Bruins Fire GM

The Pipeline Show has learned that the Chilliwack Bruins have fired General Manager Darrel May.

The Bruins are currently in 9th place in the 10-team Western Conference, 6 points back of the 8th and final playoff spot.

Losing Mark Santorelli to the Milwaukee Admirals of the AHL and Oscar Moller to the Los Angeles Kings in the NHL were huge blows to the Bruins early on. Evan Pighin's decision to bolt for the BCHL was another torpedo as was netmined Matt Esposito's choice to hold out from the team in the fall.

EDIT: Just before 5 PM the news hit the WHL website with this official statement.

Staying Power

Now that every team has played atleast 10 games, it's time to look at those youngsters who have passed the magic mark of 9 games and look destined to stay in the NHL.

Oscar Moller, of the LA Kings scored twice, giving him 4 on the year and helping the Kings against Calgary Saturday night. Moller has 6 points in his 10 games with LA who weren't sure before the 9 game mark if they were going to keep the now former Chilliwack Bruin of the WHL. Saturday night Moller was all over the ice, and as usual shooting from every direction, which led to his 3rd tally this year. Unlike Moller, there wasn't much doubt about his teammate and Kings rookie blueliner Drew Doughty who had just one assist heading into action Saturday night, but a league leading (heading into Saturday) plus 6 when it comes to NHL freshmen.



The guy drafted 3 spots after Doughty this past June also isn't going back to Junior. Luke Schenn played his 12th game in comeback victory over New York Saturday, and picked up an assist, his 3rd on the season. Schenn has been physical, has racked up 17 minutes in penalties, and is playing more than 21 minutes a night. I was one of the guys who thought going back to Kelowna would have been a good move as the Rockets could be Memorial Cup contenders this year and Schenn would surely captain Team Canada at the World Juniors, but he certainly hasn't looked out of place in the NHL thus far.

Maybe the biggest surprise of this year's crop of rookies is Philadelphia D-man Luca Sbisa. Most (myself included) expected the 19th overall pick last June, to end up back in Lethbridge helping the Hurricanes to a 2nd straight WHL Eastern Conference Championship. But injuries in Philly and great play by the Italian born, and Swiss raised blueliner have kept in the city of brotherly love, where Sbisa has 5 assists and is averaging almost 25 shifts per game.

The Kitchener Rangers weren't likely expecting the Great Dane Mikkel Boedker back this season, in fact former Rangers head coach Peter Deboer told TPS before last year's Memorial Cup that Boedker was NHL ready, even before he was drafted. Boedker was drafted 8th overall and before Saturday night was averaging a point every 2nd game for Wayne Gretzky's EX-JETS. His terrific speed and vision on the ice has Boedker playing in the desert dogs top 6.

A couple of other notes, both Zach Bogosian and Alex Pieterangelo are hurt right now, and if their injuries linger on, would the Thrasher and Blues think of sending them back? I highly doubt it, but who knows. Brandon Sutter is also hurt, but he won't be returning to Red Deer, and the Saskatoon Blades are hoping to get Colton Gillies back, will it happen? Maybe. Gillies is playing less than 10 minutes a night for Jacques Lemaire's Wild and has only played 8 games. The Blades are a great team this year and Gillies might be better off leading the charge in toon town, rather than going into the wild and sitting on the bench.

There's a few others out there who have made it past the 9 game mark, let me know who has impressed you thus far.

Top 5 Tuesday

Today we take a look at some NHL rookies, not named Stamkos, Turris or Brunnstrom you should keep your eye on:

5. Oscar Moller-Los Angeles Kings
The super swede scored his first NHL goal Monday night against Colorado.
Playing on a line with Alexander Frolov and Michael Handzus, Frolov took a pass down low and from a bad angle fired in his first. It was a goal Peter Budaj should have stopped, but it was a goal Moller (pictured courtesy Getty Images) has likely scored many times in his career, simply because he loves to shoot the puck. He lit up the WHL with 39 goals last year, and could be doing the same thing with Chilliwack as a 19 year old, but he cracked the Kings roster. Moller said during an intermission Monday night that he was "a little surprised" about making the team, but now he's making the most of it. Along with 18 year old Drew Doughty (who also scored his first career NHL goal Monday night, and was undressed by Ryan Smyth on an Avs goal), and 20 year Wayne Simmonds Moller is fitting well as a young star in Hollywood playing almost 15 minutes a night.

4. Viktor Tikhonov-Phoenix Coyotes
At the 2008 NHL draft in Ottawa, the Coyotes took a player who Peter Deboer told TPS before the Memorial Cup - was the most NHL ready player in the draft, selecting Mikkel Boedker 8th overall. The "Great Dane" as TPS started calling him during the Memorial Cup has 2 goals in 5 Coyotes games as of Monday and joins an embarassment of riches when it comes to young players in the desert. Kyle Turris, Kevin Porter, Peter Meuller, and Martin Hanzal are all stars on the rise like Boedker. But Viktor Tikhonov (pictured left courtesy thehockeynews.com)is another guy to watch. The grandson of the legendary Soviet Union coach of the same name was acquired by the Coyotes with the 28th pick in the first round this past June, a pick they traded to get, and select the Russian who had twice been passed over in the draft. The 20 year old was born in Moscow but grew up in California before moving back to Russia and representing his country at the 2008 World Junior Championship where Russia won a bronze medal. The fact that the Coyotes used a first round pick on a 20 year old tells you how important they think Tikhonov can be to their organization immediately.

3. Luca Sbisa-Philadelphia Flyers
The Philadelphia Flyers grabbed Italian born, and Switzlerand raised Luca Sbisa 19th overall last June, and most including myself expected him to play a second season with Lethbrige of the WHL. It looks like the Flyers have other ideas. Sbisa who started at the bottom of the defence pile in Philly, is now in the team's top 4, skating with Brayden Coburn on the 2nd pairing. The smooth skating rearguard ranks 5th among rookie D-men averaging 18:44 of ice time, but played a season high 21:05 recently against Montreal and has been on the ice in late game situations. Heading into action Tuesday the 18 year old had yet to register a point, but that will come in time. There's still a chance he could end up back in Lethbridge as he's yet to reach the magical 9 game mark, but it looks like the Flyers blueline of the future with Sbisa, Ryan Parent, and Brayden Coburn is in good hands.

2. Patrick Berglund-St. Louis Blues
Another Sweded on our list, the Blues 1st round pick, 25th overall in 2006 came over to St. Louis about a month before training camp to get used to the surroundings and make sure he was ready for the season. I'd say the plan worked. Berglund picked up his first goal, and assist in just his second NHL game, putting up 2 points versus the Leafs. He's since added another assist for 3 points in 4 games. Berglund has a ton of goal scoring potential, having netted 43 goals and 102 points in 81 games back in Swedend the past 2 years. He also has the size St. Louis is drooling over, at 6.04 and by his account was 210 pounds before training camp. While TJ Oshie might be more well known when it comes to Blues rookies, Berglund who's tied for 4th in rookie scoring heading into Tuesday night will soon be on the radar screen for hockey fans.

1. Derick Brassard
Quick, can you name the top scoring rookie in the NHL right now? If you raised your hand and answered Kris Versteeg of the Chicago Blackhawks, give yourself a gold star. With a goal and 5 helpers in 5 games, Versteeg has a 1 point lead on the Stars Fabian Brunnstrom. The question is will the 5th round pick of Boston from 2004 keep it up? Not likely. Only 2 points back of Versteeg is Columbus Centerman Derick Brassard, a player that is finally getting a shot in Columbus now that Gilbert Brule is no longer around. The 6th overall pick from 2006 played 17 games for the Jackets last season, and while he didn't dazzle with just 2 points, he reportedly did impress head coach Ken Hitchcock. This year he's been spotted with Jakub Voracek and Jason Chimera. Chimera told me at Perry Pearn's summer camp this year, he loved playing with the 2 young guys, and jokingly said he might get 50 goals with the rookies. Brassard almost reached the half century mark in junior with Drummondville in his draft year, potting 44 goals, and adding 72 assists in just 58 games. A shoulder injury limited him to just 14 games in 2006-2007, but Brassard (pictured right courtesy of syracusecrunch.com) rebounded with 51 points in 42 AHL games last season, which was his first as a pro, and included a few stints with the big club. Brassard has notched 2 goals and 2 assists in 5 games this year, 2 more points than he scored last year in 17 games.

A few others to keep your eye on are James Neal in Dallas, Ryan Jones of Nashville and Alex Goligoski in Pittsburgh.

(Pictures courtesy: Sbisa-Zimbia.com, Berglund-jamd.com,)