Tuesday’s practice update from refreshing San Jose
Posted on March 18th, 2008 – 6:12 PMBy Michael Russo
I have a confession to make.
I’d be lying if I said I was writing this indoors. I’m actually on the 26th floor of a hotel writing outside on a patio.
Sorry. But it’s too nice to be locked up in a hotel room.
If I could get somebody to make me a Pina Colada, I would.
I’m starting to crave a Wild-Sharks first-round matchup
So, every Wild player practiced after the team’s 3 1/2-hour flight here today. It was an optional practice, so that either says the team’s focused for its game against San Jose tomorrow or they just needed to get the blood flowing after the long flight. Or, a bunch of players will be pulling an optional in the morning.
In the coming days, I’ll be writing more in depth on the Wild’s suddenly flexible practice schedule. Basically, Jacques has put it in the player’s hands to decide when they want to skate.
The vets LOVE it with a captial L-O-V-E.
I’m doing a feature on the Koivu-Veilleux-Radivojevic line for tomorrow’s paper. Not only are they shutting down opposing top lines these days, they’re chipping in offensively.
Practice was a lively one. Not much happened, other than Brian Rolston taking a huge slapshot off Josh Harding’s melon. His mask exploded.
The coaches, Harding, Benoit Pouliot and Todd Fedoruk spent several minutes on the ice picking up nuts and bolts.
But Harding’s OK.
“Don’t be a goalie,” Rolston said as he left the ice.
The Sharkies are at LA tonight, so it’ll be the first of two times on this trip that the Wild will get an opponent playing on the second of back-to-backs. Vancouver plays in Edmonton the night before the Wild plays there.
Tomorrow will be interesting. The Wild is winless in six vs. San Jose and has dropped the first game in eight of the past 10 multi-game road trips.
OK, I better get writing because I have to fight traffic out to Berkeley tonight. It’s getting chilly. I’m thinking 66 degrees, but the wind chill’s down around 60.
127 Responses to "Tuesday’s practice update from refreshing San Jose"
Jackets up early 1-0 on Flamers…
Nice Kinght, I was about to post the same thing. Go BJ’s!
Lets go Jackets….Sweep the LEG!
Good call Beadwench. Until just now I thought it was bed-wench…that would be different.
Mr. Russo,
Is there any video of Rolston breaking Harding’s mask? I’m thinking that perhaps the guys in charge of the X’s scoreboard might want it for entertainment/pucker factor.
Only a combined 11 shots on goal in the first period, what an ugly game.
Thought for a minute Josh’s head was full of nuts and bolts… Glad he’s okay.
I’m not that kind of a wench! 
But I was thinking, it is one thing to know that Rolston’s got a hard shot but it is quite another to actually see a goalie mask in pieces all over the ice from a shot. Perhaps we’ll get someone hitting the deck and an extra goal or two as result. Every little bit helps, especially in these last few games. Besides, I want to see!
Sending Rolston out there for the first shot of a shootout would be awesome if he could perfect the mask-exploding shot.
VOR…Thats a good idea as long as he gets fined for missing the net on a pen. shot.
3-nil in Nashville, this Ovechkin kid isn’t too bad.
Go Wash, Edmonton, and LA…and of course Columbus.
Still 1-0 BJ’s over the Cows..2nd intermission
Is Calgary turning into the WIld circa a month ago?
If I could get somebody to make me a Pina Colada, I would.
You’ve never heard of room service?
Yeah but room service will charge you $20 for a $5 drink!
True but he’s on the company’s dime! Although I suppose the brass at avista capital might frown on that.
Lets go BJ’s! Finish Them!!!
YEAH!!!! 2-0!
2-0 CBJ
Malhotra from Nash. 2-0.
I don’t know if company $ applies to alcohol..mine doesn’t, but maybe the Don has the Cadillac Plan!
Go BJ’s!
Malhotra again!!!!
3-0 BJ’s!
Ha Ha Kipper…
Russo, was Harding’s actual mask cracked, wiring bent/broken/falling off? Is he getting a new one or can he use the current one?
LOVE Rick Nash! What’s been interesting about this game - at least to me - is how physical Columbus has played. They have pounded the Cows from the opening face-off and never let up. Several after-the-whistle scrapes, and it really seemed to take the Cows out of their game. Nice job BJs!
Always nice to see Craig Conroy get destroyed, especially by a guy like Jared Boll
The physical play which the BJ’s used against the Cow’s should be a lesson taken to heart for the Wild when we face them at the end of the week..the Cows never got on their game.
outstanding effort from the BJs tonight. We need the Caps to hold on, now.
Cheap hit from behind by Regehr. Plus Flames bench making golf shot motions to tell BJ’s they’ll be playing golf. Cheap bunch–but then it is Keenan’s squad.
Regehr’s hit was of course with less than a minute to go and down 3-0.
Phil- You are correct, Sir. JL and the boys should watch tape of this game and see that it is possible to beat the Flamers IF opponent plays physical and I mean physical. Calgary almost looked like they didn’t know how to react to the crunching they were being dealt early and often by CBJ. Kinda like the kid that stands up to and calls the bluff of the bully, who doesn’t know what to think. I loved every minute of it. Nice bush league hit when you are down to the last minute and getting smoked, Regeher. Matbe we can open up a can of Boogie on your a** Saturday…
Caps still up on Preds?
Caps 3, NSH 1 with 12 to go
sorry to get away from the topic but yesterday you talk about the nhl network. I have dish network I called then and they haved no clue. I told then that it was on the nhl.com website that I should contate my provided and that was you guys. thay said that I had it but that was center ice not the nhl network. is this just a canada thing or what?
Re: Slapshots up high during practice, ala Rolston.
Hey ‘Russo…
I’ve heard a bunch of stories from the likes of Glen S. and “Sweet Lou from the Sault”…about goalies that played with them and for them and their displeasure toward teammates that shot high (and hard) during practices. In this day and age, have the pro goalies you’ve covered taken issue with teammates for similar behavior? Inquiring hockey minds want to know!
Kirk I have Directv and I get NHL network- Ch. 215.I don’t know if it is part of CI or not, which I also have. Adam-thanks for Pred update..
TSN reports that JT Wyman who played for Blake signed a 2-year deal with the Canadiens after finishing his college career with “the University of Dartmouth”. Hmm.
I am pretty sure G* said NHL Network is include with CI on DirecTV - it will cost you $6 extra on Comcast for a decent sports package (NFL, CSTV and FSN College x3) - WAS 3, NSH 2 now with almost 7 to go
CI is the bomb.
would I tell then that i the candan telacast or what
Kirk, seriously, can’t understand you. Try typing slower or lay off the sauce. Sheesh.
Ovechkin is also pretty good at air hockey
- WAS with an EN makes it a 4-2 final over NSH
- Kirk - tell them it is on 215 - that should get things going the right way
- Anyone see Okposo tonight - completely forgot to tune in for a few minutes
kirk: If you get NHL Center Ice on DirecTV, you get the NHL Network thrown in free. If you’re with Comcast, I can’t answer that one. But in any case, NHL CI is INDEED the bomb! Great to see Cow-gary get beat tonight. Now watching Yotes-Grease from Deadmonton, Gretzky’s boys blew a lead late in the 1st.
Grease have scored the last 3 in a row.
4-2 Grease with 15:00 left in 2nd.
Those w/CI can preview tomorrow nights opponent now on 778-1 vs. LA and it is in HD. Good as it gets.
Kirk -I just looked at the Dish network web site, and they don’t show NHL Network, even on their “America’s Everything” package, which is several hundred channels. Everyone I know that has Direct TV gets it, so you may want to switch dish providers.
Harding should have ducked like the last time Rolston ripped one past Giguere. Coyotes tied it up, not that the Oilers are a real threat.
Edm 6 Phx 4
7-4…Go Edm.
Kirk - the in-laws have the Dish network with HD and they do indeed get the NHLnetwork on channel 403. I’m not sure if this is only available for the HD service but give it a try.
8-4
Sharks also win Tuesday - 2-1 over LA. I think that is a good thing for the Wild but not as good as CBJ shutting out CGY - Oh Yeah!
So my wife was sick of not getting all the Slap Shot references on the blog… so last night we rented the movie and gave it a watch. I forgot how funny that movie is. I love the goalie, he cracks me up… “Owwnzz, Ownnzz!”.
Anyway, thank you CBJ! Was, and Edm, did well too! 8 goals for Edm… wow.
Who own da Chief?
Good times Russo. Can I PLEASE have your job for a day? My friends were here NYE at the X for this same match up. I should be there for this one!
I will be watching this late game VERY closely. I don’t want to say for me it is a test but it will definitely shed some light on where this team really stands right now. Are we confident? Can we get physical AND score goals? My expectations may be high but I think this team can do it. We better get atleast 1 point. No disasters (Yawnson/Skouba).
I remember back in HS, we had a player that always shot high on our own goalies. Finally one day one of the goalies chased the guy across the ice and smacked him in the helmet 5-6 times while shouting ” HOW DO YOU LIKE IT!”
The guy never shot high on the goalies again.
Austin - The Hanson brothers were at the Aeros game last Saturday. They did a pre-game Q&A that was pretty good. Then they were announced as the starting forwards for the Aeros.
They skated out in full Chiefs gear, stood at the blue line with Stoner and Scott for the National Anthem and then lined up for the faceoff. The Hansons joked during the Q & A that they were going to play at least a shift and planned to get the Aeros the lead.
Of course I thought they were just joking around, but here they are lined up with Rockford for the opening faceoff. Before the puck is dropped one of them tees off on the ref, steals the puck and they go 3 on 0 down the ice. One of the Hansens trips up the backup goalie for Rockford and the puck is buried for a 1-0 Aeros lead.
Unfortunately, or I should say, obviously, the goal didn’t stand, no time ran off the clock and the Hansons were tossed from the game. Still pretty entertaining.
The game started for real and Clayton Stoner buried the puck 30 seconds into the game for the 1-0 lead for real. After the game he said he felt inspired by the Hansons and wanted to go out there and show them something special.
That’s pretty funny, Dampland.
So if Calgary loses tomorrow night that will be just two wins in the last seven games. And guess who comes to town Saturday to give the Flames a shot of life?
if I can see the guy winding up, I don’t have as big a problem with the high shot (I can always just duck) in warmups.
It’s the guys that shoot - high or otherwise - when you’re not ready and looking at them that get me worked up.
I actually had a guy get mad at ME for getting mad at HIM when he nailed me - get this - when I was turned around facing the goal!
I took a puck between the shoulder blades (very little padding), which hurt AND startled me, turned around, found the guy yelled “what the F do you think you’re doing?!” at him, and he had the balls to yell “get out of the way” at me.
I was steamed.
After watching the Caps play last night,
you have to wonder if A.O.’S mega-year contract was a smart idea. The way AO plays, reminds me of Forsberg, will he have foot or leg issues in the future?
Aaron: not a bad gig those Hanson’s have, eh?
Aaron,
Thanks for the Hanson Bros update. That is hilarious! I love it!
Glad to hear the Aeros won again too!
Wallshot,
I failed to mention in my post above, that the goalies was hitting the guy over the head with his goalie stick. I bet it hurt bad.
(personally, I was glad he did it, as the high shooter was kind of a “jork-eff”
Dave Hanson’s son plays for Notre Dame right now. There was a special on ESPN about him and I found this article about him and his dad.
So if Calgary loses tomorrow night that will be just two wins in the last seven games. And guess who comes to town Saturday to give the Flames a shot of life?
Ugh - the Wild as the tonic for what cures the Flames ills has gone from a fluke to a bad joke it seems. It might be better for us if the Flames win Thursday unless another L leads to a huge Keenan meltdown.
Haha, thanks AiH, that is pretty funny stuff. You gotta love those Hanson’s.
I am pretty excited to see what the boys can do tonight in the Shark Tank (the game is on CI HD tonight!). I think if they can play like they have been the past few games they will definitely hang in this one till the end. Hopefully they don’t lax up a bit tonight, now is not the time to take a night off.
anyone have the rough dates of when Rammer was out of commission with the eye? I’m wondering if this turnaround recently can be attributed to getting him back behind the bench in some way?
NiNY, I was wondering the same thing. It seems like they started playing better shortly after he came back.
NiNY: this Google news search - http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&tab=wn&ned=us&q=%22mike+ramsey%22+eye&ie=UTF-8&scoring=n - suggests that Ramsey was out on 2/19 and returned to the home bench 3/9. However, I think Russo said something about Ramsey and his ability to travel so I wonder if he is in SJ.
Adam - so, using those rough dates, the Wild was 3-5-2 in his absence, and 2-1-0 since he came back?
Add in that 2 of those 5 losses when he was out were to Chicago, one to Washington and one to Carolina, plus the SOL to Atlanta.
Veerrrry interesting…
Nick - no doubt on the Hansons. I was thinking the same thing sitting there during the Q&A. A couple minor leaguers get a cult classic movie role and milk it until they die.
Apparently they just signed on for Slapshot 3. It won’t be rated R though, keeping it cleaner for the family I guess.
Good point guys on Rammer, I was wondering the same thing the other day, whether or not he would be allowed to travel.
Russo had an article or blog mentioning that JL was a little lost without Ramsey back there.
Is it an air pressure thing for his eye? Can we get the guy on a Greyhound?
A Greyhound trip to SJ - yikes - maybe the Wild could rent the Madden Cruiser if John didn’t drive it over a cliff after Favre’s press conference
Apparently one of the Hanson Brothers from the movie (real name David Hanson) played for the North Stars in the 79 - 80 season and had a goal and an assist with 22 GP and 39 PIM. I had no idea. I also didn’t realize that the Hanson Brothers are really the Carlson brothers in real life.
So what exactly is going on in Edmonton? 8-2 in the last 10, one point behind Nashville.
Maybe they are going to sneak in and have another go. How crazy would it be if the entire NW Division made the playoffs?
Two Carlson’s, one Hanson.
Dave Hanson (who if I remember right is not related to the other two; the third “Hanson” brother I think got called up shortly before filming, so Dave took his role) is the general manager of a rink complex near Pittsburgh.
At least I think he’s still there.
In the movie anyway, there are three Carlson brothers in real life, but Jack wasn’t in Slap Shot.
So did Jack Carlson play for the NStars, ATXWF.
In case you missed Toskala’s impression of Jeff Frazze, I highly recommend checking it out:
Yeah Kevin, I have been to his ice arena once. It’s confusing to me that they all switched last names for the movie. The Carlsons became the Hansons… and Dave Hansonn was supposed to play “Killer” Carlson, and Dave’s real life nickname was “Killer”. It’s all very confusing!
I think they switched names for legal purposes.
Dave’s son went to a local high school for I think one season and was incredibly good. They won the state title, and I think Christian had like seven points in that game. Then he went off to play junior hockey for Tri-City? I think? Somewhere in the midwest.
Adam, that was just sad. That has to sting.
ATX - on the plus side, the Leafs did win the game. Also, if anyone watched that game last night, let us know if Okposo stood out at all.
Poor Toskala. He had about 8 seconds to track that puck as it skipped down the ice, and then for some reason it pulled to his left and bounced over his leg pad.
Those knuckleball shots have to be a nightmare for a goalie. My guess is it would have fooled Harding and Backstrom as well. But never Frazee! 
Food time
My bad - the next thread is for the Q&A only
From the Q&A thread: “Boogey’s Back says:
March 19th, 2008 at 12:21 pm
What does Radio bring that Foy doesn’t? From a checking perspective it appears they have a similar game and Foy brings more offensively. Why is he so deep in Jacques’ dog house? What does he have to do to get out?”
IMO Radio has been bringing a lot that Foy cannot lately. Radio has been checking hard, forechecking like crazy, and perhaps he could have busted his scoring slump with that goal the other night. I guess what I am trying to say is, at this point in the season; Radio > Foy.
Former Blue Devils in the thread!
So what exactly is going on in Edmonton? 8-2 in the last 10, one point behind Nashville.
Good, young talent, that’s what e.g. Sam Gagner! Nice to see the former NCAA guys doing well too e.g. Tommy Gilbert, Andrew Cogliano, Curtis Glencross, Matt Greene. This is my concern about the ‘Wild. They’re not as deep and skilled in the youth dept., as are teams like Edmonton or Chicago, to name a couple, IMHO.
NjaP, Here is a list of all of the current Wild players that are 25 years or younger:
Gaborik, Marian L 25
Koivu, Mikko C 24
Bouchard, P-Marc C 23
Sheppard, James C 19
Boogaard, Derek L 25
Veilleux, Steph L 25
Foy, Matt R 24
Pouliot, Benoit L 20
Voros, Aaron L 25
Schultz, Nick D 24
Foster, Kurtis D 25
Burns, Brent D 22
Harding, Josh G 23
I wouldn’t say that we are lacking in young skilled guys. Granted CHI and EDM have about 20 players each that are under 25… but how many of them are playing often?
I think the removal of all pressure in Edmonton has done a lot for those kids. It might also have caused some teams to look past the Oilers lately as well.
Please ignore this post.
AustinTXwildfan…I’ve said it once to you and I’ll say it again. You need to ease off the Iron Range Red-flavored Kool-Aid. By listing Boogey, Steph, Foy, Bennie, MoVo and ‘Foster and categorizing them as skilled, you destroyed your credibility with me. Like you, I’m a Wild fan, but we have vastly different standards when it comes to player evaluation. Funny!…I just saw a question/comment to Russo on today’s blog, asking him to comment on the Toronto Star’s article about the # of draft picks that each NHL team has on its current roster. Supposedly, the home town club is tied with the ‘Thrashers for the fewest number. This essentially confirms what I’ve been talking about for the past couple weeks here.
To the Wild’s credit, outside of ‘Pouliot (at this point in his level of play), they’ve done a great job in the draft’s first round e.g. Gabby, PMB, Burns, Nick S. (1st or 2nd round, one pick removed from Paul Martin). After that, in totality, IMO, they haven’t drafted successfully.
First round pick omission…
God, I forgot Mikko, my favorite player. Sorry MK!
NJAP: easy now, big guy. To be fair, you said the Wild “are not as deep and skilled in the youth dept., as are teams like Edmonton or Chicago, to name a couple, IMHO.”
Austin listed the players who are YOUNG, and then only said that we’re not lacking in skilled players, not that all of the guys on the list are skilled.
NjaP, I never said anything about those guys being “skilled” did I? I simply posted a list of our 25 and under players. I would expect you to look at the list and decide for yourself who the “skilled” guys are. Then perhaps you would compare that to the rosters of CHI and EDM. I would place 8 of our players in the “skilled” catergory (Gabby, Koivu, Burns, Shep, Butch, Harding, Schultz and perhaps Benny if he pans out)… Now, if you want to, you can list the “skilled” players on CHI and EDM that are under 25 and we can compare. That is how this works. Don’t attack me for misreading my post.
God, I forgot to mention Shep too.
Hey Nick, the way Austin wrote, I could only assume that he considers all the players he listed “skilled”. If that wasn’t the case, then he should have explicitly mentioned which of the guys on his list were younger than 25 AND skilled!
To the Wild’s credit, outside of ‘Pouliot (at this point in his level of play), they’ve done a great job in the draft’s first round
So can we assume you are including AJ Thelan on your success list? Yikes - where is Deep Breath when we need him!
Paul: well, seeing as how he titled the list “all of the current Wild players that are 25 years or younger:”, I think it’s your error, not his.
Yeah thanks for the backup NiNY. Way to ignore my second post there NjaP.
Austin, you have Bouchard listed at C, I think you meant R! Benny is switching to C so I’ll cut you slack there.
El Gato, I just copied that from nhlnumbers.com I didn’t take the time to edit.
“I wouldn’t say that we are lacking in young skilled guys.”
Nick…Did you miss this line of his after the list?
Oil (”skilled” U25, drafted and/or via trades): Gagner, Cogliano, Hemsky, Penner, Nilsson (a push w/Bennie; maybe his hockey genes will finally kick in.), Pitkanen, Greene, Smid.
‘Hawks: Kane, Toews, Ladd, Byfuglien, Barker, Keith, Seabrook.
So 8 for the Oil, and only 7 for the Hawks? I would say that puts the Wild on pretty even terms with those teams. That really makes your original statement pretty flimsy. The Wild are doing just fine in the young skilled player department IMO. I do admit that it is a stretch that Benny is one of the Wild’s “skilled” guys… but we all know he is perfectly capable of stepping it up. It’s just a matter of if he responds well to playing in the NHL. I hope he pans out, I think that may be part of the reason I put him in the list. Oh, and just because I say: “I wouldn’t say that we are lacking in young skilled guys” doesn’t imply that ALL of those I listed are skilled.
Can anyone provide a link for the Toronto Star article about each team’s draft picks on roster?
Should it surprise us as to the number of Wild draft picks playing in the NHL. Remember we are an expansion franchise so we haven’t had draft picks for as long as most teams. We are tied with Atlanta. Ok, they have been in the league a little longer than us. Where are we in comparison to other expansion teams–BJ’s and Preds? By the way, I know folks recoil when reminded that we have done better than the other expansion teams-BJ’s, Thrashers and Preds–but we do need to keep in mind how long we have been in existence. We haven’t been around long enough to have drafted players who are 27 or older.
Alright, I just went through the roster that the Wild has on its web site and 11 of the 27 players were draftees.
For a comparison, I checked one other team - Colorado. Of the Avs 29 players on that roster, 14 were draftees. However, that includes Parker, Foote and Sauer. All of those players were drafted by Colorado, but then left the organization before returning. If the article is counting players in that category, then it’s really misleading. As woodcock points out, it only stands to reason that as a younger organization the Wild would have fewer picks (Hell, the Avs have at least 3 guys who were drafted by Quebec, which was at least 5 years before the Wild’s first draft).
When it comes to the draft your first rounders are the standard by which you are truly measured in my opinion. I ran some stats on this blog about a week back that the Wild has now 6 of its 8 first rounders in on the roster. Excluded is AJ and Colton. The second closest in the NW Division was Edmonton with 4. Hemsky, Pouliot, Gagner, and Gogliano. Calgary 1, Vancouver 1, Colorado 1.
There is another “Phil” afoot…he uses a capital “P” and I, the original “phil”, do not. Though he did ask a good question in the Q & A.
Now that the logistics are taken care of, what’s the general feeling for tonight’s game against the Sharks? I’m a bit worried, would like to see a win, but I’m just not “feelin’” it…
uh oh… Russo’s Rants just got blocked at my office! What do they expect me to do with my time here?! Can someone tell me the best way for me to keep up with y’all from my cell phone? What’s RSS?
When you take a look at the current top 20 point scorers for the NHL. 13 of the 20 were drafted in the first round. 10 of those 13 were draft no lower than 3rd overall. There were only 2 second rounders, a forth, two 6ths, 1 seventh, and 1 not drafted. You get past the first round and it is a crap shoot with a lot of young talent that is years from reaching NHL level hockey.
phil, if the Wild play like they have in the past few games we should see a Wild victory. The Sharks are tough, but if the boys step up to the plate we could be in for a great game.
NINY, maybe ask for an exception to the policy, is that feasible?
Austin, that’s the rub, when they’re “on” there’s no one better…let’s hope they are “on”! Actually it may be a good indicator of what the playoffs will be like because the physical teams will certainly be there and we’ll have to compete at their level..
Get a Blackberry NiNY! I’ve made several posts on here using mine.
Kevin, I have used my wife’s a few times when we were out watching the game at a bar or something. It’s tough to type long messages, but it’s great for checking the blog on the go!
Sure is, Austin. I don’t have a problem with typing long messages, the main problem for me is just scrolling all the way down to the bottom to get through the 250 comments you people post about the game.
Though playing with it now I’m coming up with a way or two around that.
Nick, you need a new job!
Nick, I say get a blackberry as well. It is the easiest way to keep up.
Keven, what’s the way around the scroll??
Real food this time btw!
Austin, I go to the Find option and typed in “Please leave a” and it puts me smack at the comment box. Now, the trick isn’t fool-proof. If anyone says “Please leave a” in any of their posts, then you’ll have to cycle through them…
I wonder, since your name and email are saved after you make a post, if you can try putting that in the “Find” box and see if it comes up. I’ll try that.
