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~ Hockey for Fans and Players of Color

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Tag Archives: Dustin Byfuglien

Racist taunts toward Smith-Pelly by ‘fans’ ignores the history of their favorite team

18 Sunday Feb 2018

Posted by William Douglas in Uncategorized

≈ 5 Comments

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Chicago Blackhawks, Devante Smith-Pelly, Dustin Byfuglien, Johnny Oduya, Ray Emery, Washington Capitals

GANGNEUNG, SOUTH KOREA I just want to drop a few names on the Chicago Blackhawks “fans” who had their butts not-so-surgically removed from their United Center seats Saturday for allegedly hurling racist taunts at Washington Capitals forward Devante Smith-Pelly.

Dirk Graham, Johnny Oduya, Dustin Byfuglien, Ray Emery, Jamal Mayers, and Trevor Daley.

These are black players or players of African descent who skated for the team that you root for – or rooted for before Blackhawks management ejected you from fairly high-priced seats for supposedly directing racial remarks toward Smith-Pelly.

Black players helped make the Blackhawks winners and hoist Stanley Cups.

Oduya was a mainstay on defense on the ‘Hawks 2012-13 and 2014-15 championship teams. Emery was the solid backup goaltender for the 2012-13 Cup winner. Mayers, a forward, added defensive toughness to that team for 19 regular season games that season.

And Byfuglien was a disruptive power forward that the Philadelphia Flyers struggled to control in the 2009-10 Stanley Cup Final.

Former Chicago Blackhawks goalie Ray Emery.

Graham was a gritty heat-and-soul captain of a Blackhawks teams that were competitive. He even scored a hat trick in Game 4 in the 1992 Stanley Cup Final won by the Pittsburgh Penguins.

These are all men of color who played for your team. For. Your. Team.

Imagine if Oduya, Byfuglien, and Emery adhered to the taunts aimed at Smith-Pelly and they played for, say, the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks instead of the NHL’s Blackhawks?

The idea that you could be shocked and appalled in this day and age at the sight of a black guy being on the ice or in the penalty box at a hockey game means you either don’t know your own team or that Smith-Pelly’s skin simply got under yours.

Devante Smith-Pelly on the incident last night in Chicago. pic.twitter.com/Oz9qfFWMQH

— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) February 18, 2018

Either way, it wasn’t a good look. I wonder what recently-acquired Blackhawks forward Anthony Duclair must be thinking after watching those home “fans” giving an opposing minority player the business by using race as a weapon.

Former Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Johnny Oduya.

Kudos to the management of the Chicago Blackhawks, Washington Capitals and National Hockey League for taking swift action on this ugly incident.

Captials Head Coach Barry Trotz was right when he said “There is absolutely no place in the game of hockey or our country for racism.”

“It just shows ignorance,” he added.

Follow the Color of Hockey on Facebook and Twitter @ColorOfHockey. And download the Color of Hockey podcast from iTunes, Stitcher, SoundCloud and Google Play.

 

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USA Hockey’s K’Andre Miller proves that looks, and stereotypes, can be deceiving

07 Tuesday Nov 2017

Posted by William Douglas in Uncategorized

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Dustin Byfuglien, J.T. Brown, K'Andre Miller, Kyle Okposo, Los Angeles Kings, Mikko Koivu, Minnesota Wild, Tampa Bay Lightning, University of Wisconsin, USA Hockey, Winnipeg Jets

K’Andre Miller remembers getting occasional odd looks or sometimes racially-coded responses after telling people what sport he plays.

K’Andre Miller, defense, USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program (Photo/Rena Laverty/USA Hockey).

“They didn’t see me as ‘the hockey player type.’ I was a long, skinny kid. I looked like a basketball player,” Miller told me recently. “Every time I would go out to eat, people would be, like, ‘Oh, you play basketball, don’t you?’ I’d be like, ‘No, I actually play hockey.’ And they’d be like ‘Wow, you don’t really look like that type of player.'”

As a defenseman on USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program Under-18 squad, Miller is proving them wrong.

The 6-foot-3, 191-pound 17-year-old from Minnetonka, Minnesota, is blossoming into a blue-chip blue-liner for the NTDP after making the switch from forward only two season ago.

Miller, who’ll turn 18 on Jan. 21, will be eligible for the 2018 National Hockey League Draft in June in Dallas. NHL Central Scouting gave Miller a “B” rating last month, meaning he’s projected to be second or third-round pick.

He played in the 2017 CCM/USA Hockey All-American Prospects Game in Buffalo, New York, in September. He’s tallied 2 assists in the U.S. National Under-18 team’s first 13 games of the 2017-18 season and notched 3 goals and 14 assists in 54 games for the Under-17 squad in 2016-17.

NHL Central Scouting projects defenseman K’Andre Miller to be a second or third-round pick in the 2018 NHL Draft in June (Photo/Rena Laverty/USA Hockey).

Headquartered in Plymouth, Michigan, the national team development program competes internationally, and also plays U.S. colleges and teams in the United States Hockey League, the nation’s only Tier 1 junior league.

While Miller has his sights set on playing in the NHL, he’ll attend the University of Wisconsin first.

He’s committed to play for the Badgers and Head Coach Tony Granto – who’s also the bench boss for the 2018 U.S. Winter Olympics men’s hockey team in South Korea in February – starting in the 2018-19 season.

If  Miller achieves his NHL goal, give an assist to to Minnesota Wild team captain Mikko Koivu.

“For my ninth birthday, I went down to Dallas to watch the Stars play the Wild,” Miller told me. “We went down to the locker room after the game and Mikko came up to me, shook my hand, said happy birthday, and asked when the next time I would be at a home game in Minnesota because he was going to try to get me a stick.

K’Andre Miller looks forward to playing in the NHL someday. But first he’ll play for the University of Wisconsin, starting next season (Photo/Rena Laverty/USA Hockey).

“I went back to the rink in Minnesota about two months later and he picked me out in the stands, he had the trainer come up with a stick and hand it right to me,” Miller added. “That was probably the coolest experience I think I’ve ever had with an NHL player.”

That experience helped seal the deal for Miller wanting to become a professional hockey player. But Miller’s uncle, Ken, should also get an assist for exposing his nephew to the game at an early age.

“He would take me out on the rink when I was little,” Miller recalled. “I started skating when I was two and he kind of helped me, put a stick in my hand, kind of taught me the game.

“I’d go over to his house whenever I wanted to and just watch games with him,” he added. “One of the cool things I still like about my Uncle Ken is whenever I usually go over there, we play roller hockey in his backyard.”

K’Andre Miller, right, is all smiles playing for USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program (Photo/Rena Laverty/USA Hockey).

Minnesota has produced several talented black hockey players, including Winnipeg Jets defenseman Dustin Byfuglien, forwards Kyle Okposo of the Buffalo Sabres and J.T. Brown of the Tampa Bay Lightning, and Keegan Iverson, a 2014 NHL draftee who plays for the Ontario Reign, the Los Angeles Kings’ American Hockey League farm team.

But that hasn’t stopped some folks from wondering what the tall black kid from Minnetonka is doing on the ice with a stick in his hand. Miller takes pride in showing doubters that he’s built for the NHL.

“It’s always been my motivation to prove to people that no matter what your skin color is, what you look like in general, you can do whatever you want if you put your mind to it,” he said. “When I see people of color in my community in Minnetonka and Hopkins trying to play hockey, I always go up to them whenever I can and straight-up tell them ‘Don’t listen to what anybody says. Play whatever you want to play, if it’s hockey, soccer, lacrosse, tennis, whatever you want to do. Just do it.'”

Follow the Color of Hockey on Facebook and Twitter @ColorOfHockey. And download the Color of Hockey podcast from iTunes, Stitcher, SoundCloud and Google Play.

 

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How diverse is the NHL? Take a look

19 Wednesday Oct 2016

Posted by William Douglas in Uncategorized

≈ 1 Comment

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Alec Martinez, Auston Matthews, Dustin Byfuglien, Joel Ward, P.K. Subban, Trevor Daley

They hail from different places and backgrounds. They’re of different races, ethnic groups, and faiths. But put a stick in their hands and skates on their feet, they’re all the same: hockey players.

It’s fun writing about the history and growing impact of people of color in hockey, but frustrating at the same time. A lot of people still don’t realize how diverse the sport is becoming, how the face of hockey is changing.

Seeing is believing, so here are some of the players of color who were on the rosters of National Hockey League teams when the 2016-17 season opened last week. If you have any questions about the players, take a deeper dive into this blog for some of their stories.

 

 Auston Matthews, F, Toronto Maple Leafs

Auston Matthews, F, Toronto Maple Leafs

Dustin Byfuglien, D, Winnipeg Jets

Dustin Byfuglien, D, Winnipeg Jets

Kyle Okposo, F, Buffalo Sabres

Kyle Okposo, F, Buffalo Sabres

Nazem Kadri, F, Toronto Maple Leafs

Nazem Kadri, F, Toronto Maple Leafs

 J.T. Brown, F, Tampa Bay Lightning

J.T. Brown, F, Tampa Bay Lightning

 Joel Ward, F, San Jose Sharks

Joel Ward, F, San Jose Sharks

Nail Yakupov, F, St. Louis Blues

Nail Yakupov, F, St. Louis Blues

Ryan Reaves, F, St. Louis Blues

Ryan Reaves, F, St. Louis Blues

 Trevor Daley, D, Pittsburgh Penguins

Trevor Daley, D, Pittsburgh Penguins

Wayne Simmonds, F, Philadelphia Flyers

Wayne Simmonds, F, Philadelphia Flyers

 Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, F, Philadelphia Flyers

Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, F, Philadelphia Flyers

Mika Zibanejad, F, New York Rangers

Mika Zibanejad, F, New York Rangers

Devante Smith-Pelly, F, New Jersey Devils

Devante Smith-Pelly, F, New Jersey Devils

P.K. Subban, D, Nashville Predators

P.K. Subban, D, Nashville Predators

Carey Price, G, Montreal Canadiens

Carey Price, G, Montreal Canadiens

Al Montoya, G, Montreal Canadiens

Al Montoya, G, Montreal Canadiens

Chris Stewart, F, Minnesota Wild

Chris Stewart, F, Minnesota Wild

Matt Dumba, D, Minnesota Wild

Matt Dumba, D, Minnesota Wild

Jordan Nolan, F, Los Angeles Kings

Jordan Nolan, F, Los Angeles Kings

 Alec Martinez, D, Los Angeles Kings

Alec Martinez, D, Los Angeles Kings

Johnny Oduya, D, Dallas Stars

Johnny Oduya, D, Dallas Stars

Darnell Nurse, D, Edmonton Oilers

Darnell Nurse, D, Edmonton Oilers

 Brandon Saad, F, Columbus Blue Jackets

Brandon Saad, F, Columbus Blue Jackets

 Seth Jones, D, Columbus Blue Jackets

Seth Jones, D, Columbus Blue Jackets

 Jordan Tootoo, F, Chicago Blackhawks.

Jordan Tootoo, F, Chicago Blackhawks.

Anthony Duclair, forward, Arizona Coyotes.

Anthony Duclair, forward, Arizona Coyotes.

 Jarome Iginla, F, Colorado Avalanche

Jarome Iginla, F, Colorado Avalanche

Evander Kane, F, Buffalo Sabres.

Evander Kane, F, Buffalo Sabres.

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Minority players having big impact in World Cup of Hockey, from scoring to sitting

18 Sunday Sep 2016

Posted by William Douglas in Uncategorized

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Carey Price, Columbus Blue Jackets, Dustin Byfuglien, John Tortorella, Montreal Canadiens, Philadelphia Flyers, Pierre -Edouard Bellemare, Seth Jones, Team USA, Winnipeg Jets, World Cup of Hockey

The World Cup of Hockey is only a few days old and already players of color are having a huge impact in the best-on-best international tournament – from a brother from France scoring to Big Buff sitting.

Pierre-Edouard Bellemare

Pierre-Edouard Bellemare

 Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, a Philadelphia Flyers forward and Team Europe’s only French member, put a dagger in Team USA in the World Cup opener Saturday, scoring on a neat second-period tip-in in Europe’s 3-0 shocker over the United States.

On a Europe squad stacked with firepower the likes of Anze Kopitar of the Los Angeles Kings and the Chicago Blackhawks’ Marian Hossa, Bellemare made the most of his 15 minutes-plus of ice time, registering a goal, one shot, and one hit. He won 36 percent of his face-offs.

Le but de Pierre Edouard Bellemare avec la Team Europe face aux USA ! #WCH2016 pic.twitter.com/riXzeOIKWI

— NHL France (@NHL_France_) September 17, 2016

Unbelievable that we just let Pierre Edouard Bellemare score on us, dudes a 4th liner on a mediocre nhl team #wtf

— Alec Astorga (@AAstorga33) September 17, 2016

Embed from Getty Images

While Team Europe basked in its upset victory, Team USA Head Coach John Tortorella faced questions about his decision not to dress Winnipeg Jets defenseman Dustin Byfgulien for Saturday’s game.

The 6-foot-5, 265-pound Byfuglien is one of the National Hockey League’s best offensive blue-liners, blessed with one of the league’s hardest and most-accurate shots. He was eighth in scoring among NHL defensemen last season with 19 goals and 34 assists.

Dustin Byfuglien

Dustin Byfuglien

He’s the highest-scoring defenseman on a Team USA roster that includes John Carlson and Matt Niskanen of the Washington Capitals, Jack Johnson of the Columbus Blue Jackets, Erik Johnson of the Colorado Avalanche, Ryan Suter of the Minnesota Wild, and the New York Rangers’ Ryan McDonagh.

“Well, I have to take someone out, and Buff has been used on defense and forward, along with Kyle Palmieri as a right winger, too, and we made the decision for this game, this was our best lineup,” Tortorella explained after the game. “It’s certainly not a negative thought on Buff, but we decided to go with this lineup tonight.”

John Tortorella's controversial benching haunts Team USA – New York Post https://t.co/cSCTO7RYUD

— US Sports News (@USSportsNews360) September 18, 2016

 

I can't think of a single coach in the NHL, save for John Tortorella apparently, who would choose Jack Johnson over Dustin Byfuglien.

— Ken Campbell (@THNKenCampbell) September 17, 2016

Interesting lineup decisions by Team USA head coach John Tortorella as Kyle Palmieri and Dustin Byfuglien will… https://t.co/16vbeTCYhX

— Scott Burnside (@ESPN_Burnside) September 17, 2016

Don’t know about you, but I think Tortorella might pencil Byfuglien into the lineup when Team USA faces Canada Tuesday night.

Byfuglien and Bellemare are among five players of color participating in the eight-team World Cup of Hockey tourney. Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price, whose mother is a former chief of the Ulkatcho First Nation, Toronto Maple Leafs rookie forward Auston Matthews, and Blue Jackets defenseman Seth Jones are the other three.

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No way, P.K.: Canada leaves Subban off its World Cup of Hockey roster

28 Saturday May 2016

Posted by William Douglas in Uncategorized

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Chicago Blackhawks, Columbus Blue Jackets, Duncan Keith, Dustin Byfuglien, Montreal Canadiens, P.K. Subban, Seth Jones, Winnipeg Jets

Teams participating in the World Cup of Hockey finalized their rosters Friday, providing plenty of news about who’s in and who’s out of the eight-team tournament.

Three black players will represent their countries in the games to be played Sept. 17-Oct. 1 at Toronto’s Air Canada Centre, home of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Montreal Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban wasn't among the players picked for Canada's World Cup of Hockey team.

Montreal Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban wasn’t among the players picked for Canada’s World Cup of Hockey team.

Toronto is also the home town of Montreal Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban. But Subban, the 2013 Norris Trophy winner as the National Hockey League’s best defenseman, won’t be there because Team Canada didn’t add him to its roster.

“The decisions weren’t easy, and with the depth of player talent we have in Canada, we knew it would be a difficult process to finalize our roster – but it’s what we signed up for, and we feel we’ve been able to put together the right balance to create a winning team,” Team Canada General Manager Doug Armstrong said.

Canada selected seven blue-liners: Brent Burns  and Marc-Edouard Vlasic of the San Jose Sharks; Drew Doughty  and Jake Muzzin of the Los Angeles Kings; Duncan Keith of the Chicago Blackhawks;  Alex Pietrangelo of the St. Louis Blues; and Shea Weber of the Nashville Predators.

Subban was 12th among NHL defensemen in scoring in the 2015-16 regular season with 6 goals and 45 assists in 68 games. Weber finished ninth among D-men with 20 goals and 31 assists and Doughty was tenth with 14 goals and 37 assists.

An article in Canada’s National Post Saturday had a lead that summed up the Subban skip best: “Call him P.K. Snubban.”

“OK, so the nickname needs a little work but that doesn’t excuse the fact the reimagined World Cup of Hockey will be devoid of one of its marquee talents: The marvelous P.K. Subban,” John Matisz wrote.

Subban’s talent is undeniable. Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Trevor Daley, appearing in filmmaker Damon Kwame Mason’s “Soul on Ice, Past, Present and Future” black hockey history documentary, said Subban should simply be known as “Norris” – as in Norris Trophy.

Embed from Getty Images

Subban represented Canada at the 2014 Winter Olympics, but Team Canada Head Coach Mike Babcock made it clear that he wasn’t a fan of Subban’s game. He played only 11 minutes – all in one game – during the entire Olympics.

Many Subban fans feel he’s disrespected by the Canadian hockey establishment – be it the Canadiens, Hockey Canada, or old-school hockey heads who think he’s too mouthy, too flashy, too…whatever.

After Montreal endured the hockey season from hell –  a 38-38-6 record, no playoff berth – the Canadian rapper Wasiu had had enough with the Subban bashing.

Earlier this month, Wasiu picked up the mic and dropped “P.K. Subban,” a sometimes-explicit tribute to the player he says is “putting the city on his back.”

“The Canadiens had a bad season and the local media pointed the finger at P.K.,” Wasiu wrote in an essay for Fader. “It’s funny though, because he’s the best player and we all know he isn’t the problem. Same way when there’s violence that occurs at a club or in general, the thinking is to go check on the black people first because they look like they ‘fit the description’ – even if they weren’t the ones to start any problems.”

Wasiu’s is the second rap homage to Subban and his skills. Toronto-based rapper/producer Saukrates contributed “Say I” in 2011 as part of a Nike ad campaign that featured Subban.

If P.K. was P.O.’d about being excluded from the World Cup of Hockey, he didn’t show it over the weekend. Hanging out with the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre Saturday, Subban told Canada’s Sportsnet “I just want to see Canada win gold. So, I’ll be there cheering just like everybody else.”

“It’s a selection process,” he added. “So either you get selected, or you don’t . All I can do is be a model citizen. I’m Canadian so I support my country and I support my team just like everybody else.”

Batter up ⚾️ @BlueJays @JoeyBats19 @BringerOfRain20 @DAVIDprice24 @MichaelRay26 pic.twitter.com/6DiyPU34ph

— P.K. Subban (@PKSubban1) May 28, 2016

Dallas Stars' Johnny Oduya.

Dallas Stars’ Johnny Oduya.

Another notable World Cup omission is Dallas Stars defenseman Johnny Oduya from Team Sweden’s roster.

Oduya, who won Stanley Cups with Chicago in 2013 and 2015, represented his country at the 2014 and 2010 Winter Olympics and the 2009 International Ice Hockey Federation World Championship.

Despite no Oduya and no Subban, there will still be players of color to watch at the World Cup tournament.

Embed from Getty Images

Winnipeg Jets defenseman Dustin Byfuglien  will skate for Team USA. The Minneapolis-born big man – 6-foot-5, 260-pounds – with the booming slap shot finished third on the Jets in scoring in 2015-16 with 19 goals and 34 assists in 81 games.

Embed from Getty Images

Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Seth Jones made the World Cup’s Team North America roster. The Texas-born Jones tallied 2 goals and 18 assists in 41 games for Columbus after being acquired from the Predators.

Embed from Getty Images

Team Europe added Philadelphia Flyers left wing Pierre-Edourard Bellemare to its roster Friday. Bellemare, who is from France, had 7 goals and 7 assists in 74 games for the Flyers.

 

 

 

 

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Evander Kane gets shuffled off to Buffalo by Winnipeg Jets in multi-player trade

12 Thursday Feb 2015

Posted by William Douglas in Uncategorized

≈ 1 Comment

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Barrie Colts, Brendan Lemieux, Buffalo Sabres, Dustin Byfuglien, Evander Kane, Winnipeg Jets

Evander Kane goes from the True North to Western New York in trade.

Evander Kane goes from the True North to Western New York in trade.

After years of trade rumors, the Winnipeg Jets and forward Evander Kane have finally parted ways.

The Jets shipped Kane, who had season-ending left shoulder surgery, defenseman Zach Bogosian, and college goaltender Jason Kasdorf to the Buffalo Sabres Wednesday in a seven-player trade. The Jets received gigantic defenseman Tyler Myers and forwards Drew Stafford and Joel Armia. Winnipeg also received the rights to Barrie Colts forward Brendan Lemieux, who was Buffalo’s 2014 second-round draft pick.

Both teams proclaimed the trade a win-win situation. Buffalo got a big, talented, speedy, tough forward whose shoulder injury won’t allow him to play until next season.

Kane can’t help the Sabres this season, meaning the team is still on course to have one of the worst records in the National Hockey League, meaning it will have a shot at the first or second pick in 2015 NHL Draft. That means Erie Otters and Team Canada wunderkind forward Connor McDavid or Boston University and Team USA star forward Jack Eichel could be snacking on Buffalo chicken wings or beef on weck this fall.

“The sense I get from Buffalo is that, yes, they’re rebuilding but they’re not going to sit around and wait,” Kane told ESPN.com’s Pierre LeBrun. “They’re looking to do something now. It’s nice to go somewhere where you feel wanted and you feel they want to put you in a situation to have success.”

For Buffalo, mired in last place in the NHL Eastern Conference, it’s all about 2015-16 and beyond.

For Winnipeg it’s about here and now. The Jets are sitting in fifth place in the Western Conference, sandwiched between the fourth-place Chicago Blackhawks and the sixth-place Vancouver Canucks.

The Jets and their fans desperately want the team to make the playoffs for the first time since it relocated from Atlanta, where it was called the Thrashers.

By unloading Kane, Winnipeg’s management may feel that they’ve made an addition through subtraction. He had developed a reputation as a problem-child – an immature, bad teammate.

In addition, his brashness rubbed some Winnipeg residents the wrong way. His hip-hop hairstyles and photos of him clutching wads of cash in his hands didn’t endear him to some folks in Manitoba’s capital. Kane summed up the negative perception of him in an interview with The Hockey News in 2013.

“I think a good portion of it is because I’m black and I’m not afraid to say that,” Kane told the publication.

In Myers, the Jets get the 2009-10 NHL Rookie of the Year whose play had been up and down ever since. Winnipeg’s counting on a change of scenery and a shift to a winning franchise to improve his play. One thing’s for sure, the 6-foot, 7-inch Myers, paired with 6-foot, 5-inch, 260-pound defenseman Dustin Byfuglien, will give the Jets size that any NBA team would love.

Winnipeg also gets an intriguing and motivated prospect in Lemieux, the son of former Stanley Cup-winning super-pest Claude Lemieux.

Evander Kane has a wounded shoulder. Brendan Lemieux has a chip on his. He was the first player selected in the second-round of last year’s draft, but thought he was first-round material.

Lemieux vowed to make teams that bypassed him pay. Expect him to enter the Jets training camp in September gunning for a roster spot to deliver on his word.

“I’m definitely going to love going in their arenas and making it hard on their guys because they decided to pass me over, so I’m just going to use this as fuel,” he told the reporters at the draft  in Philadelphia. “They gave one of the more fiery guys in the draft, I’d like to say, a lot more fire.”

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NHLers wait – and hope – for spots on U.S. Olympic ice hockey team

27 Tuesday Aug 2013

Posted by William Douglas in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

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Barclays Center, Brooklyn, Chicago Blackhawks, Dustin Byfuglien, New York Islanders, Patrick Kane, Phil Kessel, Seth Jones, Toronto Maple Leafs

New York Islanders forward Kyle Okposo spends a lot of time these days  waiting- and it never felt so good for the Minnesota native.

Okposo and his wife are expecting the birth of their first child in January. He’s waiting for the Islanders 2015 move from Long Island to suddenly hip downtown Brooklyn and the Barclays Center And he’s waiting to learn whether he’ll make the cut and play for the United States men’s hockey team at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, in February.

Kyle Okposo awaits birth of first child and berth on U.S. Olympic hockey team.

Kyle Okposo awaits birth of first child and berth on U.S. Olympic hockey team.

Okposo was all smiles Monday as he joined 47 other professional hockey players who were invited to attend USA Hockey’s two-day pre-Olympics orientation camp at the Washington Capitals’ practice facility in Arlington, Va.

“It would be awesome, pretty special to represent my country,” Okposo said. “I’ve represented my country at a lot of different events, but never the Olympics. It was definitely nice to be invited to this camp.”

While he’s waiting for good things, Okposo admits that – to borrow a line from a Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers song – the waiting is the hardest part when it comes to whether or not he’ll be selected for Sochi.

The final decision on the team won’t be made until the weeks before the Olympics. The U.S. national team, piloted by Pittsburgh Penguins Head Coach Dan Bylsma, will pick talent based on how the invitees to this week camp perform for their NHL or minor league teams in the opening months of the season.

“This is going to be in the back of your mind, the Olympics,” Okposo said. “That being said, what’s going to dictate you being on the team is how you play on the ice for your NHL team. So that has to be your first and foremost thought. You have to play well and do everything for your own team in order to make this one.”

Okposo hopes he’ll have a better start to the upcoming season that he did during the labor dispute-shortened, 48-game, 2012-13 season. Last season, the right wing only registered only 4 goals and 20 assists.

But he turned things around in the second half on the season. He scored three goals and one assists in six games in the Stanley Cup playoffs opening round against the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Islanders lost the series.

His numbers pale compared to those of Chicago Blackhawks right wing Patrick Kane, Toronto Maple Leafs forwards James van Reimsdyk and Phil Kessel, and other players invited to the pre-Olympics camp. But he has intangibles that the U.S. national team covets.

Okposo has experience playing on larger ice surfaces like the one in Sochi. Most rinks international rinks are 200-by-100 feet, which increases the importance of skating ability. NHL rinks are 200-by-85 feet. Okposo spent his college career playing on the University of Minnesota’s international-size ice surface.

Both the U.S. and Canada are so concerned about the larger ice surface, which they believe contributed to poor Olympic performances off North American soil, that Canada Head Coach Mike Babcock of the Detroit Red Wings held ball hockey walkthroughs with his prospective players in Calgary Monday in an arena with a melted international-sized rink surface.

“Skating is magnified more so on the Olympic sheet. To have a team that can move is definitely going to be a factor,” Okposo said. “All the guys in the NHL are going to have an adjustment the first time they get on (international-sized) ice.”

Defenseman Seth Jones, who the Nashville Predators selected with the fourth pick in June’s NHL draft, has experience on the big rink from playing on the U.S. junior national team that won the gold medal at the 2013 World Championship last December in Ufa, Russia.

Though he’s yet to play a minute in the NHL, Jones said he’s setting his sights on Sochi.

Seth Jones hopes to make the Nashville Predators - then the Olympic team.

Seth Jones hopes to make the Nashville Predators – then the Olympic team.

“It feels unbelievable to be invited here with all these great players and being thought of in the same category with some of these guys,” Jones said. “Obviously there are a lot of great defenseman here and they’re very deep, but we’ll see. I’ve got to make Nashville first, and I’ll have to have a pretty good start to the year to make it. But that’s definitely my goal.”

Brian Burke, the U.S. national team’s director of player personnel and former general manager of the Maple Leafs, said it’s not beyond the realm of possibility for  Jones to wear the U.S. red, white and blue come February.

“It might be a steep hill for Seth, but he’s always exceeded expectations to this point and I can see him doing it again very easily,” Burke said.

Jones, a Plano, Texas, native said he has to factor in earning an Olympics slot while adjusting to the NHL and its grueling 82-game season. He estimated that he logged 94 or 95 games during the 2012-13 season playing major juniors for the Canadian Hockey League’s Portland Winterhawks, playing in Russia with the U.S. junior national team, and playing for Portland in the Memorial Cup final.

He said he “didn’t do anything for two weeks or three weeks, maybe,” after the Winterhawks lost to the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s Halifax Mooseheads in the final.

“It definitely felt like a 12-year – er, 12-month season this year. It’s definitely a big step, but I think I’m capable of making it this year.”

Winnipeg's Dustin Byfuglien wants trifecta: Stanley Cup, All-Star berth, Olympic Gold Medal.

Winnipeg’s Dustin Byfuglien wants trifecta: Stanley Cup, All-Star berth, Olympic Gold Medal.

One of Jones’ competitors for a defense spot on Team USA is Dustin Byfuglien of the Winnipeg Jets. For him, making the U.S. team and winning a Gold Medal would be a trifecta. He’s already been named an NHL All-Star and won a Stanley Cup in the 2009-10 season with the Blackhawks.

Byfuglien – a massive man with a massive slap shot, nimble skating ability, and the skill to play either defense or left wing – beamed when asked about the possibility of playing for the U.S. hockey team.

“It would mean a lot to me and my family just to get the opportunity to go over there and be part of the Olympics,” Byfuglien, a Minnesota native. “This is a fun thing to be part of. Any time you can put on a U.S. jersey and represent your country it means a lot.

Burke called Byfuglien a potential game-changing force on the ice.

“He can play forward, he can play defense, he’s got a cannon for a shot,” Burke told me. “On the big ice, is he the answer? I don’t know that depends on how he plays and on the coaches. But the one thing he can do is change the game.”

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