Archive for June, 2013
Ryan Hartman was not selected as high as he was projected to go, but I don’t think he will mind be selected by his hometown team, the Chicago Blackhawks. “Being a hometown kid makes it a little sweeter.” Hartman stated about being selected by the Blackhawks and does not think that this being his hometown tema will add any pressure, in fact he feels that it is a positive.
Where do we go from here. Hartman sound like he is going to play for the Whalers next year rather than breaking the line up of the Blackhawks.
With him undergoing shoulder surgery in the off-season, that does not seem like a wild expectation. It could be much like Brandon Saad two seasons ago. almost break the line up the first year, but will be a key player the season after that.
Video of Ryan Hartman being selected:
http://video.nhl.com/videocenter/console?catid=0&id=261470&cmpid=embed-share-video
Ryan Hartman’s Prospect Profile:
http://video.nhl.com/videocenter/console?catid=0&id=241842&cmpid=embed-share-video
Nate MacKinnon was selected first overall by Colorado. That was not that big of a surprise, but there has been some action here at the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.
Seth Jones, who was thought to go first overall ended up falling to the fourth spot and is now a Nashville Predator.
The biggest news of the top ten picks is the trade for the ninth spot that was held by the host city New Jersey Devils. The goalie conflict is over in Vancouver as the Canucks trade away Cory Schneider to take Bo Horvat from the London Knights.
The top ten picks are listed below.
1. Colorado Avalanche — Nathan MacKinnon (Center, Halifax, QMJHL)
2. Florida Panthers — Aleksander Barkov (Center, Tappara, Finland)
3. Tampa Bay Lightning — Jonathan Drouin (Left Wing, Halifax, QMJHL)
4. Nashville Predators — Seth Jones (Defense, Portland, WHL)
5. Carolina Hurricanes — Elias Lindholm (Center, Brynas, Sweden)
6. Calgary Flames — Sean Monahan (Center, Ottawa, OHL)
7. Edmonton Oilers — Darnell Nurse (Defense, Sault Ste. Marie, OHL)
8. Buffalo Sabres — Rasmus Ristolainen (Defense, TPS, Finland)
9. Vancouver Canucks (from New Jersey) — Bo Horvat (Center, London, OHL)
10. Dallas Stars — Valeri Nichushkin (Right Wing, Chelyabinsk, Russia)
Off Season Moves: Matt Mahalak
Posted: June 3, 2013 in Preseason, Trade, WhalersTags: kingston frontenacs, michael whaley, nhl entry draft, noesen, uvira, Whalers
Matt Mahalak visits with kids in the community. via Flickr
Matt Mahalak has officially played his last game for the Whalers as he was traded to the Kingston Frontenacs for Windsor’s 2014 third round pick and Kingston’s 2015 third round pick earlier today. Mahalak who is enetering his OA year in the OHL leaves Plymouth with a 49-27-5-6 record, including seven shutouts in 97 games.
Mahalak was also in the news as the Hurricanes did not offer the 20-year-old goaltender a contract before a deadline last Friday, meaning that he could end up being a free agent pick up or enter the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.
The trade is the first of a couple moves expected this off season. Before the trade today the Whalers had up to ten 1993 birthdays on their roster. With Mahalak traded and the Whalers organization predicting a number of players starting their pro career (Stefan Noesen, Rickard Rakell, Garrett Meurs and Vince Trocheck) it does help cut the list of OA’s that the Whalers will have to start the season down to Nick Malysa, Curtis Crombeen, Zach Lorentz, Michael Whaley and Sebastian Uvira.
Whalers On The Moon 