Game 3: Canada-Russia Super Series

On Wednesday, Team Canada took a 2-0 series lead over Team Russia at the Canada-Russia Super Series. They have left Ufa for Omsk, the hometown of Russian star Alexei Cherepanov. Will Team Canada continue to play a physical game, despite the travel schedule? How will the arena’s condition in Omsk compare to that in Ufa? Will the Russians use their anger and frustration in a positive way, or will their game continue to suffer? And will Cherepanov’s absence hurt the team, or be a rallying point for the rest of the troops?

The final score of Game 3 was 6-2 for Canada, but the Canadians did not play their best game.

Today’s game featured Leland Irving in goal. The question going into the game was if he would be able to match Mason and Bernier’s strong performances. He certainly entered the game with a lot of pressure on his shoulders, and his first game at this level of competition was good overall. The two goals that he let in were not great by any means, but the Russians held a huge shot differential over the Canadians at the end of the 2nd period: 24 for Russia and only 10 for Canada. I think that Irving held his own today, and Brent Sutter will be happy with his decision to start the goalie rotation over to let all three netminders play again in the series.

Contrast this to Russia’s goaltending situation. For some reason, Semen Varlamov started in goal today, despite his poor performance in Game 1. He played 20 minutes, faced 4 shots, allowed 3 goals, and was replaced in favour of Vadim Zhelobnyuk. I somehow doubt that we’ll be seeing Varlamov again in this Super Series.

Team Canada had a very good first period and demonstrated their skill when cycling the puck in the offensive zone. As a result, they were rewarded with 3 goals in the first period, versus one shortie for the Russians.

The second period was much different, as the Russians definitely stepped up their game and played their best period of the entire Super Series. They scored again, and I thought that Canada might have been letting up a little on the gas.

The Canadians sealed their victory in the third period with three unanswered goals, the first two coming within a minute of each other. The Russian offence really appeared to fizzle and they looked tired and frustrated after Canada scored goals 4 and 5 – they lost that spark that carried them through the first two periods.

Defensively, Canada has kept it up. Drew Doughty is one amazing kid, with an awareness that is rarely seen in a young defenceman – I think Pierre McGuire might be right when he says that he could go first overall in next year’s draft. Josh Godfrey is another D-man who was very visible today after sitting out the second game, and I bet his point shot is the envy of many players. Sutter and Legein continue to impress me with their defensive play. Sutter is so great with his stick and body positioning, and you don’t need to worry about turnovers when he is on the ice.

From a physical point of view, this game was not as nasty as the previous game, but the physical tone was still very much present. Canada kept blocking shots and delivering the body checks. The Russians seemed to step it up in the first two periods, but they are running into serious injury trouble. Not only is Cherepanov out for the series, but a number of other players, including Anisimov, hurt themselves today. This makes a bad situation even worse for Team Russia.

There are a number of things that Canada did well today, but the biggest was…Special teams, special teams, and special teams: Canada was able to kill off 13 penalties, including three 2-man disadvantages, and they scored four power play goals. It can’t get much better than that.

Things that Canada needs to work on for Game 4:
- Icing the puck. They still need to take that extra step because the linesmen are using magnifying glasses down there.
- Penalties. The players are still taking way too many penalties, and they had three 2-man disadvantages in the first 2 periods today. I know that the referees are making phantom calls now and then, but this is still unacceptable. And Brad Marchand needs to keep himself in check because he received his second 10-minute misconduct in as many games. He’s an important player on the team, but he can’t do much if he’s sitting in the box.

My stars of the game:
* Claude Giroux, for finally getting a goal (from his knees, no less) after being snake-bitten for 8 periods.
** Brandon Sutter
*** Kyle Turris, cuz this kid’s amazing

Honourable mention to Stefan Legein, who scored his third goal in as many games.

Game 4 kicks off tomorrow morning at 7AM AT on TSN. Will Canada be able to sweep the games in Russia?

Cherepanov done after just 2 games at the Super Series

Alexei Cherepanov, superstar forward for Team Russia, is out for the rest of the Super Series with a concussion. He sustained the concussion in the first period of Wednesday's loss when Brandon Sutter caught Cherepanov with his head down and delivered a crushing hit.

He didn't take part Friday in the morning skate, and officials for Team Russia are saying that he's still in the hospital.

I have to wonder about the severity of this concussion. On the one hand, the team would not want to lose their star player for the entire series, because it will be that much harder to succeed at all. But let's say that team officials are really beginning to doubt whether they can succeed, and they worry that the Canadians will go after Cherepanov even more as the series wears on. There are six games left, four of which are on Canada's home turf, so you know that Team Canada will be even more aggressive in front of their fans. Perhaps Cherepanov's RSL team quietly said that they don't want their star player to lose his entire season with the club and that he should be pulled from the team.

Ordinarily I don't question a player's health when it comes to concussions, but this one just struck me as being a little bit off. Cherepanov actually played his best hockey of the Series after Brandon Sutter hit him in the opening frame on Wednesday. Sure, he made a few lazy plays, but he had a number of shifts that were really good, if not great. He wasn't knocked out, he didn't have any balance problems (certainly not like Seidenberg of Germany, who was on the wrong end of a Shea Weber hit at Worlds this spring), and frankly, he looked okay on the ice for over 40 minutes of play. The fact that he's still in the hospital would suggest that he sustained a serious injury, so why was he able to play for so long after being hurt?

Maybe I don't know anything here...maybe Cherepanov is really hurt, and maybe my 'pro-Team Canada' attitude has clouded my judgment, but something just smells a little fishy here. I mean, shouldn't Team Russia be calling for some kind of suspension on Sutter? I haven't heard anything yet on that front.

Update: According to Pierre McGuire of TSN, the Russians did call for a suspension of Brandon Sutter, but they didn't get it. In addition, there are rumours in Russia that one of the reasons why Cherepanov isn't playing anymore in this series is because of a confrontation with his coach. Apparently the Russian coaches called out their star players for not producing, and Cherepanov wasn't happy about this.

Canucks show off their new threads

The Vancouver Canucks unveiled their new uniforms on Wednesday before a crowd of 8,500 fans at GM Place.

Captain Markus Naslund (left), along with fan favourites Trevor Linden, Willie Mitchell, Kevin Bieksa, and Mattias Ohlund, modelled the uniforms for the crowd.

The logo on the front of the jersey is still the orca (yay), while the original hockey stick logo can be found on the shoulders.

The colour scheme is the same that was used 37 years ago, when the Canucks first entered the NHL - blue, green and white.

One glaring difference is the addition to 'Vancouver' above the orca logo. I'm not quite sure about this addition - it's a bit much on the front - but overall, the jerseys look good. I like the colour scheme and I like how the 'powers that be' kept the logos. A lot of fans really don't care for these new unis, but I think that they will mellow in the next few months.

After all, it's not like Vancouver reverted back to the red, orange and black of the 1980's.

Perdita Felicien wins silver at Worlds

Perdita Felicien is finally on the upswing after disaster struck three years ago.

Felicien was in the final of the 100m hurdles at the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens. She was expected to win gold for Canada, but she tripped. In that split second, Felicien saw her Olympic dreams vanish and she was left injured. Her injuries kept her out of commission for months and her confidence was shattered. She didn't even qualify for the finals for the 2005 World Championships in Helsinki, Finland.

Fast forward to the summer of 2007 and things are different for Felicien. She won Nationals, captured the silver at last month's Pan Am Games in Rio de Janeiro, and now she placed second at the 2007 World Championships in Japan - on her 27th birthday, no less.

"This silver is like a gold for me. I just wanted to bring something to Canada," she said following her race.

Felicien has her eyes firmly set on next year's Olympic Games in Beijing, China. She may not be favoured to win gold at the Games in August 2008, but I have a feeling that she will turn heads with her performance.

Nothing like crashing in the finals at the Olympics to make you want to win it all the next time around.

And I hope that she shows everyone that she still has what it takes to be a champion.

Game 2: Canada-Russia Super Series - Keep your head up, Cherepanov!

On Monday, Team Canada overcame an early 2-0 goal deficit against Team Russia to win the game by a score of 4-2. How did Canada fare in the second game of the Canada-Russia Super Series? Was Jonathan Bernier of the Lewiston MAINEiacs as solid a goaltender as Mason? Did Canada learn how to stay out of the penalty box? And could the Canadians manage to capitalize on the power play?

I guess things clicked once again on Team Canada’s bench, as they won Game 2 by a score of 3-0.

Visibility was certainly an issue in this game, as the high humidity in the arena created a thick fog. All they needed was a bat flying around…Nevertheless, it didn’t seem like the players were hindered by the conditions.

Bernier is a terrific goalie for Lewiston, no doubt about that, but I was a touch concerned because he hadn’t played since suffering a high ankle sprain during the Memorial Cup playoffs. His right leg seemed to bother him a bit in practice, but his performance today shows that he was ready to play. He wasn’t very busy in the first period, with only 4 shots on goal, but he did make a number of really great saves in the game. He offered very few rebounds, and he remained calm while the players around him were exploding. Considering he earned a shut out in the fog, wow.

I mentioned on Monday that I wanted Canada to create more chances in their own end because the Russians had about 40 shots on goal in Game 1. Looks like I got my wish today. Team Canada frustrated the Russians with their constant puck pressure, and they had many quality chances. The thing that I like is that it wasn’t just one or two guys who were great on offence, it was at least half of the team. Players like Tavares, Turris, Legein, Perron, Marchand, and Gagner all played a skillful game. And Perron’s goal in the dying minutes of the 3rd period is worthy of the highlight reel – like Kyle Wellwood’s goal in the World Juniors in Halifax. Simply amazing. If it wasn’t for the Russian goaltender Bobrovsky playing so well, this game could have easily been 8-0.

I was a bit worried about Canada’s power play, but they managed to get that going, thanks to a first period goal by Kyle Turris. Now if only they could get a few more.

As far as defence goes, Canada has definitely gotten better. Doughty’s vision and passing ability makes him a great player that should be a high draft pick next summer, and he partners very well with Alzner. The other D-men are also playing very well and keeping the Russians in check.

All players are becoming more and more defensively responsible, which is no surprise considering Brent Sutter is behind the bench. Turnovers were not a problem today, as players are starting to chip the pucks in deep to avoid turning it over in the neutral zone – Tavares is one player who has gotten much better in this department.

Penalty killing? Not a problem. Canada took less penalties this time around, with 10 (one being a 10-minute misconduct for Marchand), and there were less undisciplined penalties.

Three words describe the physical presence of Canada on the ice: oh…my…goodness. Brandon Sutter, who is 6-foot-3 and only 170 lbs, really laid the body on the Russians to stop them dead in their tracks. He caught Cherepanov with his head down and just crunched him on open ice, and repeated this action later in the game with another Russian player. The atmosphere between the teams is definitely getting nasty. The Russians are angry and frustrated and I expect it to get worse as the series moves to Omsk on Friday.

A word about the Russians: their play seemed to be a bit disorganized for most of the game. Cherepanov was definitely more visible today, and he had a few good shifts, but he also made a number of lazy plays that led to turnovers. I know that the Russians have a really good team, but I just haven’t seen them play really well for an extended period of time. If they’re smart, they’ll keep Bobrovsky in goal.

What did Canada do right? Just about everything…

What to work on for Friday’s game – not icing the puck. When Canada dumps the puck in before going for a line change, they have to be careful to take that extra step. The linesmen virtually have magnifying glasses when it comes to making icing calls.

Brent Sutter and his coaching staff should also work with the players to make sure that they don’t get over-confident in this series. A cocky attitude could really flip the momentum back to the Russians.

My stars of the game:
* David Perron
** Jonathan Bernier
*** Stefan Legein

Face-off for Game 3 is Friday at 9AM AT on Rogers Sportsnet.

Game 1: Canada-Russia Super Series

August 27th, 2007: the day the Canada-Russia Super Series opened, and also the day the new rink opened in Ufa, Russia - with the last-minute help of the Russian Army, equiped with tools. Nothing like playing hockey on brand-spanking-new ice when the temperature indoors nearing 100F. Makes for a lot of bouncing pucks...

To be honest, I expected Russia to have the clear edge in this game. The Russians had practiced together for a longer period of time, they had played two exhibition games together against RSL teams, they weren’t fighting a 10 hour time change, and they were playing to a home crowd. I thought that the Canadians would likely lose the game, but take the opportunity to work the bugs out and try to develop some team chemistry.

I definitely didn’t expect Canada to win the game 4-2.

I don’t think that I can say enough good things about goaltender Steve Mason. He displayed a calmness in the net that would make most NHL goalies envious, and this calmness was evident from the very start. He let in two goals in the first 10 minutes of the game, and I thought that this was more a reflection how the team was playing as a whole. Mason should have stopped the second Russian goal, but he didn’t let this mistake rattle him. His positioning in the net was excellent and it allowed him to stop shot upon shot, without rebounds. Goalies Leland Irving and Jonathan Bernier will also get starts in net in Games 2 and 3, but they will have a tough time stealing the job from Mason after that.

As alluded to, Canada didn’t start the game on a good note. The team as a whole appeared nervous, which led to many turnovers and bad penalties. Coach Sutter wanted Team Canada to set the tone of the tournament by really playing a physical game with Russia, but that physical element was absent on the Canadian side in the first portion of the first period – it was Russia who laid the body on Canada. After Russia scored their 2nd goal of the game, a power play goal at 10 minutes, Stefan Legein responded by scoring a goal for Canada. Just 45 seconds later, Kyle Turris was awarded a penalty shot, which he capitalized on. These goals helped Canada to gain confidence, and the tables started to turn in their favour.

The second period saw Canada extend their lead by two goals, thanks to contributions by Brad Marchand (the only Maritimer in the Series) and Sam Gagner – they each had a goal and an assist in the 2nd period. There was clear chemistry among the players, and they all stepped up their play. Canada wanted the puck, and they played well with (and without) it. This attitude continued into the third period, which saw the Russians play with a desperate tone and begin diving to try to draw penalties.

Canada often gets into penalty trouble on the international stage – like at this year’s World Championships – and this game was no different. There were 14 penalties called on Canadian players, two of them being called while Canada was already shorthanded, leaving Russia with 12 power play opportunities and two 2-man advantages. By comparison, Canada had 5 power plays. What saved Canada was their PK, as they allowed only 1 power play goal in the game. Claude Giroux and Turris seemed to work well together on the PK, and Brandon Sutter played a top-notch defensive game.

The big question mark over Canada’s head coming into this game was defence, and I thought that Canada’s D was pretty good today. The Karl Alzner/Drew Doughty tandem worked well, and the defencemen seemed to be in position to help Mason most of the time. What certainly helped were the defensive forwards – the shut down line of Milan Lucic, Sutter and Legein were effective in containing Alexei Cherepanov, who was virtually invisible in this game. Since Coach Sutter places such a high priority on defensive responsibility, I’d look for Canada’s defence to get stronger as the Series rolls on.

There are a number of things that Canada did right in this game:

- players blocked shots

- they set a physical tone (although it did only come late in the first period)

- they won key face-offs, and

- they kept their composure when behind or on the PK.

In order to have continued success in the Series, Canada must decrease the number of turnovers. They must also adjust their game so as to not take as many penalties, while still keeping a physical game – international referees prove time and time again that they call a very tight game. Third, Canada must continue to be defensively responsible (and I'd like to see their defence get better) because the Russians had a number of really good chances today that would have been goals had Canada not been there to clear the puck. Finally, I’d like to see the Canadians spend more time in the offensive zone and get more shots on goal - the Russians seemed to dominate in the SOG deparment.

My picks of the game:

* Brandon Sutter

** Steve Mason

*** Karl Alzner

Honourable mention to Kyle Turris, who scored a penalty shot, won key face-offs, and smashed his face on the boards. Ouch

Game 2 will be Wednesday at 10AM AT on Rogers Sportsnet.

By the way, it was odd to hear Pierre McGuire providing colour commentary from the press box. His voice was so calm and quiet - unlike his loud volume, rink-side performances on TSN and NBC.

Leland Irving: An inspiration to sick kids everywhere

Leland Irving was selected as one of the goaltenders to compete for Team Canada at the 2007 World Junior Hockey Championships in Sweden, but he didn't play a single minute - Carey Price dominated the tournament instead. Many would show disappointment, but not Irving. He always had a bright smile on his face.

Irving is the star goaltender for the Everett Silvertips of the WHL, and was drafted in the first round of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft by the Calgary Flames. He will once again represent his nation at the Super Series this year, but there was a time when his future wasn't so bright. There was a time when his very survival was in doubt.

When he was just eight years old, Irving was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer. He endured 13 months of chemotherapy, but still managed to keep a positive attitude. He played hockey as often as possible during this time, and it probably helped him to overcome the disease.

Now cancer-free, Irving is an inspiration to many sick children. It's not easy living with an illness, and it's hard to keep going when things get difficult, but perseverance can bring great things.

And the countdown is on...

In less than 24 hours (10AM AT, TSN), Team Canada will take to the ice to play Game 1 of the 8-game Super Series against Team Russia. The hockey season finally begins!

Milan Lucic, a power forward with the Vancouver Giants, is playing in his first international tournament, but that didn't stop head coach Brent Sutter from giving Lucic the "C" to wear on his jersey. Sutter also named the team's alternate captains: Sam Gagner (London Knights), Brandon Sutter (Red Deer Rebels), and Karl Alzner (Calgary Hitmen).

The starting goaltender for Monday's game will be Steve Mason of the London Knights, who had an OHL-record 45 wins in 2006-07.

The atmosphere of the original Summit Series will certainly be missing this time around, but who knows what will happen. Maybe there will be a huge brawl and cause the TV ratings to skyrocket. Whatever the case, this tournament will be the highlight of the careers of a lot of these guys, and they're going to play their hearts out for their countries.

Long-term, big money contracts: Not such a great idea after all.

Milan Michalek of the San Jose Sharks just signed a 6 year contract worth $26M, which will begin in the 2008-09 season. As the summer comes to a close, I realize that we have seen this contract time and time again in the last few months - the big money, long term contract. Derek Roy, Ryan Whitney, Dustin Penner, Stephen Weiss...and the list goes on.

I've been thinking a lot about this issue lately, and I'm conflicted. On the one hand, I think that these players are really good and part of me is not bothered by the salary. But on the other hand, I think that players are receiving the big bucks because of their potential - their current paychecks are not based on what they are doing now, but rather what they are projected to do in the future. This is a dangerous way to do business because a player may not develop as predicted, leaving the team with a player who is grossly overpaid. And the long term nature of the contracts just make everything worse.

I heard that the NBA went through something like this in the late 90s, when they were handing out long term contracts to their players - and things fell apart. Now, the teams hand out short term contracts and everybody's happy. It's too bad that the NHL didn't learn from the NBA's mistakes...

NHL teams should hire some people who specialize in the salary cap. In fact, I predict that 'Cap-o-logists' will be in high demand within the next couple of years.

I think I picked the wrong major...

What makes a great hockey market?

The Toronto Maple Leafs – who wouldn’t want to be like them? Sure, Habs fans in this world would scream “ME!” at this question, but follow me on this one. The Leafs have not won a Stanley Cup in 40 years, and it’s been awhile since their last playoff appearance, but they are still the most profitable team in the NHL. People from Newfoundland to British Columbia bleed blue and white, and though they will be the first to heap criticism on their own, they will forever be Leaf fans. They pass on their Leaf allegiance to their children, who then pass it on to their children. The Air Canada Centre sells out just about every single game, it’s virtually impossible to get season tickets, and Maple Leaf fans dish out hard-earned money for ‘nosebleed’ tickets. The Leafs organization is just rolling in the dough, so which team would not like to enjoy this kind of success?

Which brings me to what everyone has been talking about lately: hockey markets. There have been whispers for awhile that the NHL will be expanding within a few years, and it has been confirmed that AEG is building a new arena in Las Vegas that can house hockey or basketball franchises (or both). And then there are the existing franchises that are on the verge of relocating because they are in poor hockey markets.

What makes a good hockey market? I think there are basically two things that all teams need: fan support and corporate support. It’s not enough to have casual fans – teams need to have fans who have hockey knowledge and who are willing to spend money on tickets and merchandise. If you’re a new team in the area and the ‘fans’ are cheering for every goal scored – even the ones scored by the visiting team – you’re in trouble from the get-go (this should have been Nashville’s first clue). If a team cannot draw a decent number of fans for each game, then there will be little corporate support, and the franchise is in the toilet.

Nashville is the current problem market in the NHL. The owner of the Predators, Craig Leipold, has been losing money on this team since day one. The biggest problem is that there is no fan support, so there is basically no corporate support. Leipold invoked a clause in the arena’s lease that says that if the team draws an average of less than 14,000 fans per game for 2 consecutive years, then the team can break the lease with the arena. Last year, the Predators played for less than 14,000 people per game, and if 2007-08 follows the same path, bye-bye lease.

Leipold wants to sell his team (and hand off the money pit to someone else) and the biggest fear is that the team will leave the city. First, Jim Balsillie made a ridiculous offer to buy the Predators, and then promptly made arrangements with the kind people of Hamilton to bring the Predators to Ontario in the near future – that deal with Leipold quickly disappeared, since Balsillie just couldn’t play by the rules. Soon after, a group of investors (mostly Nashville locals) decided to buy the team to keep it in the city. It now looks like that deal is close to crumbling because of issues with the lease.

My two cents on this situation is that Nashville is not a good hockey market. It’s hardly a market at all. Sure, there are Predators fans in Nashville, but I don’t think that there are enough of them to support an entire franchise. If a business continually loses money, they don’t hang around just because of the few customers that stop by on a regular basis. The NHL should cut their losses now, get out of Nashville and go into a city that has a good market for hockey. I don’t blame Gary Bettman for expanding the league to southern markets in the 90s to capitalize on the 'Wayne Gretzky effect', or whatever you want to call it, but I have the feeling that he doesn’t want to admit that he was wrong. A lot (if not most) of these franchises are suffering financially, and this is only bringing down the entire league.

If I was commissioner, I’d put a halt to any talks of expansion. The NHL is simply not ready for more teams. There are so many franchises that are in trouble and their problems should be addressed. A number of teams need to relocate in order to strengthen the league, and these relocation cities should be in proven hockey markets (not ‘experiments’). I’d put together a committee to look into possible relocation cities, and I would put a focus on Canadian cities – Saskatoon, Regina, Winnipeg, Hamilton, Quebec City, Halifax. Who knows, maybe two or three of these cities would be great NHL markets that could boost league revenue.

And as for Las Vegas, I’d avoid it like the plague. Any professional sports franchise in that city is risking scandal. A lot of athletes like to party and gamble, and Vegas will be too tempting for some – especially with the Las Vegas Strip being literally a block away from the new AEG arena.