Sask Flavour at the Trade Deadline

If you want a "winners and losers" segment then go check out TSN. They're great for that. We know if you are reading this, you've likely seen that already, and have your mind made up about what you think. We all know Jokinen (who I think is the most underrated player in the league) is going to kick ass in Calgary, and although they lose Lombardi it was definitely an upgrade that will help them battle Detroit and Patrick Marleau's SJ Sharks. What you may not know, because there is no SportsNet Saskatchewan, is that three solid hometown boys got moved around as well.

We at the Prairie Puck, would like to apologize for not looking further past the shadow of Ryan Getzlaf. The big forward has become a huge star in the NHL, and as a previous Wendel Clark Award winner, he has received the glory. The two other SK born Duck players, Travis Moen and Chris Kunitz, have gone relatively unmentioned. Sometimes it takes a change to get attention, and both players have been traded. Now, apologetically, we give them the attention they deserve. Here they are, the Saskatchewan flavour on the move at the trade deadline.

Chris Kunitz

He was born in Regina, SK, and this week was traded from the Anaheim Ducks (where he played with Moen and Getzlaf) to the Pittsburg Penguins (where he'll get to play with Crosby and that awkward looking fellow).

Kunitz took an althernate route to the NHL, playing for the Melville Millionaire's of the SJHL before moving to the NCAA ranks. He had 60 points in his only Stanley Cup winning season. We know Chris will flourish on a young, underachieving-this-year team with a bright future.

Olaf Kolzig

Few people know this, but Olaf Kolzig grew up right here in Saskatchewan, around Regina as far as I know. He was born in Germany, and that is why he's played for the German National Team instead of Canada's. Kolzig is long past his years, but the years he's past were great. He somehow brought the lowly Washington Capitals all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals. Unfortunately they met the mighty Detroit Red Wings, who never gave them a chance. Still, Kolzig's performance in those playoffs was as great as John Vanbeesbruck's when he took Florida up against Colorado in the finals. Kolzig won the Vezina trophy in 2000 as the league's best goaltender as well.

He has been injured for much of the season (right now out with a shoulder injury), and so he was merely trade bait sent to Toronto from Tampa Bay. Unfortunately, I must say I don't really care about this trade, because Toronto gets basically nothing but a 4th round draft pick out of the deal. With their terrible scouting, and Brian Burke's poor performance in the draft, let's just be happy the Olaf Kolzig is taking some of their money. We're happy for ya Olli. Keep it up.

Travis Moen

This strapping 26 year old hails from Swift Current. He played his junior hockey in the city "where life makes sense" and was drafted by the Calgary Flames in 2000. He played with the Anaheim Ducks, helping them win the Stanley Cup. He brought the Cup home to Saskatchewan, which you'll see in the upcoming story. You might be interested to hear that I saw Travis Moen playing shinny in EASTEND FREAKING SASKATCHEWAN over the summer. He's obviously awesome because of this alone. This year, in a close-to-the-deadline move, he was traded to the 2nd place San Jose Sharks. With Anaheim battling for a playoff spot, we hope that Travis will love his new home in SJ.

An interesting tale about Travis Moen. When it was his turn to have the Stanley Cup, he did what any great guy would do. He brought it home, to Swift Current Saskatchewan. After a night of partying with Lord Stanley at a bar and at home, Moen woke up early. He grabbed some dish soap, went into his back yard, turned on the hose, and started scrubbing. Eventually the man in the white gloves (the Stanley Cup holder guy) came out and said, "what do you think you're doing?" Travis admitted he was cleaning it, and the Cup Keeper said,

"There are only two other players I've ever seen who cleaned it after a night with it: Scott Stevens and Steve Yzerman."

That's right folks, two of the greatest captains the NHL has seen, and there's Travis Moen in select company.

So, as uneventful as the Trade Deadline may have been, we're happy for these three players. They have all moved on to situations at least as good as the ones they were in before. We'll keep an eye on them, to see if the trades can spark that something that often turns good players into great ones, at least for a season or two. Stay tuned, where you'll get view a hilarious discussion between Toppings and me about the many ways Toronto screwed up leading to the deadline. You stay classy Saskatchewan.

Team Saskatchewan Doing Well

Props have been earned, and so here they shall be given. Ryan Getzlaf and Patrick Marleau, from Regina and Aneroid respectively, are both in the top ten in the NHL in points. Getzlaf is currently ranked 5th and Marleau 7th. There isn't really much of a story here other than to point out that of course they are in the top ten; they're from Saskatchewan and they're awesome. Keep up the good work fellas, and p.s. Marleau's wife is drop dead gorgeous.

Maybe one day an NHL franchise will move to Saskatchewan. The "Swift Current Bails of Hay" or the "Yorkton FlatDirtGrounds" could take the NHL by storm if we got a team of SK born players together. Now what would be their colours....

Luke Schenn Update

We hate the leafs, but by golly do we love Luke Schenn. I've been reading some Maple leafs fan blogs (these fans DO exist, I can't believe it either), and there's been some nice things said about the Saskatoon, SK product. Namely:

"Finally, let me write about LUKE SCHENN, or THE BEAR as I like to refer to him as. People want to believe that he is only a cub, the fact remains, this guy is no where near his potential, that said, at his worst he is an effective, strong, punishing defender who will stand up for his teammates, its scary to think about what he will become, what is scarier is that we may see it as early as this season." -leafer80

"LUKE SCHENN = Delicious + Talented. Yes i have the hots for Luke Schenn." -alyssaa16
**It should be noted that after reading this article, I realized this girl is really not smart in any other way then her taste in young Saskatchewan talent. Sorry babe.**

This post comes fresh after I read the news that Ron "PutinColdCujotoEnsureaLoss" Wilson made an announcement that Luke Schenn will not be rejoining his alma mater Kelowna Rockets. Instead, he will be manning the blue line for the blue shirts for a long time (if leaf fans have their way) or until someone swoops in and makes him very, very happy by picking him up (hello my beloved Red Wings?). I know that is not going to happen, but I'll keep the dream anyway.

Keep up the good work Luke Schenn. We're rootin' for ya.

Saskatchewfocus: Brendan Morrow

My crystal ball is shining, about to reveal news from the future. Listen closely...

On March 8th, 2009 @ 5:42pm CT, you will be watching the Dallas Stars play against the Montreal Canadiens. TSN will be broadcasting the game, and during a whistle break they will cut to a segment of Mic'd Up:

Brendan Morrow hits Alex Tanguay into the Canadiens bench and smiles a big Saskatchewan smile at Montreal coach Guy Carbenneau.

Carbenneau (in thicker-than-reality French Canadian accent): eh you 'dere, dat was unneccessary! Play wid some class sir!

Morrow: I had sex with your daughter last night, and I'm going to have sex with her again tonight.

(both laugh)

Carbenneau: ahh, you got me 'dere boy. See you at Thanksgiving.

Morrow: Bye Dad

(both salute, and Morrow proceeds to score seven goals, win two fights, and speak fluently and charismatically afterwards about how Sean Avery's arrival in Dallas, and maturity to cut back his antics and buy into the system have helped the organization a great deal.)

Cut back to present.

Brendan Morrow was born in Carlyle, Saskatchewan on January 16th, 1979. He domintated the SAHA when he played for the Estevan Bruins, scoring 117 goals in 60 games. He was picked up by the Portland Winter Hawks for four seasons, before he was drafted 25th overall by the Dallas Stars.

Brendan Morrow has had solid success in the NHL so far in his career. At the conclusion of the '08/'09 season he had amassed 374 points and 894 penalty minutes in 573 games, with a career plus/minus of +115.

The Moosomin, SK born Dave Tippet (who my dad played hockey with in Prince Albert, just so you know), gave the captaincy to a reluctant Brendan Morrow prior to the beginning of the '07/'08 season. Brendan said he would only accept as long as he had the blessing of longtime Dallas Stars leader Mike Modano. Once the good grace was given, Morrow took the captaincy and began leading. He had an excellent year, accepted the responsibility and the duties that come with the captaincy, and basically became a damn great guy. He's one of the players to watch this year, and we at The Prairie Puck have had our eyes on him for a while. We couldn't be more excited for Brendan Morrow.

If you're looking for a hero, where better to turn than to a strapping young man from Carlyle Saskatchewan who hooked up with his old linemate's daughter (Morrow and Carbenneau were linemates when Dallas won the Stanley Cup in '99), became captain of a solid NHL franchise, and looks good while he does it. We'd love to have a beer with you someday Mr. Morrow, captain, sir.

It's tough to be tough unless you're the toughest

Contrary to popular belief, I have never been punched full on in the face. I have run my mouth and got popped in the chin during a senior hockey game, but that's nothing compared to what I imagine a full-fledged fist to the face would feel like. Derek Boogaard, on the other hand, knows exactly what it feels like... I think. I've always wondered if guys who get punched as much as him somehow don't feel it the way he does. I'm sure if he was from Alberta, Manitoba, or France, he would not be the same 6 foot, 7 inch, 270 pound tower of angry that strikes fear in the very soul of every enforcer in the NHL.

Derek Boogaard was born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and currently plays with the Minnesota Wild as the "I'm going to mess up your entire universe" player.

When it comes to our Saskatchewan heroes, we at The Prairie Puck care about the finer things. The finer things are those bits and pieces of information that single Saskatchewanianites out from the rest of the league. I know, the awesomeness of Saskatchewan singles them out already, but here's something a little bit extra:

Bit of information #1: Boogeyman misses victim and annhialates the glass.
Watch This!!

This video speaks for itself. That's a lot of power going through that shit.

Bit of information #2: He and his brother run a summer fighting camp in Regina, SK.
This has obviously sparked some controversy, and I'm not going to get into that here. I will say, however, that anyone who thinks a fighting camp is controversial must be a tea-drinking-outdoor-badminton-playing-piece-of-old-rotten-sour-cream-pie. That's all I'm going to say. The Boogaards maintain that the camp shows kids how to fight so they won't get hurt when they fight.

Bit of information #3: He beats the life out of people on a regular basis, most notably a fight with Todd Fedoruk during which Derek cleaned Fedoruk's clock, and ended his career. Note that our man doesn't want to fight, but the unfortunate Duck can't take no for an answer.
Watch This!!

Bit of information #4: He's an incredible actor, cut from the mold of a Brad Pitt or a Paulie Shore.

Watch This!!

And lastly, here's a little highlight reel for you. Derek Boogaard is obviously from Saskatchewan.
Watch This!!


So there you go, a few videos and some information to tell you about another of our Saskatchewan Heroes. Thanks for reading, and tell your friends. Hey. If you wrote something sweet we'd tell our friends. Do us a solid.

Saskatchewan's young star singlehandedly wins a game for the for a really aweful team. Atta boy Schenn-ster!

ARTICLE

Saskatoon, SK product Luke Schenn has happily surprised us here at The Prairie Puck by taking center stage in a shootout victory by the Toronto Maple leafs. Our boy was plus 3 in a 3-3 game (figure it out son, he was on the ice every time something good happened), and he scored a beauty shootout goal to win it. As of 10:43 pm on Monday night there were no clips of the goal on YouTube. We'll post it when we find it. Until then, just keep Luke Schenn and our main squeeze, Jeremy Williams, in your thoughts and prayers.

Boys, we love you unconditionally (you can tell because we cheer for you even though you play for the team we hate the most).

YOUR GUIDE TO FANTASY HOCKEY FROM THE PRAIRIEPUCK!!

With the 08/09 season quickly approaching, the stench of Fantasy leagues is in the air, and every year the Hardcore NHL fan tries to feed their gambling addiction by choosing the best fantasy team money can buy, and ridicule their friends’ choices of any players from the Maple Leafs from October all the way until the post season.

Should you play it safe and choose the league leader from last year? (AO for those of you who are a little slow) or should you choose a sleeper that you think will have a breakout season? The decision is always tough, but lucky for all of you, we here at The Prairie Puck have the answers. In a 4 part series, we will highlight who you should watch out for in terms of Rookies this year, Big Threats, Sleepers, and of course, good old Saskatchewan-born players to keep an eye out for:

First, let’s start with the Rookie class of 2008/2009:

1. Steven Stamkos (Drafted 1st overall by TAMPA BAY in 2008)

Obviously the first overall pick is going to generate some buzz. This Markham, Ontario native remained the top prospect throughout last year, and when the Tampa Bay
Lightning were rewarded the 1st overall pick, they did not hesitate to begin to turn their team around from a dismal effort last season. The difference between Crosby’s first year and Stamkos’ first year is that the team is not solely relying on Stamkos for a complete turnaround in one year, as they have aquired a number of players to fill out the roster, including Pittsburgh’s Ryan Malone and veteran Gary Roberts, defenseman Andrej Meszaros, and veteran goaltender Olaf Kolzig (not to mention Vinny and Marty are still around). Stamkos will probably tally 60-70 points this year, and will be a key component to Tampa Bay’s definite playoff birth (yeh…I said it). OVERALL, easily a top 3 selection for the Calder trophy.


2. Fabian Brunnstrom (Signed as a free agent with DALLAS in 2008)

With 5 years on the 18 year old Stamkos, this Swedish sensation adds some offensive punch to a Dallas team who fell short of a Stanley Cup Final birth last season. The way this guy has been hyped, not only do I expect a 100 point effort this season, he will probably need to find the cure for cancer to meet expectations. In all seriousness, Brunnstrom, along with off Season acquisition Sean Avery, this team made some great moves to contend for a Cup, and Brunnstrom offers the potential to replace the franchise player Mike Modano, who (let’s face it), is definitely playing the back 9.


3. Nikita Filatov (Drafted 6th overall with COLUMBUS in 2008)

It’s no secret that Russia produces incredible hockey players on an assembly line. Moscow product Nikita Filatov is no exception. Although a leg injury has haulted his training camp, preseason schedule, and possibly the beginning of the season, this 18 year old kid is going to light it up, and will be an interesting addition to an increasingly competitive division with the revamped Chicago Blackhawks, reigning champion Detroit Red Wings, and the promising futures of Nashville and St. Louis. Expect a 50-60 point performance from Filatov, tallying 20+ goals in 2008.


4. Drew Doughty (Drafted 2nd overall with LOS ANGELES in 2008)

After watching this guy skate in the OHL, and on the World Junior stage, he was by far the best pick for the Los Angeles Kings in 2008. He is an excellent puck handler, a fast skater, and his hockey sense is through the roof. Along with fellow first rounder (and REGINA PATS alumni I may add) Colton Teubert, who the Kings picked 13th overall in 2008, and of course the talented Jack Johnson, the Kings’ D-line looks incredibly promising. Although being up against guys like Filatov, Brunnstrom, and Stamkos for the Calder, the chances of Doughty winning aren’t the greatest, but awards are not what the game is about, so expect to see Drew making a big impact on his team, with 30+ points, and some time on the powerplay in the future.

5. Luke Schenn (Drafted 5th overall with TORONTO in 2008)

It pains me for even suggesting a Maple Leaf as a player to watch in 2008. But if the team needs to go through a turnaround, they must start somewhere, and I suppose Luke Schenn is the answer. It also helps that Mr. Schenn is a product of SASKATOON SASKATCHEWAN!! Hopefully we can include him in the petition to get Jeremy Williams out of Toronto, but I digress. Luke Schenn is an impact defensemen in all senses of the word, and his 300+ penalty minutes in 189 games with the WHL’s Kelowna Rockets prove that this kid is mean, and on a team full of pansies, Luke Schenn may be just what the Leafs need.

HONOURABLE MENTION:

1. F Mikael Backlund – CALGARY FLAMES
2. F Jordan Eberle (from REGINA, SK) – EDMONTON OILERS
3. F Angelo Esposito – ATLANTA THRASHERS
4. D Zach Bogosian – ATLANTA THRASHERS
5. G Justin Pogge – TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS


So that’s all for rookies to watch in 2008/2009. If your ambitious, it might not be a bad idea to choose one of the first 3 in your fantasy pool. Stay tuned for the top 5 “Sure Bets” for your fantasy picks!


Cheers,

The T-O-P

The smartest man in hockey history... but that's not what he's headed to HHOF for.

The great Wade Belak. He was born in Saskatoon, and grew up in the Saskatchewan town of North Battleford. At an early age his goal was to become a lifeguard, but some extraordinary hockey skills lead him away from copious amounts of sunscreen and warm, heavily chlorinated H2O, and headed instead for the white frozen stuff. Unfortunately for him, he ended up with the Toronto maple leafs after stints with the Calgary Flames and the Colorado Avalanche. He was so depressed about his situation in T.O. that he was forced to aim low. Very low. Check out the video and see for yourself.

WADE BELAK ON SPORTSNET

Luckily for Wade, he recently was blessed with a trade to the Florida Panthers, where the hockey is not much better, but at least the winters are less frigid. And who knows how his career may go from here. Maybe he'll decide to try out that top line. Maybe he'll give that lifeguarding thing another shot. Maybe he'll choose a new dream to chase.

Whatever you choose to do Mr. Belak, Saskatchewan supports you. You may have caught some bad luck, accidentally scored a goal, and stopped your record-setting dreams in the their tracks, but know that we'll be right behind you when you decide it's time to go after it again. God Speed.