Hey Silver

LinkNation

I read a ton of great hockey stuff everyday, so why not share it? I figure it's a good way to keep things going here during the off-season. Check 'em:

+ Coyote Ugly: A Call for 10 Depositions (James Mirtle)
Mirtle is a go-to guy for anything hockey. He's been doing an awesome job covering the whole Coyotes mess. It's where I go to try and make sense of it all.

+ Pens Universe Preseason Top 20 (Pens Universe)
A look at some of the top prospects in the system. For the most part I agree with the rankings. I would move Strait up a spot or two; Rummel is absolutely right when he says Brian's game is simple and solid, but it's also very smart. Then again, that's at the college level. I think he'll have no problem adjusting after a little while.

I'd also relax a bit with the Thiessen 'overtaking Curry by the end of the season' remark. I like Thiessen a lot, but I still think he has some maturing to do (as most goalies do when they transition). Curry beats him out by a mile there. That extra year at Northeastern would not have hurt Thiessen, but oh well. What can ya do. He'll be alright.

+ BC-BU Hockey a go at Fenway (Boston Herald)
January 8th is the magic date. It will be unbelievable. My only complaint: BC would be the 'home team'. Um, Fenway is pretty much ON the BU campus. So that really makes no sense. But whatevs. I think I'll be as nervous for this game as I was in the playoffs.

Hey -- remember when BU was down 3-1 but scored three goals in 59 seconds to push the NCAA championship game to OT? And then they won in OT? Unbelievable.

+ The Hockey News' AHL Jersey Rankings (The Hockey News)
Ugh, who picked these this year?! Okay, I agree with the first three. They're cool. But then it's all downhill from there. I would get into it, but I'm not even sure where to begin.

+ AHL Regular Season Schedule (The AHL)
DO IT PENS. Even if you did lose pretty much all of your offense.

+ The Replacements (Empty Netters)
A look at who might replace Talbot while he's out for the first two months.

+ War Simulation Puts Ducks' Battles in Perspective (OC Register)
Bobby Ryan & George Parros (how can you not love that guy?) visited Fort Irwin and got to see what it's like over in Iraq. Love seeing them do this stuff. Helps them see how really, really, really lucky they are.

This, Headline Made Me Laugh

My first thought when I read this: 'Oh Ryan Whitney was invited to try-outs!'


It's an announcement for Bobby Ryan and Ryan Whitney.
Yeah ... sorry. I found it amusing.

No. 1 vs. No. 2

I read the Orange County Register's Ducks updates daily, and today Mark Whicker caught my eye. He brought up the idea of Bobby Ryan and Sidney Crosby being on the same level now. I'm just not so sure I can agree with that. I know I constantly rant against Ryan -- sometimes a little unfairly -- but let's think about this. To Whicker's credit he points out their stats as of the past two months:

Since Nov. 16, Ryan has 11 goals and 14 assists.
Since Nov. 20, Crosby has 10 goals and 21 assists.
But Crosby has scored only three goals since Nov. 29. Ryan has nine.

You can't argue with stats, but I'd still take Crosby over Ryan any day. Sure, Ryan had some salary cap issues that kept him at bay, but the kid wasn't in tip top shape until this past off season anyway. I'm not sure what he was waiting for prior to that. Also, I still stand by his "I don't care" attitude he had before he secured a spot on Anaheim's roster. I can only imagine how frustrating it was for him to suffer through that knowing he was good enough to play in the show, but that attitude gets you no where. I don't want a guy on my team who feels like he's owed something all the time. That's not to say Sid doesn't have his brat moments, but they still have very different ways of handling and dealing with things.

Plus, I personally believe Crosby is just more talented overall. There's a reason he was the no-question number one draft pick. Then again, not many guys can be as talented as Sid the Kid. Bobby Ryan will be a fantastic player in years to come, there's no doubt about that (especially if he starts throwing his body around a bit more. The kid is huge). Just not my preference of the two.

And just for kicks -- if Ryan was on Crosby's level, he would've at least made the Young Stars game. ;-)

Update:

Just scanning over the Ducks message board, where someone posted this:

Talking with Bobby, he was actually hoping he wasn't going to be named because before the AS break, we have the east coast road trip and he wanted to hang with friends and family.

Another example. Rather chill out than be named an All Star? Okay, then Bobbo. You never fail to surprise me.

Quote Me

"I think the first period was a poor period for everybody, but being the youngest, I guess you sometimes take the brunt of that. The second period didn't start off the way I wanted to, but when you're young you don't get many chances, I guess. I found the middle of the bench pretty quickly." - Bobby Ryan

No, there's nothing thrilling or amusing about this quote. I just wanted to use it to point out how Bobby Ryan can't just say, 'Hey, listen. I didn't play that well, and I paid for it. I gotta get out there and work harder.' If you start paying attention, you'll see this in a lot of his quotes. He always has to attribute poor play to other things. I think it reflects poorly on him. Even if he feels he's getting jipped, acting like a baby is no way to get people on your side. Swallow your pride, bud. The whole hockey world knows you got screwed when you got demoted for salary cap issues. Guess what? Everyone is over it. You're in the show now, so they really could care less to hear you whine. You're part of a team. Act like it.

I'll dig around to find similar boo-hoo quotes from him.

Photo Credit: Flickr

More on B.Ry.

For anyone watching the Pittsburgh/Ottawa game on Versus right now, how good does it feel to have hockey back? It brought a little smile to my face.

Anyway, more on the Bobby Ryan issue I briefly brought up last time. The kid is hoping for a trade, and I don't really blame him. At the same time, it's not as if they're sending him down to be outright dicks; they just don't know how to handle money very well. There were rumors about Toronto being interested in him; that would be interesting considering Brian Burke will probably end up there after this season. No matter where Ryan ends up, he still needs to adjust the attitude. I still stand by what I've said before: he has unreal hands that help him score but has offered little else. He has size, he should use it. And now that he's a skinny minnie, he should be faster.

Bottom line is, the Ducks probably saw beforehand that this problem would arise. Why did they hype him up so much and 'pencil' him in then? It makes them look bad. That might be my PR education speaking, but it is what it is.

Photo Credit: Christian Petersen, Getty Images

This Makes the Afternoon Interesting ...

I'm way overdue for an afternoon nap, but the Ducks sent Bobby Ryan down to the AHL today.

Although I have my complaints about him, it does hurt to be sent down for 'salary cap reasons' -- especially after everyone in the Ducks organization has spent basically all preseason talking him up.

Bobby Ryan often feels like he's owed the NHL, so there's no doubt he is complaining right now. And for once, I can't really blame him.

Poor kid. Maybe he should take a nap too.

More on this after some zzz's.

B.Ry Ready for the Show? Hmm...

The OC Register did a piece on Bobby Ryan basically being given a position on next year's team by Brian Burke. Maybe this was a motivational thing -- Ryan is strange with that. He doesn't get motivated by criticism (unlike some players who take negative remarks as a fire under their ass), so maybe if they kiss up to him he'll actually go out there and shake things up a bit. That's not to say he's not talented. I watched the kid in the A's Eastern Conference Final against the Baby Pens (number one in my heart). And even though Wilkes-Barre finished on top, Bobby Ryan was the one guy you simply couldn't let touch the puck. He undressed goaltender John Curry twice. And Curry's a smart goalie. Sometimes it seemed like his reach was never ending. He has unreal hands, and even though I may have called him a pussy once or twice, he did throw his body around a bit. That said, he was quick to give up the puck if he was pressured.

The kid has a great heart, he really does. I'd love to see him do well. The key to his success is keeping him motivated and interested. He can't get discouraged because he won't want to go out there and play. Does that mean "guaranteeing" him a spot on the Ducks' roster? Maybe. But for all we know, maybe his skill level just won't transfer to the NHL game. This has happened to AHL stars like Martin St. Pierre and Robbie Schremp (so far). Bobby Ryan has God-given talent, and sometimes that's harder to pull out of players than those that have the will to work as hard as they possibly can 24/7 throughout the entire season.

Maybe this is Brian Burke's way of indirectly getting back at Kevin Lowe for calling Ryan a 'questionable' draft pick?

Time will tell I guess. I wish the kid the best. Hopefully he'll tear it up next year. If not ... well, I won't be completely surprised.