As you were picking up sides for 43-man squamish ... and who knew ER was still on the air?
Dane Cook's April Fools' joke was to announce that he's going to be in the next Twilight movie. People laughed for a couple minutes, then thought about later and couldn't figure out why they did.
For Ottawa sports fans scoring at home: On Monday, the baseball team folded, literally. On Tuesday, both hockey teams folded, figuratively.
Seriously, what a brutal end for the Ottawa 67's in Brian Kilrea's final season. Some might say it's too bad they didn't win for him, but really it's too bad they couldn't win for themselves. It's a youngish team beyond Logan Couture (who took the collar, going 0-for-4 in the OHL playoffs) and the other 19- and 20-year-olds.
Bob McCown, yesterday on Prime Time Sports: "Fewer hockey calls than we’ve ever, ever, ever had. Are you that bored? Are you that resigned to the Maple Leafs’ fate? Is there nothing to talk about?" Cripes, it's almost like the 24/7 hockey talk cured people of wanting to talk hockey.
Cox Bloc is switching teams, to the Canadiens. Make sure you check the calendar.
Norm Coleman suffered a big setback in his recount battle for a U.S. Senate Seat with Al Franken. If only there was someone to tell Coleman that he's good enough, he's smart enough and doggone it, people like him.
That was written with full awareness everyone told that joke yesterday.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
4 comments:
I gather the 67s made the cardinal mistake of trying to sit on a two goal lead going into the third. They simply quit skating, and were brutally outshot by the Ice Dogs in the third. Losing 13 seconds into OT really hurts, but that's what happens when you squander the momentum. The 67s weren't good enough to truly challenge for the OHL title anyway - they almost certainly would have lost a seven game series to Brampton.
It will be interesting to see what next season brings with younger voices behind the bench. I suspect it will help - I love Killer and all, but the time had definitely come.
The 67s should be very strong next year, especially given that they only had one overager this year. Other than Couture and Kiriakou, they will return virtually every other player on the team. Demers likely stays as an overager, and I suspect Corchaine and Cowick might as well. It will be rare for an OHL team with a winning record to head into camp with so few roster spots available. Killer definitely did not leave the cupboard bare.
Courchaine still seems inconsistent, although he stopped 41 shots last night, so Ottawa didn't get out-goaltended.
The 67's continue to develop the back end and bring along Perugini and they should be dangerous. I'd still lay even money Erik Gudbranson ends up playing in Ottawa at some point in his OHL career (he was a first-rounder of Kingston's, which means he will get traded at some point).
Again, though, good point, Killer did aan excellent job of roster management. They won 40 games in the regular season, probably 5-10 above expectations
Upon further reflection, you have to wonder if they will even offer an OA spot to Courchaine. If Periguini is their guy, and you can fill a need elsewhere, why keep an OA backup goalie?
Quality OAs in junior hockey are hard to find. If the kid is a legitimate pro prospect, like McGinn and Joslin were, their pro teams will ensure they get a spot on an AHL roster to develop. That leaves you with guys with holes in their game, who in many cases aren't as good as the 19 year olds you have. Another problem I hear is that the 20 year olds often don't fit in to a room with a lot of 17 year olds. Unless it is the right 20 year old, as Kiriakou clearly was, they may hurt your chemistry more than they help it.
The 67s would love for a good kid like Cowick to stick around. He is smart, as evidenced by the academic award he won and the fact that he is a current student at Carleton. He will no doubt want to see if he can get a pro contract this summer, but he would be exactly the kind of leader and "go to" guy they could build a team around. I think a player is better off playing junior and banking another year of OHL scholarship money than riding a bus in the ECHL, but that's just me.
You know my feelings; if it's between Canadian university hockey and the bus leagues, go to the CIS.
The ECHL is hemorrhaging franchises left, right and centre; it's losing three more. No university in Canada is talking about dropping men's hockey, although some Ontario schools are chopping minor sports.
Post a Comment