Fun Times

Experience has taught us that while being cut is rough for New York Ranger prospects but being a 20 year old cut and sent back to the juniors is the toughest. Last season we watched Tysen Dowzak struggle for close to half a season before turning his season around.

This season Sam Klassen and Tomas Kundratek were sent back to their junior teams which is why we are watching to see how well they handle their "demotion". In the case of these two young defensemen, it was more a numbers game than their own play.

The Rangers simply had more defensemen than they had roster spots for among the Rangers, Wolfpack and even Charlotte of the ECHL. So Klassen and Kundratek drew the short straws and were sent back to their junior teams.

In the case of both prospects the Rangers might have done them a favor as they were sent to teams that would give them plenty of ice time but also a very good chance at winning . Klassen was sent back to the Saskatoon Blades of the WHL while Kundratek to Medicine Hat of the same league.

Sam Klassen (UFA 2009) had been quiet in his previous 3 games but finally broke though with a 3 assist game as his Saskatoon Blades defeated the Kootenay Ice 8-4. Klassen had 2 secondary assists and one primary assist (setting up the Blade's 6th goal of the evening) to earn his first points of the season.

Klassen is more the stay at home defensive type but as he told us in an interview for the Blueshirt Bulletin his goal for the season was to get more involved offensively. On this night he was as it was the 3rd time in Klassen's WHL career that he registered 3 assists in a game.

For a while the Rangers were reportedly concerned that Tomas Kundratek (2008 3rd) would bolt to Europe rather than report back to Medicine Hat. The Rangers have been though this before with European prospects who choose Europe over playing in the Canadian juniors.

So far none of those who choose Europe over the Rangers has yet to return to attempt to make the Rangers so the Rangers had a valid concern regarding Kundratek. Kundratek eventually did report to Medicine Hat of the WHL and we knew they were very happy to have him back.

The Tigers needed an experience defenseman to anchor their blueline especially one with Kundratek's skill set. The question remains is how much Kundratek has matured and is willing to embrace a leadership role on the Tiger blueline.

Last season Kundratek showed flashes of brilliance with his offensive skills; we said that the smooth skating defender was ideal for the Tortorella system. Kundratek can run an offense and then cover the defensive side of the ice.

The main thing with Kundratek that we are looking for is consistency as Kundratek would play great in one game then disappear in the next few. If Kundratek wants to have a pro career then becoming consistent is the most important.

On Wednesday, Kundratek and his Tigers took on the defending WHL champions the Kelowna Rockets. It was a wild shootout that eventually did go to the Rockets via the shootout 6-5. It was a back and forth effort with blown leads, plenty of fights and excitement for the home crowd.

For us it was seeing Kundratek pick up a point (secondary assist) for the 2nd game in a row and last season we would wonder aloud if Kundratek would be about to go on a roll. This season, Kundratek is going to have to go on the roll to change our view on his inconsistency.

Ranger fans will tell you that being a Ranger goes beyond talent, it is about the kind of heart and character a player brings to that uniform. Throughout Ranger history there have been players who gave as much off the ice to the community as much as they did on the ice.

Before we get to how Luke Walker (Traverse City) did against the Everett Silvertips on Wednesday night we would like to show what Walker, Chris Francis and Brent Ponich are doing to help a friend of Ponich's



Does "I am a Ranger" fit after watching the video? Ponich is the Winterhawk captain and Walker along with Francis are the assistants. It is another reason why I love any excuse to attend Winterhawk games.

Walker on Wednesday scored his 5th goal of the season as his Winterhawks jumped out to a 4-1 lead on Everett and held on for a 4-3 win. The Winterhawks who spent the last 2 seasons as doormats of the WHL are off to a 6-1 start and are tied for the best record in the WHL.

The only one who did not have any fun on Wednesday night was goalie Scott Stajcer (2009 5th) of the Owen Sound Attack. Stajcer and his Attack team continue to struggle falling to the Plymouth Whalers 5-2.

Stajcer was 21 of 26 as he gave 5 goals for the 2nd straight game and 3rd time this season. It has been a very rough go for the young goalie as his numbers are now at 1-4-1, 4.05 goals against and a 0.883 save percentage.

The blame does not all belong on Stajcer's shoulders as his Attack team has been struggling since the beginning of the season. With a record of 1-6-1 and on a 5 game winless streak, there is plenty of blame to go around.

We know Stajcer is a good goalie and we have not given up on his potential but now perhaps is a time for him to take a seat on the bench for a game or two.

(Pics: Klassen: Saskatoon, Kundratek: Medicine Hat, Walker: Portland, Stajcer: Owen Sound)

Bork Bork Bork

They may have been exhibition games when you score 4 goals in back to back games you get our attention as New York Ranger 2007 6th round pick Carl Hagelin did. When you toss in that in both games Hagelin scored the game winning goals and you have our Prospect of the Week for the week ending on October 4th.

Hagelin a 6' 180 lb forward from Sodertalje in Sweden is beginning his junior year at the University of Michigan. Hagelin is known as a notorious slow starter as a scorer which makes his season debut such a pleasant surprise.

On Saturday, against the Team USA Under-18 team, Hagelin collected the first of his 2 goals by cashing in on a rebound in the 2nd period. In the 3rd period, Hagelin scored on the power play with just 1:28 remaining to give Michigan a 4-1 lead (USA scored in final seconds for a 4-2 final score).

Hagelin earned the game's second star for his efforts.

On Sunday against Windsor, Hagelin scored his other 2 goals and added a primary assist on 3 straight goals as Michigan won 6-2. In this one, Hagelin was the end of a very nice tic-tac-toe passing play as he cashed in again on the power play at 8:18 of the second period which tied the game at 2-2.

Later in the same period, Hagelin (again on the power play) carried the puck into the offensive zone, he sped up and got behind the Windsor defense cutting in on their goalie where Hagelin shifted to a backhand for his 2nd goal of the game and eventual game winner. In the 3rd, Hagelin found Louie Caporusso in front who scored to give Michigan a 4-2 lead.

Hagelin earned the game's first star in this one.

Hagelin last season had 13 goals but he should have a lot more as Hagelin missed on more empty nets or got robbed by hot goalies. One of the best penalty killers on the Michigan squad; Hagelin has established himself as the left wing on the Wolverine's second line.

Hagelin is a great skater who if you want to look for prospects who would fit in John Tortorella's system. Hagelin offers the potential to become an excellent checking forward who also brings in offense.

Last season we expected Hagelin to breakout but it did not happen, we can only hope the prospect who scored a ESPN Sportscenter moment as a freshman finally breaks out. If he does then expect to see him here a lot more.

(Hagelin courtesy of the Michigan Wolverines)

Hello Hagelin

Tonight's Star

The 2007 NHL Entry Draft has been almost a total disaster for the New York Rangers; first round pick Alexi Cherepanov passed away, second round pick Antoine Lafleur failed to develop and seventh round pick David Skokan bolted to Europe rather than play in Charlotte.

With the Rangers not having picks in the third or fourth rounds, then the only remaining prospects are three late round college prospects Max Campbell (Western Michigan 5th Rd), Carl Hagelin (Michigan 6th) and Danny Hobbs (UMass 7th). Of those three, Carl Hagelin has been the most noticeable playing for Michigan which has been an annual NCAA Frozen Four contender.

The problem for Hagelin though has been his getting off to slow start during his first 2 seasons at Michigan; a problem that Hagelin acknowledged because he was not able to get his off-season ice workouts in. That might not have been a problem during this past off-season judging from the performance Hagelin put on in 2 exhibition games this weekend.

Saturday against Team USA's Under-18 squad, Hagelin scored 2 goals including the game winner. On Sunday Hagelin repeated his performance of 2 goals including the game winner and added an assist to earn First Star honors as his Michigan Wolverines whipped the Windsor Lancers 6-2.

Instead of just talking about Hagelin's efforts head over to here and take a look at the video yourself as "The Carl Hagelin Show" starts at 1:10 and goes for 3 straight Michigan goals. 2 straight goals and an assist to give the junior from Sweden a 4-1-5 weekend.

We are not the only ones to take notice of Hagelin's play as his own coach the Legendary Red Bernenson had this to say about Hagelin from the post game report (courtesy of www.mGoBlue.com):

On Carl Hagelin's two power-play goals ... "It will be interesting. Carl has shown that he is able to play. We're definitely seeing some really good things from him. Carl felt that he played really well last year, but he wasn't capitalizing on his chances. Now you can see that the puck is going in for him. So even last night there were a couple loose puck goals or rebound goals or he might have been standing in front of the net and found the puck and put it in. Last year they would have hit the post or the goalie. It's good that he is gaining some confidence and he had a great weekend."

Hagelin has always been a very good defensive forward who has offensive skills but if this is any indication of what to expect from him on offense then 20 goals just be too low a prediction for him.

You Know You Wanted to Ask

Cmon you know you want to know how 2009 1st round pick Chris Kreider did in his debut with the Boston College Eagles? How would you judge a 1 assist, 2 shots, +3 evening as Boston College had little trouble defeating St. Francis Xavier 4-1 in an exhibition game.

Kreider also showed an aggressive side too taking a charging penalty late in the contest.

It may be one game but it was not bad to see Kreider used in a variety of situations to see what he is made of and even harder to find fault with the performance. We are talking a major jump in quality of competition for Kreider and BC coach Jerry York can not be unhappy with Kreider's preformance.

For the record, Krieder's first college point was a secondary assist on Matt Lombardi's goal just 1:49 into the game. Kreider did not look nervous as one might have expected given the circumstances and it will be interesting to watch as BC plays a pretty tough schedule.

Rest of the Prospects

It took Tomas Kundratek (2008 3rd) just 2 games to settle back in with the Medicine Hat Tigers as Kundratek earned 2nd Star of the Game honors as his Tigers earned a 4-3 shoot out win over the Edmonton Oil Kings. Kundratek had one assist but was an important factor on the Tiger penalty kill which held the Oil Kings to 1 for 8 on their power plays.

It is understandable that Kundratek was disappointed not to be kept by the Rangers but he deserves some praise for sticking it out in the WHL instead of heading back to Europe as other prospects have done.

Kundratek as we have said in the past is the ideal defensive prospect in the Tortorella system; he is a smooth skater who has a great first pass out of the defensive zone. Our concern has been about his maturity level as he at times wants to be "Too North American" (fight, make the big hit Dion Phanuef is his idol) rather than go with his strengths and be Tomas Kundratek.

Ryan Bourque (2009 3rd) scored his 3rd goal of the QMJHL season but his Quebec Remparts lost 5-2 to the Lewiston MAINEaics. Bourque is looking like he is almost back to full strength just in time for his team to start playing like they are sick.

Ethan Werek (2009 2nd) was not in the lineup for the Kingston Frontenacs as they were beaten by the Windsor Spitfires 6-3. The Kingston Frontenacs reported that Werek missed the game due to the Flu (UPDATED 10/5 4:20 PM)

Luke Pither (Traverse City) saw his 6 game scoring streak come to an end as his Barrie Colts were beaten 6-2 by the Mississauga St. Michael's Majors. Pither was 9-4-13.

Luke Walker (Traverse City) set up linemate Chris Francis at 2:49 of overtime as the Portland Winterhawks upset the Kamloops Blazers 4-3 on the road. Walker also got into his first fight of the season a draw at best with Brandon Underwood.

It was an ugly penalty filled game where both teams combined for 30 infractions and 74 minutes in penalties. The WHL thought they were going to lower the amount of fighting when they came up with their new rules.

After 3 weeks they might want to revisit those rules cause fighting appears to be on the upswing.

(Hagelin/Michigan, Krieder/New York Rangers, Tomas Kundratek/New York Rangers)

This Was Not Pretty (Well Most of It)

It was a not so good night as 11 New York Ranger prospects took to the ice on Saturday night and the record for the night was 3-8 (2 losses in overtime) but the production was 4-4 with most of it coming from 3 players.

First Star of the Night

He was a free agent tryout at Traverse City; people wonder why we still cover him but Craig Cunningham has very quietly gotten off to a 5-8-13 start. 13 points (and a 5 game scoring streak) alone is good enough as Cunningham is leading the WHL in scoring but that is not why we still follow him as Cunningham demonstrated on Saturday.

Cunningham scored a power play goal at 4:31 of overtime to give his Vancouver Giants a come from behind win over the Kamloops Blazers 5-4 in WHL action. It was the second time this season that Cunningham scored an overtime winner as he did it on opening night as well.

But it was not the only thing at Cunningham did as it was Cunningham's set up for David Musil's hat trick goal to tie the score at 4-4 at 16:02 of the 3rd period erasing a 2 goal Kamloop's lead. Cunningham also added another assist in the 2nd period to give him a 1-2-3 night for his 3rd multi-point night of the young season.

Cunningham is also just 19 so the Rangers as in the case of Luke Walker could only offer him an NHL contract which they did not have. Leading the WHL in scoring should be a reason why to keep covering him which we will.

Second Star

It was only an exhibition game against the United States Under-18 team but to see Carl Hagelin (2007 6th) scoring 2 goals to lead his 4th ranked Michigan to a 4-2 win. Hagelin scored what proved to be the game winning goal and then tacked on an insurance goal to help get his season off to a good start.

Hagelin's first goal came at 19:26 of the second period when he backhanded a rebound during a 4 on 4 which gave Michigan a 3-1 lead. Hagelin's second goal was also Hagelin cashing in a rebound this time at 18:32 of the 3rd period to make it 4-1.

Hagelin was skating on the 2nd line but the reason we really liked what we saw from Hagelin was that in his previous 2 seasons, Hagelin was a very slow starter to get his season going. Even Hagelin has acknowledged in the past he has gotten off to slow starts so this hopefully gets him going now.

If it does then watch Hagelin have a huge season as we already know he is one of the best penalty killers in the NCAAs; now let him show his offensive side.

Third Star

Luke Pither (Traverse City) exploded out of the game with 8 goals in his first 3 games with the Barrie Colts then added another goal along with 4 assists for a 6 game scoring streak and the prospect scoring lead at 9-4-13.

Against the Ottawa 67's, Pither had 2 assists including setting up the game winner as his Barrie Colts edged the 67's 4-3. For Pither who is 4th in the OHL in scoring is a huge reason why the Colts are in first place in the OHL Eastern Conference.

Rest of the Prospects

His Coach Tells Us

UMass Head Coach Don "Toot" Cahoon was kind enough to give us a quick scouting report on Danny Hobbs (2007 7th) via email prior to UMass's exhibition game with the New Brunswick Reds.

PP: Would you mind telling our readers what kind of player Daniel Hobbs is; what his strengths are and what kind of potential he might have?

Coach Cahoon: Danny plays a pro-type of game, He simply needs to grow into the confident and consistent player he can become sooner rather than later.

PP: Hobbs had a quiet freshman year for UMass so what did you ask him to work on during the off-season to improve as a player?

DC: I wanted him to continue with his excellent work ethic, I wanted him to stay healthy so not to have any setbacks. I would like Danny to find a solid level of play which will allow him to be a solid three zone contributor with good physical presence.

PP: On the eve of the 2009-10 season what are your hopes/expectations of Daniel to help the Minutemen win this year?

Danny is a player with very good hockey strength, He has good tools (puck skills, wristshot, and vision). As for his future, he has a positive body language, he has to not being so tough on himself, as he has quickness going from spot to spot.


We thank Coach Cahoon for that and as for the game itself, Danny was used as the starting left wing for the Mintuemen but he was scoreless and had just 2 shots for his evening. The Minutemen got a huge wake up call as they lost to the New Brunswick Reds of the Canadian CIS 3-2.

Now New Brunswick is one of the top programs among the Canadian colleges as many of their players are older and have CHL experience. It is not a major upset but UMass gave up 3 goals on 6 shots in the first period and had to play catch up the rest of the game.

WHL

Tomas Kundratek (2008 3rd) got his clearance to play from the Czech Hockey Federation so he made his season debut with the WHL Medicine Hat Tigers. Kundratek having not played in over a week showed some rust as he was scoreless (but a +1) as the Tigers lost in overtime to the Kootenay Ice 5-4.

Roman Horak (2009 5th) also was scoreless (but a -1) as his Chilliwack Bruins got whipped 7-2 by the Kelowna Rockets. Horak has quieted down after a nice start to his season.

Sam Klassen (2009 UFA) and his Saskatoon Blades were held scoreless by the Brandon Wheat Kings 3-0 on the road. Klassen is our early season pick for the post training camp hangover as he remains pointless since returning from the Hartford camp.

OHL

Scott Stajcer (2009 5th) gave up 5 goals on 22 shots and earning the hook from Coach Mark Reeds as his Owen Sound Attack lost to the Kitchener Rangers 6-5. Stajcer got the hook at 5:43 of the second period but was spared the loss when the Attack scored their 5th goal with 52 seconds remaining in the game.

Stajcer is now 1-3-1, 3.87 GAA and a 0.897 save percentage in 6 games. The loss drops the Attack to last in the Western Conference 1-5-1 3 points and winless in 4 straight.

Mitch Gaulton (2008 6th) was scoreless (+1) as his Erie Otters lost a tough one in overtime to the London Knights 5-4. The Otters fell to 2-2-1-1 on the season but in this one they gave a good effort against one of the best teams in the OHL.

It is safe to say that there are 19 teams in the OHL who are rooting for Michael Del Zotto to be kept by the Rangers. Put Del Zotto on this already talented London team and they become serious OHL Championship contenders. They are 5-1 without Del Zotto, imagine them with him?

Daniel Maggio (2009 6th) also was held scoreless (-1) ending a 6 game scoring streak (2-5-7) as his Sudbury Wolves lost to the Peterborough Petes 5-3. Maggio is already on a pace to top his combined scoring totals of his last 2 season.

QMJHL

Chris Doyle (2008 5th) scored his 4th of the season but his Prince Edward Rocket gave up 5 goals in the 3rd period to lose 7-2 to the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies. Doyle also took 2 minors (1 led to a PPG against) and had 1 good hit.

(Pics: Cunningham/Vancouver Giants, Hagelin/Michigan Wolverines, Pither/Barrie Colts, Hobbs/UMass Minutemen)

Nappy Night

It was an extremely quiet Friday night for New York Ranger prospects as 9 prospects could only put up a grand total of 1 goal and 2 assists. In other words nobody stood out so nobody earns a star for the evening.

In the QMJHL

Ryan Bourque (2009 3rd) returned to action after missing 2 games with "concussion like" symptoms but had more PIMs (4) than shoots (3) or hits (1) or points (o). His Quebec Remparts though did not need Bourque as they whipped the Baie-Comeau Drakkar 9-1.

Chris Doyle (2008 5th) 1 shot, -1, 1-1 on faceoffs and 1 good hit as his Prince Edward Island Rocket defeat the Val-d'Or Foreurs 5-2.

In the OHL

Ethan Werek (2009 2nd) was held scoreless as his Kingston Frontenacs dropped the home end of the "home and home" with the Belleville Bulls 2-1. Frontenacs are a young team who will learn to win these kinds of games down the road.

Scott Stajcer (2009 5th) gave up 3 power play goals as his Owen Sound Attack lost to the London Knights 3-1. Stajcer was 28 for 31 and if Owen Sound can improve their penalty killing (3 for 7) then Stajcer's numbers would not look so bad.

Daniel Maggio (2009 6th) had an assist but was also -1 with 4 PIMs as his Sudbury Wolves lost in the shoot out to the Plymouth Whalers 6-5.

In the WHL

Roman Horak (2009 6th) had an assist but it was too little too late as his Chilliwack Bruins lost on the road to the Kelowna Rockets 6-4. Horak's assist was on the last Bruin goal when the outcome of game was already decided.

Sam Klassen (UFA 2009) was scoreless and had 2 PIMs as his Saskatoon Blades lost in the shoot out to the Prince Albert Raiders 2-1.

Craig Cunningham (Traverse City) had the only goal of the night as his 4th goal of the season tied the score in the 3rd period but his Vancouver Giants eventually lost to the Kamloops Blazers in the shootout 2-1. Cunningham missed on his shoot out attempt.

Luke Walker (Traverse City) was scoreless and a -1 but his Portland Winterhawks won their 3rd straight game 5-3 over the Spokane Chiefs.

Class is Now In Session

This weekend marks the beginning of the 2009-10 for more than just the New York Rangers as Ranger prospects playing in the NCAA will be getting their season underway as well. This season will be a little different as 3 key Ranger prospects will be playing NCAA hockey and it will be interesting to see how they handle it.

Chris Kreider may not have the expectations of the Boston College fans but many a Ranger fan will be watching to see what they will get out of the young freshman. Kreider is joining a team that has been picked to finished 3rd in the Hockey East and is already ranked 12th nationally by the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine.

The 6'2 205 forward is going to help the Eagles right away with his size and speed as other than Jimmy Hayes (6'5 210 Toronto 2nd 2008) the Eagles do not have much height. What we will be looking for out of Kreider will be how fast he adapts to the higher level of play.

If he plays with his smarts then he should produce some good numbers as unlike most of the other Ranger college prospects Kreider is not expected to be carrying his team. We believe Kreider can and should put up at least a 10-10 freshman season.

We are not going to bother hiding our feelings but if you have been reading this place for a while then you know how high we are on Derek Stepan (2008 2nd) now we are going take it even higher. Derek Stepan is our pick for breakout prospect for the 2009-10 season and we can't wait until this high octane prospect signs with the Rangers.

If you want to look for the ideal player for the Tortorella "Safe is Death" system then here he is. They talk about how fast Kreider is; well Stepan is not only just as fast but is also has a way better hockey IQ.

The leading returning scorer for the Wisconsin Badgers (9-24-33 as a freshman); we are expecting even bigger numbers from him as Stepan's Badgers are picked to finish 3rd in the WCHA and start the season ranked 14th by the USA Today poll.

Stepan can score, he can set up and now he is also expected to join Team USA for the World Under-20 Championships. Still this season we can see 20 goals as well as close to the same number of assists.

But wait a second we are not down with the Wisconsin Badgers as thanks to the Scott Gomez trade, let us introduce you to what was Montreal's 2007 first round pick (12th overall) and now future Ranger defenseman Ryan McDonagh.

Who knows what Bob Gainey was thinking when he gave the Rangers McDonagh but one thing is for sure; Ranger fans will be sending thank you cards to the Montreal GM. Montreal fans were very upset when they saw that they had given up McDonagh to the Rangers and they had very good reason to.

One of the Badger Captains; McDonagh is a stud 2 way defenseman who is equally good at either end of the ice. The player voted by his teammates as the "Most Competitive" player on the team there is nothing McDonagh will do on the ice to help the Badgers win.

Pick any key situation and you will find the 6'1 216 defender on the ice. Do not even think about messing with one of his teammates as McDonagh will be in your face. Ranger fans will fall in love with this defender as his high energy even higher work ethic is exactly the kind of player Ranger fans want.

Carl Hagelin (2007 6th)is an interesting player to watch as last season when Hagelin scored a point the Michigan Wolverines were 18-2.

Hagelin is entering his junior season with annual NCAA contender Michigan but we feel he is at a crossroads regarding his potential. There is some serious talent here but the question is will it come out and develop? Hagelin had 13 goals last season but he should have had a lot more as no other player missed more empty nets or on solid scoring chances than Hagelin did.

A tremendous skater who in his own way is a slightly bigger version of Ryan Bourque; Hagelin has it in him to become a very good checking forward at the NHL level who also has some offense to his game. Another player built for Tortorella's system with his skating skills but the question is now when will Hagelin break out?

Michigan is as typically is ranked at the top of the CCHA (picked 1st by both coaches and media) and 4th nationally (USA Today) but to do so Hagelin needs to have a monster season on offense. If Hagelin (who should score at least 20 goals) does then Michigan is headed back to the Frozen Four; if not then Hagelin might start falling off the Ranger radar for his senior season.

He is the Rodney Dangerfield of Ranger prospects because outside of us here nobody seems to think much of Max Campbell (2007 5th) so let us tell you why you should. He was the leading goal scorer on a bad Western Michigan team (16), he had 4 game winning goals (led team), 11 power play goals (led team) and he was the only player in the CCHA to be perfect on all his shootout attempts (3 for 3).

Oh and Max Campbell has paid his own way to 2 straight Ranger development camps (totally unheard of for an NCAA prospect). Still wonder why we like him so much?

The 6' 190 junior center is not the biggest dog in the yard but put him in a goal crease and see if you can move him. He may look so skinny you will want to feed him but "Soup" will fight tooth and nail to remain in the crease.

On this same Western Michigan team, Campbell plays against some of the best teams in the NCAA on a regular basis and holds his own. Last season in a true test of character, Campbell was a healthy scratch for not working hard; Campbell accepted his responsibility and then went out and busted his butt like he was never going to be a healthy scratch again.

Western Michigan is not expected to do much in the CCHA (most pick 11th or 12th) but we think Campbell is going break 20 goals and have a good season even though he will be going up against everyone else's best defenders.

Daniel Hobbs (2007 7th) struggled big time as a freshman last season for the UMass Minutemen just 1-1-2 in 24 games while being scratched in 15 games. For Hobbs, his sophomore season is going to be make or break for him as a player at UMass as not many upperclassmen are 4th line players.

Hobb's performance was a major disappointment for us to watch as we watched him work though adversity the year before with the Ohio Junior Bluejackets of the USHL. Hobbs was living up to Ranger director of player personal Gordie Clark's scouting report of playing better against the better competition.

So as he enters his 2009-10 season our own expectations (and one of us attends UMass as a Journalism student) are very low as are those in the Hockey East polls who see UMass as 7th out of 10.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Game Action

Luke Pither (Traverse City) improved his prospect leading points lead with his 9th goal and 1st assist as his Barrie Colts defeated the Plymouth Whalers 3-2 in OHL action. Pither scored Barrie's first goal of the game and then set up a tying goal in the 2nd period while earning the game's second star.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Name Dropping

Chris Kreider is going to have Phillip Samuelson as a teammate at Boston College as in Phillip son of Ulfie. Now son is only partly following in his father's footsteps as yes he is a defensemen but no he is not going to be the pain in the rear that Ranger fans loved. What a shame.

Now this one stopped us dead in our tracks for a second as we had to look twice to make sure it was not a typo. Daniel Hobbs will be competing for ice time against one Eddie Olczyk son of current NBC TV hockey commentator and former member of the 1994 Rangers.

Eddie the younger is majoring in what else: English and Communications at UMass. He is also a smaller version of his father coming to UMass from Waterloo of the USHL.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Now Why Can't the NHL Do This

One of these quiet days we are going to do a posting of nothing but the memos on rules or scoring or explanations that we get from the various leagues. Today's entry will come to you from the folks of the CCHA is one we think is long overdue by the NHL.

We say many of you will like this because you have asked the NHL to do this. What the CCHA is doing is award 3 points for a win (regulation, or OT), a shootout win nets you 2 points, a loss in shootout is worth 1 point and loss in regulation or overtime gets 0 points.

The memo goes into further detail here but for us to see someone make an effort to make going for the win worth it instead of that tired "play it safe until the shoot out" is going to help make the games more exciting in our book.

We dare someone else to try it, heck we double dare them.

(Pictures: Kreider/New York Rangers, Stepan and McDonagh: Wisconsin Badgers, Carl Hagelin:Michigan Wolverines, Max Campbell:Zolton Cohen/Western Michigan, Danny Hobbs: UMass Minutemen)