Good News/ Bad News/ Circular rantings

Today is Monday. Everybody hates Monday. I hate Monday because I just found out that the Sea Dogs have traded 20 year old defensive forward Francois Gauthier to the Val d'Or Foreurs. I am now in a very pissy mood. This clears up a place for another 20 year old on the Sea Dogs roster. The big question now is which 20YO are the Sea Dogs looking to pick up?

Mondays also mean that the QMJHL have announced their players of the week and Sportsnet has put out its hot/not list.

Let’s start with the good news:

Everybody’s baby boyfriend Olivier Roy (he has all the girl bloggers cooing) of the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles is the QMJHL defensive player of the week. So far this season Olivier has had 7 starts with no losses. This past weekend he had two wins over the Lewiston Maineiacs (including a 5-0 shutout) coming out with a 1.0 GAA and 0.961 save %. Sportsnet is also currently running a feature on Olivier Bellavance-Roy.

If you are going to build a fenced-in area it has to be used for something very special. I am going to build a small fenced-in area and put Olivier in it. I do not want those nasty Cape Breton skanks putting their hands on his preciousness. I hope he manages to leave Cape Breton and the Q in an STD free state.

Also rans include Drew Paris (Defence – Titan), TJ Brennan (Defence – Montreal) and Charles Lavigne (Goaltending – Remparts).

Does anybody remember when Charlie got traded from Moncton to the Quebec Remparts and everybody boo-booed the trade saying that my pokey Charlie could not hack it on a contending team because he was not such a good goalie. They said that he would simply be used for trade at X-mas. Man those people suck ‘eh. The folks of Moncton, and I, and probably Charlie’s parents were all NUTS TO YOU JERKS. It turns out that we were right. All Charlie really needed was a better team in front of him. He has skillz. That was never the issue. Lavigne currently has 5 wins, 1 loss a 2.14 GAA and .927 save %. I will now purr at Charles Lavigne and knead this former Wildcat like a kitty. That will be his prize.

There is really no way of explaining why Jonathan Roy is also doing well backstopping the same team. I assume in his case it is just fluke.

Ummmm – the hard part

Sportsnet has also announced its hot and cold players/teams of the week. The QMJHL cold player for the week is Mark Yetman. Ouch. They even take the time to point out that he could very well lose his job if he keeps it up with the low caliber of his play. Double ouch.

It is one thing when I say it; it is completely another when it is shouted out on a national sports website. Mark currently has one win, seven losses, a 3.98 and 0.838 save % for the season. This weekend he allowed 11 goals on 49 shots – he basically stopped only 1 in every 4 shots on net.

Mr Yetman may need to take his brain and place it firmly back in his cranium where it is most useful for coordinating the motor response to a visual stimulus. I fear that sometimes he (like many a Junior hockey player and average young man) keeps his brain stored someplace much less useful. That being said, it is so easy to blame the goalie (even one with an occasionally misplaced cortex). I, like many others, have to remember that while Mark’s performance thus far this season has been underwhelming, he is a real human boy with real human boy thoughts and feelings. I constantly afforded sympathies and respect to Pier when his performance was underwhelming, so why do I have a hard time doing it with Mark?*

This is not professional hockey, it is junior hockey, a development league even, and Mark (or Mathieu) is not only still developing but he has thirteen*** rookies in front of him (and quite possibly an incompetent coaching staff behind him). Admittedly, some rookie goalies (ahem, OBR) have managed to do much better under similar circumstances, but those goalies were touched by God and also play for a team which may be competently coached.

I am going to go hunt down our netminders now and hold them reassuringly tight to my bosom. Yetman will be nuzzled into my chestful of warm embrace and all I will hear are some mufflings about my having to buy a 15 game pack**…then something about a big stick. Oh sweety, I already have a 15 game pack and all of the associated privileges. Thanks though. Now what were you saying about a big stick?

____________________________________________

*I actually know the answer to this question, but refuse to say it here.

** Seriously, the in-game promo ads are very 'dur'. Why choose Mark to do them and not Logan? Dullardry! Mark is too wooden (that’s what she said). It could be worse; it could be IR Pender or IR Cheremetiev – we must be saving Yuri for next season. At least Mark doesn’t sound stupid.

***Mistake, I blame it on the Q website. We have 14 rookies: 13 skaters 1 goaltender. Snow, Earle and Chisholm are not listed as rookies on the Q Mooseheads page.