[Marbleheader]

New thread. Three weeks until the preseason begins.

Article on Thornton from ESPN.com: http://sports.espn.g...tory?id=2146795

[ThreeIfBaerga]

Nice work Marble. I was coming here to make sure this thread was in place.

I noticed Dale Arnold has joined the Eklund team. Eklund distributed a nice article penned by Dale.

I am psyched to get this season going. Our 2nd line could be the best of its kind in the NHL this year if it turns out to be Samsonov/Zhamnov/Bergeron. If nothing else, it'll be great to watch.

I've already got my tickets for October 5th vs. Les Habs

[Rough Carrigan]

"Courage . . it's called Bruins"

That's got to be up there among the dumbest slogans ever.

[Smiling Joe Hesketh]

Just a reminder that we'll be trying to get a SoSH Bruins bash going at some point this season, likely a Saturday night game.

[ThreeIfBaerga]

Rough Carrigan, on Sep 1 2005, 09:46 PM, said:

"Courage . . it's called Bruins"

That's got to be up there among the dumbest slogans ever.
<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I agree, this new campaign is ridiculous. Anyone else notice how much Bergeron's English has improved since 2003?

I miss the awful commercial where Raycroft and Bergeron leave the house and hop aboard the Zamboni. Some random woman yells from the door "Au Revoir!"

[Marbleheader]

I'd feel a lot better if Raycroft was signed by now. Are there any indications what kind of deal he and his agent are looking for? I know the Bruins want to have some breathing room under that cap, but I can't imagine he's asking for a ton of cash.

[Eddie Jurak]

My comments from the first day of rookie camp...

For some reason, it got off to a late start (I think the players got stuck in traffic), so there was no practice before the scrimmage. The people who showed up for the practice at 9:00 AM were left to sit there until just after 10 when the players finally took the ice. Not so much as a word from anyone with the Bruins to explain the delay, which would have taken them all of 10 seconds. Not a good start for the B's in terms of fan friendliness, IMO.

I had never seen ANY of these players before, never even heard of some, so I was mostly just trying to absorb it all. I will include some comments about players, but take them with a big grain of salt.

Looking at the rosters before the game, it seemed that Team Black had the better defensemen, Team White the better forwards. Mike Brown played goal for Black, Jordan Sigalet (first half) and Mike Ayers (second half) for team White.

Here are the rosters:

Black:

Defense: Andrew Alberts, Matt Lashoff, Jonathan Sigalet, Frank Rediker, Guillaume Lepine

Forwards: Ashton Rome, Petr Kalus, Milan Gajic, Ben Walter, Tyler Redenbach, Scott Mifsud, Peter Zingoni, Ryan Watson, Benoit Mondou

White:

Defense: Mark Stuart, Michael Korenko, Jesse Lane, Evan Shaw, Bobby Gates

Forwards: Nate Thompson, Kris Versteeg, Lukas Vantuch, Cody McLeod, Anton Hedman, Wacey Rabbit, Adam Paiement, Brian McConnell, David Krejci

Game ended tied 2-2, they did a 4-on-4 OT and then each side took 5 penalty shots. I think White won, 5-4.

I spent most of the game watching Black's defensive end, which is where most of the action seemed to be. I'd say White had the better of the play, especially in the first half.

No one player really stood out, so there probably isn't a Bergeron-type who will surprise and make the team. That said...

Alberts: Had a big size/age/experience edge on almost everyone on the ice, so I was expecting him to be more of a force. He was good, and had a couple of very good shifts, but didn't stand out the way I expected. (He's the type who might look better in veteran camp, though.)

Jon. Sigalet: This guy looks like a twerp next to Alberts, but I thought he played well. Didn't show much flash (few did) but he seemed to always know what he was doing. Probably needs to get stronger & more physical.

Lashoff: He's big... not a whole lot smaller than Alberts. Didn't really stand out in the first half, but played noticeably better in the second. On one of White's goals in the second half, Lashoff nicely blocked a centering pass from the right end boards, but it went right back to the passer (not sure who it was), who took advantage of the second try by getting the pass through to set up the goal.

Kalus: Looked to be one of the better skaters for Black.

Walter: Didn't notice him do much of anything. Was expecting more from him since he has a couple of years of college under his belt.

Mondou: Looked like he understand the game and knew what he was doing, but also looked slow even in this group. If he was a little quicker he'd have been in alone twice. I'm not surprised the B's didn't sign him.

Stuart: Didn't really pay much specific attention to him, or any of the White defensemen, but he did make some good plays. I would probably be giving him a much better report if he'd played for Black.

Thompson: Didn't really notice him.

Versteeg: Didn't impress me at all. He was small and got hit a lot, but didn't seem to have the wheels a little guy needs to get by. Based on what I saw, I don't think he's an NHL guy. Scored on his penalty shot though.

Vantuch: Didn't notice him at all.

Rabbit: This guy looked very good to me. Fast, good sense of the game, and made a few nice passes that didn't quite connect for scoring chances. I like this guy a lot better than Versteeg so far.

Krejci: Best offensive talent on the ice. His ability to stickhandle in traffice WAS head and shoulders above everyone else on the ice. I liked him and Rabbit best of all the forwards.

Anyway, that's about it. As I said, take all of this with a grain of salt. Maybe some of the guys who didn't impress me did all sorts of good stuff while I wasn't playing attention.

I'm interested to hear what others who were there thought.

[Talon]

I vote for a bash game on the Saturday Pittsburgh rolls into town

lets give Crosby a healthy SoSH welcome

[Lose Remerswaal]

I'm too lazy to link it again, but there's a Bruins Magic Link for tickets for individual games going on sale TODAY up in P&G

[Smiling Joe Hesketh]

Talon, on Sep 8 2005, 06:06 PM, said:

I vote for a bash game on the Saturday Pittsburgh rolls into town

lets give Crosby a healthy SoSH welcome
<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

October 22, 7 PM? Would folks be up for that, possibly in the midst of baseball playoffs for the Sox?

The Pens are back in town on Saturday, Nov. 5, at 7PM as well. Would that be better for those interested?

LMK ASAP.

[The Napkin]

Definitely in for the Pens.
Probably in for the other one.

[Smiling Joe Hesketh]

Nap, the first or second Pens game?

Oct 22 or Nov 5?

[BoSox Fan]

Sat Oct 22 is when the WS opens at Fenway.

I bet the B's move the game to 5.

[Eddie Jurak]

Back from another day at rookie camp...

Today, Krejci didn't look as good, didn't really make you notice him until a couple of shifts late in the scrimmage. His linemates were better though (Versteeg and McLeod). Versteeg hit a post off a nice feed from McLeod, and later scored off another McLeod pass. He also scored on a penalty shot. Versteeg has a whole bunch of different moves and fakes that he uses, although I don't think he's got them up to NHL speed. While he can clearly score, he's not a consistent force. McLeod played well, and had a wrestling match with Lepine.

Wacey Rabbit had another very good game. Unlike many others on the ice, he has a good sense of where players are, what plays to make, etc. Really knows what he's doing. Doesn't have Versteeg's scoring ability or he'd have gone earlier than 5th round for sure. On his first shift, he created several scoring chances. On his second shift he was all over Benoit Mondou in the defensive zone. I think he's probably earning himself an invite to veterans' camp.

Maybe the best line of the game was Black's line of Ben Walter, Petr Kalus, and Milan Gajic. In the second half especially, these guys were all over White's defense. At one point, Kalus took a nice feed and rang one loudly off of the inside of the far post.

Nate Thompson made Mike Brown look silly on a penalty shot. Deked him good enough to have half of an empty net to shoot at.

On the defensive side, Stuart had a mostly quiet game. Didn't look bad, didn't stand out.

Andrew Alberts was a lot more assertive in the offensive end. Did a lot of pinching to hold the puck in, moving into the high slot for a one timer, etc.,.

Matt Lashoff was also much improved. I think he's shown improvement in every half. If he keeps it up, he's another one who might not get sent back right away.

One thing I finally noticed is that there isn't so much hooking as I'm used to seeing in an NHL game. The players have mostly not been using their sticks to play the body. I hope that trend continues into the regular season.

[The Napkin]

Smiling Joe Hesketh, on Sep 9 2005, 12:35 PM, said:

Nap, the first or second Pens game?

Oct 22 or Nov 5?
<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I'm sorry, I completely misread that.
Def in for Nov 5.
Maybe for Oct 22. Worst case scenario I'll eat my ticket.

[Lose Remerswaal]

Eddie Jurak, on Sep 9 2005, 01:26 PM, said:

Back from another day at rookie camp...


Wacey Rabbit had another very good game. Unlike many others on the ice, he has a good sense of where players are, what plays to make, etc. Really knows what he's doing. Doesn't have Versteeg's scoring ability or he'd have gone earlier than 5th round for sure. On his first shift, he created several scoring chances. On his second shift he was all over Benoit Mondou in the defensive zone. I think he's probably earning himself an invite to veterans' camp.<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I get a Kariya vibe from reading/hearing about him. Am I crazy or is just the size thing?

[Eddie Jurak]

Lose Remerswaal, on Sep 9 2005, 01:50 PM, said:

I get a Kariya vibe from reading/hearing about him.  Am I crazy or is just the size thing?
<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You're crazy. Kariya had tremendous offensive skills. Rabbit appears to be a good all around hockey player, but not a gifted scorer. Last year's 5th round pick, Kris Versteeg, is about the same size as Rabbit. Versteeg's overall game is much less impressive than Rabbit.s, but Rabbit has yet to score a goal, while Versteeg has 2 goals and a post during game action, and is 2 for 2 in the post game penalty shots.

If Rabbit makes it to the NHL, he is probably destined to be one of those underrated guys who does all the little things but not not have a big impact as a scorer.

That's said, Wacey Rabbit is my favorite of all of these rookies, and I really hope the B's brass invites him to veteran training camp before sending him back to juniors.

[Eddie Jurak]

SJH, count me in for either bash date.

[Lose Remerswaal]

Eddie Jurak, on Sep 9 2005, 03:07 PM, said:

You're crazy.  Kariya had tremendous offensive skills.  Rabbit appears to be a good all around hockey player, but not a gifted scorer.  Last year's 5th round pick, Kris Versteeg, is about the same size as Rabbit.  Versteeg's overall game is much less impressive than Rabbit.s, but Rabbit has yet to score a goal, while Versteeg has 2 goals and a post during game action, and is 2 for 2 in the post game penalty shots.

If Rabbit makes it to the NHL, he is probably destined to be one of those underrated guys who does all the little things but not not have a big impact as a scorer.

That's said, Wacey Rabbit is my favorite of all of these rookies, and I really hope the B's brass invites him to veteran training camp before sending him back to juniors.
<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

So more of a Hawgood?

Shame.

[Eddie Jurak]

Lose Remerswaal, on Sep 9 2005, 04:17 PM, said:

So more of a Hawgood?

I wouldn't say that, either. I think Hawgood could have had a good career, but the Bruins ruined him by turning him into a forward. I'm not sure who I'd compare Rabbit to...