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.

Bye Bye Whit

Pittsburgh shipped Ryan Whitney to Anaheim today in exchange for Chris Kunitz and prospect Eric Tangradi. This makes it pretty clear that Whitney's absence in Pitt's game against the Islanders because of a 'family situation in Boston' clearly meant 'He went to Boston to meet up with the Ducks who play there tonight.'

I'm a Whitney fan. He's a BU alum who I got to see play his first seasons pro in Wilkes-Barre. He's awesome when he wants to be, but he hasn't been the same recently. Blame it on the foot surgery, whatever. I think it's because they took his biffles Matt Murley and Colby Armstrong away from him. He's probably still dealing with that emotionally.

(I'm joking of course ... sort of.)

One cool thing about this trade: Eric Tangradi (as mentioned in this previous post) played hockey for Wyoming Seminary in Kingston, PA. Kingston is right next to Wilkes-Barre, so it's very possible he'll head back to familiar territory if he sees time with the Baby Pens.

We'll see how this pans out. Pittsburgh gets rid of another guy that was originally part of their foundation. It's pretty sad if you ask me. But it is what it is.

Edit: Well, I'm officially a jerk. Whitney was actually in Boston for his mother who was undergoing brain surgery for removal of a tumor. I feel awful, but I know I wasn't the only one that thought it was a huge coincidence he was in Boston when the Ducks were. Prayers for Mrs. Whitney. Get well soon!

Quick Bites

My apologies for disappearing for awhile there. I finished finals, headed home and have found myself being completely relaxed and lazy during winter break. I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday. That said, here are some bits and pieces I wanted to touch on:

+ I made it home in time to see Ryan Whitney's one-game conditioning stint in Wilkes-Barre. He was a non-factor in the game against Albany (WBS ended up winning 4-3). Whit had one assist and was a -1 on the night. He had quite a bit of ice time, but you could tell he hadn't played in awhile. The high expectations come with his name, and frankly he could have done better. Pittsburgh snatched him back after the Albany game, but I think he could have used another in the A. Even he admitted he was tired after the first ten minutes. Oh well. That game was fun for me as there were three BU alums on the ice: Whitney, John Curry and Ryan Weston.

+ The Casey Classic is an annual tournament for the Northeast PA high school hockey league. The teams get to play at the Wachovia Arena which is a pretty cool experience for them. My younger brother was in the tourney this year, and his team, the Crestwood Comets, made it to the final. Boy was I glad I went to that game. Naturally youth hockey is much slower than what I'm used to, but this game was unbelievable. Crestwood had a 4-2 lead with 2:17 left in the third period. They took a silly penalty, and Wyoming Valley West used this to their advantage. They were fired up. They not only scored a power play goal, but they also notched another to tie the game up 4-4 with 37 seconds left. Everyone was getting ready for OT, but with 1.1 seconds left, Crestwood scored to win the game. 1.1 seconds. Are you kidding me?! It was awesome. Congrats to the Comets who have now won four out of the seven years.

+ The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins had a huge weekend. They played Bridgeport on Saturday in what was probably one of the top ten games I've seen at that rink. The entire game was fast-paced and evenly played. Mainly thanks to the Pens' two quick goals in the third, they were able to pull out a 5-4 win. Sunday night was a match-up against the Binghamton Senators. The Baby Pens fought back from a 3-1 deficit in the second to win 6-3. WBS now sits at 3rd in the division, nipping at Bridgeport's heels.

Mark Letestu had a four point night against the Sens. This is a guy who always seems to do well, but earlier in the year he saw very little ice time. I don't understand it. Every game he's out there he makes things happen. Maybe now he will continue to receive the ice time he deserves.

Also: Denis Hamel is STILL in the AHL. I swear this guy has played for Binghamton for what seems like 10 years now. (Note: That's an exaggeration.) He's always been good for them too. Get him up to Ottawa too please.

Bits & Pieces

- More on the Dennis Bonvie situation: According to front office gossip talk, Bonvie wasn't going to be picked for the assistant coach position anyway. In that case, I think the team owes a thank you to Dennis for publicly 'withdrawing' his name and making it seem like it was his first choice to leave (which it may have been anyway, who knows). Jonathan Bombulie mentioned him possibly taking a scouting job for an NHL team. Either way, best wishes. Everyone will miss him.

- Pittsburgh's Ryan Whitney will miss the start of the season due to recent foot surgery. Recovery time: 3-5 months. Yikes. Get well soon.

- San Jose did a nice little piece on former WBS coach, Todd Richards.

- In continuing with their Logo Ranking madness, THN made a horrible mistake. They put the BC Eagles above BU! Surely, they weren't paying attention. Go here immediately and vote for BU!!