World Junior Hockey Championships- Preliminary Round

The World Junior Hockey Championships are well underway. The round robin part of the tournament has completed. Here are its results:

Group A:
1. Canada They have been the class of this group going undefeated and outscoring opposition by a margin of 14-4. Offensively they have been balanced and lead by Kris Russell (Columbus prospect), Steve Downie (Philadelphia prospect) and defenseman Kristopher Letang (Pittsburgh prospect). Carey Price (Montreal prospect) has offered very good goaltending.

2. Sweden The host team who was handed their only regulation loss in their opener against Canada. If they find themselves winning big in the tournament playoffs it will likely be thanks to Patric Hornqvist (Nashville prospect) and Linus Omark (who is undrafted in the NHL).

3. USA They were handed an opening day loss to Germany and their spot in the playoffs looked questionable, but they battled back. They have been led by Pat Kane (2007 draft eligible), Nathan Gerbe (Buffalo prospect) and Erik Johnson (St Louis prospect).

4. Germany They shocked USA at the beginning of the tournament, but couldn't grab a playoff berth. They were led offensively by Felix Schutz (Buffalo prospect).

5. Slovakia They were outclassed in the tournament, losing all their games and getting outscored 19-6 in the tournament.

Group B:
1. Russia They have been the best team so far in the tournament going undefeated and outscoring opposition 20-3. Offensively, they have been led by Alexei Cherfepanov (2007 draft eligible) and Alexander Bumagin (Edmonton prospect). Semen Varlamov (Washington prospect) has provided top goaltending.

2. Finland This has been a top heavy offensive team with Perttu Lindgren (Dallas prospect) leading the tournament in scoring so far. Mikko Lehtonen (Boston prospect) has also been scoring.

3. Czech Republic The third playoff team in this group. Vladimir Sobotka (Boston prospect) and Tomas Kana (St Louis prospect) have led the way offensively.

4. Switzerland An also ran, led offensively by Juraj Simek (Vancouver prospect).

5. Belarus Shocked Finland on opening day, but was then overmatched. Led by Sergei Kostistyn (Montreal prospect).

Today, Finland plays the US in a quarterfinal and Sweden plays the Czech Republic in the other. The winners meet Canada and Russia respectively tomorrow, with the medal games on Friday.

Lost in Translation

When Going To College is a Sham

Purdue-Calumet has canceled the remainder of its men's basketball season and accepted the resignation of its coaching staff after eight of the team's 14 players were declared academically ineligible. The northwestern Indiana school will assess the program and make improvements before next season, said Rob Jensen, vice chancellor for health, recreation and sports, in a statement Friday.

The NAIA Division I school had an 8-5 record before canceling its remaining 16 games. That included a Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference postseason tournament.

Happy New Year!

Are You Confused?

Stating the Obvious

Teach Your Kids to Throw a Curve Ball

I see Barry Zito signed the largest contract by a pitcher in major league history. According to my calculations using Zito's 2006 stats, the 7-year, $126 million contract works out to:

• $18,000,000 per season
• $1,125,000 per win
• $529,412 per game started
• $119,205 per strike out
• $81,448 per inning pitched

But actually that's all guaranteed money thanks to his union and the collective agreement.

Breakfast with Scot

The appearance of the first gay Toronto Maple Leaf will be groundbreaking, even if it is only on film. Actor Tom Cavanaugh plays a gay ex-Leaf in a comedy film Breakfast With Scot currently being shot in the GTA and Hamilton. He’s one-half of a homosexual couple – his partner is the team lawyer – whose lives are turned upside down after becoming guardians of Scot, “a budding queen of an 11-year-old boy,” according to the storyline. Surprisingly the film has the full cooperation of the NHL and the Toronto Maple Leafs. The film is expected to be released in 2007.

Free Hugs Campaign

Congratulations Peter Bondra for Goal #500

Mats Sundin: The King of Consistency?

I found the following posting at another blog called Hockey Rants. The author is not a Leaf fan.

Consistent - (kən-sĭs'tənt) adjective:

• Reliable; steady: "demonstrated a consistent ability to impress the critics."
• One of the most overused words in sports

What does it mean to be consistent? If you listen to hockey people, it's a lack of effort or a bad game. ("We didn't put forth a consistent effort!")

However, if you can consistently awful, then you aren't 'inconsistent', are ya?

A great team can also be wildly inconsistent. Let's say the Vancouver Canucks win 5, lose 2, win 1, lose 2, win 7, lose 3, win 1, lose 1, win 5, lose 3, win 1, lose 4, win 10. Yes, they are quite inconsistent, but they are still doing great and would finish 30-15. Meanwhile, a team that loses every single game is totally consistent.

Anyway, I was perusing Mats Sundin's career stats (Why? I don't remember) and was just amazed at how consistent his production has been over almost his entire career.

After his initial 3-year introduction phase, Mats settled down and has put out pretty much a consistent point-a-game pace since 1993-94! He only deviates more than .10 points-per-game in two different seasons, even if his goals and assists totals fluctuate quite a bit. Even in his late 30's, he's still putting up the same pace.

It's also interesting that Mats has missed very little time due to injury. Apart from this season, Mats doesn't really miss any long periods of time due to injury (That 48 game season was the shortened season).

Mats gets a lot of flak from Leafs lemmings for not being able to lead the Leafs to the Stanley Cup, as if it is his responsbility to coach and manage the team as well.

Sundin may be the real live version of a Swedish troll, but let's give credit where it is due. Mats Sundin has to be one of the most bankable and consistent players in NHL history. A player who misses little time due to injury and puts up a point a game while playing good defensively? There's a lot of value in having that kind of certainty, and it would be nice if the media made more of a point about that.

Forget the 'promise' that so many other players offer (Alexei Kovalev, anyone?) and give me the player that keeps performing at a consistent level.

Here's to Mats Sundin, the true NHL's truly "Consistent" player.

And I Thought Composite Sticks Were Pricey

The world's oldest ice hockey stick, a hickory shaft carved in the 1850s, sold for $2.2 million Canadian in Montreal and will be displayed at the Hockey Hall of Fame. An anonymous Canadian man made the winning bid in an internet auction purchase, according to 45-year-old seller Gord Sharpe, an Ontario man who has owned the family heirloom since he was nine.

How to Have a White Christmas

Kimberly Shepard of Concord, New Hampshire, didn't let the weather reports get her down. She was hoping for a white Christmas and, thanks to some quick thinking by her daughter and her daughter's boyfriend, Shepard got just what she was asking for. Flakes never fell from the sky, but Shepard's Laurel Street home was covered with 2 to 3 inches of the white stuff Sunday night when she returned home from a Christmas party.

On Christmas Eve, Courtney Shepard and James Fontone shoveled two truckloads of flaky ice from behind Everett Arena - remnants of a Zamboni ice cleaning - into Richard's truck and over to the house while the couple was out. Her mother was floored when she pulled into the driveway. On Christmas day, Shepard said her phone was ringing off the hook with calls from neighbors complimenting the creative gift, and cars honked their horns as they passed.

The Latest Word Update at my Office

Hockey Legend Norm Ullman is 71 Today

Merry Christmas Storm Nation

Meet Vanessa the Forward

A great game to end the year! With less than 3 minutes left in the game, Vanessa fired a shot over the shoulder of the Vaughan goalie from 15 feet out to bring the Storm back from defeat and salvage a point. Several players found themselves playing unfamiliar positions with Heather and Madeleine out of the lineup. Now with 2 goals in the past 2 games, Vanessa may have found herself a new position at left wing, in particular since Heather will be out of the line up with a cracked rib for the next month. The other goal was scored by Rebecca R who had a strong game filling in at centre. Rebecca had at least 6 excellent scoring chances and had another goal which was disallowed. Happy Holidays Storm Nation!!

The Secret Life of Santa

I thought he used reindeer

Another Time Waster

The sound effects are fun but don't hit Santa! Click here to play.