Never a prolific scorer by AHL standards (his top scoring season was 2008-2009: 22-29-51), his exact role on a Jacques Lemaire coached Devils team was suspect.

Was he going to be a scorer?  If so, where in the world do you put him when your top three lines contain more talent than some entire squads?  What does he do on the 4th line?

Bergfors is a quick winger with a good passing and playmaking sense.  He’s not immensly huge – only 5’11″ and 195 pounds.   On a lock down trap playing team like the Devils, that will not fly on the 4th line, and Bergfors’ scoring sense saw more and more bench time, seeing his time drop from between 14-20 minutes a night to 8-15 minutes.  New Jersey press was wondering if he had the skill to be an elite player, or if he was just going to be a 3rd liner for the remainder of his career.

One of New Jersey’s top prospects needed a change of scenery his first season.  A trade for one of the league’s top snipers gave him that chance.

Part of the February 4th trade with Atlanta for Ilya Kovalchuk (other parts were Johnny Oduya, Patrice Cormier, and a 1st round pick), Bergfors had the inauspicious job of filling in for someone who had been a part of the Thrashers his entire career.  Reactions were mixed as to the return of the Kovalchuk trade – some thought Waddell had been fleeced yet again, given some spare parts for our superstar.

Bergfors wasted no time proving them wrong, scoring in his first home game as a Thrasher.  Put on the top line with Nik Antropov and Bryan Little, Bergfors saw a chance that he never would have gotten in New Jersey.  The Thrashers play a wide-open style of hockey, where playmaking and speed are rewarded and encouraged.  Bergfors has been rewarding the Thrashers in return, scoring 8 goals and 8 assists, and is 8th in the league with 6 GWG.  He is also tied for third on the team in goals.

When the Thrashers acquired him he was the fifth highest scoring rookie in the league, despite his lack of utilization by the Devils.  The Thrashers got a young player who is evidently a perfect fit for the team and who will be a solid part of the organization for hopefully quite some time.  Bergfors adds to the young core of Kane, Bogosian, Enstrom, and Little and is showing that skilled youth with a multi-faceted game can succeed just as well as a sniper.  Bergfors is currently tied with John Tavares for second in rookie goals scored, and is 4th in points.  The Devils gave up someone shaping up to be a fine young hockey player (as well as an excellent defenseman) for a rental who will probably walk come July 1st.

Kind of makes you wander who really fleeced who.

The story of Michael Del Zotto began in a little town in Ontario called Stouffville, on June 24th, 1990. How little is it you ask, well, let’s put it this way, he now plays in a home arena that can fill his entire town a little more than twice over.

Stouffville, Ontario has a population of roughly 9,000 natives. Many assuredly play hockey, but few play, if any at all, as well as the 19-year-old rookie blueliner for the New York Rangers.

In junior hockey, he was a highly touted anchor playing for the Oshawa Generals. In his rookie season in the Ontario Hockey League, Del Zotto tallied 57 points in only 64 games. Not a bad way to say hello to such an elite junior hockey league.

He followed up with an even better sophomore season, where he tallied 63 points in 64 games. Heading into his draft year, Del Zotto was thought to be a top ten pick, if not higher. Unfortunately for Del Zotto he suffered a knee injury that forced him to miss almost half of his third season in Oshawa.

Still, despite the injury, the New York Rangers brass saw enough of him to bring him into their organization, with the 20th overall pick in the 2008 National Hockey League Entry Draft.

He did return to junior to play one more season, but during that season, he got traded to the London Knights, along with fellow future phenom John Tavares. Amidst the aftermath of the trade, Del Zotto’s game was as strong as it was in Oshawa, as he recorded 30 points in only 28 games. There was nothing left to prove for the offensive minded defenseman at this level.

Next stop, New York City!

Heading into the 2009-10 season, the New York Rangers had several holes to fill on the back end. Never lacking confidence, ‘MDZ’ stepped into Rangers training camp and by sheer will, skill and determination won a spot on the team, having a very impressive pre-season run.

He possesses many attributes that coaches only dream to have from their defenseman. He can skate like the wind, has excellent vision and when he does shoot, he can fire it. He also is a solid stickhandler, is unafraid to join the offense and has a nasty edge to his defensive responsibilities. But what sets him apart from the average rookie is his hockey sense. You can’t teach that, it is simply god given.

Upon making the team, he became the youngest Rangers defensemen to ever play on opening night, in their game against the defending Stanley Cup champion, the Pittsburgh Penguins. It didn’t take him long to make his mark in the big leagues. He scored his first career goal the very next night in the Blueshirts home opener against Pascal Leclaire and the Ottawa Senators.

He went on to win rookie of the month honors in October, registering 12 points in 14 games. Del Zotto’s numbers have tailed off considerably, but playing for an offensively challenged team and registered 30 points, eight of them being goals,  makes it hard to complain about that kind of production from a player who can’t legally buy a beer in Manhattan yet.

While it has been an up and down season for Del Zotto and his Rangers, he has been one of the few bright spots in an otherwise dreary season. Some of the few highlight plays from this season have come from Del Zotto, with his end to end rushes, beautiful tape-to-tape passes and even some goals that would make his idol, Bobby Orr, very proud.

If he could do half of who the inspiration to why he wears the #4 jersey did in his Hall of Fame N.H.L. career, the Rangers will be more than satisfied with the small town boy with the big time talent.

And while there is a long way to go, it appears as if the journey will be worth watching.

Brandon Augienello
NHLHS Rangers Correspondent / NHL writer
baugienello@nhlhotstove.com
Twitter: @HockeyGuy_B

Subban, Kristo and Leblanc Key to Canadiens Future Success

[23/03/10] At long last, it seems like the Montreal Canadiens may be beginning to see a little bit of light at the end of a very long and dark tunnel of draft picks.

The Habs haven’t had the greatest success of drafting quality players in recent years, missing out on many of today’s young super-stars. Yet, it’s hard to fault a scouting staff that is forced to make its living by finding hidden gems in the middle of the pack. Making things even harder for the Canadiens pro-scouts is the fact that the Habs are constantly pressured to make the playoffs, therefore constantly lowering their odds of landing a top pick.

It’s hard to knock the Canadiens franchise for their continual effort to provide the fans with what they long for, a winner, but given the current NHL’s salary cap structure and the undeniable fact that in order to land a top pick a team must essentially forfeit a season or more worth of contending, the task of landing a “Diamond in the Rough” becomes exponentially harder.

Trevor Timmins, head of the Canadiens scouting staff has endured his near-misses over the last few years, unfortunately to the displeasure of many fans, yet his track record is an incredible improvement over the disastrous run of picks that passed through the Montreal roster during the late 90′s and early portion of the new millennium.

Through a process of trial and error it seems that Timmins and his staff, ultimately assembled and taught by Habs former GM, Bob Gainey, have finally discovered their niche. Although many fans find it hard to overlook the Habs choice of Andrei Kostitsyn in the 1st round of 2006, a round in which so many of today’s current stars were drafted, Timmins and his staff seem to be making up for their past follies with recent revelations.

Thanks to the selections of PK Subban, Danny Kristo and Louis Leblanc in the last two years, the Canadiens scouting staff has clearly made a breakthrough.

Subban, Kristo and Leblanc set a new standard for Canadiens draft picks.

Unbeknown to many Habs fans, these 3 picks are on the fast-track to stardom.

All 3 are blue chip prospects and are rookie of the year candidates in their respective leagues.

With an eye on the Canadiens near-future, here is a look at the Habs current top 3 prospects:

PK Subban

Drafted: 2nd Round, 43rd overall in 2007

Clearly PK is an offensive force. His presence on the Bulldogs has elevated to the top spot in their conference and, despite other plausible candidates for the Rookie of the Year award in the AHL, such as Tyler Ennis, PK has to be far and away the leading candidate. His point totals place him 2nd overall among Defensemen and 3rd overall among Rookies. His +/- total, a tidy +39 in 66 games, places him 2nd overall in the AHL. Subban started off a little rough around the edges at the start of the year. Although it’s not the NHL, the AHL is still quite a step up from the Junior levels and PK needed a brief time to adjust. That said, that adjustment period was certainly brief as PK has been on fire since the start of 2010. Despite having yet to release the nominees for the AHL Rookie of the Year, I can almost guarantee you that PK Subban is the leading candidate. His development this season has allowed Habs management the opportunity to clear some room this summer on the blue line as it’s clear that Subban is ready to play in the NHL and most certainly will be come 2010-11.

Danny Kristo Drafted: 2nd round, 56th overall in 2008

Yet again, another Habs pick who is tearing up his respective league.

This time though, there is no questioning if Danny is a Rookie of the Year candidate because he has already been declared the winner of the ROY award in the WCHA.

Kristo named WCHA Rookie of the Year

Danny has impressed at all levels and was recognized as one of Team USA’s dominant forces during their recent WJC victory. He may not be as close to the big show as PK Subban, but so long as the Habs continue their recent concept of letting their prospects develop at the proper level, Kristo should likely wind up in Hamilton within a year or two, depending on his choices regarding school. Currently at North Dakota, Kristo is only a rookie at the NCAA level, so he has some time before he needs to make the jump. Yet, once again, if he continues to sky-rocket through his development, expect Kristo to be knocking on the door at Montreal’s training camp sooner than later.

Louis Leblanc

Drafted: 1st round, 16th overall in 2009

Louis, the youngest of this trifecta of Habs hopefuls, is also enjoying his first year of hockey at the University level. Although playing for Harvard does not exactly allow Leblanc to play as many games as the Canadiens organization would to see him play, he has nonetheless demonstrated continual development and progression.

Much like Subban, Leblanc started off quietly at Harvard, yet as the season has worn on, Louis has shown more and more that he is capable of being an immediate threat. He has done it at every level of play so it seems only natural that he hasn’t had that much difficulty adjusting.

The results of Leblanc’s quick tranisition has earned him a nomination as Rookie of the Year in the ECAC.

Leblanc Among Finalists for Rookie of the Year Award

Leblanc, the youngest of these Habs picks, is also the highest ranked of them all. Louis, drafted in a dream-like state by his home-town team in their home-town arena in front of friends, family and all of the Habs fans, is a smart man. Hence the choice to attend Harvard. Yet his astuteness and intelligence are not merely for the classroom. His on-ice vision is impeccable as his former team-mate and current blue chip Habs prospect Danny Kristo can attest to. The two Habs prospects played together in Omaha and displayed incredible chemistry, something that is sure to be a bonus for the Canadiens once these two reach the NHL.

Other rookie signings and picks are making a name for themselves as well as they develop at the AHL level under Hamilton Bulldogs head coach Guy Boucher, yet it is these 3 players which have set the new standard in Canadiens drafting.

Trevor Timmins has taken awhile to develop his drafting talents, but with the recent success and new standard of quality draft picks that he has set for himself in recent years, Habs fans can rest assured that their developing young talent and scouting staff are headed in the right direction.

When a player is compared to a historical great such as Steve Yzerman, one must take into consideration the pros and cons of a rookie campaign. For Matt Duchene of the Colorado Avalanche, his rookie campaign leads him towards a Calder trophy.

Matthew Duchene was born on January 16, 1991 in Haliburton, Ontario, Canada. His professional career began when he started playing in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) in 2007-08.  That year, Duchene went on to score  30 goals and  record 50 points in his rookie campaign.

The following season, he improved to 79 points in 57 games, then added 26 points in the post-season, helping the Battalion to the J. Ross Robertson Cup Finals.

Unfortunate for Duchene, they were defeated by the eventual Memorial Cup champions, the Windsor Spitfires.

Approaching the draft, Duchene was ranked second overall among North American skaters by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau. Only New York Islanders draft choice John Tavares was ranked higher. Swedish defenceman Victor Hedman was also considered a strong candidate with Tavares for the first overall selection.

However, it was the style of hockey that Duchene played which garnered him attention for the top pick.  His well rounded, two-way style made him a “complete package” potential.

After Tavares and Hedman were picked first and second, Duchene was selected by the Avs. For Duchene, it was a dream come true. He grew up as a fan of the Avalanche and thus, Duchene quickly became a fan favourite after video footage showed him pumping his fist after Hedman was selected second overall by the Lightning.

As the third overall selection in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, Duchene needed training camp to prove his value to the Avalanche.

After careful consideration, Duchene was in the opening night line up. Since then, he has been a key part to the Avs roster.

Currently, Duchene is third on the Avalanche in scoring with 49 points (23g, 26a). He is the league leader among rookies in both goals and points scored.

Other comparisons to Duchene as a player are Joe Sakic and Mike Richards. Quite the compliments from comparisons.

Playing in every situation, including a top six role; “Dutchy” has made strides in his development and is on his way to becoming the NHLs Rookie of the Year.

Anthony Curatolo
NHLHS Senior Writer
acuratolo@nhlhotstove.com
Twitter: @HockeyGuy_AC

The 2006-07 season was the worst in the history of the Philadelphia Flyers’ franchise as they finished last overall, and for their troubles they received the #2 overall pick in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft via the Draft Lottery.

With that draft pick, Philadelphia picked left wing James van Riemsdyk, a local kid born in Middletown, New Jersey on May 4th, 1989.  Ironically, van Riemsdyk grew up a fan of the Flyers’ arch-rival New York Rangers.

The 6′ 3″, 200 pound van Riemsdyk took a little longer to make it to the NHL than did the #1 overall pick that year, fellow-American Patrick Kane, who was taken by the Chicago Blackhawks.  While Kane made the jump right to Chicago and eventually won the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie that season, van Riemsdyk decided to go to college at the University of New Hampshire.

In 2007-08 he was named to Hockey East’s All-Rookie Team, as he led UNH in rookie scoring with 34 points (11 goals and 23 assists) in just 31 games.

Philadelphia GM Paul Holmgren wanted van Riemsdyk to make the jump to pro hockey to start the 2008-09  season, but James instead stayed for a second season at UNH.  In 36 games, van Riemsdyk recorded a respectable 17 goals and 23 assists for 40 points.

Holmgren wondered aloud if his prospect was able to develop properly without making the move to the pros.  When the UNH season ended, van Riemsdyk finally decided that he was ready and on April 1st, 2009 signed an entry-level contract.

He was assigned to the Flyers’ AHL affiliate, the Philadelphia Phantoms, where he played in the last 7 regular season games.  He notched a goal and an assist, and played in 4 Phantoms’ playoff games.

When training camp opened for the current 2009-10 season, it was thought that van Riemsdyk would get a taste of playing pre-season games with the big club but then be sent down to the Phantoms, which are now playing in Adirondack.

But after scoring 4 points in 7 pre-season games, including a 2-goal performance against the Detroit Red Wings, van Riemsdyk made the Flyers’ opening night roster.

After registering 6 goals and 12 assists in his first 16 NHL games, van Riemsdyk appeared to have a legitimate shot to become the Flyers’ first-ever winner of the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s top rookie.  He was named the NHL Rookie of the Month for November, as he posted 4 goals and 5 assists in 9 games.

Early on, it appeared that the Calder race would be a two-player event between van Riemsdyk and New York Islanders’ wunderkind John Tavares.  But both have tailed off significantly.

van Riemsdyk now has 14 goals and 19 assists for 33 points in 66 games, a respectable rookie season with just 13 games to go.

With the seasons had by Matt Duchene of the Colorado Avalanche, defenseman Tyler Myers of the Buffalo Sabres, Tavares of the Isles, and goaltender Jimmy Howard of the Detroit Red Wings, it appears that the Philadelphia streak without a Calder Trophy may continue on for at least another season.

And as the 21-year-old JVR’s body and game continue to grow and mature, the Flyers may find that they have themselves a premier power forward in the making, maybe even in a John LeClair mold.   And I’m sure any fan of the Flyers would be more than happy if van Riemsdyk were to develop into that type of player.

David Strehle
NHLHS Flyers Correspondent / NHL Writer
dstrehle@nhlhotstove.com
Twitter: @PhilaDAVEia

In his first season in the NHL, Myers is logging top pairing minutes amongst Buffalo’s defensive pairings.

Tyler Myers, born February 1, 1990, is an American-Canadian professional hockey player. Born in Texas, Myers moved to Calgary, Alberta with his father and stepmother when he was 10 years old. Dual citizenship gives Myers an advantage in the future when playing in International tournaments, which he will.

Myers was ranked fourth among North American draft eligible skaters leading up to the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. The Buffalo Sabres were eager to move up to select him and traded their third round pick in order to swap slots with the Los Angeles Kings from thirteenth to twelfth to select Myers.

Born in Texas, at ten years of age Myers moved with his father and step-mother to Calgary.

In 2005, Myers was the Kelowna Rockets first round draft selection in the WHL Draft. Myers helped the Rockets to a 2009 Ed Chynoweth Cup championship following a junior career-high 42-point regular season. Scoring 20 points during the Rockets playoff run, Myers was instrumental the franchise’s third WHL title and was selected as the WHL Playoff MVP.

Following Myers’ WHL championship win with the Rockets, he was signed to a three-year, entry-level contract with the Buffalo Sabres on May 11, 2009.

Through 67 games played this season for the Sabres, Myers has been nothing short of impressive. He has tallied 36 points on the season (9 G, 27 A) and is a plus nine on the season.

His name has been thrown into the hat for Calder trophy nominations as he is currently ranked third among rookie skaters in scoring. Quite the impressive situation for a first year player straight out of the draft to accomplish.

He has been a key figure to the Sabres blue line during his very young career. As number fifty-seven continues to grow as a player the Sabres will continuously develop a pure, top pairing defenseman.

Anthony Curatolo
NHLHS Senior Writer
acuratolo@nhlhotstove.com
Twitter: @HockeyGuy_AC

For the New York Islanders, coming into the 2009 NHL Entry Draft as the lottery winner to acquire the first overall pick felt like nothing short of a blessing. Teams attempted to trade up for the pick in order to draft the talent slated to be stud-like but the Islanders and General Manager Garth Snow would not bite.

When the time arrived, Snow and his staff walked up to the podium, inside the beautiful Bell Centre in downtown Montreal, and made one of the best decisions in franchise history, drafting John Tavares. The franchise acquired their “face”.

Born on September 20, 1990 in Mississauga, Ontario to Barbara and Joe,  Tavares sports both Polish and Portuguese lineage, respectively.

During his early years the Tavares family moved to Oakville, Ontario. Tavares was introduced to minor hockey via the Minor Oaks Hockey Association but he, like his uncle John Tavares, became a lacrosse star.

Tavares credits his uncle with teaching him the importance of remaining unselfish, stating what he learned by following his uncle with the Buffalo Bandits made him a better person and a hockey player. He learned many skills in lacrosse, such as spinning off checks and battling in traffic, which he would then transfer to ice hockey.  The transfer improved Tavares’ abilities as a goal scorer on the ice.

At seven, his parents moved him up an age group in order to play with older kids.  At his current age group Tavares proved too dominant, which became a common theme in his development.

When joining the Oshawa Generals, Tavares petitioned to gain eligibility to play major junior in the spring of 2005. Within the OHL rules, players under the age of 15 could not be drafted, but they ammended this rule introducing a new one known as the “exceptional player” clause.  This rule allowed the 14-year old Tavares to be drafted one year sooner than he would otherwise have been eligible.

As the youngest player to ever be drafted in the OHL, only Bobby Orr played at a younger age.  The “rule changer” makes strides throughout his career.

Tavares also focused of an unsuccessful push to have the NHL’s draft rules changed.  This rule change would allow him to participate in the 2008 Entry Draft, as well as an attempt to allow him to play in the American Hockey League as a 17-year-old in 2007.

What had happened once would unfortunately not happen again.

Directly from the draft to Ice Works, Tavares took the quick road to the NHL.  Now, the top line talent within the Islanders organization, his rookie sesason looks seasoned to say the least.

Currently, Tavares sits tied with Colorado Avalanche forward Matt Duchene for the league in rookie scoring, with 29 points. Although he hit a minor slump, outside of Jimmy Howard, Tavares still holds the lead for the Calder Trophy.

If the Islanders make the playoffs the Calder trophy is a lock, barring any significant injury.

Anthony Curatolo
NHLHS Senior Writer
acuratolo@nhlhotstove.com
Twitter: @ACHockeyGuys