Cichy shaking off the rust at WMU

It was interesting during the Nic Kerdiles situation at Wisconsin when discussing the young man's choices.  If he was suspended for the entire season his options would be move to Kelowna of the WHL or sit out an entire season while serving his suspension and attending classes.

Sit out the entire season? Seriously? Would his NHL team let him do that?  Wouldn't his development totally drop off?

Tuesday night Guy and I spoke with someone who did just that, took a year off and it doesn't seem to be affecting him.

One To Watch: Montreal Canadiens

-
The Habs prospect that I'm most intrigued by this coming season is a player most people have either probably already written off or don't even know. 

Obviously bigger name players like Alex Galchenyuk, Blake Geoffrion, Michael Bournival, Danny Kristo, Jared Tinordi, Nathan Beauieu and Dalton Thrower all deserve recognition, I can't help but look in another, less certain direction. 

2010 Prospects on TPS

~
Every year on The Pipeline Show we consider it our job to introduce prospects to the masses, guys who aren't really well know just yet but will be after the NHL draft. We're proud to say that we've spoken with the 1st overall selection from each NHL draft on our show - well before they were ever selected.

We went on the air midway through the 2006 season and before the draft in Vancouver we'd talked to key prospects like Peter Mueller, Erik Johnson (pictured), Jonathon Toews, Phil Kessel and Leland Irving.

2007 brought us the likes of Patrick Kane, James vanRiemsdyk, Sam Gagner, Kyle Turris, Brandon Sutter, Zach Hamill and Logan Couture.

The Class of 2008 featured TPS guest such as Steven Stamkos, Luke Schenn, Colin Wilson, Kyle Beach, Zack Boychuk, Jordan Eberle, Joe Colborne and even direct from Russia... Nikita Filatov.

Last year we started with John Tavares and continued on with guys like Matt Duchene, Evander Kane, Scott Glennie, Brayden Schenn, Nazem Kadri, Ryan Ellis before ending things with a couple of Swedes from their homeland in Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson and Viktor Hedman (pictured).

The 2009-10 season is well underway and so is this year's round of interviews with the top eligible names that fans will get to know over the course of the year. We're often one of the first places casual fans can go to not only learn more about these young future stars but to also hear directly from the players themselves!

Already appearing on The Pipeline Show this year have been Taylor Hall, Alex Petrovic, Brandon Gormley, Tyler Seguin, Quinton Howden, Jon Merrill, Emerson Etem, Brett Connolly, Jordan Weal, Jaden Schwartz, Joey Hishon and Austin Watson. Plus we first introduced Russian Kirill Kabanov to everyone way back in the Fall of 2008!

The most recent 2010 prospect of interest is actually a player who was eligible in 2009 but was passed over. Shane Berschbach is a 5'8, 140 lb forward in the USHL with the Indiana Ice who just led USA to a gold medal finish at the 2009 World Junior A Challenge in Summerside, PEI.

We see some similarities between Berschbach and previous American WJAC gold medalist in Mike Cichy (pictured). Last year Cichy played for Indiana in the USHL with Berschbach and he led USA in scoring at the 2008 WJAC in Camrose, AB. Cichy had also been passed by in his first draft year but was claimed by the Montreal Canadiens in the 7th round of 2008. Trevor Timmins admitted to us that Cichy was a player that Montreal "had to get".

Cichy isn't big but Berschbach is even smaller. The road will definitely be tough for the Michigan product but if he can capitalize on his WJAC performance, he too might garner interest from a NHL club this June.

Hear from 2010 eligible Shane Berschbach by clicking HERE.

Wednesday Re-Set

~
Brent Sutter - Owner, President and GM of the Red Deer Rebels as well as coach of the New Jersey Devils. Many have wondered if he'll return to the NHL next season and if so, whether it will be with the Devils or a team closer to his home. A lot of Oilers fans have Sutter atop their 'New Coach Wish List' and many Flames fans would like to see him join Darryl Sutter in Cowtown.

Last night we had an exclusive and extended talk with Brent Sutter about his past with the Rebels and Hockey Canada; many of the players dominating the NHL these days have Sutter's fingerprints on them. We also talked about Sutter's present with the Devils and playing against former players like Cam Ward of the Carolina Hurricanes. Of course we also talked about what the future might bring and although he obviously can't say too much while under contract, Sutter did open up about what his off-season decision making will entail and gave some insight into his situation with Lou Lamoriello as well. (SUTTER HERE)

Also on the program, we caught up with 2009 eligible prospect Mike Cichy of the USHL's Indiana Ice. The forward set a new record for points in the playoffs en route to being named post season MVP as he led the ICE to the Clark Cup. Cichy also picked up the MVP award from the 2008 WJAC in Camrose back in November. Next season he'll be a member of the North Dakota whatever-they-will-be-calleds in the NCAA. (CICHY HERE)

We talked a lot about the ongoing Memorial Cup too. Our planned interview with Peter Loubardias fell through thanks to a wonky cell phone but that didn't stop us from covering as much ground on the tournament as possible. (Memorial Cup discussion HERE)


We ended the show with ISS head scout Mike Oke who broke down the latest rankings, the last monthly release before the ISS Draft Guide hits the street. Magnus Paarjarvi-Svensson, Louis Leblanc (pictured), Mike Cichy and Oliver Ekmund-Larsson were the players under the microscope this week. (ISS Draft Countdown for May HERE)

All that plus more on The Pipeline Show last night. If you haven't heard already, you can now follow us on Twitter and also join our Facebook Group as well. Just two more ways to stay connected to TPS so we can update you on the happenings in the world of hockey prospects.

(Photos Courtsey: NHL.com, USHL, Hockey Canada)