Will They Ever Learn?

Of course, there's been plenty of activity since the draft, leading up to the July 1 start of free agency. Personally, I'm not looking forward to it all that much.

For starters, I'm very sorry to see the likely end of the Sean Avery era in New York. I'm going to try not to hate his guts when he goes back to another team, but if he goes to another team I am favorably disposed to - i.e. the Blues, Panthers, etc. - that should make it easier. I think it's most likely that Avery winds up back in his old stomping grounds in Los Angeles. Other than New York, I think it's the only city that really offers Avery the kind of life that he wants to have, including his new celebrity stylist business.

By the way, I also think Los Angeles is a sensible destination for the recently bought-out Ray Emery. The Kings are high on Jeff Zatkoff from what I've heard after a strong debut in Manchester following the college season, but he's obviously not going to step right into the NHL. Emery is a proven goaltender who can get hold down the fort until Zatkoff is ready, by which time Emery will have likely worn out his welcome in the locker room anyway. I have no idea if the Kings are thinking about this as I am, but it would make sense.

But enough about the Kings. The main thing I'm not looking forward to is seeing the Rangers make a play for Mats Sundin. Same old Rangers, going for the big name because they think that's what it takes. Just wait until it turns out Sundin and Jaromir Jagr have no chemistry and Brandon Dubinsky comes back to the top line, leaving Sundin centering the second line, Scott Gomez on the third, and - get this - Chris Drury on the fourth line. ARGH!

Of course, the other development, the one that's been getting most of the talk, is the hiring of Barry Melrose as the new coach of the Lightning. I think it's a great hire. Barry is being talked about as a players' coach, in contrast to John Tortorella, which should proabably make for a nice change and a sizable "new coach bump."

It's great for Barry, too. It's one thing to be ESPN's lead NHL commentator when you actually have NHL games. It's another entirely when the Mouse isn't doing games. Of course, his years with ESPN will instantly make him the second-most recognizable coach in the NHL (Wayne Gretzky, obviously, being No. 1 on that list).

It's also fairly obvious that since Barry and his mullet will no longer be calling college games for ESPN-U, and can no longer be considered part of college hockey, Don Lucia is left with an undisputed claim to the college game's most talked about hair.

Hey, I had to...

Uh Oh...

With the 40th pick in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, the New York Islanders select Aaron Ness.

Something tells me that Don Lucia will be adding Just For Men to his list of hair care products.

A Disconcerting Level of Content Devoted to Other Sports...and the Draft

I have a recommendation for the new owner of the Tampa Bay Lightning. Actually, I have several, not the least of which is that Barry Melrose should be hired as head coach on the condition that he keeps wearing those suits on the bench. However, this one concerns a new potential season ticketholder.

See, since Eldrick Woods is going to have a lot of time on his hands in Florida while he rehabs his knee, I think the new ownership should offer him season tickets, so that he can have something nicer to say the next time someone asks him about hockey (If I'm not mistaken, the Lightning are the closest NHL franchise to his home in Florida).

Now, don't get me wrong. I don't wish ill on Eldrick, I'm not celebrating his injury at all, and his performance this weekend was remarkable, to say the least. However, as long as he continues to show disrespect to hockey, he can suffer the small indignity of my calling him by his given name.

Moving on, there's been some talk lately on TV about Becky Hammon (a former guest commentator with my former employer) choosing to suit up for Russia in the Olympics when USA Basketball bungled things up (given what I've seen of the U.S. women's hockey program, I'm shocked, shocked that a U.S. sport federation could bungle something like that).

Now, while I'm sure that Bill Simmons is likely to compare this situation to Sgt. Slaughter becoming an Iraqi sympathizer in 1990-91 leading up to Wrestlemania VII - not that there's anything wrong with that; I'd enjoy reading that column - I'm reminded of one of my favorite athletes that I had an opportunity to work with when I was at CSTV: Nicole Corriero.

Nicole, as you may recall, is a tremendously talented player, who holds the NCAA single-season record for goals. She also has one of the best senses of humor I've ever seen, as exemplified by this article from the Harvard Crimson her senior year. She also has the ability to do something that I never thought possible: she got me to root for Harvard (yes, when I covered the 2005 Women's Frozen Four, deep down, I was hoping for Harvard to beat Minnesota during the championship game, but apparently, Harvard only wins when I don't want it to happen).

But anyway, I wrote this article about Nicole in 2005, and if you read it, you'd be inclined to agree that Nicole got as raw a deal from Hockey Canada as Becky Hammon got from USA Basketball, if not more so. She also had much more of a case to play for Team Italy at the Torino Olympics than Becky has to play for Russia. However, she chose not to.

In addition to being talented, funny, and charming, Nicole Corriero is a class act all the way. I can't say the same of Becky Hammon.

Of course, the Russians I should probably be writing about are Nikita Filatov and the other prospects who will be selected in this weekend's NHL Draft. I had previously written that I expected the Kings to take Filatov, but that was based on the lack of star forward prospects, and the Kings will likely be drafting for impact, which makes it more likely that they'll get one of the big defensemen to join JMFJ in the d-corps.

I was reminded by this by reading the excellent NHL Draft Preview materials over at Hockey's Future. I highly recommend D.J. Powers' article on the top current collegians available for the draft, particularly since she's been great at picking players who get drafted despite not appearing on the Central Scouting rankings (Ryan Maki comes to mind). There's also a very handy list of the college commitments of draft-eligible players, which I wish I'd had last year when I covered the draft for CSTV.

HF also has the Rangers going for a blueliner, and that sounds about right. The problem is that unless the Rangers trade up, there's not too much that they can do with this pick in terms of the 2008-09 season. They still probably go D, but I wouldn't be surprised to see them trade the pick, either to move up and get someone who can help immediately (because the blueline needs help), or to move down, get the player they want, and have an extra shot at getting the next Ryan Callahan or Nigel Dawes.

Finally, it's also been reported that the Rangers have shown interest in Blake Wheeler. I think Blake would be a great fit, as a hardworking winger who can get physical when the situation calls for it. Having interviewed Blake a couple of times, I also think he'd do well with the New York media. Plus, it'd be the best of both worlds for me: the Rangers can acquire a college player without screwing up his signing and development.

Will it happen? We'll have to wait and see.

Who's Gone and Who Isn't

Yeah, yeah, the Wings won the Cup. Congratulations to them. The Penguins, of course will be back...I always figured they were more Edmonton '83 than Edmonton '84.

And happy trails to Dominik Hasek and Trevor Linden, who have announced their retirements. Both are great players, and both have much to be proud of in their careers as they move on.

Speaking of moving on...I should do the same.

Well then...

So, it would appear that Don Waddell, if he was ever in danger of losing his job in Atlanta, is off the hook. It may be that the Chicago Wolves' victory over the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins for the Calder Cup has gotten him off the hook for now, but it'll be interesting to see how that progresses.

Don is one of college hockey's best friends in the NHL, and I hope he can stay in a position of power somewhere in the league. We need more NHL executives with his attitude toward the college game.

Meanwhile, as Waddell tries to find the Thrashers' next coach, Marc Crawford is now available, having been let go as the Kings' head coach. Not that I'm expecting him to turn up in Atlanta, mind you, but it just seemed like a logical connection.

It'll be interesting to see what the Kings do here, as this is a young team that has potential to make a move. I like a lot of the Kings' young talent, and in the case of some of them, I mean that personally. Brian Boyle is one of my favorite players I had the opportunity to work with at CSTV, and Jack Johnson is one I've always regretted not interviewing (although I mostly consider it his fault for blowing off the Junior Evaluation Camp, twice). I also like the talent they have coming up, although it doesn't look like they have a true franchise player on the way at forward. Remember that if you see the Kings go for Nikita Filatov in the draft.

The problem, of course, is that the Western Conference is brutal right now, especially in the Pacific division with the Stars, Sharks and Ducks very strong, and the Coyotes also on the rise with a young team.

I'd be interested to see what Mark Morris, the head coach of LA's AHL club in Manchester, could do there. Given the success that Michel Therrien has had in Pittsburgh after being promoted from the Baby Pens, and the Capitals' Southeast Division title this year under former Hershey coach Bruce Boudreau, this could definitely be the right move for LA.

I had several conversations with Dean Lombardi and Ron Hextall when I was at CSTV, and I like what I heard from them, and I'm hoping that they make a good decision here and can get that franchise on the right track.

Does anyone else find it odd, by the way, that this has been a very quiet off-season so far on the coaching carousel? Just the one change at Alaska. Personally, I'd been sort of expecting a domino effect starting in the CCHA and extending through Hockey East and ECAC Hockey, but it appears that that won't be happening.

I'm being vague on purpose, because I've met so few people in college hockey that I haven't liked, and having been through unemployment recently myself, I don't speculate on other people's employment situations lightly. That said, I told several people to expect said chain - I may have even told them to write it down - and now, I'm going to have some egg on my face.

Oh well, it's OK...after all, I'm not making a career on my hockey musings anymore.

Finally, there's a lot of talk in the outdoor game department lately. Obviously, the big talk is of the Outdoor Classic at Wrigley, but I'm wondering why the NHL hasn't made an official announcement yet. Could Yankee Stadium still be in the mix? I'm still holding out hope until there's an official announcement, since they're not tearing down Wrigley anytime soon.

In the college ranks, they're talking about Minnesota and Wisconsin playing a pair of outdoor games in the next two years, one at Camp Randall and one at the Gophers' new football stadium. The obligatory joke about Don Lucia's hair has already been made, so I'll just say, "Bring it on." I really liked Camp Randall when I had occasion to cover a football game there in 2006 (it was against Illinois in the middle of the Wisconsin-BC hockey series), and as for Minnesota, well, when you talk about kids growing up playing on ponds and backyard rinks, what state better epitomizes that than Minnesota? And since I don't see the Wild being picked to host an Outdoor Classic in the near future - my guess is that they're going to go for classic venues like Wrigley, Yankee Stadium, Fenway, etc. for the next little while - this is something that ought to be done in Minnesota.

Trophy Season

For starters, here's a Sean Avery update. He was at something that calls itself the Fifi Awards a couple of weeks ago, and he arrived with Vera Wang, who, as I understand it, is kind of a big deal.

As for the people who are still playing, we'll see if the Wings can do any better a job closing out the Penguins than they did with the Stars. I've been keeping an eye on the last couple of games from the office, and I've got a feeling that the Pens aren't done just yet. I think Detroit will win the series, I'm just not convinced that it's happening tonight.

Meanwhile, I ducked into the NHL Store yesterday - where I know I can see the NHL Network - to look in on the Calder Cup final between the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and the Chicago Wolves. I could be happy with whoever wins, since both teams have Dartmouth alums on them - Ben Lovejoy and Nick Johnson on the Baby Pens, Grant Lewis on the Wolves - but since Lewis hasn't been playing lately (anyone who follows the Thrashers or the A know what's up with that?), I've been pulling more for WBS (especially with all-time All-Rink Rat goaltender John Curry in the nets). I was there to see the Baby Pens' two goals, but I had to get to work not too long after that. The Wolves won, winning the first two games at home. We'll see if Curry, Lovejoy, Johnson and the rest of the Baby Pens are any better at bouncing back after losing the first two than the parent club.

Meanwhile, back in the college ranks, the biggest surprise of late would be UMass recruit John Carlson opting to go to London of the OHL. Why is it always London?

Of course, one of the reasons a player goes major junior is when he's very close to being ready for the NHL, so even if the player went to college, he'd be a likely "one and done," and the value of that kind of player to a program like UMass - which is trying to build a consistently strong program over time - is limited.

Still, I'd like to know why it is that when a college player opts for the OHL instead, it's almost always London. I tried to ask them about that when I was at CSTV, but they really didn't want to talk. Just saying...

Finally, on a much more important note, I'm walking this Saturday in the American Foundation For Suicide Prevention's "Out of the Darkness" walk in New York City, where I'll be walking 20 miles overnight. I'm also responsible for raising $1000, which I haven't quite done yet. If you can donate, any donation you make is tax deductible to the extent allowed by law, and you can donate online. Here's the link:

http://www.theovernight.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=extranet.personalpage&confirmid=10009276

Thanks for any help you folks can give.