By David Strehle
NHL Hot Stove Managing Editor

When the Philadelphia Flyers selected center Sean Couturier with the eighth-overall pick in this past June’s entry draft, they knew they were getting a very good player.  He had been ranked the first-overall prospect at one point before contracting mononucleosis, at which time his spot in the Central Scouting Bureau’s rankings went into a free fall.

Only time will tell just how good of a player the 18-year-old rookie will develop into eventually, but he’s looked like anything but a youngster in the first 14 games of the season.

After a strong showing in training camp and exhibition games, head coach Peter Laviolette showed his confidence in Courturier from day one.  He saw significant ice time in the final five minutes of a 2-1 victory over the Boston Bruins on opening night – including the last minute of regulation – all the while protecting a one-goal lead.

One by one, the draft class of 2011 that still had eligibility remaining were sent back to their junior teams.  Jonathan Huberdeau (Third-overall by the Florida Panthers; Saint John Sea Dogs), Ryan Strome (Fifth-overall by the New York Islanders; Niagara IceDogs), Mika Zibanejad (Sixth-overall by the Ottawa Senators; Djurgarden), and Mark Scheifele (Seventh-overall by the Winnipeg Jets; Barrie Colts) were all returned to their respective junior squads.

Amid speculation by many NHL scribes that it may be better for his development to send him back to the Drummondville Voltigeurs of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, Couturier instead played his way onto the Flyers’ roster.

Couturier celebrates his first career NHL goal in Ottawa on October 18th. (Photo credit: Phillip MacCallum / Getty Images North America)

Couturier has no eligibility to be farmed out to the Adirondack Phantoms of the American Hockey League, so once he skated in game number 11 – which was against the Carolina Hurricanes on October 29th - it was guaranteed that he will be with Philadelphia for the remainder of the season.

Couturier joined first-overall pick, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (Edmonton Oilers), second-overall selection, Gabriel Landeskog (Colorado Avalanche), and Adam Larsson (New Jersey Devils) as the only four players in the top-eight draft choices to stick with their respective team’s rosters past game 10.

There is good reason why the Flyers’ brass came to the decision to keep him with the big club.  Couturier has thrived, even when the team has had rough stretches, notching five goals and eight points.

Perhaps most impressive, he leads the team in plus / minus ratings with a +9, and has not finished a game on the minus side of the ledger all year.

Pretty impressive stuff from the 6′ 3″, 197-pounder.

And Couturier continues to get better with additional ice time, and has notched three goals and four points in his last three contests – including the first two-goal game of his young career Saturday night in a 9-2 rout of the Columbus Blue Jackets.

“I didn’t think of it that way, but I’m just trying to help the team win and do what I can do,” said Couturier when reminded after Saturday’s game that he was drafted with the pick acquired from the Blue Jackets.

In addition to his yeomen-like work as a penalty killer, he’s been a threat to score while a man short several times in the young season.  Couturier converted his first career shorthanded tally in the tilt against Columbus, and it likely will not be his last.

Laviolette’s system lends itself to attacking, even while the opponent has a man advantage.  Playing with other talented, fleet-footed forwards like Claude Giroux, injured fellow-rookie Matt Read, and Max Talbot on the penalty-killing unit will definitely lead to many more scoring opportunities in that situation.

Couturier has even been seeing a good amount of time on the club’s power play unit  in recent contests.

When asked how he felt with his increasing role in the Flyers’ offensive game, he was optimistic.  ”As the year goes on we get more and more comfortable (with each other), and just hope it keeps going well.”

TSN’s Bob McKenzie made a rather bold prediction just prior to the commencement of the regular season that Matt Read, another Philadelphia rookie  forward, would win the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s rookie-of-the-year.

With Couturier’s performance, it looks like the Flyers may have more than one freshman candidate to keep an eye on as the season rolls along.

Read, who has missed the last three games with an “upper body injury”, has three goals and seven points in 11 games, as compared to Couturier’s five and eight in 14.  The pair will have to battle Nugent-Hopkins, Landeskog, Larsson, as well as Vancouver Canucks forward Cody Hodgson, and Craig Smith of the Nashville Predators, who are early front-runners for the award.

At any rate, it’s clear that Philadelphia made a shrewd move in acquiring Columbus’ eighth-overall pick, and the fact that they have landed quite a gem in Couturier.

“He (Couturier) continues to play solid hockey for us at both ends of the ice,” Laviolette noted in his press conference after Saturday night’s game.  “Defensively, penalty kill, he does the right things.  Offensively, he got some opportunities and cashed them in.  He’s been really strong.”

If you have any comments or questions, you can email the author at dstrehle@nhlhotstove.com.  You can also follow him on Twitter – @David_Strehle

A lot of the fans of the copper and blue started to pay attention to Ryan Nugent-Hopkins around the time of last summer’s draft, with surely only a few able to catch him on the ice playing for the Red Deer Rebels out of the WHL.  As a top pick fans had plenty to be excited about, but it can make even the most casual of fans nervous as to whether or not he can “hang” in the NHL.

Nugent-Hopkins got a chance to show off his flash during Oilers development camp as well as World Junior camp.  He has the speed and hands, but fans and media alike continue to wonder how his skill would translate into the NHL, especially surrounded by so many youthful players like himself.

Where is Nugent-Hopkins’ place in terms of a line?  No one will know until opening night, but there are plenty of potential different combinations.

Veteran leadership is something it seems everyone likes to stress when a rookie takes to the ice.  But when the most “veteran” player on the team is goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin, veteran leadership is almost out the window.

Lucky for Nugent-Hopkins is that Ryan Smyth is back on the roster in Edmonton, with 15 seasons under his belt - 10 of which came with the Oilers.  Even though he is five years short of age 40, Smyth can still put up good numbers.  In his last season with the Los Angeles Kings, he scored 23 goals and posted 47 points in 82 games.  As a young center, Nugent-Hopkins could get a lot of advice from Smyth if the two were to play on a line together, or even if they just join forces on the power play or penalty kill.

Nugent-Hopkins could help Smyth in racking up more goals this season, but likely where he could get the most done is centering a wonder line between Jordan Eberle and Hall.

Hall had a breakout rookie season, tallying 22 goals and recording 42 points in 65 games - an average .65 points per game.  To put that in perspective, Calder Trophy winner Skinner had .77 points per game, while Calder finalists Couture had .71 points per game, and Michael Grabner (who led rookies in goals with 34) had .68 points per game.  The season Hall had, which included both a hat trick and Gordie Howe hat trick, went seemingly unnoticed just because of the poor Oilers record.

A first-round pick (22nd overall) in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, Eberle had a successful rookie season.  The winger had 18 goals and 25 assists to finish with 43 points in 69 games.  Eberle could be depended on for a clutch goal, if not a fancy one as well.

Both rookies had abbreviated seasons due to injury and illness.  Eberle missed a handful of games with appendicitis, and Hall had his season cut short after sustaining a high ankle sprain in a fight.

The youngest on the line, Nugent-Hopkins could step in and turn either Eberle or Hall into at least a 30-goal scorer.  Prior to being drafted, Nugent-Hopkins finished his WHL season with an astonishing 106 points.  He had 31 goals and 75 assists, while also getting better at playing a two-way game.

A lot of different factors would go into the success of such a line.  The biggest factor would be Nugent-Hopkins’ transition into a league that is entirely new to him.  If he starts off the season poorly, it could bring the rest of the line down.

Another important factor would be the amount of hits the line can take.  Neither Hall nor Eberle are known for throwing big hits and Nugent-Hopkins was not known to scrap in juniors, either.  They would need to make sure that the defense on the ice with them would be there to protect them and at times, stand up for them if need be.

Nugent-Hopkins is unlikely to be the second coming of Wayne Gretzky, as much as some fans or media make him out to be.  But he certainly has the potential to do something great in Edmonton.

Only one week left in the season but still plenty of story lines surrounding the League. As of this writing, and mostly thanks to the Dallas Stars, only three teams in the Western Conference — Detroit Red Wings, Vancouver Canucks and San Jose Sharks — have clinched.  However, not everything in the Western Conference is focused on winning and losing as we do see five teams already well out of contention, focusing their attention on try-out and to a lesser extent scouting.

RED WINGS CLINCH PLAYOFFS, THEN DIVISION

With a victory over arch-rival Pekka Rinne and the Nashville Predators on Saturday, the Detroit Red Wings clinched a playoff spot.

Instead of resting on their laurels, they sent newly-healthy Jimmy Howard back out to the wolves against the Minnesota Wild the next day and earned the Central Division. In addition, the team even sent Pavel Datsyuk back into the lineup, having him center a line with Henrik Zetterberg once again, a sign that the two may combine for one of the more powerful lines to enter the playoffs.

After an embarrassing 10-3 loss to the St. Louis Blues earlier in the week, the Red Wings want to enter the playoffs on a strong note.

Defeating the Predators and “lighting” Rinne up for four goals might have given this sleeping monster all the fuel they needed. In fact, the entire team may have awoken, starting with Todd Bertuzzi — who fought Shane O’Brien not once, but twice. The Red Wings rarely find the need to carry an enforcer or a planned fighter but perhaps Bertuzzi would be more than happy to take on that role. Adding a bit of extra snarl certainly never hurts in the postseason, although history may indicate that Bertuzzi lets his emotions get the best of him, so the team could be dealing with a double-edge sword, or blade in this instance…

For the Red Wings to play well, they need an even effort from all involved, from Zetterberg and Datsyuk to Justin Abdelkader and Bertuzzi, as cited by Mike Babcock via Mlive:

“I thought Bertuzzi was great today. He was physical, he was standing up for his teammates a lot. Abdelkader played real well. Howie made some big saves down the stretch, the guys stuck with it and we were able to win.”

It seems like they are doing just that with Darren Helm even drawing comparison in terms of leadership to Kris Draper.

This older Red Wings team has the ability to strike fear into their opponents with their plethora of offensive talent. Now, playing with an edge, and a budding superstar in Howard between the pipes, they could very well get back into the Stanley Cup Finals for the third time in four years.

STARS MAKE THINGS A BIT MORE INTERESTING

The Dallas Stars have been incredibly fun to follow this season for a variety of reasons.

First, they were never expected to make the playoffs and by all means still may not. Second, their ownership situation has been questionable at best with the controversy surrounding Tom Hicks and the team’s inability to re-sign Brad Richards. Third, their coverage is just incredibly good thanks to Mark Stepneski, who ran the independent news source Andrew’s Stars Page, which eventually was bought out and now featured by ESPN Dallas.

Stepneski posted this excellently worded tidbit prior to last night’s regulation win over the Ducks. Let me paraphrase.

If the Stars win in regulation (which they did) they essentially make things a little more interesting. Exactly 15.5 percent more interesting as they not only climbed their way back into the race with a 24.6 percent chance of making it, but they also prevented all three of their Pacific Division rivals — Phoenix Coyotes, Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks — from clinching!

All the Ducks needed to do was win in regulation and they would have made the big show. So would the Coyotes and the Kings, making the Stars just that much more compelling as a team.

However, before we move forward, let’s take a small step back.

The Stars play in one of the most challenging divisions, especially this season where all five teams likely would qualify if they played in the Eastern Conference. In addition, this team withstood lengthy injuries from Loui Eriksson, Richards, Jamie Benn and Adam Burish up front and Karlis Skrastins, Nicklas Grossman and Mark Fistric on the back end. Last night they had journeymen Brad Lukowich and Jason Williams dressed.

Resiliency seems like a very nice word to use here.

Furthermore, the team got a full season out of Kari Lehtonen and got him for a player who was since traded from the Atlanta Thrashers and has yet to make an impact on the NHL level, or the AHL level for that matter. They made a shrewd move re-acquiring Jamie Langenbrunner from the New Jersey Devils and managed to look great in acquiring Alex Goligoski — who may be their best puck-moving defenseman since Sergei Zubov.

For what it is worth, the Stars made 2010-2011 very interesting and Joe Nieuwendyk and company deserve a good deal of respect because of it, regardless if they make the playoffs this season.

COREY CRAWFORD FOR CALDER?

Most of the Calder Trophy discussion has been limited to Logan Couture and Jeff Skinner (especially after Skinner lightning up Carey Price and the Habs) but Corey Crawford gets my (non PHWA) vote.

The man breaks into the NHL after five years in the AHL and takes the defending Stanley Cup Champions back into the playoffs after they stumbled out of the gate. More importantly, Crawford has 31 wins and is in the top 10 in terms of GAA while Couture and Skinner play less important roles as secondary scorers on the second or third line. While one could certainly make the argument for Skinner — who plays mostly with Finnish forwards Jussi Jokinen and Tuomo Ruutu — Couture definitely has more comfortable surroundings than his likely competitors come awards time.

Yes, Crawford is arguably on the top team in the League, or the team expected to be that, but the Blackhawks have really struggled this season.

They have played without Patrick Kane, Marian Hossa and Patrick Sharp for lengthy amounts of time while dealing with uneven seasons for guys like Duncan Keith, Brian Campbell and to a lesser degree Niklas Hjalmarsson. Notice how I fail to mention losing Dustin Byfuglien, Andrew Ladd and others to the offseason.

One of the biggest knock on the Blackhawks have been their defense, or lack of this season which has been sheltered by their above-average offensive — nine different players have 12 goals or more; six top 17 tallies. Life in Chicago has been no picnic, opposed to last season when the Blackhawks clearly coddled their netminders.

Both Cristobal Huet and Antti Niemi last season saw their save percentage plummet simply due to boredom as they got less work and therefore stayed less sharp throughout the game. Niemi’s “exposure” during the Finals is evidence to this catching up to them at the wrong time with the offense bailing them out.

This year has been a completely different story with Crawford facing close to 27 shots per game. The 26-year-old has stood on his head for lengthy periods of time, showing signs of perfection (four shutouts). The addition of Crawford has legitimately made the Blackhawks a better team which is more than you can say for Couture, and to a lesser degree even Skinner.

SITTING OUT WHEN IT DOESN’T COUNT

Yes, we have five teams officially eliminated for the playoffs. Should those teams let their superstars, or better players rather sit out their remaining games?

The Edmonton Oilers probably take the least amount of blame in this situation since they have been blistered by foot injuries. Their reckless (in a good way) play led to an exorbitant amount of blocked shots and injuries, from captain Shawn Horcoff to Calder nominee Taylor Hall. Due to a slew of injuries, the team has been forced to field a team with Chris Vande Velde and Teemu Hartikainen on the top line. At this point, head coach Tom Renney is hoping he can get through the rest of the week without re-calling anyone from Oklahoma City.

But honestly, the gripe should not be with the Oilers. Especially when the most important players on the Columbus Blue Jackets, Colorado Avalanche and (arguably) the Minnesota Wild sit out.

St. Louis Blues forward TJ Oshie was berated by team brass for missing a team practice, forcing him to miss two games, however Rick Nash will not be forced into any games because the Blue Jackets would prefer him healed up for next pre-season. Makes sense, right? The scarce populace inhabiting Nationwide Arena would prefer seeing Derek MacKenzie center Kristian Huselius, who returned last night after a lengthy absence, but Nash’s season is lost because if there is nothing worth playing for then their star needs to be held out.

Likewise, the Wild may be jeopardizing their AHL affiliate Houston Aeros by taking all of their NHL-ready talent. Not only have they already lost Marco Scandella for the year but they risk hurting Maxim Noreau, Justin Falk, Colton Gillies and Carson McMillan because Marek Zidlicky, Nick Schultz, John Madden and Martin Havlat could not bear to play with only three games left in the year. No use putting these kids into a position where they can succeed, just throw them on a sinking team.

Don’t even get me started on the Avalanche, where John Michael Liles and Paul Stastny are done for the year as is their offensive chemistry. Can’t seem to recall a team that shot up so fast before crashing so hard. Remind me to never trade for Erik Johnson…

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Thanks for reading. If for some reason you made it through my rant, please stick around for several other new articles from today as the entire staff does excellent, hard work here. You can contact me at amonaghan@nhlhotstove.com.

When Michael Grabner, or “Flash” as some of teammates have nicknamed him,  was claimed off Waivers by the New York Islanders there was no way for any to foresee what was ahead for the 23-year-old Austrian rookie. But since coming to Long Island Grabner has established himself as a serious contender for Rookie of the Year honors and has been a major part of the Islanders recent success.

Grabner was a gift from the hockey gods, being waived by the Florida Panthers before the season started and allowing the Islanders to pick him up. A fact that is not lost on Islanders forward Matt Moulson.

“I’m glad Florida sent him down and we picked him up, Moulson said after Friday morning’s practice. “He’s a tremendous player and he’s obviously the fastest guy in the league right now.”

Michael Grabner one on one with Jonathan Quick

While not much was know about Grabner, it has become abundantly clear that his speed is one of, if not, his best assets.  Grabner won fastest skater at the NHL All Star game in January and it’s that speed that Frans Nielson believes gives defenses the hardest time.

“Obviously, that’s what stands out, Nielson started off saying when Grabner’s speed was brought up. “He really uses that and you can see every teams defense has trouble with him when they try to skate with him. They can’t handle him.”

It’s that has helped Grabner break out with the Islanders. This season he has  25 goals for 36 points in 55 games. Not to mention he has six goals in his last five games and is recently coming off a six game scoring streak.

“Every single game it seems like he’s going to get three breakaways a game and five, six good chances,” Moulson said about Grabner. “When he’s putting pucks in the net it seems like the other guys feed off it.”

Grabner’s success on Long Island has not been lost on the rest of the NHL. Since the All Star break chatter about him as a Calder Trophy candidate and after his recent play he has permanently positioned himself in the Calder conversation.

However while everyone else is talking Calder, Grabner is just trying to play his game.

“I’m not trying to think about it too much. I’m just trying to go out there and help the team win, Grabner said after the Islanders 3-0 win over the Kings. “I don’t want to get away from my game. I just going to try and go out there and do the same thing every night.”

In the end Grabner has become this year’s break out Islander and is on pace for a 30 goal season.  If anything more should come of it that’s all Gravy, but he doesn’t seemed to worried.

“There are a lot of good young players in the league so whatever happens in the end happens.”

Christian Arnold
NHLHS New York Islanders Correspondent
Twitter:  @isleshockeyblog
Email: ChristianArn312@aol.com

by David Strehle
NHLHS Philadelphia Flyers Correspondent

There have been many fantastic first-year players to wear the Orange-and-Black throughout the storied history of the Philadelphia Flyers franchise, but none has ever taken home the Calder Trophy as the National Hockey League’s rookie-of-the-year.

It’s not like the Flyers haven’t had any freshmen deserving of the honor, they just seemed to lost out for one reason or another.

The History

In 1972-73, left winger Bill Barber scored 30 goals and 64 points, but lost out to New York Ranger Steve Vickers.  Vickers also tallied 30 times and had 53 points, but many believed that playing in the media hub of the Big Apple was what gave him the nod over Barber.

Goaltender Pete Peeters posted an amazing 29-5-5 record during the infamous 1979-80 campaign in which the team went 35 games without a loss, but just so happened to be in the same rookie class as future Hall-of-Fame defenseman Raymond Bourque, who won the Calder.

Center Dave Poulin scored 31 goals and racked up 76 points during the 1983-84 season, but the award instead went to 18-year-old Buffalo Sabres’ netminder Tom Barrasso.  Fresh out of high school, Barrasso had a 26-12-3 mark for the Sabres.

Goaltender Ron Hextall burst onto the NHL scene in the 1986-87 campaign, with his never before seen puck-handling abilities and combative style.  ”Hexy” had a 37-21-6 record, but the award went to Los Angeles Kings sniper Luc Robitaille, who scored 45 goals and 84 points.

In 1992-93 Eric Lindros, a much-ballyhooed phenom, scored 41 goals and 75 points – but the Calder rightfully went to Teemu Selanne of the Winnipeg Jets.  The “Finnish Flash” had a sensational season, setting league records with 76 goals and 132 points.

The very next season, right winger Mikael Renberg played on the “Legion of Doom” Line with Lindros and John LeClair and notched 38 goals and 82 points.  But Philadelphia’s division-rival New Jersey Devils iced a goaltender named Martin Brodeur, who posted a 27-11-8 mark during the 1993-94 season.

Noticing a pattern?  With the exception of Vickers, the player beating out the young Flyers’ Calder candidate is either already enshrined in the Hockey Hall-of-Fame, worthy of inclusion (Barrasso, who was inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall-of-Fame in 2009), or will be upon their retirement.

Enter “Bob”

Photo courtesy of Getty Images

At this season’s All-Star break, the Flyers have another worthy candidate, as goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky is right in the thick of the Calder Trophy hunt.  With a 21-6-3 record, a 2.42 goals-against average, and .920 save percentage, the 22-year-old Russian rookie netminder has to be considered one of the favorites to win the award.

Signed by Philadelphia to a three-year contract that will pay him $1.75 million annually in May of 2010, Bobrovsky had been on the Flyers’ radar for some time.

“Sergei is a kid that we knew about in his draft year“, said GM Paul Holmgren.  ”It came up last year, the opportunity to maybe sign him as a free agent.  One of our scouts looks at the KHL [Kontinental Hockey League] exclusively.  Sergei was stuck for the last couple of years playing for a not very good team, but his goals-against was good, his save percentage was good.  We watched some tape on him and decided to take the plunge.”

“Bob” took full advantage of incumbent Michael Leighton’s pre-season back injury in taking over the reigns as the club’s number one goalie to open the season.  He gained notoriety by beating the Penguins on opening night in Pittsburgh in the inaugural game at CONSOL Energy Center.  He proceeded to post a 5-2-0 record in October, but bigger things were yet to come.

Bobrovsky was named the NHL’s Rookie of the Month for November, as he registered a 7-1-2 mark, with a 2.03 goals-against average and .931 save percentage.  He started a stretch of 12 consecutive games as head coach Peter Laviolette stuck with his hot hand.

As the calendar flipped to December, the landscape of the crease area began to change in the City of Brotherly Love.  The level of Bobrovsky’s play dropped off a bit, and Laviolette went with backup Brian Boucher.  Boucher played very well and the Flyers were winning, so the coach went with the status quo.

Bobrovsky’s December was average, at best, as he was only able to post a 3-3-1 record.

Photo courtesy of Getty Images

After watching Boucher win the first three contests of January, Bobrovsky didn’t get back into game action until 1-11-11 in a road game against the Buffalo Sabres,  and things didn’t get off to a good start that night.

The Flyers came out flat-footed and Buffalo took full advantage.  They outshot Philadelphia 12-3 in the first nine minutes of the game and jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead .  But Bobrovsky got stronger as the night went along, and he wouldn’t allow another goal.  He outdueled Ryan Miller, stopping 38 of 40 Sabres’ shots in gaining the 5-2 victory.

That game seemed to be a turning point for Bobrovsky.  Including the Buffalo game, he has won his last six starts and has not yielded more than two goals in any one of them.  The streak also contains victories over the Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks, Washington Capitals, and Montreal Canadiens.

The rookie has looked very confident in net lately.  “The confidence is the most important thing for me so I can calm down and play to the best of my abilities and keep winning”, Bobrovsky said after Tuesday night’s win over Montreal.

When asked what the difference has been between the time of his slump in December and his hot play of late, Bobrovsky said he really didn’t know.  “I don’t have an explanation for my let down.  I don’t really know what happened for me to start playing better again.  I came out and played every game the same way.”

Whatever brought about the change, chances are it stems from his work with goaltending coach Jeff Reese.

Photo courtesy of Getty Images

Over the course of his 6-0-0 run in January, Bobrovsky’s goals-against average is a miniscule 1.83, and a .940 save percentage.

He may just be on pace to become the first Flyers Calder Trophy winner.

The Competition

His biggest competition over the last 30 games of the year will likely come from forwards Logan Couture of the San Jose Sharks and Carolina’s Jeff Skinner, with such dark horses as Taylor Hall of the Edmonton Oilers, Derek Stepan of the New York Rangers, and Buffalo’s Tyler Ennis.

The challenges from his fellow goaltenders will come from Chicago’s Corey Crawford and Washington’s Michal Neuvirth.

Barring any kind of move by the Flyers to acquire a veteran netminder for the stretch run, Bobrovsky should get the bulk of work in the final 30 games of the regular season.  And that should do nothing but help his chances to win the Calder Trophy.

The Irony

The irony of it all is that Philadelphia has not had the most-endearing relationship with Russians over the years.

Beginning with Bobby Clarke’s slash that broke Valeri Kharlamov’s ankle in the ’72 Canada vs. Russia Summit Series; continuing with the ’76 Soviet Red Army game at the Spectrum in which the Red Army players left the ice surface because of the rough play of the Flyers; and the stubbornness of the Philly brass to ice Russian players, the mix has not been a good one.

Until this season, that is, and it all began with the signing of Bobrovsky.

Add in Clarke’s refusal to acknowledge the crease area when building his Flyer teams over his long tenure as the club’s GM, and Bobrovsky appears to be the answer to quite a few Philly failures.

And with the good probability that the Flyers’ Calder drought could quickly become a thing of the past, so too could Philadelphia’s 36-year stretch of not winning the Stanley Cup.  All in the same season.

If so, it could be in large part due to the man they call “Bob”.

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If you have any comments or questions, you can email the author at dstrehle@nhlhotstove.com.  You can also follow him on Twitter - @PhilaDAVEia.

Every year the excitement and anticipation start to heat up as final roster cuts are prepared by 30 organizations within the National Hockey League.

With that comes the added thrill of witnessing new talents arrive on the ice. Last season was remarkable, especially when discussing the youth of the game.  John Tavares of the New York Islanders, James van Reimsdyk of the Philadelphia Flyers, Matt Duchene of the Colorado Avalanche, Jimmy Howard of the Detroit Red Wings, Niclas Bergfors of the Atlanta Thrashers and Jamie Benn of the Dallas Stars all earned themselves a chance to become a part of a future as well as hopefully avoiding a sophomore slump.  And with all that great talent on board in the NHL, there was one other player, last years Calder trophy recipient, Tyler Myers of the Buffalo Sabres.

Myers was able to beat out some fantastic performances and was rewarded with the Calder Memorial Trophy in Las Vegas after the seasons came to an end.

Pardon the fact that not every rookie who stood out last year, whether it was in limited action or in as close to a complete season as possible, has been mentioned but each and every player has created a path for themselves as well as their opportunity to help make their respective club better with their on ice play.

For a lot of players who make a name for themselves during training camp and preseason, if they can keep up the pace and last past the nine game “try-out” prior to being sent down for further development, it’s a good sign of things to come.

This year, the hype has already been put into place since prior to the 2010 NHL Entry Draft where everyone across the North American continent were given nothing but Taylor Hall and Tyler Seguin.

Both, through training camp and preseason play, have earned themselves at least nine games with their teams. Hall will start and likely survive an entire season in Edmonton while Seguin has benefited from the loss of Marc Savard, for the time being, and will be part of the Bruins on ice product when the season drops the puck.

However, let’s not fool ourselves here.  Outside of those two names, there remain at least a handful of other rookies to keep a very close eye on.  This year’s calder cup nominees, at least from the opinion of this writer, are:

Who will take this home at the end of this season in the NHL?

1. Taylor Hall – Edmonton Oilers:

Hall, as the scouts say, exemplifies all the tools to be a top six talent within the NHL. The Oilers, fortunately for Hall, are going through a transition stage in which most of the talent on the ice this year will be skaters who have not witnessed a taste of the NHL. Scoring 106 points in only 57 OHL games shows plenty of promise from the young talents game. Now all that remains is bringing that talent up a notch to match the level required to skate in the NHL. With top line minutes written all over Hall, he could find himself as the leading candidate for the trophy at the end of the season.

2. Tyler Seguin – Boston Bruins

Though Hall was the, disputed, first overall selection at the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, Tyler Seguin was not far behind as the number two. Within the Calder trophy candidates, both Hall and Seguin have opportunities to show off their talents by the clubs that drafted them this season and will likely be part of the final voting process if everything pans out accordingly.

3. Jordan Eberle – Edmonton Oilers

Though they played in two different leagues, Eberle matched Hall in offensive production last year in the WHL by registering 106 points in only 57 games.  Gifted offensively, and with the talent he will join on the Edmonton roster, there is no reason why Eberle will be left out of a top six role this upcoming season. As long as he stays focused to his role, being as gifted with the puck as he is, there could be a solid argument made at the end of this season for Eberle being the NHLs best rookie.

4. Jonathan Bernier – Los Angeles Kings

Recently signed to a two-year extension, the Kings know what they are locking up and securing for the near future. After dominating the American Hockey League last year, though an opportunity to make the Kings club was there, it was only a matter of time before Bernier cracked the Kings roster and now has the opportunity to steal the show. The Kings took the proper approach with the young Bernier by letting him truly develop and become the best player he can at the AHL level.  Be prepared to witness greatness out of Los Angeles this year.

5.  Magnus Paajarvi – Edmonton Oilers

Another Oilers player on the list, and another Oilers player with plenty of promise provided by his development.  Gifted with speed, skill and a knack for the net, Paajarvi is as close to a complete player as possible. With top notch acceleration, and a lethal wrist shot, we could witness big offensive numbers from the first year talent out of Edmonton this upcoming season.

6. Nino Niederreiter – New York Islanders

Say what you will about El Nino making the Isles club due to the injuries to Okposo, and recently Schremp but this kid and his talent can not go unnoticed. Niederreiter was a sure bet, in my opinion, to make the Islanders team out of camp and preseason action.  When a talent this promising comes along, it’s hard to pass up the opportunity to have him develop with the big club rather than waste him away with another year in juniors.

7. P.K. Subban – Montreal Canadiens

The emergence of Subban during the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs last season came as a surprise to some but after being put into the spotlight due to an injury to Andrei Markov, Subban was able to shine. Look for the youngster to skate alongside Markov on the top power-play unit in Montreal and likely as the second pairing defending at even strength. Subban is a world class talent and should not be overlooked for any occasion.

8. Michal Neuvirth – Washington Capitals

Though not number one on this list, Neuvirth has already been slated to start the season as the number one netminder in Washington. With that, his opportunity at the Calder trophy multiplies. Though he still needs to show that he is number one material for the long haul, despite two Calder Cup victories at the AHL level. ‘Neuvy’ is the name to keep a very close eye on this NHL season. On a fantasy note, it’s shocking he is only owned in 16% of leagues.

9. Logan Couture – San Jose Sharks

Probably one of the long shots on this list, but Couture has all the tools to become a solid top six player, however with Thornton and Pavelski already the top two on the club, Couture will not see enough minutes to start the year in order to truly prove his overall value.

10. Sergei Bobrovsky – Philadelphia Flyers

The Russian free agent signed by the club during last season has made impressive strides during preseason to create quite a stir out of Philly. What would have been a difficult task, figuring out what to do with Bobrovsky to start the year, the Philadelphia Flyers black cloud took over and struck Michael Leighton with a back injury that will see him miss at least one month’s time of action.  Due to his play, Bobrovsky is likely to see time in Philadelphia, though something that might not be a smart move in development – playing the back up role – there is the one option that once he does see his first NHL start, he could steal the show.

Who are your Calder candidates?

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

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