AHL Announcement

The AHL had been teasing fans recently with word of a big announcement that would be made today. 

I'm not one to jump on board when I hear something like this being stated from an organization.  It tends to be not as interesting as the hype would suggest.  Quite frankly I completely forgot that they were even making an announcement until it started rolling through my feed this morning.  So what could this major news be?  I was about to find out.

 

I'm going to be honest and admit I was annoyed by what I saw.  After all the back and forth (St. John's feed was also going nuts) excitement, they announced the all-star game was going to be played in St. John's.  Wow.  Who would have guessed they would play the AHL all-star game in a city that has an AHL team.  My mistake was not reading the whole thing.  I eventually noticed what the hype was about.

The AHL all-star team this year will be playing not against each other in an east/west or North American/European format but instead be playing against Farjestad from the Swedish Elite League.  That's a different approach and one I can get behind.

Using a soccer term this could be considered a friendly as this is a very typical thing to do in soccer and in European hockey.  The only thing I question is how friendly will it be.  It's a professional sports team playing against a group of all-stars.  Pretty sure both sides want to win and play the game as intended while doing it in a way they all stay healthy.  It should also be interesting to see the guys from Farjestad who previously played in the AHL come back to face off against former teammates.

In reading the report from the AHL it is actually the first time ever a Swedish Hockey League (previously known as the Swedish Elite League up until this season which I will continually say wrong) team has played in North America.  The team president is Hakan Loob which leads me to believe John Buccigross got a little excited today.  In fact maybe I should check to see if he made any comments about this event.

In a year that will see Rochester go to Switzerland to participate in the Spengler Cup and represent the AHL in Euorpe, we add on another new chapter to the story.  I'm a proponent of blending leagues, teams, countries and continents especially when you have a select group to choose from.  Many countries probably have never heard of hockey but many from the north play.  Why not bring them together for various events for something different and exciting.  

BUCCI UPDATE:

No comments from John on Hakan Loob.  As a college hockey fan he did have something else interesting to report. 

"The line to get Penn State hockey season tickets was so long today that the university had to shut down the sale. Wrapping around much of the interior of the Penn State student center and out the door, officials decided to call off the in-person sale to prevent students from missing too much class."

Looks like there is a new sport in town in central Pennsylvania.  Be aware Big 10.

We Got It

It took a few days but the KHL is the first to deliver.  Not like that is important since they started first anyway.




This comes from the Barys and Severstal game played today.  It happened early on in the game oddly enough because the game ended in favor of Barys by a 10-1 score with no altercations after.  The player in blue is Josh Gratton.  If you can tell, he is not Russian.  He has had an interesting career from the ECHL to the NHL.  He even is what you could say a veteran of the KHL but played in what I consider the minor Russian league last season.  But the former Flyer is back in the top league and looking for dance partners.

AROUND EUROPE

The Austrian league is the only league (that I follow) to have started the season (England started as well but will only contribute brawling to this site).  One game was played yesterday and four today.  Should I even continue to mention that a former Hershey player scored both days?  I'll stop at some point since it will continually be the same guys.  However, Curtis Fraser picked up the first hat trick in the game from yesterday.

The KHL tilt came just in time as in the second day of action for the Austrian league they too had a fight that featured players without North American ties.  Florian Pedevilla got into the scrap.  I mention him because he also played last season for Innsbruck and picked up 99 penalty minutes with a scrap.

RANDOMNESS

Let's remember my great presumption of Kovalchuk leading the KHL in points.  After a solid team showing in the first game of the season but Kovalchuk himself not getting any points, the team put in six goals today.  And guess who did the scoring.  Anybody not named Kovalchuk.  Another zero point game for him.  I should know better than to take a Russian even in a Russian league.

There is nothing like making a bold statement after one whole game which is kinda what I did with Medvescak.  I loved their play making ability and toughness with all thee former AHL players.  After the domination in their first game I thought it was on.  Today they lost 5-1.  Oops.

HC Bolzano is the newest addition to the Austrian league from Italy.  They are the first team to join from Italy that I know of because I'm not going to look into it.  If you are unaware, Italy isn't exactly a breeding ground for hockey and the teams generally tend to be mediocre.  Don't tell that to this team.  They won their first game today 6-1.  I will stop short of going on a rant of how good this team will be after seeing what happens when I did that last time.

Germany and Switzerland begin this week to round out Europe.  AND... Canadian juniors kicks off this week which allows me the ability to follow all the NHL picks and potential picks along with the craziness of 15-19 year olds.

The North American Way

The KHL might want to take a closer look at who they invite to join the league.  There are currently 73 North American players on KHL rosters.  In comparison there are 502 Russians.  Newly inserted Medvescak has 24 North American players on their roster alone.  They played their first game today and won 7-1.

The team combined for 18 total points among scorers.  All 18 points came from North American skaters.  If there is a team to root for this season, this might be the one.  You need some skill?  They have it.  Play a bit of a rougher style against them?  I would suggest not.  I'm not going to say they are going to win the championship or even dominate the league, but they are going to bring an element this league hasn't seen.  By the way, the team is coached by former Hershey Bear head coach Mark French who had been the team coach for the last four seasons.  It might also explain why the team features former Hershey captain Boyd Kane who spent a total of five seasons in Hershey, including the last four and another five seasons with the Philadelphia Phantoms.  The point is, if you happen to be in Croatia this season stop in for a game or two.

MORE STUFF 

Ilya Kovalchuk made his return to the KHL today.  His SKA team had an easy time winning 5-1.  In keeping with my statement about him leading the league in points from yesterday, he attributed zero points.

Salavat and Torpedo has an interesting start to the season.  60 minutes and overtime couldn't decide a winner so they headed to a shootout.  It only took 20 attempts before a winner emerged.

10 more games today and still no bouts.  With the addition of the Canadian junior leagues to my library we won't be waiting long to see how Europe's toughness does against North America. 

Front Page News

Had I not been behind on the paper like I normally am, I would have noticed this yesterday on the front of the NY Times sports section.
 

Opening day of the KHL season and what do I see here?  Maybe we should take this league a bit more seriously.  The fairly lengthy article is a good read for an hockey fan from casual to intense.  It mainly describes how league and team operations work in this expansive league that is the closest comparison to the National Hockey League.  I won't go into great depth so here are some smaller things to take away.

-  Russia, Latvia, Belarus, Ukraine, Croatia, Kazakhstan, Czech Republic and Slovakia are not only places you'd have trouble locating on a map, they also comprise the countries that house teams in the KHL.

- The league stretches across nine time zones.  You better really load up the i-Pod for some of those road trips.

- The league has 28 teams as of this year and will continue to add.  A top level team from Finland will leave the SM-liiga next season to join the KHL.

- Two teams were added this year.  Medvescak left the Austrian league to join and a new team took home (see above picture) in Vladivostok, Russia.  They are so new to the league their stadium isn't even finished.

Do yourself a favor and type in Vladivostok on a Google map.  Then compare its location to the rest of some of the countries in this league I mentioned.  Helpful hint: If you'd like to see place names in English, click on the drop tab in the right by the satellite image.  Perhaps this team will acquire some North Korean fans.  Or maybe the KHL expands into China and Japan.  

I think one thing is certain at this time and that is the league isn't going to compete with the NHL.  By compete I'm talking about attracting the majority of the best players in the world.  Obviously the Kovalchuk deal over the summer (also picture above) had some heads turning.  But at the same time I expect some players, especially Russians, to either go back home or stay there.

This league is either going to do very well or suffer with constant turnover.  The expansion that has happened in the short time since the league formed is amazing.  They have a boom or bust approach which I can appreciate.  Either way is fine with me.  Having another top league for players looking to play is a good thing.

By the way, if Kovalchuk doesn't lead this league in scoring something is wrong.

OVERTIME:

Three more games today in the K.  Nothing extremely noteworthy to pass along.  However, in a matchup with two teams named Dinamo each team got a tally in a 2-1 game from a... any guesses? Yep.  A former Hershey Bear.  How about them apples or other piece of fruit used in Russian sayings even though neither Dinamo team plays in Russia.  Let's move on.

Speaking of former Bears, I never thought I'd have Babenko updates in back to back days but here I am ready to dish it out.  We have had our first ejection of the season.  I guess.  Why wouldn't we want to start out the season with something bizarre.  Straight out of the KHL league office it was announced today that after reviewing the tape from Wednesday's opening game Yuri Babenko was assessed a major penalty and a game misconduct for spearing.  There you have it.  A player ejected today from a game he played in yesterday.  The season begins. 

Hockey's Back

And so am I.

The KHL kicked off their season today with a game between Dynamo Moskova and Traktor.  If it seems like professional hockey ended recently it's probably because it did.  The NHL last played on June 24th.  Two months off is plenty.

Traktor kicked off the scoring for the 2013-14 season.  That's where it ended for them.  Dynamo Moskova scored the next five to take an easy win.  Leo Komarov, the Estonian born winger of a Russian father who grew up in a Finnish town that primarily spoke Swedish tallied a goal and an assist.  Komarov was drafted by Toronto in 2006 finally making his debut last season after starting in the AHL, moving back to the KHL once the lockout seemed destined to continue, then eventually returning to play with the big boys in Toronto.  He also played in all seven playoff games with Toronto where he also got into a fight. 

You can't talk about most leagues without seeing familiar AHL faces and while he hasn't seen a North American rink in awhile, a former Hershey player got on the board as well.  Yuri Babenko scored in the second for Dynamo, his first of what will end up being 12 goals this season.  Well I did it now.  Guess I will have to include constant Babenko chatter in this blog.  Speaking of which, I think it needs a new name more related to hockey.  I'll think about it tonight.

The real story in this game was the solid goaltending of Dynamo goalie Ilya Bryzgalov.  He might not be a household name, but give him time.  He only allowed one goal on 36 shots and was named the number one star of the game.  If he can continue his hot start there is no denying Moskova could be a force in the KHL this season. 

The KHL continues with a busy schedule throughout the week and weekend.  The Austrian league is the next to start on Saturday.  Where will the first scrap take place and who gets the first Gordie? 

Delayed Call:

It's early on in the season for all of us including me.  I incorrectly stated the Ilya Bryzgalov was the number one star of the game today in the KHL.  He was not.  He didn't even play.  In fact, he isn't even on a KHL team or any team for that matter.  My mistake.  I will do better next time.