Kukla's Korner

Accused Coach Found Dead

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

02/10/12 at 03:56 PM ET | Comments (0)

from Teresa Masterson of NBC 10 Philadelphia,

Ukrainian hockey coach Ivan Pravilov, who trained teens and professionals in the Philadelphia area, was found dead in his jail cell Friday, an officials told the Associated Press.

Authorities suspect suicide.

Pravilov, a mentor to several NHL and college players including former Flyer (an current New Jersey Devil) Dainius Zubrus, was arrested in mid-January for having sexual contact with a teenage boy in who attended his hockey clinics, authorities say.

The alleged fondling happened in Pravilov’s Philadelphia apartment, officials say.

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Filed in: Non-NHL Hockey | KK Hockey | Permalink
  Tags: Ivan+Pravilov,

Jets surge late, win crucial game against Caps

Blog: Benny and the Jets By BMS

02/10/12 at 03:55 PM ET | Comments (0)

After 40-some minutes of hockey, I was feeling like I had seen this Washington Capitals/Winnipeg Jets game before. This game appeared to be headed in the same direction as so many as of late this year – lackluster offense from the Jets, with Ondrej Pavelec’s goaltending keeping the game close before an inevitable loss. When the Capitals scored two quick goals, it seemed my suspicions were being confirmed – the Jets were going down on the road without a fight.

Then, with a 6-on-3 situation (a two-man advantage plus goaltender Ondrej Pavelec on the bench for the sixth attacker) and less than three minutes left in the game, Evander Kane scrambled forward and put the puck past a sprawling Tomas Vokoun. Still, I thought, too little too late

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Filed in: | Benny and the Jets | Permalink
  Tags: Pittsburgh+Penguins, Washington+Capitals,

The Jack Johnson Rumors

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

02/10/12 at 02:48 PM ET | Comments (0)

Darren Dreger of TSN answers some emails,

I keep reading Jack Johnson’s name in trade rumours from various sites (probably guys who don’t really have any insight posting for conversation). Is there actually a chance L.A. would be shopping Johnson?  Also, I’ve read St. Louis is seeking a Top 6 playmaker, any chance of them acquiring one?

What are your thoughts?

A:  Warren, there’s no reason to believe Los Angeles is shopping Jack Johnson and based on recent dealings I’ve had with Kings general manager Dean Lombardi, he’s tired of all speculation. It’s believed Lombardi would like to add a forward and the names of Carter, Hemsky, Huselius, MacArthur and Kulemin are considered potential candidates, but Lombardi is one of the more unpredictable GMs, so zeroing in on a specific target is a tricky business. As for St. Louis, Blues GM Doug Armstrong goes about the hunt in a somewhat sleuth-like fashion. We know St. Louis would like to add a defenceman and if there is an affordable upgrade to his top six available, I’m sure it will be considered. But as I said, Armstrong is masterful at staying under the radar and is always a prime suspect when we start hearing the rumblings a blockbuster may be in the works.

more Q & A…

Filed in: NHL Teams, Los Angeles Kings, St. Louis Blues | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

The New Trade Deadline Strategy

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

02/10/12 at 02:00 PM ET | Comments (0)

from Eric Duhatschek of the Globe and Mail,

The new hard currency at the deadline isn’t draft choices - unless they’re No. 1s, preferably in the top 15 - but prospects already in the pipeline, the Jake Gardiners of the world, the player who came to the Maple Leafs last year as a relative unknown semi-throw-in, in the Joffrey Lupul-for-Francois Beauchemin deal, but was closer to being NHL-ready than many casual observers imagined.

Nobody, among the Blue Jackets , Hurricanes, Ducks and their ilk has the patience any more to wait for that medium-to-long-term prospect who might spend three-to-five years in the pipeline before he’s NHL ready.

Drafting and developing is always the surest ticket to success - you need only examine the performance of teams as disparate as the New York Rangers or the Nashville Predators for proof of that - but it has finally sunk in for many GMs, picking through the ashes of previous deadline fiascos, that the returns they received for all their hot properties weren’t necessarily so hot after all.

more plus other topics…

Filed in: NHL Teams | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

Vigneault’s Unique Strategy

Blog: The Puck Stops Here By PuckStopsHere

02/10/12 at 12:25 PM ET | Comments (6)

It takes a good coach to be able to find a new strategy that nobody else has ever used that is a successful strategy that helps your team win.  Alain Vigneault, the coach of the Vancouver Canucks, has developed one such strategy over the last couple of years.  While many coaches match lines with the opposition, Vigneault does not do that.  Vigneault matches lines to the position of the puck on the ice.  Whenever a shift starts in the offensive zone, Vigneault will get his top offensive forward line on the ice as much as possible.  This is the line of Daniel and Henrik Sedin and Alexandre Burrows.  Whenever a shift starts in the defensive zone, Vigneault will get his top defensive forward line on the ice as much as possible.  This is the line of Manny Malhotra, Maxim Lapierre and Dale Wiese.  In fact if you look at the NHL players sorted by zone start percentage, you find that these are the top three and bottom three players in the league.

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Filed in: | The Puck Stops Here | Permalink
  Tags: Alain+Vigneault, Vancouver+Canucks,

The NHL Gets The 2013 Winter Classic Location Wrong

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

02/10/12 at 12:15 PM ET | Comments (25)

from Rob Parker at WDIV, It’s official.

The NHL should really be called the NGL, as in National Gimmick League.

It seems like that’s all the National Hockey League is about these days, so much so that it messed up an event that was actually pretty cool.

Somehow, the NHL powers-that-be didn’t believe that Hockeytown was good enough to host the 2013 Winter Classic.

Terrible.

Instead, they scheduled the Jan. 1 game against the Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings to play at Michigan Stadium. The league simply dissed the fact these two Original Six teams having been playing in Detroit for more than 50 years. Instead, they want to set some silly attendance record by using the Big House to sell more than 100,000 tickets.

It’s cheap, it’s tasteless. Especially since a few years ago Michigan and Michigan State did it already in a college

continued

Filed in: NHL Teams, Detroit Red Wings, Toronto Maple Leafs | KK Hockey | Permalink
  Tags: Winter+Classic+2013,

Horton Experiencing Concussion Symptoms Again

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

02/10/12 at 12:11 PM ET | Comments (0)

via Fluto Shinzawa of Bruins Blog at the Boston Globe,

Nathan Horton has stopped skating because of post-concussion syndrome. According to Claude Julien, Horton’s symptoms, which have included headaches, returned once he resumed solo skates.

“He’s been pulled back,” Julien said. “He’s got some symptoms. So we’ve pulled him back. It’s hard for me to come out every day with a step forward, step backward. He’s back to square one. We’re giving him some time here. Those symptoms, once he got on the ice, came back.”

Horton hasn’t played since Jan. 22, when he suffered a concussion after being hit by Philadelphia’s Tom Sestito. Horton first skated on his own on Sunday.

Filed in: NHL Teams, Boston Bruins | KK Hockey | Permalink
  Tags: Nathan+Horton,

How To Improve Bad Officiating

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

02/10/12 at 11:46 AM ET | Comments (3)

from Sean Gordon of the Globe and Mail,

The NHL is a reputation league, and refs also sometimes make flash judgments influenced by a player’s rep.

Best example: Dan O’Rourke calling Erik Karlsson a diver in a conversation with Ottawa coach Paul MacLean - nice work Rourkie.

At least MacLean has big brass ones and smashed the usual omerta by going public and ratting him out.

So in addition to having competence issues with certain refs - ie. Tim Peel, Stephane Auger and, most egregiously, Chris Lee - the NHL is dealing with complicated psychology.

There are no easy fixes to this, but there are a couple of things the NHL could do.

more

Filed in: NHL Teams, NHL Talk, NHL Officiating | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

Is Obstruction Back In Play?

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

02/10/12 at 10:13 AM ET | Comments (15)

from Josh Yohe of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review,

Welcome to the new NHL, which is beginning to resemble the old NHL.

Scoring is down, and obstruction again is becoming a common element of play. Referees, many Penguins said, are allowing the clutching and grabbing that became ingrained in the game a decade ago to resurface.

The Penguins are particularly unsettled by this because special teams have marked a significant part of their success this season. Lately, special teams play has been rare.

“I don’t necessarily think the play has gotten cleaner,” Penguins coach Dan Bylsma said. “(But) there are few power-play opportunities out there for every team.”

The Penguins averaged more than four power-play opportunities per game through the end of December. Since Jan. 1, they are averaging 2.76 power-play chances.

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Filed in: NHL Teams, Pittsburgh Penguins, NHL Talk, NHL Officiating | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

Toronto Needs Goaltending Help

Blog: KK Hockey By Paul

02/10/12 at 10:08 AM ET | Comments (3)

from Mike Brophy of Sportsnet,

So perhaps a No. 1 centre may not be the top priority for the Toronto Maple Leafs at the trade deadline after all.

On a night when Tyler Bozak, who skates between Phil Kessel and Joffrey Lupul on Toronto’s top line, scored two goals, the focus moved off him and directly into the goal crease.

Leafs goalie James Reimer entered the night riding a three-game winning streak—two of which were shutouts—but he struggled in a 4-3 loss to the Flyers in Philadelphia. In a game where the Leafs really needed big saves, he didn’t have enough in his arsenal. And as well as his partner, Jonas Gustavsson, has played when given the chance to start, the Leafs goaltending continues to be an area of concern on a nightly basis.

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Filed in: NHL Teams, Toronto Maple Leafs | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

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