Nichols' Notes
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Excellent read from The Gazette’s Stu Cowan on a hockey school run by Montreal Canadiens defenceman Mike Weaver and his partner, Jon Insana.
“Our big thing is initiate and dictate as opposed to read and react,” explained Insana on the school’s philosophy. “Trying to be a step ahead and seeing things develop and being pre-positioned properly so you’re not always reacting a step behind.”
Beauty quote for hockey parents and kids alike here.
“The perception from a lot of kids, and myself included at a young age, you always assume that you have to be flashy, something that stands out head and shoulders above the rest,” Insana said. “The things we talk about at our camp and the things that are evident in Mike’s play is you don’t have to do the flashy things. Consistency is a skill and it’s something that you have to learn … showing up every night and every practice and coming in with that professional attitude that Mike does has allowed him to kind of overcome a lot of overwhelmingly big obstacles in his career. That’s the biggest thing. You don’t have to have the best hands on the ice or do the fancy spinaramas and all the other things to be noticed and to be appreciated by your coaches and your teammates.”
Calgary Flames signee David Wolf spoke to the media Friday and, via The Sun’s Randy Sportak, shared his enthusiasm.
“It’s a dream come true, especially for European guys, to play one day, one time, in the National Hockey League,” Wolf, who has a two-way contract with the Flames, said. “A lot of hockey players dream about that in Germany. It’s pretty tough to get here, but if you get the chance, you will take it. That’s why I’m here.
“I don’t want to just play in the AHL, I want to make the team, I want to play for the Flames. I’ve put my heart and soul into that and we’ll see what happens.”
Wolf and Jamie Benn became buddies when the latter played there during the last lockout and Sportak writes that Benn told Wolf to believe he could make it if given the chance and if he dedicated himself.
“He’s a great guy. I was single then, too, so we’d eat every day together,” Wolf said. “We were best friends at that time. I asked him about the National Hockey League a lot and I look up to him. He’s my age and he’s one of the best players in the world. I think it was good to see how he was on the ice, especially in one-on-one battles with him.”
Interesting nugget from The Denver Post's Adrian Dater, revealing how Pittsburgh Penguins GM Jim Rutherford intimated at the NHL draft that he had a deal for the No. 23 pick in the draft (belonging to the Colorado Avalanche) in his back pocket. The Nashville Predators' trade for James Neal with the Penguins plays a pivotal role in the story.
The New York Post's Josh Kosman and Larry Brooks report that Wayne Gretzky has joined a group of investors trying to bring an NHL team to Seattle. Sources tell The Post Gretzky's group is one of three with intentions of bringing a team to the area, although it's not known if this would be via an expansion effort or the relocation an existing franchise. The Post indicates Gretzky declined comment, and the NHL didn't return calls.
Calgary Flames assistant GM Craig Conroy was on Sportsnet 960 Friday morning, covering a lot of ground on the team's prospects.
He was also asked how difficult it was to separate personal and business with Michael Cammalleri's free agent situation, and how difficult was it to know he wouldn't be coming back, from one friend to another.
"Well, I mean, it's always tough. But, I mean, the one thing I can say is in my heart, we gave him a great deal. I mean, we offered him a great deal and he had to consider it. He weighed everything and, you know, I think he just went with the length of the contract. You know, he went with the longer term and, you know, that's the business. I don't hold that against anybody. I mean, that's - he's got to do what he feels best for him. But I know at least we made the best offer and I thought it was very fair and he even said it was very fair... He said there were some sleepless nights where he was trying to make up his mind and in the end he picked New Jersey.
"He called me that night. 'Are you mad?' No, I'm not mad. That's just part of the business. I said, you know, you win some and you lose some. We would have loved to have had you back, but, you know, it had to work for both of us. And just the five-year term wasn't going to work for us. And not to say he's not worth it, but, you know, in our situation we just didn't want to - where we are, we just want to kind of keep things a little shorter and manageable. It's easier to manage a two, three-year deal, four-year - ah, maybe two or three-year deal than going five, six, seven."
Dallas Stars GM Jim Nill joined Sportsnet 590 Friday morning. He was naturally asked right off the bat about the deal to get Jason Spezza; including surrendering Alex Chiasson, the key part of the return going the other way.
"Well, he's a good young player. He's going to be a power forward. He's 6-foot-4, 220 pounds, he's got a real good touch around the net and, you know - I know Bryan's - everybody's down on Bryan, but Bryan did a good job. He got the right pieces. He went after the right guys.
"Much like the Tyler Seguin deal last year, nobody really knew who Reilly Smith was until this season and now they know who he is. So Ottawa got a good young player and then the young kids they got in the deal, the Guptill kid played at University of Michigan. I think the real sleeper, and the guy I didn't want to give up, but Bryan insisted and that's where his staff did a good job, was Nicholas Paul who's in North Bay. He's going to be a good player. He's been invited to Canada's World Junior team. He's a 6-foot-4 centerman. He's going to be a good solid player, so Bryan - they did a good job. They got the assets they needed to get. They're young players and it's going to help their team, so it was a good hockey trade that way."
Nill was also asked about Gustav Nyquist's ascension with the Detroit Red Wings, Nill's former club.
"He's a great young player. First of all, he's a good young man. He came from Sweden and then came over and played in Maine. He's just got high, high-end hockey IQ. He's a smart player. Sees the ice very well and very deceptive speed. I think that's where he catches most people off-guard. He's not the biggest guy and he just doesn't look like he's moving that well, but all of the sudden he gets a step on you he's gone.
"The Red Wings, they have lots of young kids coming. I know right now, everybody's worried about the Red Wings not making any moves, but really, I don't think they need to make a lot of moves. They've got some great young kids coming up. Really, they just need help, you know, with Zetterberg and Datsyuk coming back.
"I've got a special place in my heart for that team and I know they're going to be a team to contend with still for many years."
In terms of how much the Western Conference has improved again this summer?
"Yeah, the West is going to be a fight. But you know what? It's good. It makes... it makes us all better. L.A., Chicago - they kind of set the standards and if, you know, we want to be with those teams, you've got to keep up with them. So we're looking forward to the challenge. It's going to be tough, but it's going to be some great hockey next year."
The Dispatch's Aaron Portzline reports the Columbus Blue Jackets have begun "early, exploratory talks" with both Sergei Bobrovsky and Brandon Dubinsky, ideally to have both of them sign contract extensions this summer. They're each entering the last year of their deals and would become an RFA and UFA respectively.
Portzline reports nothing new on the Ryan Johansen contract front either.
Joe Smith with The Tampa Bay Times profiles the vast potential of Lightning goaltending prospect Andrei Vasilevskiy, but management is being careful to not put the proverbial cart before the horse.
GM Steve Yzerman: "He's a really good goalie. But we just want to be realistic with our expectations. We have high hopes for him, but let's not overhype it; just one step at a time."
Lightning senior adviser Tom Kurvers: "He's confident. He's talented. He wants to be in the NHL. He has a clear picture of what he wants to do. But you can't rush guys into the NHL because the NHL eats somebody up if they're not ready for it. You've got to be sure on that."
Also worth a read is this offering from The Tampa Tribune's Erik Erlendsson, who spoke with another excellent goaltending prospect of the Lightning: Adam Wilcox.
The Tribune-Review's Josh Yohe details the connection between new Pittsburgh Penguins winger Steve Downie and assistant coach Rick Tocchet. Tocchet and GM Jim Rutherford have suggested Downie is capable of a top-six role, which the winger has done in the past.
“Sidney Crosby is the best player in the world,” Downie said. “To even think about having a chance to play with him excites me. But honestly, whatever happens, happens. Wherever I play, I'll do what I can. I'm just coming to Pittsburgh to win.”
A source tells The Chicago Tribune's Chris Kuc that extensions for Blackhawks stars Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane are not expected to be completed until sometime after this Fourth of July weekend.
There are a number of notes in Ottawa Sun writer Bruce Garrioch's Thursday evening offering, including the latest chatter on Vincent Lecavalier of the Philadelphia Flyers and free agent David Legwand. Garrioch's sources say the Nashville Predators are the leading candidate to land the former. Buffalo Sabres winger Chris Stewart and the Sens continue to be linked, while Colin Greening and/or Erik Condra could be available from Ottawa for "a reasonable return."
The Citizen's Ken Warren also examines the possible Lecavalier angle.
The Calgary Sun’s Randy Sportak profiles Ryan van Asten, who is the new strength and conditioning coach for the Flames. He held that post with the Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings for the past three years, but is coming home because “working in a Canadian market for a Canadian team is almost a dream come true.”
In terms of what he’ll bring to the Flames: “My philosophy is a movement-based approach, cleaning up any types of deficiencies players have in terms of their movement patterns. Then, building from there. That will allow them to transfer the power they have onto the ice. On the ice, they can skate faster. On the ground, they can run faster. It’s a gradual process throughout the off-season and throughout their career. It takes time because it can be highly technical.”
Jim Matheson of The Edmonton Journal looks at Luke Gazdic of the Oilers and how he knows he'll need to bring more to the table next year than just his fighting ability.
“I have to improve my possession,” said Gazdic, who does believe in analytics numbers, but doesn’t think it’s the sole judge of a player’s worth. “I’m not going to dangle through two or three guys, but I have to have more confidence with the puck.
“I have to get to where I can be out there any time of the game, on offensive or defensive zone faceoffs. I have to win Dallas’s trust.”
The Sun's Robert Tychkowski notes Edmonton Oilers prospect Darnell Nurse's determination to do everything he can to make it a difficult choice for the organization to send him back to junior in the fall, despite the team's recent veteran additions on defence.
"I'm just going to put myself in a position where I’m in the best shape possible and as strong as I can be when September rolls around,” said Nurse.
Nurse was humbled last year, both in not making the Oilers out of camp and also not being selected to the Canadian world junior entry.
“Your skin definitely gets a little thicker,” he said, admitting it was everything in hockey had come pretty easily up until recently. “It really just opened my eyes — there’s always improvement, there’s always things you can work on no matter what point in your development you’re at. I just kind of took a step back and re-evaluated and pushed myself even harder.”
Oilers bench boss Dallas Eakins shares with The Sun's Tychkowski his excitement at the changes GM Craig MacTavish has made to the team, including bringing in Nikita Nikitin and Mark Fayne.
“These are established NHL players, that gives you some comfort,” said Eakins. “There’s not an unknown with them. I thought our biggest problem last year was breaking the puck out and that led to us spending a lot of time in our own zone. So with the additions of those players and with all of our other guys getting another year of experience, this is a step in the right direction.”