One To Watch: Florida Panthers

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If I'm the owner of a NHL franchise in need of a rebuild and a GM to do the job, Dale Tallon is at the top of my list. The man has done a masterful job with the Florida Panthers, in my opinion, since taking over the job a handful of years ago. 

Florida currently boasts a stable of prospects that is ridiculously deep with high-end talent. Assuming there is a NHL season in 2012-13, Jonathan Huberdeau will be playing in it. Jacob Markstrom is considered by many to be the top goalie prospect out there. Quinton Howden is the kind of player who might be a better pro than he was a junior because of the support cast he'll benefit from. Nick Bjugstad is headed back to Minnesota and potential Hobey Baker territory as a guy poised to dominate at the collegiate level.

Michael Matheson, Alex Petrovic, Sam Brittain, Michael Houser... the list goes on and on.

With a plethora of great prospects and storylines to pick from I went with a guy who hasn't played a meaningful game in over 10 months.

Hakstol Preparing Sioux for 2011-12

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"The best team doesn't always win." - Red Berenson (head coach, Michigan Wolverines).

That about summed up the feelings of most people who watched the semi-final of the 2011 Frozen Four that saw Berenson's Wolverines upset North Dakota 2-0, abruptly ending the season for the Fighting Sioux.

At the time, UND head coach Dave Hakstol told me that it was a loss that was going to take a very long time to get over. The coach joined me on Tuesday evening's edition of TPS for a pretty candid discussion which I began by asking if he's yet gotten over that devastating defeat.

"It was one of those ends to a season, one of those losses, that I don't think you necessarily can just get over and bypass but yeah... we've turned that page and after a few days you have to turn that page and move on to the next order of business and for us that's obviously building our team and our program for this year."

I spoke at length with coach Hakstol about that process as he and the Sioux get ready for the coming year with a high turnover in player personnel, a good incoming freshmen class, the loss of one key recruit to the CHL (was he surprised?) and the hope that some former depth players will step to the fore in 2011-12.

As usual, coach Hakstol didn't hold much back.

Tuesday Recap: August 16th

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An absolutely loaded show tonight as we had a guest every segment to save me from solo tap dancing during Dean's absence. It started out, unintentionally, to be a coach's show as we brought in 3 bench men in the first hour alone to kick off the program. In hour 2 we spoke with our CHL Insider, an analyst who covered and could recap the Ivan Hlinka tournament and we closed the show with a former CJHL Player of the Year.

Did I mention that it was a kick ass, loaded show?

Grimaldi NOT Jumping to 'The Dub'

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Via Twitter about half an hour ago:

RGrimaldi23 (Rocco Grimaldi)
"Many different choices, but I'm going with the Dub. The Dub is the best fit for me #TheDub"

TPS checked into this and the update is below.

Draft Day Wishlist & Predictions

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I love the NHL entry draft. It's the culmination of an entire year of research and hard work, preparing for the big day which has become a weekend event with a two or three day lead in if you are there in person (like Dean Millard has been this week). With as much study and research as we put into it over the course of the year, you naturally come up with some things you hope to see happen at the draft because it will make for a great story or because you've come to respect a certain prospect and hope for the best for him.

This year is no different and there are a bunch of things I would like to see happen in Minnesota this weekend. Here are a bunch of them as well as some predictions like who I think might go where.

The Class of 2011 on TPS

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This is the time of year where every hockey-related media outlet from the national 24-sports TV networks through the NHL beat writers and even most blogs start focusing on the NHL Draft. Topics on the radio these days are either about the Stanley Cup Finals or about the draft now just 3 weeks away.

I guess you can say we're just slightly ahead of the curve on TPS. And by slightly I mean by months.

Saturday Morning Special - May 7th

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With the CHL Playoffs, round 2 in the Stanley Cup playoffs, the RBC playoff round and the World U18s over, the WHL and OHL drafts, there was plenty to talk about on Saturday morning. Dean and I were joined by guests across the continent to cover all of the above plus we spoke with a top prospect of the Toronto Maple Leafs as well.

This n' That - Mid October

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It's a great time of year. The CHL is now a month into the season, the new NCAA campaign has kicked off plus the AHL is underway and so there are lots of things to look at at various levels.

Who's hot and who's not? Which 2011 eligible players are rising or falling? Are there free agents worth keeping an eye on?

This could take a while, I'll try to be brief.

Tuesday Night Recap

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"If you missed it live...click the archive..."

Last night we kicked off the show with discussions ranging from a David Frost sighting to WHL players demanding a trade and who's back or not from NHL camps. Guests last night included a new NCAA Head Coach who already has a stellar reputation, one of our CHL media regulars looking at who is and isn't still at NHL camps, a look at the Phoenix Coyotes and a 2011 eligible prospect who'd be getting top-10 hype if he were a few inches taller.