NHL draft day 1 recap

So, I know my blog is mostly running, but I'ma drop some hockey knowledge on you guys real quick, so if you don't care, skip to the end- I'll add some running stuff at the end just because I'm going to throw some thoughts down there just for kicks.

So Friday I got off work to go see the NHL draft. This year wasn't very deep, although tickets were free and the Flyers trading Carter to get the 8th overall pick as well as trading away Richards made things a little more interesting.

Ryan Nugent- Hopkins was the first overall pick by the Oil. Not really a surprise there, allthough I will say if it wasn't for the late- season injury to Taylor Hall they wouldn't have had the first pick- that kid is lightning in a bottle. Anyway, this kid's the real deal- electric skater, strong on his feet and excellent with the puck. He's NHL ready, and we'll see a Nugent- Hopkins to Hall goals a plenty starting next season. The next pick I was interested in was the Winnipeg Jets at #7. I think they reached a little bit- okay they reached a lot to get Mark Scheifele. I'll be honest, he's a project- and I don't know why you would draft a project 7th overall- but he has potential to be a player in the Scotty Hartnell mold if developed correctly. And thats a big if. The very next pick was the Flyers at #8, and they could have gone a couple ways with this one. They could have gotten a center to replace Richards (which they did), or a defenseman to bolster an aging defensive corps.

The Next pick I was interested in, naturally, was the Flyers at #8, who picked Sean Couturer, who could be a big impact player in the future. He's probably going to need some seasoning in the AHL, plus he's a center and we have somewhat of a logjam there, but once he comes up I think he'll be a solid power forward with soft enough hands. Next came the Wild at #10, and these were interesting picks, and I'll get to that a bit later. Their pick was Jonas Brodin, who is a good young defenseman. He's a stay at home guy who, while not flashy, is a lock to play in the NHL. When is a point of contention. I think he can play now, but TSN and stuff says otherwise. Granted, he is undersized, but Minnesota's isn't an all star defensive corps. The Wild also had the 28th pick, and they took Zach Philips, a playmaking center. He's big, strong, and is a blue collar player that TSN compared to Adam Oates (who is one of my favorite players ever).

Then came the "blockbuster." The Wild sent Brent Burns and a 2nd round pick in 2012 for Devin Setagouchi, Charlie Croyle, and the #28 pick (Zach Philips). Their picks make a ton more sense now. Brodin was to replace Burns on an already scant blueline (part of the reason why I think he will play this year, if we don't sign a big UFA), and Philips was to dish to Setagouchi and Koivu for goals on the give- and- go.

Some other notes-

• What are you doing Phoenix? picking a project player who is at least 4-5 years out of playing in the NHL with the #20 pick? No wonder no one likes hockey in the desert.
• If the Leafs are trying to be a team of goons, Tyler Biggs is the right pick at #22
• I'm pumped to see Mario Lucia, a Wayzata kid, on the Wild-- eventually
• Steven Fogherty was the first Edina boy off the board at #72 overall by the Rangers

So, now for a little bit of running news- my run last night was 2 miles. Two lonely miles in 17 and a half minutes. It was my first run since Grandmas a week ago and while my legs didn't feel like lead, but I was still out of shape like nobodies business. I'm planning a 4 miler tonight, 6 the next day, and to rejoin the Twin Cities plan with some speed work by wednesday

All Star review: swing and a miss

Or, "Bettman whiffs on another gimmick," or, "taking steps to alienate actual hockey fans."

Disclaimer: I know this is a running blog, but I've written about hockey before, and I'll do it again. If you're not interested, no offense taken, you can just sit this post out.

I just got finished watching NHL All- Star weekend from Raleigh, NC. This year the NHL tried a new format for All Star weekend, most notably instituting a fantasy draft for the all stars voted in. Both captains, Eric Staal and Nicholas Lindstrom were assisted by their assistant captains in picking a team from the available pool of players. I wasn't crazy about the fantasy draft idea to begin with, but I guess I can live with it. I'm hockey purist, so that was probably most of it. I was also hoping and praying that Ovechkin and Crosby weren't put on opposite teams (which most likely would have happened, had Crosby played), resulting in a ugly media orgasm not unlike the Winter Classic, which was billed as Crosby vs. Ovechkin plus some other guys who happen to be skating on the same ice sheet, but for all intents and purposes won't get mentioned. But I eventually warmed up to the fantasy draft, although I still think they should have kept the East vs. West format.

Saturday was the Super Skills competition, which was nothing short of a disaster. It started with the player introductions. Visually it was awesome, but it was filled with mistakes. This year they added a relay event, which consisted of 4 (or six, I can't remember) teams doing a relay consisting of a one- timer competition, a passing competition, a stickhandling component, and accuracy shooting. The competition was set up as a tournament, with the two fastest times "playing eachother." I couldn't even watch that. It was so boring. I wouldn't be opposed to the NHL adding the stickhandling component as a stand alone event, that was the only keeper of the bunch. Get rid of the relay, please! The only gripe I had passed that was that all the competitions were set up as head to head tournaments pitting team Staal against team Lindstrom. That was not only confusing, but unnecessary- just why? the superskills is an individual, not a team competition. The shootout competition was also super lame. Corey Perry was the only one who pulled a really sick move, and he got stoned by Fleury. They timed the accuracy shooting competition, so they did like the first person to hit all four targets the quickest. Awful. At the end they did a last man standing breakaway competition, where if you didn't score on your breakaway, you were out. That was the on;y event where it wasn't really segregated by team, and they did it right. So kudos to the NHL on that one.

The game itself was good. A little lackluster, save for the last ten minutes, but it was a good game overall. They could do away with mic- ing the goalies I think, but maybe I'm thinking that because I used to play goalie. The player intro was very Ottawa Senators in last year's playoffs- esque, so in other words just weird. The music made me want to throw up. Three Doors Down? really? like come on, pick someone who was popular in at least the last five years. They also plated way too much rap, and not popular rap either. I also heard the Cha Cha Slide at least three times and the Cupid Shuffle once. At a hockey game? really? come on man. Also, get rid of Doc Emerick, he's an awful announcer and makes me want to cut my ears off. They should just let Eric Staal commentate. My favorite part was when he and Doc were talking. It went something like this

Doc: Here's a three on one for team Lindstrom
Staal (screaming): FOR GOD'S SAKE GET BACK!

That, or the ref talking to Staal saying "that would be f***ing awesome." Don't even get me started on the NHL Guardian cartoons released during the second intermission. So, in summary:

Fantasy draft: good
Changes to Super Skills: worse than bad
Game itself: good

Bettman makes up another way to praise Crosby

Disclaimer: I know what you're thinking, so don't even say it. You're thinking "I came here to read about Matt's blazing speed, not hockey." I apologize for going back- to- back hockey posts, but believe me, when I saw this I knew I had to rant on it, so please ignore this post.

Now, on to the business at hand- NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has found another way to sing the praises of the candy- assed Sidney Crosby.

A little background knowledge- right out of the gate, Crosby was touted as "the next one," which the NHL needed. Arguably, since the days of Wayne Gretzky, the now struggling league has been without a face. However, Crosby has grown to be the face of every NHL marketing scheme since he was drafted in 2005. However, also drafted in '05 was one Alex Ovechkin, who has put up better numbers than Crosby in his tenure in Washington. Crosby continues to be the face of the league, despite his lack of physical play (see example 1.) While everyone else sees Crosby as a second line center at best, Bettman seems adamant that he is the best player in the league (he isn't even the best player on his team.)

Now you know my vendetta against Sid. Today I went to NHL.com (a site that I do not frequent anymore,) and guess what I saw? the front page says "Crosby is the best Canadian player in the NHL today." Really? even better than Devils goalie Martin Brodeur, a 15 year veteran who has three Stanley Cups, 14 playoff appearances, and who has seven 40-win seasons. He is a four-time Vezina Trophy winner, a four-time Jennings Trophy winner, a ten-time NHL All Star, and a Calder Memorial Trophy winner. But enough speculation, lets look at stats, shall we? I'll break down the offensive numbers and see who's statistically the best Canadian in the league. You can find the data here, and it stands to prove that Crosby is the best Canadian offensive player. However, you must take in to account the player's linemates, defensive game, teammates, strength of schedule, etc. If you want to get a very accurate picture. Looking at my rough picture from solely an offensive standpoint, Crosby is tops. I can't say I didn't expect that, but I expect the picture to be different if we looked at hits or shot blocks, or a defensive stat like that.

At this point, my argument looks pretty weak. Consistency though, is a very underrated stat, especially at a goaltending position. Goaltending has been incredibly inconsistent lately, we only have to look at the careers of Dan Cloutier and Ray Emery to know that. I would say that Brodeur is definitely the best player in Canada. True, Crosby may provide more flash night in and night out, but in an era where goaltenders seem to drop from NHL rosters like flies and GAA's regularly soar over three, Brodeur's career has been the model of consistency. His 15 year career and NHL record 552 wins make Brodeur a sure- shot hall of famer. He's got trophy cases full of awards, leads the league in career games played, career wins, shutouts, Goals Against Average, is fifth in save percentage, and even leads the league in points from the goaltending position.

Crosby will never amount to holding that many records.