Ice Hockey 2016 - 2017 Discussion Thread

[phelps 7,698]

[hckošice 14,872]

so Auston Matthews as expected is this years draft number 1

 

 

Center Auston Matthews was taken by the Toronto Maple Leafs to start the 2016 NHL Draft at First Niagara Center on Friday, but there was a distinct Finnish flavor to the rest of the top five.

 

Matthews, a native of Scottsdale, Ariz., is the first United States-born player to be picked No. 1 since Patrick Kane in 2007 by the Chicago Blackhawks.

 

"A dream come true today," Matthews said. "It's a great organization. … Just got drafted into the NHL. One of the best days of my life."

 

 

The 6-foot-2, 210-pound forward was No. 1 on NHL Central Scouting's final ranking of international skaters. Playing with Zurich in National League A, Switzerland's top professional league, he had 24 goals and 46 points in 36 games and was runner-up in voting for the league's most valuable player award. He also led the United States with six goals in 10 games at the 2016 IIHF World Championship.

 

"Very rarely are you able to get a center with the size and strength that he has who is a complete player," Maple Leafs general manager Lou Lamoriello said on NBCSN. "He's a 200-foot player and we're just delighted and I think it's just great for the Toronto Maple Leafs."

 

Matthews next will play for Team North America at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. All games in that tournament, which starts Sept. 17, will be played at Air Canada Centre in Toronto.

 

The run on top-end Finns started when the Winnipeg Jets selected right wing Patrik Laine from Tappara in Liiga, Finland's top professional league, at No. 2. The Edmonton Oilers picked right wing Jesse Puljujarvi from Karpat in Liiga at No. 4, and the Vancouver Canucks took defensemen Olli Juolevi of London of the Ontario Hockey League at No. 5.

 

 

It's the first time three Finns have gone in the top five. Prior to Friday, a total of five had been picked in the top five: The Atlanta Thrashers took goalie Kari Lehtonen with the No. 2 pick in 2002; the Florida Panthers drafted forward Aleksander Barkov No. 2 in 2013; the Los Angeles Kings picked defenseman Aki Berg No. 3 in 1995 and forward Olli Jokinen No. 3 in 1997; and the Philadelphia Flyers selected defenseman Joni Pitkanen No. 4 in 2002.

 

"It's huge to have five people and three of them are Finns," Laine said. "That tells you something about our country and us as players. I think it's a huge thing to have those guys in the top five."

 

Four Finns in all were picked in the first round; the Florida Panthers selected center Henrik Borgstrom from HIFK's team in Finland's junior league at No. 23. It's the second-most Finns drafted in the first round; five were taken in 2002.

 

 

There also was a record number of U.S.-born players selected, with 12 going in the first round, including nine who played for USA Hockey's National Team Development Program in Ann Arbor, Mich.

 

"The NTDP is unbelievable with the weight training and everyone there that helps you succeed," said center Clayton Keller, who went No. 7 to the Arizona Coyotes. "Unbelievable to be there with such great guys and people that make you feel at home."

 

After Matthews and Laine were taken with the first two picks, the Columbus Blue Jackets selected left wing Pierre-Luc Dubois from Cape Breton of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League with the third pick.

 

"I'm just really happy," said Dubois, who turned 18 on Friday. "It was an honor."

 

Although some were surprised by the pick, Dubois knew it was coming.

 

"My agent told me about a minute before, so I was able to prepare myself," he said. "Told my family, told them to get ready and start listening. I'll always remember this for the rest of my life."

 

After Puljujarvi and Juolevi rounded out the top five, the Calgary Flames picked left wing Matthew Tkachuk of London of the OHL at No. 6. The Coyotes selected Keller, and then the host Buffalo Sabres picked left wing Alexander Nylander of Mississauga of the OHL with the eighth pick.

 

 

Nylander's selection should add fuel to the Atlantic Division rivalry with the Maple Leafs, who had older brother William Nylander make his NHL debut this season.

 

"It'll be a lot of fun playing against my brother when the time comes and we're ready to play in the NHL," Alexander said.

 

The Montreal Canadiens selected defenseman Mikhail Sergachev from Windsor of the OHL at No. 9, and the Colorado Avalanche chose center Tyson Jost from Penticton of the British Columbia Hockey League with the 10th pick.

 

The Ottawa Senators traded with the New Jersey Devils to move up from No. 12 to No. 11 in the first round and selected Windsor center Logan Brown. The Devils then picked Mississauga center Michael McLeod. The Devils also got the No. 80 pick from the Senators.

 

That was one of a number of trades made during the first round. The Detroit Red Wings sent forward Pavel Datsyuk and the 16th pick to the Coyotes for the 20th and 53rd picks in the draft, and forward Joe Vitale. Datsyuk said last week he would play in Russia next season, which would have left the Red Wings with a $7.5 million NHL salary-cap charge had they not been able to trade him..

 

Arizona picked defenseman Jakob Chychrun of Sarnia of the OHL at No. 16, and Detroit selected defenseman Dennis Cholowski from Chilliwack of the BCHL at No. 20.

 

 

The Flames acquired goaltender Brian Elliott from the St. Louis Blues for the No. 35 pick and a conditional third-round pick in the 2018 draft.

 

The Jets traded the 22nd and 36th picks to the Flyers for the 18th and 79th picks. At No. 18, Winnipeg picked Windsor defenseman Logan Stanley; Philadelphia selected center German Rubtsov from Team Russia U-18 at No. 22.

 

The Canadiens made two trades, acquiring forward Andrew Shaw from the Blackhawks for the 39th and 45th picks. They also traded forward Lars Eller to the Washington Capitals for a second-round pick in 2017 and in 2018.

 

 

1. round of Draft 2016:

 

1. Toronto Maple Leafs - Auston Matthews (center, , from: ZSC Lions, SUI)
2. Winnipeg Jets - Patrik Laine (right wing, , Tappara Tampere, FIN)
3. Columbus Blue Jackets - Pierre-Luc Dubois (left wing, , Cape Breton, QMJHL)
4. Edmonton Oilers - Jesse Puljujärvi (right wing, , Kärpät Oulu, FIN)
5. Vancouver Canucks - Olli Juolevi (defencer, , London, OHL)
6. Calgary Flames - Matthew Tkachuk (left wing, , London, OHL)
7. Arizona Coyotes - Clayton Keller (center, , USA U18 Project)
8. Buffalo Sabres - Alexander Nylander (left wing, , Mississauga, OHL)
9. Montreal Canadiens - Mikhail Sergachyov (defencer, , Windsor, OHL)
10. Colorado Avalanche - Tyson Jost (center, , Penticton, BCHL)

 

[phelps 7,698]

great night for Matthews and, above all, for the Finns and the US boys in general...they really dominated this draft...

 

and very interesting moves on the market, too...

 

the next NHL season looks more interesting than ever...I just can't wait for October, 12th...

 

 

by the way, the other big news of the week is the official birth of the 31st franchise of the NHL, Las Vegas...

 

they will start playing from the 2017/2018 season...

 

https://www.nhl.com/news/nhl-expands-to-las-vegas/c-281010682?tid=281011650

 

meanwhile Quebec City's dream to get their NHL team back must still wait...

Edited June 25, 2016 by phelps

[Finnator123 292]

Finland won the 1st round of NHL draft... I mean c'moon.. 3 finns in TOP 5!! 

[Finnator123 292]

On 24.5.2016 at 20:12, mihamiha said:

pretty good draw for our guys.we can play with norway,belarus and france

Slovenia has a rather difficult group 

[phelps 7,698]

Mark your calendars! KHL 2016/2017 Season Schedule unveiled

 

The KHL has unveiled the schedule for the 2016-17 Championship.

 

On Monday, the 22nd of August, the IX Championship of the Kontinental Hockey League gets underway and the regular season runs until Saturday, the 18th of February, 2017. The play-off stage is to start on Tuesday, the 21st of February. The number of games scheduled is 870 (compared with 840 in the 2015-16 regular season), and the addition of Kunlun Red Star of Beijing means a total of 29 clubs will contest the Championship.

 

In devising the calendar for the 2016-17 season, the League has strived to meet the needs and accommodate the wishes of the Russian national team, the member clubs, the fans of the game and the TV partners of the League.

 

The 870 games have been distributed over 158 match days, which means the League has accommodated a higher number of games and the consequent increase in the workload of the arenas without resorting to an extension of the regular season.

 

The specialists who compiled the calendar managed to conquer some serious organizational and logistical problems, and also had to observe a number of binding conditions, particularly those devised to serve the interests of the national team over the forthcoming season. For this reason, at the request of the Russian Hockey Federation and the Team Russia coaching staff, it was agreed that the knockout phase of the Championship should be completed no later than the 20th of April, i.e. at least two weeks before the start of the 2017 World Championships. The schedule also features breaks in the season to aid the national team as it competes in the various stages of the Eurotour.

 

In the spirit of compromise and in recognition of the intensity of the KHL schedule, the Russian Hockey Federation agreed that a list of clubs submitted by the League may play on days immediately before and after the Eurotour stages.

 

The League also paid considerable attention to the requirements of its TV partners, and so it is planned that the popular Hockey Mondays, which include live coverage on federal network Match TV, will feature all 29 teams over the course of the season.

 

The KHL member clubs also played an active role in formulating the schedule and provided invaluable input all through the preparation stage. In particular, the compilers had to allow for the frequent phenomenon of several of the arenas being unavailable on specific days of the year. In all, some 19 clubs supplied the League with dates upon which their stadia were to be used for non-hockey purposes, and the total number of days varied from 3 to 108.

 

The League also recognized the interests of the other national teams, of countries with clubs participating in the KHL, which over the season will be competing in various international competitions under the auspices of the IIHF.

 

Despite meeting the many obligations and accommodating the various interests, the schedule for the 2016-17 Championship boasts a number of advantages. One very positive aspect is that there will be KHL hockey on every day of the campaign, with the exception of the obligatory breaks in the season (14 days for the Eurotour stages, 4 days for the New Year holidays, 3 days for the All-Star Game, and one day to commemorate the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl tragedy). Also, no day will feature the maximum of 14 games.

 

Only 4 of the 29 teams will begin and end the regular season with home/road games. For the remaining 25 clubs, a home start means a finish on the road, while those who must travel for the opening game can look forward to ending the regular season in front of their own fans.

[ahjfcshfghb 288]

Chinese Taipei will apparently host and take part in a qualification for Division III next year. But they are only playing the UAE. Does that mean Div III is to have 7 teams? 

Also Division II B will be hosted in Auckland, where I live  Hopefully I can make it to a North Korean game and share some videos

[hckošice 14,872]

1 hour ago, ahjfcshfghb said:

Chinese Taipei will apparently host and take part in a qualification for Division III next year. But they are only playing the UAE. Does that mean Div III is to have 7 teams? 

Also Division II B will be hosted in Auckland, where I live  Hopefully I can make it to a North Korean game and share some videos

 

UAE must play the Div III Qualifiers, because of their withdrawal last year from the Div III Championship. and TPE won the Challenge Cup of Asia which means they are eligible to play the Qualifications at home for acceed to the world championships competitions.

 

The winner will qualify for Division III 2018.

 

That´s cool, must be really interesting to see Haka of the Ice blacks against North Korea

 

this one is from 2006

 

[ahjfcshfghb 288]

17 hours ago, hckosice said:

 

UAE must play the Div III Qualifiers, because of their withdrawal last year from the Div III Championship. and TPE won the Challenge Cup of Asia which means they are eligible to play the Qualifications at home for acceed to the world championships competitions.

 

The winner will qualify for Division III 2018.

 

That´s cool, must be really interesting to see Haka of the Ice blacks against North Korea

 

this one is from 2006

 

Interesting. By the last year's results they could easily do it. UAE also won the Gulf Cup and finished second in Asia so that's fitting as well.

I think Colombia as the winner of the Pan-American Tournament should also be invited. I mean they beat Mexico two years in a row (unless Mexico sends two 'B' teams?) 

Although they might not meet the IIHF requirements that excluded Mongolia, Greece and Ireland.

[bestmen 2,823]

 

the first edition  of the African cup

25 to 30/07/2016 Rabat Morocco

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 26, 2016 by bestmen