AHL Kicks Off 2012-13 Season
The American Hockey League starts its 77th season tonight. With the NHL lockout having no end in sight, could this be the highest level of professional hockey we see in North America this season?
While some NHLers have signed contracts across Europe, the AHL will offer the most familiar hockey most NHL fans are used to watching.
The AHL was very stable in the off-season. There were no team changes, all 30 franchises remained in tact and where they were.
There were two changes in NHL affiliations: the Norfolk Admirals are now feeding the Anaheim Ducks and the Syracuse Crunch will be the top affiliate of the Tampa Bay Lightning.
In an interesting twist Norfolk will be entering the season with a 28-game winning streak — but most of that team will now be in Syracuse.
Major Juniors in Action
There may be a lockout in the NHL but that doesn't mean there is no hockey.
The junior league season kicked off over the weekend with the WHL, OHL and QMJHL all in action.
Tyler Biggs, a first-round pick of the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2011, made an instant impact with the Oshawa Generals - getting his first fighting major 7:33 into the second period of his first OHL game.
Despite the OHL introducing suspensions for any players getting into 10 or more fights in a season, London Knights' Russian defenceman Nikita Zadorov wasted no time getting his first two out of the way tangling with Erie's Johnny McGuire and Guelph's Ryan Horvat.
In the WHL, Keegan Lowe, taken by Carolina Hurricanes in the third round in 2011, starting the season with a Gordie Howe hat-trick for Edmonton Oil Kings against Kootenay Ice, dropping the gloves with Jeff Hubic in the second.
Bench Clearing Brawl Rules 25-Years Old
Twenty-five years ago the NHL put new rules in place to curb the amount of bench-clearing brawls that were happening in the league.
An AP report published Sep 18, 1987 via The New York Times gives us the scoop:
Under the new rules, the first player leaving the bench for a fight would receive a 10-game suspension as well as a game misconduct. His coach would get a five-game suspension and his team would be fined $10,000.
There are more lenient penalties for the players who followed.
This wasn't the initial rule, just a harshening of it. Players were thrown out, given a three-game suspension and some bonus penalty minutes that meant nothing.
There was another fighting-related rule change that included an instigator provision. As a reminder, in 1987 John Ziegler was president (not 'commissioner').
KHL 2012-13 Season & Schedule
With a potential NHL lockout many fans will look elsewhere to get their hockey fix. I've outlined many of the leagues that will be playing, and that we'll be covering here.
The KHL has the potential to get a ton of attention. It already scoops up former NHLers and AAAA* Euro players. If there is an NHL lockout, some current NHLers will definitely wind up playing for KHL clubs, at least temporarily.
The KHL is now a week into its season. The league released a PDF schedule with dates but no times, and the official league website is good for a quick visit for information, but I know many, including myself, were looking for a schedule with times. After putting the time in to create one and adding it to our site here I've decided to make the data public (for download, all of the data here is obviously public). The KHL schedule is available as a Google spreadsheet. You can then download it in various formats.
There’s Hockey to Be Played: 2012
Without an agreement between the NHL and the NHLPA, the start date for the league, currently October 11, is iffy. The NHL preseason, scheduled to start September 23, looks like a question mark. Diehard fans waiting for the league to resume play in a month may be out of luck, but there's still plenty of hockey to be found.
After the jump we list out the start dates of leagues all the leagues we're following this season.
Tough Players Sign Quick
Canada Day, along with free agency day, has come & gone, and many of the league's tough guys were signed fast.
We've put together a list of the players who have signed within the past week, before and after the free agency deadline.
Who's made the best moves so far?
Happy Canada & Free Agency Day 2012
Canada Day & NHL "Free Agency Day", properly tied together.
For those near a television, you can watch live coverage on Sportsnet & TSN (if there are others, please let me know). If you're in the US, the NHL Network is simulcasting TSN's coverage.
If you're not near a television, you're in luck, both Sportsnet & TSN have their broadcasts streaming on the web:
The above is live coverage from Sportsnet, which is available from noon to 2:30PM Eastern, and then again from 6-7PM Eastern. Here is TSN's coverage, which is also available on NHL.com.
As always, we'll be talking about every deal in our Player Movement & Rumors forum. Once deals are official, you can find them in our news section.
NHL Draft Preview 2012
This weekend sees the 2012 NHL Entry draft in Pittsburgh so we at hockeyfights.com figured it was about time we'd give you a run down on what physical, tough players are available out of the OHL, QMJHL and WHL.
Mathew Dumba - D
Red Deer Rebels - WHL
Ranked #11 by Central Scouting
Dumba is a devastating hitter, an excellent skater, and possesses great offensive instincts. Due to his aggressive offensive game he can sometimes be a liability defensively. Dumba didn't receive a fighting major in the WHL in 2011-12 but he did drop his gloves in the Top Prospects game. In the past he's shown a willingness to fight and is pretty good at it. The biggest question mark regarding Dumba is whether or not his physical game can translate to the professional level. While Dumba does play a high risk high reward type of game he certainly has huge upside.
Brendan Gaunce - C
Belleville Bulls - OHL
Ranked #13 by Central Scouting
Gaunce is a hard working player that always shows up. He has great instincts and a nose for the net. He has a big shot as well and knows how to find the net. He plays gritty and will stick up for his team-mates. He is the total package and should go early in the first round.
Los Angeles Kings, 2011-12 Stanley Cup Champs
Congratulations to the Los Angeles Kings, the 2011-12 Stanley Cup champions.
This is the first Cup for the Kings in their 45-year history.
Jonathan Quick won the Conn Smythe award for playoff MVP. This is the second year in a row a goaltender has won the award. Tim Thomas was last year's recipient.
Some immediate coverage:
- LA Times: Kings Win Stanley Cup
- LA Daily News (AP): L.A. Kings win first Stanley Cup
- OC Register: Kings pound Devils, clinch Stanley Cup
- NHL.com: Kings rout Devils 6-1 to win first Cup
- TSN: CP recap
- ESPN: AP recap plus video with Steve Levy and Barry Melrose
Continue reading: Los Angeles Kings, 2011-12 Stanley Cup Champs
Devils Continue Comeback, Hand Kings First Road Loss
The New Jersey Devils refuse to give in.
Zach Parise and Bryce Salvador scored to give them a 2-1 victory at Prudential Center to take the Stanley Cup finals back to Los Angeles for a Game Six. It was the first loss on the road for the Kings this playoff season.
Future Hall of Famer Martin Brodeur came up big for the Devils, turning away 25 shots including a Jarrett Stoll breakaway when the score was tied at 1-1.
Salvador has now scored four goals in the postseason after going scoreless through 82 games of the regular season and New Jersey coach Peter DeBoer said: "That's something that he's really kind of mastered here over the last month of the playoffs. He's had great composure back there for us, getting shots through. We wouldn't be here without him."
Continue reading: Devils Continue Comeback, Hand Kings First Road Loss
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