After a different type of show for Episode 130, the Sound Of Hockey Podcast is back to its regular format, with bits, segments, and plenty of good times along the way.
On this week’s episode, Re: Torts makes a triumphant return to open the proceedings. Then, the guys discuss some of the content that has been on SoundOfHockey.com lately, before diving into Peelgate and all that goes along with the controversial firing of NHL referee Tim Peel.
Next, John, Andy, and Darren give a full rundown of the NCAA Men’s and Women’s Hockey Tournaments, including the five-overtime marathon game between UMD and North Dakota that captivated the hockey world, as well as the NWHL’s Isobel Cup.
Bits include Sound Of Hockey’s Three Stars. Segments include You Don’t See That Every Day, Weekly One-Timers, and Tweets of the Week.
Taran Kozun led the Wheeling Nailers onto the ice at Hertz Arena in Estero, Florida, last weekend and took his familiar place in net. That’s where a goalie feels most at home. The Nailers were battling the Florida Everblades, and Kozun kicked away 26 of the 28 shots he faced to pick up a 6-2 win.
It was the second start Kozun made for the Nailers and his first win, backing up teammates he is still getting to know after being signed two weeks prior. Back in Wheeling, he’s barely unpacked his bags, just relying on a few necessities.
Outside of the goal crease, “home” has become a novelty for the 26-year-old former Seattle Thunderbird this season.
Since the ECHL season started in January, he has been with six different teams. The Nailers are the latest stop for Kozun and he’s hoping he can stay a while; hoping he can finally unpack his belongings. Life in the minor leagues offers no guarantees, especially for goalies, but this year has been uniquely topsy-turvy as Kozun has learned firsthand.
“Honestly, it’s been a whirlwind,” he says.
Taran Kozun’s journey to the Nailers began in Kansas City
After signing an ECHL contract to play for the Mavericks in Kansas City, Kozun traveled from his home in Nipawin, Saskatchewan to start training camp in December.
Things started rough as he tested positive for Covid and was put on the inactive list just prior to the start of the ECHL season. The Mavericks brought in other goalies and Kozun was on the move after playing in one game.
He had hoped he’d stay longer but also was aware the possibility of ending up with a different team was always in the cards.
“With ECHL you never know what’s going to happen with the goalie situation,” Kozun says. “When other teams sign a guy and guys get sent down there’s never a guarantee that you’re going to stay. I kind of knew there’s always the possibility of changing teams and that you’re never really set in stone to play for one team.”
Taran Kozun has played two games so far with the Wheeling Nailers. (photo Zach Rawson courtesy Wheeling Nailers)
As an ECHL goalie he was at the mercy of the NHL organization’s goalie movement. When the big club sends down a guy on an AHL or NHL contract, a player like Kozun is the odd man out.
The first change came quick and on Dec. 30 he was loaned to the Pensacola Ice Flyers of the SPHL. He played in one game and two weeks later was headed back to the ECHL to suit up for the Indy Fuel. After making 41 saves and picking up a win for the Fuel he was packed up and sent to the Rapid City Rush.
Again, he played one game before heading to the Orlando Solar Bears.
He was becoming the fill-in goalie. If a team had an injury, or another goalie ended up on the Covid list, Kozun would be brought in. Sometimes he’d hole up in an apartment with teammates who were strangers with little time to get to know them.
Others, he’d arrive with a team and go on a road trip, living in hotels and on Door Dash.
The constant moving was starting to drag on the normally easy-going Kozun.
“There were some tough days, I didn’t really want to go to the rink some days,” he says. “I didn’t know if I’d be coming home to pack my stuff. It was a really stressful time but I got my mind right and went to the rink and worked as hard as I could and worked out off the ice to help my cause to make sure I was ready to practice hard. It was definitely a hard couple of months. It took a lot of days of getting to know myself and getting through it.”
After a tough outing with the Solar Bears, he was able to turn to a friendly face. Kozun’s older brother, Tad, plays for Orlando and the two were able to spend some time together.
“I was getting to the breaking point to be honest,” Kozun said. “Just getting to hang out with him on the off days, if I wasn’t there, I was probably real close to saying I’ll just go home and call it a year. I didn’t know what to do or what to say to stick in a spot.
“Every time I brought it up with my brother he just said, ‘If you make it through, you’ll be good because you’ll know how to do it the next time.’ Not something that you like going through your head especially when you love showing up to the rink with the guys, hanging out with your teammates every day.”
Thanks to brotherly advice and a passion for hockey, Kozun has stuck with it. After Orlando he would move to the Allen Americans on Feb. 24 and eventually to the Wheeling Nailers on March 8.
Taran Kozun has played for six different ECHL teams this season. (photo Zack Rawson courtesy Wheeling Nailers)
Hockey is still fun for Taran Kozun
Off the ice, Kozun is quick to smile and is a hit with his teammates everywhere he’s played.
He’s performed well in his stops prior to this year’s ECHL merry-go-round. The Seattle Thunderbirds picked him up via a trade with the Kamloops Blazers in 2014. The following season, his last in the WHL he was spectacular and would end up winning the WHL Goalie of the Year award.
After the WHL he played college hockey for the University of Saskatchewan where he turned in his best season of hockey. Kozun led the Huskies last season to a Canada West title. He was named Canada West Male Athlete of the Year after posting a 17-3-2 record and 1.87 goals-against with a .931 save-percentage.
“We had a really great coach in Dave Adolph,” Kozun says of playing in college. “Once he got the guys on the same page and got us playing the Husky way, it was a lot of fun. Those guys I’ll have great memories with, they’re like best friends. I have to give the coaching staff a lot of compliments. They did everything for me.”
Not only did he win a title with Saskatchewan, he fulfilled something that every goalie dreams of.
“That was pretty wild and something I’ve tried in the past and never been able to hit the net,” Kozun says. “For that moment, didn’t really know what was going through my head. I was lucky enough to hit the net. I think I was more excited to see the guys’ faces and how excited they were for me, that made the moment even better.”
After a goal and a college championship, Kozun has described this season as a ‘180’ from last year. But that doesn’t mean it’s been all bad. He’s been reunited with a former Seattle teammate in Evan Wardley in Wheeling and once the puck drops, he’s had fun.
“Once you get to skate around and play the game, you forget about what’s happened,” Kozun says. “If you’re having troubles off the ice when you get to the rink and hang out, once you get on the ice everything else you forget. It’s the highlight of the day to get on the ice and not worry about anything else.
“You’re just stopping the puck and making sure your movements are right…making sure my game’s always good. Playing games, you forget about everything, you’re worried about your compete level and being positive.”
Taran Kozun played a season and a half with the Seattle Thunderbirds. (Brian Liesse)
Can Taran Kozun stay with the Wheeling Nailers?
Kozun’s love of hockey has helped him persevere through what has been an extreme season.
He’s learned how to deal with the unpredictability of minor pro hockey and done whatever he can to put his best skate forward when given the opportunity.
The plan is to keep pushing and to see how far he can take his hockey dreams, even if it means not fully unpacking his bags. For now, he’s a Wheeling Nailer and he’s going to compete every time he’s on the ice in practice or games.
“Whenever I get a chance to play, I want to win,” Kozun says. “If I don’t win, I’m not very happy with myself. Being able to have that compete really drives me and helps me mentally prepare for games and do my best. I’ve enjoyed it here in Wheeling and hopefully I can stay for a while.”
What the people need and what they want are two very different things. At Sound Of Hockey, we typically focus on producing the content that we believe hockey fans in the Pacific Northwest and beyond need in preparation for the inaugural Seattle Kraken season. But sometimes, we have to give the people the content they want, and we have learned that more often than not, what they want is goalie content. Three months have passed since our last twirl on the Seattle Kraken Expansion Draft goalie carousel, and a lot has changed in that time. Let’s take another spin, shall we?
Still riding after all this time
This is actually our third ride on the Seattle Kraken goalie carousel, with the first dating all the way back to our NHLtoSeattle days. A few backstops have been on our radar since that first post in June, 2020, and it’s time we check in on those individuals to make sure they are still upright on their respective mechanical horses and are not in need of any motion sickness remedies or bags.
When Braden Holtby was with the Capitals, Seattle fans clamored for him to be the first Kraken netminder. That tune has changed a bit now that he is with the Canucks. Now, the question is no longer if he will be made available in the Expansion Draft—he certainly will—but if Seattle would want him anymore.
Vancouver stinks, but Holtby has done little to help right the ship. Instead, he has gone 4-6-2 in the backseat behind Thatcher Demko and has posted a dreadful 3.57 goals against average and .894 save percentage. His contract is also structured to make his selection by Seattle less palatable, so we think it is now unlikely that Holtby will be moving his tortoises to the Emerald City prior to next season.
While Holtby is lying on the floor of this merry-go-round, being dragged by the stirrup of the oscillating horse from which he fell long ago, Adin Hill is still riding upright and proud in the saddle of his noble steed.
In fact, we at Sound Of Hockey believe Hill’s position as a future Kraken netminder has been solidified over the past few months, with Arizona’s protection list now clearer. Frankly, there won’t be much to choose from for the Kraken at either forward or defense, so they might as well take a look at the Coyotes’ goal crease.
Hill has once again been thrust into NHL action with both Antti Raanta and Darcy Kuemper somehow simultaneously injured for the umpteenth time. Hill, 24, has performed admirably behind a mediocre team, going 4-3-1 with a 2.44 GAA and .920 save percentage. He also just notched a shutout against San Jose and recently defeated a Colorado team that was absolutely rolling. He won’t necessarily be the bona fide starter for Seattle, but Hill makes a lot of sense in a tandem or even as a third option.
Settled in on the merry-go-round
There were a few other netminders that became Seattle Kraken goalie candidates on our second twirl back in December.
Jordan Binnington signed a long-term deal with St. Louis, so he has calmly and respectfully exited after just one revolution.
Anton Khudobin is still on the ride, but he’s making a bit of a ruckus, and the ride operators are considering asking him to depart in the near future. After carrying the Stars in stunning fashion all the way to the Stanley Cup Final last season, Khudobin has fallen back down to Earth with a thud.
He’s had every opportunity to secure his spot as Seattle’s first goalie, but Khudobin has struggled to the point that Jake Oettinger has nabbed the lion’s share of starts lately for Dallas. Oettinger, 22, is exempt from the Expansion Draft, while still-injured Ben Bishop is expected to return this season and has a no-movement clause. So, it will still be Khudobin that gets exposed, but like Holtby, we’re questioning if any interest remains from Seattle.
Cam Talbot and Jake Allen each appear content to continue riding.
Talbot has been a huge bright spot for Minnesota this season and is probably the second-biggest reason behind Kirill Kaprizov that the Wild are solidly in a playoff position. We still have him tabbed as the netminder to get exposed there, however, as Kaapo Kahkonen has also been excellent, and at just 24 years old, we expect the younger netminder to get protected. Still, Minnesota has a big protection issue with its skaters, so a forward or defenseman remains the more likely selection for Seattle.
Allen, meanwhile, hasn’t played quite as large of a role for Montreal, but he has solidified himself as an obvious option for the Kraken to consider. The former St. Louis Blue is 4-3-4 with a 2.34 GAA and .920 save percentage playing behind Carey Price. Allen has all the talent in the world, but his streakiness requires him to be part of a platoon to be successful.
Just climbing aboard
Of course, it wouldn’t be a carousel if there weren’t newcomers with every turn.
One such newcomer is Dan Vladar, who has gotten a couple chances in Boston this season and has not disappointed, allowing just three total goals and winning both contests. He’s had good AHL numbers over the past few years as well, so one could make a case for taking Vladar as a pick for the future, especially if the Kraken can snag him in a side deal. The Bruins also have Jeremy Swayman in their system, so perhaps they will view Vladar as expendable.
The rub with Vladar, though, is that both Tuukka Rask and Jaroslav Halak are on expiring deals. In theory, the Bruins could wait to re-sign those guys, protect Vladar from the Expansion Draft, and then get their veteran goalies back in the fold, assuming there’s still mutual interest. So there’s a chance Vladar is not available to the Kraken in the end.
Moving down the coast a bit, Vitek Vanecek was not on our radar entering this season for Washington. With Holtby moved onto smaller and poorer (is that the opposite of bigger and better?) things in Vancouver, it was expected that Ilya Samsonov would seize the Capitals net, with Henrik Lundqvist affording him the occasional break. Instead, Lundqvist had offseason heart surgery, and Vanecek emerged as the number one netminder. Samsonov is still getting a good share of the starts, though, and both are playing relatively well behind an excellent team. Both require protection so whichever of Vanecek or Samsonov is left exposed will be a good pick for the Kraken.
Even farther down the coast, Chris Driedger has also emerged as an unexpected breakout star for the Florida Panthers. He’s been good enough to take 15 of 35 starts from Sergei Bobrovsky, who is on a $70 million contract. Driedger tops our wish list, but the problem is that he will be an unrestricted free agent after this season. To get Dreidger, the Kraken will have to get him to agree to terms on a contract during the team’s 48-hour exclusive negotiating window, then select him in the Expansion Draft. With the allure of the open market, Driedger spinning off the carousel and into the Climate Pledge Arena goal crease feels like a longshot.
Finally, folks in the Seattle area got pumped about Joey Daccord when he won his first NHL game for the Ottawa Senators and gave a really great post-game interview. The former Arizona State Sun Devil has a 1-3-1 record with a 3.27 GAA and .897 save percentage. He only has one season of AHL hockey under his belt with decent (but not exceptional) statistics. Daccord also injured his leg a couple weeks ago, and there is a chance he misses the remainder of the season, so we do not expect to see him land in Seattle.
Darren Brown is the Chief Content Officer at Sound Of Hockey and the host, producer, and editor of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast. He is an inconsistent beer league goalie who believes that five players have to make a mistake before the puck gets to him. Follow him on Twitter @DarrenFunBrown or email darren@soundofhockey.com.
Halfway through the first period of the Everett Silvertips’ game against the Tri-City Americans on Wednesday, Olen Zellweger walked the offensive blue line, dragging the puck with him. With power play traffic gathered in front of Tri’s goal crease, he snapped a low shot that found its way through the mass of humanity and made netminder Talyn Boyko reach to his right. Boyko was out of position after the first save and never stood a chance on the rebound, as Jacob Wright tapped it home for the first goal of the game and the eventual game winner.
Walking the line and getting the puck through traffic is an artform, and one at which Zellweger excels. If you watch him closely, you will get a sense that almost every time he puts the puck toward the net, some level of chaos ensues shortly after.
Zellweger, a shifty 17-year-old draft-eligible defenseman who hails from Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, is off to a great start offensively with a goal and four assists in five games on Everett’s blue line this season. He has picked up nicely after a solid 16-year-old campaign, in which he registered two goals and 10 assists in 58 games.
Zellweger has been playing with Gianni Fairbrother, a veteran in the WHL and a 2019 draft pick of the Montreal Canadiens. Zellweger credits his defensive partner with “making it easy” on him by really talking on the ice. The two are building chemistry as the season goes along, and Zellweger fits naturally alongside the older, more developed Fairbrother.
Playing on the top pairing, on the power play, and even occasionally on the penalty kill as a 17-year-old shows the level of trust that the Silvertips coaching staff has in Zellweger. He’s even playing the right side, despite being a left-shot defenseman. Zellweger doesn’t think it’s a big deal to play the offside, noting, “There’s pros and cons, but there’s pros and cons to playing on your strongside too.”
Silvertips head coach Dennis Williams put a little more thought into playing Zellweger on the right, though. “This is what we think of Olen as a player is we move him to his offside, which is not easy for a defenseman to do, especially in the Western League at that age.” The Silvertips have a glut of left-shot defensemen in Fairbrother, Zellweger, Ronan Seeley, and Aidan Sutter. “On the right side we needed to move one of those guys over, and we thought Olen, with his feet and his hockey sense and his ability to retrieve pucks and escape pressure because of his skating that he would be the best, so we were able to put him with a guy like Gianni Fairbrother and use them as shutdown D as well.”
Olen Zellweger makes a pass against the Tri-City Americans. (Chris Mast, Everett Silvertips)
For a young player like Zellweger to accept such a huge role—particularly playing the right side—and to shine is a credit to his abilities and his drive as a player. “It’s been working so far, I think he’s done a really good job with [Fairbrother], but again, it’s not easy,” Williams says. “Our forwards sometimes will fling a puck up the wall and forget he’s on his offhand. That’s tough to collect on your backhand as a guy’s coming out at you on the point, you know, to not bobble it, try to get it back deep. But, he’s done a really good job of trying to get his feet around it, have composure, absorb a hit, and get it back behind the goaltender.”
While his ability to create offense from the blue line is apparent, Zellweger’s skating is undoubtedly his greatest strength. He’s slick and deceptive and appears to move effortlessly on the ice. Despite being on the small side at 5-foot-10, 175 pounds, Zellweger never seems to get squared up for big hits. Instead, he lets his feet deliver him out of trouble in his own end, often spinning away from attacking forwards and even jumping up to lead the rush offensively.
He’s the true modern-day defenseman, who Williams calls a “relentless worker” who “lives and breathes the game of hockey.”
“There’s nobody on our team that works harder than Zell,” Williams adds. “And if you were to ask all 25 guys, they’d all give you the same answer. He wants to do everything in his power to be a hockey player and he gives himself the best opportunity, whether it’s eating properly, resting properly, his preparation for practice and games. He’s just a pleasure to coach, and to see him from last year to this year, you know, the strides… He’s definitely going to have an opportunity, I believe, to be a pro hockey player and an opportunity to be drafted in the upcoming draft.”
Williams is not the only one who believes that Zellweger will hear his name called by an NHL franchise in July. In fact, Zellweger landed on NHL Central Scouting’s “Players to Watch” list with a ‘C’ rating, making him likely to be selected in the fourth through sixth rounds. “It was pretty cool to be named to that list,” Zellweger says. “Obviously, I want to move up to whatever I can, so I think I just gotta go up from here.”
Zellweger isn’t embarking on this journey alone, though. “We have quite a few signed players on our team so they kind of know what it takes and they know what you gotta do. You gotta be focused and be prepared every day to play because somebody’s always watching.”
The Everett Silvertips are in the early stages of a shortened 24-game WHL season. There has been plenty of concern expressed around the hockey world for how young players could continue their development, especially when play was halted due to the pandemic. Zellweger took everything in stride, though, and saw it as a chance to augment his already impressive skillset. “It’s unfortunate that we don’t get the full season, but this will be a good opportunity for us, and I look at the shortened season and extra training time as a really good opportunity to improve upon weaknesses and stuff like that. So for me, it was good time and used well, so I think it was good for me.”
That extra training time shows, as Zellweger looks like the real deal. If he keeps scoring, he could hear his name called at the NHL Draft a lot earlier than his ‘C’ rating suggests.
Olen Zellweger and the Everett Silvertips are a perfect 5-0-0 this season and lead the U.S. Division with 10 points.
Featured image taken by Chris Mast, courtesy of the Everett Silvertips.
Darren Brown is the Chief Content Officer at Sound Of Hockey and the host, producer, and editor of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast. He is an inconsistent beer league goalie who believes that five players have to make a mistake before the puck gets to him. Follow him on Twitter @DarrenFunBrown or email darren@soundofhockey.com.
A big story earlier this week was the comment caught on a hot microphone by now former NHL referee, Tim Peel. The quote was, “It wasn’t much, but I wanted to get a #$&%*! penalty against Nashville early in the…”. An unfortunate comment but it confirms what a lot of fans have felt for a long time that NHL referees manage the game and call penalties accordingly. We commonly hear commentators say things like, “The refs are putting the whistle away” or “Looks like a make-up call,” etc. Depending on who you ask, you might find people that have no issue with that approach to the game. Others tend to argue that a penalty is a penalty whether it is the first minute of the game or the last minute of the game.
I am not advocating for how the game should be refereed in this post, I just want to look at the data to gather any insights on how and when penalties are called in a game.
NHL Penalties Called by Period
Already this is a bit of a ‘tell’ on how penalties are called in the NHL. Of course, our analysis will not stop here so let us dig into this a bit.
Third Period Penalties Called
It is worth exploring the third period a bit. Conventional wisdom says that referees tend to “put their whistles away” towards the end of a game. I chose to breakdown the period in five-minute increments and compare how penalties are called in the period.
A couple interesting things to see is that the third period tends to have the most even distribution of penalties called in these five-minute increments when compared to the other two periods. The first and second periods tend to ramp up in penalties called during the course of the period while the third period stays relatively flat. Also compared to the other periods, the third period has less penalties called in the last ten minutes.
…But that is not telling the whole story.
NHL Penalties by Period with Game Context
What we need is context of the penalties relative to the game situation. For this I use goal differential. However, we cannot simply look at how many penalties are called based on the goal differential in a game because the data would be inherently biased due the fact that games start in a tie and one-goal games are more common earlier in the game compared to two-or-more-goal differential games.
30 percent of game minutes are played when the game is tied; 36 percent are played with a one-goal differential; 18 percent are played with a two-goal differential, which leaves 16 percent at a goal differential of three or more. If we just look at volume, the data will be skewed toward tie and one-goal games since there is more time (opportunity) to call penalties. To figure out a rate of penalties called I have landed on “penalties per 60 minutes”.
This agrees with the belief that referees tend to avoid calling penalties in tight games (either tied or one-goal games). Let’s go to another level of detail by looking at this spread by period.
Ok, now we are getting somewhere. This says that there is an average of 2.4 penalties called per 60 minutes in the third period compared to three and 3.6 penalties called per 60 in the first and second period respectively.
Now if we just isolate the third period and we break the period into five-minute chunks, we see that the tie games in the last five minutes of the third period has the lowest rate of penalties called per 60.
There is still more work to be done here, but directionally it would appear that managing the game and putting away the whistle is common across the NHL relative to game differential based on this quick analysis.
I hope this gave you some insight into some of the narrative around the referees this week. If you have any questions or feedback feel free to drop me a note in the comments section or on Twitter. Thanks for reading.
It’s been a roller coaster of a week in the hockey world with several high points matched by equally low points. We at Sound Of Hockey are here to fill you in on anything you may have missed on this wild ride. Please ensure your safety belt is fastened, keep your arms and legs inside the vehicle at all times, and secure your belongings. Because it’s time for another round on the high-octane thrill ride that is Weekly One-Timers.
Some good news, some very ugly news for local WHL teams
Thunderbirds dismiss two players after racial incident
We will start with the ugly and certainly more scandalous news out of the WHL. The Seattle Thunderbirds announced in a statement Thursday that two of their players have been removed from their roster following an incident in the team’s dressing room, in which they made racist comments aimed at a third player on the team.
It’s not a good situation, and I feel for the victim of the verbal abuse. It’s yet another stark reminder that hockey has a very long way to go before it can claim to be an inclusive community, which it certainly still is not.
Credit to the Thunderbirds for taking the situation seriously and invoking their zero-tolerance policy toward racism and bullying.
Dustin Wolf is good at hockey
Ok, here’s the good stuff I promised. Dustin Wolf has played three full games for the Everett Silvertips this season. He has not yet allowed a goal. The latest triumph for the 19-year-old Calgary Flames prospect came by way of a 3-0 victory over the Tri-City Americans on Wednesday, in which Wolf confidently stopped all 30 of the shots he faced.
Remember, Wolf was one of the players who was allowed to temporarily play in the AHL with the eligibility rules altered due to the ongoing pandemic. While playing for the Stockton Heat, Wolf appeared in three games. He was shellacked the first night but rebounded to allow just three combined goals in his second and third starts, returning to the WHL with a 2-1-0 professional record.
Now back in the WHL and facing shots from players more his age, Wolf looks unbeatable. The streak ties Wolf with Carter Hart for most consecutive shutouts by a Silvertips goalie and leaves him one shy of tying the league record. He now has 23 career WHL shutouts and is just three away from tying Hart and Tyson Sexsmith for the WHL career shutout record of 26.
Can Wolf come up with four more shutouts in this short 24-game season to break the all-time WHL record for career shutouts?
Tim Peel gets fired
This happened on Tuesday. Please note there is naughty language heard in the below video, so please say “Earmuffs” to any small children in the immediate vicinity before pressing the play button.
Maybe if you're a mic'd up ref, you shouldn't express how you wanted to call a penalty against a team earlier in the game, changing how you ref the rest of the game.
“What?!? How could they fire him for that? He’s just doing his job!”
“Completely unacceptable! Tim Peel shouldn’t have been fired!”
“I can’t believe the league did that!”
“This is exactly what has been happening in the NHL forever!”
Worth mentioning, none of the above quotes are real quotes from the internet, but it is a pretty fair representation of what was being said within the given timeline.
The general opinion of Sound Of Hockey on the matter is that Tim Peel got screwed. He was a veteran referee on his way to retirement after this season. He was managing the game, just like every NHL referee has done and will continue to do. His only crime was that he got caught on a hot mic verbalizing the unwritten strategies that officials employ to make sure they aren’t the ones deciding the outcomes of games.
Have you ever noticed that there are far fewer penalties called later in games? Have you ever noticed that if a team has a questionable call go against it, it tends to get the next one in its favor? Have you ever noticed that penalties are simply not called consistently in any game ever?
It’s all game management. Peel just talked about it and was heard on a broadcast, and now he’s been scapegoated.
If the league wants referees to simply call games as they see them, then it needs to identify the game-management approach as a problem and holistically re-think how it trains officials. Firing a guy just for talking about what he’s always been expected to do isn’t the answer.
Here’s a little something to remember Peel by as he rides off into the sunset in a way he certainly never expected.
In honor of the @NHL firing referee Tim Peel today for his hot mic incident, I'd like to play him off with his finest moment as an official when he took a puck to the nuts that ended up in the net pic.twitter.com/4c7PDfYEtw
The NCAA Men’s Hockey Tournament is starting Friday morning (that’s today!) at 10AM Pacific when MY WISCONSIN BADGERS take on the Bemidji State Beavers on ESPN2. Could MY WISCONSIN BADGERS follow in the enormous footsteps of the Badger women by winning another national championship for the **undisputed best school in the nation?
**Note: Asterisks indicate a heavily disputed claim.
As much as I would love to see Wisconsin win this thing (UPDATE: Wisconsin lost in the first round to Bemidji State), it’s North Dakota’s tournament to lose. But as we learn every year, anything can happen in the NCAA Tournament, and that’s what makes it such a great viewing experience.
There was supposed to be a second game played at 10AM Friday, but Notre Dame has been forced to back out of the tournament due to COVID protocols. Ironically, the Fighting Irish were only included in the field because St. Lawrence University previously had to shut down its season for the same reason. Notre Dame’s game against Boston College is considered a no-contest, so the Eagles automatically advance and will now have to win just one game to reach the Frozen Four.
Hopefully this is the last COVID-related hiccup, as this is primed to be an incredible tournament.
UPDATE: It was not the last hiccup, as Michigan has also had to back out due to a positive test. UMD automatically advances.
Here is the full bracket.
NWHL Isobel Cup Playoffs
Another big-time tournament gets underway on Friday, as the NWHL will finally finish its condensed season and award the Isobel Cup this weekend. The semifinals will be played Friday at 2PM and 5PM Pacific and the final will be played Saturday at 4PM Pacific. All games will be shown live on NBCSN.
The Boston Pride, Connecticut Whale, Minnesota Whitecaps, and Toronto Six make up the four-team field.
You Don’t See That Every Day
Goalie Goal
We have a goalie goal in the USHL! I repeat, we have a goalie goal in the USHL! This is not a drill.
Tri-City Storm netminder Todd Scott absolutely drills it, then celebrates accordingly. Yes, I am crying. It’s just so beautiful.
“We’re going to need clean-up in the Taggart box, please”
Pierre Dorion got really mad after his Ottawa Senators lost in overtime to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday and took his frustrations out on what appears to be lemonade or some other citrusy beverage.
We’re just really hoping our box gets cleaned before we can get back into it…😂 https://t.co/MAzVBUcTTE
The outburst reminded me of Cam Neely whipping his water bottle two years ago during the playoffs, and it also reminded me that I performed some video magic at that time.
Darren Brown is the Chief Content Officer at Sound Of Hockey and the host, producer, and editor of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast. He is an inconsistent beer league goalie who believes that five players have to make a mistake before the puck gets to him. Follow him on Twitter @DarrenFunBrown or email darren@soundofhockey.com.
Here we go with Sound Of Hockey’s fourth mock Seattle Kraken Expansion Draft. Queue the blaring horns and confetti cannons.
Like the previous three that were written by colleagues John Barr, Josh Horton, and Darren Brown, I found the exercise fun and harder than it would appear. It turns out that it’s easier to mock other people’s drafts than it is to mock your own Expansion Draft.
Also, this gives me the chance to do two things I don’t actually enjoy – writing in first-person and doing a mock draft. But I’m a team player and so here my neck is, out and exposed.
When doing this I tried to put myself into the head space of Kraken general manager Ron Francis to figure out how he would go through the Expansion Draft process. I also imagined what it was like to win the Stanley Cup, which Francis has done twice. It seems like it would be nice, so let’s hope that is what he ends up doing here in Seattle.
I tried to balance youth with experience for my first Seattle Kraken Expansion Draft. I say ‘my first’ but let’s face it, nobody is going to ask me to participate in a real one, ever. Finding that balance is harder than it seems. It’s also made harder since we are tied to the rules we established. Trust me, I tried to make an exception or two, but was told I couldn’t.
These mocks come after a great deal of effort and – I think – level-headed guess work, as we tried to predict how the protection lists of the other 30 teams would look. You should definitely check those out at some point; they are worth your while.
After a brief look at those rules, we’ll get into it with my team. A feisty, scrappy, and hard-working group that will win at least 20 games, year one. Plan a parade.
Rules of the Sound Of Hockey Mock Seattle Kraken Expansion Draft
Protection lists are based on latest projections on Sound Of Hockey (Central, East, West, North).
You are allowed one UFA draft-and-sign selection. This selection should pass the sniff test of being a legitimate option (i.e. expecting to draft and sign Alex Ovechkin does not feel legitimate).
No side deals. Although we are aware that this will be a major part of the actual Expansion Draft, we don’t have enough insider knowledge about what could be done here or what the Kraken would actually try to pull off. So for the purposes of this Mock Seattle Kraken Expansion Draft, we’re keeping this off the table.
The Expansion Draft picks
Anaheim: Danton Heinen (LW) – The Ducks have a couple of veteran defensemen who could make intriguing picks, but I felt I could get defensemen elsewhere so went with winger Danton Heinen. I don’t expect scoring from a guy who will be a depth winger, but I want him to win shifts and his career positive Corsi and expected goal numbers show he can do that.
Arizona Coyotes: Adin Hill (G) – Hill, who played for the Portland Winterhawks, is a promising 24-year-old goaltender. He has the potential to be a number one but may still need some seasoning as a backup for a year or two. More on that later in this draft.
Boston Bruins: Nick Ritchie (LW) – Another young forward, Ritchie drives the play and could end up in the Kraken’s top six. If the Kraken can get players like that in the Expansion Draft then they will be in good shape.
Buffalo Sabres: Cody Eaken (C) – There is not a lot to choose from off of the Sabres roster as things are not going so well in Buffalo. I nabbed Eaken here as a veteran of over 600 games who could provide experience in the bottom six.
Calgary Flames: Sam Bennett (C) – Bennett has recently begged out of Calgary so lets get him a new home and hope he can bring his playoff success into the regular season.
Carolina Hurricanes: Jake Bean (D) – The Hurricanes have a number of good players who will be exposed and I’m picking up Bean here. A former first-round pick of Francis, he’s coming off a season where he won the AHL’s Defenseman of the Year award and should work his way into a top-pairing role with the Kraken.
Chicago Blackhawks: Brandon Hagel (LW) – Hopefully Hagel doesn’t play himself into being protected by the Blackhawks, but he’s 22 and only getting better. He will probably end up protected, but within the rules of this Mock Draft, I’m taking him.
Colorado Avalanche: Devon Toews (D) – An obvious choice here and Seattle will add a top-pairing defenseman. If the Avalanche choose to protect him, it will open up other nice options for Francis and the Kraken.
Columbus Blue Jackets: Eric Robinson (LW) – Speed is the name of the game in today’s NHL and Robinson has it. That’s enough for me to add him here.
Dallas Stars: Jason Dickinson (C) – Watch veteran Joe Pavelski here. If he’s exposed by the Stars, which could free them of his high salary, he might be the pick. But we have him protected so I’m going with Dickinson who is a possession center.
Detroit Red Wings: Troy Stetcher (D) – The picking is slim with the Red Wings but I like Stetcher as a bottom-pairing defenseman. He won’t be flashy but plays a solid game.
Edmonton Oilers: Tyson Barrie (D) – Barrie is having a strong resurgence this season and will be a nice, puck-moving defenseman for the Kraken. His underlying numbers are solid, and I’m using my one UFA allowance here, which won’t break the bank.
Florida Panthers: Anton Stralman (D) – I’m going with a veteran two-way defenseman, but I’m interested to see if the Panthers expose Patric Hornqvist. If they do, I might be tempted to add him and his offense.
Los Angeles Kings: Olli Maatta (D) – I wasn’t blown away by what the Kings have to offer, and I went with Maatta who’s better days may very well be behind him. I like him for depth and the Kraken would only need to pay him for one more season.
Minnesota Wild: Matt Dumba (D) – This is a no-brainer pick as Dumba is a top defenseman and still early in his career. There are rumors out there that the Wild could move him before the Kraken can get their mitts on him. If that’s the case, then I’d go with another defenseman in Carson Soucy.
Montreal Canadiens: Jake Allen (G) – It is becoming more and more clear that Allen is destined for Seattle in the Expansion Draft to become Seattle’s starting goalie. I like him to serve as a mentor for the younger, less proven, goalies I’m stocking up on.
Nashville Predators: Connor Ingram (G) – Speaking of unproven goalies, I’m taking a swing at one with Ingram. He’s put up great AHL numbers but has yet to play an NHL game. If all goes well, Ingram and Hill take over the crease in a couple of seasons.
New Jersey Devils: Miles Wood (LW) – Wood has a glue-guy type of game and every team can use on of those, so welcome to Seattle, Miles.
New York Islanders: Josh Bailey (RW) – Another veteran who does a little of everything. You can’t go wrong with Bailey in your lineup.
New York Rangers: Brendan Lemieux (LW) – Boy, most of the Rangers’ interesting players are not available in the Expansion Draft so come to Seattle, Lemieux, here’s a nice Kraken jersey for you.
Ottawa Senators: Chris Tierney (C) – Another veteran from a team without a lot of exciting options. He can play and is having an OK season for a bad Senators team.
Philadelphia Flyers: Shayne Gostisbehere (D) – I like defensemen who can score so I’m taking the ‘Ghost Bear’ from the Flyers. There are other options here up front and keep an eye on Jakub Voracek. Gostisbehere is not the best defensive defenseman but he’ll be my power play guy.
Pittsburgh Penguins: Teddy Blueger (C) – I like Blueger’s game. He won’t light up the scoreboard but can kill penalties and give you good minutes every night.
San Jose Sharks: Alexander True (C) – It came down to the two hometown guys with the Sharks. I took True over Bonney Lake’s Dylan Gambrell because he’s younger, bigger, and I like big centers.
St. Louis Blues: Zach Sanford (LW) – I wanted a power forward up front and Sanford gives me that.
Tampa Bay Lightning: Ondrej Palat (RW) – The Lightning have a number of options and are probably primed for a side deal with the Kraken that will give Seattle an Expansion Draft bounty of sorts. I’m taking Palat here as he has the potential to be a staple in the Kraken top six.
Toronto Maple Leafs: Adam Brooks (C) – I’m taking another swing here at future potential with Brooks. He’s scored at the lower levels. Can he in the NHL? Let’s find out.
Vancouver Canucks: Kole Lind (LW) – Perhaps the Canucks’ top prospect, Lind is knocking on the NHL door and we could strike gold here.
Washington Capitals: T.J. Oshie (RW) – Honestly, I wanted to avoid being the Kraken message board hero here. I don’t believe in drafting guys with local ties to breed excitement amongst the fans. I only want productive players. Turns out, Oshie is still productive, so let the reunion begin.
Winnipeg Jets: Logan Stanley (D) – If he’s exposed, I like Stanley. He’s huge and physical and will anchor what will now be known as the “imposing Kraken blueline”.
Overall Thoughts
The thing that jumps out at me when trying to predict who the Seattle Kraken select in July’s Expansion Draft is that centers are at a premium.
Most of the talent available to Francis is on the wing and on defense. Center is important so it will be a position that may need to be addressed in free agency or in the NHL Draft. It may also be something the Kraken can fill through side deals or trades.
It happened on Mother’s Day 2017. In Regina, Saskatchewan, Game 6 of the Western Hockey League’s Championship went to overtime. At 12:46 in the extra frame, Seattle’s Alexander True knocked his own rebound into the Regina Pats goal to give the Thunderbirds their first league championship.
Looking at the Thunderbirds roster you might think that winning the championship was a no-brainer for Seattle. Led by Mathew Barzal and Ethan Bear, the Thunderbirds had five players who would go on to play in the NHL.
But Seattle didn’t breeze its way to glory.
The Thunderbirds faced uncertainty both during the regular season and in the playoffs. They had to rely on a green 16-year-old rookie goalie along with what seemed to be a playoff-ending injury to Bear.
They overcame it all and this is their story told by some of the players that were there. To help re-live that magical season, we spoke with Bear, his defense partner Turner Ottenbreit, co-captain Scott Eansor, winger Donovan Neuls, defenseman Austin Strand, winger Keegan Kolesar, and assistant coach Matt O’Dette.
O’Dette served as Steve Konowalchuk’s assistant and took over the Seattle bench the next season. He is one of the last remaining links to that team who is still with the Thunderbirds.
Ethan Bear was the 2017 WHL Defenseman of the Year playing for the Seattle Thunderbirds. (Brian Liesse)
The 2016-2017 season started after the Thunderbirds dropped a tough four games to the Brandon Wheat Kings in the WHL Championship Series the spring before. That loss lingered into the offseason and into the new year.
Ethan Bear: It was very tough. We went all the way to the finals and when another team hoists the trophy in your arena, it stings. We really wanted to win. They were a good team so hats off, but it lit that fire inside all of us returning guys.
Keegan Kolesar: It was a hard one honestly. I know a lot of guys from that team, and I see them in the summer and it always gets brought up. We have a huge argument about it and I lose it because we didn’t win.
Donovan Neuls: It was nice to get there but very disappointing. The worst part was we lost three games in overtime, being up in the third period. Looking back now a couple of overtime goals they got the bounces and we didn’t.
Matt O’Dette: Looking back, there was a really good chance we could have put two in a row together. Arguably we might have had a better team but lost those first three games going into overtime. I think in each we had a lead in the third period. Just the way we lost them was heartbreaking. Great series and obviously a lot of guys from both teams moved on to the NHL. The bounces just didn’t go our way.
Scott Eansor: It was the first time we had gone far in the playoffs and we really came together that year. To see the older guys go, we had a really good leadership group. We were really unsure as to who was coming back next year, and it was really hard to lose that.
Turner Ottenbreit: That was really tough. We had a great team that year and Brandon was a great team too. It was a great series.
Kolesar: At the time I thought we had pissed away our chance to win it all.
Thunderbirds start 2016-2017 season with uncertainty
Who would return the next year? Ryan Gropp and his deadly wrist shot had been drafted and signed by the New York Rangers. A would-be 20-year-old that could really help was likely not coming back. Barzal was going to head to the New York Islanders training camp with an eye on making the NHL. As the season began, neither player was in Seattle.
Neuls: We weren’t sure what to expect. We weren’t sure if those big guys were coming back.
Kolesar: I was confident in our team the next year too. I looked at our roster and thought depending on who gets traded, who makes pro, we still have a really good roster, but you never know how many chances you have.
Eansor: I don’t think we had expectations. When some of those guys were away a lot of guys stepped up. We were winning but not at the rate that we were with those key guys. Guys like Donny Neuls, Nolan Volcan, and Sami Moilanen really stepped up and I think that gave them some confidence in secondary scoring and leadership.
The Thunderbirds started the 2016-2017 season unsure if Mathew Barzal would return. (Brian Liesse)
O’Dette: A lot of unknowns. We were looking to build off our playoff experience. Hoping for Barzy to come back and when he came back, we were really in business. You didn’t necessarily know what was going to happen and then we got Gropp back as a 20 and now the band was back together.
Kolesar: You want to see your buddies move on to the next level. We were all rooting for Barzy and Gropper to make the jump to the next level…I think the team was in limbo trying to figure out what to do. Were we gearing up for another run or going into a rebuild?
The Thunderbirds welcomed Gropp back first after the New York Rangers sent him back from the AHL.
Bear: That was a surprise…(Gropp) coming back, he had that extra motivation and it gave us an extra spark getting Gropper back. He’s a sniper and a damn good player.
Eansor: It was a big boost. Groppy is an awesome guy in the locker room and just really a positive, good guy and it just cheers you up to see one of your best buddies come back. But it’s also sad, he deserved to stay up there.
A month after the surprise return of Gropp, word broke that the Islanders had returned Barzal to the Thunderbirds.
Kolesar: The dogs are back. We had our core group back and once we all knew we had the roster that we did, we knew we had something special.
Neuls: Everybody was excited because we knew we had a chance. We had a good group of guys who played well together.
O’Dette: He’s a friend of all the guys in the room, it was a close-knit team. When you get him back morale goes up off the ice and then the type of player you’re adding on the ice, he’s one of the best players in the league. You add that and it could be a 180 for your team. As coaches, it was hard not to be excited.
Ottenbreit: We’re having a great season as it is and to get that guy back in the lineup. We know what kind of player he is, he’s a special player and just a great person all around.
Barzal’s first game back was in Vancouver as the Thunderbirds beat the Vancouver Giants. After the game, Barzal said he told the team that he’d spring for Chipotle if they won. Did he own up and pay?
Bear: I have no clue. I don’t remember that. He bought Chipotle a couple times, so he probably did own up to it.
Ottenbreit: I’m not sure, I can’t remember but he bought us enough stuff.
Neuls:There’s no way he did. He might have bought us one along the line but there’s no way he bought us all one together.
Eansor: Probably not. He probably didn’t own to that. He didn’t at all.
Kolesar: I would give him credit if he actually did it, but I know for sure that guy sat on his wallet. Bear is just being nice.
Thunderbirds make depth moves at trade deadline to make championship run
With the offense in place, the Thunderbirds looked to shore up their defense. At the trade deadline, general manager Russ Farwell swung a pair of trades that weren’t blockbusters but helped provide much needed depth. In separate moves, he added Aaron Hyman from the Calgary Hitmen and Austin Strand from the Red Deer Rebels.
Austin Strand: I kind of expected a trade. I wasn’t sure where, but I was talking with my agent and thought it would be best for me to go somewhere else. It happened early January after Christmas break. I was taking a pregame nap and my billet dad woke me up… I was pretty pumped when I heard Seattle because my best buddy (Rylan) Toth got traded there at the beginning of the year.
Austin Strand came to Seattle in a mid-season trade and gave the Thunderbirds depth on defense. (Brian Liesse)
Kolesar: They were great guys. I got to sit next to Hyman in the locker room and I got to know him. He was easy to get along with, same with Strander. We had an incredible group of guys which made that season a lot of fun.
Ottenbreit: Those two played a huge role for us and bolstered the blue line. They were huge all the second half and playoffs and stepped up big time. We knew we could score but didn’t know how our defense would be, but they stepped up.
O’Dette: At the time they felt like subtle moves but to win a championship you need six D that can play. We were fairly top-heavy at the time with Bear and Ottenbreit. We needed depth to stretch out our back end some more. Russ made some crafty moves to add Strand and Hyman. It put less stress on our top two defenseman there.
Strand: They brought me on board and told me to do what I do. I remember I had a pretty good game in Seattle and Russ remembered that. They just told me to fit in as much as I could. I ended up getting to know those guys really well.
Eansor: The two big things with those guys is, they fit right in…they both fit in so well. Strander didn’t play with us very long but he still comes out to help with Bearsy’s camp. As a player he played a role and he stepped up to the plate and as you can see by him earning an NHL contract, he’s a really good player.
The Thunderbirds had a championship roster but faced key injuries in second half
The adversity started on New Year’s Eve against the Portland Winterhawks. Eansor, one of the team’s co-captains and key players, was injured. He would go on to miss the bulk of the season’s second half. He wasn’t alone as the Thunderbirds found a way to keep winning despite several injuries and would end the season with an impressive 46-20-4-2record.
Eansor: Sitting on the sidelines after a strong start to the season is never easy. What really made it nice was everybody was stepping up to the plate. I definitely cared about future aspirations of pro hockey, but I really wanted to enjoy and win in my last year in Seattle. It was really hard be a leader and having new guys not really knowing you since you’re not around.
Bear: It was almost like we would win at will. When we get together, we talk about it and laugh about it. A lot of our success came from having good coaches in Kono and O’Dette. They kept pushing us and after every win we’d celebrate for 30 minutes and then move on… We were bred that season to never be satisfied. We had a lot of guys willing to play their roles and bear down with every chance. We really didn’t have ego on that team. It was a really close group and I’ve never been on a team like that.
Kolesar: It was just the next man was up. No matter what happened we were still a confident team. I think that was our greatest attribute. No matter what happened we felt we were going to win.
Ottenbreit: I think the depth was huge but also going into games being confident that we could win every night. We had that mindset. We went into games knowing we were going to win. Confidence, you’d be surprised how long you could roll with that… We always had guys who would step it up.
Strand: If guys went out other guys stepped up. We had so much depth, our third line I think had Volcan and Eansor. We just knew once one of those guys got hurt everyone would elevate their game. Kono had us on a tight ship and everyone was accountable.
Neuls: A lot of guys just stepped up when they needed to. With the top guys, the other guys might have been overlooked a little bit. We didn’t necessarily fill their shoes, but we helped get the job done.
Eansor: I felt kind of guilty being out, but I just couldn’t do it.
O’Dette: Those types of situations battle test you. Strengthens your team, strengthens those bonds. When the playoffs came and we had some more kinks, those adversities that hit us in the playoffs, we were used to those things that happened. It’s just rolling with the punches.
The Thunderbirds tore down the stretch in a race with the Everett Silvertips. They would endure a couple more big injuries as the playoffs loomed. We’ll have that and more in part two of our oral history, coming soon on Sound Of Hockey.
It’s a unique episode of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast this week, as a personal matter for one the hosts makes recording a full episode impossible. As an alternative, the guys chat – for a whopping fourth time – with best friend of the pod, Chris Peters.
Chris never disappoints. He brings the heat as always, diving deep into the NCAA Hockey Tournament and what to anticipate from that. He also takes a look at the NHL Draft and which prospects will be in range for the Seattle Kraken to select. He even dishes on who from the college or junior ranks could make a good coach for the Kraken.
Thanks for bearing with the guys on an altered format this week, but they hope you enjoy this great conversation with Chris. The Sound Of Hockey Podcast will be back with its regularly scheduled programming next week.
It’s a unique episode of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast this week, as a personal matter for one the hosts makes recording a full episode impossible. As an alternative, the guys chat – for a whopping fourth time – with best friend of the pod, Chris Peters.
Chris never disappoints. He brings the heat as always, diving deep into the NCAA Hockey Tournament and what to anticipate from that. He also takes a look at the NHL Draft and which prospects will be in range for the Seattle Kraken to select. He even dishes on who from the college or junior ranks could make a good coach for the Kraken.
Thanks for bearing with the guys on an altered format this week, but they hope you enjoy this great conversation with Chris. The Sound Of Hockey Podcast will be back with its regularly scheduled programming next week.
