Partying with the Bears

Note: This blog post is pretty much purely fluff. I just wanted to share my experience of the Bears Cup Celebration and some of the funny things that happened. Also, I'm barely conscious due to lack of sleep from this very event.

After watching the thrilling conclusion of the Calder Cup Finals on Monday night, after the tears of happiness subsided, news came out that the party would be Tuesday night, 7:00-10:00 PM. In my stupor, I suddenly thought, "I have to be in Hershey tomorrow!"  So I reserved a Zipcar, printed out directions, and went to bed thinking thoughts of that shiny Calder Cup being passed around the ice of the Giant Center.

The problem? I work a 9-5 job and wouldn't be able to leave early. The second the clock hit 5:00 PM on Tuesday, I bolted out of the office. Three hours of infuriating traffic and some speeding later, I arrived at the Giant Center around 8:00 PM (free parking when it's usually $7? BONUS!) I entered the floor and found a swarm of people (as I learned later, estimated to be about 5,000) on the covered ice surface. I was able to track down my friend Kathryn, waiting for Karl Alzner's autograph. I'd missed the presentation/speech part, but was just in time for the autographs. I slid into line with Kathryn.

Alzner, much to my dismay, had shaved completely, and there was no trace left of the once-glorious lumberjack beard.

Before:
 

via DC Sports Bog

And *sob* After:
 

Next stop for me? Cody Eakin. A short line led to a very excited me nabbing a picture with the flame-haired Canadian. But here's him with a small child.

I was continuing to pass by Michal Neuvirth's table (his line was too long for me to wait in) and he is one of the guys who chose to keep his stunna shades on. Probably because his eyes were glazed over from how much he'd had to drink.

Steve Pinizzotto and Alexandre Giroux were sharing a table, and it was the next place I headed. I already have Giroux's autograph (courtesy of last year's Caps Convention), so waited in the line for Pinner. While some guys like Roo and Bryan Helmer opted for shaving their playoff beards into handlebar mustaches...

Pinner decided to go... a different route...

Yes, those would be stripes shaved into Pinner's beard.

I decided that with that look, Pinner strongly resembled a late-1990s AJ McLean, of Backstreet Boys fame:
 

Next... the time had come... for Keith Aucoin. A shockingly short line meant I thankfully didn't have much time to panic, though by the time I got to him I was still shaking like a leaf. He happily signed my jersey, which features his name and number, and I had enough time to snag a picture with him. One of the best quotes of the night was courtesy of Coiner. I wanted Coiner to sign on his numbers on the back of my jersey (the numbers are brown so a black Sharpie would not have worked), so Coiner reached over to grab the silver pen in front of tablemate Andrew Gordon. It had run dry (thankfully I had bought silver Sharpies that day). As I dug the pen out of my purse, Aucoin jokingly said of his linemate:

"I can't count on him for anything!"  

As with Alzner, Aucoin also shaved off the glory of his playoff, um, mutton chops.

Tablemate Andrew Gordon had a significantly longer line. We soon found out why. Gordo was having a conversation with everyone. By the time I got to him, he confessed to me that he really had to go to the bathroom (being as the guys had been drinking, several of them kept hopping over the boards and sprinting off to use the restroom). I found it hilarious that Gordo decided to share the status of his bladder with me.

By that time, there wasn't a whole lot of time left in the party. I sprinted to Chris Bourque's line, who was trying to drive people from his long line into tablemate Simon Ferguson's nonexistent line (ribbing Ferguson in the process). Bourque was sporting a Red Sox shirt and his MVP trophy was sitting on the table in front of him. Bourque also was gracious enough to take a picture with me.

There were about 10 minutes left, and I noticed that Zach Miskovic had no line.  Signed and picture (and absolutely kicking myself for not chatting with him about growing up in the Chicago suburbs, as both of us did). Braden Holtby's line was looking less than 10 minutes long. Signed and picture. I resisted asking him to be a part of my "Why Does He Do That?" feature regarding the famed "Holtbyisms."

After autographs were over, I made my first visit to the Bear's Den with tweeps Natalie (who shared her celebration experience with The Hockey Chronicles) and Kim, then hit the road, and finally got home around 2:15 AM. It was a stellar evening, and well worth the less-than-5-hours of sleep. Congratulations to the Hershey Bears, Calder Cup Champions for the 11th time.

(Autographs are, clockwise from the top left corner, Grant McNeill, Karl Alzner, Cody Eakin, Chris Bourque, Zach Miskovic, Andrew Gordon, Braden Holtby, Boyd Kane, and Steve Pinizzotto. And of course the back features Keith Aucoin.)

Final Note: Unless otherwise noted, all photographs in this post were taken by me and are my property.

Focus on Prospects: Joe Finley

photo by me

Name: Joe Finley

Position: D
Shoots: Left
Height: 6'7"
Weight: 247 lbs
Birthdate: 1987-06-29

Hometown: Edina, Minnesota

By popular demand, RoaRR presents: the man, the legend, Joe Finley.  Let's start off with the elephant in the room, shall we?

 created by the lovely Dana

Yes, the guy may not have the best judgment under the influence of alcohol and gets arrested for throwing lawnmowers into the street with his buddy, then gives the cops a fake name.  Oops.  He's also known as a bit of a thug by opponent teams.  He once allegedly slashed the Bucky the Beaver UW mascot during a game, and YouTube is littered with a few videos of fights and nasty hits.

But the bottom line is that he is a decent defenseman.  A first-round draft pick of the Capitals (27th overall) in 2005, Finley opted to go the college route instead of entering the minor leagues.  After a pre-college stint with the USHL Sioux Falls Stampede, Finley enrolled at University of North Dakota, where he quickly became a standout with the Fighting Sioux.  In his freshman year, he ended the season with a +18.  

He continued to improve his numbers through college (leading the team in +/- his sophomore and junior years) and learned to work with his large frame, but suffered a concussion in October of his senior year, which caused him to miss half the season.  The Capitals signed him after graduation in 2009, and he was assigned to the Hershey Bears.  He played one game with the Bears in 2009, and promptly made an impression, getting into a fight with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton enforcer Paul Bissonnette (now with the Phoenix Coyotes).

He attended Capitals development and rookie camps in 2009, and was briefly moved to forward by coach Bruce Boudreau.  The move didn't quite work out, but Finley went pro as a defenseman, spending the 2009-10 season with ECHL's South Carolina Stingrays (and eating the entire buffet at Golden Corral while he was at it).  Unfortunately, he was only able to play 17 games, as he suffered a freak hand injury (an artery in his hand ruptured) which required surgery, as well as sitting out the rest of the season.

Generally, I hate to quote blocks of text from Hockey's Future, but in Finley's case, it sums him up much better than I could:

In addition to his enormous frame, Finley has tremendous focus and work ethic. He has steadily improved his overall game (in particular his puck handling and skating) since being drafted. Finley is a surprisingly good skater for a 6’7 player. He is very agile, and has a heavy, accurate shot.

He'll need some more development before we see him playing with the Capitals, but he's on his way.  Development camp will be a good time to look at him - he's coming off of injury plus some pro game experience.  With all signs pointing to DC for John Carlson and Karl Alzner next year, Finley will be one of the prospects fighting for the open d-men spots on the Hershey roster.  General Manager George McPhee and Boudreau will have their eye on him; after the fight with Bissonnette, McPhee said, "It certainly showed some moxie."

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.

Why Does He Do That?: Andrew Gordon

I've decided to start a new feature on my blog, "Why Does He Do That?" - dedicated to hockey players' strange quirks or routines that may leave fans with questions. 

We'll start off with Andrew Gordon of the Hershey Bears. Over the past several games (well, not the past two as he was recently injured) I've noticed that after he hits an opponent, he will often pause and pat the fallen opponent on the head before skating away. Take a look at the video above from the Bears playoff series with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. At around 1:02, Gordon lays a nice hit on Sound Tiger Jesse Joensuu. Joensuu is is knocked to the ice from the force of the hit, while Gordon is able to stay on his skates. As he starts to skate away, he pats the fallen Joensuu on the helmet. Joensuu, clearly ticked off at this gesture, grapples with his stick to try to maybe hook Gordon as he skates off.

I'm friends with Andrew Gordon on Facebook, and he's very active with fan outreach on there. So I asked him what was up with the love pats. He answered my question later that day.

He said he doesn't do it every time, but sometimes he does if an opponent is going to hit him and he ends up taking the opponent down on the hit instead. "Tipping their helmet after you've already embarrassed them just rattles them a little more," he says. He does it to build up rivalries with guys on other teams, so that when he lines up for a faceoff, he knows who is going to play him physical, and thus he's able to see the hits coming in advance.

Now that we know, that little quirk makes a lot more sense. I mostly just found it amusing that our smiley Gordo has a little mean streak in him! RoaRR wishes him a speedy recovery, especially now that the Manchester Monarchs have tied up the conference series. Go Bears!

See any other players doing weird stuff you'd like explained? Make suggestions to me on Twitter for future "Why Does He Do That?" posts.

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.

Focus on Prospects: Stefan Della Rovere

photo by Aaron Bell/OHL Images

Name: Stefan Della Rovere

Position: LW

Shoots: Left

Height: 5'11"

Weight: 200 lbs

Birthdate: 1990-02-25

Hometown: Maple, Ontario

For anyone who watched the 2010 World Junior Championships, Stefan Della Rovere ("Delly" to fans) is not an unfamiliar name. Famously losing the Gold Medal to American hero John Carlson, Della Rovere wore an "A" for that Canadian team and had three goals and three assists in Team Canada's six games. 2010 was not his first WJC - he also played in 2009, notching one goal and one assist - oh, and a disconcerting 26 PIMs in just six games.
 

In fact, Della Rovere's lack of discipline is really the only thing that coaches and scouts have found wrong with his game. He's been perceived as a "pest" and even "dirty." He's not one to shy away from a fight, but his propensity for taking dumb penalties has thankfully waned a bit as he matures. In his first full season with the Barrie Colts (his current club in the OHL), he led the team in PIMs with 171. He promised to cut down on the questionable penalties after the 2009 WJC in order to make the 2010 roster. This season, he has gained a little more discipline and spent 125 minutes in the penalty box. However, the "pest" role can be a useful one for the Capitals, as Jason Chimera showed us during the postseason series with Montreal, so long as Della Rovere can keep it under control, continue to improve on his discipline and not turn out to become a goon.

The best part about the "pest" status is that Della Rovere can also score goals. In his 2008-09 Barrie regular season, he scored 27 goals. This season was his first after being drafted in the 7th round (204th overall) by the Capitals, and made the late pick a standout prospect. He was subsequently signed to a three-year entry-level contract with the Capitals in April 2009. After his season with the Barrie Colts ended in 2009, Della Rovere played two games with the South Carolina Stingrays (the Capitals' ECHL affiliate) and recorded one assist.

He returned to the Barrie Colts for the 2009-10 season, now wearing the "C" for his club, and racking up 18 goals and 23 assists in the regular season. He's continued to build on his reputation as a grinder; Corey Masisak has compared him to Matt Bradley for his willingness to sacrifice his body to make the tough hits. For this, he has earned his teammates' respect. A Canadian junior hockey news site interviewed several of Della Rovere's teammates and his coach after his 2010 WJC selection. Teammate Ryan Strome said he deserves the letter on his jersey - in Barrie and at the WJC:

"He's probably the most appreciated player on our team... He puts the team ahead of himself. That's why he's where he is."

Teammate Kyle Clifford added:

"He's definitely a heart and soul guy... When you need inspiration, you go to him. Just being around him, it's hard not to be inspired."

The Barrie Colts are currently fighting the Windsor Spitfires for the OHL Championship. Windsor leads the series 3-0, with Game 4 on Tuesday. Whoever wins will compete against hosts the Brandon Wheat Kings, as well as the WHL and QMJHL champions for the CHL Memorial Cup. Whatever the outcome, at 20 years old, this should be Della Rovere's last OHL season. Next year, he's likely to join South Carolina, or, depending on what the coaches see in this summer's development camp (he missed most of last year's camp with a shoulder injury), even the Hershey Bears. Hockey's Future rating system puts him as a probable third-liner, but also as the #12 prospect for the Capitals. Barrie coach Marty Williamson agrees:

"He's not going to be the leading scorer on a team, or lead the league in scoring, but he's a hard-working guy who finds a way to get the job done... He always finds a way."

UPDATE 5/11/10: I somehow missed this news the day of, but according to the Barrie Colts (who lost Game 4 to the Windsor Spitfires and thus were knocked out of the playoffs), Della Rovere has been called up to Hershey as of May 6. I've been unable to confirm if he has yet joined the team, but he is expected to be on the Black Aces practice squad and will likely not see game action in this Hershey postseason.

Thanks to Nate Ewell, he has confirmed to me that Delly has joined the Black Aces practice squad in Hershey.

What's Wrong with the Caps?

 photo by Jonathan Newton/the Washington Post Photo

The Caps have tied Montreal in the series at 1-1, but they have played notably poorly in their first two games.  What do the Caps need to do in order to win this series?  Here are my very own "keys to the game."

Solve Halak

Luckily, we already know how to solve Jaroslav Halak, but now the Caps need to actually do it. Eric Fehr's breakaway goal is a perfect example of where Halak is weak - high blocker side.  When Halak goes into the butterfly on lower shots, he's near unbeatable.  The Caps need to avoid shooting so low and shoot higher in order to best him.  Both Carlson's and Backstrom's goals were high glove side.  We solved Henrik Lundqvist last year (remember high glove side?) so Halak can be solved too.

Solve the Habs D

Especially after the first two games, it's become abundantly clear that the Habs D is, well, really freakin' good.  Hal Gill is a) enormous and b) leads the league in blocked shots in this postseason (he blocked 9 shots in Game 1 alone).  Jaroslav Spacek was a major problem for the Caps in Game 1.  Andrei Markov has also been excellent thus far.  This one is a little bit tougher to solve, but at least in the case of Hal Gill, he's not very fast.  Bruce Boudreau may want to consider putting speedy guys like Jason Chimera and Éric Bélanger on the ice against Gill.

Caps Goaltending

While José Théodore was outstanding in Game 1 with some sparkling saves, he allowed 2 goals in the first 2 shots last night.  The first goal was embarrassing, and you could chalk up the second goal also to some poor defensive moves.  Pulling him in favor of Varlamov was absolutely the right call, but who to start in Game 3?  Theo has been solid all year, but many are saying start Varlamov, who has a great playoff record but was shaky during this regular season.  Coaches will want to keep an eye on both in practice and definitely rotate the goalies to keep them fresh.

Top Line Must Improve

This definitely improved last game, as Nicklas Backstrom notched a hat trick in OT.  Ovechkin had a goal and a helper, but Bruce may want to consider putting Alexander Semin on the top line instead of Mike Knuble.  Both Knuble and Semin have not been effective so far in the playoffs, so shaking up the top line might benefit both of them.  Obviously Ovechkin-Backstrom-Semin can get too cute, but other times, they're outstanding.  It could be worth it to try out the line combination and see if it can spark the offense we all know they can produce.

No one knows what Bruce Boudreau and the Caps might do, but they can't continue playing as they are right now and expect to move on in the playoffs.  Game 3 is tomorrow night at Bell Centre in Montreal.  We'll see what happens.