Updates on a former WCHA players.

*Former SCSU player Tyler Arnason was a healthy scratch and his head coach Tony Granato isn't all that happy with his play so far. I have always thought that Arnason was a player that lacked a consistent work ethic to be a great player in the NHL. I am surprised that Arnason has made it this long in the NHL.

Avalanche report: Arnason called out
By Rick Sadowski, Rocky Mountain News
Granato said center Tyler Arnason, who was a healthy scratch Saturday, has to play better to return to the lineup.

"The bottom line is we have to dress the 12 forwards that give us the best chance to win, and I didn't think 'Arnie' was one of those 12 forwards for that game," Granato said. "It's pretty simple; there's other guys that deserve to be playing in front of him.

"He has to get into the game and do what he does best, and that is play hard. If he doesn't play hard and doesn't do the little things that we're asking him to do consistently and others guys will, then other guys will play."

Arnason has two goals on 17 shots and a minus-2 rating in 13 games. He had 10 goals and 21 assists in 70 games last season in the first year of a two-year, $3.35 million contract he signed after posting 16 goals and 33 assists in 82 games in 2006-07.

*From the same article former Gophers and Hobey Baker winner Jordan Leopold is enjoying success on the ice again after being hurt for a big part of the last two seasons.

Leopold shining

After missing 106 games during his first two seasons with the Avalanche because of injuries, Jordan Leopold finally is healthy and has been one of the team's top defensemen.

"I feel good. I haven't had any hiccups or anything," said Leopold, who has played in all 14 games and has three goals and three assists. "This is probably the healthiest I've felt probably in four years, since before the lockout. I kind of feel like a kid again.

"It's nice. I can come out and practice and not have aches and pains and stay on the ice the whole time. It's a little bit different, but that's what I used to do when I was younger and I felt better."

*Former Golden Gopher Nate Hagemo is back and playing in the ECHL. While it is not the NHL it is a first step in the right direction.

No points and a minus-2 rating usually isn’t something to write home about, but for Elmira Jackals defenseman Nate Hagemo, there’s another stat that’s much sweeter: four games played.

Hagemo, a second round pick (58th overall) of the Carolina Hurricanes in 2005, has been to hell and back – and he’s only been back for a short time. The highly touted blueliner skipped his final year of high school in order to suit up for the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers, but shoulder problems derailed his career before he was even old enough to buy a beer.

After sustaining a “stinger” in his freshman year, Hagemo was hit in the same place at the 2005 World Junior Championship while playing with Team USA and the injury became too much to bear. He played just three games as a sophomore and despite a comeback attempt in 2006, would never play college hockey again.

“It was the most difficult thing I’ve experienced,” said Hagemo, currently in the ECHL. “Especially then. My mind was set on me being a hockey player; that’s what I was.”

Without game action, or even practice to look forward to, Hagemo’s life began to unravel.

“You feel so isolated,” he said. “When you’re hurt, you’re not part of the team – you’re not in the locker room, so you’re not hanging out with the guys; you feel disconnected.”

*Former C.C. Tiger Curtis McElhinney is getting slivers sitting on the bench in Calgary and has yet to play this season.

The Calgary Flames season is now 13 games old and Keenan has yet to call upon backup Curtis McElhinney for a start or even mop-up duty. Doesn’t the coach realize the 82-game NHL season is a marathon and not a dash?

Doesn’t the coach realize wearing down Kiprusoff by the middle of November probably isn’t a good idea? Doesn’t the coach realize letting McElhinney freeze on the bench for more than a month doesn’t do a whole lot for his psyche and well-being?

*Former Warroad Warrior and Fighting Sioux star T.J. Oshie could be out till December.

The Blues really miss energetic rookie T.J. Oshie, whose high ankle sprain could disable him well into December. Veteran winger Paul Kariya departed Wednesday night’s game with a unspecified “lower body” injury.

The injuries continue to pile up in New Jersey as former Gophers Paul Martin was placed on the Injured reserve.

*Former Sioux Zach Parise and current New Jersey Devil is on fire scoring 13 points in 10 games. Zach Parise is also tied for second over all in the NHL with Alexander Semin for goals scored. Former Gopher Thomas Vanek is number one.