Houston, we have a team [EHM]

[duff88]

After the announcement that the 2004-2005 season was going to be lost because of the lockout, the Phoenix Coyotes had no choice but to announce that they were folding. A few weeks later, on April 29th, the NHL held a dispersal draft via phone-conference.

1 Pittsburgh Penguins Derek Morris
2 Chicago Blackhawks Ladislav Nagy
3 Washington Capitals Paul Mara
4 Columbus Blue Jackets Shane Doan
5 New York Rangers Geoff Sanderson
6 Florida Panthers Mike Johnson
7 Carolina Hurricanes Dave Scatchard
8 Anaheim Ducks Mike Ricci
9 Atlanta Thrashers Mike Comrie
10 Los Angeles Kings Steven Reinprecht
11 Minnesota Wild Keith Ballard
12 Buffalo Sabres Oleg Saprykin
13 Edmonton Oilers Curtis Joseph
14 Nashville Predators Fredrik Sjöström
15 New York Islanders Dennis Seidenberg
16 Boston Bruins (DET) Zbynek Michalek
17 Montreal Canadiens Matthew Spiller
18 Calgary Flames Oleg Kvasha
19 Dallas Stars Blake Wheeler
20 Colorado Avalanche Tyson Nash
21 New Jersey Devils Philippe Sauvé
22 Philadelphia Flyers Boyd Devereaux
23 Vancouver Canucks Jeff Taffe
24 Ottawa Senators Enver Lisin
25 Toronto Maple Leafs Yanick Lehoux
26 Boston Bruins Jakub Koreis
27 San Jose Sharks Forfeit
28 Tampa Bay Lightning David LeNeveu
29 Detroit Red Wings Forfeit

All other players were released as free agents.

When the CBA was finally signed, commissionner Gary Bettman made public his intention to listen to offers for a 30th franchise as soon as the 2005-2006 season. Rumours had the cities of Kansas City, Las Vegas and Houston as the front runners. Houston buisiness man Tseng-Lee Chong-Hoa Wing-Tong Kim finally got the franchise.

In a press conference later that month, the Houston Spirit were born. Jeff Chynoweth was named General Manager while Brian Sutter was assigned as head coach.

Two years later; the Houston Spirit has had two consecutive first overall picks as they finished last overall in their two original seasons. The team is already less popular in Houston and a potential rivalry with Dallas has yet to emerge.



Trevor Gordon, a big canadian forward playing for the Guelph Storm in the OHL, was selected first overall in the NHL Entry Draft. The other picks that day were Vitali Khromchinkov, Ville Skriko, Kerri Cautero, Sasha Golin and David Ruzicka.

Surprisingly, the third round pick in the 2006 draft Ville Skriko, made the team out of camp for the 2006-2007 season. Meanwhile, free agent signings Keith Carney and captain Owen Nolan were traded at the deadline, along with prospect Adam Courchaine, for a 1st in 2007, a 2nd in 2009 and a 5th in 2007.



Michael Wagner, a big american playmaking center playing for the Wisconsin Badgers of the NCAA, was drafted first overall in the 2007 draft. With the 11th overall selection acquired from Edmonton in the Owen Nolan trade, right winger Kirill Boldin was picked. The other picks that day were Jonathan Shank, Chris Summers, Niclas Andersén, Carl Dewolf and David Driver.

The 2007-2008 season is about to start. Houston may have a team, but it has yet to win their heart; what does the future holds for the Houston Spirit?

[DeToxRox]

Oh boy.

Love your EHM dynasties Duff. I'm already pumped.

Awesome idea too.

I have an idea of kicking around, maybe you could give me some advice on it if you wish. If so, shoot me a PM.

[duff88]

Training Camp starts in Houston

44 Players have been invited to the 2007 Training Camp of the Houston Spirit. 5 Goaltenders, 12 Defenseman and 27 Forwards will fight for the 23 spots available. The list of players was released today by GM Jeff Chynoweth:

30 Danny Battochio G
31 Sebastien Caron G
35 Wade Dubielewicz G
1 Jordan Parisé G
39 Pierre-Olivier Pelletier G
2 Mike Commodore D
5 Noah Welch D
4 Mark Eaton D
65 Logan Stephenson D
8 Ville Skriko D
6 Jamie Heward D
51 David Ruzicka D
52 Patrick Coulombe D
12 Lance Ward D
56 Bryan Rodney D
54 Reid Cashman D
77 Jean-Michel Bolduc D
7 Ivan Novoseltsev LW
83 Vitali Khromchinkov LW
50 Jordan Krestanovich LW
71 Chad Kolarik LW
81 Dmitri Pestunov LW
97 Maxime Boisclair LW
10 Trevor Gordon LW
37 Jarkko Ruutu LW
9 Magnus Kahnberg LW
15 Boyd Devereaux C
29 Brad Winchester C
87 Louis-Philippe Martin C
18 Jason Jaspers C
58 Kerri Cautero C
19 Marty Reasoner C
84 Alexei Ivanov C
88 Jamie Tardif C
14 Paul Gaustad C
16 Michael Wagner C
28 Randy Robitaille RW
47 Aaron Downey RW
48 Sasha Golin RW
61 Chris Collins RW
17 Trevor Letowski RW
23 Kirill Boldin RW
36 Brad May RW
74 Roman Tomanek RW

Four notable veteran additions were made during the offseason: Veteran blue-liner Jamie Howard, who announced this would be his last year before he hangs his skates, signed a one year contract. Brad May also signed a one year contract while Trevor Letowski signed a two year deal worth 2,8M. A few days before camp, Chynoweth announced that prospect Gabe Gauthier was traded to Buffalo for big center Paul Gaustad; Buffalo wanted to get rid of some of their depth players before losing them on waivers and Gaustad was a perfect fit for the 3rd or 4th line role.

Here are three little articles covering what your Houston Spirit should look like this year:

[duff88]

First Cuts Announced

Houston Spirit Head coach Brian Sutter announced today the first cuts of training camp:

D Logan Stephenson
D Jean-Michel Bolduc
LW Chad Kolarik
LW Dmitri Pestunov
C Louis-Philippe Martin
C Jamie Tardif
C Kerri Cautero
RW Sasha Golin
G Pier-Olivier Pelletier

All of these players were sent to the Spirit's farm club, the Utah Grizzlies, except Kerri Cautero who went back to Western Michigan to play his Junior year and Sasha Golin who was sent back to the Portland Winter Hawks.

35 players are still left with the team for pre-season. The next cuts will be done following the 4th pre-season game.

[duff88]

Second cuts announced

After winning their first four pre-season games, the Houston Spirit and their head coach Brian Sutter announced, as expected, the second cuts:

D Reid Cashman
LW Jordan Krestanovich
C Jason Jaspers
C Alexei Ivanov
RW Aaron Downey
G Danny Battochio
G Jordan Parisé

Those cuts give a better look at what the team will look like come October 13th for the opener when the San Jose Sharks visit the Spirit at the Toyota Center in Houston.

Therefore, David Ruzicka, Bryan Rodney and Patrick Coulombe are going to fight for the 7th Dman spot while Vitali Khromchinkov, Maxime Boisclair, Michael Wagner, Chris Collins, Kirill Boldin and Roman Tomanek will fight for the three spots still open at forward.

Meanwhile, Wade Dubielewicz has played so well in his two pre-season games that talks are already on-going that he might actually be the started for the first game of the season. The first line of Gordon-Reasoner-Robitaille has also been very impressive in the two games they played in, scoring 13 combined points.

There are still four pre-season games left and the final cuts will be announced afterwards.

[duff88]

Coach Sutter announce final cuts

The Houston Spirit continued their succesful pre-season finishing 6-1-1 in the process. Following the last game, a 3-1 win in Dallas, coach Brian Sutter announced the final cuts:

D David Ruzicka
D Patrick Coulombe
LW Vitali Khromchinkov
C Michael Wagner
RW Chris Collins

These cuts mean that Bryan Rodney won the 7th defenseman spot while Maxime Boisclair, Kirill Boldin and Roman Tomanek succeeded in getting a roster spot. Although he didn't look bad, first overall draft pick Michael Wagner was sent back to the Wisconsin Badgers to further developpe him hoping he can be ready next season.

A season preview will be available today covering your 2007-2008 Houston Spirit.

[duff88]

Toyota announces a big contest

Toyota announced today the start of a big contest: "Nickname your favourite player". Fans of the Houston Spirit can now reply by proposing a nickname for forward Trevor Gordon, which will be picked by Gordon himself on Christmas day this year.

The winner will be given a chance to participate in a hockey camp with some Houston Spirit players during the summer and might make a name for himself in order to one day being drafted into the NHL.

[duff88]

Houston Spirit set for season opener against San Jose

On October 13th, the San Jose Sharks will be in Houston for the 2007-2008 season debut. After a very impressive pre-season where Houston kept a 6-1-1 record, the Spirit will now have their first true test in a real regular season game.

Coach Sutter made public his intention of having two scoring lines, one defensive minded and one all-around line. Wade Dubielewicz, after being extremely impressive in the pre-season is expected to get the start in the first game, but don't be surprised if Sebastien Caron gets the nod for the second game, the second part of the home-and-away in San Jose on October 14th.

Gordon-Reasoner-Robitaille
Novoseltsev-Devereaux-Boldin
Winchester-Gaustad-Ruutu
Kahnberg-Letowski-May

Welch-Commodore
Skriko-Heward
Eaton-Ward

Dubielewicz
Caron

Captain
Home Assistants
Away Assistants

Captain Mike Commodore, in an interview for TSN, had some pretty interesting comments. Here's a brief segment of the interview:

"The season hasn't even started yet, but it feels like this is going to be a pretty strong and united group of guys. Everyone know we are not coming in as favourites, but you can expect us to work hard every day. We'll surprise a few people".

[st.cronin]

Originally Posted by duff88

Toyota announces a big contest

Toyota announced today the start of a big contest: "Nickname your favourite player". Fans of the Houston Spirit can now reply by proposing a nickname for forward Trevor Gordon, which will be picked by Gordon himself on Christmas day this year.

The winner will be given a chance to participate in a hockey camp with some Houston Spirit players during the summer and might make a name for himself in order to one day being drafted into the NHL.

Trevor "Ice Weasel" Gordon

[duff88]

The Hockey News season preview: Page 1

The NHL season is coming fast; in exactly one week, the puck will drop in seven games as fourteen teams play their season opener.

Page 1: Introduction
Page 1: Eastern Conference Analysis and Prediction
Page 2: Western Conference Analysis and Prediction
Page 3: List of top 10 players by position
Page 4: Prediction for each trophies
Page 5: Preliminary look at the 2008 NHL Draft.

The Eastern Conference
Atlanta Thrashers:
Average age: 25
Average height: 6-1
Average weight: 201
Notable players: LW Marian Hossa, C Marc Savard, C Alexander Svitov, RW Michael Nylander, D Braydon Coburn, D Kenny Jönsson and G Kari Lehtonen.
2006-2007 record: 36-33-10-3 for 85 PTS, 8th in the East
2007-2008 preview: Will once again be in the fight for a playoff spot, lack some depth to be called a contender right now unless Lehtonen plays a stellar season.

Boston Bruins:
Average age: 25
Average height: 6-1
Average weight: 199
Notable players: RW Glen Murray, RW Patrice Bergeron, C Eric Staal, C Brad Boyes, LW Marco Sturm, D Brad Stuart.
2006-2007 record: 44-31-3-4 for 95 PTS, 4th in the East
2007-2008 preview: They have one of the top centers in the league, but they have, according to all acounts, over-achieved last year and will have to fight hard to make the playoffs this year.

Buffalo Sabres:
Average age: 25
Average height: 6-1
Average weight: 195
Notable Players: RW Tuomo Ruutu, RW Maxim Afinogenov, RW Thomas Vanek, C Chris Drury, C Daniel Brière, LW Jean-Pierre Dumont, D Dmitri Kalinin, G Ryan Miller
2006-2007 record: 42-32-7-1 for 92 PTS, 7th in the East
2007-2008 preview: With a strong nucleus of players, the Sabres should be among the top teams in the East this year.

Carolina Hurricanes:
Average age: 26
Average height: 6-1
Average weight: 195
Notable Players: RW Justin Williams, RW Erik Cole, LW Matt Cullen, D Robyn Regehr, G Cam Ward
2006-2007 record: 29-42-5-6 for 69 PTS, 15th in the East
2007-2008 preview: Poor management ruined the Hurricanes who went from Stanley Cup participation to one of the worst teams in the league for the second time in the decade. Should once again be in the bottom team of the East.

Florida Panthers:
Average age: 24
Average height: 6-1
Average weight: 202
Notable Players: RW Nathan Horton, RW Anthony Stewart, C Olli Jokinen, C Stephen Weiss, LW Rostislav Olesz, LW Daniel Sedin, D Jay Bouwmeester, G Roberto Luongo
2006-2007 record: 39-26-14-3 for 95 PTS, 3rd in the East
2007-2008 preview: Chances are that the Florida Panthers will once again win the south-east division; they are arguably one of the best team in the East.

Montreal Canadiens:
Average age: 27
Average height: 6-0
Average weight: 195
Notable Players: RW Alex Kovalev, RW Michael Ryder, C Saku Koivu, D Andrei Markov
2006-2007 record: 33-45-4-0 for 70 PTS, 14th in the East
2007-2008 preview: Another tough season is to be expected from Montreal whom, although they have depth, lack impact players with only four who can be considered as notables.

New York Islanders
Average age: 25
Average height: 6-0
Average weight: 196
Notable Players: RW Dustin Brown, C Alexei Yashin, LW Miroslav Satan, G Rick DiPietro
2006-2007 record: 35-36-9-2 for 81 PTS, 10th in the East
2007-2008 preview: Unless Rick DiPietro creates a huge surprise, the Islanders will likely miss the playoffs, but they still have a chance to make a hard run at the 8th place.

New York Rangers
Average age: 26
Average height: 6-1
Average weight: 201
Notable Players: RW Jaromir Jagr, C Steve Rucchin, C Petr Sykora, LW Ilya Kovalchuk, LW Nikolai Zherdev, G Henrik Lundqvist
2006-2007 record: 38-38-3-3 for 82 PTS, 9th in the East
2007-2008 preview: The Rangers were the best non-playoff team last year, they should once again fight for the playoffs this year but you can now expect them to make it. They might even make a run for their division.

New Jersey Devils
Average age: 26
Average height: 6-0
Average weight: 196
Notable Players: RW Brian Gionta, C Mike Peca, C Scott Gomez, LW Patrick Elias, D Bryan Rafalski
2006-2007 record: 45-25-9-3 for 102 points, 2nd in the East
2007-2008 preview: The departure of Martin Brodeur gives a huge blow to New Jersey who will have to rely on Philippe Sauvé and Ari Ahonen in nets. Their performance depends on those two goaltenders; they could pretty much finish anywhere in the standings.

Ottawa Senators
Average age: 25
Average height: 6-1
Average weight: 199
Notable Players: RW Dany Heatley, RW Daniel Alfredsson, C Jason Spezza, LW Martin Havlat, D Zdeno Chara, D Wade Redden, D Andrej Meszaros
2006-2007 record: 50-23-7-2 for 109 points, 1st in the East
2007-2008 preview: The Senators lack only one piece to be a dynasty; a primary goaltender. If Ray Emery and Mike Dunham do the job, they could finally win the Stanley Cup.

Philadelphia Flyers
Average age: 26
Average height: 6-1
Average weight: 196
Notable Players: C Peter Forsberg, C Michal Handzus, C Jeff Carter, LW Simon Gagné, LW Mike Richards, D Joni Pitkänen, D Kim Johnsson
2006-2007 record: 38-27-15-2 for 93 points, 6th in the East
2007-2008 preview: The Flyers should once again be in the race for the playoffs and might even make a run for the division.

Pittsburgh Penguins
Average age: 25
Average height: 6-0
Average weight: 197
Notable Players: C Sidney Crosby, LW Evgeni Malkin, D Derek Morris, D Sergei Gonchar, D Ryan Whitney, G Marc-André Fleury
2006-2007 record: 37-25-15-5 for 94 points, 5th in the East
2007-2008 preview: Pens are loaded at the top, but thin afterwards. If Crosby, Malkin and Fleury do it again, the Pens will make the playoffs.

Tampa Bay Lightning
Average age: 26
Average height: 6-2
Average weight: 206
Notable Players: RW Martin St. Louis, RW Ales Hemsky, C Brad Richards, C Vincent Lecavalier, LW Vaclav Prospal, D Dan Boyle, D Pavel Kubina
2006-2007 record: 35-41-4-2 for 76 points, 12th in the East
2007-2008 preview: The problem for Tampa is in nets; John Grahame needs more consistency. Their position in the standings will depend mostly on him.

Toronto Maple Leafs
Average age: 26
Average height: 6-1
Average weight: 199
Notable Players: RW Jason Pominville, C Jeff O'Neill, D Tomas Kaberle, D Bryan McCabe, D Roman Hamrlik
2006-2007 record: 32-40-4-6 for 74 points, 13th in the East
2007-2008 preview: Toronto are going to have to fight hard to try and finish with a better points total than last year.

Washington Capitals
Average age: 24
Average height: 6-1
Average weight: 201
Notable Players: RW Alexander Ovechkin, LW Alexander Semin, D Paul Mara
2006-2007 record: 33-38-4-7 for 77 point, 11th in the East
2007-2008 preview: They pretty much rely on Ovechkin to do everything; the Caps are likely to miss the playoffs once again this year.

Prediction:
1. Florida
2. Ottawa
3. New York R
-
4. Buffalo
5. Philadelphia
6. Pittsburgh
7. Atlanta
8. New Jersey
-
9. Boston
10. Tampa Bay
11. New York I
12. Montreal
13. Washington
14. Carolina
15. Toronto

[Travis]

Hemsky in Tampa?! Boo-urns!

[duff88]

The Hockey News season preview: Page 2

The Western Conference
Anaheim Ducks:
Average age: 25
Average height: 6-1
Average weight: 202
Notable players: C Joffrey Lupul, C Ryan Getzlaf, LW Ryan Malone, D Scott Niedermayer, D Vitaly Vishenvski, D Anton Volchenkov, G Jean-Sebastien Giguère.
2006-2007 record: 38-32-10-2 for 88 PTS, 7th in the West
2007-2008 preview: The Ducks should once again be in the run for the playoffs with their strong defensive game and their young core of players.

Calgary Flames:
Average age: 25
Average height: 6-1
Average weight: 198
Notable players: RW Jarome Iginla, C Daymond Langkow, LW Fredrik Modin, D Dion Phaneuf, D Jordan Leopold, G Miikka Kiprusoff
2006-2007 record: 32-40-6-2 for 76 PTS, 11th in the West
2007-2008 preview: If the Flames are able to put points on the scoreboard, they will make the playoffs easily. Otherwise, which seems more likely, they'll have to fight hard to make it.

Chicago Blackhawks:
Average age: 26
Average height: 6-1
Average weight: 203
Notable Players: C Ladislav Nagy, C Mark Bell, LW Éric Dazé, LW Todd Bertuzzi, LW Kyle Calder, D Brent Seabrook, D Adrian Aucoin, G Nikolai Khabibulin
2006-2007 record: 44-24-6-8 for 102 PTS, 4th in the West
2007-2008 preview: The Blackhawks are a strong and united team who will try to build off last year's success to once again be one of the top teams in the conference.

Colorado Avalanche:
Average age: 27
Average height: 6-0
Average weight: 194
Notable Players: RW Milan Hejduk, LW Alex Tanguay, D John-Michael Liles, G José Théodore
2006-2007 record: 26-44-8-4 for 64 PTS, 13th in the West
2007-2008 preview: The Avs don't have impact players and don't have much depth and should once again be one of the bottom teams in the West.

Columbus Blue Jackets
Average age: 26
Average height: 6-1
Average weight: 197
Notable Players: RW Shane Doan, C Sergei Fedorov, LW Rick Nash, D Rostislav Klesla
2006-2007 record: 43-28-6-5 for 97 PTS, 6th in the West
2007-2008 preview: The Blue Jackets have one of the best first line in the leagues and have a lot of depth. They should be in the playoff run again this year.

Dallas Stars:
Average age: 26
Average height: 6-0
Average weight: 196
Notable Players: RW Jere Lehtinen, C Jason Arnott, LW Brendan Morrow, D Janne Niinimaa, G Marty Turco
2006-2007 record: 33-39-7-3 for 76 PTS, 12th in the West
2007-2008 preview: The Stars are thin once again this year and it would be surprising to see them in the playoffs picture.

Detroit Red Wings
Average age: 26
Average height: 6-0
Average weight: 196
Notable Players: RW Radek Dvorak, RW Owen Nolan, C Henrik Zetterberg, C Pavol Datsyuk, D Jiri Fischer, G Manny Legace
2006-2007 record: 28-46-6-2 for 64 PTS, 14th in the West
2007-2008 preview: Detroit will once again be one of the worse teams in the West with their lack of stars and depth.

Edmonton Oilers
Average age: 26
Average height: 6-1
Average weight: 198
Notable Players: RW Raffi Torres, C Shawn Horcoff, LW Ryan Smyth, LW Sergei Samsonov, D Chris Pronger, D Jason Smith, G Hannu Toivonen
2006-2007 record: 34-38-6-4 for 78 PTS, 10th in the West
2007-2008 preview: If they can stay healthy, the Oilers will be in the playoff run this year. Toivonen has the chance to prove he's among the top keepers in the league, something he hasn't been able to do since coming to the NHL.

Houston Spirit
Average age: 26
Average height: 6-1
Average weight: 199
Notable Players: LW Trevor Gordon, D Mike Commodore
2006-2007 record: 22-55-5-0 for 49 points, 15th in the West
2007-2008 preview: We can't see any chances for the Houston Spirit to make the playoffs; their fight will be to finish anywhere else from last in the league. A first overall pick in such a top heavy draft might not be so bad.

Los Angeles Kings
Average age: 27
Average height: 6-0
Average weight: 194
Notable Players: C Pavol Demitra, C Craig Conroy, LW Alexander Frolov, LW Brendan Morrison, D Lubomir Visnovsky
2006-2007 record: 44-28-5-5 for 98 points, 5th in the West
2007-2008 preview: The Kings have experience; they know what to do to win and they should in the middle of the playoff group again this year.

Minnesota Wild
Average age: 24
Average height: 6-1
Average weight: 195
Notable Players: RW Marian Gaborik, RW Pierre-Marc Bouchard, C Brian Rolston, D Ossi Väänänen, D Filip Kuba, D Keith Ballard, D Erik Johnson
2006-2007 record: 46-30-3-3 for 98 points, 3rd in the West
2007-2008 preview: The Wild have an unbelievable defence, some top notch fire power on offence, a great system and underrated goaltending. They are the favourites for the division again.

Nashville Predators
Average age: 26
Average height: 6-0
Average weight: 193
Notable Players: RW Steve Sullivan, C David Legwand, LW Paul Kariya, LW Scott Hartnell, D Kimmo Timonen, D Marek Zidlicky, D Ryan Suter, G Tomas Vokoun
2006-2007 record: 44-23-13-2 for 103 points, 2nd in the West
2007-2008 preview: After winning the cup against Carolina in 2005-2006, the Preds had another succesful season last year but it was cut short by a playoff upset to the Anaheim Ducks in the first round of the playoffs. They hope to have more success this year with a team more experienced.

San Jose Sharks
Average age: 25
Average height: 6-1
Average weight: 200
Notable Players: RW Alyn McCauley, RW Steve Bernier, C Joe Thornton, C Patrick Marleau, LW Milan Michalek, D Matthias Normström, D Scott Hannan, D Christian Ehrhoff, G Evgeny Nabokov
2006-2007 record: 51-20-9-2 for 113 points, 1st in the West
2007-2008 preview: Defending Stanley Cup champions, the San Jose Sharks, who beat Martin Brodeur's New Jersey Devils in the finals last year, are favourites for the President's trophy again this year.

St. Louis Blues
Average age: 25
Average height: 6-1
Average weight: 199
Notable Players: LW Jonathan Cheechoo, D Eric Brewer
2006-2007 record: 36-36-6-4 for 82 points, 8th in the West
2007-2008 preview: Their depth got them in the playoffs last year, although it was a bit of a surprise. The Blues will try to repeat this year, but experts think their lack of impact players will cost them in the long run.

Vancouver Canucks
Average age: 26
Average height: 6-1
Average weight: 195
Notable Players: RW Anson Carter, C Mike Ricci, C Ryan Kesler, LW Markus Näslund, LW Henrik Sedin, LW Martin Straka, D Ed Jovanovski, D Mattias Öhlund
2006-2007 record: 33-36-7-6 for 79 points, 9th in the West
2007-2008 preview: The Canucks will be in the fight for the playoffs, but their goaltending will, like it has been for so many years, will have the last word on their standing.

Prediction:
1. San Jose
2. Nashville
3. Minnesota
-
4. Chicago
5. Anaheim
6. Los Angeles
7. Columbus
8. Edmonton
-
9. Vancouver
10. Calgary
11. St. Louis
12. Dallas
13. Detroit
14. Colorado
15. Houston

[duff88]

The Hockey News Season Preview: Page 3

Top 10 Players by Position
Goaltender
1. Roberto Luongo - Florida Panthers - 28 Years Old - 34-17-7, 2.97, 89.9%
2. Kari Lehtonen - Atlanta Thrashers - 23 Years Old - 32-23-8, 2.87, 91.0%
3. Marc-André Fleury - Pittsburgh Penguins - 22 Years Old - 28-21-10, 2.63, 90.6%
4. Tomas Vokoun - Nashville Predators - 31 Years Old - 34-14-10, 2.63, 90.8%
5. Marty Turco - Dallas Stars - 32 Years Old - 27-29-6, 3.25, 89.5%
6. Manny Legace - Detroit Red Wings - 34 Years Old - 19-32-2, 3.10, 90.9%
7. Rick DiPietro - New York Islanders - 26 Years Old - 25-20-4, 2.86, 91.2%
8. Miikka Kiprusoff - Calgary Flames - 30 Years Old - 22-31-4, 3.23, 89.8%
9. Jean-Sébastien Giguère - Anaheim Ducks - 30 Years Old - 26-24-5, 3.05, .897%
10. Ryan Miller - Buffalo Sabres - 27 Years Old - 28-21-4, 2.96, .895%

Defenseman
1. Joni Pitkänen - Philadelphia Flyers - 24 Years Old - 80-15-41-56
2. Scott Niedermayer - Anaheim Ducks - 34 Years Old - 82-13-40-53
3. Chris Pronger - Edmonton Oilers - 32 Years Old - 82-11-32-43
4. Dmitri Kalinin - Buffalo Sabres - 27 Years Old - 81-9-37-46
5. Zdeno Chara - Ottawa Senators - 30 Years Old - 79-14-34-48
6. Dion Phaneuf - Calgary Flames - 22 Years Old - 73-11-29-40
7. Derek Morris - Pittsburgh Penguins - 29 Years Old - 82-11-37-48
8. Wade Redden - Ottawa Senators - 30 Years Old - 81-6-31-37
9. Brad Stuart - Boston Bruins - 27 Years Old - 82-9-30-39
10. Tomas Kaberle - Toronto Maple Leafs - 29 Years Old - 82-13-31-44

Wingers
1. Alexander Ovechkin - Washington Capitals - 22 Years Old - 82-30-38-68
2. Ilya Kovalchuk - New York Rangers - 24 Years Old - 82-43-45-88
3. Dany Heatley - Ottawa Senators - 26 Years Old - 80-35-34-69
4. Rick Nash - Columbus Blue Jackets - 23 Years Old - 82-42-40-82
5. Jarome Iginla - Calgary Flames - 30 Years Old - 82-38-29-67
6. Marian Gaborik - Minnesota Wild - 25 Years Old - 81-40-45-85
7. Jaromir Jagr - New York Rangers - 35 Years Old - 74-42-34-76
8. Paul Kariya - Nashville Predators - 32 Years Old - 77-35-42-87
9. Patrik Elias - New Jersey Devils - 31 Years Old - 82-34-31-65
10. Nathan Horton - Florida Panthers - 22 Years Old - 82-32-49-81

Centers
1. Sidney Crosby - Pittsburgh Penguins - 20 Years Old - 82-35-49-84
2. Eric Staal - Boston Bruins - 22 Years Old - 80-34-46-80
3. Joe Thornton - San Jose Sharks - 28 Years Old - 82-34-43-77
4. Peter Forsberg - Philadelphia Flyers - 34 Years Old - 82-36-52-88
5. Brad Richards - Tampa Bay Lightning - 27 Years Old - 82-37-50-87
6. Patrick Marleau - San Jose Sharks - 28 Years Old - 80-35-38-73
7. Vincent Lecavalier - Tampa Bay Lightning - 27 Years Old - 82-26-41-67
8. Olli Jokinen - Florida Panthers - 28 Years Old - 82-33-41-74
9. Pavol Demtria - Los Angeles Kings - 32 Years Old - 78-35-43-78
10. Jason Spezza - Ottawa Senators - 24 Years Old - 81-25-38-63

[duff88]

The Hockey News Season Preview: Page 4

Award Predictions

The hockey news list 5 potential candidates for each important trophies for the 2007-2008 season:

[duff88]

The Hockey News Season Preview: Page 5

Preliminary look at the 2008 Draft

This year is really a top-heavy draft with quite a few very good players available in the top 10. The depth is not very good though and after the top 20 it becomes somewhat of a crap shot. Filip Kraus, who will likely be picked 1st overall, could be a star in the NHL.

CSB Preliminary Rankings:
QMJHL
1. Yvan Boulay - RW - 5'11/201 - Power forward - Sherbrooke, Canada - Rouyn-Noranda Huskies
2. Sébastien Charette - RW - 5'11/201 - Offensive forward - Baie-Comeau, Canada - Baie-Comeau Drakkars
3. Michal Suk - LW - 6'0/172 - Plamaker - Zlin, Czech Republic - Rimouski Oceanic
4. Antoine Verville - C - 6'1/205 - Offensive forward - Valleyfield, Canada - Moncton Wildcats
5. Adam Sobral - D - 5'11/170 - Stay-at-home defenseman - Portland (MA), USA - Chicoutimi Saguenéens

OHL
1. Filip Kraus - C - 6'0/170 - Offensive forward - Kladno, Czech Republic - Plymouth Whalers
2. Ron Marshall - D - 6'3/215 - Offensive defenseman - Toronto, Canada - Owen Sound Attack
3. Paul Tait - RW - 6'1/208 - Offensive forward - London, Canada - London Knights
4. Erick Goto - D - 6'5/208 - Stay-at-home defenseman - Toronto, Canada - Erie Otters
5. Ken McAlpine - LW - 6'1/205 - Power forward - Toronto, Canada - Kingston Frontenac

WHL
1. Robert Sandler - C - 6'7/242 - Offensive forward - Edmonton, Canada - Saskatoon Blades
2. Ludek Prazak - LW - 6'0/195 - Offensive forward - Martin, Slovakia - Portland Winterhawks
3. Travis Hamilton - C - 6'3/217 - Two-way forward - Regina, Canada - Red Deer Rebels
4. Jay Faulk - C - 6'1/183 - Offensive forward - Vancouver, Canada - Kootenay Ice
5. Walter Harnad - LW - 6'3/226 - Offensive forward - Victoria, Canada - Kelowna Rockets

USA
1. Bert Calvin - RW - 6'4/224 - Playmaker - Green Bay, Wisconsin - Denver
2. Tarek Bartell - C - 6'3/218 - Two-way forward - Boston, USA - Colgate
3. Vic Archibald - LW - 6'1/134 - Offensive forward - Denver, USA - Denver
4. Jeff Fogarty - RW - 6'0/177 - Two-way forward - Bloomington, USA - Ferris State
5. Tim Vernetta - C - 6'4/233 - Role player - Cleveland, USA - Notre Dame

CZECH REPUBLIC
1. Pavel Dousa - D - 5'11/183 - Stay-at-home defenseman - Praha, Czech Republic - Znojmo
2. Marian Kopecky - RW - 6'1/200 - Two-way forward - Zlin, Czech Republic - Zlin
3. Pavel Zelenka - LW - 6'2/219 - Offensive forward - Budejovice, Czech Republic - Budejovice

SLOVAKIA
1. Marek Vojta - RW - 6'5/206 - Two-way forward - Nitra, Slovakia - HK 32 VA Liptovsky
2. Ondrej Gedeon - C - 6'4/214 - Power forward - Sevnica, Slovenia - Bratislava
3. Daniel Skalicky - C - 6'3/216 - Playmaker - Trencin, Slovakia - Dukla Trencin

SWEDEN
1. Ricard Eide - RW - 6'0/205 - Offensive forward - Örebro, Sweden - Björklöven
2. Ove Paulsen - C - 6'2/219 - Playmaker - Stockholm, Sweden - Djurgarden
3. Bernd Hanssen - D - 6'5/223 - Offensive defenseman - Stockholm, Sweden - AIK Stockholm

FINLAND
1. Juuka Jalkanen - RW - 6'1/201 - Playmaker - Kärpät, Finland - Kärpät
2. Hannu Rantanen - D - 5'11/168 - Stay-at-home defenseman - Helsinki, Finland - Jokerit Helsinki
3. Keimo Hautala - D - 6'0/169 - Stay-at-home defenseman - Turku, Finland - Lukko Rauma

RUSSIA
1. Sergei Gaidar - LW - 6'2/198 - Role player - St.Peterburgh, Russia - SKA St.Peterburg
2. Matvei Samokhvalov - C - 6'1/202 - Playmaker - Moscow, Russia - Yaroslav
3. Valery Karklins - C - 6'2/219 - Offensive forward - Yaroslav, Russia - Yaroslav

GOALTENDERS
1. Dean Cavil - G - 6'1/177 - Nanaimo, Canada - Moose Jaw Warriors
2. Shawn Lyndon - G - 6'4/226 - Sudbury, Canada - Brampton Battalion
3. Nikita Pushkov - G - 6'3/212 - Moscow, Russia - CSKA Moscow

The Hockey News Top 10:
1. Filip Kraus - C - 6'0/170 - Offensive forward - Kladno, Czech Republic - Plymouth Whalers
2. Ricard Eide - RW - 6'0/205 - Offensive forward - Örebro, Sweden - Björklöven
3. Ove Paulsen - C - 6'2/219 - Playmaker - Stockholm, Sweden - Djurgarden
4. Juuka Jalkanen - RW - 6'1/201 - Playmaker - Kärpät, Finland - Kärpät
5. Yvan Boulay - RW - 5'11/201 - Power forward - Sherbrooke, Canada - Rouyn-Noranda Huskies
6. Robert Sandler - C - 6'7/242 - Offensive forward - Edmonton, Canada - Saskatoon Blades
7. Dean Cavil - G - 6'1/177 - Nanaimo, Canada - Moose Jaw Warriors
8. Hannu Rantanen - D - 5'11/168 - Stay-at-home defenseman - Helsinki, Finland - Jokerit Helsinki
9. Pavel Dousa - D - 5'11/183 - Stay-at-home defenseman - Praha, Czech Republic - Znojmo
10. Marian Kopecky - RW - 6'1/200 - Two-way forward - Zlin, Czech Republic - Zlin

[Wolfpack]

Man, I hope the next iteration of EHM fixes the Canes. Staal a Bruin? Heinous!

[DeToxRox]

You're more thorough then my last physical.

Keep it up Duffy.

[duff88]

Spirit get one point in season-opening home-and-away games

Milan Michalek stole the show with three goals and an assist in the two games, being named the first star in both games.

It was a tough task for the Houston Spirit as they opened their season with a home-and-away series against none other than the defending stanley cup champions, the San Jose Sharks.

The first game started pretty poorly as the Sharks dominated the first period 16-4 in shots, taking an early 2-0 lead. The Spirit's fourth line finally opened the score as Magnus Kahnberg scored the first goal of the season for the Spirit at 27:27. It wasn't enough though as Milan Michalek completed the score to lead the Sharks to a 3-1 win over the Spirit.

The Spirit had the chance to redeem themselves the next day as they visited the Sharks at the HP Pavillon in San Jose. After giving Wade Dubielewicz the start in the first game, Sebastien Caron was now Brian Sutter's goaltender. Noah Welch tied the game at 1 before the end of the first period as Evgeny Nabokov let in a softie. After two quick goals by San Jose to start the second period, Kirill Boldin scored the first one of his career, a beauty with a accurate wrist shot top-shelf. Trevor Gordon was the hero of the night as he tied the game at three on a Powerplay in the third period and Houston was able to get away with one point in a 3-3 draw. Trevor Letowski spent the whole third period and overtime on the bench after taking four stupid penalties in the second period.

Houston will have a day off tommorow before playing in Minnesota. They'll then enjoy a four day break before the Hurricanes come to town.

Houston Spirit 1 , San Jose Sharks 3
Shots: 17 - 38
HOU PP: 0 of 0 (0 shots)
SJ PP: 0 of 2 (4 shots)
Attendance: 18800 of 18800 (Toyota Center)
               
Boxscore for the game:
------------------------------------------------------------
05:08 0-1 SJ Steven Zalewski [1] (Christian Ehrhoff, Mattias Norström)
07:45 0-2 SJ Ruslan Fedotenko [1] (Milan Michalek, Scott Hannan)
------------------------------------------------------------
27:27 1-2 HOU Magnus Kahnberg [1] (Trevor Letowski, Lance Ward)
------------------------------------------------------------
48:32 1-3 SJ Milan Michalek [1] (Joe Thornton, Patrick Rissmiller)
------------------------------------------------------------
Penalty summary:
-----------------
02:43 HOU Lance Ward (2 min for tripping)
08:06 HOU Jarkko Ruutu (2 min for high-sticking)
------------------------------------------------------------
33:05 SJ Kyle McLaren (2 min for roughing)
33:05 HOU Kirill Boldin (2 min for roughing)
35:12 SJ Steve Bernier (2 min for roughing)
35:12 HOU Jamie Heward (2 min for roughing)
------------------------------------------------------------
43:45 HOU Lance Ward (5 min for fighting)
43:45 SJ Scott Parker (5 min for fighting)
43:45 HOU Lance Ward (10 min game misconduct)
43:45 SJ Scott Parker (10 min game misconduct)
43:45 HOU Ville Skriko (2 min for roughing)
43:45 SJ Kyle McLaren (2 min for roughing)

Three stars of the game:
1st star: Milan Michalek
2nd star: Patrick Rissmiller
3rd star: Joe Thornton

San Jose Sharks 3 , Houston Spirit 3
Shots: 42 - 20
SJ PP: 1 of 4 (10 shots)
HOU PP: 1 of 1 (2 shots)
Attendance: 17438 of 17438 (HP Pavillion)
               
Boxscore for the game:
------------------------------------------------------------
09:59 1-0 SJ Milan Michalek [2] (Patrick Rissmiller, Scott Parker)
16:56 1-1 HOU Noah Welch [1] (Mike Commodore)
------------------------------------------------------------
24:18 2-1 SJ Milan Michalek [3] (Joe Thornton, Alyn McCauley)PP
28:13 3-1 SJ Patrick Rissmiller [1])
39:58 3-2 HOU Kirill Boldin [1] (Jamie Heward, Boyd Devereaux)
------------------------------------------------------------
48:41 3-3 HOU Trevor Gordon [1] (Randy Robitaille, Marty Reasoner)PP
------------------------------------------------------------
Penalty summary:
-----------------
00:09 SJ Scott Hannan (5 min for fighting)
00:09 HOU Noah Welch (5 min for fighting)
------------------------------------------------------------
20:17 HOU Trevor Letowski (2 min for tripping)
21:09 HOU Ville Skriko (2 min for roughing)
21:09 SJ Ruslan Fedotenko (2 min for roughing)
22:34 HOU Trevor Letowski (2 min for hooking)
32:16 HOU Trevor Letowski (2 min for high-sticking)
35:12 HOU Trevor Letowski (2 min for hooking)
------------------------------------------------------------
41:32 HOU Brad May (2 min for roughing)
41:32 SJ Christian Ehrhoff (2 min for roughing)
47:36 SJ Mark Smith (2 min for tripping)
------------------------------------------------------------

Three stars of the game:
1st star: Milan Michalek
2nd star: Sébastien Caron
3rd star: Patrick Rissmiller

[duff88]

Houston ends month of October on a roll

Marty Reasonner was the first ever Spirit to be named player of the month after scoring 6 goals and 7 assists for 13 points in 9 games in October.

Things didn't start well for Houston for the 2006-2007 season as they had only gotten one win and a tie in their first 6 games, but Houston has been excellent recently, winning their last two games and tying one before.

The Spirit end the month of October with a 3 wins, 4 losses and 2 ties for 8 points, 12th in the West. Marty Reasonner wins the October Spirit Player of the Month after scoring 6 goals, including one game winner, and adding 7 assists for 13 points while being +6. He was also named NHL Player of the Month, he's the first Spirit player to win the title in the team's young history. Minnesota's Benois Pouliot was named Rookie of the Month.

Sebastien Caron finally seem to have secured the starting spot, at least for now, after showing a lot more confidence in nets than Dubielewicz who lost his three starts.

The month of November won't be an easy one as the Spirit will play 14 games in 24 days between the 3rd and the 26th.

[duff88]

Spirit streak finally ends

Trevor Gordon scored his first career hat-trick in Houston's 7-4 win against Chicago!

With two wins in two days against Dallas and Chicago, the Houston Spirit continued their best unbeated streak in history up to five game (four wins and a tie).

After a 5-4 overtime win in Dallas where Brad May scored the game winner in overtime while Boyd Devereaux was named first star with two goals, the Houston Spirit went back home to beat the Chicago Blackhawks 7-4 in a game punctuated by Trevor Gordon's first career hat-trick, scoring his 5th, 6th and 7th goals raising him to a tie at 3rd place for NHL goal-scoring lead behind Alex Kovalev and Paul Kariya tied at 8.

Finally, on November 6th at the Gaylord Center in Nashville, after getting an early 2-0 lead, Houston were finally beaten by a 7-3 score as Sebastien Caron had a tough game allowing all seven goals on only 28 shots for a poor 75% save percentage.

[Travis]

Go Marty! Now if only he could break through like this in real life. Be a nice reward for a classy guy.

[duff88]

A long winless streak ponctuated by big injuries to end November

Mike Commodore was injured in Houston's 6-1 loss to Washington on November 16th after an intentional knee-to-knee hit by Matt Greene who was thrown out of the game but not suspended.

After the longest unbeated streak in the team's history where the Spirit went 4-0-1 in five consecutive game, the team went in a slump and were winless for the next ten games going 0-8-2.

To bring that winless streak even further, the team's captain Mike Commodore was injured on November 16th after a kneeing incident with Matt Greene. Commodore, who has now been out for a week, will still have to be sidelined for at least two weeks.

The Spirit finally won their first game on November 24th as Trevor Gordon scored twice, his two first goals since his hat-trick back on the fourth of November.

The last game of November, a 4-0 loss to LA on November 26th, saw another defenseman being injured as Mark Eaton suffered a groin injury. Eaton will be sidelined for at least a month.

The Spirit finish the month with a disappointing record of 6 wins, 13 losses and 4 ties in 23 games for 16 points; last in the league. Marty Reasoner was once again the Spirit Player of the Month with 5 goals and 5 assists for 10 points in 14 games as he barely surpassed Jamie Heward (14-2-5-7), Trevor Gordon (14-6-4-10) and Boyd Devereaux (14-5-4-9) in the votings. Jaromir Jagr (13-12-9-21) was the NHL Player of the Month while Jason Pominville was the NHL Rookie of the Month (12-7-8-15).

[duff88]

The Hockey News Season Update

Who's Hot:
Detroit Red Wings - Predicted 13th in the season preview, Manny Legace and a great defensive system is currently making them one of the top teams in the league.
Toronto Maple Leafs - Were placed dead last in the season preview, they are currently first in the league! The emergence of rookie Jason Pominville and the revival of superstar Eric Lindros plays a big role in the Leafs succes.
Washington Capitals - The great play of Dainius Zubrus, Alexander Ovechkin and Paul Mara is propulsing the Caps at unpredicted success right now.
Pittsburgh Penguins - The line of Malkin-Crosby-Armstrong is literally pulling this team alone. They will be devastating when Fleury starts to play at the top of his game.

Who's Not:
New Jersey Devils - No one thought the departure of Brodeur would have such a big impact; the Devils have allowed the most goals in the league so far with 90.
Houston Spirit - A bad team who loses key player to injuries... you have seen the result.
Ottawa Senators - One single win in their last 10 games; nothing too impressive.

[duff88]

Houston back on the right track

December has started pretty well for the Spirit as they have won their first three games. Furthermore, Mike Commodore is close to a return but the injuries to him and Eaton have been less serious than anticipated and Bryan Rodney and recent call-up Patrick Coulombe have done an excellent job in replacement. Coulombe has been so good, getting a goal and three assists in his three games, that he could very well earn a permanent spot on the roster.

Meanwhile, Jarkko Ruutu has been suspended for 9 games by the league's board after injurying Nicklas Hagman in a recent game against the Stars. Brad May will take his spot on the third line while Roman Tomanek will be inserted into the lineup.

[duff88]

Major NHL trade announcement

December 14th 2007
At 22:47 tonight, TSN announced that the Edmonton Oilers traded defenseman Jaroslav Spacek, right wing Raffi Torres and their 1st round pick in 2008 to the Tampa Bay Lightning for center Vincent Lecavalier, left wing Jonathan Ferland and goaltender Vasily Koshechkin.

Lecavalier, who is now 27 years old and commanding a 6,875,000$ contreact, had asked to be traded from the Lightning a few days ago because he couldn't get along with coach Paul Maurice and GM Doug Risebrough. In 23 games this year, he had scored 12 goals and 13 assists for 25 points. Along with Lecavalier, the Oilers get a good AHL forward in Jonathan Ferland and goaltender Vasily Koshechkin to add depth to their goaltending depth.

The trade is a huge gamble for Tampa Bay as the key part was the first round pick who could, if Edmonton's free fall continues, be in the top 10 of this heavy draft. Raffi Torres is still an impact player who should fit in nicely with Tampa after scoring 8 goals and 14 points in 23 games so far this season. Jaroslav Spacek add some depth to Tampa's defence as a capable second pairing defenseman.

The two teams had already been involved in a major trade at the same time a year ago when Ales Hemsky was traded to Tampa Bay.

[thealmighty]

Trevor "Flash" Gordon

Duh!!1!!

[duff88]

Toyota's "Nickname Your Favourite Player" Contest almost over

Although still taking suggestions, Toyota announced that the new nickname will be announced in exactly a week's time in a big press conference at the Toyota Center in Houston with Trevor Gordon unveiling his new nickname.

Rumours say that few suggestions have been given so far and there's a final boost given to add further marketting the contest. A source from the Spirit's staff says the current leaders would be:

Trevor "Flash" Gordon
"Magical" Trevor Gordon
Trevor "Ice Weasel" Gordon

Other rumours, although a bit far fetched, say that these are the only suggestions recieved so far indicating that there are only three Houston Spirit fans in the entire world.

The winner of the contest will play in a camp with some of the Houston Spirit players this summer, be named Houston Spirit Fan of the Year and get his name raised to the rafters on the back of a small honorific fan jersey at the top of the Toyota Center.

[condors]

Trever "GORE! GORE! GORE!" Gordon

[Blade6119]

Trevor "Ice Princess" Gordon

[Johnny93g]

Originally Posted by duff88

Prediction:
1. Florida
2. Ottawa
3. New York R
-
4. Buffalo
5. Philadelphia
6. Pittsburgh
7. Atlanta
8. New Jersey
-
9. Boston
10. Tampa Bay
11. New York I
12. Montreal
13. Washington
14. Carolina
15. Toronto

I was about to write the hockey news a angry angry letter before i saw my boys dominate the 1st to months!!!!!
How did the Leafs acquire Pomminville

[Wolfpack]

Trevor "Don't Call Me Tom" Gordon?

[thealmighty]

Trevor "Hanging Chad" Gore-don?

[duff88]

December 24th Press Conference Post-Poned

The press conference was going to happen at 13:00 on December 24th, but the Houston Spirit and Trevor Gordon decided to postpone it until the all-star break following the announcement of one of the biggest trades in NHL history:

The Pittsburgh Penguins trades Johannes Salmonsson, Petr Taticek, Bryan Little, Bobby Nadeau, their 1st round picks in 2008, 2009 and 2010 as well as Ottawa's 1st round pick in 2009 to Washinton for Alexander Ovechkin.

The Pittsubugh Penguins, who were 7th in the East and in a huge free-fall at the announcement, will have one of the most dominating line ever with Evgeni Malkin at left wing, Sidney Crosby at center, Alexander Ovechkin at right wing, Derek Morris and Sergei Gonchar on defense.

The trade came as a huge surprise as Washington were second in the NHL at the time of the announcement and most of what they got prospects and draft picks in return for the superstar.

[duff88]

New Year has come, Houston still in the race

Randy Robitaille was named the Houston Spirit Player of the Month for December.

The Spirit had their best month of the season in December winning 7 games and only losing 5, adding one loss in OT for a total of 15 points. This impressive month wasn't enough to boost the Spirit's standings though as they are still dead last in their conference.

Houston still has all the chance in the world in making the playoffs as this is one of the most even season in the recent history of the NHL with only 7 points separating the Los Angeles Kings in fifth place and the Houston Spirit in last place.

Randy Robitaille, who scored 6 goals and added 9 assists for 15 points in 13 games in December, was named the Spirit Player of the Month. Dany Heatley (15-10-12-22) was the NHL Player of the Month while Kiel McLeod was the NHL Rookie of the Month.

January will be an important month for the Spirit as they will know if they are in the playoff race for good or if they are going to fight for the last spot once again.

[duff88]

Huge expectations for Wagner in World Junior Championships

Wagner firing one of his deadly slapper in last year's 6-3 win over Russia in the 2007 WJC.

The 2008 World Junior Championships will start this week in Italy. 16 Nations will be batling for the championship in the following two weeks. Here's a prediction for each group with the Spirit players, their draft status and their expected role:

GROUP A
1. Canada [Carl Dewolf, 103rd overall pick in 2007, 3rd pairing D]
2. Sweden [Niclas Andersén, 91st pick in 2007, 2nd pairing D]
3. Latvia
4. France
GROUP B
1. Finland
2. Switzerland
3. Belarussia
4. Norway
GROUP C
1. USA [Michael Wagner, 1st overall pick in 2007, 1st line]
2. Russia [Vitali Khromchinkov, 31st overall pick in 2006, 2nd line]
3. Slovenia
4. Italy
GROUP D
1. Czech Republic [David Ruzicka, 136th overall pick in 2006, 1st pairing D]
2. Slovakia
3. Austria
4. Japan

Spirit fans are expecting huge results from 2007 1st overall pick Michael Wagner who currently plays for the Wisconsin Badgers. Wagner, who's Badgers are currently rated #2 in the country, will be the first line center of the american team with Peter Mueller and Blake Geoffrion on his wings.

Meanwhile, there was another major trade in the NHL. The Carolina Hurricanes traded goaltender Cam Ward, 2007 4th overall pick Martin Olausson, Craig Adams, Igor Antonenko, Blake Geoffrion and Miroslav Broz to the Ottawa Senators for Jason Spezza and Ray Emery.

[duff88]

Wagner impresses, fall short of gold

Michael Wagner and the US WJC team had a great tournament, but they fell short of the gold medal losing 5-4 to the Sweden in the finals. Canada won the bronze by beating Russia.

Wagner still had a wonderful tournament, winning the leading scorer title, the best forward title and a place on the all-tournament team after scoring 3 goals and adding 10 assists for 13 points in 6 games.

AWARDS:
Gold Medal - Sweden
Silver Medal - USA
Bronze Medal - Canada
MVP - Martin Olausson [SWE]
Best Forward - Michael Wagner [USA]
Best Defenseman - Jonas Junland [SWE]
Best Goaltender - Antonin Soukup [CZE]

ALL-STAR TEAM:

Ken Sjöblöm [SWE] - Michael Wagner [USA] - Martin Olausson [SWE]
Jonas Junland [SWE] - David Ruzicka [CZE]
Antonin Soukup [CZE]

SCORING TOP 10:
1. Michael Wagner (USA) 3+10=13
2. Ken Sjöblom (SWE) 5+6=11
3. Jan-Mikael Juutilainen (FIN) 6+4=10
4. Martin Olausson (SWE) 4+6=10
5. Sergei Andrievsky (RUS) 4+6=10
6. Jean-Sebastien Beauchesne (CAN) 6+3=9
7. Henri Valqvist (SWE) 4+5=9
8. Brendan Hart (USA) 2+7=9
9. Pierre-Marc Gagnon (CAN) 1+8=9
10. Nicklas Bäckström (SWE) 1+8=9

[duff88]

Midterm CSB DRAFT rankings released

North-American Rankings
1. Filip Kraus - C - 6'0/170 - Offensive forward - Kladno, Czech Republic - Plymouth Whalers
2. Yvan Boulay - RW - 5'11/201 - Power forward - Sherbrooke, Canada - Rouyn-Noranda Huskies
3. Robert Sandler - C - 6'7/242 - Offensive forward - Edmonton, Canada - Saskatoon Blades
4. Michal Suk - LW - 6'0/172 - Plamaker - Zlin, Czech Republic - Rimouski Oceanic
5. Adam Sobral - D - 5'11/170 - Stay-at-home defenseman - Portland (MA), USA - Chicoutimi Saguenéens
6. Ron Marshall - D - 6'3/215 - Offensive defenseman - Toronto, Canada - Owen Sound Attack
7. Tarek Bartell - C - 6'3/218 - Two-way forward - Boston, USA - Colgate
8. Travis Hamilton - C - 6'3/217 - Two-way forward - Regina, Canada - Red Deer Rebels
9. Vic Archibald - LW - 6'1/134 - Offensive forward - Denver, USA - Denver
10. Ludek Prazak - LW - 6'0/195 - Offensive forward - Martin, Slovakia - Portland Winterhawks

North-American Goalies
1. Shawn Lyndon - G - 6'4/226 - Sudbury, Canada - Brampton Battalion
2. Dean Cavil - G - 6'1/177 - Nanaimo, Canada - Moose Jaw Warriors
3. Thomas Forgette - G - 6'1/186 - Quebec, Canada - Moncton Wildcats

European Skaters
1. Juuka Jalkanen - RW - 6'1/201 - Playmaker - Kärpät, Finland - Kärpät
2. Ove Paulsen - C - 6'2/219 - Playmaker - Stockholm, Sweden - Djurgarden
3. Ricard Eide - RW - 6'0/205 - Offensive forward - Örebro, Sweden - Björklöven
4. Marian Kopecky - RW - 6'1/200 - Two-way forward - Zlin, Czech Republic - Zlin
5. Sergei Gaidar - LW - 6'2/198 - Role player - St.Peterburgh, Russia - SKA St.Peterburg
6. Valery Karklins - C - 6'2/219 - Offensive forward - Yaroslav, Russia - Yaroslav
7. Bernd Hanssen - D - 6'5/223 - Offensive defenseman - Stockholm, Sweden - AIK Stockholm
8. Matvei Samokhvalov - C - 6'1/202 - Playmaker - Moscow, Russia - Yaroslav
9. Pavel Zelenka - LW - 6'2/219 - Offensive forward - Budejovice, Czech Republic - Budejovice
10. Pavel Dousa - D - 5'11/183 - Stay-at-home defenseman - Praha, Czech Republic - Znojmo

European Goalies
1. Nikita Pushkov - G - 6'3/212 - Moscow, Russia - CSKA Moscow
2. Aapo Nousiainen - G - 6'4/203 - Tamperre, Finland - Tappara Tampere
3. Vitaly Ibragimov - G - 5'11/199 - Togliatti, Russia - Vitjaz Podolsk

THN Top-15
1. Filip Kraus - C - 6'0/170 - Offensive forward - Kladno, Czech Republic - Plymouth Whalers
2. Ove Paulsen - C - 6'2/219 - Playmaker - Stockholm, Sweden - Djurgarden
3. Juuka Jalkanen - RW - 6'1/201 - Playmaker - Kärpät, Finland - Kärpät
4. Walter Harnad - LW - 6'3/226 - Burnaby, Canada - Kelowna Rockets
5. Yvan Boulay - RW - 5'11/201 - Power forward - Sherbrooke, Canada - Rouyn-Noranda Huskies
6. Ricard Eide - RW - 6'0/205 - Offensive forward - Örebro, Sweden - Björklöven
7. Dean Cavil - G - 6'1/177 - Nanaimo, Canada - Moose Jaw Warriors
8. Robert Sandler - C - 6'7/242 - Offensive forward - Edmonton, Canada - Saskatoon Blades
9. Adam Sobral - D - 5'11/170 - Stay-at-home defenseman - Portland (MA), USA - Chicoutimi Saguenéens
10. Marian Kopecky - RW - 6'1/200 - Two-way forward - Zlin, Czech Republic - Zlin
11. Sergei Gaidar - LW - 6'2/198 - Role player - St.Peterburgh, Russia - SKA St.Peterburg
12. Nikita Pushkov - G - 6'3/212 - Moscow, Russia - CSKA Moscow
13. Shawn Lyndon - G - 6'4/226 - Sudbury, Canada - Brampton Battalion
14. Erick Goto - D - 6'5/208 - Stay-at-home defenseman - Toronto, Canada - Erie Otters
15. Travis Hamilton - C - 6'3/217 - Two-way forward - Regina, Canada - Red Deer Rebels

Rising
Ove Paulsen - He could challenge Kraus for the first overall choice. He has unbelievable vision and passing skills.
Walter Harnad - He isn't in the top 30 of any other scouting service; this is non-sense. This guy will be a regular 30 goal scorer in the NHL.
Dean Cavil - He's single handedly pulling the Warriors to a playoff birth.

Fallin
Bert Calvin - This guy hasn't showed anything that was worthy of being in our top 15 at the beginning of the year. He'll be lucky to be drafted!
Pavel Dousa - Doesn't work; has the skill but lacks the consistency. He won't be a first round pick.
Robert Sandler - He's still in the top 10 based on potential, but his skating is a problem. A 6'7 center is a huge gamble, he'll be a boom or bust.

[duff88]

All-star teams announced; no Houston player selected

Kari Lehtonen, who is among the favourite for this year's Vezina trophy, was named Team World's starter for the 2008 NHL All-star game in his team's home city Atlanta.

January 22nd
Even though Marty Reasonner, has scored 18 goals and 28 assists for 46 points in 46 games, which places him 29th in league scoring, he was overlooked for the all-star game.

The all-star roster, announced a week ago, is still pretty impressive even without Reasonner:

TEAM NORTH AMERICA

Paul Kariya - Joe Thornton - Jarome Iginla
Simon Gagné - Brad Richards - Martin St. Louis
Mike Johnson - Jason Spezza - Dany Heatley
Rick Nash - Sidney Crosby - Nathan Horton

Philippe Boucher - Brent Seabrook
Brian Rafalski - Scott Niedermayer
Erik Johnson - Bryan Berard

Manny Legace
Roberto Luongo
Rick DiPietro

TEAM WORLD

Milan Michalek - Peter Forsberg - Jaromir Jagr
Martin Havlat - Pavol Demitra - Milan Hejduk
Alexander Frolov - Olli Jokinen - Alex Kovalev
Ilya Kovalchuk - Alexei Yashin - Alexander Ovechkin

Tomas Kaberle - Kimmo Timonen
Dmitri Kalinin - Karel Rachunek
Joni Pitkänen - Martin Skoula

Kari Lehtonen
Tomas Vokoun
Anterro Niittymäki

Meanwhile, Trevor Gordon set a career high with four assists in today's 5-3 win over Nashville. Gordon still hasn't scored a goal in ten games in January. The Spirit are now 14th in the west, 4 points away from the Edmonton Oilers and the 8th place that would qualify them for the playoffs at the end of the season.

[duff88]

Houston still in the run

Trevor Gordon was named the Houston Spirit Player of the Month for the first time of the season after scoring 3 goals and 12 assists for 15 points in 14 games.

Nothing earth-shattering happened during the month of January. Houston's coach Brian Sutter said it was going to be a determining month for his team, but looking at it now, we can see that the team is still in the same position as they were in December.

After going 6-6-1-1 for 14 points in 14 games, Houston is 14th in the West, 5 points away from Los Angeles who are 8th. Trevor Gordon was the Player of the Month for the Spirit as he scored 3 goals and 12 assists for 15 points in 14 games.

Without much surprise, the Phenoms line, as was nicknamed the Malkin-Crosby-Ovechkin first line, offered ground-breaking performances night after night and one of them was named Player of the Month in the NHL: Evgeni Malkin, who scored 11 goals and 13 assists for 24 points in 14 games. Washinghton's Jonas Johansson was named Rookie of the Month with 11 goals and 6 assists for 17 points in 14 games.

[duff88]

The Hockey News Season Update

Who's Hot:
Pittsburgh Penguins - They've been unbelievably good since acquiring Ovechkin; the Phenoms line is destroying everything in sight and the team seem unstoppable right now.
Boston Bruins - They have played very well through January and at this rate, they will make the playoffs, something that was a bit far-fetched a month ago.
Columbus Blue Jackets - They aren't the most talented team, but they work hard and win games. They can beat any team in the league right now.
Nashville Predators - They have been the most consistent team of the year and they are currently the top team in the West.

Who's Not:
Toronto Maple Leafs - Weren't they first in the East less than two months ago? The Leafs are in a true nightmare right now.
Detroit Red Wings - If they don't put their act together soon, the Wings will fall where they belong which is at the bottom of the Western conference. They're falling fast, but they still have time to react.
New Jersey Devils - They haven't been hot all year, and they still aren't. It's pretty simple, having to average 5 goals a game to win is a pretty tough task.
Dallas Stars - They are in the same situation as the Red Wings, who are mentionned earlier, the only advantage is that they are not in as big of a hole.

[duff88]

NHL holds its All-Star Weekend

Team North America won the puck control relay with a team of Sidney Crosby, Paul Kariya and Joe Thornton.

Paul Kariya of Team North America won the fastest skater competition, beating Ilya Kovalchuk in the final.

Zdeno Chara of Team World won the hardest shot competition with a result of 102 MPH, beating Joe Thornton in the final.

Sidney Crosby of Team North America won the accuracy shooting competition, beating Joni Pitkänen in the final.

Manny Legace of Team North America won the goalie competition (pass&score), beating Kari Lehtonen in the final.

Team North America won the breakaway relay with a team of Sidney Crosby, Simon Gagné and Joe Thornton.

In the actual all-star game, Team World beat Team North America 13-9. Jaromir Jagr was the MVP with an unbelievable 3 goals and 3 assists for 6 points in 17:00 of icetime.

Meanwhile, it was announced today in a press conference that the Toyota Nickname Your Favourite Player Contest as drawn to a close and that Trevor Gordon will now be known as Trevor "Flash" Gordon. Those who won the contest are invited to communicate with the Houston office by Personnal Message.

[duff88]

February kills the Spirit

Captain Mike Commodore was named Player of the Month as he was the player who showed the most determination and consistency as well as putting points on the board.

The Spirit's season is pretty much on the way to be over. Houston seemed tired and hurt during the month of february and most of the time were not in the game as they won only once and lost 10 games for only 2 points.

The Spirit are now 13 points away from Chicago for the 8th place in the west and although everything is still possible, chances to see them make the playoffs are now extremely slim.

Mike Commodore, who scored a goal and added 6 assists in 11 games, was named Houston Spirit Player of the Month. Pittsburgh's Alexander Ovechkin (12-9-10-19) was the NHL Player of the Month while Jason Pominville (14-6-9-15), a former waiver pickup by the Leafs, was Rookie of the Month.

[duff88]

Trade Deadline passes, Houston give up on playoffs

General Manager Jeff Chynoweth traded Brad May and Jamie Heward, both in their last year of contract and who could very well retire during the summer, to the Los Angeles Kings for fifth round picks in 2008 and 2009.

"Brad and Jamie played a major role in keeping us in the race for so long, but they deserve to play with a contender in their last year."

Among other deals:
-Toronto traded Rookie of the Year candidate Jason Pominville to Vancouver for Ryan Russel, Vladimir Nikiforov and Jonathan Neault. The key return in that trade for Toronto is Neault, a defenseman drafted 12th overall in 2007.
-St. Louis traded former 2nd overall pick in 2006 Ville Kumpula and a 3rd round pick to Atlanta for the 15th overall pick in 2007 Niklas Solheim, Marty Sertich and Atlanta's 1st round pick in 2008.
-Minnesota traded another Rookie of the Year candidate, Benoit Pouliot, along with Marc Chouinard and Brent Burns, to Boston for Marco Sturm, Matt Hunwick and Jan Kubista.
-Los Angeles traded prospect Lee Kawaguchi, drafted in the late first round in 2007, to Toronto for succesful rookie alexander Suglobov.
-Detroit trades Johan Franzén and Colin Peters to Pittsburgh for Colby Armstrong
-Philadelphia traded Simon Gagné to St. Louis for three prospects and conditionnal first round picks in 2009 and 2011.
-Washington traded prospect goaltender Boyd Playfair and defenseman Sasha Pokulok to Montreal for Mike Ribeiro.

Meanwhile, every player on the roster, excepting Magnus Kähnberg who is expected to become a UFA and Randy Robitaille who has a team option in his contract, has signed a new deal with the team. A more indepth look at contracts will be given at the beginning of next season.

[duff88]

Number 8 the best in poor month of March

Ville Skriko, who leads the team in shots blocked, has become a fan favourite with his exciting play.

Not much history to be said, the Spirit were almost sure of being eliminated and they weren't strong enough to be on-par with most teams. In 17 games, Houston had 4 wins, 11 losses and 2 ties. With one match less left playing, the Spirit are one point ahead of St. Louis for the last place in the league.

Ville Spirko was the Spirit Player of the Month in March with 2 goals and 5 assists for 7 points in 17 games. Vancouver's Markus Näslund (15-13-10-23) was NHL Player of the Month while Nashville's Brandon Bochenski (15-8-6-14) was NHL Rookie of the Month.

[JeffNights]

Trevor "G-Unit" Gordon

[Izulde]

Nothing to add other than that I'm enjoying the dynasty and following it.

I assume you're using one of the NHL console games for the screencaps?

[duff88]

Season ends; Houston finishes 29th!

The Houston Spirit finally won their last two games to avoid the third consecutive humiliation of finishing last in the entire NHL; finising a point in front of the St. Louis Blues.

Series Prediction

1 Minnesota Wild against Dallas Stars 8 - The Wild have one of the best defense in the league and play a very tight system while the Stars made the playoffs based mostly on their hard work. PREDICTION - Minnesota in 6.
2 San Jose Sharks against Chicago Blackhawks 7 - Chicago has ended the regular season on a great note to make the playoffs, but San Jose is one of the biggest power in the NHL. PREDICTION - San Jose in 5
3 Nashville Predators against Columbus Blue Jackets 6 - On paper, Columbus has the best team. Nashville had a better season and look better on the ice. Should be an interesting series. PREDICTION - Columbus in 7
4 Los Angeles Kings against Anaheim Ducks 5 - This all-californian series should be a tight one and fans can only hope that a bitter rivalry finally arises. PREDICTION - Los Angeles in 6


1 Buffalo Sabres against Philadelphia Flyers 8 - Should be a tighter serie than the rankings could tell. PREDICTION - Buffalo in 6
2 Pittsburgh Penguins against Florida Panthers 7 - Can Luongo's Panthers shut down the Phenoms line four games out of seven? Doubtful; the Penguins are Stanley Cup favourites entering into the playoffs. PREDICTION - Pittsburgh in 5
3 Carolina Hurricanes against Atlanta Thrashers 6 - Despite the rankings, Atlanta are the favourites as Lehtonen is expected to help shut down the Hurricanes. PREDICTION - Atlanta in 6
4 Ottawa Senators against New York Rangers 5 - The Rangers are on a roll, this should be a close series but it's tough to think the Rangers can lose. PREDICTION - New York in 6

The nominies for the Toyota Cup, given to the Houston Spirit MVP, have been annouced: Marty Reasonner, Trevor Gordon and Noah Welch. The award will be given next week in the "Fans' Appreciation Day at the Toyota Center". All players and staff as well as team owner Tseng-Lee Chong-Hoa Wing-Tong Kim will be present to meet the fans, discuss Spirit Hockey and sign autographs.

Alexander Frolov wins the Art Ross trophy for best scorer while Alexander Ovechkin wins the Maurice Richard trophy for best goalscorer. The Buffalo Sabres are the winners of the President's trophy for best regular season team.

The NHL Draft Lottery, which will include all non-playoff teams and for which the winner will move up 4 spots in the Draft will be held after the first round. St. Louis, who finished last, will have 250 balls out of 1000. For finishing 29th, the Spirit will get 188 balls. Among other teams who have a shot at the first overall pick, Boston has 142 balls, Edmonton has 107 balls and the Islanders have 81 balls. All teams will drop one spot if a team surpass by winning the lottery, meaning the Calgary Flames could also surpass the Spirit if they win with one of their 62 balls.

[duff88]

Originally Posted by Izulde

Nothing to add other than that I'm enjoying the dynasty and following it.

I assume you're using one of the NHL console games for the screencaps?

NHL 2004; I hate EA's games but I admit they have good graphics.

Don't hesitate to post even if you have nothing to say; it can sometimes cheer up to see someone is actually reading.

[duff88]

Reasoner wins Toyota Cup!

After scoring a new record in goals (27), assists (39) and points (66) in 82 games with the Spirit, Marty Reasoner won the Toyota Cup given to the team's MVP. This is the third edition of the award given, it had previously been given to Mike Commodore and Trevor Gordon. Reasoner surpassed Noah Welch and Trevor Gordon in the votings.

2005-2006 - #2 Mike Commodore (82-4-26-30)
2006-2007 - #10 Trevor Gordon (82-19-27-46)
2007-2008 - #19 Marty Reasoner (82-27-39-66)

1 Minnesota Wild against Chicago Blackhawks 7 - Anything is possible after Chicago surprised San Jose in the first round; they are currently the hottest team in the playoffs. This promises to be a close serie, but Minnesota is the better team. Prediction - Minnesota in 6
4 Los Angeles Kings against 6 Columbus Blue Jackets - Teams couldn't be closer on paper; this one could go either way. Prediction - Columbus in 7


1 Buffalo Sabres against Ottawa Senators 4 - Buffalo were the regular season champions while the Senators beat the excellent Rangers; Buffalo still gets the edge. Prediction - Buffalo in 6
2 Pittsburgh Penguins against Carolina Hurricanes 3 - If I had to beat my house, I'd bet it here. Pittsburgh looks like a dynasty in the making. Prediction - Pittsburgh in 4

Meanwhile, the New York Islanders won the NHL Draft Lottery and will select #1 in the 2008 Draft. Therefore, Houston's pick falls to #3 overall.

[mooreadamc]

Are you using NHL:EHM? I never knew you could add teams.