French Collection

The Bruins should be rusty, jump all over them early. Dahlin with 1G 1A. Right the ship boys. Meandering waste.

We will see where Boucher is at after half a season in the OHL. He will be in the top half of the age group for this league. I am spitballing but he may have had a higher opinion of himself than his coach in the NCAA. I would not call an ‘03 kid a bust. I think he was over drafted as well, but he can develop into an NHLer.

I am reading Mark Messier’s book. He quotes Scott Stevens as saying you can’t evaluate a Dman until he has played 250 games at the NHL level. His reasoning is that there are a lot of nuances to learn. Dahlin is at that threshold and Power will need time to adjust. I like the D, especially the LHD if you throw in Mule + Johnson.

All 4 seasons are on Amazon Prime here in Canada. I have yet to catch up to the latest release, getting close, season 4 episode 9.

I didn’t know we had Prime until a few weeks ago, would’ve started Yellowstone a year earlier. We like it, just not huge Costner fans. This would have been a great role for a younger Clint Eastwood in my opinion.

Dahlin remains hot and will get a couple of points again tonight. He looks confident with the puck and I get the feeling it will get out of the Sabres end and/or gain entry every time. He still needs work on the other side of the puck but I see improvement. He uses his body more and has a decent stick. Tuch will find his legs and chemistry to improve his performance. JJP will figure out how to best deploy his speed and get some chances. I thought Krebs was OK and I like the comparisons to Gilmour, hope he gets there. As a team they need better exits and entries than last night in order to generate some chances. Let’s go Buffalo!

Went to our skating pond, which is 300 yards from the house down a bush trail. I shoveled it and came back to the house to get 10 gallons of water to flood it. It looks good and the weather is great. While I was out there, the mother of one of my son’s teammates came by and grabbed his skates for a sharpenening. The boys U18 team has a practice tonight and she was getting some skates done. My son’s skates will be brought to the practice tonight. Oh well, the pond should be good tomorrow.

That is sad. I hope your daughter gets through this OK.

My wife will expect some chores to get done. I think there is a possibility of getting this tournament completed in the summer. That is if the IIHF wants to.

I hope this hasn’t spread through the USA team, defending champs and perennial contender. Stay healthy boys!

I can’t wait to see the new guys in game action. I wanted to see Quinn but that will have to wait. Canada vs Germany is on at the same time so my thumb will be getting a workout.

Wright’s performance so far reminds me of Quinton Byfield. Byfield only had one good game in two years of playing this tournament. Keep in mind Wright is the second youngest player on the team and he is the consensus #1 pick, not a generational player. I expected more from him, maybe he is feeling the pressure of it all. Bedard is elite, he and Michkov could end up in a Crosby/Ovechkin rivalry for many years. Bob McKenzie also adds Adam Fantilli to those names.

Bedard made something happen every shift. He wasn’t in the top six but generated offence all night. He had a chance at #5 but dished to a line mate. His stick blew up on his last shot attempt as well. Power didn’t get much ice time because they dressed and played 8 D. He will be relied upon in the close games.

Cuylle with the assist. Cooley is on USA.

Good take. He is smart and may adapt to the NHL when he gets there to be more physical and add some defensive skills to his arsenal to be that all round guy.

Davidson Saskatchewan, pop. 1000. Halfway between Regina and Saskatoon. Just over an hour from both markets.

Kasper seems like a bigger Asplund.

Some clips I’ve seen show the physical side of his game. I am interested in watching him, Nemec is ahead of him on some lists but this guy is climbing. I am ok with a RHD near the top as long as one pick in the first is a C.

Russia’s team shoots left except for their goalie, Askarov.

Russia’s only right hand shooter was Askarov, their goalie. Their teams from the 70’s and 80’s were like that, almost all LH.

Owen Power had a solid game. He was QB on PP1 and made some nice plays. He skates well and joins the rush quite often. He looks mature and does not panic with the puck in his own end. His reach was evident a few times, keeping the puck in and closing a gap. Novikov played a third pairing role, getting one assist. He is big and looks like a shut down type. Michkov was Russia’s best player, 2023 draft eligible. Looks like a young Tarasenko to me.

Watched about half of the USA-Finland game. Lambert did not catch my eye, he is on PP2 but there were many guys that looked better. Kemmell was OK, loves to shoot. He has the confidence of the coaching staff.

If his instincts are to be more physical he should be OK at the NHL level, where play is tougher than the NCAA.

Two exhibition games today on TSN. USA vs Finland at 2:00. Canada vs Russia at 7:00.

I hope Lambert finds his game in order to make the top picks more interesting. I have not given up on him but he merits close scrutiny to determine if his peak was at age 16 or if he can take the next step. I am sure there are tons of scouts watching every shift of his.