Dmitri Orlov's North American Debut

Me, my sign, and Dmitri Orlov (photo by Ian Oland, thank you)

Being a Spitfires fan for the past few seasons, I tend to follow former Spitfires in their careers. Adam Henrique, one of my favorite Spitfires, as well as former Spitfires captain Harry Young, were drafted by the New Jersey Devils during their time in the OHL. Both players aged out of the CHL this past season, and were assigned to the Albany Devils out of training camp.

When I saw that the Hershey Bears were playing the Devils on a Saturday at Giant Center, I bought second row tickets several months in advance.

Imagine my surprise when a week before the game, the news broke that the Capitals' 2009 second-round draft pick Dmitri Orlov was on his way to Hershey, and was expected to make his debut on the day the Bears played the Albany Devils.

Being an Orlov fan, I set about making a sign in Russian to welcome him to Hershey. He saw the sign during warmups and smiled and nodded to me, and as the game began, I put on my proverbial blogger hat and watched Orlov very closely as he made his entrance into the AHL.

It definitely was like watching a superstar in the making. Despite spending his entire career to date on Russian ice, which is larger than North American ice, Orlov didn't miss a beat and seemed completely at ease. Paired with veteran defenseman Patrick Wellar, the two were very aware of each other despite speaking different languages.

Orlov was remarkably composed and didn't many mistakes. He spent time on the power play, on the second unit, where he showed off his booming shot from the blue line. One of those attempted shots led to a Steve Pinizzotto goal -- Orlov got the secondary assist on the PPG for his first AHL point in his first game (the next day, he'd follow it up with a primary assist on a Dmitri Kugryshev goal).

Coach Mark French was also impressed with Orlov's ability to seamlessly mesh into the Bears lineup. Though obviously concerned with Orlov's shaky grasp of the English language, French insinuated that in the short-term, it wouldn't get in the way of his play, as he "seems to have a decent hockey sense" and French said he was "impressed" with how Orlov played.

Capitals General Manager George McPhee agreed, telling reporters, "We got a report from someone that was at the game who said Orlov's first period the other night was the best first period he's ever seen from a 19-year-old in the American Hockey League... We're pretty high on this player."

Today, Orlov made the switch from PTO to ELC, signing his first contract with the Capitals. Given his work ethic and performance thus far, he's well on his way to a successful North American career.

 

Video highlights of Orlov's debut are here.

Video of Mark French's postgame remarks is here.

Windsor Spitfires Repeat as MasterCard Memorial Cup Champions

Well, I was going to do a gamer on the CHL Memorial Cup final, but it turns out there isn't too much to write about. The Spits channeled Game 1 again, and destroyed the Brandon Wheat Kings 9-1. It started off innocently enough, with a scoreless game for the first 6 minutes of the first period. Wheat Kings goalie De Serres and Spitfires goalie Grubauer were both making sparkling saves. De Serres earned himself a spot on a highlight reel with a dazzling kick-out save on a streaking Eric Wellwood in the first period.

And then Adam Henrique struck. And the Spits didn't stop until the final buzzer sounded. De Serres was excellent all night, but could only do so much without his team supporting him. The Wheat Kings gave the Spits too many chances, and that was definitely reflected in the final score, as well as the shot count (Windsor fired 52 shots on net to Brandon's 28). Henrique scored twice, with Wellwood, Hall, Nemisz, Cantin, Fowler, Kassian, and Mitchell adding markers for Windsor. The lone Wheat Kings goal was scored by Wheaties star Matt Calvert.

Despite the anticlimactic ending to the tournament, the Spitfires were ecstatic after the win, earning their place in history as being one of just eight CHL teams ever to win back-to-back championships. Taylor Hall became the first player ever to be named tournament MVP in consecutive years. The Spitfires organization raved about Hall post-game, expressing why they thought the young star should go #1 in this summer's NHL draft. Spits General Manager Warren Rychel said,

"He's as good as gone, he's sick... Sometimes NHL Central tries to create a story of who's rivaling who, but obviously there's no comparison (between Hall and No. 1 ranked Tyler Seguin). I thought he was the best player in the Canadian Hockey League."

The next season will be a tough one for the Spitfires - many of their best players are either expected to be drafted and play directly into the NHL (like Hall) or will be over the age limit for CHL players. The overagers are Scott Timmins (FLA), Dale Mitchell (TOR), Harry Young (NJD), Greg Nemisz (CGY), Adam Henrique (NJD), Mark Cundari (STL) and Eric Wellwood (PHI). This is the last you've seen of this particular lineup, but coach Bob Boughner is confident that it won't be the last you've seen of the Windsor Spitfires, despite the pressure:

"I know one thing: it's going to be tough to match what we've done here in the last two years."

Three stars:

1. Adam Henrique (2 goals, 1 assist)

2. Scott Timmins (2 assists, +3)

3. Matt Calvert (1 goal)

My star:

photo by Richard Wolowicz/Getty Images

Again, I agree with the actual first star. Adam Henrique was amazing - creating chances, handling the puck with ease, and definitely being the most effective player on the ice. It certainly doesn't hurt when Taylor Hall is your linemate, but I think that Henrique is definitely a star in his own right. I hope to see him in the NHL next year with the team that drafted him, the New Jersey Devils.

Video highlights are worth a look.

CHL Memorial Cup Begins: Time to See the NHL Stars of Tomorrow

Last year was the first year I saw the CHL Memorial Cup on the NHL Network.  And now, it's back, with the first game Friday, with action between the host Brandon Wheat Kings and defending champions Windsor Spitfires.

Now, to set the tone for this game, take a look at the video below.

In the first minute of play, Taylor Hall was nailed face-first into the boards by WJC teammate Travis Hamonic. Hall was down on the ice for about a minute, blood coming from his nose. He was able to get up and head to the bench, where they removed his helmet, revealing a bloody gash on his forehead as well.

So what’s a top draft prospect to do after a potentially game-ending injury?  Well, if your name is Taylor Hall, you go out on your next shift as usual, play the rest of the game, and score two goals in a 9-3 rout of the host Brandon Wheat Kings.

Teammate Cam Fowler said after the game,

"It’s scary. I don't know how he got up from that, to be honest with you.  He says it's because he's flexible. He's a resilient guy, but that was one of the worst ones I've seen all year. I’m just happy he's okay."

And Hall wasn't even the best on the day (he was named the game's *scoff* measly 3rd star).  Kenny Ryan kicked off the Windsor scoring at just 2:01 into the first period.  The floodgates opened and Windsor scored three more in the next three minutes, with markers from Timmins, Henrique, and Hall.

Around this point, down 4-0 less than 5 minutes into the first, everyone was expecting the #2 Brandon goalie Andrew Hayes to be pulled in favor of #1 Jacob De Serres.  Cameras continued to show De Serres standing expectantly in the bench area, clearly waiting for the signal from Brandon coach Kelly McCrimmon.  But the signal didn't come in the first period.  Taylor Hall scored again on a power play near the end of the first period to make it 5-0.

Jacob De Serres made his first appearance starting the 2nd period, and gave up 3 goals himself in the first 15 minutes of the period (to Henrique, Timmins, and Mitchell).  Brandon finally got on the scoreboard courtesy of Lewadniuk (who said after the game about Windsor, "That team is good.")

The Spits coasted in the third, scoring no goals but allowing two Brandon markers.  Though at that point, no one was really concerned about losing.  Windsor ended up with a score of 9-3 on the first day of the Memorial Cup tournament.

Brandon was of course coming off a 20-day break, after being kicked out of the playoffs by eventual WHL champions the Calgary Hitmen.  Some of the Wheat Kings acknowledged they may have been rusty from the long break.  Travis Hamonic said the blame did not lie with the goaltending, but with the whole team,

"I'm not going to point any fingers.  I think it was a team effort. There [were] 20 guys on the ice today and I think all 20 guys lost us the game."

As to Taylor Hall, sporting stitches on his forehead and nose, he experienced a little stiffness in his neck Saturday, but is none the worse for wear.  Apparently, a chiropractor once told him that he is unusually flexible, which could have prevented him from snapping his neck on the hit.  Coach Bob Boughner doesn't have concerns about the health of his star:

"He can take a pounding and he can also deliver one. I'd like to see him in a few years when he's added 10 pounds and is that much stronger."

We'll see what happens once NHL trainers get their hands on him.  In the meantime, his resilient play, as well as the power of his team, is sure to cause problems for future tournament opponents.  The Spitfires play WHL champions Calgary on Monday.  As both teams are 1-0, the winner will have automatic berth to the Championship game on May 23.

Three stars:

1. Adam Henrique (2 goals, 2 assists)

2. Mark Cundari (2 assists and a +4)

3. Taylor Hall (2 goals)

My star:

 photo by Aaron Bell/OHL Images

Taylor Hall.  

It's unbelievable that he was able to escape that hit without any serious injury and then score two goals to end up a +2 for the night.  This kid is really battling back for that #1 draft pick spot.