USA Camp News & Notes

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I had the opportunity on Monday to drive out to Camrose to take in most of team USA's practice and speak with a handful of players as well as head coach Dean Blais. While I was there I ran into frequent TPS guest Dave Starman who will be handling the colour analyst duties for the American coverage of the tournament being shown on the NHL network south of the border.

The practice was entertaining and informative all at once. No surprise but this is a team that is going to demand respect once the 2012 WJC gets underway. Here are some notes and thoughts I had plus some insight from the day in Camrose.

From Russia with Love & Campbell has Hound Power

Tuesday night on TPS our CHL insider Sam Cosentino hinted about the Russian roster for the upcoming Subway Series with the CHL. It gets started on November 7th in Victoriaville and wraps up 10 days later in Moose Jaw.

Inside the World of Hockey Prospects

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Tonight we previewed the CHL league that will host the Mastercard Memorial Cup, went in depth with the CHL scholarship program, spoke to a future Boston College Eagle who will play in the USHL this season and checked in on the Traverse City rookie tournament as well as went inside the AJHL.

Jack Campbell... Trade Bait??

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The winds of change are already blowing through the OHL this season as Memorial Cup host Mississauga has assembled a formidable team. This past week the Kingston Frontenacs added Ryan Spooner from Peterborough to their line up and it's safe to assume other teams will soon become buyers as others shift to the role of sellers.

The Windsor Spitfires have two of the biggest assets in the league with Zack Kassian (BUF) and Ryan Ellis (NSH) rumored to be available. But is it possible that they Spits would also consider parting ways with their rookie netminder, Dallas Stars first round pick Jack Campbell?

It's not nearly as crazy as it sounds, in fact... I'm now completely sold that it will happen.

This n' That - June 2010

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The Memorial Cup is over, the NHL Combine has come and gone, the Frozen Four is a distant memory... all that's left for this year is the NHL Entry Draft. For The Pipeline Show, this is our biggest month of the year, it's what we gear up for all season and it culminates on June 25/26th. Dean and I are once again hosting the live draft coverage on the TEAM 1260 and as the days get closer, more and more stuff bounces around my cranium.

This n' That - late April 2010

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A lot had happened over the last couple of weeks and that's provided me with a few topics worth touching on in another variety column. These are just some quick notes, observations, nuggets from eavesdropping with some random speculations thrown in for good measure.

The U18s, the Alberta Cup, the Doyle Cup, the recent Edmonton Oilers "culture changes" and some Edmonton Oil Kings news as well.

The significance of the picture above? None. It just makes me smile.

USA Claims Another International Championship

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The United States successfully defended their U18 crown with a 3-1 win over Sweden Friday afternoon in Belarus. Over the last several years, the Americans have dominated the annual April tournament having collected a medal every year but once since 2002. If nothing else, this is a clear sign that USA Hockey's National Team Development Program is working.

The US-NTDP has a U17 and U18 version that shares a regular season schedule in the USHL. The players get to grow and develop together over the course of an entire season and that obviously is paying huge dividends when it comes to a spring tournament like the World U18 Championship.

This n' That - April 2010

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NCAA hockey is done for the year, only 12 CHL teams across Canada are left alive in the playoffs, the RBC Cup draws ever closer, the USHL playoffs have reached the semi-finals, the WHL Bantam draft is ten days away and the U18s in Belarus have reached the playoff round with Canada no where to be found.

Even if two thirds of the teams we follow have hung them up for the year there is still a ton to talk about. Here are some thoughts kicking around my cranium lately...

USA Ready For U18s

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USA Hockey recently released the names on its roster that will attempt to defend the gold medal they won in Grand Forks when the 2010 World U18 Championship gets going in Belarus later this month.

The official release can be found here with the full roster here.

Spitfires Already Reloading for 2010-11

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The defending Memorial Cup champions are a favorite for this year's tournament and have already taken steps to ensure that they are in a similar position next season. Considering the Spits are the front runners to be chosen as the hosts of the 2011 Memorial Cup, the team has a historic three-peat of CHL domination on their mind.

The Spitfires could potentially lose a number of key players from their current roster or, like with the Brandon Wheat Kings this year, they could all return. If the squad remains intact, the new additions should make Windsor damn near unstoppable.

Top 5 Tuesday: Canada Vs. USA storylines

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We're hours away from the gold medal border battle between Canada and the United States at the World Junior Championship, so today on Top 5 Tuesday we'll take a look at 5 things to watch out for.

NHL Central Scouting: The Reason Behind The Rankings

There are a lot of really good scouting services out there - as well as a few shady ones - but the agency that gets people the most excited, is also the one endorsed and ran by the league. NHL Central Scouting started 33 years ago, and for some it's the bible of the scouting world. If that's the case then we were blessed by an almighty presence Tuesday night on TPS. Okay, that's a little much, but E.J. McGuire, central's head man, does carry a lot of weight when it comes to deciding the future of young hockey players.

McGuire joined us after watching Kitchener battle London in the OHL and we started our conversation with him about the top two dogs in Ontario, Taylor Hall and Tyler Seguin. When the year began Hall was the top ranked player and consensus first overall pick by most people. But when central's November rankings came out the Windsor Spitfire was #2 behind the Plymouth Whaler Seguin. Expect the duo to flip flop the year before, and McGuire says if you like them in the OHL, you better get to see them this year.

"There were 6 this year who jumped from the 2009 draft into the NHL draft, there were 11 from the year before, and these two - Hall and Seguin - will be on NHL teams come October of next year."

Cam Fowler (Windsor) and Erik Gudbrandson (Kingston) are next in the OHL rankings followed by Barries Alexander Burmistrov. The next Canadian forward on the list is Sudbury's John McFarland. I was really impressed with McFarland during the Subway Super Series on Rogers Sportsnet, especially the way the 6.0 200 lb forward used his big frame.

"Strong on his skates," McGuire began before adding McFarland has missed time due to injuries this year.

Missing action has been a common theme for a few players this year, as Guy pointed out Brett Connolly (Prince George), Joey Hishon (Owen Sound) and Kirill Kabanov (Moncton) are all out of their respective line ups. McGuire explained how central deals with evaluating injured players.

"We try not to drop them in the ratings, we try to grab viewings and hold to those kind of principals. But it's tough when the other guys are scoring hattricks right before your eyes."

The Moncton Wildcats owns the top 2 QMJHL players ranked by central scouting as well as the number one slotted goaltender Louis Domingue. While the injured Kabanov is #2, defenceman Brandon Gormley is projected to be the top Q player selected in this Junes draft. Gormley starred for Canada at the Ivan Hlinka tournament this summer and McGuire made a lofty comparison to the rearguard.

"To maybe compare him to other years, he might be in the category of Victor Hedman." McGuire qualified the comparison by saying Gormley is a few inches and pounds shy of Hedman, but that their offensive instincts are similar.

Another defenceman getting rave reviews from McGuire is Edmonton's Mark Pysyk, mostly because of his skating. EJ agreed with Guy's comparison of Pysyk to John Moore drafted in the first round by Columbus last season.

From the blueline to the last line of defence, we talked goalies. McGuire made it clear that he doesn't pretend to be a pipeman expert, but defers to central staffer and former Washington Capital Al Jenson. There are 3 goalies garnering a lot of attention right now. Calvin Pickard (Seattle), Louis Domingue(Moncton) and Jack Campbell (US National Development team).

"Those will be 3 goalies for the first time that will probably sneak into the mid to later part of round number one, and that hasn't happened in a couple of years"

After our conversation with EJ McGuire we had a short discussion about Jack Campbell and how according to Western College Hockey Blog, he'll be jumping ship to Windsor next year rather than attending Michigan, which would be following a Wolverine teammate who just left the den for the OHL.

You can hear the entire conversation by clicking here.