Upon just waking up (well, not getting up just now, but about a half an hour ago), I first spotted this on tsn.ca and subsequently made my way over to atlantathrashers.com for confirmation - Jim Slater avoided salary arbitration with the Atlanta Thrashers and signed a two-year contract that brings $1.55 million to the man over that period of time. Next year, he's to earn $750k, and in '08-'09, he'll collect $800k.
I'm thinking this is less than what Blueland Nation was thinking when it was always mentioned that Slater should re-sign.
2007/07/13
Recap: Thrashers Prospect Camp '07
Over at the Blueland Blog, you can find some really neat pieces on specific players (Holzapfel, LaVallee) that attended this year's Prospect Camp at the Ice Forum in Duluth. As a matter of fact, there are also some nice write-ups at Thrashers Talons and Southeast Shootout about how they felt about what went down late last week and earlier this week.
With that said, I made my appearance at the Ice Forum on Thursday and I definitely did not leave disappointed... well, at least not with the hockey. All of the players that participated in the week-long camp were either players that have contractual ties to the Thrashers organization (like recent draft picks like Bryan Little and Brett Sterling, for example) or players that Thrashers scouts felt like examining a little more. As a result, I basically had no idea who was who. I'm lucky if I can even remember the names of some notables, but forget it if I can pick out faces. So trying to track down Riley Holzapfel, Tobias Endstrom, and Chad Denny (among countless others) was damned near impossible. Sure, there were points that I could narrow it down, but it was essentially a crapshoot.
You could definitely tell that the Thrashers organization wasn't fooling around when they invited this current group of "baby Thrashers" (as I like to call 'em) to the camp. The potential for these kids to succeed is evident in their energy and skills that were on display. There were great defensive plays during the scrimaging, some absolutely gnarly offensive moves to the net, and the goaltending was just quality.
Oh yeah, I did have to mention the scrimaging, didn't I? It was noted on the Blueland Blog that 4-on-4 scrimaging took place this past Monday and that it would happen again on the last day of camp. As a result to that "announcement", I felt as if there were more people there than would typically be for a prospect camp of baby Thrashers. Regardless, it was an excellent turnout for Thrashers fans and hockey fans in general.
Hmm, back to the bit about the scrimaging... For the first hour or so, there were the typical drills and skating that has to occur at these kind of happenings. Goalies were tested, passes were tape-to-tape or bust, and skates were viciously cutting into the ice. Then the kids left the rink for about 15-20 minutes while the ice was resurfaced, and then the players who were all wearing sweaters of various colors earlier were now sporting either red or blue. The plus to this event, for me, was that everyone was numbered. The minus was that I still had no idea who was who. Either way, the scrimage itself was a neat thing to watch. It was evident that the players knew it was their last day together, so some guys really gave it their all. Of course, there were the occasional broken passes and whiffed shots, but a bunch of 'em wanted to prove their worth at this NHL prospect camp, goalies included.
The scrimage was broken into two 25-minute halves, and then it was surprisingly followed up by a shootout. I have almost no knowledge of what happens in the lower ranks of hockey, so I'm completely unfamilar if other leagues use the shootout as a means to determine a winner and a loser of a tie game. Maybe this was a new concept for the kids or maybe it was just for fun - I know I didn't expect it, that's for sure. It kind of resembled the first shootout that the Thrashers participated in during the first year it was put into effect. It was a preseason game against the Panthers (I think), and all of the preseason games included the shootout whether the game was over or if it was a tie. Call it practice for the real deal, if you will. And all I can remember from that inaugural shootout was Marc Savard going in for the shot, setting up, over-thinking it, and eventually making it a sloppy attempt that resulted in him kinda hugging the opposing goalie. That's not to say that this "prospect shootout" was along the same lines as that, but I could sense some unfamiliarity with it in both shooters and goalies.
As I've already mentioned, players did stand out, but I have no idea who they were. The only player I could honestly pick out was Bryan Little and he seemed to handle the puck well, just not in the one-on-one situations so much. As far as goalies, I noticed that Dan Turple is massive. I mean, the guy has to be 6'5" or something - he looked just tremendous in the crease. Either that's a good thing (for intimidation) or a bad thing (uh, five-hole?). One goalie was standing out during the scrimage, and I'm sure that was Ondrej Pavelec (based on what I keep reading from others who attended). The other guy (Perugini) didn't leave any kind of impression on me, and Dan Kamal's kid, Chris, was ballsy just being out there. It must've been an eye-opening experience to be right out of high school, being examined by minor league coaches and, well, the Thrashers, too. I gotta give the guy credit for sticking with it and keeping his head up. Personally, I would've been intimidated as anything trying to keep guys like Little and Sterling from scoring.
Pics will be posted soon... and that's the only disappointment I have with the afternoon in Duluth. Sooner or later I'm going to take a class or two in photography and figure out how to take some action pics and make them look decent. Either my timing was off whenever I tried to take a pic or whatever I did shoot came out overly blurred. There are a select few that I feel mildly satisfied with and I'll put those up on flickr in the next hour or so.
Up next - let's discuss the schedule, shall we?! We'll save that topic for the weekend.
It's so great to be blogging hockey again!
With that said, I made my appearance at the Ice Forum on Thursday and I definitely did not leave disappointed... well, at least not with the hockey. All of the players that participated in the week-long camp were either players that have contractual ties to the Thrashers organization (like recent draft picks like Bryan Little and Brett Sterling, for example) or players that Thrashers scouts felt like examining a little more. As a result, I basically had no idea who was who. I'm lucky if I can even remember the names of some notables, but forget it if I can pick out faces. So trying to track down Riley Holzapfel, Tobias Endstrom, and Chad Denny (among countless others) was damned near impossible. Sure, there were points that I could narrow it down, but it was essentially a crapshoot.
You could definitely tell that the Thrashers organization wasn't fooling around when they invited this current group of "baby Thrashers" (as I like to call 'em) to the camp. The potential for these kids to succeed is evident in their energy and skills that were on display. There were great defensive plays during the scrimaging, some absolutely gnarly offensive moves to the net, and the goaltending was just quality.
Oh yeah, I did have to mention the scrimaging, didn't I? It was noted on the Blueland Blog that 4-on-4 scrimaging took place this past Monday and that it would happen again on the last day of camp. As a result to that "announcement", I felt as if there were more people there than would typically be for a prospect camp of baby Thrashers. Regardless, it was an excellent turnout for Thrashers fans and hockey fans in general.
Hmm, back to the bit about the scrimaging... For the first hour or so, there were the typical drills and skating that has to occur at these kind of happenings. Goalies were tested, passes were tape-to-tape or bust, and skates were viciously cutting into the ice. Then the kids left the rink for about 15-20 minutes while the ice was resurfaced, and then the players who were all wearing sweaters of various colors earlier were now sporting either red or blue. The plus to this event, for me, was that everyone was numbered. The minus was that I still had no idea who was who. Either way, the scrimage itself was a neat thing to watch. It was evident that the players knew it was their last day together, so some guys really gave it their all. Of course, there were the occasional broken passes and whiffed shots, but a bunch of 'em wanted to prove their worth at this NHL prospect camp, goalies included.
The scrimage was broken into two 25-minute halves, and then it was surprisingly followed up by a shootout. I have almost no knowledge of what happens in the lower ranks of hockey, so I'm completely unfamilar if other leagues use the shootout as a means to determine a winner and a loser of a tie game. Maybe this was a new concept for the kids or maybe it was just for fun - I know I didn't expect it, that's for sure. It kind of resembled the first shootout that the Thrashers participated in during the first year it was put into effect. It was a preseason game against the Panthers (I think), and all of the preseason games included the shootout whether the game was over or if it was a tie. Call it practice for the real deal, if you will. And all I can remember from that inaugural shootout was Marc Savard going in for the shot, setting up, over-thinking it, and eventually making it a sloppy attempt that resulted in him kinda hugging the opposing goalie. That's not to say that this "prospect shootout" was along the same lines as that, but I could sense some unfamiliarity with it in both shooters and goalies.
As I've already mentioned, players did stand out, but I have no idea who they were. The only player I could honestly pick out was Bryan Little and he seemed to handle the puck well, just not in the one-on-one situations so much. As far as goalies, I noticed that Dan Turple is massive. I mean, the guy has to be 6'5" or something - he looked just tremendous in the crease. Either that's a good thing (for intimidation) or a bad thing (uh, five-hole?). One goalie was standing out during the scrimage, and I'm sure that was Ondrej Pavelec (based on what I keep reading from others who attended). The other guy (Perugini) didn't leave any kind of impression on me, and Dan Kamal's kid, Chris, was ballsy just being out there. It must've been an eye-opening experience to be right out of high school, being examined by minor league coaches and, well, the Thrashers, too. I gotta give the guy credit for sticking with it and keeping his head up. Personally, I would've been intimidated as anything trying to keep guys like Little and Sterling from scoring.
Pics will be posted soon... and that's the only disappointment I have with the afternoon in Duluth. Sooner or later I'm going to take a class or two in photography and figure out how to take some action pics and make them look decent. Either my timing was off whenever I tried to take a pic or whatever I did shoot came out overly blurred. There are a select few that I feel mildly satisfied with and I'll put those up on flickr in the next hour or so.
Up next - let's discuss the schedule, shall we?! We'll save that topic for the weekend.
It's so great to be blogging hockey again!
2007/07/12
New Albums 'r Us!
the Smashing Pumpkins
Zeitgeist - out July 10
Live...
10/30 @ Atlanta (Fox Theatre)
11/05 @ Nashville (Ryman Auditorium)
Editors
An End Has a Start - out July 17
Rilo Kiley
Under the Blacklight - out August 21
Live...
09/29 @ Atlanta (Variety Playhouse)
the New Pornographers
Challengers - out August 21
Live...
10/30 @ Atlanta (Variety Playhouse)
Caribou
Andorra - out August 21
Live...
10/12 @ Atlanta (the EARL)
Les Savy Fav
Let's Stay Friends - out September 18
Stars
In Our Bedroom After the War - out September 25/now?
Live...
10/27 @ Atlanta (Variety Playhouse)
the Octopus Project
title tk - out October 9
Live...
08/17 @ Birmingham (Bottletree)
08/18 @ Athens (40 Watt)
11/04 @ Atlanta (Drunken Unicorn)
Zeitgeist - out July 10
Live...
Editors
An End Has a Start - out July 17
Rilo Kiley
Under the Blacklight - out August 21
Live...
the New Pornographers
Challengers - out August 21
Live...
Caribou
Andorra - out August 21
Live...
Les Savy Fav
Let's Stay Friends - out September 18
Stars
In Our Bedroom After the War - out September 25/now?
Live...
the Octopus Project
title tk - out October 9
Live...
Thrashers '07-'08 Schedule Released! (clicky)
Considering I just saw this, the Atlanta Thrashers upcoming season schedule was released yesterday, July 11, as was the rest of the NHL. I knew it would happen because I was slowly picking up that other teams were releasing their own schedules... go figure this happens while I'm working. So while I have absolutely zero time to really pick it apart, I have noticed some interesting aspects of it, some of which I plan to talk about this coming weekend. (That's right - the return of weekend posts here @ WWD!) For starters, however, here are the links to the press release for the announcement of the schedule and the preseason schedule (which was released earlier this week or last weekend).
See y'all at the prospect camp tomorrow afternoon!
Link: Thrashers Announce 2007-08 NHL Regular Season Schedule
Link: 2007-2008 Regular Season Schedule
Link: Thrashers Announce 2007 Preseason Schedule
See y'all at the prospect camp tomorrow afternoon!
Link: Thrashers Announce 2007-08 NHL Regular Season Schedule
Link: 2007-2008 Regular Season Schedule
Link: Thrashers Announce 2007 Preseason Schedule
2007/07/04
Happy 4th!
On this Fourth of July, I'm finally putting my camera to the test. I've done some research on the best settings for digital photography of fireworks. I'm busting out a tripod I've had for years and I'm going to see exactly what my camera can do. I figured out after this year's Coachella that I can bust out some pretty good pics, and that was without knowing how to use the camera properly. I'm pretty excited about tonite and I'm hoping that I come away with some nice shots.
In other news...
The NHL free agency floodgates opened on Sunday and the Thrashers lost a few players, re-signed some notables, and picked up a few game-breakers (hopefully). Here's what happened to le Thrash since Sunday:
Thrashers Agree to Terms with Forward Pascal Dupuis (re-signed on July 1)
Thrashers Re-Sign Forward Vyacheslav Kozlov (re-signed on July 4)
Thrashers Agree to Terms with Unrestricted Free Agent Forward Todd White (signed on July 1)
Thrashers Agree to Terms with Unrestricted Free Agent Forward Eric Perrin (signed on July 1)
Thrashers Agree to Terms with Free Agent Defenseman Ken Klee (signed on July 2)
Wild Signs Center Eric Belanger (signed July 3)
FREE AGENCY UPDATE: Islanders Sign Jonathan Sim (signed July 1)
Predators sign free agents Bonk, de Vries (signed July 2)
The most surprising move to me was the Klee acquisition. de Vries' departure to Nashville wasn't much of a shock, but the pick up of someone along the same lines as Devo doesn't come off to me as an "improvement". My experience with Klee is that while he was with Toronto a couple of years ago, I had him on my fantasy team for a while and that made me aware of how he was as a player. Granted, I never watched him play, so I do not have any kind of knowledge on his style of hockey, but he wasn't remarkable in the stats department. It just struck me to replace one veteran defenseman with another one who will probably play the same role. I never asked for anyone in the Sheldon Souray department, but I'm sure that there was someone else who would better fit into the Thrashers' system than Ken Klee. Personally, I would've loved to see Tom Preissing in a Thrashers jersey next season... hell, even Tom Poti had a nice year with the Islanders previously... let's just say there were options out there other than Klee that I would've made an effort for.
Resigning Dupuis was a great move because he was definitely one of the bright spots during our playoff push and our (ugh) first-round exit. And the recent re-signing of Slava Kozlov is a move hugely supported by the Blueland faithful. The biggest concern for this off-season was whether our management was able to keep Slava in the picture while making an effort to improve the team. Many wondered if he'd test the waters of free agency and see what kind of deal he could get, others also worried about whether he priced himself out of our already bloated payroll. Fortunately, he'll be in Thrashers Blue for three more years, and possibly end his career here, a place where he is most appreciated.
Picking up speedy forward Eric Perrin from rivals Tampa Bay was a "typical Waddell" pick - not noteworthy, and has potential to have any kind of effect on the team. Fans wonder if he'll turn into another Niko Kapanen experiment (that failed miserably) or if he can spark up like Mr. Belanger did late last season. I think he'll provide more offensive punch than Simmer, but Simmer's scrappy presence on the ice will be missed. And the arrival of Todd White will be surprising. We'll either be taken back by how well he fits into Hartley's system or how he might become another Steve Rucchin and have the game pass him right on by. From various sites, I've seen a few people compliment Don Waddell on these acquisitions... let's hope their compliments and hints about their abilities ring true.
While none of these moves rivals the Briere signing or the double-plucking the Rangers did of Chris Drury and Scott Gomez, they are what we've come to expect of Don Waddell and Co. for the past few years. He's clearly not hesitant to pull the trigger on bigger moves (the Heatley/Hossa trade and the Tkachuk signing come to mind instantly), but it's like there's this kind of fantasy to sign some smaller players and try to give the team great parity. The superstars are obviously Kovalchuk, Hossa, and possibly Lehtonen and thankfully Kozlov, but other than those, there are a slew of players that have third- and fourth-line potential. The team that the Thrashers are left with, to me, doesn't seem as through-and-through as last year's Buffalo, Ottawa, San Jose, and Anaheim squads; the main complaint of Atlanta from fans and critics alike last year (and is sure to continue through to this upcoming season) is that the team we're left with is quite one-dimensional. That lack of diversity in the lineup is appearing to bleed into the '07-'08 season. We'll see what all of these moves bring in the upcoming months.
Regardless, I'm incredibly excited about this upcoming season for the Atlanta Thrashers. There are so many elements of the hockey season that I'm missing out on right now that I'm ready for September to roll around and the pre-season to get started.
In the meantime, there's the prospect camp that opens this weekend in Duluth. It'll run from the 6th to the 12th and will put all of our up-and-coming players on display for both fans and the organization to see, pick apart, etc. Featured players in the Thrashers' system (and possible candidates for roster spots with the team, as well) include Bryan Little, Brett Sterling, Chad Denny, Tobias Enstrom, and Ondrej Pavelec among many others. Information about the camp (including other players featured and times of the sessions each day) can be found below. All sessions are open to the public. I know I'm going to make a serious attempt at one of the days next week (somewhere on Tuesday through Thursday). I'll be sure to post pictures and notes from my trip(s?) up to the IceForum next week.
PDF: Thrashers to Hold Prospect Development Camp from July 6-12
INFO: Duluth IceForum
In other news...
The NHL free agency floodgates opened on Sunday and the Thrashers lost a few players, re-signed some notables, and picked up a few game-breakers (hopefully). Here's what happened to le Thrash since Sunday:
The most surprising move to me was the Klee acquisition. de Vries' departure to Nashville wasn't much of a shock, but the pick up of someone along the same lines as Devo doesn't come off to me as an "improvement". My experience with Klee is that while he was with Toronto a couple of years ago, I had him on my fantasy team for a while and that made me aware of how he was as a player. Granted, I never watched him play, so I do not have any kind of knowledge on his style of hockey, but he wasn't remarkable in the stats department. It just struck me to replace one veteran defenseman with another one who will probably play the same role. I never asked for anyone in the Sheldon Souray department, but I'm sure that there was someone else who would better fit into the Thrashers' system than Ken Klee. Personally, I would've loved to see Tom Preissing in a Thrashers jersey next season... hell, even Tom Poti had a nice year with the Islanders previously... let's just say there were options out there other than Klee that I would've made an effort for.
Resigning Dupuis was a great move because he was definitely one of the bright spots during our playoff push and our (ugh) first-round exit. And the recent re-signing of Slava Kozlov is a move hugely supported by the Blueland faithful. The biggest concern for this off-season was whether our management was able to keep Slava in the picture while making an effort to improve the team. Many wondered if he'd test the waters of free agency and see what kind of deal he could get, others also worried about whether he priced himself out of our already bloated payroll. Fortunately, he'll be in Thrashers Blue for three more years, and possibly end his career here, a place where he is most appreciated.
Picking up speedy forward Eric Perrin from rivals Tampa Bay was a "typical Waddell" pick - not noteworthy, and has potential to have any kind of effect on the team. Fans wonder if he'll turn into another Niko Kapanen experiment (that failed miserably) or if he can spark up like Mr. Belanger did late last season. I think he'll provide more offensive punch than Simmer, but Simmer's scrappy presence on the ice will be missed. And the arrival of Todd White will be surprising. We'll either be taken back by how well he fits into Hartley's system or how he might become another Steve Rucchin and have the game pass him right on by. From various sites, I've seen a few people compliment Don Waddell on these acquisitions... let's hope their compliments and hints about their abilities ring true.
While none of these moves rivals the Briere signing or the double-plucking the Rangers did of Chris Drury and Scott Gomez, they are what we've come to expect of Don Waddell and Co. for the past few years. He's clearly not hesitant to pull the trigger on bigger moves (the Heatley/Hossa trade and the Tkachuk signing come to mind instantly), but it's like there's this kind of fantasy to sign some smaller players and try to give the team great parity. The superstars are obviously Kovalchuk, Hossa, and possibly Lehtonen and thankfully Kozlov, but other than those, there are a slew of players that have third- and fourth-line potential. The team that the Thrashers are left with, to me, doesn't seem as through-and-through as last year's Buffalo, Ottawa, San Jose, and Anaheim squads; the main complaint of Atlanta from fans and critics alike last year (and is sure to continue through to this upcoming season) is that the team we're left with is quite one-dimensional. That lack of diversity in the lineup is appearing to bleed into the '07-'08 season. We'll see what all of these moves bring in the upcoming months.
Regardless, I'm incredibly excited about this upcoming season for the Atlanta Thrashers. There are so many elements of the hockey season that I'm missing out on right now that I'm ready for September to roll around and the pre-season to get started.
In the meantime, there's the prospect camp that opens this weekend in Duluth. It'll run from the 6th to the 12th and will put all of our up-and-coming players on display for both fans and the organization to see, pick apart, etc. Featured players in the Thrashers' system (and possible candidates for roster spots with the team, as well) include Bryan Little, Brett Sterling, Chad Denny, Tobias Enstrom, and Ondrej Pavelec among many others. Information about the camp (including other players featured and times of the sessions each day) can be found below. All sessions are open to the public. I know I'm going to make a serious attempt at one of the days next week (somewhere on Tuesday through Thursday). I'll be sure to post pictures and notes from my trip(s?) up to the IceForum next week.
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