WHL two seasons ago but were ousted by the Hitmen in first round
7 game thriller. A year later they returned the favor to the Hitmen
in the WHL semi-finals by brushing them aside in 5 games.
What was the difference?
Mike Green, Jaroslav Svoboda and Zdenek Blatny made a difference
but they were not the answer.
each others game better then no other team in the Dub. Once again
the defense were a piece to the puzzle but not the most important.
he hit the ice in rookie camp.
He was the highest goaltender ever selected in the WHL Draft when Kootenay
snagged him with the 3rd overall choice. Little did Ice management know but just
2 short years later that baby faced 15 year old would carry them to the WHL title
and a birth in the Mem Cup.
in the early games at the Memorial Arena (a.k.a Silver Dome) in Cranbrook
B.C.
on the ice style that seems to be very effective. Blackburn is always in position
and gets right back up and ready for the next shot. Is very controlled in his movements
both post to post and up and down the crease. Every rebound is either steered away
into the corner or calmly covered before a lurking forward and poke it in. Only real weakness
is puckhandling, does not seem to strong with the stick when playing the puck but will improve
as he gets older.
again he held the Ice in a game until they popped home a couple goals. In fact against
the Hitmen in a mid-season game he stopped phenom Pavel Brendl on back to back breakaways
only 10 seconds apart. The kid is very focused before the game and that continues throughout the
whole game through as even
after a weak goal he would step right back in and stand on his head. Has the size to
play in the bigs and with his mobility he will certainly be there one day.
evaluation camp even though fellow 2001 draftee Pascal Leclaire did.
He did however win CHL and WHL rookie of the year.
to see Blackburn ahead of Pascal and possibly even Spezza.
He just seems to have that special thing in him where he just
won’t lose.
