College free agents 2010

Some names that may be signed by NHL teams in the coming weeks, in no particular order.

Tom Gorowsky, F, Wisconsin, 23
Dion Knelsen, F, Alaska-Fairbanks, 21
Carter Hutton, G, UMass-Lowell, 24
Chay Genoway, F, North Dakota, 23
Darcy Zajac, F, North Dakota, 23

There doesn't seem to be a hot commodity out there, like there is occasionally. Generally college free agents get overrated though. They are already 23 or 24 when the come out, which is near the top of the development curve. They won't improve much once they are signed. What you see is pretty much what you get.

Simon Gysbers and Casey Wellman already went to Toronto and Minnesota.
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Sheahan feature article

I finished my feature on Riley Sheahan last night. He's a better player than he is an interviewee, but that's fine. And he'd have to be a reeeeally good interviewee to accomplish that anyway. But I did get some interesting information out of him I thought.

Having interviewed Kevin Lind the night before (also 2010-eligible and coincidentally a Notre Dame recruit), it was striking how young Sheahan seems. Most of the draft-eligible guys are really smooth already when you talk to them, but he's still kind of rough around the edges. Kind of the way Calvin de Haan was when I talked to him before his draft stock rose.

Regarding the Rick Nash comparison, Thang and I both thought of Nash independently, each of us with our own reasons (which are stated within). But I don't want to overstate the comparison. I think Nash is more power forward than Sheahan. Sheahan doesn't try to go through people the way Nash does, or used to when he was young.

The Lind piece is still forthcoming. We talked for 15 whole minutes, so there's a lot of transcribing involved.
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Notes on Notre Dame

I recently saw Notre Dame at the Shillelagh Tournament. Here are some notes on the prospects.

Kyle Lawson (CAR) -- I was surprised to see him listed at 5'11, because he doesn't look small on the ice. Defense is pretty good, he gets offensive chances. Usually plays D but was moved up due to shortage. Made a terrible giveaway trying to send the puck up the middle.

Riley Sheahan (2010) -- He's kind of boring to watch, actually. Not flashy, and in fact, doesn't look like he's doing much. But he really is, it's just so effortless for him that it fools you. Very good offensively and defensively. Spoke to him -- nice kid, but he's still really a kid. Not confident in himself yet. His game will probably take off even more when he is finally confident. The funniest part of the conversation was him saying it was a coincidence that he's Irish and ended up playing for the Irish. Said his family really liked the school. Yes, he said he is Catholic. Let's see, and Irish Catholic going to Notre Dame, gee I don't think it's a "coincidence."

Teddy Ruth (WAS) -- Very good defensively, smooth skater. It's surprising that he doesn't score more, given how well he skates and is in good position. He may just be cast in a role. But I think he's capable of more.

Ryan Thang (NAS) -- Typical third liner, effort but not slick. He's on a line with Sheahan so I asked Thang about him. He had some interesting things to say. We agreed that Sheahan reminds us of Rick Nash, but we each had different reasons for it.

Ben Ryan (NAS) -- Has good skill, shifty through traffic and protects the puck well, but has some real size issues that may hold him back.

Sean Lorenz (MIN) -- I cringed when he got near the puck. The Wild don't have great prospects and this is one more example.

Ian Cole (STL) -- Probably the best player on the ice, though Sheahan will rival him soon. Cole's strengths are well documented so I won't list them all. Nice kid too.
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Up and coming goalie coach: Nick Petraglia of Miami

This summer I attended Mitch Korn's goaltending camp because I was working on a feature on the Predators coach. I learned a lot while doing it, but the highlight for me intellectually was an off-ice session taught by Nick Petraglia, who is a coach and director of hockey operations at Miami University and also does some coaching for USA hockey. He had done research to determine the best way to position your goaltending glove, and it's not the way most goalies do it. Between these kinds of insights, learning from one of the best in Mitch Korn, and Petraglia's team attitude, I wouldn't be surprised if an NHL team picked him up in the next few years. And not just to coach goalies, he's got the right background to go far in any front office position. He played for Andy Murray at Shattuck, so he knows some of the right people. Here's his full bio from the Miami website.


Nick Petraglia at Korn camp in Nashville in 2009.

Side note: I've created a Twitter feed: https://twitter.com/HollyGunning. I'll post mostly when I travel.
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Bowling Green may eliminate hockey

I'm a little late on this one, but wanted to mention it. The economy has taken out two ECHL teams so far, and now may claim a college team.

From the Sentinel-Tribune:

All university departments have been asked to develop a variety of scenarios regarding budgets and programs.
The school believes it is looking at a funding shortfall of between $6 million and $10 million when the new state budget begins July 1. University president Carol Cartwright has said that if that figure worsens, cuts in programs will be need to be made.
Rumors suggest the decision to cut hockey could be made final during a special meeting of the BGSU Board of Trustees sometime during the next week to 10 days.

Many former NHLers have come out of Bowling Green.

The only silver lining I see here is that maybe the CCHA could take in one or more CHA teams so they aren't left hanging.

Red is the new blond in hockey playoff hair

Beards, mohawks, shaved heads, blonde dye-jobs, mustaches. It's all been done by hockey teams as a way of bonding for the playoffs.

The Ohio State hockey team has gone red this year, which is appropriate given their school colors. College teams usually set the trend each year, as their playoffs come earlier in the season.

From The Lantern:

With playoff beards just beginning to blossom and mullets requiring months of planning and infrequent barber shop visits, the scarlet dye found little serious competition in the spur-of-the-moment locker room debate.

"It's just to bring the team together, something that we're doing together," senior co-captain Zach Pelletier said. "We're pretty tight right now but this should take us to the next level so we can go into this weekend prepared."

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Two Canadian schools to join NCAA?

And you know what sport they would play for sure, right?

From USA Today:

Two years after the NCAA opened its doors to Canadian schools, at least one — Simon Fraser in Burnaby, British Columbia — is poised to walk in.

The University of British Columbia likewise is weighing a move to join its rival as the NCAA's first international members. Both would join Division II.

The annual NCAA membership application deadline is June 1. Schools can be full members in as little as three years.

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