Blue And White Beat: NHL in Sochi, women’s hockey viability, dominate discussions at World Hockey Summit.

NHL in Sochi, women’s hockey viability, dominate discussions at World Hockey Summit.

For four days, many of the most important names in hockey descended upon Toronto to engage in open discussion on various facets of the sport, from transfer agreements, to youth player safety, to international junior development.

With NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and IIHF President Rene Fasel among the attendees of the World Hockey Summit, the most spirited dialogue was reserved for a pair of hot-button topics: NHL participation at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, and the long-term future of women’s hockey.

Bettman frequently referred to the NHL’s participation on the world’s biggest stage as a “mixed bag”, acknowledging the benefits of the success of the Vancouver Games, while also citing broadcast scheduling from Sochi – eight hours ahead of the Eastern Time Zone – as an obstacle.

“We simply haven’t made a decision yet,” said Bettman, “and I don’t think the fact that we haven’t made a decision yet is that big a deal. We are not under any time pressure to make a decision.”

Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke, who was an overtime goal away from managing Team USA to Olympic gold in 2010, was quite vocal in refusing to allow the proceedings to turn into a sentimental post-Olympic love-fest without paying attention to the issues at hand.

“I get paid to think about the problems,” shouted Burke. “It’s not that simple to get everyone on a goddamn plane and go over and play the games. I want to go. And I think we should go. But for people to say, ‘It’s priceless, we’ve got to go’ – it’s not that simple. We have teams that are losing $30-million a year.”

A small portion of the post-Vancouver evaluation was dedicated to a relatively minor yet awkward issue that Fasel vowed to resolve, namely proper access for high ranking executives. Last February, Detroit owner Mike Illitch, whose Red Wings roster had nine players participating at the 2010 games, was left to stand among ticketholders instead of being afforded the VIP accessibility to which he was more than entitled.

“It’s a communication problem, and we’re going to improve that,” said Fasel.

Both Bettman and Team Canada Associate Director Ken Holland entertained the possibility of flying NHL players back to North America from Sochi after their teams are eliminated from Olympic play; four teams after the quarterfinals on Wednesday and two teams after the semifinals on the Friday before the gold medal game two days later.

“If it takes 18 hours to get back from Russia, and then expect these guys to put on their uniforms and play games on Tuesday, and run the risk of injury, it’s tough,” said Holland, the Red Wings general manager.

“I’d love to go to the Olympics. But I work for Mr. and Mrs. Illitch and we sign players to long-term contracts that aren’t fully insured. From a business side, there are issues. You have to sit down and figure out solutions that make everybody happy.” Holland said.

Despite all the challenges, the prevailing sense among the attendees – measured by a nearly unanimous show of hands among the myriad of delegates – is that hockey fans won’t be denied the chance of seeing players like Alex Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin win an Olympic gold medal on home soil, just like their predecessors such as Jonathan Toews, and of course, Sidney Crosby.

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On the women’s side, Team Canada captain Hayley Wickenheiser delivered an impassioned keynote address outlining the discrepancies between North America and the rest of the world.

One alarming note pointed to a $0 development budget allocated for Russia for women’s hockey, in addition of the availability of just six rinks for females to play, in the nation that will host the next Winter Olympics.

“The most glaring thing is how good hockey countries like Russia, Germany, Switzerland, have relatively little or no investment in their women’s national teams,” said Wickenheiser, a three-time gold medalist and six-time World Championship winner.

In her eloquent presentation aimed at bridging the chasm between the top two teams – Canada and the U.S.A. – and their opponents, Wickenheiser proposed a process by which European players are brought into North America to hone their skills. “We invest in them, we help them learn what it’s like to play at the most elite level, and they take that experience back to their own countries.” The Team Canada veteran also provided insight into a meeting that was held with NHL representatives to discuss the framework for an NHL-assisted women’s league. “They won’t jump into anything that is not a viable business opportunity, but I said look at it more from the sponsorship and investment view for the first few years.”

American defenceman Angela Ruggiero stressed the need for women to have an available outlet for females to continually play, such as the Western Women’s Hockey League which houses her club team in Minnesota. “You need have the right pieces in place where you can continue to train, and you’re in the gym all the time. In order to be a good hockey player you have to play hockey. If we don’t have those opportunities, I don’t think that the game can continue to grow.”

The leaders of the women’s game have used Jacques Rogge’s proclamation that women’s hockey ‘cannot continue without improvement’ as a catalyst for their cause.

“Despite what Rogge says, I think women’s hockey is here to stay,” said Wickenheiser.

“But we need to take action now.”

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Rob Del Mundo is the author of Blue And White Beat, and is a regular columnist at TMLfans.ca

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Blue And White Beat: Burke speaks at World Hockey Summit

Maple Leafs president and GM Brian Burke was one of many guest panelists speaking on the opening day of the World Hockey Summit in Toronto on Monday evening.

The four-day event is dedicated to discussing some of the sport’s biggest issues in an open forum.

Burke was involved in a ‘hot stove’ session regarding player agents, on a panel that included two of the biggest names in the business, Don Meehan and Pat Brisson. While lauding agents as ‘people with brains and consciences and accountability’, Burke also chided hockey parents for being the ‘worst evaluators of talent’, in reference to the tendency of moms and dads to overrate their children’s NHL playing potential.

When asked for his opinion on the lack of a transfer agreement between the NHL and Russia, Burke shrugged, “As a GM we’d like to have a situation where all countries have a transfer agreement with us. We haven’t been able to accomplish that with the KHL or with the Russians. But I’m not jumping off a bridge on the way home if we don’t have one. ”

Burke took some time to discuss the Leafs, fending off critics who grumble about Toronto’s crowded blueline, which currently has eight members. “Everyone says we have too many defencemen. But I guarantee you, if you trade a defenceman, in 72 hours a defenceman will get hurt and you’ll be down to six.”

As for comments made earlier in the week by Tomas Kaberle’s father Frantisek, Burke avoided the tug-of-war.

“We’re not pouring any gasoline on that fire. (Frantisek) Kaberle is entitled to his view. I talked to Rick Curran (Kaberle’s agent) today and there’s no issue as far as Tomas is concerned,” Burke said.

When pressed on whether head coach Ron WIlson has a problem with the veteran defenceman, Burke simply replied ‘no’.

Blue And White Beat: Upgraded Leafs still not yet playoff contenders

Upgraded Leafs still not yet playoff contenders

Ever since Brian Burke’s eyebrow-raising acquisitions of wingers Kris Versteeg and Colby Armstrong earlier this month, members of Leaf Nation have gained a renewed sense of optimism with regards to the reversal of the team’s fortunes.

Predictably there has been a scattering of bloggers and writers in long-standing publications that have taken the extreme view of proposing that the team has already upgraded to the extent that it can end its five-year long playoff drought.

This space suggests otherwise.

Credit is due Burke for obtaining three reasonably-priced players in Versteeg, Armstrong and also former Stanley Cup-winning defenceman Brett Lebda this off-season.

Also, the cheerleaders favouring the blue and white are correct to point out that a solidified blueline, bolstered by the return of a healthy Komisarek and the addition of Lebda, should result in a decrease in goals-against. Having Vesa Toskala well – playing elsewhere – certainly doesn’t hurt either.

Be that as it may, this author continues to see the beer mug as half-empty, for now.

Versteeg and Armstrong, both 20-goal scorers, will no doubt inject grit into the lineup as shutdown men. Yet neither player addresses the Leafs gaping need at the centre position. A strong pivot is still needed to maximize Phil Kessel’s scoring prowess, and with respect to Mikhail Grabovski, Tyler Bozak, John Mitchell, none of those players get top billing down the middle.

It’s difficult to identify the source of the Leafs’ firepower, beyond Kessel. Both Bozak and Nikolai Kulemin showed sparks of brilliance during the past season, but expecting top-line production over a course of an 82-game schedule is unrealistic for either player, at this point in their careers.

‘So what?’ you ask. The Bruins (206 goals) and the Habs (217 goals) made the playoffs last year, within the range of the Leafs firepower (214 goals); shouldn’t a steadier defence corps, plus a tandem of Jonas Gustavsson and J.S. Giguere in net bring the goals-against down to a level comparable with either Eastern Conference Original Six club from 2009-10?

Statistically, it’s admittedly possible.

However the number-crunching doesn’t always tell the entire story.

And the skepticism from this column is rooted in a cynicism over the team’s ability to compete over the entire grind of a six-month schedule.

Specifically, there is no reason to believe that the team’s propensity for falling behind in the standings early in the season will be absent when the puck drops on the season this fall.

If the season goes as this author predicts, come January the Leafs will be on the wrong end of a logjam of teams scratching and clawing for the last playoff spot. By the time March rolls around, any realistic chance of qualifying for the post-season will be eliminated. This realization will serve as a catalyst for the squad playing more carefree, with all the pressure off, and frankly, above their heads. The scenario has played itself out ever since the lockout (a collective result of 16 games over .500 in March and April).

In this author’s opinion, the team does not yet have the talent or fortitude to buck that trend.

Perhaps a trade of Tomas Kaberle for a top-line centre will prove me wrong.

Perhaps Dion Phaneuf’s intangibles will prove to be the missing ingredient, and his leadership presence will perpetuate throughout the team from Game One, just enough to shake the Leafs’ doldrums.

Or perhaps, like Phil Connors in Groundhog Day, we’ll see the same script played out, over and over, for at least another year.

Yes, the Leafs have improved. Whether they have improved enough to leapfrog over seven teams remains in doubt.

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Speaking of Versteeg, he and Armstrong made their public debuts as Leafs this past week, in support of what has become the annual Coca-Cola Fans First Game as the club has once again made their first pre-season game available free of charge to lucky members of the public.

Regardless of whether Toronto actually makes the playoffs, it should be unanimous opinion that the team will not end its long-standing Stanley Cup drought. The silver lining to that projected result is that Nathan Philips Square will not play host to a victory party that will see the likes of the ‘Versteeg rap’, as played out in Chicago in June.

In Versteeg’s defence, he is certainly not the first player to reinforce that hockey should be his first vocation, while music should be – how about, somewhere below ‘mail clerk’ on the list of career choices? Take a peek at Mike Krushelnyski, Glenn Anderson, et al.

And let’s not forget the musical exploits of Leafs legend and Hall of Famer Johnny Bower.

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Props go out to a few good friends of TMLfans.ca, Kevin Shea, Hersh Borenstein and Paul Bruno, who have each become involved with “Road Hockey To Conquer Cancer”, an event that will benefit the Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation. The event is earmarked as a full day of festivities to take place at Ontario Place on Saturday, October 1, 2011.

Please visit http://www.teamuptoconquercancer.ca/ for more information on putting a team together and supporting a good cause. A special call-out goes to TMLfans.ca message board members – anyone up for some hockey? If so, get in touch with me.

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Rob Del Mundo is the author of Blue And White Beat, and is a regular columnist at TMLfans.ca

Follow TMLfans.ca on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/tmlfansrob

Blue And White Beat: New captain Phaneuf leads by example

New captain Phaneuf leads by example

The Good Ship Maple Leaf has been drifting aimlessly for several years.

Treacherous waters have resulted in five seasons mired in a playoff drought; and 43 years removed from a Stanley Cup.

But at least the vessel now has a captain.

To no one’s surprise, defenceman Dion Phaneuf whom the Leafs acquired from Calgary on January 31, was named the 18th captain in team history on Monday. The promotion of the 25-year-old Alberta native ends a period of two full seasons in which Toronto trainers did not stitch a “C” on any Leaf player’s sweater.

Over the course of Toronto’s final twenty-six games of the season following Phaneuf’s acquisition, head coach Ron Wilson made frequent references to the one-time Norris Trophy nominee’s impact in the dressing room. The youngest roster in the NHL that employs the likes of Phil Kessel, Tyler Bozak and Luke Schenn – all 24 years of age or younger – fed off Phaneuf’s enthusiasm and energy.

“I’m very vocal. I think that’s no secret with anyone,” Phaneuf told a gathering of reporters. “I like to talk whether it’s on the ice or off the ice, and that’s a big part of who I am as a person.

Being captain is a huge honour. It’s a very special day for me to be given the opportunity.”

Wilson, who spent several years coaching in the Western Conference with Phaneuf as his nemesis, indicated that Phaneuf’s appointment was all but automatic. “When we saw how Dion affected positively the attitude of the room and the attitude of the practice facility, how he integrated himself into the community, and did all the little detailed things that you would expect from a captain, to me it was a no-brainer,” said the Leafs bench boss. “He has the respect of every player in our dressing room, but more importantly he has the respect of coaches and management.”

Leafs president Brian Burke was quick to provide an estimate of the amount of time it took for Phaneuf to put a stamp on the team.

“About 30 seconds in, when he fought Colin White (in Phaneuf’s first Leafs game, against New Jersey).”

Burke lauded the rearguard’s tenacity in challenging anyone from fellow teammates to management. “He’s barked at me a couple of times since he’s been here, about things we need. I love that. Not too many guys have enough jam to yell at the GM.”

Phaneuf’s ascension as the team’s official leader hardly comes without liabilities. Like his predecessors Mats Sundin, Doug Gilmour and Wendel Clark, he will automatically be the lightning rod of criticism for any of the club’s misfortunes. His own performance will be placed under the microscope, particularly on the scoresheet, where he registered a mere two goals in the final two games of the Leafs season after playing his first 24 games in Toronto without finding the net.

With a hefty $6.5 million annual contract, Phaneuf will be expected to elevate his production to at least the standard he set for himself after scoring 39 power-play goals in his first three seasons in the league.

The challenge is there for the taking, and Phaneuf appears to be up to the task.

“I look forward to the responsibility that (the captaincy) brings. I’m going to take pride in working day in and day out and doing whatever it takes to help our team win.”

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Rob Del Mundo is the author of Blue And White Beat, and is a regular columnist at TMLfans.ca

Follow TMLfans.ca on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/tmlfansrob

Blue And White Beat: Suitors undeterred by Kaberle’s post-Olympic slump

Suitors undeterred by Kaberle’s post-Olympic slump

It’s a rare occurrence for NHL teams to engage in a bidding war for an offensive defenceman that scored just once in the final two months of the season.

But when the trade window for Leafs veteran blueliner Tomas Kaberle opens on June 25, the first day of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, general manager Brian Burke is expected to be working double overtime listening to offers.

“Based on the interest already, I’d say there is significant interest in Tomas Kaberle,” Burke told the media earlier this week. As many as six teams have reportedly expressed interest in the Leafs’ power-play quarterback, with two clubs said to have made ‘significant’ offers.

The buzz surrounding Kaberle indicates that general managers have all but ignored the 32-year-old’s struggles that were evident following the Czech defenceman’s appearance at the Olympic Games where he collected a goal and two assists in 5 games playing for his native country.

Kaberle had just a single tally after the Games in Vancouver and actually wound up with only one goal and 4 assists in 24 games after February 5. The horrific slump came after he posted a respectable 44 points in 58 games to begin the season.

In mid-March Kaberle admitted that the grind of the compressed schedule of Olympic and NHL games had taken a noticeable toll. Frustrated onlookers at Air Canada Centre ran out of patience waiting for the supposed chemistry between Kaberle and Dion Phaneuf – acquired on January 31 – to materialize on the power-play.

Nevertheless, despite the offensive drought, Kaberle still finished the season with the eighth-best point total (49) out of all NHL defencemen, while ending up tied for 13th place among all skaters with 22 power-play assists – which was no small accomplishment playing on the worst power-play team in the league.

Kaberle’s contract appears very lucrative price to potential suitors, with one year remaining on a deal priced at a reasonable $4.25 million.

The classy veteran of 11 NHL seasons who has played each of his 820 career regular season games in a Leafs uniform has been involved in numerous trade proposals throughout his tenure in Toronto, many of which have included stars such as Eric Lindros, Jeff Carter and Chris Pronger.

Should a deal eventually come to fruition between draft day and August 15 – the day before his no-trade clause comes back into effect – it’s not unrealistic to expect Kaberle to regain his scoring touch.

Former Leafs like Alex Steen and Lee Stempniak appeared to benefit from a change of scenery.

Perhaps it’s what Kaberle needs as well.

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Rob Del Mundo is the author of Blue And White Beat, and is a regular columnist at TMLfans.ca

Follow TMLfans.ca on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/tmlfansrob

Blue And White Beat: Random thoughts and Final prediction

Random thoughts and Final prediction

Earlier this week the Leafs signed defenceman Korbinian Holzer, their 4th round pick in the 2006 Entry Draft. Holzer, 22, has represented his native Germany internationally on numerous occasions, including the most recent Olympics in Vancouver. Born in Munich, Holzer joins a fellow German-born teammate on the Leafs current roster. Who is he? (answer is provided below).
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Here’s my report card for the third round, based on my predictions from two weeks ago (in brackets)

Western Confernce:
Chicago over San Jose in 4 games (Chicago in 7)

Eastern Conference:
Philadelphia over Montreal in 5 games (Philadelphia in 6)

The Conference Finals brought me to .500 overall (7-for-14). So if you choose to go with my Cup winner pick, hey you have a 50% chance of being right!

This year’s Stanley Cup Final provides no shortage of superstars, led by captains Jonathan Toews of Chicago and Mike Richards of Philadelphia, who were linemates on Canada’s gold medal winning team at the Vancouver Olympics. The bluelines of both teams also boast world-class talent in Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook on the Blackhawks’ side and future Hall-of-Famer Chris Pronger for the Flyers. The matchup guarantees that no fewer than two names will be added to the short list of players who have won a Stanley Cup and an Olympic gold medal in the same year (Ken Morrow 1980, Steve Yzerman and Brendan Shanahan 2002).

Ultimately the series will be decided by Chicago’s phenomenal speed overmatching Philadelphia’s defence. Pronger, Matt Carle, Braydon Coburn and Kimmo Timonen have provided ample containment over the first three rounds, however they have yet to face an opponent with the Blackhawks’ skill set led by Toews, Patrick Kane, David Bolland and the quick Brian Campbell. Fatigue and conditioning will be factor as Philly’s top four defencemen have carried the bulk of the workload, with Ryan Parent and Lucas Krajicek being utilized as mere spare parts. The forecast is that the ice time will catch up to them.

Prediction
Chicago over Philadelphia in 6 games. Jonathan Toews will be the Conn Smythe Trophy winner as playoffs MVP.

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TMLfans.ca congratulates former Team Canada women’s captain Cassie Campbell-Pascall and her husband Brad Pascall on the announcement that they are about to become parents. In November, Campbell-Pascall is scheduled to join her three-time Olympic teammates Becky Kellar and Cheryl Pounder in the ‘moms’ club.

Congratulations also go out to Steve Yzerman in his new appointment as general manager of the Tampa Bay Lightning. Coincidentally, six years ago Vincent Lecavalier was an injury replacement for Yzerman for Team Canada’s entry at the 2004 World Cup of Hockey. Who knew that Stevie Y. would one day be placed in a position of potentially having to trade away the Lightning superstar?

Trivia answer: Mikhail Grabovski was born in Potsdam, East Germany – moving to Belarus at age 3.

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Rob Del Mundo is the author of Blue And White Beat, and is a regular columnist at TMLfans.ca

Follow TMLfans.ca on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/tmlfansrob

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