News & Features

Three teams rolled into Portland, Oregon to start off the Winter Hawk’s season and all three left feeling pretty good about themselves.
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While storm watchers are tracking Hurricane Irene’s march to Florida, you can use this chart to track where the Carolina Hurricanes prospects ended up for this season.

NHL:
Carolina: Byron Ritchie, David Tanabe, Eric Fichaud, Tommy Westlund

IHL:
Cincinnati: Craig MacDonald, Craig Adams, Nikos Tselios, Randy Petruk, Ian MacNeil, Shane Willis, Greg Kuznik

ECHL:
Florida: Hugh Hamilton Jacksonville: Mark McMahon, Sergei Fedetov New Orleans: Mike Morrone

OHL:
Guelph: Chris Madden
Sarnia: Jeff Heerema
Plymouth: Kevin Holridge, Damian Surma
Sault Ste. Marie: Josef Vasicek

WHL:
Kootenay: Jaroslav Svoboda Regina: Brett Lysak Prince George: Brent McDonald

WCHL:
Anchorage: Yauheni Kurylin

Swedish Elite:
MoDo: Niklas Nordgren

SM-Liiga:
Lukko: Antti Jokela

ECAC:
Clarkson: Erik Cole, Don Smith, David Evans

CCHA:
Michigan State: Brad Fast
Bowling Green: Ryan Murphy
Michigan: Andrew Merrick, Mark Kosick

WCHA:
North Dakota: Brad Defauw

While all seems well on the mother ship, Kings prospects have kicked off the 99-00 season with some strong performances. Here is who’s news in the Los Angeles Kings farm system right now:

1999 Draftee Andrei Shefer has started off red shot, leading Halifax with 16 points in 11 games (7-9-16). He is a +7 and leads his team in virtually every category. Shefer is teammates with top prospect, goalie Alexei Volkov who is 4-2 with aa 3.37 GAA average.

Justin Papineau is tearing it up again, racking up 8 goals and 2 assists in 6 games for Belleville. Papineau is already a +7 and has 4 power play goals. Another member of the Bulls is goaltender Cory Campbell who the Kings took in last year’s draft. Campbell is 3-3 with a 3.36 GAA and a .891 save percentage.

Defenseman Joe Rullier was named player of the week in week 2 for Rimouski of the QMJHL. Rullier racked up 5 assists in two games and was a +6 after two weeks.

Jason Podollan is at it again in th AHL. He has 2 goals and 2 assists in 5 games for Lowell. He was recently joined by Sean Blanchard who was promoted to Lowell after scoring a goal and three assists for Kentucky.

Pavel Rosa has a goal and 5 assists in 4 games for the Long Beach Ice Dogs. Rosa has been flat since arriving.

Scott Barney is still nursing an injury.

Richard Seeley is playing well for Lowell of the AHL, including a scrap that he won on Monday. He has one assist and nine penalty minutes.
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Name: Rheese Carlson
Pos: F
Height: 5-9
Weight: 172 lbs.
Born: 11/26/79
Hometown: Duluth, MN
Last Year’s Team: Rochester Mustangs (USHL)

1999-2000 Stats (USHL): (as of 10-9-99)

GP G A Pts PIM
6 2 2 4 0
(2 ppg, 1 gwg)

1998-1999 Stats (USHL):
GP G A Pts PIM
47 12 18 30 24
(3 ppg, 3 gwg, 2 uag)

JH: How would you describe your style of play? is it comparable to any current NHL player?
- I’m darn aggressive.
JH: Who is your favorite NHL player and why?
- Theo Fleury or Paul Kariya because they are aggressive and the way they move up and down the ice. They are fun to watch.

JH: What are your best skills and what are the skills you feel you need to improve on?
- One of my best skill is my ability to make things happen around the net. I need to work on my defensive play and getting everyone else involved.

JH: At what age did you first start playing hockey?
- I started playing when I was two years old.

JH: What colleges are you looking at, would you like to attend or are looking at you?
- I would like to attend something in the WCHA.

JH: Who has been the most important influence on you in your hockey career up to this point?
- My parents.

JH: Who were some of your inspirations growing up and who do you try to mold your game after? Read more »

HV 71 (Home) vs. MoDo (Away)

Before the season many “experts” said that MoDos defense was an uncertain card, before the game against HV 71 MoDo had only let 10 goals past in 7 games! The Sedins line is not only the best offensive line but defensive as well, much because that they almost spend all the time in offensive zone. After 7 games the line has still not let any goals against with even strength.

The first period against HV 71 was quite even; the Sedins line created one big scoring chance but Daniel did not manage to beat Kari Takko in the net. In the second period MoDo played better and 4 minutes into the period Henrik fed Mattias Weihandl with an opening pass.

Weihandl deked Takko but he hit the post. But Weinhandl got his revenge after a disordered situation in front of the net. He picked up the lose puck and fed Henrik with a pass, Henrik with an open net made no mistake. HV tied the game before the period was over.

The third period was, just as the previous two, an open history. Great skating, intensity and goal tending. With 2.24 left of the game, Samuel Pahlsson won a face-off in offensive zone, he was captured by HV 71′s defense and knocked to the ice. But with great strength he manages, lying down, to lift the puck past Kari Takko. MoDo won 3-1 after an EN-goal.

HV 71-MoDo 3-1 (0-0,1-1,0-2)

First Period:

No scoring

Second period:

0-1 (07.27) Henrik Sedin (Mattias Weinhandl)
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The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim are not the only Duck team feeling the effects of suspensions. On Wednesday, the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks learned they have lost top flight prospect Maxim Balmochnykh for eight games.

Apparently aggrevated by pesky play from Louisville Panthers tough guy Curtis Doell, he speared Doell in the face causing him to bleed and receive stitches. The injury was not serious though since Doell came back to play in the game later.

Balmochnykh will miss almost a month of playing time due to the suspension, not exactly the best way to develop and learn the North American style of play. It could be called a rookie mistake, but in reality, it was bad judgment by the youngster who still has learning to do. This is certainly one that should help him mature by learning from his mistakes.

Balmo had been off to a hot start in the AHL. In Game 1 against the Kentucky Thoroughblades he scored two goals and demonstrated his great scoring sense. He had 4 shots on goal that night and was the second star. He still cant speak English, yet he still has the knack for putting the puck in the net.

FIGHT NIGHT AT FREEDOM HALL
The spearing incident between Balmo and Doell created a night of aggressiveness and brawls between both teams. Read more »

Now that the OHL season has opened, it is time to take a look at the teams and how they should fare in the upcoming season.

Western Conference
West Division
1> Sault Ste. Marie
The Sault should come out on top in the West this year. They will be led by Cory Pecker and Ryan Jardine up front and Daniel Passero on the blueline. With those combinations they will definitely be able to score some goals. Rookies Trevor Daley and Jeff Richards have impressed in the early going. They will be looked upon to add some depth. The only real question mark for Sault this season will be in net where Jason Flick will carry the load. Look for a trade for Ottawa goalie Seamus Kotyk at the trade deadline. If that happens, they will be a force to be reckoned with, leading up to the play-offs.
2> London Knights Read more »

Name: Jon Waibel
Pos: F
Height: 5-11
Weight: 180 lbs.
Born: 5/19/82
Hometown: Baudette, MN
Last Year’s Team: NTDP Under-17 Team (NAHL)

1999-2000 Stats (USHL): (as of 10-9-99)

GP G A Pts PIM
9 2 6 8 8

1998-1999 Stats (NAHL):
GP G A Pts PIM
41 15 4 19 20
(6ppg, 1shg)

1998-1999 Stats (USHL):
GP G A Pts PIM
14 1 3 4 10

JH: How would you describe your style of play? is it comparable to any current NHL player?
- hard worker, grinder. sorta like john leclair or eric lindros.

JH: Who is your favorite NHL player and why?
- Mike Modano. He plays hard, fast and scores goals. He’s a leader on and off the ice.

JH: What are your best skills and what are the skills you feel you need to improve on?
- My best is my skating. What I need to work on is stick handling and shooting.

JH: At what age did you first start playing hockey?
- I started at the age of four.

JH: What colleges are you looking at, would you like to attend or are looking at you?
- I’m going to be attending the University of Minnesota next year.

JH: Who has been the most important influence on you in your hockey career up to this point?
- My dad. He always pushed me, never let me be satisfied with mediocre. He always pushed me to do the best I could.
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The highly anticipated NHL debut of Roberto Luongo came on Sunday night and the highest drafted goaltender ever did not disappoint. Luongo was solid throughout the game and was spectacular down the stretch preserving a 2-1 victory against the Boston Bruins. Luongo recorded 43 saves in his first appearance, a Islanders record. Loungo’s performance ended a three game skid for the Isles. Roberto’s dazzling play throughout training camp caused many rumors that Felix Potvin would be traded to make room for the emerging star. Now that backup Wade Flaherty is out indefinitely, Luongo will get a chance to prove himself without the pressure of being a number one goaltender. This is an ideal situation as Luongo will get to break in slowly and acclimate himself to NHL play. Luongo will most likely return the AHL when Flaherty returns, however Potvin’s trade value continues to climb an account of his strong play this year.
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Name: Joe Krmpotich
Pos: F
Height: 5-10
Weight: 188 lbs.
Born: 3/16/80
Hometown: Eden Prairie, MN
Last Year’s Team: Rochester Mustangs

1999-2000 Stats (USHL): (as of 10-9-99)

GP G A Pts PIM
1 0 0 0 0

1998-1999 Stats (USHL):
GP G A Pts PIM
51 13 15 28 87
(4 ppg)

JH: How would you describe your style of play? is it comparable to any current NHL player?
- I’m an aggressive forward. I go hard to the corners and work hard. Hopefully get the puck out to the front of the net to score some goals.
JH: Who is your favorite NHL player and why?
- Pavel Bure. He’s a very skilled player.

JH: What are your best skills and what are the skills you feel you need to improve on?
- I’m a hard worker. I need to work on my stick handling and shooting the puck a bit more.

JH: At what age did you first start playing hockey?
- I started when I was three.

JH: What colleges are you looking at, would you like to attend or are looking at you?
- I would like to play in the WCHA and if not there, then out East would be nice.

JH: Who has been the most important influence on you in your hockey career up to this point?
- My father. He’s been very supportive of my choices.

JH: Who were some of your inspirations growing up and who do you try to mold your game after?
- The 1980 Olympic team.
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