Canadiens World Junior History118 Players And Counting

Tonight Louis Leblanc (hopeful future Hab) will be suiting up for the Canadians to battle against the Russians for junior hockey supremacy (well for this year's supremacy). Louis is part of a long history of Canadiens at this tournament.

The World Junior Hockey Championships were held for the first time in 1974. Doug Jarvis, undrafted and representing the Peterborough Petes was the first (future) Canadien to play in the tournament. Though the tournament had humble beginnings, it soon became a barometer for young talent, especially following the Gretzky tournament of 1978. The Canadiens scouts over the years have clearly used the tournament to make their minds up, which is either very efficient or very lazy (I can't quite decide yet). And since Jarvis there have been 117 other World Junior alum to suit up for the big club in Montreal, including a whopping 50 for team Canada.

On the cusp of the tournament final, I thought you might all enjoy an updated look at Habs to participate in this tournament over the years.

Of the current Habs, there are only a handful of players who never suited up for their country at this event – 7 in all. The list is headed by Josh Gorges and Hal Gill, later bloomers both. The others are less surprising with Lapierrs, Moen, Halpern, Drache and Picard all missing out on their opportunities.

Team Canada
Alex Auld, Steve Begin, Shawn Belle, Dustin Boyd, Patrice Brisebois, Mike Cammalleri, Andrew Cassels, Kyle Chipchura, Eric Chouinard, Shayne Corson, Alain Cote, Russ Courtnall, JJ Daigneault, Jason Dawe, Marc Denis, Eric Desjardins, Gerald Diduck, Karl Dykhuis, Stephane Fiset, Doug Gilmour, Jeff Hackett, Kevin Haller, Doug Jarvis, Yvan Joly, Mike Keane, Guillaume Latendresse, Gary Leeman, Claude Lemieux, Trevor Linden, Rollie Melanson, Olivier Michaud, Kirk Muller, Garth Murray, Dave Orleski, Patrick Poulin, Benoit Pouliot, Carey Price, Tom Pyatt, Yves Racine, Rob Ramage, Mark Recchi, Mike Riberio, Stephane Richer, Michael Ryder, Pierre Sevigny, Richard Sevigny, Bobby Smith, Doug Soetaert, PK Subban, Alex Tanguay, Jose Theodore, Scott Thornton, Darcy Tucker, Pierre Turgeon, Sylvain Turgeon, Ryan Walter, Jason Ward

USSR/CIS/Russia
Sergei Berezin, Valeri Bure, Andrei Kovalenko, Alexei Kovalev, Vladimir Malakhov, Andrei Markov, Alexander Perezhogin, Oleg Petrov, Sergei Samsonov, Sergei Zholtok

Sweden
Patrik Carnback, Kjell Dahlin, Jonas Hoglund, Patrik Kjellberg, Mats Naslund, Niklas Sundstrom

Czechoslovakia/Czech and Slovakia
Jozef Balej, Jaroslav Halak, Roman Hamrlik, Marcel Hossa, Tomas Plekanec, Martin Rucinsky, Jaroslav Spacek, Petr Svoboda, Tomas Vokoun, Richard Zednik

Finland
Marti Jarventie, Marko Kiprusoff, Saku Koivu, Juha Lind, Jyrki Lumme

USA
Jim Campbell, Chris Chelios, Tom Chorske, Brian Gionta, Scott Gomez, Ron Hainsey, Chris Higgins, Sean Hill, Pat Jablonski, Doug Janik, Mike Komisarek, Tom Kurvers, Scott Lachance, Jay Leach, John Leclair, Craig Ludwig, Paul Mara, Max Pacioretty, Matt Schneider, Bryan Smolinski, Alfue Turcotte, Eric Weinrich, David Wilkie

Switzerland
David Aebischer, Mark Streit, Yannick Weber

Poland
Mariusz Czerkawski

Belarus
Andrei Kostitsyn, Sergei Kostitsyn (Grabovski only ever played in the B-tier competition)

Denmark
Lars Eller



Top player at position honours
Best forward – Niklas Sundstrom, Mike Cammalleri
Best goalie – Stephane Fiset, Jose Theodore, Marc Denis, David Aebischer, Carey Price

Tournament All-star team
Forward – Mats Naslund, Shayne Corson, Alexei Kovalev, Martin Rucinsky, Valeri Bure, Niklas Sundstrom, Sergei Samsonov, Brian Gionta, Mike Cammalleri
Defence – Scott Lachance, Andrei Markov, Mark Streit, PK Subban
Goalie – Stephane Fiset, David Aebischer, Carey Price


Top 10 Games played
21 – Niklas Sundstrom
19 - Paul Mara
15 – Scott Lachance
14 – Shayne Corson, Patrice Brisebois, Chris Higgins, Saku Koivu, Mike Komisarek, Tomas Plekanec, Mike Cammalleri, Eric Desjardins, Karl Dykhuis, Gary Leeman, Jason Ward, Jim Campbell, Kjell Dahlin, Ron Hainsey, Marcel Hossa, John Leclair, Eric Weinrich, Sergei Zholtok


Top 10 Points
33 – Niklas Sundsrom
19 – Shayne Corson
18 – Saku Koivu
17 - Mike Cammalleri
16 – John Leclair
15 – Mats Naslund
14 – Martin Rucinsky
13 – Jim Campbell, Kjell Dahlin, Sergei Samsonov, Russ Courtnall

Top 10 Points per game
2.00 – Martin Rucinsky
1.86 – Russ Courtnall
1.83 - Brian Gionta
1.67 – Bobby Smith
1.57 – Niklas Sundstrom, Andrei Kovalenko, Alfie Turcotte
1.43 – Alexei Kovalev
1.36 – Shayne Corson
1.33 – Ryan Walter

Top 10 Goals
18 – Niklas Sundstrom
11 - Mike Cammalleri
10 – John Leclair, Sergei Samsonov
9 – Shayne Corson, Martin Rucinsky
8 – Kjell Dahlin
7 – Jim Campbell, Russ Courtnall, Chris Higgins

Top 10 Goals per game
1.29 – Martin Rucinsky
1.00 – Russ Courtnall, Brian Gionta
0.86 – Niklas Sundstrom
0.83 – Ryan Walter, Richard Zednik
0.80 – Doug Jarvis
0.79 - Mike Cammalleri
0.77 – Sergei Samsonov
0.71 – John Leclair, Andrei Kovalenko, Alexei Kovalev, Valeri Bure, Juha Lind

Top 10 Points (Defenceman)
11 – Patrice Brisebois
9 - PK Subban
8 – Scott Lachance
7 – Ron Hainsey, Paul Mara
6 – Andrei Markov, Yannick Weber, Tom Kurvers
5 – David Wilkie, Eric Desjardins, Rob Ramage, Alain Cote, Jyrki Lumme

Top 10 Points per game (Defenceman)
0.86 – Tom Kurvers
0.79 – Patrice Brisebois
0.71 – Alain Cote, Jyrki Lumme
0.69 - PK Subban
0.67 - Yannick Weber
0.57 – Kevin Haller, Marko Kiprusoff, Petr Svoboda
0.53 – Scott Lachance


Finally, for a bit of fun to wrap up the post, I thought a Canadiens all-time WJC participant roster based on WJC performance (including personal stats and medal standings), interesting considering the current Habs featuring:

Forward lines:
Mike Cammalleri - Saku Koivu - Nicklas Sundstrom
Mats Naslund – Shayne Corson – Brian Gionta
Martin Rucinsky - Bobby Smith – Alexei Kovalev
John Leclair – Ryan Walter – Andrei Kovalenko

Defence pairings
Patrice Brisebois – PK Subban
Scott Lachance – Andrei Markov
Mark Streit – Eric Desjardins

Goalies
Carey Price
David Aebischer

WJC 2010 Primer The Drafted (Aka, Where's Tinordi?)

The World Junior Championships face off in 6 days. For hockey fans, this is a time to enjoy hockey organized and officiated by someone other than the NHL cartel, to see flowing hockey and watch players playing for pride and joy.

For most fans of NHL teams, most Canadiens fans included, it's also a time to get a quick look at some of the prospects that up until now (whatever your best intentions were to go see junior games) you've only read about in a scouting report.

It is both a chance to evaluate the prospects and the scouting department, as other teams prospects (passed by in the draft) emerge as well.

This year the Montreal Canadiens were looking primed for a very good representation at the championships. Up until last week, they had three forwards poised to play for Team Canada (the team it means most to make). Unfortunately for those keen on seeing Bournival and Brendan Gallagher, they were cut at the last moment. As a result, Habs fans will have to make do with watching 2009 first rounder Louis Leblanc on Team Canada and 2009 third rounder Joonas Nattinen on Team Finland (both centres).

By all accounts, Louis is set to have a possible scoring breakout and could well be the star for Team Canada. Nattinen, on the other hand, seems to be along for the ride. Even so, it should be a good week's worth of amateur scouting for us all. Hopefully there will be pleasant surprises.


NHL draftees

As I said, it will also be a chance to observe many other drafted players from other NHL franchises as they power their teams to wins and cause the mistakes that lead to losses.

In all there are 93 juniors on the rosters as they stand right now (some include players who may yet be cut). So, Montreal's twosome is below the NHL average for sending players to Buffalo.

The teams that will be required to send the most representatives for scouting and schmoozing with their prospects are Florida, Minnesota, Detroit and Washington. Each team has 6 prospects spread over a few different teams.



So what does this say about Montreal scouting? Well hard to say really. Getting players onto Team Canada is the hardest thing to do, and Montreal almost had three. Had those two not been cut, we'd also be talking about a top tier team.

Yet, it's still difficult to compare Montreal's scouting of a first rounder and Nattinen to Detroit's haul of six players while winning the NHL and relying on late rounders yet again to make up ground. And Florida just did it in style as they posted two to team Canada and three to the next strongest American squad. Washington and Minnesota relied on Euros for their good showing, yet Minny has Granlund who may end up being the star of the show, and Washington has some underrated Russians on board.

If it's quality rather than quantity that spells success, then lots of Timmins reputation is riding on Leblanc's shoulders. , as there's no guarantee he'll be the player for Canada or among the top at the tournament.


The Timmins Watch

For fun, I looked through the rosters of the junior teams and looked at players the Habs could have drafted.

There are a boatload of players that were chosen before the Canadiens had a pick, and so nothing to do with Timmins (17 in all).

The following group are those who were passed over in favour of Louis Leblanc. Based on play thus far, we can't really call these mis-picks. there are 16 in that group at this tournament.

Where it starts to get interesting is the group that could have been had instead of London Knights "stalwart" Jarred Tinordi. Remember, the Canadiens traded up a pick to get Tinordi and could have potentially had a couple from this group of 28 players:



Obviously it's too early to write off Tinordi altogether, and big D's have the habit of being slow developers (yet worth waiting for). Still, there are a quite a few exciting names here, and a tournament of hockey might start to raise questions about that June day trade and pick.

The American defenders alone, all selected to vie for the medal ahead of Jarred, will be interesting to keep an eye on.

The lists get shorter and less interesting as we go. But as we get a chance to see Nattinen, it might be interesting also to watch the 18 players drafted behind him in 2009.



Many of those players were also selected behind Mac Bennett (also not a National team calibre player yet), Alexander Avtsin, and Dustin Walsh (whose currently 6th in scoring at that powerhouse which is Dartmouth).

Finally, while no one would ever confuse Michael Cichy as a candidate for the National Team, it worth keeping an eye on two players who were taken after him in the 7th round of the 2009 draft: Carolina defender Tommi Kivisto (Finland) and yet another Detroit Swedish defensive find (possibly), Adam Almqvist.

There's the undrafted by the score, but no scouts thought those would be worth more than Petteri Simila, so it's hard to fault anyone for missing them.


So as you're all watching Louis Lebalnc skate circles around Americans and wondering where on earth Tinordi is. Have a look around and notice the wealth in talent at this tournament.

Overseas Habs Fans Not Complaining

Those times I have been in Europe for Habs games have been interesting. Watching a playoff game on an internet stream on your own is bad enough. To have to do it from 1 am to 4 am is downright antisocial.

There's been a lot of griping about the afternoon game. A lot of the whining insinuates that this gives the players on one side an advantage and the players on the other a disadvantage. In separate pieces I have read about how the Canadiens might suffer from less time to recover and how the Canadiens will exploit Philly's fatigue.

Here's what I think. The afternoon game is no different for either team. I think champions will be champions regardless of a few hours difference in puck drop. In the World Cup, teams play at all different times. The Champions' League final is often won by teams tha play their domestic Cup final at 3 pm. Even hockey players get massive variety with games on either coast. The game will be the game.

I also think of the fans who are over in Europe. The Habs fans especially. I think of The Soft European , a blogger whose work i very much enjoy. I think of the significant following this blog has in the UK. I think of our Finnish readers who've made up hours on this site like a medium-sized Canadian city. I think fondly of The Famous Three Kings in West Kensington where I expect many a Habs fan I know will be taking in the affair with a pint for once.

All these fans, a true and hard core group, will probably relish a chance to watch with spouses, children or friends like I did. I hope they get a good show.

Go Habs Go.

Doing It The Hard Way

An exciting day of hockey yesterday, as all important positions were determined in an afternoon/evening.

Canada lost, of course, but are still very much alive. They merely set themselves a place at the adult table when they could be sitting with the children where the US are now.

Losing to the US was always possible, but it was their clumsy win vs. a Swiss team that needed OT to scrape by Norway that cost us biggest. Had the Canadians won that game, they would now be lying 4th, with a US rematch in the QFs and a tricky, yet winnable QF vs. Finland. Instead, by being under-prepared and over-relaxed (as usual) they have put themselves in a hole. It'll be a playoff vs. Germany, which should be a foregone conclusion (but, hey, you never know), then a QF vs. powerhouse Russia and a need to face Olympic champion Sweden (in all likelihood) for the right to even play for the Gold.

Even if Canada had beaten the US, they'd still face Russian ahead of the final, and they'd have had a tough QF game (though Slovakia is not Sweden), so don't fret about yesterday too much.


Scoreboard watching

Really, it's Sweden who quite uncharacteristically chose the harder road on Sunday.

The organizers truly underestimate the players ability to shape their efforts to shape outcomes. You'd never see staggered group games in a World Cup – they'd all be simultaneous. If European soccer players were gifted these staggered starts, you'd see some crazy own goals and all kinds of other bloopers. I guess not all hockey countries are so Machiavellian in approach. Sweden, though – ask Italian football fans – are.

By the time Sweden and Finland played, the teams knew that losing meant a bye with a QF vs. Czech, but a semi with the US or the Swiss. The winner gets the far less attractive Slovak QF with SF of Russia or Canada. I didn't watch the game, but looking at Finland's shot totals, their final score and knowing that they have the very savvy Saku Koivu at the helm, it seems like they might have played for position in their game. Last Olympics, Sweden tanked to draw the cheaper run and it worked as they were rested to win a Gold. This time, it seems like Finland may have just pipped their rivals in the strategic losing department.


Gold medal favourite

Any team can win from here, and I find it hard to make a prediction.

But I have to say, Canada doesn't look favourite for me anymore. They lie 6th, but of the top 7 teams, they are the only one who has not beaten a worthy opponent.

I have to think that the team on the top side of the draw will now have the slight edge coming into the final, given their finals opponents are likely to have had a few trying games. I still don't like the USA, and don't rate Finnish goaltending or defence anymore, so I have to think the Czechs have a great shot. From the other side, Canada/Sweden/Russia all look set for a photo finish in the next few days. If Canada finds better goaltending, they'll get the ankle transponder over the line first, I think.

Canada vs. Czech in the final could be great. But will a Canada who can't rise to beat the Swiss in regulation or a US team that carries actual 4th line talent really beat Russia, Sweden and Czech in sequence.

Well, if it's dreams of gold in your head, you'd better start believing they can.

Why The Swiss Game Matters

It's incredible in this day and age, with all the hype surrounding this hockey tournament in Canada, that all the sites where one can follow this thing on the web (at least the ones immediately obvious to most) are so poor.

TSN, RDS and Sportsnet, who usually have decent web pages have been funneled into CTV's site, who I would kindly say have muffed the Olympic hockey portion of the site. The official site of the Games is best of the lot, but given the standard of websites in 2010 isn't exactly taking advantage of all the best new practices.

Among the issues that spring from this is the confusion over the format of the Olympic hockey tournament. While sites do present the standings, few present them in the most useful way.

You see this Olympics, the IIHF has tweaked the format of the tournament so that group play is essentially a team sorting mechanism. Each team will play 3 games against the pre-selected opponents in their groups to sort out the rankings of all teams from 1 to 12.

From these rankings, the top four teams get a bye to the quarterfinals and teams 5 to 12 (all of them, none are eliminated) will face off in 4 playoff games to fight for a quarterfinal berth.

Thanks to a difficult to find page at NHL.com (not an Olympic site) we know that the deciding factors are:

1) Group position
2) Points gained
3) Goal difference
4) Goals for
5) IIHF ranking (2009)

This means that all three group winners proceed to the QFs, no matter what. The 4th team in the QFs will be the top second place finisher. Thanks to OTW and OTL, this will probably be sorted via points.

Teams 5 and 6 will be the other two second place finishers; teams 7-9 will be the third ranked teams; and teams 10-12 will be Norway, Latvia and Germany (or, if you prefer, the three last placed teams).

I think that given the inevitability of this happening, it might be more useful for everyone if we display the standings from 1 to 12, so as to remove any illusion that anything else is important:

Team	Position	GP	W	OTW	OTL	L	Pts	GF	GA	Diff
USA	A1	2	2	0	0	0	6	9	2	+7
Russia	B1	2	1	0	1	0	4	9	4	+5
Finland	C1	1	1	0	0	0	3	5	1	+4
Canada	A2	2	1	1	0	0	5	11	2	+9
Czech Republic	B2	1	1	0	0	0	3	3	1	+2
Sweden	C2	1	1	0	0	0	3	2	0	+2
Slovakia	B3	2	0	1	0	1	2	3	4	-1
Switzerland	A3	2	0	0	1	1	1	3	6	-3
Germany	C3	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	2	-2
Belarus	C4	1	0	0	0	1	0	1	5	-4
Latvia	B4	1	0	0	0	1	0	2	8	-6
Norway	A4	2	0	0	0	2	0	1	14	-13

Why that OTW might hurt later

As Canadians bask in the glory of beating the Swiss team, it is perhaps a good idea to consider for minute what coming up short by a point means for the tournament.

As it goes, Canada is now guaranteed first or second in the group. Surely good news. And, if they beat the US, there's no doubt of a bye – also good news. But here are some scenarios:

Canada beats USA

If Canada beats the US in regulation, they'll be sitting pretty with 8 points. That will be enough to clear Russia. However, Czech, Finland and Sweden could all go clean in the group (and one probably will) meaning that Canada won't get the first seed.

You may not think this matters, but consider the semi-finals. if Sweden goes clean they should draw USA or Finland in the semis, barring upsets. Canada will be faced with the possibility of the Czech Republic or Russia. Not the better side of the draw really.

What's more, though they don't like the Swiss, Canada would be foolhardy not to be hoping to face Switzerland in the quarters should no upsets occur. This is because, though they are a top 8 team, the top 7 teams have a certain mystique about them that makes them surpass workmanlike Switzerland.

Canada in the two seed could draw Slovakia. this team used to be easy pickings, but thanks to Halak, they now have a credible goaltender. They also have Hossa and some other interesting forwards up front and the Norris trophy Chara at the back. They're not a joke. And teams that take them lightly (Russia, ahem) do so at their peril.


Canada loses to USA

Stranger things have happened. If this occurs, Canada will have 5 points. No offense to Germany and Belarus, but I think Finland and Sweden will be on 6, or more both. Group B will toss up at least one 5-point second place teams (Slovakia) and quite possibly a 6-point one as well as Group C.

Either way, Canada would likely miss the top second which they would have clinched by beating Switzerland and their goal difference. It would at least mean an extra game, extra chance of injury, etc.

5th or 6th means little difference in the playoff (Norway or Latvia), but Canada would again be in the #2/3 semi rather than getting a crack at the 4th place team to make a final.


Koivu understands

I know it's all just quotes, but Koivu seems to clearly understand what his team needs to do:

"Obviously, finishing first in your group is the first goal for every team - and trying to avoid that extra game before the quarters," said Koivu. "I think that's going to be a huge advantage - for those teams and for the top second-place team. I've never liked tournaments that are about goal differential - or if someone benefits from scoring two more goals against a weaker team."

Koivu is the type of player whose gamesmanship goes well beyond the rink, as he gets totally embroiled in what needs to be done. It should come as no surprise then that he threatens to overtake the Olympic assists lead and tie the record for ice hockey medals at the Olympics.

Others seem to take results as they come. This may be something they reflect upon later while the medal places are being decided:

"I didn't even try to understand it. I didn't get past the point where we cross over (in the quarter-finals). I just know we open(ed) against Switzerland." – Ryan Miller

I think Team Canada showed with their clumsy win yesterday that they are among the latter group – seeing what happens.

It's all well and good to stumble through to the medal round. it often works (see World Cup, Italy), but it's playing with fire in some ways. Especially for a team that's got a bit of a reputation for not doing well with the fire handling at these big tournaments.

Canadiens As Non-Canadians Olympic Hockey History

While Canada has been shunning what the Montreal Canadiens players have to offer, that certainly doesn't mean the Habs haven't been at the Olympics. In fact by the end of this tournament, 10 Canadiens will have participated in the last three Olympics.

As a complement to the look at the Habs on Team Canada, it's only fair to balance that with the Habs that have represented other countries at the Games. In all there would have been 48, but with Andrei Kostitsyn's scratch the total is 47 Olympic alums for the Habs family.

USA: 13

Current Habs: None
Habs Prospects: Chris Chelios (1984), Jim Campbell (1992)
One-time Habs: Chris Chelios (1998, 2002, 2006), Matt Schneider (1998, 2006), John Leclair (1998, 2002), Craig Conroy (2006)
Future Habs: Alphonse Lacroix (1924), Bill Baker (1980), Larry Pleau (1968), Eric Weinrich (1988), Scott Lachance (1992), Barry Richter (1994), Scott Gomez & Brian Gionta (2006)


Russia: 8

Current Habs: Alexei Kovalev (2006), Andrei Markov (2006, 2010)
Habs Prospects: Konstantin Korneev (2010)
One-time Habs: Valeri Bure (1998, 2002), Andrei Kovalenko (1998), Vladimir Malakhov (2002), Alexei Kovalev (2010)
Future Habs: Alexei Kovalev, Andrei Kovalenko & Vladimir Malakhov (1992), Sergei Samsonov (2002)


Czech Republic: 8

Current Habs: Martin Rucinsky (1998, 2002), Jan Bulis (2006), Tomas Plekanec (2010)
Habs Prospects: None
One-time Habs: Petr Svoboda (1998), Tomas Vokoun (2006, 2010)
Future Habs: Robert Lang (1992, 1998, 2002, 2006), Jaroslav Spacek (1998, 2002, 2006), Roman Hamrlik (1998, 2002)


Sweden: 6

Current Habs: None
Habs Prospects: Mats Naslund (1980), Thomas Rundqvist (1984), Patrik Carnback & Patric Kjellberg (1992)
One-time Habs: Mats Naslund (1992, 1994), Patric Kjellberg (1994, 1998)
Future Habs: Thomas Rundqvist (1988), Andreas Dackell (1994), Niklas Sundstrom (1998, 2002)


Finland: 3

Current Habs: Saku Koivu (1998, 2006)
Habs Prospects: Jyrki Lumme (1988), Saku Koivu (1994)
One-time Habs: Jyrki Lumme (1998, 2002), Saku Koivu (2010)
Future Habs: Janne Niinimaa (1998, 2002)


Slovakia: 3

Current Habs: Richard Zednik (2006), Jaroslav Halak (2010)
Habs Prospects: None
One-time Habs: Marcel Hossa (2006, 2010), Richard Zednik (2010)
Future Habs: None


Switzerland: 3

Current Habs: Mark Streit (2006)
Habs Prospects: Yannick Weber (2010)
One-time Habs: Mark Streit (2010)
Future Habs: David Aebischer (2002, 2006)


Belarus: 2/3

Current Habs: Sergei Kostitsyn (2010), (Andrei Kostitsyn (2010 – injured))
Habs Prospects: None
One-time Habs: Mikhail Grabovski (2010)
Future Habs: None


France: 1

Current Habs: None
Habs Prospects: None
One-time Habs: None
Future Habs: Cristobal Huet (1998, 2002)



Not only have the players been, but they've conquered too. 34 medals in all with 12 Gold. If you want to get picky, only one Gold wa won by a current Canadiens player (Rucinsky) and one by a prospect (Miracle on Ice, Bill Baker), but that goes with two silvers for Habs players and prospects and four bronze. Not such a poor tally.


Olympic Medals by Canadiens on other teams

Gold: 12
Bill Baker (USA, 1980)
Alexei Kovalev, Andrei Kovalenko & Vladimir Malakhov (CIS, 1992)
Mats Naslund, Andreas Dackell & Patric Kjellberg (SWE, 1994)
Martin Rucinsky, Petr Svoboda, Roman Hamrlik, Jaroslav Spacek & Robert Lang (CZE, 1998)

Silver: 7
Alphonse Lacroix (USA, 1924)
Jyrki Lumme (FIN, 1988)
Valeri Bure, Andrei Kovalenko (RUS, 1998)
Chris Chelios, John Leclair (USA, 2002)
Saku Koivu (FIN, 2006)

Bronze: 15
Thomas Rundqvist (SWE, 1984)
Thomas Rundqvist (SWE, 1988)
Robert Lang (CZE, 1992)
Saku Koivu (FIN, 1994)
Saku Koivu, Jyrki Lumme & Janne Niinimaa (FIN, 1998)
Alexei Kovalev, Vladimir Malakhov, Valeri Bure & Sergei Samsonov (2002)
Jan Bulis, Jaroslav Spacek, Robert Lang & Tomas Voloun (CZE, 2006)

Who Are You Supporting?

The assumption is often made that supporter of a Canadian NHL team equates to supporter of Canadian National Team.

But the Canadiens are supported around the world, and it's entirely possible that Habs fans in Switzerland don't like Joe Thornton either.

Before the games tonight, I want to know who all of you are supporting. If Canada's your first, then who's your second?

Let's hope the tournament starts with a bang and this really is the best hockey the marketers have been insisting it will be.

What Saku Koivu Meant To This Fan

So it has finally happened. The news we'd all been expecting. The news I'd been dreading.


Saku Koivu has left the Montreal Canadiens. Rather the Canadiens have left him.

I haven't felt this way in a very long time. I felt vaguely disgusted when we traded Damphousse for a draft pick. I felt quite a stab when Recchi was downgraded for Dainius Zubrus (particularly since my newly minted Recchi sweater would be vintage before its time). But those times, there was always Koivu.

Now that Saku is gone I am feeling almost bereft. Perhaps that's a tad dramatic, but there is certainly emptiness in this feeling. Emptiness with fear. I have to be honest, I didn't expect I would feel this way. It seems Koivu saved one last surprise for me.


A personal favourite for years

It's been a long time since the Koivu joined the team and even longer since that fateful day in June 1993 when I bought out every West Island card shop of their Saku Koivu Finland Junior cards. A few days later, when he was drafted I felt a real connection with a player for the very first time. A player whose stats I had scoured and decided was certainly good enough to grace my team (despite old NHL myths about size), a player who captured my imagination completely.

Those next years were the genesis of my deeper involvement. Through a desire to find out more about Koivu and his ETA, I learned a lot about prospects, Finnish military service and the dangers of drafting Europeans. As a by-product, I learned more about all the players coming through. I wasn't yet a blogger (no-one was) but a seed was sewn.

What started with a lot of hope developed over time into exhilaration followed by respect and finally total admiration for the player, and indeed the man. My late teens and early adulthood are peppered with memories of Saku Koivu. From his flirtation with the scoring lead in his earliest years, to establishing himself as the Montreal Canadiens offensive engine to his eventual evolution into the player that would do anything, play any position, to help his team, my team. He was an average skater, an effective digger and beyond all a stylish passer. He quickly surpassed the Stanley cup heroes in my lists.

While for many the pinnacle of Saku's days in Montreal will always be the night he returned to the Bell Centre (a night I can happily say I attended and cheered myself hoarse), for me the pinnacles were many. The virtuoso playoff performances against Joe Thornton where he was at once the best playoff scoring threat and the man to shut down the Art Ross pretender were top among them.

I don't think I'm alone in considering Saku Koivu a personal hero. I can safely say that if I were a drafted as a hockey player and Pierre McGuire lined up to ask who I pattern my game on – it would be Saku Koivu. I have never identified with any single player more than I have with Saku. When we are down by two in the third I look down the TV at the bench and can't understand some of what I see, but then I see the captain (usually deep in discussion with a linemate) and I see my hope reflected. His hunger for winning, his strategy for getting there and his willingness to do whatever it might take are all qualities I try to emulate. And I haven't even mentioned his trademark quick no-look backhand pass disguised as stickhandling.

No I'll miss watching him play. I'll miss just knowing he's on our side.


Overcoming the loss

Now don't get me wrong, my head is telling me it's alright. It's telling me that the analysis I and others have done shows the team needed the lift it may (and I stress may) get from replacing Koivu. I can see this team winning as much or more. My left brain can't really see them being any worse than last season.

Those of you that read here a bit will know that I'm well aware of the inverse relationship between a sentimental GM and a great GM. I can talk up a storm about the merits of telling Guy Lafleur to retire to make room for Naslund, for kicking Robinson to the Kings so as to make a new start. I'm really quite cold and calculating when I want to be. At least half of me is.

Still, on Koivu, my heart questions.

As I mentioned there is a certain emptiness now, and there's fear. After all, how will I feel watching Gomez, Gionta and Cammalleri? Will Kostitsyn become my new Koivu? Will my passion for this team fade to academic interest?

There is no honest way to know the answer to those questions. Only when the puck is dropped and play resumes will I know. Only then will I know if I will feel the pull that I've felt for near a decade and a half. Only then will the scariest question be answered:

Will I fall out of love with this team?

I hope not, but I'll have to see. Right now, I'm into the moves. I understand the motives and I'm excited by the potential. But that's my head. Ultimately my heart is the only part of me that will decide if the passion is still in this for me.

I hope not, but I've heard of these sudden awakenings happening before. People who say things like they haven't watched hockey since Bobby Orr retired or that the day the Oilers traded Gretzky was the day they stopped investing their valuable time and thoughts.


Today is the first day without Saku Koivu to look forward to in a very long time. I think for many of us, it will mark the day we lost our innocent and childish optimism, the luxury we took from knowing Koivu would be there, Koivu would be better, Koivu would save us. For all these years Koivu has been the very best quality of the Canadiens to me.

While I don't applaud the loss, it is something I would have had to deal with at some point. Now that he is gone I have a new opportunity. I may not relish it, but I think I'm about to find out what kind of fan I really am.

Newsflash: A North American Pundit Notices Other Leagues

You all know what I think about the KHL – it is for real. I have written about it more than once, most recently in July after the landmark Jagr (not Radulov) signing.

Someone from the Hockey News has finally acknowledged the issue of a rival league. Beginning in an almost self-effacing way, Ken Campbell admits that he (and THN) had been a bit naive recently. Oh, but not too wrong.

Anyway, the article is worth a read, if only for the interesting Semin case and Radulov parallel.

It's nice to see someone else giving this important issue for the NHL the light of day. To say that THN considers european leagues a legitimate threat would be overstatement, as you can see with comments like this one:

The Canadian Hockey League owners make a ton of money on the backs of teenagers who make less per hour than the kid who flips burgers at McDonald’s, but they have found a way to live with the NHL raiding its ranks. Not so with Europe, a body the NHL is quickly finding more like dealing with seven individual federations than one.

I'll say it again. Jagr was no joke. Russian teams are not a joke.

Imagine if Sweden also opened up a competitor league with room for millionaires, then the impact on NHL talent would be felt again. Finland, also. These countries are not the CHL, which is entirely limited to junior and mostly in smaller markets. These leagues are major sporting institutions in the countries they play in, and they are based in some of the metropolises of Scandinavia, Eastern Europe and Russia.

Unless the NHL gets off its high horse and gets some sort of agreement, the transfer madness can only hurt one league – and that's the one monopolising most of the hockey talent at the moment. The depth of the league will be challenged, as will the size of it.

Look to the East: The Looming Threat of European Money

Having briefly touched upon the subject of IIHF treaties and transfer agreements in a piece more than a week ago (see The Future Habs D: Transfers and Treaties).

Interestingly for Tobalev and I, this sparked a number of conversations with people actually at the tournament and who had been reading our piece. What's more, one friend who is closer to the game than us was able to enlighten us quite a bit on this topic. He mentioned that he found our piece timely, seeing as the IIHF transfer agreement was the talk of the town in Halifax and Quebec, where the Europeans were gathered for the games.

Obviously since I wrote that last piece, the championships have ended, Russia has won and celebrated like it mattered to them and no Habs are playing hockey anymore. Even so, the transfer agreement looms over the NHL, and indeed the Canadiens off-season planning, and deserves a second look.


The talk of the tournament

At the moment, apparently most of the talk on the transfer agreement is focused on which players from the NHL will jump ship and take a payday in Russia. This is because Russian teams, already in their off-season, have been making offers to many top players in Europe and North America. The money may be such that NHL will be left with no choice but to let these players go.

Far from being the only concern for the NHL, the Czechs are already looking at not entering into a new agreement, and the same might be true of Sweden. The general feeling at the tournament, apparently, was that no agreement would be reached in the near future, at least. So, one would speculate that even the teams from other leagues in Finland, Germany and Switzerland wouldn't be far behind either once the big players drop out.

Personally, I think this is serious, and I see the absence of the agreement with the European clubs potentially affecting the league in three ways:

1) A temporary drop in Europeans across the league

2) More aggressive (and possibly longer-term) NHL contracts with flight risk players

3) A shift in power among clubs (those that can still tap European talent vs. those that resort to North Americans who would be classed as minor leaguers at the moment)


Less Europeans

A drop in the numbers of Europeans in the league could be viewed as a good or a bad thing. I can hear Don Cherry's "Let them go!", even now.

For me, I would consider it to be a large step backwards. After all, the last time the NHL was replete of Europeans, there were only 21 teams. At that time, the top teams were the top teams, but the argument could have been made that there was still not enough NHL-level talent coming out of Canada and the US (to some degree) to support so many teams. Imagine now trying to stock 30 teams with Canadian and US players only. The initial drop in play would be difficult to take. Never mind that many European players are also among the more skilled and most excellent at skating – the direction we thought the league was meant to be headed.

Interestingly, in our discussion it also came up that Russia, after all, is not currently the greatest place in the world to spend your youth. This is particularly true of the Siberian towns where the oil magnates operate their mega clubs. Other than Russians, the feeling is that no one wants to sign for more than one year in Russia right now. The lifestyle has not improved to the point for anyone to go there too long.

NHL GMs should not be resting on their laurels,though. This situation could, and will likely, change as Russian living conditions improve and as the list of overseas options includes countries like Sweden and Switzerland. Indeed, one need only ask the North Americans who have made tracks over to those leagues rather than toil in the AHL or lower leagues. We speculated about Finns and particularly Swedes (who already show their desires to return home on plenty of occasions – Naslund, Forsberg). If Sweden and Finland drop out of the agreement, the problem of losing players could get more serious.

The inevitability of the drop is real, though – even with only Russia and the Czechs on the outs. People in the know keep stating how the money coming out of the European leagues is bigger than before and those teams can afford to poach a player or two from "big" NHL clubs. The simple fact there are many times more clubs in Europe will put the onus on the NHL to stem the tide – as opposed to hoping all European clubs run dry of cash.


More aggressive contracts

An initial reaction will no doubt be to hold onto the Europeans who figure large in the plans of your club. Pittsburgh and Washington will likely ante up big for Malkin and Ovechkin, and why shouldn't they. However, teams like Montreal, New York, Dallas, etc. who are currently riding a cast of middle range European talent may be asked to pay over the odds for their players.

While the tactic of aggressive contracts to Europeans could indeed help to stem the tide of Europeans out of the NHL initially, there are only so many big contracts a team, and the league can sustain.


Power shift

Following a partial loss of talent and vain attempts to offer contracts, I see certain clubs giving up on the Euro game. Others will stick it out. This is the power shift – with access to more talented players open only to those willing to put up with the hassle. I spoke about this potential shift in power in the last piece as well. I truly believe that with any change in circumstances there comes a pressure to adapt. The teams that adapt the quickest and best will be the ones who form "dynasties" in the near future.

I cited the scouting of Detroit (particularly in Sweden) as the foundation of their rise to prominence once the NHL opened its doors wholesale to the European leagues in the early 1990s. Similarly, a team who positions itself to perform real and serious negotiations with Russian teams now – and other European teams later – will reap the harvest of European surplus fed by the exodus of Euro NHLers.

When asked, our friend in the know agreed that having someone who knows how the system works would be very valuable to any team. He noted how teams in Europe do things so differently, an NHL team trying to negotiate the situation would need an insider who knows how the system works.

"Everyone calls it the wild west cause there’s no rules, it’s all gangsters and making/taking bribes."

Really, he said, it’s just a matter of being smart and getting a good Russian (for the current situation anyway) on your side.


What now for the Habs?

Obviously, it comes back to the Canadiens. While I am concerned about the NHL as a whole in so far as it provides the Canadiens with a league to compete with the best clubs in the world; I am not overly concerned with the plight of teams who may fall down because of a resistance to change or lack of adaptability. What concerns me is that the Habs get a leg up here for the next 10 years.

In terms of current players, the Habs probably have to resign themselves to losing Grabovski. We have been hearing that the word on the street is that he is at least entertaining offers. The writing seemed on the wall for him, as he keeps coming up short on lower lines and is not likely to unseat either Koivu or Plekanec for a top line spot.

The Habs will have to make serious strategic decisions, however, about key players like the Kostitsyns (are both to be kept???), Halak, and the youngsters in the pipeline (notably Valentenko.

As for mining the Russian league for talent at the current time, my friend and I were at a loggerheads. I suspect this is because there is no right answer.

My feeling is that the Habs should take advantage of the mass of NHL clubs who are clearly shying away from Russians by having a look at what's available – or at least letting young Russians know that Montreal is interested in players who want to play for the Stanley Cup.

My friend, who not only works in hockey, watched the World Champs and just generally is much better versed in this kind of stuff than I am warns the Canadiens GM to stay away:

There’s a reason these guys don’t play in the NHL. They aren’t driven by being the best in the world, or part of the best team in the world or a need to be challenged by the best. You don’t need someone or your team who plays the game for a living and cause it’s all he knows.

While I find his argument very convincing, I still find myself looking at Detroit again and thinking about finding the Russian Kronwalls, Franzens and Zetterbergs.

I don't know. What do you all think?

If nothing else, I think we'll all be talking about this soon enough, if not just now...