All-Star Game Preview!

The All-Star Game in Raleigh is next week! It's hard to believe that after waiting so long for it, it's finally almost here!

I suppose the first thing that needs to be addressed is the All-Star format this year. This is the first year with the new "Fantasy Draft" where two All-Star captains will pick à la grade school who is on their team. When the format was first announced, I wasn't overly impressed with it, but as we get closer to next weekend I must say I'm getting excited. The Canes own Eric Staal and the Red Wings Nicklas Lidstrom will be the captains (with Patrick Kane and Martin St. Louis as the alternate captains for Team Lidstrom and Ryan Kesler and Mike Green as the alternates for Team Staal), and there are a lot of ways that this draft could play out. Will Staal go with kin and pick his brother? Will either player favor teammates above other players?

And, of course, the question that I can't wait to be answered - who will be Mr. Irrelevant? Having been picked close to the bottom of quite a few gym class drafts, I'll take a sort of morbid pleasure in watching the greatest of the great squirm as they hope that they're not the last one.

The toughest question to answer is who should we, as fans, cheer for? I suppose since Staal is one of the captains I will end up cheering for his team. (Also, I always by default choose red over blue - even though in this case I think the blue jerseys look more stylish than the red ones.) However, I think I'll relish the opportunity to cheer if someone like Dustin Byfuglien scores - something I could never do when he plays for Atlanta - no matter what captain's team he is on.

The roster that the captains have to pick from is pretty stacked as well. There's always grumblings about who was/wasn't picked, but let's just gloss over that. From a Canes perspective, I'm not surprised to see the tandem of Staal and Cam Ward picked, because both have been the better players on the team this year. (Minus Jeff Skinner, of course, but he was nominated to the rookie squad). I'm a little surprised that Cam did make the cut, as there are a few goalies that probably have a little better numbers and have looked a little better - but I suppose that this is when having the game in Raleigh helps out a lot.

Of course, the game itself is not the only thing going on that weekend. The Skills Competition occurs on Saturday, and I am really excited to see this as well. Specifically the "Breakaway Challenge" - because who knows what kind of moves Ovechkin is going to pull this year? The twelve rookies named to the squad will participate in the skills segment, and I'm also really curious to see how the Jeff Skinner will do - I'm betting that he's better than some of the "real" All-Stars.

And, yeah, there's this other thing going on during the All-Star weekend. The Guardian Project. If you somehow haven't heard of this (don't worry, it probably just means you don't read as many hockey blogs and/or satire as me), well, I'm sorry to have to be the one to explain it to you. Apparently the NHL teamed up with Stan Lee and created a superhero for each of the NHL teams. Which kind of maybe sounds cool to the half of me that's still stuck as a middle schooler, but to the skeptical adult side it just sounds lame. Because hockey is cool as it is... why exactly do we need superheroes to bring across the awesomeness?

Anyways, the Canes one looks like this and gains points from me for having "the calculating mind of an intellectual". And also not looking like he's carrying around a Big Wheel, like the Red Wing one. But the whole project loses major cool points for not having a woman superhero. Girls can kick ass and like hockey too, ya know...

Guardian Project aside, I am really excited for next weekend. Finally the Caniac Nation is showcased as a host, and I can not wait to see the game and experience the fun atmosphere that I know will be present.

Draft Day 2010

Today is draft day!

As I mentioned in my previous post, the Canes have the 7th overall pick in tonight's draft. It looks like they're pretty content with staying at that spot, so I doubt they'll move up at all.

The Canes site has been previewing the prospects likely to be on the board when the Canes draft, and I have picked out my choice if I was the one making the picks tonight.

Nino Niederreiter. No, I don't know how to pronounce the name, but comparisons to ERIK COLE will definitely get my attention and approval. Apparently he plays a physical game and scored 60 goals in 65 games with his junior team - a power forward for sure. Please, Rutherford, draft this guy. You can always use a power forward.

Anyways, the Canes site also has what amounts to a summary of what's going on with the team. To do a summary of a summary, they might trade some of their later picks for another first rounder, but it would have to be a significant player to do that. Ray Whitney, sadly, seems to ready to part with the team, but Rutherford is still keeping the door open. Justin Peters looks to be the backup goalie and any buyouts will occur after the draft.

Making a splash around the league, the Stanley Cup Champion Blackhawks traded Dustin Byfuglien, Brent Sopel, Ben Eager and a prospect to the Thrashers for a first and second rounder, Marty Reasoner, a prospect, and another forward. Which means that the Canes will have to regularly face Byfuglien's presence in front of the net - likely not a fun situation.

Draft starts at 7 tonight!

Thoughts after Two

So both of the Conference Finals have played two games, and there are two 2-0 leads.

First up, the East. It looks like the Canadiens' Cinderella run may have come to an end. The Flyers have completely dominated them in both games, winning 6-0 in the first game, and then 3-0 in Game 2.

Hm... having a Cinderella run after being a low seed abruptly end in the Conference Finals... I'm sure us Caniacs have no idea how that feels...

Granted, the series isn't over yet, and if the Flyers of last round have taught us anything, it's that the near-impossible can happen in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. And the Canadiens have come back in a series already this playoff season against the C[r]apitals - but they're going to have to play significantly better in their next games if they want to accomplish the feat again.

The Western Finals have produced games that are definitely more interesting, although still with the same lopsided series result. The first game came down to the last minute, the Sharks receiving a powerplay and could have tied the game, but Antti Niemi came up strong and the Blackhawks won 2-1.

Game 2 didn't come down to the wire in the same way, but it was certainly closer than the Eastern Conference game that was aired before it. Ex-Cane Andrew Ladd had a very nice goal to open up scoring for the Hawks. The Blackhawks went on to score two more and the Sharks couldn't recover and lost the game 4-2.

And, just a question, but one that's been bothering me for a while. Dustin Byfuglien. Apparently, his last name is pronounced "Buff-lin". WHERE DOES THE 'G' GO?! Seriously, who looked at that last name and came up with that pronunciation? Although, it makes me curious to see how Chuck Kaiton would say it on the radio...

Finally, I've been a little lax in Canes news of late, so let me get you caught up. Last Thursday the Canes traded a 5th round pick to Phoenix for Jared Staal, Eric's youngest brother. Then on Friday they signed him to an entry-level contract. Apparently Jared is not the instant NHL sensation that his other forward brothers were, expected to stay in the minors for a bit longer. But I can't see an issue with having another Staal in the system, when the others have turned out so well.

Recent news is that Anton Babchuk may be back on his way to the States, Rutherford sounding confident that he'll be back this season. Our blueline has definitely missed his slapshot in his absence, but I can't help but remember how he completely disappeared in the 2009 playoffs. He has extreme amounts of potential... but potential that has only seemed to have shown in spurts throughout his career with the Canes. Although, I suppose the worst that could happen with his return is that he sits in the press box.

Well, that's all I've got for today! Playoff games resume on Thursday with Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Final.