Hearbreaking/heartwarming story from the Draft

David Carle, younger brother of San Jose defenseman Matt Carle, and 2008 NHL Draft prospect was diagnosed with a heart condition that leaves him at risk for sudden heart failure by the Mayo clinic. The discovery comes just a day before he was slated to be selected in the NHL Entry Draft.

While my heart crumbles for this kid, he seems to have a solid head on his shoulders.

"It's really not the end of the world,'' Carle said by phone Friday from Faribault, Minn., where he is visiting friends. "I'm really quite fortunate they were able to find it.

"I've still got a long life ahead of me. I have a lot to look forward to and a lot of opportunities ahead of me.''

In light of the news, Carle decided to end his hockey career at the age of 18 (I greatly respect both Carle and teh University of Denver for honoring his scholarship).

So, one would assume that's it for Carle. What team would take a kid who has publically declared he will no longer play hockey?

Enter new Lighting co-owner Oren Koulis.
The Lightning used their last pick of the draft to take Carle, who had been pegged anywhere between the late first and third rounds.

General manager Jay Feaster said prospective new owner Oren Koules knows the family and the diagnosis might not be as severe as first believed. Besides Koules said, "The kid worked his whole life to be drafted in the NHL, and I don't see a reason he shouldn't be."

Best of luck to David.

UPDATE - The original article has been edited. The first sentence quoted has been removed. It looks as though Tampa's selection was done purely out of kindness. Unbelievably generous move by the Lightning organization.

NHL Draft: NJD Round-up, Devils select Tedenby

I was hoping for the Devils to select Indiana (USHL) defenseman John Carlson, aka the Baby Dinosaur (so-called after he smashed the side of his fist down upon the melon of a fallen opponent in a fight a few years back). Alas, the Devils passed up on the puck hulking puck-mover, moving down three spots to the 24th pick to select diminutive Swedish winger Mattias Tedenby. I'm not upset, he was the second name that popped into my mind when asked who I wanted.

The kid from HV71 (yes, that's the team's name) has skills. He can flat out fly and provides some offensive flair to an organization that needs it. That said, he's small. Gionta small. He's listed at 5'10" 176 lbs, but I'm not so sure. He was about eye-to-eye with Devils GM Lou Lamoriello once he got up to the podium and about half as wide. Tedenby will definitely need to bulk up as it looked as though the geriatric Lamoriello may have been able to dismember the kid if he chose to do so. But in today's NHL, smaller players can flourish.

Bottom line is Tedenby is a kid with blinding speed, solid stick skills, but needs to bulk up to get to the NHL. He's at least a few years away from the big show.

Other selections
Brandon Burlon - 52nd pick (2nd round). Defenseman St. Michael's Buzzers (OPJHL)
Burlon is a beast. At only 6'0", 190lbs he finished among the top of the pack in most of the categories at the Draft Combine. While Burlon has power he uses it more for locomotion than for destruction. Not overly physical, Burlon is a very smooth skating defenseman. Is able to join the rush, but is not a pure offensive defenseman. One thing they lost when passing up on Carlson was a booming shot from the point, something Burlon possesses as well. He could turn into a solid 2nd pairing defenseman for the Devils, but will not in NJ for at least two or three years as he needs to fill out physically as well as test himself against better competition.

Patrice Cormier - 54th pick (2nd round). Center Rimouski Oceanic (QMJHL)
Cormier is a gritty, hard working, drive-to-the net center. Is it really a surprise the Devils picked him? He's not a stranger to dropping the gloves either. Scouts had limited exposure to this once highly-touted kid from New Brunswick as he was side-lined with injuries keeping him out of some of the more pivotal showcases. He may turn into one of the more valuable selections of the draft and a real steal for the Devils.

Adam Henrique - 82nd pick (3rd round) Center. Windsor Spitfires (OHL)
A teammate of Burlon's for gold-medal winning Team Ontario at the 2007 Canada Games, Henrique is another hard-working pivot who projects as a spark plug at the NHL level. A great face-off man. Oddly enough, was invited to Canada's under-18 camp when fellow Devils draft pick Patrice Cormier was unable to attend.

Matt Delahy - 102nd pick (4th round) Defenseman. Regina Pats (WHL)
A reliable stay at home defender really didn't show up on the radar until this year. Was given increasing amounts of ice-time by Regina and responded well to the added pressure.

Kory Nagy - 142nd pick (5th round) Center - Oshawa Generals (OHL)
The Devils are trying to fill the void down the middle in years to come. Nagy comes a bit off the board, not ranked by most of the scouting services and he is very similar to Henrique and both players seem to be the a hopeful replacement for John Madden. Like Henrique, Nagy is a strong face-off man who is a capable shut-down center. He's not going to be an offensive juggernaut ever. Nagy only managed 17 points in 57 regular season games. But guess what? He had 9 points in 15 playoff games.

David Wohlberg - 172nd pick (6th round) Center. USDP U-18
A physical two-way center will attend the University of Michigan in the fall. Had 22 points in 45 games for the US program.

Harry Young - 202nd pick (7th round) Defenseman. Winsdor Spitfires (OHL)
Devils take their second Spitfire of the day. This time they selected the 6'4", 200 pounder to help solidify their defensive core. Windsor head coach has spoke glowingly about Youn citing him as possibly the most improved player in all of the OHL this past season. His defensive responsibility has made him an effective penalty killer for the Spitfires. He has also been writing an off-season journal for WindsorSpitfires.com.

Jean-Sebastian Berube - 205th pick (7th round) Left Wing. Rouyn-Noranda Huskies (QMJHL)
The big winger had 118 PM and 24 points in 64 games for the Huskies. He doesn't turn 18 until July 20th.



Look for a team-by-team report throughout the coming weeks starting with the Devils divisional rivals the Isles and Rangers.

Pens: Malkin played Final while legally dead.

Pittsburgh - Every year the playoffs dole out rash after rash of horrific injury and this years post-season was no different. Today the Pittsburgh Penguins revealed that star forward Evgeni Malkin had played five games of the playoffs while legally dead and possibly partially a zombie. The Penguins had previously listed Malkin as day-to-day with "general body failure".
"I knew something was wrong the morning of Game 1 against Detroit." Malkin said through teammate/translator Sergei Gonchar. "My back was stiff and I felt a strange craving for human flesh. Also, I had no pulse".
The Penguins training staff originally cautioned Malkin about playing that night. "They were worried about me tearing something. Not a muscle or tendon, but an actual extremity. I was decaying pretty badly." While there was no blood coursing through the young Russian's veins, he showed heart. "It's the finals. It's what I dreamed about the entire season. Well, until the night before when my nightmares were consumed with encounters with Lord Satan, Prince of the Netherworld and God Almighty bargaining for my eternal soul."
Upon hearing about his opponents condition Red Wings forward Kris Draper was candid, "I thought it had to be something serious. He's a tough kid. I hit him in Game 2 and I think one of his vertebrae snapped, but he barely flinched. He just moaned, 'braaaains'. I thought it was odd, but that's what McCarty is always like. Go fig."
Malkin was brought back to life thanks to a fortuitous accident involving faulty wiring near the Penguins locker room at Mellon Arena. "7,000 volts pretty much de-Zombified me." Malkin said. Malkin is expected to make a full recovery.

Rumor: Chicago willing to give Sean Avery $4m/year

I've heard a rumor from somebody within the Rangers organization that the Blackhawks is willing to offer Sean Avery around $4m if he is does not re-sign with the Blue Shirts. The rumor came from a very respectable source, which is the only reason I'm even bothering with this (did I just sound like Eklund?).

In my opinion, there are many teams that could harbor the unique talents Sean Avery brings to the table. Chicago, however, is not on that list. In fact, they aren't even on the same pad of paper.
A young team on the rise is about roundest hole for the square peg that is Avery. What would it accomplish to bring him into that locker room? The reason Avery works in New York is there are guys like Brendan Shanahan who can sit him down and keep him in line. Three Stanley Cups and 600 goals carries with it a load of respect. Then there's Jagr on the bench as well. Add Sather in the front office and you've got guys who know how to win. Who has that in Chicago? Denis Savard? A brilliant player, but a coach very much still in the early phases of his career. GM Dale Tallon is in a similar situation. Bottom line is there is no elder statesman in the Hawks locker room to keep Avery from going overboard.

Unless Jonathon Toews can turn into Steve Yzerman come September, Avery would run roughshod.

EDIT: In talking with a friend he mentioned how much I hate Avery. I'd just like to add that Avery could be a great addition on the ice to any team. I've said before that he is one of the most versatile forwards in the NHL. He'll fight, he can skate, good shot, accurate passer, good sense. 1st line winger, 2nd line center, 3rd line checker, a guy who will drop the gloves. He'll do it all.

My issue is with his personality and whether it is a good fit for a young team, the Kind of team he was jettisoned from in LA.

Hey Geno, step up!

Who is that man wearing #71 for the Pittsburgh Penguins over the past week? It certainly doesn't look like current Hart Trophy finalist Evgeni Malkin. There has been a list of reasons why Malkin has underperformed in the Stanley Cup Finals so far. He's tired, he's nervous, is he injured? His passes have been erratic, his stickhandling sloppy, his mental game cloudy. He's making rookie mistakes, miscues that should have been beaten out of habit in juniors for pete's-sake. If the no-look drop-pass didn't work the first five times, why would it work the sixth, Geno?Sometimes he's most noticeable in scrums after the whistle. While it's always good to see some fire, the Pens need Malkin to use that heat to light the lamp.

Malkin needs to find away to get over whatever is ailing him and get back to his MVP form. The Pens squeaked by Detroit to force a final game at the Igloo and if they want to come out with their best shot at Game 7, #71 has got to be as ubiquitous as he was in the earlier rounds.

There is little doubt Malkin can be a good playoff performer. He's shown that against the Senators, Rangers, and Flyers. But in order to join the ranks of the elite, Malkin has to wake-up and push past the obstacles in his way right now and find a way to lit himself up. He's got the gears all the greats before him have had, he just needs to find out how they fit together and get the machine running.

John Carlson to play with London next year.

I just talked to a source close to John Carlson who told me that Carlson, previously committed to UMASS has decided to play in the OHL next year. Carlson, a big puck moving defenseman with an NHL calibre shot is vitrual lock to be selected in the 1st round of June's NHL Entry Draft. He spent last year with Indiana of the USHL after being a member of the New Jersey Rockets, the same junior organization that gave the OHL Bobby Sanguinetti and David Kolomatis.

Interview with David Kolimatis (Owen Sound - OHL)

Recently I sat down with Owen Sound defenseman David Kolomatis and talked about his time in the league, being an OHL All-Star and what it takes to be the captain.

DB: You had a great year in Owen Sound, doubling your point total. How do you feel about the parts of your game that aren't reflected in the stats?
David Kolomatis: A lot of the behind the scenes stuff happened this year. The captaincy was awarded half-way through the season to me and anytime your coaching staff and your players feel that you are a leader on the team it's obviously a huge honor. It's also a lot of responsibility that maybe a lot of people don't see. In difficult times and what-not get put onto you. You have to deal with harder interviews and make sure everybody is accountable it all comes back on your shoulders.

DB: Was it sort of bittersweet in the way that you were awarded the captaincy losing the guys you did? (Team captain Scott Treguna and leader Wayne Simmonds were traded mid-season to Kitchener and Sault Ste. Marie, respectively)
DK: Yeah, they were great players that we had and even though Simmer [Simmonds] didn't wear a letter he was obviously a leader in the locker room. Tregunna, to try and step in and fill his shoes was a huge responsibility, but it was something I was willing to take a hold of and I wanted to give it a shot.

DB: What kind of leader would you say you are?
DK: I try and lead by example with my play in practice, my play in games is just a no-nonsense and hopefully guys hopped on board.

DB: You came up with a few guys, Bobby Ryan and Bobby Sanguinetti and there's a bit of a New Jersey connection there.
DK: I'd say that was just good scouting on the part of [former Owen Sound GM] Mike Futa. He was awarded the head scouting position with the LA Kings. He did a great job with me. He was great, sticking with me through the whole process even though I didn't commit to camp right away. With the New Jersey connection [Ryan and Sanguinetti] would give me a call here and there telling me what was going on and how they were feeling, how much fun they were having up there. It made me want to give it a shot.

DB: Was it an easier transition to the OHL having Bobby on the team?
DK: Oh yeah, I mean he was the star player so to have a connection there that we grew up in teh same state and both being Americans on the same team was really helpful.

DB: What's the feeling of being an American in the CHL, in the OHL?
DK: Most people's expectations are if you've ever seen Youngblood, then that's what happens. (Laughs) It's far from that. There were no difficulties because I was American.

DB: What was different for you in your second year in the OHL?
DK: You can't use that excuse, "Oh, you're young, you're still learning". You know what it's like ref-wise, what the calls are going to be. You can't use that as an excuse. People are looking at me to make a difference in games and that's what I've got to do.

DB: You were selected to the OHL All-Star Game, what was that like?
DK: The whole overall experience of the All-Star Game, playing on the same team as [consensus #1 prospect for 2008 NHL draft] Steven Stamkos, playing against [#1 prospect for 2009 John] Tavares, these are huge names you're going to be more accustomed to hearing as they get drafted. It was an awesome experience and it turned out that I played alright so I can't complain.

DB: You mentioned Stamkos and Tavares, you were the guy this year as well as next year who sees the big minutes against those guys, the oppositions top guns. Has that changed your game at all?
DK: It's made me more defensive minded. I know I can't be all over the place when these guys are on the ice. They are a force you have to deal with. It's tough not getting into the offensive zone every shift because I like to think of myself as a good skating, offensive defenseman. Playing against those guys slows the game down and makes you think a lot harder.

DB: What players have you tried to model your game on?
DK: I guess the smaller defenseman like [Red Wing's Brian] Rafalski. He's a great passer, puck mover and that's what matters at the next level. Being able to make that first pass crisp on the tape and get out of the zone. As long as I keep playing defense it's not that much fun to play defense 'cause I'd rather play offense. So get it out of the zone as quick as possible, solid passes.

DB: Which opponents have impressed you?
DK: I can tell you the hardest I've ever been hit was by James Neal who is in the Dallas Stars organization now. He caught me with my head down and he finishes his checks. He's a hard worker, he does his job out there and he knows his role. He plays his game to-a-T.

Skill-wise, probably Marc Staal. He was unbelievable for Sudbury. He could take over a game with his play. It was nice to see him get a spot with the Rangers this year.

DB: How did the team react losing Tregunna and Simmonds?
DK: I think a lot of kids were happy they were getting more ice-time, but they didn't realize what a key-role those Tregunna and Simmonds played. Penalty kill, power play situations. I mean, the power play had been a given that when we went out there we were going to score goals. I think it was tough for some of the younger kids to adjust to upping their ice-time and pressure situations they were not usually thrown into.

DB: What expectations do you have of yourself going into your third year in the OHL, your first full year as captain?
DK: I definitely have to work on my leadership as a whole. Coming in half-way through the year was difficult because everybody looked up to Tregunna. He was an overager and he commanded respect. I just have to work on getting better every day.

My plus/minus, -25. It doesn't matter what team you're on, that's not acceptable.

DB: What are you doing to improve this summer?
DK: I'm in the gym as much as possible putting on some more muscle. Skating-wise I'm with [Kolomatis's former coach] Danny O'Brien as much as he can fit me in. Danny demands the best out of you and that's it.

DB: What was your summer routine when you were younger?
DK: I went to Danny's camp [O'Brien's Total Stickhandling in New Jersey] but that's about it. I would usually hang up the skates in the summer time. As I got older you can't do that anymore. Too many guys are working out and getting into shape. You've gotta keep up with them.

DB: You're running a camp with Danny this summer.
DK: I was once one of those little kids who went to the games waited after for autographs, so it's nice to be able to be on the other side.

DB: You're not known as a brawler, I think a lot of people were surprised to see a five minute major next to your name in two straight games.
DK: Well, it certainly wasn't a pump-up situation for the team. I got caught hitting a guy from behind and he turned out to be one of the tougher guys in the league so he didn't take too kindly to it and we went at it. But, it's part of the game and if it helps the team out, even better.

DB: Sounds like Owen Sound is building for the future.
DK: Definitely. New coaching staff, new general manager, they have one-year under their belt and people are going to have expectations for them so they can't use the excuse "It's our first year" just like the players can't. Expectations are going to be higher, it should be a solid training camp and a good year.