Leafs Looking for Toughness-Answer, Phil Oreskovic!

by Louis “King of Roncesvalles” Pisano… The mix of toughness and skill is something every team in the league would like to have in every player, especially on defense. The lack of physicality during the Minnesota game brings up questions of toughness on a team that is supposed to be draped in it.

Luke Schenn has been a hot topic amongst Leafs fans and media alike and they are saying the sophomore jinx and maybe he’s not all he was cracked up to be and so on.

This barely–Nov second, happy belated- 20–year–old–kid is behind Ian White for defensemen. At -3, he is a strong player but Ian White and PonyBoy are the only two players on the team on the plus side of the category.

With an average ice-time at fifteen minutes per game in 21.1 shift, Schenn isn’t seeing as much play time with the additions of Beauchimin and Komisarek. And he was never meant to be an offensive threat, as I have heard talk of him in that context.

So, give the kid a break he is playing well on a team that has struggled and still looks good in my book and brings some of that toughness to the team and will harden with time.

Phil Oreskovic, 6′3″ and 217 lbs., brings the same solid type of stay–at–home defensive style, who may not produce a lot of points, but will certainly prevent them.He played well in pre-season but with the additions to the defense there just wasn’t room for him, at least not at that point.

Oreskovic had the best plus/minus of any Leafs or Marlies player last season late in the year.  This gave him the opportunity to play a stint with the big guns.

When he came back to the Marlies, I had the opportunity to interview him.

I asked him about his time with the Leafs and the three fights he had against Tim Jackman, Milan Lucic and Andre Roy.

He had replied,  “I’m still smiling which is the important thing and they’re tough guys and that’s part of my game and I like to think I’m a player as well so if I can play and bring a tough guy role as well that’s what they’re happy with and move the puck well and just do my job.”

Toughness is obviously not a question nor is his defensive zone coverage along with his ability to clear the front of the net. Having been in the dressing room and seeing the Marlies most of last season I could tell what a great component he added to the chemistry of the team as well.

The Marlies are 6-4 this year and Oreskovic is a plus three in his nine games though only recording one assist as well as 33 penalty minutes.

This guy is definitely in the plans I would think for the rebuilding of a Toronto team that wants to go younger and build from within.

Being that he is from Brampton he has home–town backing, which is always good for a team and a player, given the pressure doesn’t become overbearing.

But in Phil’s case, it has been nothing more than water off a ducks back throughout his career having played in the OHL for the Brampton Battalion and is accustomed to what comes with that situation.

Every time he came off the ice or after a game at the Ricoh Coliseum he could be seen giving a puck or signing autographs for wide eyed kids as well.

If, barring any miracles, the Leafs are not in the playoff hunt nearing the trade deadline, we may see one of our veteran defensemen moved to a team that needs extra help on the back-end for their playoff push or run.

This may net us a draft pick or two returning some of the traded picks for Kessel, that aside, that space on the back-end is easily filled by hometown guy Phil Oreskovic.

The problem facing the Leafs over the last few years has certainly been keeping the puck out of their own net, a basic necessity to a successful game.

With the Monster playing, the defense core, the puck will stay on the outside and be limited to rebounds in front.  And, with the ability to turn good defensive zone coverage into a quick transition to the offense, the team will reap the rewards–a successful game plan to the coaches.

Phil Oreskovic can certainly be a cog in the wheel driving the machine towards those goals.

Now or in the distant future, Phil Oreskovic is somebody to watch for and a player Leafs Nation should look forward to having as a pillar of strength on the blue-line.

No More Mr. Nice Guy: Ron Wilson Needs to Be Tougher, Bring Up Marlies

by Jon Neely… It’s easy to switch up the lines when things aren’t going well for a hockey club, though for some of the players on the Toronto Maple Leafs, new linemates just aren’t working out.

It’s time they were given a stern message about their poor play; improve or you’re watching from the press box.

Certain players on the Leafs, of which will be named, have been almost invisible throughout the team’s recent games, and with Ron Wilson exhausting multiple line combinations to no avail, it may be time to send a shock through the team and call down to the Marlies.

Players like Matt Stajan, Rickard Wallin, and Jason Blake have played well at times, but have been overall major disappointments so far.

Through 16 games, Blake has just two goals, and with his shot total matching the number on his back, his shooting percentage is less than four percent. With Blake’s cap hit at $4 million this season, you can bet the men in suits are not happy, and neither are the fans.

Basically, the only beneficial thing Blake has done all season is boost opposing goalies’ save percentages—which I’m sure they appreciate.

Even playing alongside Phil Kessel, who has as many goals as Blake in four games, he doesn’t seem to be finding the back of the net any easier. In the team’s 5-2 loss to Minnesota earlier in the week, Blake was taken off the top line and replaced with Niklas Hagman for long stretches in the game. A direct message sent his way, but one that didn’t seem to work.

It hasn’t been working for Stajan, either, who has been relegated to fourth line duty and is averaging about 13 minutes a game over the last three. After a strong start from the 25-year-old, he has gone 12 games without a goal and is a minus eight.

Wilson has made his attempts at bringing Stajan’s game back to life, but playing alongside Colton Orr and Wayne Primeau don’t seem to be the answer. You could even argue it’s hurting the toughness factor of the line, seeing as the toughest thing Stajan’s ever done is switch from a regular toothbrush to an electric one; don’t hurt yourself, kid.

Then there is Mr. Wallin, the soft-spoken 29-year-old who looks more like a violinist than a hockey player. He finds himself creeping ever so close to being completely useless as a member of the team. Through 16 games he has two assists, or to put a different spin on how bad it’s been; in 2002 with the Wild he participated in four games and had more goals then.

He also has more games played (16) then shots on net (14) thus far, and I know he’s meant to be a defensive forward, but come on Rickard, it’s time to step it up or step aside.

Even on defense, where things are improving, Wilson should have his guys know that one more poor effort and he’ll be sitting players in the stands rather than at the end of the bench. Luke Schenn and Francois Beauchemin have had their struggles this season and it’s almost as if they feel they can get away with it because if they haven’t been scratched yet, why would they be now?

It’s time for Wilson to say goodbye to Mr. Nice Guy and get tough on his players. No more dodge ball at practice, he needs to have his players dodging questions from the media about why they’re wearing a suit and tie instead of being on the ice.

The Leafs have been far too inconsistent this season and it can’t go on any longer. If this team wants to play meaningful games late in the season, Wilson needs to start handing out healthy scratches like they’re going out of style.

And there is plenty of young talent on the Toronto Marlies just itching to get a chance back up with the big boys.

Christian Hanson has been the best player on the Marlies this season and would undoubtedly look good in a Leafs uniform right now. Through 12 games he has five goals and 13 points and is proving himself to be a leader of his team.

He played a short stint with the Leafs last season and looked good with room for improvement, but at this point it wouldn’t hurt to bring him up for a few games and see how he has progressed while playing heavy minutes in the AHL.

With the lack of goal-scoring from Blake this season, it would be a huge wakeup call if Wilson told him to watch the game from above, while Hanson stepped in to take his position.

Or how about Viktor Stalberg, who had a brilliant preseason, but after sustaining a concussion from a massive hit in a game against Ottawa, wasn’t able to get his scoring touch back and looked much slower.

It seems as if he has regained his touch while playing in the AHL, and has three goals and seven points in just four games. Yes, the NHL is a much tougher atmosphere to play in, but if you were to replace Wallin with a speedy Stalberg it certainly couldn’t be worse.

As for Stajan, if he wants to continue to be invisible on the ice, Wilson might as well just remove him altogether, because you know not a single person would argue if the team brought up Tyler Bozak—already a fan favourite.

Bozak has had a tough few weeks with reports suggesting he had caught the swine flu, but he has recovered and is back skating with the Marlies.

Bringing Bozak up could light a fire under him, as he was on a point-per-game pace when up with the Leafs—okay, so he got one assist in the one game he played—and you can bet that Stajan, if given the chance again, would come back knowing that his job isn’t safe.

Even on defense, where there have been times that most of the Leafs look uninterested, Wilson needs to be tougher and instead of publicly criticizing them, needs to physically move them off the ice.

23-year-old Carl Gunnarsson looked like he had been playing on NHL ice for years during the preseason. He even heard the praises from Brian Burke, who was impressed with his ability to stand out—in a positive way, unlike some of his Leaf teammates—and prove that he could play against anyone.

If it wasn’t for the log-jam that is Toronto’s defense core, he may well have made the team to begin with, and it may be time to try out the Gunnarrson experiment once again.

I mean, the worst thing that happens is he comes in and makes a mistake which costs the team—something his Leaf teammates have made habit of doing so far—so needless to say, it wouldn’t hurt.

Coming into the season, Brian Burke and Ron Wilson said time and time again that they would not hesitate to sit any player, no matter who it was, if they were not performing on the ice.

This is where the saying, “less talk, more action” would apply.

Wilson needs to start sending real messages, not the kind where a player finds himself on a new line; that isn’t working. The Marlies are right around the corner and if it’s the phone bill they’re worried about they can just shout down to the AHL club.

You can bet there is a room full of Marlies who would jump at the chance to play in front of the bright lights of the NHL, and the time is now for Wilson to get tougher.

No more Mr. Nice Guy.

Forget the Players, NHL Schedule Maker Needs a Helmet!

By Mark “The Hard Hitter” Ritter… No doubt about it, after studying the NHL’s 2009-10 regular season schedule, one can come to only one conclusion, the guy that made it up needs a helmet, and it’s not to protect himself from wayward pucks!

Trying to come up with a balanced schedule in an Olympic year has to be tough. Essentially, the NHL’s regular season is shortened by two full weeks, thus, the obvious thing to do is to make the regular season schedule more compact in order to facilitate all 82 games without the playoffs running through August, and September.

Well, I am here to tell ya, the guy that made up the schedule doesn’t know the meaning of the word compact. In fact, when you look at the schedule, there is plenty of evidence that the schedule maker did the polar opposite, which may very well cost an NHL team, or two, a playoff spot.

Case in point, let’s take a look at the Philadelphia Flyers’ early schedule. The Flyers played five games in 10 nights to start the 2009-10 season. What followed was a complete joke, as the Flyers then played a total of two games in 13 nights; what’s up with that?

If you think October was bad, November is the polar opposite and, depending on how you look at it, worse. The Flyers will play eight games in 14 nights in November, leading to the obvious question, “Couldn’t you have squeezed in a game, or three during that two games in 13 nights stretch???”

December? The Flyers will play a total of 15 games in 28 nights. March? 16 games in 27 nights….once again, could you not have had the Flyers take care of a few of these matches in October???

I am sure the Flyers enjoyed their time off. I read earlier in the year that they had time to do a little fishing and team bonding, so it wasn’t a complete waste of time. That said, this was not the season to essentially be giving teams two weeks off, not when the regular season will be shut down for two weeks.

There are plenty of other examples of poor scheduling, only this time the schedule maker has taken a compact schedule to the extreme. Case in point, the Edmonton Oilers playing seven games in 13 nights in October. And, if that wasn’t enough, the Oilers also play on the 23rd, 26th, 28th, 30th, and 31st of December—Merry Christmas!

In a world where seemingly everyone has a laptop, and computers can create complex programs to run power grids and city streets, you’d think the NHL and its schedule makers could make a schedule that made sense, wouldn’t you?

The regular season schedule serves as an embarrassment for the NHL, and they should be ashamed for approving it. Olympics or no Olympics, there are no excuses for the poor scheduling, I mean geez…With all due respect, ”Corkey” and Helen Keller could have done a better job!

I say Corkey and Helen are out! Next year? get a shot, they couldn’t be any worse, could they???

Until next time,

Peace!

***Article is intended to be funny and not to offend. If I offended anyone, sorry in advance…Stevie Wonder and Ray Charles are tremendous human beings, and I am sure Corkey and Helen Keller are/were as well…..

Raps grind one out, win 99-89 over Bulls

by Jeremy Visser… Defense and rebounding exist in Raptorland! After another shaky first half, Toronto put the clamps on the Bulls in the final 24 tonight, limiting them to 29 points in a 99-89 win at the ACC. The Raptors trailed 88-85 with just under seven minutes to go before making a defensive stand to close things out.

Tonight was part Toronto’s D and part Chicago not being able to throw a stone in the ocean in the second half. Still, a resilient effort considering this one looked to be slipping away when the Bulls grabbed an 11-point lead early in the third. The Raps finished with a 47-46 edge in rebounds and capitalized big off second-chance points. Chris Bosh led Toronto with 11 boards and DeMar DeRozan chipped in a career-best nine in just 19 minutes.

Bosh again led Toronto with 28 points despite not “having it” the way he usually does. He grinded, going 9-of-21, but made all 10 free throws and was a force on the boards in the team’s second half turnaround. Jose Calderon continued to play well, scoring 18 on 8-of-10 and adding six assists, while Andrea Bargnani managed 16 and six boards and Hedo Turkoglu checked in with 11 and eight.

Aside from Calderon, Toronto shot 36% from the field, making it all the more impressive they were able to come out with a win in this one. It took some will — something they’ll have to bring again if they want to contend in the East this year. For one night, at least, life is good.

Ritter’s Rant: Trapezoids, Forsberg, Espo, O’Canada & More…

By Mark “The Hard Hitter” Ritter… NHL GMs are huddling in Toronto this week to discuss a number of rule, equipment, and schedule issues. Among them are the goalie’s trapezoid, which the GMs have agreed to keep in place.

Fact is, the trapezoid has done more harm than good. Once upon a time, NHL goalies were able to roam freely outside of their crease and, if their skills allowed, were able to use their stick-handling skills to help clear the zone.

With the trapezoid in effect, NHL defensemen and forwards alike are getting hammered against the boards at an alarming pace, leading to a considerable number of head injuries.

Before the trapezoid was invoked, the goalies used to give the players an extra second by playing the puck, which helped protect them from checkers flying in from beyond the blueline, which is no longer the case.

So I ask you, Mr. Commissioner, considering only about five or six goalies could really use their stick-handling skills to their advantage, was the rule change really necessary?

It is being reported on NHL.com the Colorado Avalanche have their eye on Peter Forsberg. In a word, why? Why would you want to mess with the early success that the Av’s have enjoyed by bringing in a player who will only be effective if he plays on the first or second line? Don’t play with fire, you’ll get burned…

One of the main reasons for Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Jonas Gustavsson success is his awesome size which, most times, enables him to cover the entire bottom of the net. Another reason is his vision and ability to anticipate the shooters, something that is tough to teach.

Toughest team to win a face-off against? The San Jose Sharks, 56.8%. Toughest player to win a face-off against? Paul Gaustad, Buffalo Sabres, 68.1%. Combined record of both teams heading into Tuesday night? 21-8-3, read into to it what you will…

Once upon a time, Pittsburgh Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin stated he felt Toronto’s Nikolai Kulemin would have a good NHL career. With all due respect, we’re still waiting Mr. Malkin. Thus far, Kulemin has been less than stellar.

I know he’s had some tough breaks to deal with, but with a 2-11-3 record through 16 games, you gotta think it’s just a matter of time before the “fire Paul Maurice” rumors get started. For the record, if the Hurricanes do fire Maurice, they will regret it.

I started thinking out loud yesterday, and a player’s name I hadn’t thought of in quite a while popped into my head, Angelo Esposito. Originally drafted in the first round (20th
overall) of the 2007 NHL entry draft, Esposito is now buried in the Atlanta Thrashers’ system.

Playing for the Chicago Wolves of the AHL, Esposito has a grand total of four assists through eight games. At just 20 years old, there is plenty of time for Esposito to develop, but for a kid that was once considered to be a top five prospect, the road to the NHL looks to be an uphill battle.

Why do I bring up Esposito? Well, for starters, once upon a time he was a tremendous playmaker, and his puck-handling abilities are well documented. With the Leafs looking for a young player to grow with free agent acquisition Phil Kessel, would it be a wise move for Leafs GM Brian Burke to make an offer for Esposito?

Drawing the line at a minimum of four shots taken, two Colorado Avalanche players ranked in the top three in shootout percentage. Marek Svatos sits at a 75 percent success rate (three for four), Milan Hedjuk sits at a 50 percent success rate (two for four). The best in the NHL? None other than Sidney Crosby, who is four for four. Think he’s gearing up for the Olympics?

Heading into Tuesday night;s action, nine (Rick Nash, Patrick Marleau, Joe Thornton, Dustin Penner, Ryan Smyth, Brad Richards, Corey Perry, Dany Heatley, Brooks Laich) of the top 15 point producers in the NHL were Canadians. That said, the top three (Anze Kopitar, Alex Ovechkin, Marian Gaborik) are all Europeans.

Penner and Laich were afterthoughts, while Smyth, Richards, and Marleau all had various degrees of support from the so-called “hockey experts.” If you could only take two of these players, which ones make Team Canada?

Until next time,

Peace!