#35 Pekka Rinne (goaltender) – Looking back, all I ever wanted for this season was to have the goaltending pair of Rinne and Ellis on the roster. I desperately wanted the Front Office to figure out how to send Chris Mason off to a different team. Just like magic, they did. So, I got my wish and yet I was still left unsatisfied. It’s just that I really loved the whole Cinderella story that was Dan Ellis’s last season. And then Pekka came in and usurped the throne, so to speak. Don’t get me wrong though. I love Pekka Rinne and I am very glad we’ve got such a strong goalie at our disposal. Without him in net, we would not have been able to get nearly as close as we did to making the playoffs. For a man who had long been touted as the future of Predators goaltending, Rinne knew what he needed to do to show that he was, indeed, exactly that. While Pekka had a great season, I still found things that he could work on (because, you know...that’s what I do…). In the final stretch, his nerves started to get the better of him in some games. He got more emotional than need be after a few goals here and there and I found that to be slightly uncharacteristic for someone who seemed so unflappable. But this being his rookie season, Pekka was allowed these kinds of moments. With his rookie year behind him, I expect to see an even more confident Rinne between the pipes next season.
#39 Dan Ellis (goaltender) – Soft spot in my heart [insert Dan Ellis here]. I could go on and on (and on and on) about how I feel as though Dan Ellis got the shaft this season and how I think it comes down to coaching decisions that I don’t necessarily agree with...but I won’t. I will spare you all because I think over the course of the season, I said it enough. At the end of last season, I wasn’t quite sure how the goaltending this season would play out but I can honestly say that I didn’t expect it to end up the way it did. However, I should have seen it coming based on our track record of goaltending management. While Pekka’s nerves got the better of him at the end of the season, the same could be said about Elly’s nerves at the beginning of the season. I’m not a mind reader but I’d like to think that Dan psyched himself out by placing really high expectations on his performance and then beating himself up when things didn’t pan out accordingly. And if a goalie loses his own internal confidence, it becomes increasingly evident for those who share the ice with him. Thus, the team as a whole seemed to not push as hard with Ellis in net. However, Elly’s not going down without a fight. Just a week or so after the end of our season, Dan was quoted in the paper as saying that he’d still like to be the number one goaltender next season. In that same article, Coach Trotz was very complimentary of Ellis and said that he believed Dan still had plenty of potential to make that a reality. In essence, Trotz was saying that the net is still up for grabs. It’s talk like this that I believe will push Elly all summer to dig in and work on the things that need tweaking so he can be ready to kick some butt come September.
Whew...good grief. I honestly did not expect to take quite so long to finish out my season wrap up. I’m glad it’s over though. Enough with the introspection! On with the anticipation of what the rest of the off-season holds. Bring on the draft and Predators Hockey Baby Camp (Rookie Camp) so I can see a little action on the ice during the summer. And as long as we don’t get put up for sale or have a Russian player defect back to the motherland, I look forward to the off-season activity. Maybe, just maybe, we’ll do something exciting with free agency this year...though I won’t hold my breath.
Monday, May 18, 2009
Monday, May 11, 2009
2008-2009 Season Wrap Up: Part 5
#28 Ryan Jones (winger) – I wasn’t going to include Ryan Jones in my wrap up at first. After going back and looking at the numbers however, Jones was a Predator more so than he was an Admiral this past season so it’s only fair he be included. Ryan has the potential to be a guaranteed goal scorer for us but this season his performance was kind of up and down. He got paired up with just about every line so I can’t say he was used to fullest abilities either. With some consistent linemates, Jones can be counted on to score the dirty goals; the ones that make or break the game for us. Every team could use a player like this...especially us.
#29 Joel Ward (winger) – Here’s why Joel Ward is my pick for best player of the season: He was a nobody at training camp and then proved time and time again why he deserved the spot he had on this team. Ward was the only two-way contract player on the starting roster for the season who was never sent down to Milwaukee. Thank goodness for that. Without Joel Ward scoring some of the timely goals he did, we wouldn’t have even been able to put up a fight to the very end. I definitely don’t see him going anywhere during the off-season because I’m pretty sure the organization realizes what a find we snagged. Plus, who doesn’t love a good underdog story?
#38 Vernon Fiddler (center/winger) – Fids had a decent year. He scored a couple of short-handers. He managed to slide the puck through on a few breakaways. He even got a shootout goal or two (if I remember correctly). However, Fiddler is kind of a one-trick pony. If you went back and replayed every one of his goals, you’d probably find that they were all scored off a backhand move. Late in the season, it was pretty evident that most of our opponents had figured this out because goalies were easily stopping his attempts to score. Fiddler’s one trick was kind of sweet though. I’ll give him that. But, with so many other players just like him on the team, I have to wonder if he’s worthwhile to keep around. There are a lot of younger, more talented players waiting for their moment to shine. And I’m sure they’ve got more than one trick up their sleeves.
#42 Antti Pihlstrom (winger) – Okay, I think I have more issues with Antti Pihlstrom than I do Greg deVries for the simple fact that I have no idea how he managed to stick around all freaking season long. So he’s got a little speed to him. Woo freaking hoo. And maybe he suffered from the same affliction as everyone else due to inconsistent line combinations, but seriously...he didn’t do enough to contribute to warrant a place on the roster every night. More often than not, Ryan Jones would get scratched in favor of Pihlstrom as well. I will continue to not understand the rationale behind that decision making. If Antti can somehow redeem himself next season and he starts playing like a rock star, then my ill feelings toward him will subside. For now, he’s on my short list of people that can move on to a team where they might be appreciated a little more.
#71 JP Dumont (winger) – JP might have played every game this season but his performance was somewhat lacking. I attribute his lower numbers to never fully recovering from the hit he took during the December 9th Vancouver game. You know the one...but let’s not rehash it. After that game, Jean Pierre never really hit his stride of solid play like I’ve seen in seasons past. With Jason Arnott out of the lineup for extended periods of time with all his various injuries, I'm certain that didn’t help Dumont's game either. Because let’s face it, JP and Jason are meant to play together. I gave them the nicknames “Mom “ and “Dad” for a reason. Even Coach Trotz tried to break them up and ultimately realized that they play their best when they play together. However, I hope that they can maybe break that a little bit over the summer though because that might not always be the case. As evidenced by Dumont’s just-okay performance this year, he needs to learn how to generate good chemistry with some other players. But, I have faith in my little Frenchman. I know he’s got it in him.
The final installment: Pekka Rinne and Dan Ellis. Yes, I know this throws off the whole “players in ascending order of jersey number” thing but they’re the goalies so they’re special like that.
#29 Joel Ward (winger) – Here’s why Joel Ward is my pick for best player of the season: He was a nobody at training camp and then proved time and time again why he deserved the spot he had on this team. Ward was the only two-way contract player on the starting roster for the season who was never sent down to Milwaukee. Thank goodness for that. Without Joel Ward scoring some of the timely goals he did, we wouldn’t have even been able to put up a fight to the very end. I definitely don’t see him going anywhere during the off-season because I’m pretty sure the organization realizes what a find we snagged. Plus, who doesn’t love a good underdog story?
#38 Vernon Fiddler (center/winger) – Fids had a decent year. He scored a couple of short-handers. He managed to slide the puck through on a few breakaways. He even got a shootout goal or two (if I remember correctly). However, Fiddler is kind of a one-trick pony. If you went back and replayed every one of his goals, you’d probably find that they were all scored off a backhand move. Late in the season, it was pretty evident that most of our opponents had figured this out because goalies were easily stopping his attempts to score. Fiddler’s one trick was kind of sweet though. I’ll give him that. But, with so many other players just like him on the team, I have to wonder if he’s worthwhile to keep around. There are a lot of younger, more talented players waiting for their moment to shine. And I’m sure they’ve got more than one trick up their sleeves.
#42 Antti Pihlstrom (winger) – Okay, I think I have more issues with Antti Pihlstrom than I do Greg deVries for the simple fact that I have no idea how he managed to stick around all freaking season long. So he’s got a little speed to him. Woo freaking hoo. And maybe he suffered from the same affliction as everyone else due to inconsistent line combinations, but seriously...he didn’t do enough to contribute to warrant a place on the roster every night. More often than not, Ryan Jones would get scratched in favor of Pihlstrom as well. I will continue to not understand the rationale behind that decision making. If Antti can somehow redeem himself next season and he starts playing like a rock star, then my ill feelings toward him will subside. For now, he’s on my short list of people that can move on to a team where they might be appreciated a little more.
#71 JP Dumont (winger) – JP might have played every game this season but his performance was somewhat lacking. I attribute his lower numbers to never fully recovering from the hit he took during the December 9th Vancouver game. You know the one...but let’s not rehash it. After that game, Jean Pierre never really hit his stride of solid play like I’ve seen in seasons past. With Jason Arnott out of the lineup for extended periods of time with all his various injuries, I'm certain that didn’t help Dumont's game either. Because let’s face it, JP and Jason are meant to play together. I gave them the nicknames “Mom “ and “Dad” for a reason. Even Coach Trotz tried to break them up and ultimately realized that they play their best when they play together. However, I hope that they can maybe break that a little bit over the summer though because that might not always be the case. As evidenced by Dumont’s just-okay performance this year, he needs to learn how to generate good chemistry with some other players. But, I have faith in my little Frenchman. I know he’s got it in him.
The final installment: Pekka Rinne and Dan Ellis. Yes, I know this throws off the whole “players in ascending order of jersey number” thing but they’re the goalies so they’re special like that.
Friday, May 1, 2009
2008-2009 Season Wrap Up: Part 4
#20 Ryan Suter (defense) – I’ll admit it. I did a lot of yelling at Ryan Suter last year. I mean, A LOT of yelling. That boy could do nothing right by me during the 2007-2008 season. This year, however, I sensed a definite maturity to his game. I’d like to think that he could credit that maturity to his friendship with Shea Weber and the fiancée that he gained over the summer months. Suter was very solid all season and I hardly ever yelled at him, which made it easier for me to focus my frustrations elsewhere ::cough::deVries::cough:: The defensive pairing of Ryan Suter and Shea Weber was/is by far, my favorite. They gel very well together and more often than not seem to know exactly where the other is on the ice. Ryan tends to be the less noticed of the pair, however, because the media focuses more on Shea Weber. In my mind, both are equally worthy of media attention. It’s good to see these boys growing up as hockey players. There is no doubt in my mind that they’ll be able to lead our defense for years to come.
#22 Jordin Tootoo (winger) – Along the same lines of my sentiments regarding Ryan Suter, Jordin Tootoo did some maturing over the summer. All season long, I could tell he was legitimately trying to become more of an offensive minded hockey player and not just a often-hated agitator for this team. Not that you can ever REALLY take the fight out of the boy because he definitely came to blows with a few players when it struck his fancy to do so. Jordin lost a little bit of his offensive ability late in the season. This might be because Coach Trotz kept switching up the lines and maybe Toots found it harder to create chemistry with new linemates every night. Overall though, he had a decent season but he continues to be one of those players that needs to either really step up his game or stick to the role he was handed. Wow…look at me, being all nice to Jordin. I bet you thought I was going to let him have it, didn’t you?
#25 Jerred Smithson (center/winger) – Last year, I had really hoped that Jerred somehow found the offensive spark this season that would give him an even better year. This was not to be the case, numbers-wise. However, game in, game out performance-wise, he had a great season. Smithson was one of the lucky few who was allowed decently stable linemates. For the majority of the season, he skated with Radek Bonk and Jordin Tootoo/Joel Ward. While his natural tendency is as a center, like in Legwand’s case, Jerred found himself in a wing position and performed well on it. He was a constant anchor of the penalty killing unit. I still think back to the seven minute penalty we had to kill off during the Vancouver game in early December, when Jerred and Joel Ward got caught out on a ridiculously long shift (over two minutes, I believe) and shake my head in amazement of how much stamina it took for them to stay out there. Players like Jerred Smithson will never be ranked up there with the likes of Sidney Crosbys, Patrick Kanes, Alexander Ovechkins, et al in terms of offensive prowess. However, Smithson falls into the category of those players that go quietly about their business and become the unsung, often-unmentioned heroes of hockey teams. So maybe I won’t be so quick to place unrealistic expectations on Jerred next season...I kind of like that he’s a little bit of a underdog.
#26 Steve Sullivan (winger) – For as many times as I said “Shea Freaking Weber” this season, I should have said “Steve Freaking Sullivan” every time the man skated onto the ice. I, like many others, was very skeptical that Sullivan would ever be well enough to play hockey again. In terms of our team, he was a non-issue because he had been out for so long, I didn’t even consider him to be a viable candidate for play. In what I would consider to be close to a miracle, Sully found his way back on to the ice after an almost two-year absence. And yeah, it took him a while to catch his stride but playing hockey isn’t exactly like riding a bike. Now Sullivan is a finalist for the Masterson Trophy, an annual award that is given to the player “who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to ice hockey”. Not that I’m biased or anything (though I TOTALLY am), but after reading the stories of all three finalists (the others include Detroit Red Wings’ Chris Chelios and Florida Panthers’ Richard Zednik), Steve Sullivan by far has the stand out story of the year. I will be completely shocked if he does walk away with the trophy as Nashville doesn’t generally find favor with NHL-sanctioned awards/honors. No matter what the final outcome, Sullivan deserves all the accolades in the world for mounting a comeback that even I didn’t expect him to make. Also, he needs to have the ‘A’ back next season. OR, just go on and give him the ‘C’…if we can get him to stick around.
Next up: Ryan Jones, Joel Ward, Vernon Fiddler, Antti Pihlstrom, JP Dumont
#22 Jordin Tootoo (winger) – Along the same lines of my sentiments regarding Ryan Suter, Jordin Tootoo did some maturing over the summer. All season long, I could tell he was legitimately trying to become more of an offensive minded hockey player and not just a often-hated agitator for this team. Not that you can ever REALLY take the fight out of the boy because he definitely came to blows with a few players when it struck his fancy to do so. Jordin lost a little bit of his offensive ability late in the season. This might be because Coach Trotz kept switching up the lines and maybe Toots found it harder to create chemistry with new linemates every night. Overall though, he had a decent season but he continues to be one of those players that needs to either really step up his game or stick to the role he was handed. Wow…look at me, being all nice to Jordin. I bet you thought I was going to let him have it, didn’t you?
#25 Jerred Smithson (center/winger) – Last year, I had really hoped that Jerred somehow found the offensive spark this season that would give him an even better year. This was not to be the case, numbers-wise. However, game in, game out performance-wise, he had a great season. Smithson was one of the lucky few who was allowed decently stable linemates. For the majority of the season, he skated with Radek Bonk and Jordin Tootoo/Joel Ward. While his natural tendency is as a center, like in Legwand’s case, Jerred found himself in a wing position and performed well on it. He was a constant anchor of the penalty killing unit. I still think back to the seven minute penalty we had to kill off during the Vancouver game in early December, when Jerred and Joel Ward got caught out on a ridiculously long shift (over two minutes, I believe) and shake my head in amazement of how much stamina it took for them to stay out there. Players like Jerred Smithson will never be ranked up there with the likes of Sidney Crosbys, Patrick Kanes, Alexander Ovechkins, et al in terms of offensive prowess. However, Smithson falls into the category of those players that go quietly about their business and become the unsung, often-unmentioned heroes of hockey teams. So maybe I won’t be so quick to place unrealistic expectations on Jerred next season...I kind of like that he’s a little bit of a underdog.
#26 Steve Sullivan (winger) – For as many times as I said “Shea Freaking Weber” this season, I should have said “Steve Freaking Sullivan” every time the man skated onto the ice. I, like many others, was very skeptical that Sullivan would ever be well enough to play hockey again. In terms of our team, he was a non-issue because he had been out for so long, I didn’t even consider him to be a viable candidate for play. In what I would consider to be close to a miracle, Sully found his way back on to the ice after an almost two-year absence. And yeah, it took him a while to catch his stride but playing hockey isn’t exactly like riding a bike. Now Sullivan is a finalist for the Masterson Trophy, an annual award that is given to the player “who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to ice hockey”. Not that I’m biased or anything (though I TOTALLY am), but after reading the stories of all three finalists (the others include Detroit Red Wings’ Chris Chelios and Florida Panthers’ Richard Zednik), Steve Sullivan by far has the stand out story of the year. I will be completely shocked if he does walk away with the trophy as Nashville doesn’t generally find favor with NHL-sanctioned awards/honors. No matter what the final outcome, Sullivan deserves all the accolades in the world for mounting a comeback that even I didn’t expect him to make. Also, he needs to have the ‘A’ back next season. OR, just go on and give him the ‘C’…if we can get him to stick around.
Next up: Ryan Jones, Joel Ward, Vernon Fiddler, Antti Pihlstrom, JP Dumont
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