Showing posts with label Florida Panthers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Florida Panthers. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Brian Skrudland not concerned with Bjudstads development at Minnesota

Miami Herald photo
Guy Flaming co-host of the Pipeline show 1260 A.M. out of Edmonton, Alberta interviewed Brian Skrudland the Director of Player Development for the Florida Panthers. Guy asked Skrudland  if Bjugstad staying in Minnesota for another year would hurt his development as a hockey player. Here is what Skrudland had to say about the matter.
I'm not sure so I asked Brian Skrudland the question to see if the Panthers organization shared the same concern.

"Well... that is a concern," Skrudland admitted, "But when you've got such a quality organization as [the University of] Minnesota has provided there... the off ice strength and conditioning coach, Cal Dietz, has done a fabulous job with Nick. There are a lot of positive things about him going back. The only negative is that he won't be wearing a Panthers jersey and helping us score some goals next year."

"It's an opportunity for him to finish something that he started and we love that as far as the character of the person," continued Skrudland, "And it's an opportunity to go back and maybe win the Hobey Baker and hopefully a national championship as well."
It would appear that the Florida Panther don’t have the same concerns about Minnesota like Garth Snow of the New York Islanders had. That being said, it would appear that the Panthers wanted Nick Bjudstad to sign a professional contract.

Just for the record Guy Flaming and Dean Millard are very fair hosts and are by no shape of the imagination anti-NCAA hockey but in this case I also think that Guy might have a point…
Flaming posed this question Bjugstad… “Could his progress stagnate, or even regress, playing at a level that in many ways, he is already a dominant player?”
I think that is a good question and only time will tell – I think the Gophers will definitely benefit from another season of having Nick Bjugstad on their roster and his presence will make them one of the top teams to beat in the WCHA this season if the Gophers can figure out who is going to be the man between the pipes for the Gophers.

[click to listen to podcast]
Enhanced by Zemanta

Sunday, July 08, 2012

Another $900,000.00 Question – Does Nick Bjugstad sign with the Florida Panthers?

BUFFALO, NY - JANUARY 05: Nick Bjugstad #27 an...
I’ve been monitoring the Twitter traffic the past couple of weeks and one of the main topics of discussion amongst Gopher fans is; will Golden Gopher forward Nick Bjugstad sign an entry level contract with the Florida Panthers? From everything that I have read, it appears that Bjugstad wowed them in South Florida this past week and was a man among boys.

Bjugstad "if" he signs will get the rookie max - money probably isn't' the concern - the big decision is whether he wants to leave college two years early and begin his professional career - which according to Michale Russo of the Star Tribune, will probably be in the AHL, because the Panthers are stacked with forwards.

I think Bjugstad is a great hockey prospect and doesn't have a lot to prove in college so I wouldn't be surprised if he signed a professional contract. So we wait, just like we did with the past few summers. I am sure we will hear which way he is leaning in the next couple of weeks. 
Harvey Fialkov, Sun Sentinel --- Panthers prospect Nick Bjugstad firmly denied that the Panthers had made him any contract offers or that he had turned down any (that a source told me yesterday). He will talk to his family about his decision in the coming days and hopes to decide over the next two weeks. Bjugstad has looked like a man among boys at this camp. Ditto for Jonathan Huberdeau who wowed the fans and teammates with a spectacular shootout goal today in which he turned his back on the goalie before switching from backhand to forehand and backhand for a score between the five-hole.
Enhanced by Zemanta

Thursday, March 29, 2012

Visa Hockey Love Hurts


A person sent me this in an email today and I found this commercial to be very funny. Watching your favorite team either not make the playoffs or lose in the playoffs is tough to handle and sometimes it takes a few days to get over the sting of losing.

As a fan of the NHL's Boston Bruins, I had this same feeling for a very long time until they won it all last season.  Enjoy the video.
Enhanced by Zemanta

Thursday, January 19, 2012

More bad news for UND - Grimaldi to undergo season-ending knee surgery

 Official UND Press Release

GRAND FORKS, N.D. – University of North Dakota Head Coach Dave Hakstol announced today that freshman forward Rocco Grimaldi will undergo knee surgery and will miss the remainder of the season.

Grimaldi suffered the injury during the preseason and has appeared in just four of UND’s 23 games this season, scoring one goal and one assist.

The Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) Preseason Rookie of the Year, Grimaldi was a second-round draft pick (33rd overall) of the Florida Panthers in 2011.

Enhanced by Zemanta

Sunday, December 25, 2011

Brad Marchand gets the hat trick


Brad Marchand has had a nose for the net as of late and has been on fire scoring nine points in the last five games (6g-3a—9pts). In his last game out against the Florida Panthers Marchand scored five points (3g-2a—5pts). This Brad Marchand hat trick against the Florida Panters is a thing of beauty.
Enhanced by Zemanta

Saturday, September 03, 2011

Hockey Prospectus on Forbort and Grimaldi

University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux athl...Image via WikipediaHere is what the Hockey Prospectus has to say on two Fighting Sioux players. Roco Grimaldi and Derek Forbort recently competed in the Team USA, U-20 Camp...
Derek Forbort, Defense, Los Angeles Kings: Forbort is a roller coaster to watch. He's so gifted, as the skating and puck skills abilities are simply tremendous for a big man and he can create "wow" moments on any given shift. His defensive work showed spurts of fine performance as well. However, the hockey sense still has a ways to go, as for every great play he made, it was coupled with a bad one.

Rocco Grimaldi, Center, Florida Panthers: Grimaldi was his standard self: plus skater, plus offensive skills, great work ethic, went to the net for chances, and good two-way play.
Enhanced by Zemanta

Monday, June 27, 2011

Rocco Grimaldi post draft interview...


I am excited that Rocco Grimaldi is going to be a member of the Fighting Sioux to start the 2011-2012 season. I think this highly skilled forward is going to be a great addition to the Fighting Sioux because Grimaldi is going to add much needed speed and skill to the Fighting Sioux line up... I predict that Grimaldi will be a top 6 forward that will play on the first or second line. I also like the fact that Rocco is going to have something to prove when he steps out on the ice as well. It will be nice to see a player like him on the Fighting Sioux side of the ice instead of watching a player of his skill dancing through our defenses scoring goals, Nathan Gerbe is a player that comes to mind.

Corey Hanlon; NESN ---- Rocco Grimaldi, selected by the Florida Panthers with the third pick in the second round of the 2011 NHL draft, stands at 5-foot-6 -- roughly the size of Zdeno Chara's leg. In a rebuilding franchise, Grimaldi could be making a big difference on the ice sooner rather than later and earn the title of shortest player in the league.

"It’s kind of annoying after a while, but it’s also kind of exciting to sit there not knowing what’s going to happen next," Grimaldi told Yahoo. "I still have to go out and prove people wrong, which I’ve done my whole life and I’m going to continue to do."

Grimaldi scored 34 goals in 50 games last season with the U.S. National Development team. He has committed to the University of North Dakota next year.
Enhanced by Zemanta

Saturday, June 04, 2011

Drew Stafford to get paid...

IMG_1534.jpgImage by bridgetds via FlickrDrew Stafford gets fat contract, Stafford is going to make 4 million dollars a year. With that pay increase Stafford is going to have add pressure to perform from the Buffalo fan base.
Buffalo Sabres; NHL.COM --- Drew Stafford Buffalo Sabres GM Darcy Regier announced today the Sabres have agreed to terms with forward Drew Stafford, who was set to become a Restricted Free Agent on July 1 on a multi-year contract.

“It was important for us to get Drew locked up,” said Regier. “What we saw from Drew this season is exactly what we envisioned when we drafted him. Drew will continue to be an important part of our team in the coming years.”

Stafford (10/30/1985, 6’2”, 214 lbs.) is coming off a 2010-11 season that saw him finish second on the team with a career-high 31 goals in 62 games, including a league-best four hat tricks. The 25-year-old also posted career-highs in both points (52) and power play goals (11). In five seasons with Buffalo, Stafford has 196 points (94+102) in 317 career games.

Stafford was Buffalo’s first-round selection (13th overall) in the 2004 Entry Draft, and played three years at the University of North Dakota.
Enhanced by Zemanta