Pavol Demitra extra; Willie O’Ree in town today
Posted on November 10th, 2008 – 9:09 AMBy Michael Russo
Ladies and gents, off the next two days, so Stencils will ably take over this here blog and the print edition, which I know you all still purchase.
It’s a good thing I’m off, too. I have a splitting upper body ache.
I had to trim today’s Pavol Demitra story a bit. Here’s what I cut out for space:
Demitra wasn’t a fan playing center in Minnesota because he always had to be the high guy in the offensive zone. He plays center in Vancouver, but “I can do what I love, play around the net and make plays.”
Still, Demitra said “my biggest frustration” wasn’t playing center. It was playing with different linemates all the time.
“The only thing I didn’t like, I don’t like to play with new players,” Demitra said. “Playing with the same guys, that’s what I was used to when I was playing in L.A. and St. Louis.”
Still, Demitra said, “I had a great time in Minnesota. Jacques [Lemaire] was very good to me. It was just a good two years, and then I was looking for something new.”
Also, Willie O’Ree, the first black player in the National Hockey League, is making a special visit to Minneapolis today where he will be the honorary guest at the DinoMights youth hockey fundraiser. While in Minneapolis, O’Ree is also visiting with students from Richard Green Central Park Elementary.
From 6:30 – 9:00 p.m. tonight, O’Ree will attend the annual fundraiser for the DinoMights youth hockey program. Guests at the fundraiser will have the opportunity to bid on a lunch with the legend that will occur tomorrow. The DinoMights are a member of the NHL’s Hockey Is For Everyone program.
O’Ree, the NHL’s Director of Youth Development and ambassador for Hockey Is For Everyone, broke the NHL’s color barrier on January 18, 1958 with the Boston Bruins. He played 45 games with the Bruins from 1958-61. He played pro hockey for 21 seasons, mostly in the Western Hockey League, all while being blind in one eye. Last season, the NHL celebrated the 50th anniversary of O’Ree breaking the color barrier in hockey.
DinoMights was founded in 1995 to equip urban youth to develop physical, academic, social and spiritual excellence. The program has 95 year-round participants ages 5-18 and 150 seasonal participants in Spring Learn 2 Skate (all first graders at Richard Green Elementary and Andersen Elementary). DinoMights offers both ice and in-line hockey, while maintaining a strong commitment to tutoring and Academic enrichment for its participants. To learn more visit: http://www.dinomights.com
OK, without further ado, herrrrrrreeeeeee’s Stencils!!!!!!!!! Well, in five or six hours 
44 Responses to "Pavol Demitra extra; Willie O’Ree in town today"
Russo: It’s a good thing I’m off, too. I have a splitting upper body ache.
And will DR and TL both disavow any knowledge of it like they do of Gaby or Burns?? 
Enjoy your time off, Michael…
I have to say that, if that was part of Demo’s on-ice issues here, then it’s understandable. I’m not necessarily saying that JL’s wrong to be constantly switching lines (it worked pretty well for a guy named Bowman in Detroit) all the time, but I can see where some guys can’t break out of the “set lines” mold.
We were doing a 2 on 1 drill at practice last night and I noticed that even after just a couple of rounds with the same wing on the other side of the ice, we kinda got each others groove a little better than when it was someone different each time. After that, I could relate to Demo’s frustration with constant line changes, especially if it’s what he was used to for many years.
I was wondering where Stencils had gotten off to lately.
Sweet Jeezus, I’m tired and can’t shake this headache from last night.
NiNY: With artillery Bowman had in his “hay day” with Detroilet, he could have simply pulled 5 names out of a hat from the active roster on a nightly basis and said “here’s the first line”. Then do that 3 more times to get his 4 lines. I’d have to recheck the current roster and the roster of years past for the Wild, but I don’t think JL has had the same scenario with which to form lines. Not saying JL’s way is wrong, but I don’t think it is fair to compare to Bowman’s situation.
Ms C., headache? You too? You and Russo out drinking last night or something?
Deep: maybe not the talent level -okay, definitely not the talent level - but I think JL and Bowman both use players like a chef uses spices.
They know the individual talents of their players and feel they can adjust combinations based on those talents and how the individual players are playing on a given night and who the opposition is.
It’s getting the most out of each player’s skills on a game by game, period by period, shift by shift basis, layering in line matching and other in-game strategy.
That Bowman was able to do so with more higher-skilled players really has nothing to do with it. From that perspective JL needs to do it more than Scotty did.
I sustained a ‘lower body injury’ today.
There will be an update later today regarding my blogging status.
As of right now, my status is ‘day-to-day’.
Ha! I wish, Goody.
kj, how am I gonna know whether to expect posts from you if you can’t be more specific? This isn’t fair to Russoville.
Russo, please rephrase your status to “Upper Body Injury”. We don’t want people gunning for your melon! Thanks again for all of your updates!
NiNY: I agree with your thought, but to that extent, JL failed miserably in getting the most out of Demo. Whether or not that had any bearing on how the Wild finished is up for debate, but it was clear the Wild did not get the best Demo had since he was clearly frustrated about what went on while he was a member of the squad. Also, no “lower, upper, middle or inner-body” injury of any kind to report today.
Well, if we are comparing injuries. I have a nagging ache in my kn….. oops I mean “lower body injury”, I will go so far as to say I sustained said injury while trying to walk both my dogs at once. Caesar Milan would be very disappointed in my dog walking style, it involves a lot of tripping over leashes and swearing.
Deep: I agree on Demo. Which is why I said what I said initially.
So my Mr just called, he’s on his way home from the family farm with a big doe in the back of the truck… yummy. I guess that means I get to spend the next few days packaging up steaks, and roast and grinding up Bambie’s mom into burger.
This just in, Bambi’s mom is out with an “upper body” injury and is out for an indefinite amount of time.
[…] Russo’s Rants – […]
Are your sure TL approved the release of Bambi’s ‘upper body injury’?
So, I should probably remove Bambi’s mom from my game day fantasy hunting roster then shouldn’t I? Maybe I’ll put in Thumper in her place. What do you think? Maybe what I’ll do is put Thumper in the lineup in one league but put Man (the hunter) in the lineup in my other league. Or, maybe I’ll just leave Bambi’s mom in and hope that somehow she can pull out a Christ like comeback from her upper body injury by gametime.
I would pull her from the line-ups guys by game time tonight she won’t be in any shape to play, unless the game is Iron Chef like and she’s the special ingredient.
Something like that, Goody. I didn’t know there was a Fantasy Hunting League…
every Friday at the bar is Fantasy Hunting League for most single guys, WRT…
…and, sadly, some not-single guys too…
Nice NINY …very nice!
Yay Dinomights! Great program developing inner-city hockey players.
My lower body injury is affecting my ability to post, but since I am a ‘gamer’ I will come back before I am ready.
I’m thinking Bambi is going onto IR.
Thankfully, she’ll be able to attend Bandgeek’s pre game meal…
Hey Guys. I was just watching NHL Network and noticed that Bob Kurtz is on their show “Voices” on Thursday night at 6:30. It will be interesting for sure. I just wanted you guys to know in case you wanted to check it out before the game!
Bambi’s mom makes a killer game day chili.
Stencile- how do you keep the NBA brain separate from the NHL brain?
BG- is it 9 days til your birthday? Are you awash in gifts?
Thankfully, she’ll be able to BECOME Bandgeek’s pre game meal…
Fixed it for you, kj! 
The whole mix-n-match lines stuff is something a lot of coaches do, and I think in Dryden’s book Bowman says something along the lines that the most important factor in successful coaching is getting the right players on the ice at the right time. The influence seems obvious. That said, the points about Bowman’s teams’ talent in Mtl and Det compared to Lemaire with the Wild are valid too, especially last season when they were ridiculously short at center.
Ohh, chili sounds good. That’s going on this week’s menu, weather permitting.
Demo and Gaby almost alwasy played onthe same line, so Demo must be referring to their third wheel when complaining that he always had to get used to new guys. To play a little Devil’s advocate to Demo’s complaint, wasn’t it also supposed to have been the case the Demo and Gaby would complain to JL from time to time about who the third linemate was? If so, then isn’t it fair to say that, at least to some extent, those two contributed to the constant shuffling about which Demo complains?
M 03: I’ve only gotten presents from the Mr (a fuzzy wool sweater and tickets to the game on the 20th), and from my sister (a teddy bear dressed like a Wild player, I named him Darby). My friend H. says I get another present tomorrow at Hockey Unplugged since we plan to go tomorrow night. But other than that I haven’t gotten many presents.
That should say “any presents” not “many presents” hard to type with a dog in your lap.
that’s deep, hockeydad. I like it.
Hockeydad, I was thinking along the same lines. When I tried to formulate it into a post it got so circular that I confused myself and gave up.
The main issue, as I saw it for the time they were together here, was the fact that there was never a legit center that could play between Gaby and Demo, but that goes back to Ballgame leaving this club terribly thin at the position since the time Walz quit. That, coupled with the fact that Demo was moved to center, where JL’s “third man high” philosophy in the offensive end, pretty much squelched most of Demo’s ability to be creative. Whatever.
Also, speaking of chili, Mrs. Deep Breath threw together a couple of crockpots full of chicken chili yesterday. Fantastic stuff if you are a chili eater.
Demo and Gaby played a lot together but Demo also played a significant time with Rolston and PMB.
He could also mean the constant line changes in a one game versus over several games. One minute he is with Gaby and whoever, the next he is with Rolston and PMB. Gaby is use to it because he has had 7 years of experience with it. He’s learn to play his game and with everyone.
However, that doesn’t mean that Gaby, Belanger, or whoever doesn’t want to play with the players they are use to. They know each other’s tendencies. That counts for something.
Take this season, how many missed passes have we seen between all the lines except the Koivu line? Half the time I just want them to have tape-to-tape passing at least 2 times in a row.
Half the time I just want them to have tape-to-tape passing at least 2 times in a row.
Does that mean you want 1 tape to tape pass in a row or every other time that can make two in a row?
I’d settle for more goals…
Either one would be nice.
Goals are hard to come by if they can’t even make a pass which reaches their teammate’s stick. Puck possession means gaining control of the puck which means good passes.
Food!
Another reason JL kept changing Demo’s linemates is because Gaborick was out with an injury for quite some time. JL DOES keep lines together that show chemistry — i.e. Rolston, PMB and Koivu (it WAS Koivu, right?). He’s done it several games with Bruno, Miettenen and Koivu. But, if they aren’t producing, then, yes the chef with spices comes into play.
On behalf of Bambi’s father, I am filing his official retirement papers, since he won’t be skating anymore.
Old number 8 (point) was cut from the team on Saturday.
When asked to comment on his client’s sudden change in fortune, the agent replied “yummy vension chili”
ON A HOCKEY NOTE …. Who on the Wild who are currently GOALESS, will be the first to score and who will be the last to score?
My predictions -
First to score : Zidlicky
Last to score : Shultz
should be “Goal less”
Forgot to add kudos to Russo. I’ve skimmed a few other newspaper hockey blogs and what Russo provides for us is so much more than you’ll find anywhere else.
