Oh Please Already

I am amazed to see the passes that Tom Renney and the Rangers keep getting this season. Even better is the nonsense that the Rangers are trying to pass off as how wonderful this first half has been thanks to this article at Rangers.com.

Trying to tell me that that this team has more wins than any team since 1996 is ever so misleading that it might be the ultimate in Ranger kool-aid. Yes the Rangers have 24 wins but can we stop for a second and make this one tiny little point because one statement just stands out too far?

In fairness to history, however, it should be noted that victories accumulated in shootouts this season would have been ties prior to 2005, and all overtime victories would have been ties prior to 1983. Nevertheless, a win is a win, and NHL record-keeping makes no adjustment or exception for the way in which a victory is attained.

Sorry but that is as lame an excuse to explain away an inflated record if there was one. You want to try to say how great this record is as compared to the 1995-96 team but you are not willing to use those standard for an honest comparison is not an honest thing to do

Let us use the standard prior to the 2005 season and let us see exactly where the Ranger record would be. Take away 10 of the wins that the Rangers "earned" via the shootout and adjust them

That if you take away the 10 shootout wins and use the standard of that 1996 season then the Ranger record is actually 14-14-13 which is good for 41 points. That drops the 2008-09 Rangers from 2nd on that list from the article to 9th.

And if you ask most Ranger fans who have watched this team "perform" during the first half of the season then most will agree that my idea of the Ranger record is a more accurate reflection on the kind of team this truly is.

Even more troublesome is to see how some of the beat reporters are grading out the Rangers. Maybe if those who played teacher with report card grades added the disclaimer "this is more to get you to read my blog and increase my hit count than it is an objective grading"

When your team gives up 12 shorthanded goals to lead the league, when your team is 26th on the power play, when you have to repeatedly wonder why your team is not giving consistent 60 minute efforts and worse when you threaten to make changes and fail to do so then only one grade is honest and real: D

Anything else is not a legit grade for Tom Renney; how many times did we see Prucha be used and then misused? How about when the Ranger defense stunk up the place did Renney fail to send someone to the press box for even one game while Potter was up?

Show me a coach who changes his lines as often as Tom Renney does? Show me a coach who after his team has stunk up the place allow them to have a day off instead of kicking their backsides in practice?

And my favorite (which I am still wondering why none of the beat reporters trashed him for) was his acknowledgment that the team did not practice the power play. Gee does anyone else wonder the Rangers are 26th in the NHL on the power play.

I know I am just as shocked as you are.

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Chris Doyle (2008 5th) missed his 3rd straight game for the Prince Edward Island Rocket due to his pinched nerve in his back. Without him PEI was able to hold off Montreal 5-4.

Tysen Dowzak (2008 UFA) is about to get a new teammate as the rumors of Mikael Backlund joining his Kelowna Rockets were confirmed by Calgary Flame GM Darryl Sutter. Move Kelowna up one level in terms of WHL playoff contenders.

Michael Del Zotto (2008 1st) is wondering if his Oshawa Generals are going to deal John Tavares but we are praying that Del Zotto gets traded elsewhere before the OHL trading deadline on Friday. Our prayers start and end with a move to the Brampton Battalion where we know firsthand the work that Stan Butler did with Bobby Sanguinetti last season.

Please Stan grant us this wish as you really could use Del Zotto and he really could use your teaching.

Bronze Today Gold Tomorrow

Finishing 3rd is sometimes one of those heartbreaking events that can help fuel a fire or damage one's confidence. Judging from the way Evgeny Grachev (2008 3rd) played during the medal round of the World Under-20 Championships then believe the former.

Those who have been following Grachev like we have all season tend to think that Grachev could have played better during these games. That is a hard thing to argue with unless this was your first experience watching Grachev play.

Grachev and his Russian teammates earned that bronze medal by defeating the surprising Slovaks 5-2 with Grachev earning an assist in this game. Grachev finished his first WJC with 2-3-5 +3 4 PIMs in 7 games.

On the surface those numbers do not look bad given that this was playing against the best of his age group peers. However we want to see Grachev learn one lesson from this event and that is from this point on; do not take a back seat to anyone else, be the physical force you can be.

The Ranger's other representative Tomas Kundratek (2008 3rd) finished with 0-6-6 even 10 PIMs as his Czech Republic finished 6th and to be honest, Kundratek was the better player between the 2 Ranger prospects. We want him to make sure he packed his offense for his return to Medicine Hat.

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Other Prospect News

Chris Doyle (2008 5th) missed the weekend games due to a pinched nerve in his back (thanks to Charles Reid of the PEI Guardian for the report). Doyle it appears has been playing with this injury for the last few weeks and then the injury got worse after Doyle delivered a check against Halifax.

The pinched nerve explains why Doyle's offense has slowed down during the last month and the news gets worse as there is no timetable for his return. We give Doyle high marks for playing as long as he did with that injury.

Antoine Lafleur (2007 2nd) appears to have won the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies starting goalie position after the Huskies traded Matthew Dopud to Rimouski (along with 2 others) for 6 draft picks. We wonder if the Huskies are looking more towards the future as they are currently 8th in the QMJHL and starting to fade.

Lafleur now has his best chance to show his skills or risk the Rangers not signing him at the end of this junior season. Lafleur has the talent, has the size (6'5) and the skill set to become a legit NHL prospect; the problem is that does Lafleur have the ability to develop the consistency to play at the higher levels.

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We was Wrong

Congrats to Canada for defeating Sweden 5-1 and earning their record 5th straight gold medal at the World Under-20 Championships. We really thought that Sweden with all their talent would finally put an end to the Canadian run but credit Pat Quinn and his staff for an excellent job.

And before anyone moves Quinn to the list of possible replacements for Tom Renney; do not bother as Quinn has found a place where he is a winner and can make a huge difference. At his age; he does not need to screw with the NHL anymore and has found his niche.

Leave Quinn as the National coach of Canada's teams and this will not be the last gold that Canada wins. Quinn also coached Canada's Under-18 to gold last season so let him coach the Olympic team as well as the Under-20 team.

What Canada did by having Quinn coach their national teams is a lesson that USA hockey badly needs to learn. A full-time coach to develop a full-time program which just keeps developing winners.

Bad news folks this was a very young Canadian team that won in 2009, skip the 2010 games and just give Canada the gold as nobody else is in their class. Canada loses the gold next year only if they beat themselves.

(Grachev courtesy of the Brampton Battalion)

A Slow Sunday

Sunday's Star: Michael Del Zotto

The Rangers 2008 1st round pick followed up his clutch goal Saturday evening with a pair of assists on Sunday to help his Oshawa Generals defeat the Kingston Frontenacs 5-2. As with the goal, his assists were clutch ones which we hope is a sign of things ahead.

Del Zotto got his first assist on the power play at 9:07 of the third period when he teamed with Andy Anderoff for Brett Parnham's tie breaking goal to make the score 3-2 in favor of the Generals. That goal also proved to be the eventual game winning goal.

Then with time winding down in the period, Del Zotto found Anderoff for the game clinching goal at 18:46 to give the Generals a 4-2 lead. For Del Zotto, the assists bring his season numbers up to 7-26-33 in 33 games.

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Tomas Kundratek (2008 3rd) and his Czech Republic team finished the World Under-20 Championships in 6th place after dropping a 3-2 overtime decision to Team USA. Kundratek finishes the games with 0-6-6, 10 PIMs, even and 13 shots.

Kundratek now returns to Medicine Hat where the Tigers have missed his presence on the blueline. Here is hoping that Kundratek brings his newly found offense with him back to the WHL.

On a side note, Ranger training camp invitee David Stich was also a member of the Czech team but he ended his games with a total of 52 PIMs after a match penalty as well as a game misconduct.

Danny Hobbs (2007 7th) and his UMass Minutemen had a very good start to their season but since knocking off (then) top ranked Boston University have gone 4-5-1. On Sunday, the Minutemen lost to 10th ranked Cornell 5-2 and dropped their season record to 9-8-1.

Hobbs was back at left wing on the 4th line but only managed one shot on goal for the game and finished with a -1. It has been a learning process for Hobbs but our experience with him has taught us that he will improve in time.

Chris Doyle (2008 5th) missed his 2nd straight game for reasons still unknown as his PEI Rocket shut out Halifax 4-0. We still are hoping for the best for the current leading scorer among Ranger prospects and hope to get an update on Monday as to his status.

Antoine Lafleur (2007 2nd) was the odd man out as he did not even get to dress for his Rouyn-Noranda Huskies as they defeated the Shawinigan Cataractes 3-2. The Huskies have been carrying 3 goalies for the last couple of games which could mean a possibility of a trade as neither Lafleur or today's goalie Matthew Dopud has played consistently enough to lock down the starting job.

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And from the "Let us see how old you are" department, the folks of the IIHF did a feature on Swedish defender Tim Erixson calling it "1981 was a long time ago". It was an eye catching title but then we read that Erixson is the son of former Ranger Jan Erixson who was a member of Sweden's one and only gold medal WJC team.

If young Erixson has the work ethic of his father then he will become a solid NHL player in the future.

(Del Zotto courtesy of Oshawa Generals)

A One, A Two, and A Three

It will be very interesting in 2013 to look back and grade how the prospects drafted in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft worked out. For right now all we can do is enjoy the possibilities as for Saturday night it was the top three draft picks who shined with their play.

Michael Del Zotto, Derek Stepan and Evgeny Grachev all were major reasons for how their team played on Saturday and the scary thing is that these prospects are just beginning their development. Tonight there is no First Star but rather 3 stars of equal value.

Michael Del Zotto

Del Zotto scored his 7th goal of the season at 19:56 of the 3rd period to cap a 3 goal third period Oshawa General comeback which led to a 5-4 overtime win over the Barrie Colts.

It was Del Zotto's first goal since December 5th and a reminder about the kind of offensive weapon Del Zotto could become at the NHL level. It was a big play for a team that was looking at falling towards the bottom of the OHL Eastern Conference playoff picture.

Derek Stepan

The Ranger's second round pick had another 3 point night with a goal and two assists but some very bad calls opened a door for Northern Michigan who scored 4 unanswered goals to earn a 6-5 overtime win over Stepan's Wisconsin Badgers.

It was Stepan's 5th goal of the season along with his 11th and 12th assists on the season. Stepan finished his weekend with 2-2-4 as the freshman from Hastings Minnesota is now the 3rd leading scorer for the Badgers.

Stepan's goal came right from the crease as Stepan has been attacking the goal more and more as of late. Stepan who patterns his game after Mike Modano. We agree with Stepan's choice of who he wants to play like but think Stepan is a better natural skater.

Evgeny Grachev

Guess we should have known that the Ranger's 3rd round pick was simply waiting until he was playing on prime time national television to show Ranger fans why we say he is going to be that very good.

Grachev was rightfully named Russia's player of the game (he should have also gotten on Friday night in our book) for his second goal of the WJC but as well for his overall game.

The one thing that it appears Ranger fans are loving about Grachev is his size but we got a message for all of you; Grachev is still growing as at last check we have him now at 6'4 225 so our projected size for Grachev is going to be 6'5 235 when he does make it to the Rangers.

Still we want to give Ranger fans something to drool about as this could be a very possible future 2008 draft offers this possibility, Derek Stepan centering for Evgeny Grachev and Dale Weise (4th round) with Del Zotto and Tomas Kundratek (2008 3rd) on the blueline.

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The Rest of the Prospects

Antoine Lafleur (2007 2nd) came in relief of starter Mickael Audette as their Rouyn-Noranda Huskies lost to the Victoriaville Tigres 7-4. Lafleur gave up 2 goals on 8 shots as the Huskies now can say 3 goalies and none appear wanting to claim the starting job.

Max Campbell (2007 5th) and his Western Michigan Broncos shared the 3rd place trophy with Brown as the 2 teams skated to a 1-1 overtime tie. Campbell was scoreless for the game as the Broncos are now 3-12-5.

Tysen Dowzak (2008 UFA) is never going to be the scorer that Michael Del Zotto is expected to be but defensively he is solid. And at 6'5 220, there is some interest with Dowzak as a fighter as well.

Dowzak had his 3rd fight of the season as he took on Ryley Grantham of Moose Jaw but that might have been the most effort shown by Dowzak and his Kelowna Rockets teammates as they got whipped by the Moose Jaw Warriors 5-2.

The Rockets will get to spend Sunday paying for their lack of effort (which is our way of wishing Tom Renney would do this to the Rangers once in a while) with a very hard practice.

Chris Doyle (2008 5th) was not in the Prince Edward Island Rocket lineup on Saturday and there has been no explanation as to why. There is a good chance that Doyle simply could not catch the bus due to a major snowstorm that hit PEI on Saturday.

We prefer a snowstorm or a trade to an injury but when we find out we will update this spot.

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When we read this article at the IIHF website bemoaning the upset of the Team USA by Slovakia as bad for the WJC; our reaction was simple what a crock.

Maybe the writers at the IIHF need to decide what is best for the WJC; the same 4 teams in the semi-finals every year or the improvement by countries like Slovakia so hockey as a sport grows.

Team USA was not a superior team who was beaten by "lucky" team but as the effort by Slovakia against Sweden showed; it was a win by a hockey program that like Sweden has made a major investment in improving their developmental program.

Team USA needed this loss because they too need to make some major changes in how the Junior Development program is run.

Hockey is best served by upsets as the interest in the sport grows worldwide when someone believes their country has a chance.

(Pictures courtesy of Del Zotto/Oshawa Generals, Grachev/Brampton, Stepan/Wisconsin)

Burn Baby You Got Burned

Tonight's Star Evgeny Grachev

During the preliminary round of the World Under-20 championships, Evgeny Grachev (2008 3rd) really had not shown the player who had been lighting things up for the Brampton Battalion in the OHL

Entering the quarterfinal match against the Czech Republic, Grachev had been a non-factor with just one point to show for his efforts. Maybe it was our own expectations of Grachev but we thought that Grachev would put up better numbers on Russia's best line.

Guess what we did not realize is that Grachev simply was waiting for being on prime time TV in both Canada and the US to show Ranger fans the player we already knew about. Ranger fans have been raving about the shorthanded goal that Grachev scored in the 3rd period during the Russian 5-1 win over the Czech Republic.

However that is not the play that stood out for us because the real play was actually the pass Grachev made to linemate Nikita Filatov for what proved to be the game winning goal. If you missed the play, Grachev picked up the puck behind the Czech goal and knowing exactly where Filatov was hit him with perfect pass for the one timer to give Russia a 2-0 lead.

Nothing against the goal but most of that play was made by Czech mistakes (including Tomas Kundratek who missed his coverage on Grachev to allow the goal) and Grachev was smart enough to take advantage. The assist though was to us the better play since it required more skill and even better vision.

So now Grachev and Russia have earned the lose to Canada on Saturday. We will save our rant on how this is not a fair way to decide who plays in the gold medal match. Complain about the mismatches but 3 games in 3 days to decide the gold medal is a joke.

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The Rest of the Prospects

Tomas Kundratek (2008 3rd) had a really rough game against Russia, most Ranger fans until now did not realize that he was the defender who put the puck on Grachev's stick for Grachev's shorthanded goal.

Besides the turnover, Kundratek also took a penalty (ironically right after Grachev had also take one as well) and just one shot on goal. Not enough after playing well during the preliminary round so now Kundratek gets one more game (for 5th place against USA) before returning to Medicine Hat.

Derek Stepan (2008 2nd) has been known mainly as an offensive weapon and until last week had seen very little time on the penalty kill. One shorthanded goal against North Michigan and we think that is going to change the rest of the season.

Stepan scored his first shorthanded goal of his NCAA career but his Wisconsin Badgers lost a game they never should have lost to North Michigan 3-2. This was a case of not taking a team seriously as North Michigan entered this game 3-12-3 and not a match for the Badgers.

Max Campbell (2007 5th) and his Western Michigan Broncos never had a chance against Northeastern as they lost 3-1 in the opening round of the Dodge Holiday Classic. Campbell was scoreless but that was in large part due to Northeastern (12-3-2) showing why they are one of the better teams this season in NCAA hockey.

Campbell was held to 2 shots all game because of the Northeastern defense and there was little he or his teammates could do get untracked.

Tysen Dowzak (2008 UFA) set up what turned out to be the game winning goal as the Kelowna Rocket shut out the Spokane Chiefs 3-0 in WHL action. It was just Dowzak's 4th point in 21 games so just getting an assist is a shock for us.

Michael Del Zotto (2008 1st) and his Oshawa Generals were shut out 5-0 by the Kingston Frontenacs. To call this one embarrassing would be an understatement as the Frontenacs have the worst record in the OHL and the only thing newsworthy about the Frontenacs is their coach; Doug Gilmour.

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And yes USA Hockey we will say "We Told You So" as the loss to Slovakia was expected and very well deserved. Living off that one gold medal in 2004 is why the USA keeps heading backwards in the World Under-20 Championships.

Whether they win the 5th place game or not, there is a major need for USA Hockey to take a long hard look at themselves and how the developmental program is in need of a new direction.

Look at how Canada has rebuilt themselves, how Sweden has remade themselves, and even better how the team that eliminated them Slovakia is rebuilding themselves.

(Grachev courtesy of the Brampton Battalion)

Building a Better Beller

Prospect Park Player of the Week

For Greg Beller, the road to a professional hockey career has been for the most part nothing but roadblocks thrown in his path. The Rangers 6th round pick in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft has seen a season wiped out due to injury, one due to not fitting into a coach's style and now due to college transfer rules.

The one thing nobody will ever be able to say that Beller does not have is heart as we know firsthand that the 6'3 220 forward has one of the biggest hearts we have ever seen in a prospect.

We have been waiting for Beller to finally make his season debut for the University of Manitoba Bisons as Beller was considered a college transfer from Yale and required to sit out until this past weekend.

Talk about making up for lost time in a hurry starting with a goal (and second star) on Saturday. Sunday was another goal but Monday was 2 goals as well as an assist (and a first star) for the Bisons.

If you were not keeping track that is 4 goals, 1 assist and 2 stars in 3 games for Beller. For us it means here is our Prospect of the Week and yes some bias comes into play here which we will not deny

Our bias is due to knowing Beller's history since becoming a Ranger draft pick as we have watched him break his collarbone, come back then break the same collarbone 3 games after he returned. We watched as he tried to fit in at Yale for a coach who did not recruit him and then gave up on him but Beller never complained.

We watched as Beller went to the BCHL and joined the Vernon Vipers where we discovered what a clutch player Beller could be. In the BCHL conference playoffs with his team trailing 3 games to 1, Beller made the play that started one of the best playoff series comebacks we have ever witnessed.

With the series all but over, Beller made first a defensive play (diving to stop a sure goal), then choked off a rally with a goal that wound up as the game winner in Game 5. Beller then repeated his heroics in game 6 with another huge goal and by all rights should have stolen game 7 if not for a blown call by a ref that cost his team the series.

Beller never complained, never said a word about all the bad that had happened to him when he had every right to. In fact when we interviewed Beller for the Blueshirt Bulletin right after that series, we had to coax him into revealing that he played Game 7 one handed due to an injury we knew he had suffered in game 6.

Beller just needs to play, he can skate quite well for a big man, he has the offensive moves of a smaller man and if he can stay healthy the power of a power forward. Right now call him a project player (Rangers own his rights until 2010) but a project worth investing in.

Beller does many of the things Ranger fans complain is lacking on the team; he goes directly to the net, he fights for the puck in the corners and comes back to play defense. Ranger fans will love this kid if he ever gets the chance to make it to Broadway.

Beller on Broadway has a nice ring to it.

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Other news

Chris Doyle (2008 5th) is going to show us if he can be a real leader as over the last week, his Prince Edward Island Rocket have traded away their captain and one of their assistants as the Rocket appear to have given up on the 2008-09 season.

We hold out hope that Doyle can find himself traded as well in order to further his professional development.

In case you missed it the Evgeny Grachev/Tomas Kundratek (both 2008 3rd round) matchup has seen the game time swapped to 7:30 with now Team USA playing at 3:30 against Slovakia.

Let us see if anyone listens to our warnings this time as if either Russia or Team USA look past their opposition then both teams could wind up playing for 5th place. Slovakia's investment into their junior program is slowly starting to pay off and the Russians got embarrassed by Sweden.

The best thing for Russia would be for Team USA to get upset to send them the message about taking someone lightly. The Czechs always are motivated to play against Russia so beware the Czechs.

(Greg Beller Courtesy of Yale)