Scout
10-27-2008, 05:42 PM
Courtesy Alan Caldwell
Monday, October 27, 2008
Monday notes
Not much to report in the WHL from the weekend apart from Rich Kromm and Ken Hodge probably having overseen their last Portland game in the 6-2 loss to Swift Current on Saturday. The Hawks do not play again until Friday and the sale of the team is expected to have closed by then, which means the new guys will probably be in charge for that game.
That game is on Halloween too.....how fitting as the new group tries to exorcise the demons that have plagued the team the last three years.
One other junior hockey note, the 2011 World Juniors have been awarded to Buffalo. This basically means four straight years of home ice advantage for Canada, since the 2009, 2010, and 2012 tournaments are IN Canada, and Buffalo is so close to the border that Canadian fans can almost walk there.
To a couple things in the NHL now....first, the hit on Carolina's Brandon Sutter has Hurricanes G.M. Jim Rutherford in a tizzy. I respect Rutherford's concern over hits to the head, but in this case at least he really should shut up with this "the league should quit saying it's concerned about hits to the head" nonsense. That was a clean hit. Weight is three or four inches shorter than Sutter and if Sutter had stood up straight and respected the oncoming opponent instead of trying for the cutesy poke-the-puck-ahead-for-a-breakaway move, there is no way Weight's shoulder could have reached Sutter's head without Weight standing on a stool. I guess Rutherford thinks Weight should have let Sutter go in for the breakaway instead of hitting him.
I'm 100% behind the league coming down like a ton of bricks on guys who intentionally and unnecessarily target opponents' heads. If the guy is in a vulnerable position and you have a 2nd option to make the play, you should do that instead of hitting someone who can get badly hurt as a result. But sometimes a clean hit is the only good option and when that happens, if the opponent gets hurt, that's hockey. Leave the game alone.
The same can be said for Bob Gainey's harebrained idea to make it illegal for players to block shots unless they keep at least one skate on the ice. Only the G.M. of a team with a roster full of Euro-pansies would think this was a good idea. Seriously....where did this idea come from? Who actually complains about guys blocking shots? It's a great part of the game, watching guys put their bodies in front of 90-100mph slapshots. Gainey was one of the best defensive forwards the sport has ever seen and he really should appreciate this skill more than he obviously does.
Scout
Monday, October 27, 2008
Monday notes
Not much to report in the WHL from the weekend apart from Rich Kromm and Ken Hodge probably having overseen their last Portland game in the 6-2 loss to Swift Current on Saturday. The Hawks do not play again until Friday and the sale of the team is expected to have closed by then, which means the new guys will probably be in charge for that game.
That game is on Halloween too.....how fitting as the new group tries to exorcise the demons that have plagued the team the last three years.
One other junior hockey note, the 2011 World Juniors have been awarded to Buffalo. This basically means four straight years of home ice advantage for Canada, since the 2009, 2010, and 2012 tournaments are IN Canada, and Buffalo is so close to the border that Canadian fans can almost walk there.
To a couple things in the NHL now....first, the hit on Carolina's Brandon Sutter has Hurricanes G.M. Jim Rutherford in a tizzy. I respect Rutherford's concern over hits to the head, but in this case at least he really should shut up with this "the league should quit saying it's concerned about hits to the head" nonsense. That was a clean hit. Weight is three or four inches shorter than Sutter and if Sutter had stood up straight and respected the oncoming opponent instead of trying for the cutesy poke-the-puck-ahead-for-a-breakaway move, there is no way Weight's shoulder could have reached Sutter's head without Weight standing on a stool. I guess Rutherford thinks Weight should have let Sutter go in for the breakaway instead of hitting him.
I'm 100% behind the league coming down like a ton of bricks on guys who intentionally and unnecessarily target opponents' heads. If the guy is in a vulnerable position and you have a 2nd option to make the play, you should do that instead of hitting someone who can get badly hurt as a result. But sometimes a clean hit is the only good option and when that happens, if the opponent gets hurt, that's hockey. Leave the game alone.
The same can be said for Bob Gainey's harebrained idea to make it illegal for players to block shots unless they keep at least one skate on the ice. Only the G.M. of a team with a roster full of Euro-pansies would think this was a good idea. Seriously....where did this idea come from? Who actually complains about guys blocking shots? It's a great part of the game, watching guys put their bodies in front of 90-100mph slapshots. Gainey was one of the best defensive forwards the sport has ever seen and he really should appreciate this skill more than he obviously does.
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