*Former Fighting Sioux goalie Jean-Philippe Lamoureux has a new contract with the Buffalo Sabres organization. "Last season, he set the ECHL’s record for shutouts in a season and also led the league in wins."
*Speaking of goalies; Minnesota Wild Goalie Josh Harding has a new deal with the Minnesota Wild. So one could say that the Wild's stable is full of goalies, the Wild have 1.) former DU Pioneer Wade Dubielewicz, 2.) Josh Harding and 3.) all world goalie Niklas Backstrom as their goalies, you would have to think that Harding is going to be traded for an offensive player. How do you keep all three happy, when Backstrom is going to be the man between the pipes.
*Per the Grand Forks Herald, The voice of Sioux hockey won’t change either, as Tim Hennessy again will call all UND games. Hennessy also is expected to be the host of the coaches show. This is good news for Sioux fans.
*Today is the Oshie Sports Celebrity Benefit and Golf Tournament hopefully the weather will co-operate and not rain on us. I have to say that the weather this summer has been less than stellar. Also, Brett Bergman from St Louis Simply Put is also playing in this tourney.
*The Fighting Sioux have picked up a nice goalie recruit in Zane Gothberg from Thief River Falls Minnesota. [Western College Hockey]
*The Phil Kessel Saga continues as he is still without a contract. [Puck Daddy]
*Per Quickfacts Lord Stanley's Cup is coming to Grand Rapids, MN in August. Pittsburgh Penguin Alex Goligoski who turned 24 today, will have the Stanley Cup in his hometown of Grand Rapids Minnesota on August 19th.
I know I am in the minority here, but I never really cared much for Phil, thought he really embellished a lot of saves (and the name change? really?). I dunno, I am not a fan of goalies who pretty much have an NHL caliber team in front of them like Phil or Parise and then getting compared to some of the goalie greats. That said though, it is always nice to see an undrafted guy work his butt off and make it to the show so congrats to him and his contract.
ReplyDeleteHe didn't really "change" his name. He just decided to go by his real name instead of his nickname. I know for a fact he shares the "Jean" part of his name with his dad and (I think not sure about) his Grandpa.
ReplyDeleteI believe Phil also had the numbers to back up the talk, as did Parise. It wasn't just the benefit of a good teams. Phil's been one of the best everywhere he has played. He has been on a lot of good teams but I think he has made those teams look better than they are, more than those teams made Phil look better than he is.
Seejowski
ReplyDeleteI know that is part of his name but I just thought it was stupid.
I disagree about him making the teams look better. I am pretty sure Oshie and Toews spotted him some pretty good leads and played some nice two-way hockey to preserve it the same way Zach and company did the same for Jordan and Jake Brandt. He's a talented player but there are better stuck on bad teams that won't ever get the same attention Phil gets. Zane Kalemba is better than Phil, Jordan and Jake and he plays on a far inferior team.
I would say Lammy's numbers stack up pretty good against Kalemba's:
ReplyDelete2004-2005 North Dakota 2.19 .914
2005-2006 North Dakota 2.61 .911
2006-2007 North Dakota 2.42 .913
2007-2008 North Dakota 1.75 .932
2006-2007 Princeton 2.89 .891
2007-2008 Princeton 2.38 .916
2008-2009 Princeton 1.82 .932
Also Lammy faced far tougher competition than Kalemba over those years. Not to mention he has to deal with a lot more pressure and exepectation playing in a big time program like UND, and playing in his home town on top of that.
I will agree that Kalemba does play on an inferior team, but Princeton sure did outplay the Sioux in that NCAA regional game a couple of years back. You know the game where Phil bailed the Sioux out by making 38 saves on 39 shots (97% SP), while Kalemba made 13 saves on 16 shots (81% SP).
He's not the greatest goalie to play at UND but to say he is overrated or somehow got credit he didn't deserve is BS.
I just don't think that he was as great as everyone else thought he was. He was good, played against most of the best college hockey teams, but I think I can the numbers you presented and argue that the team defense helped him a lot. Numbers can be skewed for any argument so we will just have to agree to disagree.
ReplyDeleteCharles what do you attribute his success in the ECHL to then? Phil set the records for shut outs this season in the ECHL. While I do think that all goaltenders benifit or fail to benifit from their defense they still have to be the athlete and final barrior to scoring or not scoring on goal.
ReplyDeleteAs far as Zane Kalemba goes he plays in a weak league and doesn't play against the nations best game in game out, MSU-M, SCSU, UAA, MTU are better teams that the basement buddies of the ECAC. The fact that INCH and CHN have them ranked so high is also a joke.
Wow, not allowed to have an opinion it seems when it doesn't go along with the Sioux. For the record, I think Oshie, Toews, Parise, Spirko, Greene, Schneider and many more were some of the best players I have ever seen.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, Phil is a good goalie, but I just don't think he is as good as everyone else thinks. I have seen him play for years and I confess, I have never seen an ECHL game so maybe he has gotten better. But he never won when it counted most for the Sioux, neither did Parise and neither did Brandt and with a program and talent like the Sioux it seems to me that every year should be championship or bust and every year they don't win it all should be considered a failure. I have been watching Sioux hockey for years and I am a fan. I am happy that Phil is going to get a chance to make an NHL roster and at some point he will probably make it and hopefully stay, that would be great for him and the program. But you will NEVER convince me that he was this all time greatest goalie that should be revered with the likes of Belfour etc. And just to piss you all off more, I wish I could have seen an ECHL game of his to see if he fell over as often as he did for the Sioux when an opposing team's player skated by him.
Love the blog Goon, keep up the good work and I am being honest here.
Wow charles! Let me get this straight when lammy is winning it is because of his awesome team in front of him, but when he doesn't win a national championship it's all his fault and has nothing to do with the.exact same team?
ReplyDeleteMakes zero sense to me.
Also I like how your greatest und goalie is a guy who played one year and is a known drug and alcohol abuser, but you hate the kid who stayed four and graduated because he decided to go by his real name and made some flashy saves.
I never said I hate Phil, he is a good goalie, but why can't I personally think that he is not the greatest ever? Of course it is not all his fault that they never won a championship, the whole team usually choked which happens to most teams whatever. He put up some great numbers in college and the ECHL and maybe one day the NHL, but I still won't think he is the greatest ever. And who cares who did drugs, alcohol etc., the argument is who is a better goalie, Phil or Eddie and it is Eddie. If the question who is the better person, then it is probably Phil. I really didn't think that me stating my honest opinion was going to ruin your day. You have made some good points but I just disagree. So why don't we just leave it at this, you really liked Phil as a goalie and I didn't.
ReplyDeleteCharles, no one said you can't have an opinion. I have one too and ours happen to differ. Now we state our cases and make our arguments. You don't need to be so sensitive and get mad.
ReplyDeleteAnd I have never said phil was greatest ever at und I just didn't think his success was a product of his surrounding cast like you seem to think.
Fair enough. I hope there is something soon we can argue about soon again, maybe Joe Finley, hockey player or gorilla on skates? j/k
ReplyDelete