Memorial Cup -Saskatoon’s Dalton Thrower (47) hits Portland’s’ Taylor Leier (20)

The Canadian Hockey League has suspended Canadiens  draft pick Dalton Thrower of the Saskatoon Blades for the remainder of the Memorial Cujp Tournament for a check on Tayler Leier in the first period of Wednesday’s loss to the Portland WinterHawks.  The Blades gave up three goals in the third period to lose 4-2 to Portland.

Thrower hit Leier as he was cutting into the middle just inside the blue-line.  Leier’s head hit the ice hard and he remained motionless before getting help to the dressing room.  No penalty was assessed on the play.  (See Video Below)

The NHL’s hockey operations department which is disciplinary body for the Canadian Hockey League for the Memorial Cup handed out the suspension Thursday.  Length of the suspension could vary from one to three games, depending on how far the Blades advance. If they win Thursday night in the tiebreaker game against the London Knights, Saskatoon and Portland will meet again  in the semifinal Friday. The Halifax Mooseheads await Friday’s winner in the final on Sunday.

The incident is reminiscent of the Eller/Gryba hit at the Bell Centre and Raffi Torres/Jarret Stoll incident out west where there might be an argument as to whether there was intent but there is no question about the blow to the head.

Thrower said later. “I didn’t mean to hurt him as badly as he was,  It’s hockey. The game is fast. I was angling him off and he was cutting to the middle and I finished my check.”

This has been a difficult year for the 19 year old Thrower.  This hit was similar to one in October on Lethbridge’s Axel Blomqvist that resulted in a two game suspension for Thrower. “That one I ended up leaving my feet. This one I had my shoulders down and my feet planted,” said Thrower. “He cut right into me and I just laid a hit on him.”  Thrower was also suspended by his coach Lorne Molleken for  “playing by his own rules”.

Here’s the Video

Dalton Thrower – Saskatoon Blades

Suspension Announcement from the Canadian Hockey League & NHL Operations

Saskatoon, SK – The Canadian Hockey League announced Thursday that the National Hockey League Hockey Operations department has suspended Dalton Thrower of the Saskatoon Blades under supplemental discipline for the balance of the 2013 MasterCard Memorial Cup.  The suspension was for a check to the head that occurred in the first period of Wednesday’s game that injured opponent Taylor Leier of the Portland Winterhawks.

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Alexei Emelin Suffers Knee Injury April 6th

From Canadiens Communications -

Alexei Emelin underwent a reconstructive surgery to his left knee (ACL & MCL). His recovery is estimated to be 6 months.

The 27-year-old defenseman suffered a torn ligament in his left knee after colliding with Boston Bruins forward Milan Lucic during a tilt on April 6 at the Bell Centre. In 38 games during the 2013-13 campaign, Emelin collected three goals and nine assists, while also registering a plus-2 differential. In addition to seeing his ice time increase from an average of 17:17 per game in his rookie year to 19:40 this past season, Emelin led the Canadiens in hits for a second consecutive season with 110, while also picking up 47 blocked shots.

Here is the video of the April 6th incident

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Sebastian Collberg – Drafted In Second Round – 2012

Both players are expected to be in Montreal for the Canadiens Brossard Development Camp July first to eighth.

The Canadiens have plans to return Collberg to the  Elitserien  Frölunda Indians  in Gothenburg/Gotteborg Sweden for his 20 year old season.  Canadiens officials have said they like the development possibilities with  Frölunda under former Swedish World Junior coach Roger Rönnberg.  Under Rönnberg, the Swedish juniors have a gold and silver medal the last two junior tournaments.  Collberg was his leading scorer in this year’s World Junior Championship. (Video of Collberg at 2013 World Junior Championship Below)  

Nygren’s situation will be evaluated at the development camp.  There is a 50-50 chance he will play in Hamilton next season.  Nygren was drafted two years ago, 113th overall.  Click here for Nygren 2012-2013 scoring highlights. 

The Canadiens brought Collberg to North America at the end of the season but, because of a concussion suffered at the end of the Frölunda season, he was only cleared to play in Hamilton’s last two games.

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The Two News Releases from Canadiens Communications

MONTREAL – Montreal Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin announced Tuesday the signing of defenseman Magnus Nygren to a two-year contract (2013-14 and 2014-15). As per club policy, financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

In 51 games with the Karlstad Färjestad in the Elitserien (Sweden) this season, Nygren raked up 32 points (13 goals, 19 assists). He led the league defensemen in goals, and was tied for fourth among all Elitserien rearguards in points. He served 49 penalty minutes and displayed a +11 plus/minus differential. Nygren was named Elitserien best defenseman at the end of the season earning the Salming Trophy. He added four points (1 goal, 3 assists) in 10 playoff contests.

Nygren, 22, notched 65 points (24 goals, 41 assists) in 132 games since making his professional debut with Färjestad back in 2009-10. The 6’01’’ and 191 lbs rearguard served 63 penalty minutes.

A native of Karlstad, Sweden, Nygren was selected in the fourth round, 113th overall by the Canadiens at the 2011 NHL Entry Draft. He took part in the second half of the Canadiens’ Development Camp in July 2011.

MONTREAL – Montreal Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin announced Tuesday the signing of forward Sebastian Collberg to a three-year contract (2013-14 to 2015-16). As per club policy, financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

In 35 games with the Frölunda Indians in the Elitserien (Sweden) this season, Collberg totaled nine points (6 goals, 3 assists) and six penalty minutes. The 5’11’’ and 181 lbs right winger also appeared in 15 games with Örebro HK in the HockeyAllsvenskan (Sweden), notching eight points (6 goals, 2 helpers) and two penalty minutes. Collberg completed his season in Hamilton taking part in two games with the Bulldogs.

Collberg, 19, suited up for Team Sweden at the 2013 IIHF World Junior Championship presented in Ufa, Russia, guiding the Swedish squad to the silver medal. He completed the tournament with six points (4 goals, 2 assists) in six games, ranking tied for first on the team in goals and points.

A native of Mariestad, Sweden, Collberg was selected in the second round, 33rd overall by the Canadiens at the 2012 NHL Entry Draft. He took part in the second half of the Canadiens’ Development Camp in June 2012.

Here is #15 Sebastian Collberg at the 2013 World Junior Tournament in Ufa Russia

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The only people on the planet who doubted it were those in charge of supplementary discipline at the NHL headquarters in New York even with video evidence of the heinous crime.

In an interview with Dmitry Chesnokov of Yahoo Sports, Grabovsky finally admitted guilt.

What about the incident with Max Pacioretty?    

“The incident? It wasn’t that much. He was choking me and I bit him. Don’t stick your hands where you shouldn’t. To be honest with you he was choking me pretty hard, to the point where I really couldn’t breathe. And I couldn’t pull his hand away at all. I tried to hit him with my other hand, but I couldn’t because he was choking me. There was nothing left to do but bite him.”

Here’s the video one more time

Following a telephone hearing conducted the Monday following the incident morning  the league announced it couldn’t determine conclusively if Grabovski had bitten Pacioretty.  Pacioretty did tell reporters he had a tetanus shot following the incident.

Of course, being the Leafs and all, we had predictable response from the Canadiens dressing room at the time.

“That doesn’t belong in our sport,” said Josh Gorges. “If you get in there, stand up for yourself, be a man, drop your gloves, and you’ll have respect. But bite somebody? That doesn’t belong in our league.”

“I saw the bite,” said Montreal coach Michel Therrien. “You can see that on the video. I’m sure the league’s going to pay attention to that.”

The incident got the Twitter universe going of course -

Pacioretty claiming Grabovski bit him. He’ll know in a few days if he develops super powers. #whoooo—
Down Goes Brown (@DownGoesBrown) February 10, 2013

@MikeTyson thoughts on Grabovski play?—
Jeff O’Neill (@odognine2) February 10, 2013

If someone puts their hands in my face I’m biting off a finger #Grabovski—
Dan Knightly (@DanKnightly) February 10, 2013

Grabovski, what a little rat. What kind of hockey players bites another player?—
Shaun Kelly (@shaunK16) February 10, 2013

Just another chapter in the Canadiens/Grabovsky saga. 

Canadiens coach Guy Carbonneau had him in his doghouse for 27 games in the 2007-08 season.

Bob Gainey unloaded the headache to Toronto in return for prospect Greg Pateryn in July 2008,

In April 2009, his hit on Andre Markov tore up his knee, putting him out of action for the final four games of the regular season and through a four-game quarter-final playoff sweep at the hands of Boston.

And then there was the public feud with fellow Belarusian Sergei Kostitsyn which led to Grabovski vowing to meet him in the alley.  “I think he is not Belarusian now, he is French because I never fight with Belarusian guys,” Grabovski said at the time. “I don’t know why he wants to fight with me. If he wants to fight, we’ll go in the street and every minute of every day I’ll wait for him and we’ll fight.”

 

 

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32 – Alex Galchenyuk Scores Winning Goal in Shootout vs. Finland

Alex Galchenyuk had the final say for Team USA at the 2013 World Hockey Championships in Stockholm.  Galchenyuk scored their last two goals in a shootout against Finland to decide the bronze medal winner.  The youthful US squad won the game 3-2.

In the championship game, Sweden. led by Henrik Sedin’s two goals and assist,  defeated previously unbeaten Switzerland 5-1 .  The Swiss take the silver medal.

The Americans were facing defeat when Galchenyuk tied the shootout with their third and final shot.   Under IIHF rules, after the initial three shots, teams can bring back previous shooters.  After US goaltender John Gibson stopped Minnesota Wild forward Mikael Granlund to start the extra round, US coach Joe Sacco went back to Galchenyuk who scored what proved to be the bronze medal winning goal.  (Video of Galchenyuk goals and post game interview below)

2013 has been eventful for Galchenyuk and the year is not yet half over.  In January he was part of the gold medal winning US entry at World Junior Hockey Championship.  A week later he was in Canadiens training camp en route to becoming a member of a team that went from last to second place in the NHL’s Eastern Conference.  And now a bronze medal at the World Championships.

Canadiens prospect Danny Kristo also played in the game as part of Team USA’s 4th line.  His ice time was 13:17 through 19 shifts.  He finished the tournament with a goal and two assists in ten games.

Including Raphael Diaz’s silver medal, three of the four players the Canadiens sent to the tournament took home a medal.  P.K. Subban was the only one to miss out after Canada was eliminated by Sweden in the quarterfinal.

This is only the third medal for the Americans over the World Tournament’s last fifty years and their first since 2004.

Here’s video of the Galchenyuk goals

Post Game Interviews – Galchenyuk starts at 2:14  (Also US Captain Paul Stastny; Finland’s Petri Kontiola and US goaltender John Gibson)

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Magnus Nygren – Färjestad – Swedish Elite League

The Canadiens have yet to announce it, but word has leaked out of Sweden that the hockey club has signed defenseman Magnus Nygren to a two year entry level contract.

Last month, Nygren (pronounced Noo’-Gren) was named the 2013 Salming Trophy winner.  The award goes annually to the best Swedish defenseman outside of the NHL.

A late-developer, Nygren was drafted as a 20 year old by the Canadiens in 2011,  113th overall.  He’s listed at 6’1″,  192 pounds and  possesses a hard right handed shot.   Last season he led Swedish Elite League defensemen with 13 goals and 19 assists in 51 games with  Färjestad.

Nygren’s agent,  Patrik Carnbäck jumped the gun by announcing to Swedish reporters last week that agreement had been reached .  (Yes, he’s that Patrick Carnbäck.  1988 Canadiens draft pick who played six games in Montreal before being traded  to Anaheim)

The reason for the delay in making the signing official is the bureaucratic process required in registering the contract with, first the  IIHF and then the NHL which involves a transfer agreement renewal, which has yet to be signed.

Nygren told Nya Wermlands-Magazine, “The agreement shows that they really believe in me. There was really no real negotiation because we felt that the contract is so good. Everything went very quickly. We said yes right away,”

The Canadiens had to submit a contract to Nygren by June or lose his playing rights.  Nygren will now report to the Canadiens development camp on July first.  A decision will be made at the Canadiens camps whether to add him to their Hamilton Bulldogs roster or return him to Färjestad for another development season.  He has a year remaining on a contract with his Swedish club.  It’s dangerous to make predictions when it comes to young players but the Canadiens have already indicated that 2012 second round choice Sebastian Collberg will be returned to Sweden for a final development year,.  However,  at age 22,  the  Canadiens will be seriously looking at keeping Nygren in North America in the fall. 

Here is a video of Nygren’s impressive exploits posted from Sweden

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#16 -Raphael Diaz Blocks Pass By Craig Smith of Team USA

Raphael Diaz and his teammates gave Switzerland it’s first opportunity to win a World Hockey Championship gold medal since 1935 when they defeated the United States 3-0 in the tournament semi-final Saturday night in Stockholm.  It was Switzerland’s 9^th consecutive win in the tournament, a string that started with a win over Sweden and included an overtime win over Canada and a quarterfinal defeat of the CzechRepublic.  They’ll face Sweden again, this time for the gold medal.   Switzerland edged them 3-2 in the tournament’s opening night to begin their remarkable run.

New York Islanders forward Nino Niederreiter scored what proved to be the winning Swiss goal and goaltender Reto Berra made 29 saves for the shutout.  Berra’s NHL rights are currently held by the Calgary Flames.  Julian Walker also scored with Reto Suri finishing the game with an empty net goal.

While Diaz was blanked on the scoresheet, at 20:19, he once again led all of his Swiss teammates in ice time.

On the U.S. side Alex Galchenyuk put in just under sixteen minutes, had two shots on goal and finished up at minus-2.  Habs prospect Danny Kristo was given fourth line ice time and had one shot on goal.  He was minus-1.   They’ll play Finland for the bronze medal Sunday afternoon.

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Problem is, there were three or four others who did a good job with their teams as well.    I’m sure Pittsburgh’s Dan Bylsma  legitimately picked up votes as well.

Montreal fans can cry foul about the Therrien omission but it is, what it is.

The tossup vote among the named finalists,  was probably between Therrien and Anaheim’s Bruce Boudreau.  Therrien’s Canadiens jumped from 28^th to fourth overall in the overall standings.  Boudreau, also in his first full year with his team, watched his team go from 25^th overall to 3^rd.  Both teams won their divisions.  Under Boudreau’s system, the Ducks  increased their goal scoring and improved their defense.

The two automatics in the voting in my view were Paul MacLean of the Senators and Joel Quenneville of the Black Hawks.

MacLean put the Senators in the playoffs despite injuries to Erik Karlson, Jared Cowen, Jason Spezza, Milan Michalek and goaltender Craig Anderson.  He managed a 25-17-6 record while making use of a league high 14 rookies and still wound up with Eastern Conference’s best defensive record.

There was talk last summer that Joel Quenneville would be fired by the Black Hawks.  They kept him and Quenneville’s team responded by winning a record-breaking 21 of the first 24 games.  They then coasted to the President’s Trophy with a 36-7-5 record.   The team was first overall in defense and second in offense and third in penalty killing.

The eventual winner?   Paul MacLean and I don’t think the vote was even close.

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Wins by the Team USA and Switzerland, allow Raphael Diaz, Alex Galchenyuk and prospect Danny Kristo to move on to the tournament semi-finals Saturday at the Globe Arena in Stockholm.

Galchenyuk, who is going for his second international medal in five months, gave the U.S. a 4-1 lead in an 8-2 beatdown of Russia.   It was the worst loss for a Russian team in their World Championship history dating back to 1954.  Galchenyuk was also part of the US World Junior Hockey Championship team in January.

Kristo, who has only nine games of professional hockey experience all  with Hamilton Bulldogs, is playing on a fourth line with former Canadien Aaron Palushaj and Florida Panthers rookie Nick Bjugstad.  He played fifteen shifts without incident.

Diaz moves on as well, after Switzerland edged Tomas Plekanec and the Czech Republic 2-1 in Helsinki.  Diaz drew the second assist on what turned out to be the game winning goal scored on a power play by defence partner Roman Josi.  Diaz was second to Josi in ice time with 22:29 spread over 30 shifts.

In the losing cause it was a typical Tomas Plekanec game.  He assisted on the only Czech Republic goal, logged 29 shifts and 21:35 ice time, more than any other forward and won 59 percent of his faceoffs.

Subban was a solid presence in the 3-2 shootout loss to Sweden.  In his World Championship debut he came was close to giving Canada a 2-0 lead  when his shot wound up in the net  at the end of the second period.  However,  replays revealed that the puck had entered the net a half second after the period ended.  Subban shared the game shots-on-goal lead with forward Matt Duchene with five.  Paired with Jay Harrison he put in just over 23 minutes.

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Subban on the last minute invitation from Hockey Canada –

“The invitation is always nice but I don’t think it’s really a debate of whether you go or not.  When your country asks you to show up and represent not only yourself and your family but also Canada, it’s a no brainer it’s a no-brainer.  And it was a no-brainber for me.  I’m just happy to be here.  I’m here to help the team win a gold medal any way I can.”

On the Olympic Size Ice Surface –

“It’s definitely going to be a challenge.  You know, as far as the big ice goes, in Belleville I played on Olympic size ice my whole junior career.  I’m quite familiar with how to take the rush and how to use the size of the ice to your advantage.  By the same token, I haven’t played on that rink for four or five years.  It’s going to be a transition but I got to skate on it yesterday; I skated on it today and I’ll skate on it tomorrow morning again and hopefully I’ll be ready for the game.”

On Playing Sweden -

“I don’t know much about any of the teams here.  I know Sweden has added the Sedins which is a huge boost for them.  As for goaltender Jhonas Enroth, I played against him in Buffalo.  He is a good goaltender.  It’s not easy to beat him.  We have to do everything to ensure he doesn’t have an easy night.”

Canada has won the last three World Championship meetings with Sweden all in the tournament semi-finals.  In 2007 it was 4-1 in Moscow; 5-4 at Quebec City 2008 and 3-0 in Bern Switzerland 2009.   Over the last ten years they’ve met six times with Canada winning five times; the lone defeat 5-4 at Riga Latvia in the tournament semi-final.

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