NHL Kommissioner Gary Bettman finally found time in his busy schedule between cancelling the season, burnings ants under a magnifying glass, and watching All My Children to have a hearing for suspended Canucks forward Todd Bertuzzi. TSN Story

Suspended Vancouver Canucks' forward Todd Bertuzzi will finally get a chance to appeal for his re-instatement. TSN has confirmed that Bertuzzi will meet with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman next Tuesday to discuss his application for returning to the league.

It's about friggin time! I ranted previously about the league's dawdling on this issue:

There are more than enough hours in Gary Bettman’s day to deal with non-CBA issues. Bertuzzi, at the very least, deserves to have some clarity and closure to his banishment.

If Bettman wants him out for another year, then make the damn decision and give Bertuzzi some ability to plan his future. Why should Bertuzzi twist in the wind and have any potential ‘career’ in Europe or anywhere else be hampered because Bettman can’t sit down for an hour and make a decision?

Notice how the NHL suddenly 'found' time for Bertuzzi's hearing once Team Canada announced its complete World Championships roster?

Was this a calculated move by Bettman to punish Bertuzzi one last time? I wouldn't put it past the little weasel.

I'm not a betting man, but I would guess that since Big Bert has already suffered a great deal (playoffs, World Cup, and World Championships) that Bettman will allow him to play pro hockey again in the fall; in the NHL or Europe.

Of course, Betty and Berty will also be discussing the ramifications of Steve Moore's lawsuits. I won't speculate on that part of the hearing, but it may factor into Bettman's decision wether to keep Bertuzzi's suspension going or not.

It is fitting, in this season of cancelled NHL hockey, that the evil powers have dominated the European hockey scene.

Case in point: Slovan Bratislava, who captured their 5th ever league title (out of a total of 12 Slovak Extraleague seasons) with a 3-1 Game 7 win over HKm Zvolen.

Miroslav Satan, the Prince of Darkness, had a goal and an assist in the deciding game. The oft-mentioned Orszagh-Hanzdus-Zednik trio went pointless in Game 7. All 4 of these guys, and Lubomir Visnovsky, don't have much time to rest as they are expected to join Team Slovakia as they prepare for the World Hockey Championships.

Pelvis has left the building!

A Giant new Training Facility for Vancouver

The Vancouver Giants had to be raking in some serious coin this year with vastly increased attendance and corporate sponsorship. The hockey fans of Vancouver showed the Giants a lot of love this season when the Canucks and the NHL abandoned the people.

Therefore, it's great to see Giants owner Ron Toigo re-invest a large portion of these profits back into his team and the community with a new training complex.

"This summer, the Giants, in conjunction with the Delta Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Department, are investing $1.2 million for the development of current and future major junior hockey players with the opening of a new, state-of-the-art training facility at the Ladner Leisure Centre.

The new 8000-square-foot structure will include a 2700-sq-ft. weight room, video room, officies, and a new dressing room. The two-floor structure will have the weight room on the top floor, which will be open to the public. This new facility will be one that is sure to rival many work-out areas in NHL cities"

Congrats are in order for Ottawa's Jason Spezza, who scored himself the AHL MVP award.

Before Sidney Crosby, Jason Spezza was the seen as the 'next one'...that was until Ilya Kovalchuk came along and overtook him in their draft year (2001). Although the level of hype didn't reach Crosby levels, Spezza was compared to Mario Lemieux for his combination of size and playmaking.

Since then, Spezza has had a bit of a bumpy ride to stardome. He struggled at the World Junior Championships, found himself traded twice in the OHL, and was often critized for what others perceived as 'cockyness' (Just because a kid is outgoing and not always full of cliches does not make them 'cocky')

If Jacques Martin wasn't playing stupid mind games with him and benching Spezza for looking at him the wrong way, Spezza was buried behind the Sens depth at center. This past season would have been Spezza's 'breakout' year for sure, but we'll have to wait another year to really see him wreak havoc on the NHL scoring charts.

- - -

The World Under-18 Championships are under way in Plzen and Ceske Budejovice of the Czech Republic. You can find out more information on the official homepage here.

Canada began the tourney with a 2-1 squeaker win over the frustrating Germans.

As usual, the Germans exhibited little offensive confidence and played the 1-4 trap to frustrating near-perfection. This means, unfortunately, that the Germans will continue to play this style for the rest of the tournament.

These tournaments often give the younger IIHF officials a chance to develop some experience. The arena in Ceske Budejovice also seemed to give a 17 year-old kid a chance to develop experience as the arena announcer. I don't think I've ever heard an arena announcer's voice crack before...(If you watch The Simpsons, think of that zit-faced youth who works at the fast food places).

...and yes, the Slovaks have the tournament's tallest player (Vladimir Mihalik is 6'7") and it seems to be an organizational policy to take 'tall' forwards. Many Slovak pundits worry that the Slovak federation is too worried about size over skill (Well, many NHL scouts are, after all) and the Slovaks will have a very tough time winning games. So far, the Slovaks are down 1-0 to the Czechs, they barely tied Denmark 1-1 in an exhibition game, and they lost their first game to the USA.

- - -

Slovan Bratislava and Zvolen will party for all of the marbles as Game 7 goes tonight in Zvolen. Vladimir Orszagh really put the hurt to Lubomir Visnovsky's ankle, and the two national teammates aren't exactly friends right now :)

Visnovsky, despite the hampered ankle, did score last game and has been still effective in limit the chances of the Orszagh-Handzus-Zednik 3-headed monster.

- - -

World Championships

1. Scott Walker was the last man added to Team Canada's roster. That means no Todd Bertuzzi (*big sigh of relief*)

2. Russia announced its training camp roster.

Canucks fans find it incredibly strange that Fedor Fedorov was named to the preliminary roster, but Artem Chubarov was not. Chubarov, despite his incredible offensive limiations, is a very reliable defensive forward and a good skating footsoldier. Fedor, on the other hand, is a useless sack of skin.

I just don't get the typical Hockey Pants. I really don't. They aren't even 'pants'

Why would you ever design and wear padded shorts for a game played on ice? Really, it doesn't make sense to me to wear big black diapers and then have to use half a roll of tape to make sure your stalkings don't fall down.

Why don't ice hockey players wear normally looking pants? Is there an actual reason why they continue to use this severly outdated design?

I know the Hartford Whalers experimented with 'Cooperalls' once upon a time, and they use stylish hockey pants in professional roller hockey.

With the talk of Reebok designing 'sleeker' uniforms, why not convert all hockey shorts into full fledged pants? You could do a lot, stylewise, to add to the look and design of your average hockey uniform.

Hockey players, especially Cale Hulse, have some powerful and shapely legs. Why not show them off a little? (/fanboy mode)

- - -

Lance Hornsby and a few others are really feeling a little empty now, with the playoffs supposed to be starting now and all.

I dunno about you, but the withdrawl symptoms don't affect me any longer. I've jumped into my other drug(baseball), and I just can't feel 'anything' since the season was cancelled long ago.

Still, I found this line rather amusing:

The venerable hockey pools will go dry as well this month. Run from either the living room, office, internet or local bar, there will be no attempts to sneak in Vladimir Orszagh as a sleeper pick, or that smug feeling of projecting Carolina, Anaheim or Calgary into the final round.

As much as I love Vlado Orszagh, I can't imaging having to 'sneak' a guy like him into a pool. Would anyone else other than me and a few others want him? I don't imagine too many scraps have broken out over the rights to Matt Johnson, either.

Also, I'd think 'drunk' would be a more apt adjective to describe anyone who takes Carolina, Anaheim, or Calgary, or Vancouver in their playoff pools. (Does not apply to hometown fans)

- - -

Sweden announced their roster for the upcoming World Championships, and they will count on Daniel Alfredsson and the Sedinbots to lead them victory. Oooooh, I'm soooooooo scared.

I hope they lose every friggin' game. Thank you.

- - -

I know there's a grassroots movement to 'Free Stanley' from the evil clutches of the NHL. Now, they have actually managed to take this battle to court, where an annoyed judge can finally tell them that it's useless to resist the force.

I'd really like to see the next-best league (the AHL, in this case) award the Stanley Cup to their winner. Do you really think Jay Bouwmeester would fight harder for the Stanley Cup rather than the Calder Cup? Even if it's 'tainted', I would say 'hell yeah!'.

We are not privy to the trust agreement between the NHL and Lord Stanley's estate, so it's hard to say what the true arrangement is. I just doubt anything will come of it, and we'll be back to talking about the next round of unproductive CBA talks.

- - -

Tom Benjamin of the Canucks Corner Blog has two thought-provoking posts on Illegal vs. Legal obstruction and also the CBA Negotiations. You should definitely go read them...because I said so!

One quick point on the obstruction: I see a lot of 'illegal' obstruction at the Giants games I go to, and I recall seeing quite a bit of it at the last Canucks game I went to and also when I watch NHL games on TV. I really doubt Booby Clarke's assertion that the NHL is devoid of 'illegal' obstruction.

Detroit Red Wings defensive prospect Niklas Kronwall has been named the Eddie Shore Award winner for the 2004/05 AHL season. News Release Link

The Eddie Shore Award is given to the top defenseman in the AHL, and Kronwall is the first European defenseman to get the honour.

The six-foot, 190-pound Swede went into Tuesday's game against the Milwaukee Admirals leading the Griffins in scoring with 12 goals and 38 assists in 73 games. Kronwall, 24, would be playing for the Detroit Red Wings earning $950,000 US this season - at least 10 times his current pay - had it not been for the lockout. He was a first-round draft pick, 29th overall, in 2000.

I remember when the Wings selected Kronwall, and I thought "Well, that was a waste of a pick. Say Hello to the next John Slaney!"

Kronwall was small, thought of as soft, and didn't seem like NHL material. Given my position on the smurfish Lubomir Visnovsky over the years, this seems rather foolish in hindsight.

Fast forward a few seasons and he has excelled at every level. Kronwall is not the next Lidstrom, like some Wings/prospects fans seem to be harping, but he's certainly good in his own right.

Say what you will about the Wing$ 'buying' players and buying success (Hull, Hasek, Shanahan, Lang, Chelios, Schneider, etc), Detroit would never have had such a long run of success without the amazing drafting and development record that they do. It also helps when a lot of moronic GM's pass on amazing talents like Jiri Hudler and they just fall into your lap at the 58th spot.

As an Anti-Wings fan, this just pisses me off :(...but give credit where credit is due...the Wings just rule when it comes to unearthing hidden gems and they make good use of their draft picks (Which are usually lower on the list).

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Slovan DENIED!

I've been hard on Zvolen's line of Orszagh-Handzus-Zednik because they are three of my favourite players and I expect a lot (more) from them.

It was nice to see them get jiggy with it as they accounte for ALL 5 Zvolen goals in a 5-2 victory over evil $lovan Bratislava. Slovan leads the series 3-2 as they head back to Bratislava for Game 6.

Handzus and his hair led the way with 1 goal and 4 assists. Zednik had 2 goals and 2 assists while Vlado Orszagh pitched in with a goal and assist of his own. Zvolen outshot Slovan 37-17 and was clearly in full desparation mode.

Miroslav Satan, despite his recently invisibility, still leads the playoff scoring race with 14 goals and 6 assists in 16 games. Richard Zednik is 3rd with 9 goals and 9 assists in 15 games (Whiny Zdeno Ciger is in 2nd. Bleccch!!)

Vlado Orszagh, on the other hand, has just 4 goals and 2 assists in 15 games. I know he's the defensive foot soldier for Zvolen, but he's clearly capable of more. Now would be a great time for him to just open up a can of offensive whoop-ass on Slovan.

Here's the Red Wings' Chris Chelios dressed up to fluff pillows and light incense with the Motor City Mechanics.

I dunno...pink really doesn't seem like his colour. Bruise purple might be a better look.

With the European leagues wrapping up, entrant countries are starting to name and shape up their rosters for the upcoming World Championships in Austria.

Lots of news and notes to make note of.

Canada against the world - GM Steve Tambellini has named most of Canada's roster.

Unfortunately, there are quite a few players here who have been sitting on their asses the whole winter. I don't like the idea of taking any player who hasn't being playing professional hockey this year, and I think this will bite Canada in the behind when all is said and done.

There is also one spot left open for whomever Team Canada may want to add later (I hope it's not Bertuzzi)

Goaltenders:
Martin Brodeur
Roberto Luongo
Marty Turco

Defense:
Ed Jovanovski
Wade Redden
Chris Phillips
Robyn Regehr
Scott Hannan
Dan Boyle
Sheldon Souray

Forwards:
Joe Thornton
Dany Heatley
Brendan Morrison
Rick Nash
Kris Draper
Shane Doan
Mike Fisher
Simon Gagne
Patrick Marleau
Brenden Morrow
Kirk Maltby
Ryan Smyth

Our enemies from the USA have a pretty good looking roster for this tournament (for once, eh!)

Goalies: Ty Conklin (Edmonton, Wolfsburg/DEL), Rick DiPietro (New York Islanders), Tim Thomas (Boston, Jokerit Helsinki/FIN).

Defensemen: Hal Gill (Boston, Lukko Rauma/FIN), Jordan Leopold (Calgary), John-Michael Liles (Colorado, Iserlohn/DEL), Paul Martin (New Jersey, Fribourg/NLA), Aaron Miller (Los Angeles), Andy Roach (St. Louis, Lausanne/NLA).

Forwards: Erik Cole (Carolina, Eisbären Berlin/DEL), Matt Cullen (Carolina, Cortina/ITA), Brian Gionta (New Jersey, Albany/AHL), Adam Hall (Nashville, KalPA Kuopio/FIN2), Jeff Halpern (Washington, Kloten/NLA), Mike Knuble (Philadelphia, Linköping/SWE), David Legwand (Nashville, Basel/NLB), Mike Modano (Dallas), Richard Park (Minnesota, SCL Tigers/NLA), Mark Parrish (New York Islanders), Doug Weight (St. Louis, Frankfurt/DEL), Mike York (Edmonton, Iserlohn/DEL).

The Czech team looks quite strong, and my pal David Schlegel has an in-depth preview over at Eurohockey.net

I have to say, however, that the Czech goaltending situation looks awfully weak right now. If we are going by this year's performances, then Tomas Vokoun, Adam Svoboda, and Milan Hnilicka are like a leaky drainpipe waiting to explode. Oh, and Milan Hejduk is skipping the WC's, in case you are one of his fanboys/girls.

Joeri from Eurohockey.net let me know that the following players won't be suiting up for Russia

Yevgeni Nabokov (ill wife)
Nikolai Khabibulin (has conflcit with federartion)
Ilya Bryzgalov (AHL-playoffs)
Dmitri Yeremeyev: prefers to play for Kazakhstan.
Ilya Kovalchuk (if Bilyaletdinov will be in coaching staff, Ilya won't go. Ilya blames his coach for early playoff exit)
Sergei Fedorov (probably concentrating on his 'music' career)
Sergei Zubov

- Olaf Kölzig will miss the WC's for Germany with an injured knee.

- Finland will have to do without Tuomo Ruutu, Teemu Selänne, Jere Lehtinen, Saku Koivu, Aki-Petteri Berg, Mikka Kiprusoff and Toni Lydman for various reasons.

I'll be sure to have more on Slovakia in the very near future. I know Pavol Demitra and Peter Bondra are out for sure. Jan Lasak will be the definite #1 goaltender while Rastislav Stana and Peter Budaj will fight for the backup role after they had outstanding seasons in their own right.

I am certainly glad this weekend of hockey is over. None of the teams that I want to win was actually winning, and the announcement of Pavol Demitra declining a World Championships roster spot just sucks a big nut for me.

Is it just me, or are the players on the American women's team a bunch of cocky jack-asses? They certainly haven't changed much since Nagano...

The champagne is flowly freely through the streets of Pardubice as they celebrate their first league title since 1989 (when Michael Jackson was less than 30% plastic).

It was a clean 4-game sweep as Pardubice won it at home in front of a capacity crowd by a 3-2 count.

Jan Lasak was, once again, THE MAN with a 43-save performance. In every game of this series, Zlin was peppering Lasak with scoring chances and was denied almost every single time. If Lasak isn't named Playoff MVP (When they get around to announcing the award winngers), then something is seriously wrong with the world. Lasak finished with a 94.97% Save Percentage in the playoffs and a 12-4 record. Zlin's Igor Murin was in second place, way down there with 92.96% Save Percentage.

Oilers fans will be happy to know that the slick Ales Hemsky led all playoff scorers with 14 points (4+10) in 16 games. My boy, Jaroslav Balastik, finished just behind Hemsky with 13 points in 17 games (4+9) while Martin Erat also had a fine playoff performance with 12 points (7+5) in 16 games.
I'm sure Oilers fans will love to know that Jiri Dopita picked up his 7th league title...he's so clutch, ya know? :)

Back to Lasak: It's high time that the NHL gave him a second chance when the real games resume.

Lasak has proven himself to be an excellent goaltending at the World Level, the AHL level, the ECHL level, and now in Europe (Czechia and Russia).

Lasak is only 25, yet he has quite a lot of experience. What NHL team couldn't benefit from a young, cheap, quality goaltender who really does want to play in the NHL? Write a letter to your favourite team's GM and let him know that there is a quality goaltender out there that could provide, at the very least, a good backup backstopper.

If Jon Casey, Jim Carey, and Patrick Lalime were given second chances, why shouldn't Lasak? (Answer, because they aren't European)

My advice to Lasak: You need to really put on a fine performance at the WC. It seems dumb NHL scouts ignore league play all too often and put a lot of stock into very short-term tournaments (like how the U18 affects rankings a great deal). We can't be seeing any of the World Cup follies that plagued team Slovakia - It's time to bring home the bacon.

- - -

Over in Slovakia, Slovan took a 3-1 series lead with a 2-0 at home in the Satandome.

Slovan has done an excellent job of neutralizing the Orszagh-Handzus-Zednik line, and the other Zvolen lines are not picking up the slack. It really boils down to the Slovan non-NHLers outperforming the Zvolen non-NHLers.

I certainly hope this week brings better news...

"If winning isn't everything, why do they keep score?" ~Vince Lombardi

Did you sense something strange in the air tonight?
Did you start shivering for no apparent reason at all?
Did you notice the black clouds in the sky?
Are your pets acting weird?

The wind was evil tonight, and the teams with the blackest of souls were having the brightest successes.

Let's start with the Women's World Hockey Championships, which was the usual Canada vs. USA battle (version 2646148937)

After winning the last 8 WWHC's, and outscoring their opposition 38-0 in this tournament, Canada fell to the evil Americans 1-0 in an evil shootout.

With the shootout loss, Canada falls to something like 2-372 in International shootouts all time (men's and women's hockey). If Canada is the King of the hockey world, than the shootout is the poison in the royal sirloin.

---

Over in Czechia, in the birthplace of Goaltending Satan (one Dominik Hasek), Pardubice put a chokehold on Zlin with a 2-0 victory. Jan Lasak has obviously been channeling the old Hasek (Hasek was the goalie tending the twine when Pardubice used to win championships) and had another 40-save performance. Lasak has enough clean sheets to start his own orphanage.

Blah! Pardubice leads the series 3-0 and I'm afraid that Jan Lasak has enough 'sudes' to last him another 4 games.

In Bratislava, Satan (the Miroslav version) sat back and had his minions do the dirty work for him. $lovan won 5-2 as the Orszagh-Handzus-Zednik line was completely neutralized. Miro did absolutely nothing but laugh maniacally and roast weenies on his pitchfork. Nice work if you can get it.

...and as if I needed more bad news, I find out that PAVOL DEMITRA will not be playing for Slovakia at the upcoming World Hockey Championships.

*whimper*

Good thing I didn't have a surgery scheduled for today, because I'd probably end up with a second head and an extra eyeball.

It sounds like Islanders defenseman Kenny Jonsson may be through with the NHL at tender age of 30. TSN story link.

Sweden's Sport-Expressen reported Wednesday that New York Islanders defenceman Kenny Jonsson has decided he will play the rest of his career in Sweden and not return to the NHL.

The newspaper, citing sources, said Jonsson's motivation centered around his family.

This isn't the first time that we've heard a Swedish NHLer cry about his love for home-cooked meatballs and 'family'. Kenny may be only 30, but he's already played 686 NHL games and has been with the Isles for 9 seasons.

Nicklas Lidstrom was very public about bringing up his kids in the Swedish education system, but ultimately the Red Wing$ showed him the money and he quickly forgot about home.

Markus Naslund has made the same proclamations, as has Peter Forsberg (who seems too competitive to just walk home and away from millions and the thrill of serious injury).

Nothing official is reported on the New York Islanders official website, and the Swedish tabloids aren't known for their accuracy, so I'll believe it when I see it.

Still, this would be a crushing loss for an Islanders team that is just barely above the playoff water level and was looking to make the leap forward. With Roman Hamrlik, Adrien Aucoin, and Janne Niniimaa and Jonsson, the Islanders have an exceptional top-4 grouping that can eat minutes like Paris Hilton on her T-Mobile cell phone.

Jorgen Jonsson, Kenny's older brother, played one year in the NHL and decided that he'd rather go back to Sweden and be a star rather than be a 'role player' in the NHL.

Kenny, on the other hand, is a well-paid star and doesn't have that same motivation to go back. I find it hard to believe that his kids are really suffering in the rich New York burbs, and that Kenny really wants to pay the insane tax rates that he'll get hit with back in Sweden.

A look at the latest news and notes from the hockey world.

1. Pavel Kubina was hit with a rather big spanking for some recent public comments against referee Petr Bolina. (English Language Link Here)

NHL defenceman Pavel Kubina was banned for 15 games and fined 200,000 koruna ($1,050 Cdn) by the Czech Elite League on Wednesday for criticizing a referee.

Kubina, a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning playing for Vitkovice in his native Czech Republic during the NHL lockout, said referee Petr Bolina was bribed and put on an unprofessional performance officiating the seventh game of the playoff semifinal between Vitkovice and Zlin.

If there is an NHL season in September, then this fine won't mean much.

Still, it does seem rather harsh, doesn't it? Why 15 games?

2-3 years ago (I don't remember the exact date), the referees just got fed up with the physical and verbal abuse they received. (Just recently, a Slovak Leaguer was banned 5 months for shoving a linesman) The officials threatened to walk out on the league finals if the league administrators didn't start supporting them more and punishing players and coaches for attacking them. The league agreed, and now we have proof of the new system.

While European officiating is known for its lack of quality and its' members taking bribes, I was glad to see the Czech Extraleague finally give some support to the officials and follow through. North American hockey fans wouldn't believe some of the crap these officials go through. Screaming hockey parents are the least of their worries.

The interesting twist to this story is that the Extraleague is asking the Czech National squad to keep Kubina off of the World Championships roster. Given the importance of the event to the Czechs, I could see the National squad telling the League to mind their own business.

Still, this kind of thing has never been asked of the National team before. We'll see what kind of precedent is set.

---

2. Sidney Crosby - Is he bored of being told how good he is?

Probably not, eh!, but he did pick up FIVE more awards and was named to the QMJHL 1st All-Star Team. (Story Link Here

The booty:
Michel Briere Trophy (League MVP)
Offensive Player of the Year
Jean Beliveau Trophy (Top Scorer)
Michael Bossy Trophy (Top Pro Prospect)
Paul Dumont Trophy (Personality of the Year)

So, should Sir Sidney add another room in his parent's house for all of his hardware?

"I don't actually get to keep those big trophies, we get a puck and it doesn't take up that much room," Crosby said with a chuckle. "It's fun to be here and it's fun to win things, but you look at it as a bonus."

I guess not.

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Extraleague Playoff Update

HKm Zvolen 4 - Slovan Bratislava 1 (Series tied at 1)
Game Summary

Zvolen got 2 goals and an assist from ex-Minnesota Wild forward Peter "The Breakaway Specialist" Bartos to beat evil $lovan and tie the series.

Hame Zlin 1 - Pardubice 4 (Pardubice leads series 2-0)
Game Boxscore

It was the same story in Game 2 for Zlin - They got the opening lead, outshot the horsemen, and ultimately lost the game.

Martin "The Nose" Altrichter did get the start for Zlin in goal, but he wasn't able to conjur the same magic he had last year. I'd expect Igor Murin back in the nets for Game 3.


"It's so hard to find a good barber in Zvolen"

It appears that Vancouver Giants center Gilbert Brule will miss the upcoming World Under-18 Championships due to some rather well hidden injuries.
TSN Report

After already suffering a major disappointment this week when his Vancouver Giants were eliminated from the Western Hockey League playoffs, Gilbert Brule experienced more of the same today when multiple injuries forced him to decline an invitation to join Canada's entry at this month's 2005 IIHF World Under-18 Hockey Championships.

The North Vancouver native has been playing through a number of injuries this season. He played with a separated shoulder for much of the second half of the season. Most recently, while leading the Giants playoff charge, he has been playing through injuries to his elbow and lower back, and as he said today, these injuries have taken their toll.

I suppose these injuries could explain Brule's somewhat disappointing production in the series versus Kelowna. If Brule was playing through pain and injuries, he did an amazing job hiding it. From the outside, Brule looked fiery and competitive and didn't seem to be bothered by any injuries.

Still, I wonder if Brule would fight through injuries if the 2005 Entry Draft wasn't cancelled. Right now, Brule has no incentive to play at the WJC18 if he's in pain...but if there was a draft, it would be another story.

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Extraleague Playoff Update - Evil Strikes First

Let's start in Slovakia, where evil $lovan Bratislava got a game-winning goal from (Miroslav) Satan himself and won 3-2 over Zvolen on enemy territory.



Slovan pulled a switch and put their usual #1, Pavol Rybar, back in net to start the series (Sneaky bastards), and he did well in thwarting most of Zvolen's balanced attack.

Over in Czechia, Pardubice weathered Zlin's storm and stole a 4-2 victory.

Zlin certainly wasn't showing any fatigue. Jaroslav Balastik, the official prospect of Hockey Rants, set up spunky dog-lover Martin Erat for the game's first goal just 35 seconds into the game. Zlin peppered Pardubice's Jan Lasak with 42 shots in total, and really outplayed the dark horsemen from Pardubice. Lasak, as he has been this entire playoffs, was spectacular and composed.

It's unfortunate that Zlin's goalie, Igor Murin, decided to ruin the party by letting in 4 goals in just 12 shots. Frustrating Oilers forward Ales Hemsky took full advantage of Murin's poor play and was the offensive star with a pair of goals and an assist.

Who will Zlin start in goal for Game 2? An interesting story from last year is that Igor Murin went down with injuries before the finals. Backup Martin "The Nose" Altrichter stepped in and dominated during the final series. Altrichter ended up winning Playoff MVP for his play, and it's not far fetched that coach Ernest Bokros could just throw Altrichter back into the fire and hope that lightning strikes twice.

This year's Czech and Slovak Extraleague finals really pit the best of the best against one another. Thanks to stockpiling NHL players on top of already strong rosters, the 4 combatants proved the old adage "The cream rises to the top."

Here's a look at the matchups.

CZECHIA:

HC Hame Zlin (104 points, 1st overall) vs. HC Pardubice (97 points, 3rd overall)

NHLers and Notable Players:
Zlin: Petr Cajanek, Radek Bonk, Jaroslav Balastik, Petr Leska, Martin Erat, Roman Hamrlik
Pardubice: Jan Bulis, Ales Hemsky, Milan Hejduk, Jiri Dopita, Jan Lasak, Petr Prucha, Michal Mikeska

This matchup is historic since it will pit 2 Slovak starting goaltenders against each other for the first time in Czech League history. Former Nashville Predators prospect Jan Lasak (still Slovakia's #1 guy) will tend nets for Pardubice and face Igor Murin, another product of the Trencin machine. This fact isn't lost on many Czechs who decry the lack of their own great goaltending these days and consider Slovak hockey to be inferior.

This matchup will also pit the top defensive team (Zlin) versus the top offensive team (Pardubice) and will also showcare a contrast in styles - Zlin's blue-collar work ethic and attention to detail versus Pardubice's free-flowing star power.

Zlin: Last year's champions had a very tough road to the finals, facing a very strong 8th place team in Litvinov and then having to play 7 rough games against a determined Vitkovice squad. Zlin's smallish defence corps could be taken advantage of by aggressive forechecking, which is precisely how Vitkovice was able to break through. Luckily for Zlin, Pardubice's forwards are more finesse in nature and unlikely to cause the same ruckus along the boards. Zlin has more than enough talented defensive forwards (especially Cajanek and Bonk) to handle the deep forward artillery that Pardubice will fire away with.

Pardubice: Jan Lasak is generally a hot/cold type of goalie, and he's been white-hot through the entire playoffs. While Murin is the more steady of the two goalies, Lasak certainly has more talent and it will be bad news for Zlin if Lasak hasn't cooled down at all.

Pardubice, even with some off-season additions, still has one of the weakest defensive units of all playoff teams. Zlin has enough top talent to take advantage of this and if they get an early lead, Pardubice could be in trouble.

The horsemen (their logo is a stallion) will have to rely on their powerful offence, which feature the top 3 scorers in the Extraleague (Mikeska, Hejduk, and Bulis) and has carried them despite a coaching chance and questionable team character.

Prediction: I believe last year's champions, Hame Zlin, will be able to formulate a plan to shut down most of Pardubice's top guns and then take advantage on the counter-attack. Since Zlin is a bit tired out from their series against Vitkovice, Pardubice will and can take advantage of this to possibly win 1 or 2 of the first 2 games in the series.
I'll take Zlin in 7.

SLOVAKIA:

HKm Zvolen (107 points, 1st place) vs. Slovan Bratislava (107 points, 2nd place)

NHLers and Notable Players:
Zvolen: Richard Zednik, Vladimir Orszagh, Michal Handzus, Peter Bartos
Slovan: Miroslav Satan, Lubomir Visnovsky, Zdeno Ciger

Goaltending: Zvolen has the league's best goalie in Krazy Karol Krizan. The d00d with the mohawk haircut led the league in Save Percentage in both the playoffs and regular season. When he's not talking to his blocker, he can be counted on to make the big saves.

Slovan, on the other hand, kept changing between starter (and former Slovak #1) Pavol Rybar and Czech backup Pavol Barta (Dominik Hasek's backup many moons ago). It looks like Barta will get the starting job to start the finals and there is a considerable edge here for Zvolen.

Slovan: Slovan is deep and talented at every position and their roster has every type of player you could want to use puzzling together a playoff contender. As is always the case with Slovan, they have bought some of the best talent that other Extraleague teams have developed. Together with Miroslav Satan (Who is on fire right now), the unretired Zdeno Ciger, and super Lubomir Visnovsky, Slovan can roll out 4 units of good players. There are rarely any easy shifts against this team. They managed to deconstruct a very high-powered Trencin squad, which goes to show that this isn't your grandmother's Slovan Bratislava (think Sparta Prague and NY Rangers). If it wasn't for their revolving goaltender system, they would be an easy favourite.

Zvolen: This team has plenty of aging, yet effective, offensive-minded veterans to counter Slovan's younger guns - So much so that the NHL line of Zednik-Handzus-Orszagh is basically the 'defensive' conscience on the team. Zvolen, despite having a recent phobia to playing young players, has more of a 'home-grown' feel than $lovan.

Zvolen is also a much bigger and more physical team than Slovan, and was criticized by some Slovak pundits for being too 'North American', a so-called disease brought back by Richard Zednik and Vladimir Orszagh.

Their top scorer, Richard Sechny, finished only 8th in overall scoring and shows just how Zvolen relies on a more 'balanced' approach to its offence over the star-studded Slovan roster. Handzus and Zednik were only 12th and 13th respectively, but have been more effective in the playoffs.

Prediction: I like Zvolen's physical defence and advantage in goal. Unlike Trencin, I believe Zvolen will be able to stop Miroslav Satan from wreaking havoc and will be able to get scoring from all lines. For Slovan, I have to admit I am rather impressed with their defensive record this year. In past seasons, Slovan usually cruised on pure talent alone and always seemed to be a champion full of holes. While Slovan may not have confidence in their usual #1 goaltender, Libor Barta is still effective in his own right.

Prediction: Zvolen in 7 (As if I'd ever take $lovan!)

So, the NHL has decided to a file a second complaint against the NHLPA, TSN.CA REPORTS

As expected, the NHL has filed a second complaint of "unfair labour practice" against the NHL Players' Association with the National Labour Relations Board in the United States.

This complaint is centred on the NHLPA's apparent policy of decertifying player agents if they choose to represent replacement players. The league had threatened to file the complaint if the NHLPA did not provide a satisfactory response to correspondence of more than a week ago. That apparently did not happen, so the filing with the NLRB was made this afternoon.

The NHL is just like a spoiled little brat that complains to mommy because the babysitter wouldn't let him stay up after 9 o'clock.

The Vancouver Giants set a record for attendance in a junior game held in British Columbia with 16,183 fans, but it wasn't enough for the Giants as they succumed to the Kelowna Rockets 3-2 on Saturday. The Rockets, even without Shea Weber, were a tough defensive peanut to crack and took the series 4-2.

Boxscore
Game Summary

Disappointing? A little...but the series was great, the hockey was close and intense, the Giants played well, and the Rockets were simply a much better team through the series and the entire season.

Gilbert Brule's production in the series (6GP 1-3-4 PTS) and Andrej Meszaros' play in the last 3 losses were somewhat disappointing.

As for Adam Courchaine, this was his last kick at the can as this was his 'overage' year and he'll be in the AHL next season. Adam played with more intensity and urgency in the playoffs than he did cruising through the regular season. Adam finished with 4 goals and 3 assists in the 6 games, and he'll be a fine pro player if he learns to maintain that same level of competitive fire night in and night out.

With the Giants out of the playoffs, my attention will turn to Major League Baseball.

Sure, I'd rather be watching NHL Playoff hockey, but I'm also a big baseball fan. What I can appreciate about baseball is...

1. I can turn on the TV pretty much every single night and be assured that there will be a game on TV. With hockey, there are some nights (like stupid Canucks Pay-Per-View games) where there is no hockey to watch when I'm really in the mood for some. Baseball is a good mistress in that there are many teams playing many games and at least one will be viewable in Vancouver.

2. Baseball can be a 'passive' sport to watch. When I'm at my computer blogging or chatting away, I don't have to divert my full attention to keep up with the game. I can watch certain pitches, and listen to the descriptions to get a good idea what is on...not to mention the 1,000,000 breaks in the play. With hockey, you can't really enjoy the game unless you pay some close attention to it.

So, until the World Championships start up next month, I'll have a great diversion to keep my sporting jones in check.

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On that front, here are my predictions for the MLB Standings and Award winners.

Standings:
WORLD SERIES CHAMP: BOS
AL PENNANT: BOS
AL EAST: BOS, NYY, BAL, TOR, TAM
AL CENTRAL: CHW, MIN, CLE, DET, KAN
AL WEST: OAK, TEX, ANGELS, SEA
AL WILD CARD: NYY
AL FEWEST WINS: KAN
NL PENNANT: STL

NL EAST: ATL, PHI, FLO, NYM, WAS
NL CENTRAL: STL, CHC, HOU, MIL, CIN, PIT
NL WEST: LOS, SDG, SFO, ARI, COL
NL WILD CARD: PHI
NL FEWEST WINS: COL

Awards:
AL MVP: Eric Chavez, Oakland
NL MVP: Albert Pujols, St. Louis
AL CY YOUNG: Roy Halladay, Toronto
NL CY YOUNG: Roger Clemens, Houston
AL ROY: Jeremy Reed, Seattle
NL ROY: Jeff Francis, Colorado (Picking a Colorado pitcher? Yeah...)
AL MANAGER: Ozzie Guillen, Chicago White Sox
NL MANAGER: Bobby Cox, Atlanta

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OK, back to hockey...

The Women's World Hockey Championships are now underway and Canada won a very easy warm over Kazakhstan 13-0.

The poor Kazakhs had a 15 year-old girl in net and I don't think they got an official shot on goal during the first two periods. It will be hard for women's hockey to get more 'propers' until there are more than just two competitive teams.

...and the headline for this article reads: "Crucial week for NHL"

What the hell is so crucial about *this* week?

The crucial week already passed when the NHL declared the season dead.

The eleventh hour has come and gone," Detroit Red Wings goalie Curtis Joseph said. "If a deal couldn't get done in the eleventh hour, it's hard to tell what (urgency) there is now."

Exactly...

I just witnessed the outdoor charity game they played in Ivor Wynne Stadium in Hamilton, in which Team East (aka Team Gilmour) beat Team West (Team Staios?) by an 11-8 score.

Despite the total lack of defense and intensity, I have to admit it was mildly entertaining to watch. They had the goalies (Brodeur and Joseph) miked and Randork/Healy were often conversing with them during lulls in their respective ends.

It was interesting to see a mix of current stats (Todd Bertuzzi, Ryan Smyth, Mike Comrie) mixed in with some retired stars (Mike Gartner) and some 'other' retired players (Steven Rice, Joe Cirella...odd choices. Did Tyler Wright turn them down?)

It was also strange to watch the game where the rink is surrounding by an empty football field. You couldn't see the fans in the stands unless they panned up far enough. The lights really glared off of the ice and it was very hard to see the lines and the puck. The players were also skating about 3 miles an hour, but there were quite a few breakaways and scoring chances. For once, Martin Brodeur did a fairly good job behind a crappy defense.

It was also raining during the game and the players had to battle with water and wind...yeah, you heard me.

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The Vancouver Giants return home to Vancouver tonight facing elimination. The Kelowna Rockets won a fight-filled (after regulation time, anyway) 3-2 game on Friday night. As has been the case with every game this series, last night's game was thoroughly entertaining and a nail biter right down to the end. If the Giants should fall to the Rockets, this series will surely remind Vancouver fans of the 1989 1st round series against the Flames. The underdog Canucks took a powerhouse Flames team to seven games before succumbing to Joel Otto's controversial OT goal.

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TSN's Bob McKenzie says we should brace ourselves for some pretty radical rule changes when the NHL stats up again.

Everyone knows changes are coming to the NHL's on-ice product, once it gets back on the ice, of course. Whether it's in the form of wider blue lines or more penalties being called or the introduction of the shootout or smaller goalie equipment, all these changes are coming, of that there is no doubt.

The big question, though, is how much further will the changes go.

How much further? How about BIGGER nets?

Is this picture of a proposed net a clever April Fool's Joke or more of Gary Bettman's bright ideas to fix the NHL's on-ice product.



Meanwhile, the AHL says the rule changes aren't really working for them. Watching the on-ice product, and noting the the Goals Per Game is only a little bit higher than previous seasons, it's obvious that the AHL rule changes are more cosmetic than anything.

Really, I'd figure the small increase in AHL offense is an effect of having a higher quality pool of talent (Guys like Jason Spezza, who wouldn't normally be there) and little to do with slightly wider lines.

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Czech/Slovak League Playoffs Update

*ding**dong*, The clock has struck midnight

Hame Zlin fought back from a 3-1 series deficit in their series against Vitkovice thanks to a Game 7 win by a 4-1 score.

The game started well enough for Vitkovice. A dumb penalty by Vaclav Varada gave a penalty shot chance to Petr Cajanek just 4 minutes into the game, but impish Vitkovice backstop Marek Pinc stuffed Cajanek's solo effort,. Later, Varada made up for his blunder by giving Vitkovice a 1-0 lead in the 2nd period.

Vitkovice's lack of discipline would finally cost them as Petr Hubacek and Pavel Kubina both took penalties at 18:19 of the 2nd period. Petr Cajanek, still seething from missing his penalty shot chance, buried the biscuit to tie the affair in a easy 5-on-3 combination.

Petr Hubacek (The ex-Flyer) took another bad penalty early in the 3rd period, and Martin Erat made him pay with another Power Play goal. Cajanek would add 2 more in the period and notch a hat trick to send Zlin to the finals against Pardubice.

Before this game, Cajanek was really struggling offensively with just 2 goals and 4 assists in 12 playoff games. It's about time he got going, because Pardubice has a lot more fire power to deal with than the tough Vitkovice squad.

Over in Slovakia, the mighty Dukla Trencin machine fell in Game 7 to evil Slovan Bratislava by a whacked out 8-2 tally!, thanks to 3 goals by the devil himself (Miro Satan). Satan now has 13 goals in 12 playoff games and leads all playoff scorers with 18 points.

Despite the fact that $lovan kept changing goalies every 10 minutes during this series, they were able to effectively break down the usually tight Trencin defensive shell and hold the Big 3 off of the scoreboard just enough to win the series.

Marian Gaborik was the only effective player for Trencin in Game 7 with 1 goal and 1 assist while Pavol Demitra was -4 (with 1 assist) and Marian Hossa was -2 and pointless. It's such a shame that Trencin was blown out so badly in Game 7, but it also exposed the lack of quality goaltending on Trencin's roster.

Now the finals are set as HKm Zvolen (Handzus, Orszagh, Zednik), who have cruised through the playoffs so far, take on Slovan Bratislava (Satan, Visnovsky, Ciger) in a battle of the Top 2 teams (Both finished with 107 points this season).

It should be pretty obvious which team I'll be cheering for ;)

The Vancouver Giants set another club attendance record last night as 13,722 denizens shuffled their way into the Pacific Coliseum to watch Game 4 versus the Kelowna Rockets.

Unfortunately for us Vancouverites, Rockets forward Lauris Darzins scored just 2 minutes into overtime to give the Rockets a 2-1 win and tie the series at two. The Giants have lost both OT games in this exciting series, which has rarely had a dull moment.

For the Giants, Marek Schwarz was great for the Giants and was named the game’s second star. Schwarz made 29 saves and had a few adventures in the 3rd period, but he was the main reason why the Rockets didn’t win the game sooner.

The Rockets managed to play almost perfect defence for the entire game this time around, as they limited the Giants to just 17 shots and killed all 4 Giants’ Power Plays. Offensive stars Gilbert Brule, Mitch Bartley, and Andrej Meszaros were not at all effective generating offence last night as they were bottled up like a miniature ship.
Adam Courchaine had the only goal for the Giants, but he was pretty quiet otherwise.

Big Dan, a professed Hitmen bandwagoner, over at The Face Off Circle had a great post about WHL Playoff fever hitting Western Canada.

Still, it was pretty cruel of him to compare the Vancouver Giants to the Edmonton Oilers...blecch!

An even bigger shocker is the Kelowna Rockets and Vancouver Giants. This is like the Dallas Stars and Edmonton Oilers. The Rockets ALWAYS beat the Giants. They are a veteran squad who are just like Dallas used to be- deadly on the power play and like to get the lead and then play boring hockey. Kelowna has a couple Oiler prospects (Tyler Spurgeon and Troy Bodie) and are led by defenseman Shea Weber and goalie Derek Yeomans.

This is pretty much a spot on observation, but I wouldn’t say the Rockets are really led by Derek Yeomans. Like Kelly Guard last season (who has not done well in the ECHL this year), Yeomans has it pretty easy most nights (like last night) and just has to stay awake long enough to make the required 15-20 saves as long as the Rockets play their system to a ‘T’. When the Rockets have broken down defensively in this series, Yeomans has not done much to bail out his forwards and defence.

- - -

Hame Zlin has now tied up their series with HC Vitkovice at 3 thanks to a 4-3 shootout victory yesterday. Slovak forward Peter Barinka scored the winning goal and I really hope no games in the league finals are settled via the shootout. Frankly, there seems to be no need to decide important playoff games with a gimmicky shootout.

Hame Zlin almost handed the game away in the 3rd period when Petr Mokrejs (see below picture) gave a vicious high-stick to the face of Vaclav Varada. Mokrejs was assessed a 5+game misconduct penalty and Vitkovice could only score one goal to tie the game at 3.


"Don’t cry, I’m sure Santa will give you an X-Box next Christmas!"

My boy Jaroslav Balastik had 2 assists and stayed out of the penalty box, while Marek Malik was scratched in favour of 19 year-old Jiri Mocek.

There was a record crowd at the Pacific Coliseum last night (just under 13,000), and it was almost like two games in one last night as the Vancouver Giants came back from a 3-0 deficit to beat the Kelowna Rockets by a 4-3 score. The Giants now lead the best-of-seven series by a 2-1 count.

For the first half of the game, the Kelowna Rockets played their typical mechanical defensive style to a ‘T’. The Rockets held the Giants to just 9 shots through the first 30 minutes, and led the game 3-0 thanks to some bad penalties by the Giants and some opportunistic goals. The crowd wanted to get into the game, but it was impossible given the score and the fact the Giants couldn’t establish any sort of forecheck. As coach Don Hay said on the post-game radio show, the Giants were playing too pretty and not gritty.

Once the Giants finally realized what brought them success in the first two games – lots and lots of hitting – the Giants piled up two quick goals and started the amazing comeback during the second half of the game. The Pacific Coliseum went from a graveyard-like atmosphere to that of a Mormon frat house (loud, but clean).

Cam Cunning tied the game during the last minute of the 2nd period and the 2nd intermission had a much different buzz to that of the 1st intermission.

Andrej Meszaros’ Power Play blast half-way through the 3rd period, the Giants tireless penalty killing effort, and Marek Schwarz’s acrobatic saves helped the G-men complete the comeback and now the Giants have the Rockets reeling somewhat.

One thing about that crowd that I noticed was the lack of Kelowna Rockets fans in the crowd. I know it’s a midweek game, but usually there are always a large group of fans from the opposing side. Last year’s series versus the Kamloops Blazers saw at least 100 Blazers fans at the Pacific Coliseum for each game. I counted only 3 noticable Rockets fans in last night’s big crowd. This is probably another reason why we didn’t see any fights.

Scouting Notes and Observations:

The Rockets defence was without the injured Shea Weber once again (And it was vs. the Giants that he suffered his injury a few weeks back).
Without Weber, who is a big and nasty defenseman, the Rockets have a noticibly small and finesse defensive group. The Giants have taken advantage of this all series long with aggressive forechecking and the Rockets D looked a bit worn down during the 3rd period. The Giants have the big forwards like Triston Grant, JD Watt, Mitch Bartley, and Cam Cunning as well as the aggressive Gilbert Brule (Who knocked about 3 different Rockets players on their asses last night and earned the game's 1st Star). Don Hay realizes this advantage and we’ll continue to see the Giants forecheck aggressive and lay down a lot of hits.





Derek Yeomans, G – Rockets
Yeomans didn’t do his team any favours last night as he could not stop the Giants comeback with any big saves. It doesn’t help that he is, quite possibly, the worst stickhandling WHL goaltender that I have ever had the pleasure of seeing.
He also has the largest set of hockey pants that I’ve ever seen on a player. This picture really doesn’t show it too well, but rest assured that even Rosie O’Donnell would have a lot of extra room wearing Yeoman’s hockey pants. You can add Yeoman’s pants to Garth Snow’s lacrosse pads as prime examples of goaltending equipment gone too far.

Kyle Cumiskey, D – Rockets
A very offensive-minded defenseman for the Rockets, Cumiskey is listed at 5’11” and 164.
Eat a sandwich, would ya!
I was impressed with his puck control and puck poise. He was the one Rockets defenseman who was comfortable with carrying the puck up the ice and weaving through the Giants forecheck. Cumiskey would be draft eligible if there is a 2005 Entry Draft, and I’m sure he would get taken despite his lack of girth. On the other hand, I would be concerned that he doesn’t seem to get much power out of his skating stride. While he was great carrying the puck up the ice, he looked a lot like Larry Murphy in that he was going about 3 miles an hour. Perhaps if he were to add about 10 pounds of muscle to his legs, he would get more bang for his skating buck.

Marek Schwarz, G – Giants
Before the game, Schwarz was presented with the Player of the Month Award for March (For the Giants, not the WHL). I think Marek was hopped up on the ‘sudes’ as he was really jumpy while waiting to be photographed. He kept looking between the photographer and the dude presenting him with the trophy ever 0.03 seconds.
The tweaky Schwarz was definitely at his acrobatic best last night, and his reflexes and flexbility were even more phenominal than usual. I’ve never seen another WHL goalie move as quickly as Schwarz can...it’s just a matter of improving his fundamentals and positioning.




So, that’s the experience from a WHL playoff game. This has been a great series and the ticket prices are still the same they were during the regular season ($16-18 CDN).

AQuietGirl details her experiences from a recent OHL Playoff matchup – The first she has ever attended - on her weblog.
Without the NHL, it’s a great time to get into what the CHL offers.

New York Islanders defenseman/enforcer Eric Cairns is in some serious trouble after attacking a referee during a recent British Elite Ice Hockey League game.
The Canadian report of the incident doesn’t make it seem like that big of a deal.

Cairns, a six-foot-six defenceman who is playing with the EIHL's London Racers during the NHL lockout, lost his cool when he was called for slashing in the first period of a March 23 game against the Coventry Blaze. According to the Coventry Evening Telegraph, the Oakville, Ont., native chased referee Andy Carson around the ice and was given a match penalty, resulting in an automatic one-game suspension.

Is it the Mad Cow disease getting to him? I know Cairns isn't the brightest light in the chandalier...but c'mon!

According to a posting on hockeyrefs.com, the actual incident was more troubling than simply chasing a ref around the ice:

While enroute to the penalty box, the enforcer verbally “expressed” his objections to Carson's call. Cairns then lost control and physically attacked Carson - slashing him once in the legs and once on the arms.

After allegedly assaulting Carson, Cairns refused to leave the ice surface - despite pressure from teammates and linesman Tom Darnell - and proceeded to initiate a bench clearing fight that included a tilt with fellow NHLer Wade Belak, who's playing for the Blaze.

How long would you figure Cairns would be suspended for such lunacy? There hasn’t been anything more formal than the one-game suspension, but various sources suspect it could be a year-long suspension.

Numerous reports - including on the EIHL website forum - have indicated that the NHLer will be suspended for the remainder of this season and all of next. The suspension would have little impact though, as North American leagues tend not to honour bans from their counterparts in Europe.

Turnabout is fair play, I guess... Alex Perezhogin was handed a length suspension for a nasty slashing incident last season while with the Hamilton Bulldogs. The Russian Super League didn’t give any credence to that ruling and basically spat in the face of the AHL.

If the NHL starts up, I would like to see them show a little class and actually uphold any suspension handed to a player like Cairns. Of course, given the level of class shown by the NHL in their negotiating tactics, I wouldn’t expect Cairns to have trouble finding employment somewhere in North America next season...NHL or no NHL.

One last quote kind of irked me:

Racers owner Roger Black explained the incident to the Ottawa Sun by blaming
(the referee) Carson.

“Unfortunately, the refs are not of a sufficient standard over here,” he said. “Basically they lose control of games.”

Ahh yes, the old ‘blame the victim’ defence. I’m sure it Carson’s fault that Cairns assaulted him, just like it was Nicole Simpson’s fault that O.J. sliced her up like roast lamb.

If I throw a pie in the face of Roger Black, it’s simply his fault for being such a moron. Am I right or what?

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Extraleague Update

Hame Zlin avoided the knock-out punch yesterday and defeated hungry Vitkovice 5-2 on home ice. Vitkovice scored the first two goals, but then Zlin fought back with 5 straight goals as the aggressive Vitkovice squad just couldn’t’ stay out of the damn penalty box. The series now returns to Ostrava with Vitkovice ahead 3-2.

Crazy Jaroslav Balastik made his pool owners happy with a goal and 18 penalty minutes while Marek Malik channeled the powers of Andy Delmore and finished with a game-worst -3 rating.

Over in Slovakia, Slovan Bratislava took a 3-2 series lead over Dukla Trencin with a 4-3 victory today. Zdeno “Crybaby” Ciger had 1 goal and 2 assists and Miroslav Satan had 2 assists in a winning cause while Marian Hossa had to leave the game for 10 minutes as his ankle is seemingly acting up once again.

Yesterday also saw HKm Zvolen win the fourth and deciding game by a 4-2 score. The Handzus-Orszagh-Zednik line was rather quiet (again) with just 1 of Zvolen’s 4 goals. Maybe they are just saving all of their offence for the final series against either Dukla or Slovan.

Marek Schwarz, about two weeks ago, gave an exclusive interview to Hokej.cz about life in Vancouver with the Giants.

My pal Robert Neuhauser, a budding scout and writer for McKeen's Hockey (and THE expert on Czech prospects), was kind enough to translate the entire interview for me.

I'm just glad to see that Schwarz knows he flops too much ;)

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What was the arrival in Vancouver like after the return from the U20 WJC? Any special celebrations for you?

When I arrived in Vancouver, the team was just on a road trip. So at first I celebrated with my billet family. They had a celebrational
dinner for me and we sat together for the evening. On the next day I flew to Prince George to join the team. I was happy that I didn't have to play, I was still pretty tired. Everybody was congratulating me. Another beautiful moment came before the first home game. Team staff members congratulated me, people in the stands gave me a standing ovation. Just beautiful!

Had you time to relax?

At first it looked really grueling. But our schedule for the next week was good and the team sent me and Andrej Meszaros for four days to California. We made the trip to Palm Springs for a vacation. I was very happy about that and we had a nice rest. And we collected strength for the upcoming games.

Were you happy with your play in January and February?

I think it got a bit better. I began to feel better after the U20 WJC. But everything can still be improved in my play.

Do you get enough playing chances from the coaches? Are you already adapted to the Canadian style of play?

I can't complain about ice time, the coaches play me a lot and I'm often between the pipes. We have just a few games left in the regular season schedule, so I get a rest from time to time. I lay back a bit and prepare for the top of the season. If it were up to me, I would like to start all games, but the coach wants it the way it is. And Canadian style? I'm still flopping around too much, I need to calm down. Sometimes I get myself into trouble!

Did the U20 WJC help you get more respect in Vancouver?

Sure. Lots of people keep asking me about the tournament. Everybody here followed this event, especially our game against Canada. Our play received lots of feedback.

What are Vancouver's ambitions for the rest of the season?

We want to defeat as many opponents as possible in the playoffs. I'm not sure about it, but I think that Vancouver has never made it past the second round. We want to do better this time.

Can it be felt that Vancouver is getting ready for the next U20 WJC?

Our owner is engaged in the preparations, lots of people are talking about it. Me and AndreJ Meszaros took part in a little bit of the opening ceremony of the preparations. Every country which will be participating had one member there. It was a social event where the sponsors, which will be taking care of each country, were introduced.

How do you rest in your free time? Do you spend time together with Slovak national player Andrej Meszaros?
I prefer being home and relaxing. I like to play videogames on the Playstation and read a lot. I like crime stories most - I always take a book into the bus when we head for a trip. Then I have lots of time to read because the trips are really long. Sometimes I spend time together with Andrej, we grew fond of golf recently. But to be honest, we are not good at it...else we take care of the hockey duties. We don't have much spare time actually, we keep working.

Will your girlfriend arrive (In Vancouver)?
No, she won't be here any more. She was here before Christmas for the last time. We have to live with it. We are looking forward to be with one another once the season will be over. One week ago I was visited by my mother and sister and now is my father getting ready for a trip to Vancouver.

In Vancouver you are coached by respected coach Bill Ranford? Does he still force you to work hard?

Yeah, still. But it isn't so difficult as it was in the beginning. We try to keep me in the best shape for the playoffs. We keep working hard.

Did the NHL lockout help to a bigger crowd at Giants games?

We can't complain. There are lots of people in the stands, we average about 8,000 people a game. I think that our record stands at 13,000.

How do you get along with the exhausting trips to road games?

I already got used to it. But in the beginning, it was terrible! These trips are really long. Anyone who hasn’t gone though it will never realize how long these trips are. The whole body hurts and time passes so slowly. I battle it in different ways. I read books, listen to music, play videogames.
I feel the best when I can fall asleep.

Do you get any salary from the team? What is the regime in the billet family?

Yeah, I get some pocket money. I am allowed a lot of freedom within the billet family. I get along with all members of the billet family well. Nobody gave me any restrictions, just the team set an exact time when we have to arrive to our homes.

Do you already know what is going to happen with you in the next season?

I don't know, really. I will talk to the St.Louis staff, who drafted me. We will discuss my situation also with my agents Mr. Jaromir Henys and Rich Evans. But there is still time left for these talks, I'll start being interested not earlier than in a few months.

Is it true that one of the possibilities could be your return to Trinec, where you were heading already last summer?

Yeah, I was talking to Mr.Marek (ex-coach and still a member of the front office), but I can't say anything past that. It is really too early, but I have a perfect relationship to Trinec. I was provided there with a chance to play in the senior Extraleague. I played my first senior Extraleague game there.

Do you get any information from St.Louis? Will you be signed to a contract?

Get signed and make the minors - that would be great. But I realize well how difficult it will be. I don't know yet what is going to happen. I didn't talk about a contract with the members of the St.Louis staff.

Do you already know where you will go for your summer vacation?

Me and my girlfriend have booked a trip to Croatia. I would also like to make a trip through the Czech Republic. For example to the mountains, where I haven't been yet to.

Where is your medal from the U20 WJC placed?

On the table next to my bed. I look at it every day. I have terrific memories from the U20 WJC, it was an unbelievable experience.
- - -

Extraleague Update

Dukla Trencin tied up their series at 2 with a 5-3 win over Slovan Bratislava. Marian Hossa was on fire again with 2 goals and an assist, while Marian Gaborik has gone cold after being seperated from Demitra-Hossa and put onto a line with two Extraleague veterans.

Over in Czechia, evil Pardubice beat Liberec by a 4-0 score and now lead that series 3-1. Jan Lasak made 35 saves for the 'Clean Sheet' while Milan Hnilicka was pulled after letting in 4 goals in the first 44 minutes.

The Kelowna Rockets were 30-4-2 at home this season at the aptly named Prospera Place. It was amazing, then, that the Vancouver Giants managed to pull off a 4-3 Game One victory in Kelowna on Friday night.

Last night, the Giants were *almost* able to steal a second game from the Rockets as Marc Fistric's 3rd period blast sent the game into at OT tied at 3.

Now, sometimes I'll watch some hockey game on TV and watch two teams slug through the trap and wonder, "What ever happened to exciting hockey?"

Answer: It was in Kelowna in Saturday night.

The game was on local (free) TV here in Vancouver, and it was one of the best games I've seen in ages. The entire game was played at a high pace, there was lots of hitting, and the overtime was one of the more exciting I've witnessed in sometime.

After trading numerous chances back and forth (and these were no cheapies), it was Kelowna's Brent Howarth that gave the Rockets the ultimate 4-3 overtime win.

It was a game like this that made me think: "Now, that why I love hockey."

I have tickets for Tuesday night's Game Three at the Pacific Coliseum, and the place will be rockin' (so don't come a-knockin')

Marek Schwarz made 35 saves in Game 2 and looked like the more calm and steady version of himself. Kelowna was without Shea Weber (pictured) for both home games, which was great news for the Giants. No word yet on when Weber will be back for the Rockets.

- - -

NHL Labour Stuffing

According to Los Angeles Kings president Tim Leiweke, the NHL will return this fall no matter what, TSN REPORTS:

"We're back playing hockey in September. We will have a King season," Leiweke said at a news conference on Friday. "And there's an enormous amount of conviction and planning toward the fan. The fan has become a high priority for us and we can't abuse that trust."

"Fans want to see guys who are hard-working and grounded and decent. Fans want to see a competitive team that works hard. We've got a moment in time here to maybe get sports back on track, and I'd certainly like to do that. I'm excited about it. It's time to get on with it."

Since Gary Bettman hasn't been laying down fines to executives lately (although their quotes don't mention replacements directly most of the time), it is obvious that the NHL is now using these types of press announcements as a 'negotiating' tactic.

Tom Benjamin of Canucks Corner thinks that the NHL is greatly miscalculating the thoughts and resolve of the 'grunts':

The big losers in this dispute are the more influential, higher paid players. As Matt Cooke said in an interview (I'm paraphrasing) several months ago: "I'm not stupid. Markus Naslund and Ed Jovanovski are going to get their money no matter what. Under a salary cap, how much is left for me?"

Anybody who looks at either the NBA or NFL salary structures can see that it is not the stars who pay under a capped system. It is the grunts and the middle class. Why on earth would the NHL believe the lower paid players would vote for a system that hurts them?

Yet, the NHL's break-the-union campaign has been directed mainly at the grunts and lower-paid players.

Another point I would consider is that the fact the grunts and middle-class don't have the large Swiss savings accounts that the Markus Naslund's have. Players like Juraj Kolnik and Jarkko Ruutu- Lower paid players with mortgages and such - can't quite afford to sit out as long as some of their richer counterparts. While the grunts *may* lose out more percentage wise under a cap system, they sure as hell do need the money more right now.

It will be interesting to see which group, if any, breaks rank in the NHLPA. We're in uncharted waters, after all.

- - -

Czech/Slovak Playoff Update

Dukla Trencin 5 - Slovan Bratislava 4 (Slovan leads series 2-1)

Marian Hossa *finally* returned from his ankle injury and not a moment too soon. Hossa had 1 goal and 2 assists and Pavol Demitra had 2 assists as Dukla put themselves back into the series.

I don't who designed these new Slovan uniforms, but they are pretty f'ugly! Martin Kul'ha (pictured), looks rather ashamed to be wearing such a thing.

Liberec 4 - Pardubice 1 (Pardubice leads series 2-1)

Ex-Canuck Lubomir Vaic was the superstar with a goal and two assists, while Radim Vrbata was (un)noticably quiet.

Vaclav Nedorost will miss the rest of the playoffs with an injury (Damn, is this guy brittle) while Pardubice's top scorer, Michal Mikeska, missed the game with back pains.

Ceske Budejovice 4 - Jihlava 2 (Ceske Budejovice wins promotion series 4-1)

There are two very sad people in the world today: The Hockey Rodent, and my bud 'Sebesta' from Ceske Budejovice (a Jihlava fan caught in enemy territory)

Jihlava's 'cinderella' season in the Extraleague is over and the NHL-powered Budejovice squad overcame a Game One loss and swept Jihlava back into obscurity.

Vaclav Prospal gets a lot of flack for his rather 'passive' play on this side of the pond (if not his big mouth), but he was clearly the star for the Budweiser frogs this season.

Regular Season: 39GP 28-60-88 +57 82PIM
1st Div. Playoffs: 11GP 11-8-19 +8 24PIM
Baraz Series: 5GP 4-7-11 +3 8PIM

To the Rodent and Sebesta, this Buds for you ;)

Looking at the latest news on this 'Good' Friday...

(What the hell is so good about today, anyway?)

First, I have a couple of sick goal highlights for you to watch - Gifts from the Easter Puck Bunny (mmmmm...)

My pal David(ada) pointed me to this video clip of Jaromir Jagr scoring an OT winner for Omsk in their recent 4-3 playoff win over Magnitogorsk. Ol' Jags goes end to end and makes a deposit in the old net bank.

If you thought that was impressive, then check out THIS clip of Rob Hisey during the Barrie Colts Skills Competition.

I don't want to ruin it for you, so just go watch it. Trust me, it'll leave you speechless.

- - -

In their effort to improve the partnership between the warring factions, the NHL has launched an official complaint against the NHLPA, TSN Reports:

TSN has learned the NHL has formally filed an "unfair labor practice" complaint with the National Labor Relations Board in the United States over the NHLPA's apparent policy that any NHLPA member who were to become a replacement player next season would have to re-pay the lockout "stipend" he is currently receiving from the union.

I'm sure the NHL has altruistic motives here...riiiight.

- - -

Czech League Playoffs

OK, so the clock hasn't struck midnight yet for Vitkovice. No Malik, No Hubacek, No problem! The Cinderlla boys beat Zlin yesterday with a 3-2 OT win, and then took a commanding 3-1 series lead with a 3-1 win today.

Marek Pinc, the midget goaltender who covers about 1/5 of the net, made 36 saves for the win. I don't know how the guy makes so many saves - Almost every picture I ever see of him shows him with his eye closed. Maybe it's his special Keebler Elf powers?


"Oh no! I locked the keys in my car!"

Over in in the Slovak Playoffs, Zvolen couldn't wrap up their series with a sweep as Kosice took Game 4 by a 4-2 score.

Jiri Bicek, who is a good candidate to make the Slovak World Championships team, had a goal and two assists to stave off elimination for one more game.
The frustrating line of Zednik-Handzus-Orszagh was held pointless.


GET A HAIRCUT, YOU HIPPIE!

Lots of news and notes to comment on today...

Let's start in Europe, where IIHF head honcho Rene Fasel is calling for cooler heads to prevail in light of recent violence in playoff matches.

The atmosphere around the playoffs is starting to resemble the one at a wild-west saloon where unshaved men are exercising frontier justice. Instead of going to their best players to make them score or execute the perfect play, many coaches give unwarranted ice time to the so called 'character guys' whose only objective is to take out the skilful player.

Now, I know many European fans can't fathom the fact that North American teams often give out roster spots to 'enforcers' or 'goons' who do nothing more than hit and beat people like a congo drum. Still, most European teams don't waste roster spots on such players because they would likely be a detriment on the International ice surface and in the European style of game. I take this statement to be a jab at the large amount of North American players taking up spots on European rosters these days.

More from Fasel...

Just like in U.S. sports, we too have 'March Madness', but there is nothing positive with this version.

The whole rhetoric of vengeance and vigilante environment that surrounds the playoffs in Europe could lead to someone losing control just like Todd Bertuzzi did when he crippled Steve Moore one year ago. Do we need another Bertuzzi-incident for people to come back to their senses? Or does anyone need to be killed before everyone realizes that this has gone too far?

Poor Bertuzzi...now he is being used as the prime example of a Player Gone Wild. As much as I respect the fact that Rene is trying to curb violence in the European leagues, he really shouldn't overstate his case and get his facts wrong. Steve Moore is not 'crippled', and there have been violent incidents in European games before.

Methinks Rene should also cool down just a little.

Speaking of violence, Marek Malik of Vitkovice was handed a TWO-game suspension for his smashing of Zlin's Miroslav Okal. His teammate, ex-Flyer Petr Hubacek was handed a FIVE-game suspension for a foul he committed in the brawl-filled 3rd period. Zlin got away without any suspensions, and they are now in prime position to take command of the series as they head to Ostrava for Game 3 today.

- - -

Shifting back on over to this continent, it appears that the NHL is ready to cancel the 2005 Entry Draft within a week.

Be prepared to hear 1,000,000 stories about where Sidney "Nextzky" Crosby will be headed next year. The 'leading' rumours suggest that Crosby would go to Toronto to play with the AHL Marlies. Big market, better league. Hmmm...

I just wonder...if the NHL draft is cancelled, will Gilbert Brule be back with the Giants next year? That would totally rock the house.

- - -

The Western Hockey League (WHL) announced its award nominees/finalists yesterday.

Dion Phaneuf will be the heavy favourite to take home the Best Defenseman (Shea Weber is the other finalist) and Most Outstanding Player awards, while Eric Fehr walked home with the scoring crown.

For the Giants, it appears that Andrej Meszaros (and Red Deer's Roman Wick) were not eligible for the Rookie of the Year award... I'm not sure, but how else can you explain the fact that they weren't even nominated? Is this a new rule where Europeans aren't eligible? I wish someone would tell me these things :(

Meszaros did walk home with a Western Conference 2nd Team All-Star award, while Gilbert Brule was named to the 1st All-Star team and is a finalist for the Scholastic Award.

Aaron Sorochan, the goalie here for the Giants last season, is a finalist for Goaltender of the Year. A year ago, Giants fans weren't all too sad to see him go...what a difference a year can make.

- - -

Back to Slovakia, where evil Slovan Bratislava took a 2-0 series lead thanks to a convincing 5-3 win over Dukla Trencin.

Slovan did a masterful job in shutting down Marian Gaborik (just 1 goal) and Pavol Demitra (0 points) while frustrating Trencin into taking 11 penalties in all.

Marian Hossa missed yet another game with his damn ankle injury, and one has to wonder just how 'minor' this injury really is.

Over in Czechia, Pardubice took a commanding 2-0 series lead over Liberec with a 3-1 win. Radim Vrbata, Vaclav Nedorost, and Ales Kotalik have done little and really need to get their asses into gear if they want to launch a comeback.

...or at least punch someone out :) ...

Really, I’m quite tired out from the Steroid talk surrounding baseball this spring.

Still, the topic has crept up recently in the world of hockey, so I’d thought I’d rant a little and say what’s on my mind about the issue.

For the most part, the NHL and hockey itself has really escaped the drug use spotlight. While baseball is facing a barrage of attacks from steroid witchhunters, two-faced media shills, and politicians with alterior motives, very few people have questioned drug use in the media.

Stephen Farber wrote about Sudafed (Hockey’s Dirty Little Secret) for Sports Illustrated, and this was a topic I further touched upon earlier this year.

There are the tragic alcohol and hard drug users such as John Kordic, Steve Chiasson, Grant Fuhr (who overcame his problems), Bob Probert, Link Gaetz, and Theoren Fleury.
Even so, drug and supplement usage/abuse has been, for the most part, well hidden from the prying eyes of the public.

Is steroid use rampant in the NHL? Is it useful to NHLers? Why don’t we hear more about it?

1. What are they good for?
Commissioner Gary Bettman, ex-Canadien David Morissette, and other hockey people have commented that steroids are only good for enforcers and for bulking up. Since hockey is a game that requires speed and endurance, gaining too much bulk can detract from one's game.

The best real-life example that I can think of (and I am speculating, since I have NO REAL PROOF) is the Canucks’ Brent Sopel.

Two seasons ago, he came into training camp at 230 pounds…he had gained an incredible 25-30 pounds over the course of a summer. There was some talk about his back acne (a symptom of steroid use) and even the best ‘natural’ bodybuilders know it’s very very hard to add 25-30 pounds of legitimate muscle mass in a span of 4 months.

Sopel’s play early that season was extremely piss poor. Sopel was brutally slow and it was obvious that the extra bulk had a very negative effect on his game. Sopel looked out of breath by the 3rd period most nights. It was only until mid-way through the season, when he shed most of that excess weight, that his game returned to ‘normal’ levels and he didn’t look like a slug.

2. “They won’t help hockey players”

To the uneducated layman, steroids are taken by big muscleheads for the pure purpose of gaining bulk. One might think popping a few pills or injecting some liquid into one’s ass would just turn you into Arnold Schwarzenegger.
That simply is not true.

The 4 main benefits from steroid use:

• To increase muscle size and strength.
  
• To speed recovery time.
  
• To increase energy levels during workouts.
  
• To increase the oxidation rise of fat.

Items 2 and 3 on the list above would be of great importance to hockey players.
Over the course of a season, an NHL player has to slog through 82 games, countless practices, and a handful of meaningless exhibition games before they even get to the Stanley Cup Playoffs marathon.

From personal experience, I know that leg injuries and fatigued legs, especially, can take an enormous long time to heal and recover. Since hockey players are pretty much screwed if they can’t generate power from their legs, using steroids to speed recovery time would be an obvious benefit to them.

While an NHL player may not need to bulk up considerably, there would be the temptation to use whatever means necessary in order to recover from injuries and get a real energy boost.

3. “Just look at these guys!”

From first glance, it can be very hard to get an idea of a player’s physiche when they are wearing full hockey gear. Rod Brind’Amour is one of the buffest dudes in the NHL, but you wouldn’t know it from watching him play.

It’s also quite easy to laugh at the notion of ‘steroid junkie’ hockey players when many of these guys have rather lean upper bodies and small arms.
I know Wayne Gretzky had nothing more than a ‘swimmers’ build, and Jason Allison’s arms are about as thick as dry spaghetti.

The idea that only big enforcers take steroids can be easy to swallow when most NHLers don’t look very big and bulky. While Donald Brashear and Tony Twist look like they hit the heavy weights often, guys like Sergei Samsonov and Brett Hull appear as if they don’t touch a bench press more than once a week.

4. It’s not hard to hide steroids – Steroid abuse is rampant in the NFL, Track and Field, and other sports…but why don’t you hear more about it?

Because, it’s usually only the dumb ones get caught.

While Bob MacKenzie seems to think the NHL and NHLPA’s ‘new’ policy will weed out any users, why is it that the NFL rarely ever catches and punishes abusers?

Want to know how to cheat on a steroids test? Here’s a good sampling of the techniques used to avoid various tests.

There are so many different types of steroids and enhancing products out in the world, and it’s very hard to test for all of them. Even with a strict drug testing plan in place doesn’t guarantee any users will get caught.

Honestly, I’m rather more concerned with many other issues more in hockey than steroid usage. PED’s (Speed and Sudafed), Caffeine, and Alcohol abuse are, in my opinion, much more previlant and worth concerning myself about than steroids...not to mention the economic issues we know far too much about.
---

Extraleague Playoffs Update

Life was much more peaceful in Europe yesterday (no Roid Rage, perhaps?).

Miroslav Satan had all 3 goals in Slovan Bratislava’s 3-1 victory over Dukla Trencin. Contrary to previous reports, Marian Hossa was not healthy enough to dress and his ankle continues to give him problems.

The Liberec White Tigers fell 3-2 in overtime to the deep squad from Pardubice, while Ceske Budejovice took a 2-1 series league in the ‘Baraz’ series over Dukla Jihlava.

The Hockey Rodent, who is a big fan of Dukla Jihlava, covers those 2 games more in detail in his rant.

Honestly, I can’t wait until Jihlava is demoted again! Czech hockey fans will be thankful when this crappy franchise pollutes the Extraleague no more. While Jihlava used to be a legendary army club, the current version is rather shameful.
Their uniforms are also too damn tacky!

So much for European hockey being all elegance and finesse.


Jeff Shantz gave Eric Landry (pictured) a nice Easter gift in the final game of the relegation playoffs in Switzerland.

According to Joeri of Eurohockey.net,

After a Shantz check, Landry's head hit the metal piece that is there
to hold the glass...
...(A) spicy detail is that opposition coach had warned in press his
team would go after Landry (a bit like theBertuzzi/Moore-case),
however this was not a clear attack as the Bertuzzi-case.

Over in Czechia, the sparks were flying as Zlin managed to tie up their series at one apiece (after losing Game 1 in a stupid shootout) with a 4-2 win over pesky Vitkovice.

The tension started midway through the 3rd period when Marek Malik, still fuming from an earlier cross-checking penalty he took, turned green and decided to !MALIK SMASH! Zlin’s Miroslav Okal into the board railing (under the plexiglass). Malik was kicked out of the game and will face a suspension.

After Jaroslav Balastik scored a late insurance goal, the tension overflowed and there were 3 separate fights. A pissed-off Miroslav Okal took on Nashville prospect Zbynek Irgl while...


...Petr Hubacek (ex-Flyer) undressed poor David Nosek...


...ex-Penguins forward Roman Simicek pounded on Pavel Zubicek...

There will be plenty of suspensions handed out to players on both teams and it will likely hurt the Vitkovice squad more as Simicek and Irgl are two of their more important players.

---

Over in Slovakia, the action was more peaceful as Zvolen took a very easy 2-0 series lead thanks to a Game 2 3-0 win over Kosice.

Liberec/Pardubice and Slovan/Trencin start their series today.

The Vancouver Giants recently wrapped up their regular season with a physical 5-1 victory over the Kelowna Rockets. With the win (the only one this year against the Rockets), the Giants finished a rather dissappointing 34-30-4-4.

Before the season, there was some talk that theGiants could compete for the Memorial Cup. Marek Schwarz and Andrej Meszaros, two of the best European prospects in the 2004 Entry Draft, committed to come over to play on the Giants. Combine these two with 2005 uber-prospect Gilbert Brule, 20 year-old Wild prospect Adam Courchaine, and Stars 1st rounder Mark Fistric, and the Giants had 5 of the top talents available in the CHL.

Injuries, poor play by the depth players, and other factors saw the Giants wallow in medicrity for most of the season and now they have to face the very tough Kelowna Rockets (oh no, not again!) in the first round of the WHL Playoffs.

Here’s my look at what went right and what went wrong:

Andrej Meszaros, D (59GP 11-30-41 +7 94PIM) – Definitely the most positive surprise for the G-men this season! Meszaros showed the offense and skill set that we knew he had, but also showed a physical side that most never expected. Meszaros showed no fear in laying the body and was/is more physically mature than most WHL players. Meszaros also displayed a gung-ho attitude when it came to shooting the puck, which is in stark contrast to most European defensemen (think Tomas Kaberle). If the NHL starts up next season, Meszaros could very well be with the Senators and not back with the Giants.

Missing time to injury could cost Meszaros the WHL Rookie of the Year award to Red Deer’s Roman Wick.

Marek Schwarz, G (56GP 26-24-4 2.67GAA .900SV%) – While Meszaros was a positive surprise, Schwarz turned out to be quite the opposite. While the raw athleticism is hard to miss, Schwarz looks like he needs a few months with legendary goaltending coach Francois Allaire. There were periods when Schwarz was brilliant (like his WJC stint with the Czech Republic,), but then many nights where he’d let in 5-6 goals because he was 10 feet out of his net. Schwarz finished 22nd in Save Percentage and has a lot of work to do on his fundamentals.

Gilbert Brule, C (70GP 39-48-87 +4 169PIM) – While Brule may have dropped from the #2 spot in various rankings, Brule did everything as expected and was the brightest star for the Giants most nights. Brule capped off a great season with MVP honours at the CHL Top Prospects Game. Brule carried the Giants and had very little support on his wings. Shawn Vey, Tim Kraus, and other wingers he was paired with did very little to help out offensively. Once Brule learns to use his linemates a bit better, he’ll be even more of a star.

Adam Courchaine, C (71GP 28-50-78 +8 32PIM) – Courchaine led the Giants with 50 assists, but he was expected to challenge for the overall WHL scoring crown in his age-20 season. Courchaine failed to progress at all this season, and all often was not factor he was last season. If you don’t progress at this stage of the game, then it doesn’t look good for your NHL chances. Courchaine will probably have a tough time in his AHL debut next year unless he learns to be more assertive.

Mitch Bartley, W (70GP 30-25-53 +9 99PIM) – The industrious Bartley hit the 30-goal mark and floated in between Courchaine’s line and Brule’s line. Like Courchaine, Bartley didn’t progress offensively this season and was expected to do more. One thing I noticed is how Bartley seems a lot bigger this season than he used to be. Since Bartley’s speed his been his main drawback, I don’t think the extra size will benefit him in the long run. I expect Bartley to get a free agent contract from some organization after he (likely) goes undrafted again.

Mark Fistric, D (15GP 1-5-6 +7 32PIM) – The two jaw injuries to Fistric really threw the Giants plans into chaos. With his absence so profound, the Giants were forced into making trades for other defensemen (like Max Gordichuk and Brad Festerling). Fistric has been getting his wheels back and looks in good shape heading into the playoffs. It was a lost season for Fistric, but his future looks bright.

Shawn Vey, C/W (74GP 7-16-23 -12 36PIM) – The big 6’3” C/W came into the season as a potential 2nd round draft pick in 2005. After being selected in the 2nd round of a previous Bantam draft by the Giants, Vey looked like the perfect player to match up with either Brule or Courchaine. Vey was a complete distaster with the giants as he totalled 1 whopping goal in 38 games with the G-men. Frustrated at his own lack of progress,Vey asked for, and was granted, a trade. Vey was dealt to the Tri-City Americans and didn’t exactly flourish there, either.
I don’t think Vey would even be drafted if the 2005 Entry Draft was held. Vey showed absolutely no offensive creativity, and he didn’t seem to use his size well enough down low in the offensive zone. Vey’s stock crash certainly was a big factor in why the Giants didn’t meet expectations.

Tim Kraus, RW (63GP 16-19-35 +8 34PIM) – The speedster from Garden Grove, California, was just like most things from that region: All hype and no substance. Kraus showed very little away from the puck and floated around most nights. Like Vey, Kraus pretty much buried his draft chances with putrid production. It looks like many Californian-bred products (Jason Reese and Ray Kraus are just two examples) fare poorly in the WHL. While they have the speed and raw skills, the level of competition in California must make them look a lot better than they really are. When these Californian kids get to the WHL, they are over their heads and they don’t seem to have the ‘brains’ for the game.

So, going into the series against the Rockets, I don’t have any faith that the Giants can pull off a stunning upset. The Rockets have owned the Giants this year (Giants went 1-5-2 against them) and play the most stifling of defensive systems.
I predict the Rockets will prevail in 6 but hope the opposite happens.

The semi-finals are set, plus the latest from Europe.

1. Markus Naslund will join Mats Sundin and Peter Forsberg in NOT playing to Team Sweden at the upcoming World Championships. All I can say is, "Who's next"? If the Sedinbots, Mattias Ohlund, and Daniel Alfredsson want to join them on the sidelines, why wait? :) Team Sweden's loss is Team Slovakia's gain, after all.

2. SC Bern of the Swiss League set a European attendance record and was the top club for the 4th straight year in figures released by the Euro-centric IIHF recently.

With 15,360 average attendance per game, it's strange that they were the ONLY Swiss club to make the Top 20. No love for the other teams, Swiss people?

4 Czech clubs made the Top 20: Pardubice, Slavia, Sparta, and Plzen. The Germans and Swedes had 5 clubs each in the Top 20. It's no surprise that no Slovak clubs made the top list, as many of the stadiums don't hold more than 2,000-3,000 people.

---

Czech Extraleague Semi-Final Matchups

#1 Hamé Zlin vs. #7 Vitkovice

I made the dumb mistake of totally writing off the well-coached Vitkovice squad prior to their demolition of the tinmen of Sparta Prague. It would be foolish to discount Vitkovice totally, but the on-paper matchup looks just as unbalanced for Vitkovice as it did in the first round.

Unfortunately for Vitkovice, Zlin doesn't suffer from heart problems (aka New York Rangers disease). The best defensive squad of the regular season and last year's champions, Hame Zlin have the incredible depth that Sparta have, only with much more balance and actual forwards who know how to backcheck!!
Instead of floaters like Jan Hlavac and an uninspired Martin Havlat, Zlin has gritty 2-way players like Radek Bonk and Petr Cajanek.

Key Players: Pavel Kubina - The MVP of the first round, Kubina did a great job to help shut down the potent Sparta offense while piling up 2 goals and 5 assists in 5 games.

Marek "Cinderella" Pinc - The Vitkovice goaltender hasn't yet turned into a pumpkin and may yet steal another series for the Ostravans.

Petr Cajanek/Radek Bonk - The C/LWers have been splitting each others ice time and their first round production wasn't anything to jump around about (3 and 2 points in 6 games, respectively). While the balanced Zlin attack had no problems scoring, it would help immensly if these two could join in on the parade.

Predicition: Zlin in 6 - Vitkovice could steal 2 at home, but the clock is about to strike 12

#3 Pardubice vs. #5 Liberec

Both teams are coming off of tough 7-game first round series. While the heavily favoured Pardubice squad almost fell to Kladno, Liberec managed to fight off a 3-2 deficit to overcome the favoured Slavia Prague.
(break it down!)
Goaltending: Jan Lasak (PAR) vs Milan Hnilicka (LIB).
Both teams have goalies with shaky NHL resumes and a tendancy to run HOT/COLD. Right now, both goalies are red-hot and makes this a fairly even matchup. Lasak has the proven 'winning' experience that Hnilicka does not, which could come in handy.

Defense: With the addition of Jaroslav Modry from the injury ranks, Liberec boasts a rather deep defense. Modry, Jiri Fischer, and Tomas Kloucek join Ducks uber-prospect Ladislav Smid and Gölbez favourite Valdemar Jirus to give the White Tigers a big, tough defense corps to protect Hnilicka from 90-foot blasts.

Pardubice counters with a very good Extraleague-based group of its own, but Michal Rozzival is the only NHLer on their D-corps. A nice edge to Liberec here.

Forwards: Liberec has the spunky duo of Radim Vrbata and Ales Kotalik plus the never-seems-to-develop Vaclav Nedorost. Compare this to Pardubice who has Milan Hejduk, Jan Bulis, and Ales Hemsky. Pardubice also has great Extraleague stars like Michal Mikeska (leading regular season scorer), Jiri Dopita (the Oilers fan favourite), and waterbug Petr Prucha.
While Pardubice's forwards can let their defense slip somewhat, they are still much deeper and skilled up front than Liberec. It's quite a big advantage.

Prediction: Liberec in 7 - I like to pick one upset every round and this has the best potential. Pardubice had far too many problems defensively against Kladno, and Liberec has the defense to stop many of the weapons in Pardubice's arsenal...plus the fact that Pardubice has a 'choker' label around its neck for the past many years.

Slovak Extraleague Playoff Matchups

#1 Zvolen vs. #4 Kosice

The most lopsided matchup of the semi-finals, Zvolen boasts more depth, quality, and star power than the underdogs from Kosice.

Goaltending: Krazy Karol Krizan was the Extraleague's best goaltender this past season, and it will up to Kosice to steal his medication if they want to score any goals. Kosice's Jan Laco is red-hot himself, but he doesn't have the proven resume of success that Krizan has.

Offense: Both teams feature rosters full of Extraleague stars that nobody outside of myself and most Slovaks would recognize. Even so, Zvolen has the edge with their depth and experience.

The 'X-Factor' will be the performance of the NHLers for each respective squad.
Zvolen has featured the Orszagh-Handzus-Zednik line for most of the season. This unit has been asked to play a more defensive role (Given how many offensive-minded forwards Zvolen already has), and has done a great job in this respect. The problem is that their offensive abilities haven't truly shown themselves this season. You get the feeling that this line could tear a whole in the Extraleague if they ever 'clicked'.
Kosice has Jiri Bicek (who has played well) and Martin Cibak (who has played poorly). That's an obvious mismatch, and the Zvolen squad has the absolute advantage on the Offense department.

Zvolen also boasts a much more robust defensive corps.
Kosice's advantage? The home crowd! Kosice went 20-5-2 in their home rink this season (which has a maximum capacity of 2,000 fans). Until they get new and improved digs, their home stadium packs a whole lot of heat with a rabid and hardcore group of fans.

Prediction: Zvolen in 6 (Kosice gets 2 at home and that's it)

#2 Slovan Bratislava vs #3. Dukla Trencin

The evil Slovan team versus the 'Factory' in the best looking semi-final matchup since Anna Kournikova played anyone in such a match.

Defense: Slovan has the best Goals-Against-Average during the regular season, but can't decided which goalie to play! Just like the Minnesota Wild, Slovan has been rotating their goaltending duo (Libor Barta and Pavol Rybar). Both played 3 games in the first round, and you'd have to think that could backfire on them at any time. Dukla, on the other hand, relies more on a team-based defensive effort rather than the exploits of their goalie Miroslav Hála.

Defensively, Lubomir Visnovsky has been, by far, the most valuable defenseman in the Slovak Extraleague this year (just like old times). The defensive advantage goes to Slovan, and they will need it against the Three Musketeers.

Offense: Every Extraleague goalie has nightmares of facing the trio of Pavol Demitra, Marian Hossa, and Marian Gaborik. Now that Hossa has recovered from the ankle injury that kept him out of Round One, it will be open season on poor Barta/Rybar once again.

Since Martin Hanzal is still suspended for smoking a doobie, Slovan could have a shot if they can somehow slow down or stop the Big 3. Still, Dukla has a potent second line of Extraleague stars (Jan Pardavy, Peter Fabus, and Anton Lezo).

Slovan features a more 'balanced' attack consisting of Miroslav Satan and his Extraleague minions. Slovan does have the advantage of more depth up front (4 lines of good players), so they can hold their own in any shootout.

Which Dukla team will show up? When Hossa and Gaborik left for a vacation in Sweden, Dukla couldn't buy a win most nights. Now that those 2 are back, Dukla seems unbeatable again.
If Slovan can't keep out of the penalty box and/or do a great job on the penalty kill, they will overwhelmed.

Prediction: Dukla Trencin in 6