Goalie camp; Havlat gone Wild

So, I've had a little surprise bit of fun and learning this week on the goaltending front. I've been heading out to SLICE to watch a goalie camp going on there each night this week and luckily, the main instructor is quite loud so I've been able to pick up some good stuff and, delightfully, not actually have to do the sweaty work. (Don't worry, my time will come.)

And work it is... these kids are working their tails off and seem to be pretty coachable. Unlike some people who are of an age where being told what to do just pisses them off. *looks around innocently* I'm happy to sit in the stands, enjoy the frosty air, and take a lot of mental notes. Plus, even the littlest of the kids out there would make me look like an idiot. I spend enough time doing that already.

I'm picking up some good stuff though. Things I hadn't really thought about because I'm still so in a place where even the basics of the position are really challenging. Like stick position when dealing with passes out from the corners to the front of the net.

Tuesday, I had to laugh because one of the things the instructor pointed out was to not "admire" your rebounds into the corners. I'm SO guilty of that. Like, I'm still so amazed when I actually get in front of a puck that unless the next danger is really on top of me, I do tend to just watch it go and not follow it and get re-set.

Amazing the number of little details are involved in playing goal well. I'm so busy with the low-hanging fruit still, I can't even absorb some of it in a useful way.

Here's the thing about goaltending. People who don't know the position think that getting hit with the puck is the sickest, craziest, hardest part of the job. I'm here to tell ya, for me, it's the LEAST hard part of the job. In fact, it's my favorite part of it! Means I made the save if it's hitting me that hard. Pain goes away. Goals don't. The worst pain is the crick in your neck as you watch the puck go in your net.

The hard part, at least physically, is the movement. There's so much leg and core strength you have to have (and I don't have yet) that is critical to movement in the crease. And I think one of the best things I'm coming away from this camp with is big time motivation to build that strength. In fact, I'd say that is my #1 training priority, above all else.

Which is awesome because when I look at how much I need to learn, it overwhelms me to the point where I end up doing nothing at all. Kinda like when you're $100k in debt... what's another grand? So, gaining some clarity around my training priorities has been a tremendous benefit.

As a result, I've ramped up my off-ice work and hope to get it even more focused over the next couple of weeks as I figure out the best ways to kick my own ass. Which also means I'm not sleeping well because I'm so sore all the time. But it's a good sore (except for my stupid motherfucking knee that feels like it's on fire when I wake up in the morning).

Found an amazing collection of strength training exercises here, grouped by sport (including hockey!) or by muscle group.

Anyway, one more night of goalie camp tonight, but before that... more squats, lunges, and abs!

Did I mention Brusty's one of the instructors? What a sight for sore eyes. And hey, it's totally not stalking if you're invited!

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Free Agency opened up yesterday. Were you aware of this? Apparently it's kind of a big deal. :)

Anyway, Gaborik is now a Ranger, which will be fun to watch. Marty Havlat was dissed (and is tres bitter about it) by Chicago, so he signed with the Wild last night. That'll show 'em, Marty! It's one gimpy sniper for another, but I already like Havlat better than I ever liked Gaby. Nothing aloof about a guy who tweets his displeasure at the way his former team treated him. Bring it, bitches! Can't wait to play Chicago next season...

And maybe, being a fellow Czech, he'll be a good example for Cracksquirrel. Oh, who am I kidding?

I'm also pretty excited about the Wild signing Greg Zanon from Nashville. Apparently he's a shot blocking FREAK, which is totally the way to my goalie-lovin' heart. And we didn't have to give up Ryan Jones to get him! Go Fletch go!

Hopefully some moves to benefit glorious hockey team Houston Aeros will come in the next few days. I see that the Ottawa organization has already started picking up some free agent help for the farm, so I'm getting antsy on that front. Shocker, I know.

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Bourne with the good insight again...

Justin got my attention with this observation in his blog today:

Isn’t it interesting how teams seem to take on the personality of their superstars? Take the Penguins. Wouldn’t it be impossible to goof off and not care when you know Sid is gonna commit Hari Kari if he doesn’t win? Or, on the other side of the coin, wouldn’t you slowly get ostracized in the Capitals dressing room if you weren’t able to have fun while playing?

The Cavaliers are fun because Lebron is. The Lakers are as fun algebra because Kobe is, and the Yankees are awkward and unlikeable because Go Away-Rod is. This has to be why teams are putting in more time getting to know the kids they’re about to draft than back in the day.

This naturally gets me thinking about the Wild. Their superstar has been Gaborik, right? No wonder they were so frustrating. Or is it Mikko with all his nasty intensity mixed with Finnish reserve?

Of course, Clutter is the guy you really want driving the personality of a team, right? Hard-working, fun but focused. A healthy Burns isn't a bad guy to be in that position either. Bruno? Backstrom?

What say you, Wild fan?

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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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Aeros v. Iowa Chops - Game 8

The one thing that's consistent with last year's Aeros is that each game you show up to, you don't know which Aeros team is going to be on the ice. Tonight, in spite of some significant offensive absences (Locke, Hamilton, and Kolanos are all out injured or sick), the "Good Aeros" showed up and won 3-1.

As asst. coach Troy Ward told Joe O'Donnell after the game, sometimes a situation like this, having top offensive guys out of the line-up fires up guys who see it as an opportunity to get more time to show their stuff. And indeed they did. John Lammers, Morten Madsen, and defenseman Maxim Noreau each had one goal and one assist for the night.

Marco Rosa would have joined the two-pointers list but his goal was waved off as Matt Kassian was tagged for unintentional goaltender interference. I just happened to be watching him struggle to get to his feet and get out of the paint before his teammates got a shot off. I think he had maybe half a skate in the crease when Rosa's shot went in from the high slot, so it was a good call (ETA: unless you go with Fred's compelling case based on the actual rulebook rather than my own anecdotal experience... more on this later... I gotta git to Dallas) but you wouldn't want the game decided on it.

The team looked a ton better tonight. They were a little slow coming out in the second, but picked it up in just a few minutes. The defense was oppressive, like you expect the Aeros defense to be. They just gave the Chops no space to work, and when they did, Nolan Schaefer was so hot in goal, he stopped all but one shot, which came from the stick of Bobby Ryan on a long 3 on 4 Chops power play.

And speaking of Ryan, he looks like a man among boys on this Chops team. Why is he not in the NHL? I was nervous every time he touched the puck.

The game was penalty-laden with 29 infractions overall, the Aeros having the man advantage 10 times (with all three goals coming on the PP), and the Chops getting 8 PP chances resulting in the one aforementioned goal. The refs were calling everything, and honestly, most of it seemed pretty legit. The ones that I saw take place, anyway. But not much got past them. That's for sure.

And that's probably a good thing because there was already no shortage of gloves hitting the ice. First, the Chops' Brennan Evans goes after (total non-fighter and veteran leader) Bryan Lundbohm for a hit he had on one of the other Chops players, but Evans basically jumped him at center ice. Lundy dropped the mitts, but got socked in the face HARD right away and ended up leaving for the locker room with 8+ left in the second period even though his penalty was only 5 minutes.

Then Mitch Love and Troy Bodie went at the beginning of the third, but that was essentially a draw. That still didn't settle it so finally Kassian and Evans drop the gloves and Kass just completely schooled Evans. I mean, gave him a beating he's not going to forget soon. Kassian is a beast. And then they yelled at each other for seemingly the duration of their time in the box. Good stuff.

Bottom line: The Aeros did exactly what Constantine asked for on Sunday: They paid the price. They blocked shots fearlessly, they sacrificed and killed penalties deader than dead. And the guys with offensive talent did their thing at the other end of the ice, too. And they stood up for each other. That looks to me like the emergence of the "personality" KC was looking for, right?

Housekeeping:
Scratches: Crowley, Hamilton (injured), Locked (injured), Kolanos (sick)
Starters: Schaefer, Lundbohm, Ryznar, Irmen, Albers, Stoner
Captain: Rogers
Stars: 1 - Madsen, 2 - Lammers, 3 - Schaefer (I think I might have reversed this order... Schaefer was AMAZING)

Andrew's article in the Chronicle
Royal's blog on the game
Houston Press article
Fred's photos from the game

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Meanwhile, the illustrious Mike Russo did a great feature on Cal for tomorrow's Strib. Just try and resist the Clutter Fever... I think I'm running about 102 tonight. Except it's just a regular fever. Bleh. Clutter Fever is more fun. Trust me.

And one final nugget for those who made it this far, but one that I don't really know what to make of: I sat this evening next to Gordie Roberts, a pro scout for the Montreal Canadiens who lives in Minnesota. Now, if you've paid attention to the Gaby trade rumors, you've heard Montreal a lot. So... ya know, maybe they're digging through the Minnesota cupboards a bit?

Of course, I didn't realize who he was when he turned and said hello to me at the beginning of the game and I kinda blew him off because I'm feeling like crap and just wanted to sit like the lump of overheated human I was feeling like. Of course, now I'm kicking myself. The guy has a monstrous NHL career, has coached in the NHL, has two Stanley Cups, etc. Jesus am I a schmuck or what? Don't tell me. I already know. Of course, I would have asked him something dumb like, "How many of those teeth are yours?"

But I can tell you, he was damned impressed with the Aeros' last penalty kill where EVERY Aeros player was dropping to the ice and blocking shots like mad men. He said something about how they all look like goalies out there. Yep. Welcome to Aeros Hockey, Mr. Roberts, at least when the "Good Aeros" show up.

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Terrific Wild Season Preview Video

I normally don't like to regurgitate other people's stuff on my blog, but this just put a big smile on my face. Of course, no way do I think we're remotely Stanley-bound, but sometimes it's fun to push that homer hat right down nice and tight and pretend to believe unconditionally for a little while.



In other news, hockey was exhausting tonight. I'm sitting up late waiting for the Advil to kick my migraine in the ass. We only had 5 forwards and 3 defensemen, so we ran ourselves ragged playing longer shifts than usual. I think it definitely hurt us a bit as the other team had 2 full forward lines.

Still, it was fun. I didn't play so great, but had a few moments that worked out okay. Worked on screening the goalie a bit and he said I did a good job, but no goals came from it. Told him next time I'm gonna go Avery on him. He said I'll get a shove out of that. :) Of course, as I've said, while I really don't appreciate getting hit, I actually like a little shoving. Lets me know I'm in someone's way. :)

Wild training camp is into day 3 now. No cuts yet, but they let the public in today to watch and we got lots of good reports back from folks. Apparently Mikko has put on 13 lbs of new muscle over the summer. Holy hell! I'm telling ya, we need to lock that guy up for a million years when his contract comes up for extension. He and Burnzie. Lock 'em up. None of this wishy washy Gaborik bullshit.

My first fantasy hockey draft is Monday night. I'm excited for it and thinking hard about which goalies I might prefer. Got my THN Ultimate Pool Guide at the ready. Hopefully I'll do better than my fantasy football team. Jeeze Louise, does my team ever SUCK. Not to mention that I didn't have internet last weekend, so I was unable to adjust my roster for the fact that the Texans didn't play last weekend, and as a result, I had guys playing who had a bye week. Augh. No such excuse this week, other than everyone is just flat out underachieving besides Brees. Feh.

Anyway, if you have a sleeper pick in the later rounds that I should keep an eye out for, let me know. Esp. if you follow an East Coast team, since I'm a lot less familiar with that crowd.

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