Boston Bruins

The Curious Case of Nathan Horton

When Boston sent Dennis Wideman and a pair of draft picks to Florida in exchange for Nathan Horton and grinder Gregory Campbell, they were hoping to get a power forward with a well’s worth of untapped potential. The thinking was that the move from a non-traditional hockey market to a contending hockey town would be all that was needed to bring consistency to Horton’s game.

For a while there, it looked like they were right as the 25-year old winger put up 6 goals and 5 assists in his first 10 games with the black and gold. However, in the subsequent 36 games, Horton posted just 6 goals and 10 assists.

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before.

World Juniors Hockey Championships 2011: Aftermath

Team Canada played a near perfect game against a strong USA team in the semi-finals. Two periods into the contest with a 3-nil lead, it looked promising for a return to the top for the first nation of hockey. It was not to be, however, and although the players were beyond disappointed, when the dust settles and the zamboni makes its rounds – the boys should be very proud of their performance.

Boston Bruins: Has Claude Julien Lost His Team?

Since Claude Julien was hired as coach of the Boston Bruins in June 2007, the Bruins have gone from basement dwellers to Stanley Cup contenders. Making the playoffs for three consecutive years, and reaching the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals in back-to-back years for the first time since 1992.

But coming off of the now infamous playoff collapse against the Philadelphia Flyers, the Bruins needed to make a statement in the regular season. They needed to prove that they were tough, they were resilient, and that they were ready to compete for hockey’s greatest prize. So far this year, it looks like just another Claude Julien era Bruins team.

Grand Larsson-y: NHL 2011 Mock Draft – Holiday Edition

Today’s article embarks on my first mock draft of the season – Holiday Edition. The first round results are revealed in this article, with the second round to follow.

Notes:

* At this point in the season, the mock is, for the most part, based upon teams taking best player available (BPA).
* Draft order is based on the NHL standings as of the morning of December 17th. Standings and thus team drafting positions will obviously fluctuate on a day-to-day basis from here on end.
* Shots From The Slot is a brief rationale for each selection.

NHL Top 100 Prospect Rankings (Part 4: 1 to 25)

#4 Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson EDM F 2009-10th

One-Timer: MPS. MSP. MP. Now known as simply Magnus Paajarvi. Call him anything, but call him one of the most talented young players in the game. Even at 10th, the Oilers got a gift. I had him ranked 7th in my my 2009 Draft Preview and here’s an excerpt:

MSP is a super creative winger with speed to burn. Known more of a playmaker, the talented Swede still knows how to finish. The powerful and smooth skating MSP is also very tough to knock off the puck. At 7th overall, he could prove to be a steal even at this rank.