one have seen absolutely nothing that makes me think they shouldn't get on that and get on it pronto.

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Quick Hits: Mudbugs get the moral victory; Cal breaks the hit record and scored; Pouliot sits

Well, that was a fun time! Our seats were terrible, right behind the Mudbugs bench, but it gave my parents a chance to learn about the back-up goalie's very important job of minding the door. And how they're all sniffing smelling salts before the game. And see the angry coach up close. But not much hockey to be seen from there. Why would anybody sit there except puck bunnies?

First intermission, we moved up high and actually got to see hockey. They really enjoyed it and said they could see why I like it so much, so I accomplished my overarching goal for the night.

Texas scored 2 in the first and one nearly off the first face off in the second, so our pal, the back-up goalie, got in and played much better than his partner. The Bugs came back to get the score within one but just couldn't get the puck in the net to tie it up. Boy, that's a familiar feeling...

They throw the crawdads on the ice after every goal. Dad even said, "Gosh, they should throw crawdads after goals like Detroit and their octopus." Lo and behold... there they go flying.

Lots of chants they do, too. I'm guessing they're pretty standard ones as I recognized parts of them from what I've heard Gopher fans talk about, but didn't know them all. Very dedicated fan base, which was awesome to see. They all knew the chants and most jerseys were Mudbugs jerseys.

Terrible intermission games though.. first one was literally 3 guys with yellow pages having to look up some business. And they were unsuccessful as far as I could tell. WTH? Second was 3 ladies in a gift wrapping race. Gave them two boxes to wrap so one lady wrapped both boxes up together and was pretty angry when she didn't win. LOL Had to agree with her... they never said each had to be wrapped individually.

Anyway, good stuff. Nice to see live hockey after the Aeros being gone for a while. I start to come out of my skin a bit when I don't get to see live hockey for a while. I'm already dreading summer.

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So, Cal broke the Wild record for most hits in a season in only his 29th game of the season. He's 5th in the league (behind Lucic, Orpik, AO, & Brown) in hits but 32 (!) hits ahead of the nearest fellow rookie. It's like if Costco sold PAIN, there'd be a shelf full of Clutterbucks. PAIN in nearly embarrassing volumes at a discount prices.

He also tipped in his third goal of the season off a shot from Gaby. I haven't watched the game yet, but I've got it Tivo'd so that's next on the agenda before sleep.

Good little interview with Cal about 1/4 of the way into the post game broadcast and again, his articulation of what he brings to the game is just excellent. Anybody who thinks he's "just hitting" out there doesn't get it. Here's hoping he gets home for a quick visit with mom and dad. Helluva young man you've got there, Mr & Mrs C.

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Benny got yanked by Jock today. As I mentioned in Russoville, at some point, the coaches are going to get tired of having to shame him into playing his best. That or it's simply going to stop working.

How many times have we heard this quote from Pouliot (as said to Russo Tuesday)?

“Mario gave a pretty good run there after practice,” Pouliot said. “I haven’t been playing my best hockey the past six, seven games, that’s for sure. I had a bad game against St. Louis and now I’m paying for it by not playing.
“It’s [Lemaire’s] decision, and I can’t change that unless I work hard. That’s what I’m going to try to do.”

Try? TRY?

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Wild v. Colorado - 11/06

I still hate Colorado and their fans from the playoffs last season. So, the Wild's game against them last night was something of a catharsis. Ian Laperrier got soundly and quickly whupped, as we say down here, by Craig Weller and, man, that felt good. I know Lappy's a good guy if he's on your team but he isn't on my team, so he can suck it.

And it was great to get what I would call a pretty decisive win. Cal didn't get an official star of the game, but he got one of the Strib's three stars.

3. Cal Clutterbuck, Wild: Four more hits gives the physical right winger a team-high 37 in 10 games.

Backs was Off. The. Hook. as he has been pretty much all season except the one game I got to see in person. Not that I'm bitter or anything. But anyway, the team needs to forget about Gaby for now and get that goalie signed. Hards doesn't have it like Backs has it, I don't think. Tired of waiting on Hards to be "the goalie of the future."

And Pouliot got another goal, and the "I Told You So"s are starting. He does look to be responding to Lemaire & Co. and had a good game last night. Having good games has never been his problem though. It's been stringing good games together instead of going invisible after he feels like he's "done enough." To me, this is his first game where he looked like he belonged up there. So, lets see how it goes before we get out the silver polish and start shining the Calder for him, eh?

(And I'm editing to add that, while I'm happy he's scoring goals and making the Wild better, there is a part of me that just makes me SO angry that he couldn't be bothered to do this in the AHL. We needed his offensive talent SO BADLY last season in Houston and he just floated and floated. If there's a part of me that does want him to stink it up in Minny, it stems from that. I feel like Jennifer Aniston... Brad Pitt didn't want to make babies with me but he'll go off with Angelina and have 10 kids. Bastard.)

Anyway, poor Mr. Conduct is sick and has been up all night coughing. I finally got out at about 4:30 and got him some cough drops that seem to have quieted him right now. Wish I'd done that about 8 hours ago before I took Benedryl and then got about 3 very interrupted hours of sleep. Guess I'll put On the Fly on and try and pass out on the couch for a while.

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Election Day, but who cares... there's hockey on

So, Kolanos got a goal on his first shift with the Wild against the Sharks. And it came from Pouliot.

Sometimes life just likes to mess with you.

Also, the Aeros have sent John Adams down to the ECHL and, thanks to my alerting them that they a little short on forwards, have signed center Craig Valette from the Stockton Thunder to a PTO.

He's spent the last two seasons in the AHL with the Worcester Sharks and isn't a big goal scorer but consistently has PIM in the 90s, and I think a little toughness up front isn't a bad move. You're obviously not going to replace Kolanos' scoring, so you might as well get someone in who doesn't mind shoving guys around a bit.

Oh, another comment from the Wild/Sharks game... Cal got "jumped" for the first time as an NHLer! Not that I'm excited about it. I was shrieking, "GET OFF MY CAL! GET THE F**K OFF MY CAL!" Yeah, I'm cool like Fonzie. Now if they just could have gotten a goal from the penalty he drew...

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And.... what goes around, comes around

This from the Rangers Report blog:

The worse news is on Dane Byers, the rugged winger who figured to be one of the Rangers’ top call-ups this season: he blew out his knee, and is expected to miss a significiant [sic] chunk of time, if not the season.

I'm not one to root for injuries to these guys who play this game I love so dearly. But you know, if anybody deserved a jacked up knee...

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Sunday Hockey Cornucopia

Buncha random stuff:
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From Ryan Stanzel's Wild.com blog regarding last night's Wild win over Phoenix: "Unsung hero award to Cal Clutterbuck. Lemaire told the youngster to shoot more. He had three shots, two missed shots and four hits in 10:32. Oh and he blocked two shots. With a takeaway. And killed 1:17 of penalty time." Oh hell yeah. Cal pwns. (ETA: Here's more on him from the PioPress. I wonder if Cal needs a publicist.)

Jovo gets Clutterbucked.

Pouliot got the second goal of the night and his third goal of the season. I hear it was really pretty but we'll never know because the game wasn't televised and it wasn't included in the game highlights, which were clearly assembled by Phoenix. *grrr*

In Pouly's honor:



And Reitz got nice props from Russo: "I was really impressed with the play of defenseman Erik Reitz, who filled in well in 11-plus minutes. He was physical and safe."

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Aeros host the W-B/Scranton Penguinos today at 4. Because I need this home win streak to continue for the article I want to write for PHN, they are guaranteed to lose. Someone be a hero and give me another lead for my article that isn't dependent on the outcome of today's game!

Appears they had a pretty fight-happy game against San Antonio on Friday. Maybe that helps the Aeros a bit after their relatively sedate game Friday. The Pens are 4-3-0-1 so far this season.

Boogaard, the younger, comes to town with the team. He's a former Wild draft pick from that less-than-stellar 2004 draft year and was never signed by the team.

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Blessedly, the Texans are out of town today so I get to enjoy the day without the miserable schlep to Reliant Stadium. Just the Aeros game and then my own hockey game late (LATE) tonight. In the winter, the high school kids get the primo ice time and us novice leaguers are shoved waaay back to 10:05 p.m. Oh well. Kinda feels like we're getting away with something... all the "normal" people are getting ready for the work week, going to bed, etc. and we're playing hockey. That's pretty satisfying to my contrarian heart.

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Pretty pretty...

Well, that didn't take long. Former Aero Benoit Pouliot is 2 games into the season with the Wild and already has Jacques Lemaire speechless with frustration.

From Russo's Rants:

Lemaire wasn’t in the most talkative mood today... He is “surprised and disappointed” with the play of Benoit Pouliot, who clearly just doesn’t get it in Lemaire’s opinion. It was almost impossible to get a usuable quote from Lemaire on this, but he is not happy with the kid and clearly can’t get a read on him.

He took an offensive-zone penalty and rides guys up the ice with his long reach. At some point Pouliot’s going to take a very costly penalty, but Lemaire said that’s the least concern he has with Pouliot. But he wouldn’t specifically talk about what he’s seeing there.

Someone send the man a Houston Aeros t-shirt to welcome him to the club!

If things aren't turned around this season, he really just needs to go play in Europe on the big ice where he's got room to play the way he plays best.

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I can't quit staring

at this picture from (presumably before) the game last night. Our mild mannered Finnish hero in perfect light (which I'm assuming he always manages to instinctively find) looking warmly upon the wise, revered coach, and young Shep and Benny in the back unaware of the perfect moment happening right next to them.

Oh and the C. The C!!!! It looks so at home there on his chest, doesn't it? Jacques, give dat equipment guy a break. Time to make de C permanent, no doubt.

So, the fifth pre-season game found the boys playing as a team better with Burns and Butch back in the line-up and a 3-2 win. Harding was on fire until Skoula stuck the blade of his stick in his eye. On the one hand, every goalie knows the risk of a cateye cage, because they're not allowed in so many leagues for this very threat. I mean, really, for a goalie, what's more important than vision?

But of course, on the other hand, you hate to see a freak accident like that happen and for those blaming Skoula, Good Grief! Get over yourselves.

Meanwhile, by all accounts, Pouliot was playing the wing and basically invisible. What have I been saying? "Pouliot's a center. Stop putting him on the wing." I. Told. You. So.

And then somehow Scotty got third star. Huh? But hey, great for him. I'm sure that's a big boost for the big guy.

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Fantasy Hockey: Russoville

Okay, another good draft. Ended up picking them all myself. Maybe I have a bit of control freak in me. Maybe.

Here's how it shook out:

Starting Lineup:

C - Olli Jokinen (PHO)
C - Derek Roy (BUF)

LW - Patrick Sharp (CHI)
LW - Vaclav Prospal (TB)

RW - Jarome Iginla (CAL)
RW - Petr Sykora (PIT)

D - Brian Campbell (CHI)
D - Tomas Kaberle (TOR)
D - Dennis Wideman (BOS)
D - Michal Rozsival (NYR)

Util - RW- Mike Knuble (PHI)
Util - LW - Scotty Hartnell (PHI)

G - Marty Turco (DAL)
G - Marty Biron (PHI)

Bench

LW - Chris Higgins (MON)
C - Benoit Pouliot (MIN) (except Yahoo has him categorized as a LW... gonna see about getting that corrected)
C - Steve Ott (got Otter back!)
LW - Taylor "Token Hottie" Pyatt

I've got Higgins and Hartnell up on the trading block because I have too many Left Wings, so I need a RW.

Other than that, I'm pretty happy. Got my favorite goalie, and another really solid one behind him (plus, those eyes! There should be a Gorgeous Eyes stat.) Iginla's a stone cold stud and I figure I might as well get something out of him steamrolling the Wild every time they meet.

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