Feed the birds

The NHL preliminary 2011 draft rankings were released today and the Mooseheads own Brent Andrews is listed at #14 for the QMJHL.

Ein Augustinerbrau, bitte.

Dearest Konrad

We must celebrate. A toast to Germany. Proust!

Q-girl

Re. the Euro draft

Ok that was a start. The blog has been a little slow going because I am out of province. I am currently in Igloolik Nunavut on a rationed internet feed. It is about 3100 km from Halifax to Igloolik. It is about 5550 km to Bad Tolz Germany, home of our new Euro draft pick Konrad Abeltshauser. Thus I am still closer than Konrad.

Mr Abeltshauser is a bold new departure for the Moose. Really, like, he is not Czech! When was the last time my team had a non-Czech Euro?

The Moose picked Abeltshauser with the 28^th overall pick, which they received from Cape Breton in a little trade.

I have been in discussions with my German friend, and future wife of Steve Lund (the game worn jersey gives her dibs) CG, and am now convinced that the Mooseheads have picked Abeltshauser, a Bavarian, for the sole purpose of wooing her back to Halifax. If she has a favorite thing in hockey it is 6’3” defencemen; and if she has a favorite thing in men it is tall Bavarians who can handle their Bier.

If you need to know more just read Matthew Wuest’s blog post. Ohhh it has an updated depth chart. I will file that in my brain under “stupid things I need to know”. It is right up there with “if glia of the fruitfly cannot engage in endocytosis, that fly will die with in 3 days”.

Perhaps I will nickname him " the kaiser". I have to go practice my German now.

Re. The NHL draft:

I am very disappointed by the NHL for failing to recognize talent where they see it. Olivier Roy – 5^th round…and to Edmonton. Bah humbug! Sorry kiddo.

…and really New Jersey! Ashton Bernard! I should dump your ass for that one.

Unfortunately, Gabe (the First) got passed over, even though he has more skills than just fighting. Often boys get passed over and their true potential is not realized until they are older. People who watch Jr hockey once a year (you know, at New Years) have no clue what is really available out there. They hear stuff, but they don’t know what these kids actually play like. Then they pretend they know because they read a few scouting reports. Hooey! Sometimes there is bandwagoning for or against a player. That is also hooey.

Often boys get passed over and it doesn’t even mean they were a "slow developer". Nicola Riopel was never slow, he was simply just not favored. He is good, but his team is good defensively and so maybe people doubted him because of it. Philly made a good, albeit boring, choice with Riopel. I mean, he is no Emery or Biron or Hextall, but he is serviceable and would likely make a good husband. There is something decidedly un-Philly like about this pick. They made up for it by acquiring Pronger and Emery. I guess they wanted a little sweet to go with their sour.

I am pissed at Pittsburg for once again selecting one of my favorite players in the Q by choosing Simon Despres with the 30^th overall pick. My boyfriend has recommended that I should just be a scout for Pittsburgh since they take all of my favorite fucking players. How the hell am I supposed to hate them when / if they have Talbot, Letang, Despres, Veilleux, and Grant (and maybe just maybe Zach Sill) on their roster. I didn’t always hate MAF you know! There was a time….before he was a Penguin. I swear to God! The Penguin’s scouts are reading my blog and plotting their next move against me.

Compiling draft videos

I have been to the NHL's Youtube page and spotted a couple of other 2008 Draft day videos featuring QMJHL players. I am going to post them here.

PHILIPPE CORNET Rimouski - Tampa Bay #133







JOEL CHAMPAGNE Chicoutimi - Toronto #129

NHL Draft: Rounds 5-7 (one day late)

Round 5:
126 Kevin Poulin, G, Victoriaville - NEW YORK ISLANDERS
129 Joel Champagne, C, Chicoutimi - TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS
133 Philippe Cornet, LW, Rimouski - EDMONTON OILERS
134 Jacob Lagace, LW, Chicoutimi - BUFFALO SABRES
141 Chris Doyle, C, P.E.I - NEW YORK RANGERS

Round 6:
152 Mark Barberio, D, Moncton - TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING
167 Joel Chouinard, D, Victoriaville - COLORADO AVALANCHE

Round 7:
186 Jason Demers, D, Victoriaville - SAN JOSE SHARKS
195 Samuel Morneau, LW, Baie-Comeau - CAROLINA HURRICANES
205 Jean-Sebastien Berube, LW, Rouyn-Noranda - NEW JERSEY DEVILS

Undrafted prospects from the QMJHL include:
Matthieu Tousignant - PEI Rocket – projected 111
Alexandre Neron - Rimouski Oceanic – projected 107
Antoine Roussel - Chicoutimi Sagueneens – projected 120
Luc-Olivier Blain - Chicoutimi Sagueneens - projected 137
Pierre A Vandall - Shawinigan Cataractes – projected 164
Pascal Amoyt - Saint John Sea Dogs – projected 169
Mike Hoffman - Drummondville Voltigeurs – projected 177
Mike Thomas - Saint John Sea Dogs – projected 179
Tomas Knotek - Halifax Mooseheads –projected 180
Eric Louis-Seize - Halifax Moseheads – projected 182
Travis Stacey - Gatineau Olympiques – projected 197
Jonathan Bonneau - Victoriaville Tigres – projected 200
Ashton Bernard - Shawinigan Cataractes – projected 206

Rant Alert:
OK admittedly, I am by no means a hockey expert, but it blows my mind that our rookie import (from the Czech Republic) Tomas Knotek got passed over in the draft. The biggest complaints against Tomas are that he is too lithe (he is 6'1, 171 lbs - as of Sept 2007) , he is not the best skater, and he is easily knocked off the puck (lacks strength). His assets are that he has good 'hockey sense', he has good hands, and he knows where he has to be on the ice at all times. During the regular season Tomas played 69 games with a total of 66 points: 22 goals, 44 assists, a +17 (the second highest +/- on the team) and the lowest number of penalty minutes at 18.

At the end of the regular season Tomas was named to the QMJHL all star rookie team, and was third amongst rookies in points, lead only by Nicholas Deschamps and Mikhail Stefanovich at 67 and 66 points respectively. Deschamps was drafted 35th overall, Stefanovich 98th overall.

Knotek gets very little credit for his regular season play because he was given first line ice time, centering a line with (2007 7th overall Columbus Draft pick) Jakub Voracek and (2007 19th overall Anaheim draft pick) Logan MacMillan. His production was presumed to be solely due to 'the Voracek effect' - fuck the Voracek effect.

Speaking of Voracek - I suspect that Voracek (who is currently training in Columbus) recommended Tomas Knotek to his GM , but they made a mistake and accidentally drafted fellow Czech Tomas Kabulik at 135. Oopsie.

Over a 9 game streak in December and January, when Voracek was off at the World Jr tournament and MacMillan was off with post-concussion related exhaustion, Knotek still managed to rack up 7 points (3G, 4A). During the playoffs Knotek had 3 goals and 4 assists in 13 games (while playing on the third line). This is a big fuck you to the 'Voracek effect' theorists. This kid works hard, gets into corners, and does what he has to do to get the puck and get the goals. He has had a number of speedy breakaways as well as a number of excellent break away goals (and assists).

There is no substitute for heart (unless we are talking about getting token drafted because you have a bum heart - stupid noobs), hard work, and good hockey sense. Knotek can get bigger and he can learn to skate better. I thought this draft was about potential, so to pass over a kid with awesome potential just because he is a touch weak seems silly.

Also, he is spriggin. Look at his picture. Soooo cute - give him a cookie now!!! Better yet, give him 73 cookies, one for each point he tallied in 2007-2008. Maybe it will make him feel better about not getting drafted.

_______________________________________
Knotek montage from the Mooseheads website

Also of note
:<[) was not re -drafted. Oh surprise, surprise (that was a sarcastic surprise...if you cannot tell). This should make him go :<[o and then punch his agent in the face.

For other local NHL draft coverage (and Delmas info) check out this article by Q-reporter Willie Palov at the Chronicle Herald, and a brief draft day review, or this Delmas article by Wuest from the Metro.

This is Mathieu Brodeur: He is a big teddy bear.

Mathieu Brodeur is a rookie defenceman who plays for the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles. He was drafted 76th overall by the phoenix Coyotes. People like Mathieu because he is big, and you never miss him when he is on the ice - this is because he is big. Big boys are fun. Also, he is adorable (when he is not growing a playoff moustache). Check out his profile on the Screaming Eagles homepage.



This season Mathieu played more of a stay-at-home type of defensive role, and we are fine with that because stay-at-home defencemen are the loveliest, strapingest, scrappiest of things. Better yet is the fact that he is not prone to taking dumb penalties. Mathieu played 69 of 70 regular season games this year and had 1 goal, 6 assists and only 27 penalty minutes.

Ugh, that one goal will kill us all. It is the bain of my sweet P-O Pelletier's existence. We (the Mooseheads) were in a 12 round overtime shootout with the Screaming Eagles when, who of all people, gets the game winning goal - Brodeur. I should hate him for that and that alone...but I cannot. He is big, he does not take dumb penalties, he is not afraid of crying in public, and his name is Brodeur* - I can not think of four more valid reasons to like a guy.


*no, he is not related to Marty.

NHL Draft: The rest of the best

Be forewarned ...I will be updating this post as I see fit

Round 3:

• Atlanta picks scrappy Danick Paquette of the Lewiston Maineiacs with their 64th. He and former Lewy teammate Chad Denny can now get all up in a tree together - in Atlanta.
• Philly likes us, they really like us. # 67 is for 19 year old defenceman Marc-Andre Bourdon of the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies. Bourdon is an offensive defenceman, he has been waiting by his phone for years. *ring ring* - yes Andre we do love you!
• Everybody loves Mathieu Brodeur. He is a sweet little big thing, and soooooo sensitive. He is our big teddy bear. What girl doesn't want a 6'5" defenceman who will cry on her shoulder? Wayne Gretzky feels the same way, which is why the Coyotes picked him 76 overall.
• Oh me Oh My!!! Goaltender Marco Cousineau of the Drakkar has been drafted at #83 by Anaheim. Before Poulin (deservedly so) before Robert Mayer (also deservedly so) and before Tokarski (strangely enough). Marco is a low hype, low maintenance kinda guy but he does deserve his props. I dislike Marco for one reason and one reason only - he looks like one of my ex- boyfriends (one of the Evil ones). Marco was a workhorse this season. He had 35 wins and 19 losses, with a 2.81 GAA and a 0.903 save %. A 2.81 GAA is good for the Q - trust me. Just please don't look at his stats from 2006-2007 ...unless you want a good cry.

There has still been no Tessier, no Legace, no Stefanovich (projected 2nd round) and still no Scandella, Champagne, Cornet or Groulx. Apart from Bourdon and Marco Cousineau going as high as the 3rd round there are really no Q related surprises. Come-on Knotek (fingers crossed li'l buddy) .


Round 4:

• Samuel Groulx at last. Skinny little Sam (can I call you Sam?) goes to San Jose at #92.
• Groulx's Quebec Remparts teammate, import centreman Mikhail Stefanovich, has been drafted 98th by Toronto. This is killing the fans of Quebec, like little knives in their hearts.
• Jordon Southorn of the PEI (just 1) Rocket has been selected 104th overall by Buffalo. He is offensively minded with 12 G and 19A. Unfortunately, he was a -10 for the regular season... but maybe that is not his fault, PEI did lack some bill paying skills. Still - I hate to see a D in the red. Southorn has made the jump up the list, from #122 among NA skaters to #104.
• the CBJ are sooooo smart. I love the CBJ. They have chosen gigantico defenceman Steven Delisle of the President's cup winning Gatineau Olympiques with their 107 pick. I am shaking my fists violently with joy.
  
• Colorado picks wee sprig Kelsey Tessier (a maritime boy - awww shucks) at #110. I was starting to get worried. I looked everywhere for Tessier - under the bed, in the bed (nope not there), in the catfood, under the cat. He was nowhere to be found. Then I checked my boot - the 4 inch stiletto one. He was all curled up in there sleeping. Draft day is exhausting.

I just had thoughts - weird, I know. We traded the rights to Maxime Sauve for Marchand - both boys are now Boston picks. Let's see which one makes the team first shall we *evil laugh*. The Mooseheads fans will be bitching for YEARS about this. YEARS and YEARS and YEARS. We hold a huge grudge. You know I can hold a grudge becase of the Cousineau thing - I mean, I dated the guy that looks like Cousineau 10 years ago and I still HATE him. It is all fun and games until somebody loses an eyebrow (hopefully Marchand - his eyebrows are fug).

Montreal picked up a 6'8" goalie. I am drooling all over myself - that is almost ...Chara sized. Un-fucking believable. I don't now if a goalie that big can actually function - I thought the skill dropoff started at 6'4".